We are pleased to present viewpoint columns by Louis P.   Solomon.

Most of Louis Solomon's career was spent in the military-industrial community working on anti-submarine systems.    He has also taught at the university level and founded the firm, Planning Systems.    His current interests include co-authoring books of fiction and non-fiction.   Solomon holds an MS degree in Aero/Astro from MIT and a BA and PhD in Engineering from UCLA.

Solomon is an avid amateur small boat sailor and cruises his sailboat, Dream Maker, on the Chesapeake Bay and up and down the East Coast.    He lives in the Kentlands with his wife, Leslie Marks.

Louis Solomon's past columns are available here in Adobe files.    Click on the links below to access the Adobe files.    If you do not have Adobe on your computer, you can download a free copy here:

1. The Birth of a Column   June 2005
2. Concepts of Responsibility and Courtesy   July 2005
3. Living with Gusto   August 2005
4. The Rise and Fall of Organizations   September 2005
5. The Real Issue in Dealing with Katrina   October 2005
6. Some Comments on the Supreme Court   November 2005
7. Confusion: Mine   December 2005
8. Working as Catharsis   January 2006
9. Government Eavesdropping   February 2006
10. Government Eavesdropping―How They Do It   March 2006
11. The Coming Catastrophe―Our Helplessness and Our Response   April 2006
12. The National Anthem   May 2006
13. Alternative Power Sources with Dick Van Orden  June 2006
14. The Energy Problem with Dick Van Orden  July 2006
15. Nuclear Power (Fission) with Dick Van Orden  August 2006
16. Hydrogen and its Uses with Dick Van Orden  September 2006
17. Fuel Cells with Dick Van Orden  October 2006
18. The Ultimate Automobile with Dick Van Orden  November 2006
19. Nuclear Power (Fusion) with Dick Van Orden  December 2006 in Viewpoints
20. Global Warming: True or False? with Dick Van Orden  January 2007 in Viewpoints
21. A Potential Partial Solution to our Oil ... with Dick Van Orden  February 2007 in Viewpoints
22. Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (ADRD) with Dick Van Orden  March 2007 in Viewpoints
23. To the Hilt  April 2007 in Viewpoints
24. A Bittersweet Trip  May 2007 in Viewpoints
25. Musings on Old Age  June 2007 in Viewpoints
26. The Language Corps and the National Security Education Program  July 2007 in Viewpoints
27. The Language Corps—Reprise  August 2007 in Viewpoints
28. The Michael Vick Incident  September 2007 in Viewpoints
29. Mighty Oaks from Little Acorns Grow  October 2007 in Viewpoints
30. I Don't Get It  November 2007 in Viewpoints
31. What Shall we Do? February 2008 in Viewpoints
32. Some Ideas on What To Do?  March 2008 in Viewpoints

...continued from the Viewpoints page:

The First Nuclear Age, which was designated to be the Cold War. There were several interesting observations that he made. One was that you did not have to explode nuclear weapons in order to use them. He talked in some detail about the several times in the course of the Cold War where both sides threatened the possible use of nuclear weapons, which made the other side respond in a reasonable way. The concept of mutually assured destruction hovered menacingly in the background. Another idea was that words actually mattered. Both the West and the East listened to each other with care, and believe what the other said. Language was used very carefully, and to use the old phrase: They said what they meant, and they meant what they said. The concept of nuclear head games was real and used by both sides. And that was part of the point of the nuclear age: there were two sides, both with clear ideas and concerns about nuclear explosions and their effects. But the Second Nuclear Age was different, and remains different.

The Second Nuclear Age began during the First Nuclear Age. They overlapped. They have some different issues which are chilling. First, there are lots of players, not just two. These players all have nuclear weapons. Second, they are cheap to buy, and readily available on the world market. Third, countries now speak using language in very sloppy, inaccurate ways. Our own country regularly issues statements that have been clearly designed by spin-doctors for public consumption. But these statements are either not true, or only partially true. When other countries hear them, they realize that we don't really mean what we say and that they should take our statements with considerable skepticism. But when we are serious about something, how will they know from our language alone?

Lastly, is the rise of Terrorism. Terrorists as a class are not large enough to operate as a State, but they can be catalysts. Consider the war in Iraq. We were assured that there were Weapons of Mass Destruction. This was one if not the principal for going to war. But it was not true, and it was known to be not true. Who believes us, implicitly, now? What if the Iranians, for example, push Iraq and its multiple factions toward nuclear blackmail? What then?

Last year I wrote a column entitled “The Coming Catastrophe.” It was read by at least two people: one who thought I was the worst fear monger since Tammerlane, and the other who thought I was right. That gave me a nice sense of balance. In that column I suggested that the United States have a particular policy, well known to the world at large, that if for some reason the United States is ever attacked with a nuclear device, there will be instant and terrible retribution in terms of a counter-attack. In essence, I suggested that we never would be the first to use nuclear weapons, but we sure would use them for the purposes of retaliation.

To my astonishment, complete surprise, and unbounded delight, Professor Bracken stated the same policy. He has the credentials to support it; I merely have been an observer of the world military and armament scene for the past 40 years. My comments do not carry weight; his does.

We talked afterwards and he requested that I send him the column. I did, and will make sure that he knows about this column.

As we get older and retire, or at least semi-retire, we have time to pursue different interests that have been dormant for years, perhaps even from the time we were children. The growth of the Internet has allowed us to pursue these hobbies and interests even if we are not as mobile as when we were younger. In addition, there is a continuing growth of items that have been generated to appeal to the “Boomer” population. The advent of the One Day University is a very clever, focused idea which allows many people to listen to outstanding scholars and lecturers in their fields to provide a base for continuing education. I urge you all to go to their web site, www.OneDayU.com and see what is coming. My wife and I will certainly attend their presentations.

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