Out of curiosity, I went to
www.nickmojave.com and read some of this nitwit's "insights." It appears that any 22 year-old idiot with a penchant for whining can be a "writer" these days.
Nick "Mojave" (not his real name, of course) is an avowed ex-Mormon who thinks he is very, very clever, as do most "general interest" or Opinion Page writers. At one time he claimed to be a vegetarian, but that phase must have passed quickly. In one of his boring diatribes against his local baseball team, he mentions buying chicken fingers and french fries. Someone ought to tell him that most places in the U.S. fry such foods in animal fat. At best, it makes him horribly ignorant. At worst it makes him a hypocrite/poseur. So there ya go.
He also hates the Pledge of Allegiance. It offends him. He thinks it forces religion on him, particularly that "under God" part.
I think it's useless, watered-down, outdated, over-traditional, and it offends me because I don't know whether or not there's a God.
It doesn't matter what YOU think, Nicky. The country you live in (the U.S.) was formed with an expressed and explicit belief in an almighty power which the founders called "God." Sure, there is freedom of religion in the U.S. You can even
not believe in a God if you choose. But if you don't like the fact that your government is God-based, then you're free to leave.
His rant about Chana Daskal is way off-base. He gets quite livid about Ms. Daskal naming the pilot in her lawsuit. He calls her:
...a greedy bitch who isn't satisfied with being alive, who is suing because she can't come to terms with the idea that accidents happen and they're beyond anyone's control.
Wow. That's pretty extreme...until we remember that these words are from a know-nothing 22 year-old college student with few credentials as a social commentator. I can think of a few adjectives I might apply to Mr. Mojave. "Greedy bitch" wouldn't even come close.
Aircraft rarely just fall out of the sky for no reason at all. They are rarely smote by the hand of God. When they crash, it's usually due to something very much
within someone's control. Maybe the engine quit. Maybe the pilot was doing something he shouldn't have been. Maybe the crash was caused by the previous hard-landing/rebuild that the Astar went through. We just don't know.
Ms. Daskal is quite correct to sue everyone who ever saw or touched that helicopter...and yes, sorry to say,
including the pilot. If it can be determined that the pilot was not at fault, then the court may issue a summary judgement and dismiss her case against him. Will his estate have to defend his name and his actions in court? Why, yes. But are we absolutely certain that the actions of the pilot played no part whatsoever in the accident? Why, no. Not at this time. And that is the risk we take as professional pilots: Our actions sometimes haunt us from beyond the grave.
In a perfect world, the proper investigating body would do their thing, figure out what was wrong, and then assign blame where it is warranted. But we don't live in a perfect world. Lawyers help us probe beyond the "official" accident report, which may or may not be conclusive. And if it is not, should we just shrug and walk away? According to Mr. Mojave, that is what Chana Daskal should do even
before the official cause is announced.
And that's just stupid.
But then, what do we expect from some kid who was raised in the desert (Las Vegas), but in 1998 goes to Spain and stays out on the beach in the hot sun all day with no sunscreen. Needless to say, he got lobster-ized.
Reading other such gems from his website tell us all we need to know about this windbag. A genius, he ain't.