Post by Aleta JacksonPost by Michael WalshNot Burt, but his brother Dick.
He was just elected to Mojave East Kern Airport District Board.
Being elected to a government body makes him a politician.
I'm not certain what you are trying to imply here but you should be
aware of a few facts about Mojave, the Mojave Airport, and Dick Rutan.
I assure you, that I meant no disrespect to Dick Rutan.
Post by Aleta JacksonFirst, Dick, an officer and a gentleman, lives here. Mojave is his
home.
Second, he owns airplanes and a hangar on the Mojave Airport.
Third, Dick is XCOR Aerospace's chief test pilot.
Fourth, Dick is a licensed pilot instructor. He works on the Mojave
Airport.
Fifth, Mojave is a small town of about 3,500 people. We are a closely
knit community and many of us take it in turns being on various boards
and committees. That does not make us politicians: it means we are
good citizens.
Sorry, but it does make you politicians. Local offices are political
bodies down at the level where direct contact is made between the
public and the local officials.
These people don't meet the requirements to be labeled
"professional politicians" that I would assume applies to someone who
makes politics his profession.
Post by Aleta JacksonSixth, Dick is a civic-minded individual who is concerned about
Mojave's future.
Seventh, a by-pass for Highway 58 has just opened to the east of
Mojave, thereby decreasing traffic (about 10,000 semi-trailer trucks a
day used to come through Mojave). This has reduced income to many of
the businesses that cater to the traffic than runs thru Mojave (one
business has already closed).
Eighth, the Mojave Airport is a big economic driver in this area.
Mojave Airport used to be a Marine base, and is one of the success
stories of transfer of a military base to civilian use. However, money
made available to other recently closed bases has lured a couple of
large tenants away from Mojave, and we have lost over $3 million in
annual income.
Ninth, the Mojave Airport has applied to become a space port.
Lastly, Stu Witt, the airport manager, requested the people who live
and work here to get more involved with the airport, so that Mojave
doesn't need to depend so much on tourists stopping for lunch or
dinner, or truckers staying overnight. Dick's response to Stu's
request was to run for the board. Others of us are helping in other
ways.
Dick understands the needs of our community and the airport. He
recognizes that his experiences, his fame, and his knowledge can help
the community recover from the econimic body-blows we have suffered
from the by-pass and loss of airport tenants. He wants to see the
Mojave Spaceport become a reality.
Far from being some power-seeking politician, he is doing what he can
to help his friends and neighbors.
And if he is going to be effective in doing this he will have to be a
good politician. Every thing you say shows that he will be involved
in the political interface between local, regional, and national political
bodies.
Post by Aleta JacksonAny other questions about Mr. Dick Rutan should be directed to his web
site: www.dickrutan.com
Aleta Jackson
XCOR Aerospace
I use this as an example of a perfectly good word, politics, and a name
applied to people practicing politics, politicians.
This is quite similar to the term "hacker" that started out as a term
applied to people skilled in using computers. These were people
who worked at the lower level and "hacked" code as opposed to
those who took more of a computer science and software engineering
approach to producing software.
Of course, now the honorable term "hacker" is used by the media
as a description of someone who breaks into other people's
computer systems illegally.
We would all be better off if more civic minded people took an
interest in how politics affected them, and in turn, became effective
politicians.
Mike Walsh