Kerry Issues Apology To Military Personnel: Better Late than Never

Democratic leaders got hold of John Kerry very early today and "sent out a call for duct tape" according to Katie Couric and Bob Schieffer at CBS News. It was kind of funny to see how they described Kerry as being "taken out to the woodshed" by the party and that he was under orders to keep his mouth shut.

The apology itself was satisfactory, though he didn't mean it. He was pressured into making the statement by his fellow Democrats, who were worried about the splash that Kerry was making.

This very public thumping is very bad news for Kerry's hope of a 2008 presidential run.

(Awww, too bad.)

Kerry Will Be Democratic Scapegoat If Dems Don't Carry House and Senate

Senator Kerry acts upset when people don't believe that he didn't mean to insult the U.S. military, yet his history of playing both sides is entirely of his own creation. He's a master flip-flopper, as was demonstrated during the fiery Presidential campaign of 2004. Many people just don't believe him because of his history.

The Senator should apologize for giving offense instead of digging in his heels and trying to shift the story to President Bush. Everyone is well aware of the Bush Administration's faltering Iraq policy, but that is NO excuse for taking a pot shot at the military that is carrying out the orders that the civilian leadership gave them, WITH Senator Kerry's now-famous 'yes' vote on the Iraq War resolution.

Botched joke or not, he owes the military an apology for making a highly insulting comment.

The Democrats now have a scapegoat if they don't carry both the House and Senate. The groans from Democrats began almost immediately and have been reverberating from coast to coast ever since. No one thought that a Democrat as prominent as John Kerry would deliver the October Surprise to aid the GOP.

And this is the first time in a long while that Limbaugh, Hannity AND Savage have been in total agreement on their respective radio shows. That's amazing in itself.

It's highly doubtful that Kerry will be out of the news by tonight as a CNN analyst predicted. The Republicans are just going to keep egging Kerry on, and Kerry's going to keep responding, unless the Democratic party leaders get control of him.

I think it's safe to say that Senator Kerry has guaranteed an increase in conservative voter turnout next Tuesday. Should be interesting to see what effect this has on campaigns around the country.

Congressional Race in Virginia Has Gone Wacko: Where Has Decency Gone?

And people thought the Foley scandal was bad.

I'm just going to link this story and say little else about the subject matter itself. Hopefully the voters of Virginia vote for decency.

Revolting!

Justice Delivered: Ricky Holland Murder Case is Done, Parents are Going to Jail

The tragic Ricky Holland murder case is finally over, and justice was delivered for Ricky.

The jury convicted Lisa Holland of first-degree murder this morning. Her husband had already taken a plea deal in return for turning state's evidence against his wife.

I have no sympathy whatsoever for Tim or Lisa Holland. This is totally their fault. What they did to a defenseless 38 pound boy who they were supposed to be raising has entitled them to a life's stay in prison, where they will stay until they arrive at their own personal Judgment Days.

Tim and Lisa abused Ricky, murdered him with a hammer, dumped his body in a swamp, and then asked the public to join them in the search for Ricky, to which hundreds of people from neighboring communities responded. CERT teams, law enforcement and search and rescue teams came in from all over the state and region to assist.

The Hollands knew full well that Ricky was already dead, and not missing. The case finally broke when Tim and Lisa began accusing the other of murdering the seven-year-old. Tim lead the police to the body in the swamp, and quickly agreed to a plea deal.

This crime was so heinous that they should have told him to "go to hell" and gone for the first-degree murder conviction. His testimony was shattering not only to the defense, but to the entire area as well. The reverberations are still being felt.

Hopefully this conviction will begin the healing for the community of Williamston, the detectives who recovered Ricky's body and for all those searchers who scoured the land looking for Ricky.

Lisa will be sentenced November 28th.

They should throw the Hollands into vast underground jail cells that are so far away from civilization that the guards will have to shoot their beans to them (the Hollands) with a shotgun!

Diplomatic Ties With Iran and North Korea Should Be Established Sooner Rather Than Later: Even During Cold War, We Talked to Soviets

What would have happened if we hadn't been in direct communication with the Soviet Union during the Cold War?

There may well have been a nuclear war in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Or military clashes in a number of situations with the USSR as the two nations were constantly at odds.

If there was no U.S./Soviet diplomacy, there would have been no reductions of nuclear arms between the U.S. and USSR. No recognition of the concept of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) if one side started firing nuclear missiles at the other. No realization that both sides didn't want war between them.

Even with diplomacy, U.S./Soviet relations were strained, so a reality where there were no direct ties between the two superpowers is downright terrifying to imagine.

The fact that we do not have diplomatic ties with Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and (sometimes) Syria is a cause for concern. We have conflicts going with Iran and North Korea that could turn into military situations in very short order. Why not talk to them directly instead of using intermediaries? If we can defuse North Korea without letting the missiles fly, why aren't we taking full advantage of that avenue?

Our history shows that we can talk with foreign governments, even if we don't like them.

We should have full diplomatic relations with every nation on earth.

CNN Airs Enemy Propaganda of Snipers Shooting U.S. Troops

CNN sank to a new low over the last couple of days in their coverage of the Iraq War, airing enemy footage of insurgent snipers shooting U.S. soldiers.

I'm not alone in believing that CNN has become an enemy propaganda tool. It has for quite some time. Anderson Cooper tried to explain that the scene was faded to black before the bullet impacted out of sensitivity, and that the subsequent interview with a terrorist was a CNN exclusive. Oh, joy.

CNN's doors would be broken down and they would be SKINNED ALIVE if they had dared to show the bullets hitting our soldiers.

They ought to be ashamed of themselves for showing something like that on their show. One can only hope that family members didn't recognize their loved ones being targeted by the enemy.

Crooked CNN hatchet job!

U.S. Military of the Future Should Not Be Engaged in Nation Building: It Should Go In, Destroy the Enemy, Then Leave

One day in the future, most (if not all) U.S. forces will be out of Iraq and the massive retooling of the U.S. military will commence.

Equipment needs will be properly addressed, lessons learned from the Iraq War will be taught to new generations of soldiers, and military technology will take several leaps forward. Tomorrow's U.S. military will be deadlier and more efficient than ever before.

Along with manpower, equipment, technological needs, planning the next war will be addressed.

In that planning, I hope that U.S. politicians and military leaders never again plan on using the military in nation building, except if it's part of our country that they're trying to help rebuild, or disaster relief services, such as those provided by the U.S. military to the South Asian region of the world after the disastrous tsunami of December 2004.

Nation building is not for the military.

The U.S. military has two jobs: to kill the enemy, and to break things. That's what their training is for, that's what their equipment is meant to do. That means they go in, do their jobs, and then leave. If they're not doing that, they should be not involved with the situation.

If any future Commander-in-Chief decides to use a military option, he or she must be determined to destroy whatever they're choosing to attack, whether it's a terrorist training camp, or an enemy nation. If they've decided to use our nation's military might to solve a problem, that decision should not be made lightly.

Conquering another nation is prohibitively expensive, in terms of lives lost, material losses, collateral damage, loss of goodwill, and the myriad of other problems that arise when one nation occupies another. We've learned this from the Iraq War.

It's safe to say that America's experiment with invading other nations to effect regime change is effectively over. It's proven to be too costly to consider repeating.

I hope the planners think this out carefully.

Venezuela Promises to Interfere in Bolivia's Internal Affairs If Current Leader is Voted Out

Venezuela's President Chavez has announced his intention to interfere in nearby Bolivia's internal affairs if it's Chavez-friendly government is threatened by outside sources, or by it's own people---whether by popular revolt or in an election that the opposition wins.

It's become clear that he's planning on doing what he's accused the United States of: setting up an empire (with himself as absolute ruler).

And people wondered why the U.S. objected to the massive Venezuelan arms build-up?

It's because Chavez exports trouble to his neighbors, and U.S. officials predicted that the gun-toting dictator of Venezuela would try to export his Marxism outside of his own nation through use of force. And he's begun doing exactly that by promising to use force against his neighbors and refusing to recognize the new government of Mexico.

The true test of Chavez's words will come when a South American nation that he's targeted elects someone opposed to Venezuela's imperialism, or Venezuela itself votes Chavez out of office in the future. Would he go peacefully, or would he use violence and suppression to stay in power?

North Korea Tests Nuclear Weapon: They're in MAJOR Trouble

North Korea apparently detonated a nuclear device late last night (Eastern Standard Time) in direct defiance of it's few friends, neighbors and the international community that had come out in opposition to this nuclear weapons test.

The fact that they defied China, their main ally in the region, speaks volumes to the level of opposition to North Korea's rash actions.

On the surface, it looks like resolutions condemning North Korea in the United Nations will face little opposition in the U.N. Security Council, but any authorization of military action will face stiff resistance from China and Russia. That hasn't changed.

The leadership of North Korea is so erratic that they may not be fully aware of how this is playing out in the rest of the world. They'll soon find out; hopefully it will topple North Korea's government and pave the way for peaceful reunification with South Korea. A united Korea that is free from communism and nuclear weapons would benefit the starving masses in the north as well as the region in general.

How much money has North Korea wasted on this needless course of action, and how many of their people have died from starvation as a result?

Michigan Schools Post Lower Test Results in Social Studies and Language Arts Because of "No Child Left Behind" Legislation

Michigan school districts have been struggling with how to deal with low test results in Social Studies and other non-"No Child Left Behind" testing focuses.

Because NCLB tests solely in math and reading to grade the progress of the schools, they and their teachers have shifted their focus to concentrate on those two subjects, at the cost of all other subjects that they are required to test for in the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) as well as their own standards of performance.

No Child Left Behind needs to be reformed so that it doesn't ignore other important subjects. Education needs to be more well-rounded than what No Child Left Behind calls for.

Children may not be left behind, but something definitely is.

Lettuce Pulled in Several States: Contamination From Same Source as Contaminated Spinich

It appears I wasn't overreacting when I wrote back on September 27th that I wasn't eating any vegetables coming from Salinas Valley, California. Irrigation water there was found to have been heavily contaminated by E. coli bacteria.

Investigators now believe that lettuce is also contaminated and have begun taking preliminary steps to pull it off the shelves in several states.

There's no telling when this will end, so my refusing to eat vegetables from that region of the country will continue. Unfortunately, Meijer and Wal-Mart import all of their salad vegetables from Salinas, and they are the two major grocery stores in my area. I've switched over to local farmers for my salad stuff for now.

Wisconsin Lawmaker Suggests Arming Teachers to Make Schools Safer: BAD IDEA

A Wisconsin lawmaker is suggesting that arming educators will keep schools safer from assaults like the ones we have seen the last couple of weeks and could help to prevent Columbine-style attacks.

There is a solution out there to making the schools safer, but this isn't it.

Teachers, principals and support staff have no business carrying concealed weapons into schools. It would actually increase the danger to everyone in attendance. Most teachers are not expert marksmen, and bullets have a tendancy to go through things, such as people that they're aimed at, though walls, ceilings, chalk boards, glass, wooden doors and other objects found in schools.

They'd be better off building satellite police stations on school property/buildings and having them manned before, during and after school hours. This would cut their response time down to seconds instead of minutes. But this wouldn't be the perfect solution either in every case.

Difficult problem.

Foley Sex Scandal Brings Out Some Long-Contested Hot Topics

Former House Representative Foley's admission that he is a gay man is the homosexual lobby's worst nightmare come true.

It's going to further muddy the water as to where the boundary is between a gay man and a pedophile.

For years the homosexual lobby has insisted that gay men are not pedophiles (and branded anyone who said so a "homophobe" or "gay basher"), while the opposition has said that the line is much thinner than the gay lobby would allow to be discussed.

The opposition has long said that the line between a homosexual "relationship" and a case of child molestation boils down to age, and that since a gay man is already predisposed to be attracted to men, what's to stop him from going beneath the age of consent if someone young catches his eye?

And here we have a formerly closeted gay man propositioning an underage boy for sex, proving the point.

And he may not be prosecuted for it either due to "gray areas" in the law.

Foley Sex Scandal Shows Congress Isn't Immune to Scandals Like This

People seem to be shocked that a former Representative of the House stands accused of soliciting Congressional pages (aides in training--usually under age 18) for sex.

I'm not.

NOTE: I am not defending the accused. He needs to be in jail for what he has done, and the page system needs to be revamped with protection guidelines for everyone under age 18 who participate as a Congressional page.

Everyone needs to remember that Congress is made up of people, and sometimes Congress is a mirror image of society in all of it's beauty, and in all of it's ugliness...and everything in between. Sometimes those with criminal intent make it past all of the background checks, psyche profiles and other standards of testing to get into positions where they have access to kids. Or get access to kids through programs like the page program, which has been around Congress for decades.

Every part of society has seen scandals like this; why do people consider Congress any different?

Remember: hypocrisy is a part of politics, and Congress is all about politics. Even Jay Leno showed unaltered clips of the accused talking about "sicko predators" to John Walsh on America's Most Wanted during last night's Tonight Show.

People should probably get used to the idea that this is probably just the tip of the iceberg and could get a lot worse before it gets better.

But it should also be noted that there are plenty of good apples in Congress and that there are bound to be some bad ones in there too, just like the rest of society. People need to remember that.

Military Chaplains Should Be Allowed to Invoke Jesus's Name Whenever They Wish

This is ridiculious...U.S. military chaplains cannot invoke the name of Jesus during public prayer services...including battlefield services over the bodies of dead American soldiers who were practicing members of a religious faith. This, because they don't want to offend secular members of the unit who might be offended by the mention of Jesus or God as a priest is giving Last Rites or whatever the religious practice calls for.

What is the point of having a chaplain if he cannot practice his or her religion and lead others in observances of that same religion? That's why they have chaplains of every faith there--so soldiers can choose their "flavor" and pray in whatever fashion they wish. Those that choose not to--don't.

But the Congress should leave the chaplains alone and let them do their work without barriers. Let the military brass deal with this issue.

The long and the short---if it's billed as a non-denominational service, then it should be. But chaplains need to be able to perform their jobs for the religious.

Chavez's Claim of Informant Inside White House is Attempt to Destabilize U.S. Government--Nothing More

Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's left-leaning adolescent leader, made a claim recently that he has an informant inside the White House and that a plan to assassinate him and overthrow his government exists.

This scenario is highly unlikely.

It is more likely he is trying to take advantage of the recent news involving information leaks from the White House to destabilize our government.

If he gets overthrown, it will be by his own people who want their freedom back, not by us. And he knows it.

Is There a Real Need for Coast Guard Gunboats on Great Lakes?

I'm troubled by the deployment of armed U.S. Coast Guard boats with .30 caliber machine guns on the Great Lakes and the inauguration of live-fire exercises.

Are relations so bad with Canada that we're going to need to repel Canadian mounties showing up in rowboats to plant their flag on the U.S. side of the border?

Are we going to deploy sonar sensors to detect enemy submarines in Lake Superior?

What about putting a radar base on Isle Royale and reactivating KI Sawyer Air Force Base in Michigan's Upper Peninsula to blow intruders out of the water?

The Great Lakes aren't the problem...the Mexican border is. They should secure that instead of scaring our Canadian neighbors and our own people who enjoy the Great Lakes.

If the Coast Guard wants it's sailors to practice with firearms, then they should deploy them to Florida periodically and help with drug interdiction efforts. That's about as live-fire as they can get without deploying to a combat area.

I don't want anyone I know getting their boat blown out from underneath them while they're fishing and minding their own business.

Klingon Bat'leth Seized in London Raid: Police Take Full Advantage of PR Stunt for Their Knife Amnesty Program

Star Trek fans who collect replicas of Klingon weapons could face prison time in London, England.

A bat'leth was seized from a home in Gloucaster, England, and put on display as an example of the terrible problem of knife violence in the streets of London.

Except that the bat'leth is too big and unwieldy to use in street crime. The bat'leth (a Klingon word for 'sword of honor') is between four and five feet long and has a wicked curve. The bat'leth was seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation and in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in episodes where the Klingons were engaged in combat. It's designed to be seen.

I think that the London police are after switchblade and butterfly knives and not the hobbies of Star Trek fanatics (who are not predisposed to cut off someone's head or take off someone's arm.) The bat'leth is an attention-getter. If someone is going to mug a person with a knife, they're going to use something small and can be easily concealed as they flee the crime scene.

And if people in London are afraid of a bat'leth, remember that a canoe paddle can separate a man's head from his body too. And so can a whole host of other common items that aren't thought of as dangerous weapons.

This entire affair is pretty dumb.

Heartbreak in Colorado: Gunman Kills Hostage, Self in Platte Canyon High School as SWAT Moves In

Memories of the terror at Columbine High School bubbled back to the surface again today as a gunman seized hostages in a Colorado high school and threatened to kill all of them if his demands were not met.

He had released four of them thanks to the efforts of intense police negotiations, but the situation began to deteriorate until the man broke off the dialogue and set a time for the police to meet his demands. SWAT stormed the building and blew open the door to the classroom, but the gunman killed one of his two hostages and then killed himself.

Why do these madmen target kids?

This time it looks like it was someone from outside the school system who attacked, and not students targeting students. They've GOT to lock down the schools tighter to keep those whose intentions are nasty OUT of there.

Contaminated Spinich Leads to Huge Questions: Where in Salinas Valley Did E. Coli Bacteria Start, and Are Other Vegetables Contaminated?

Perhaps I'm over-reacting, but I bought a package of Classic Iceberg vegetables (not mixed with spinich) the other day and noticed later that it was from Salinas, California, where health experts suspect that E. coli-contaminated spinich came from.

I decided not to open it, just to play it safe.

Then the news came that the E. coli bacteria was found in a processing plant, plus in five rivers in the Salinas Valley watershed, back on June 30th. Blame was cast on factory farms in the region, where liquid waste made it into the water table.

I've subsequently thrown the bag of Iceberg out and am looking for vegetables that do not come from the area.

So far people are sick or dying from the spinich that came out of there, but if E. coli IS present in the water, then it may be spread into the crops by the factory farms, which draw water out of the river system to irrigate the crops. I'm told that using river water to irrigate is a very common practice, and not just in this part of the country.

The questions that need to be answered and soon:

Is E. coli present in the watershed as is being reported by the media? If it is, has the contaminated water been used to irrigate the crops?

How widespread is the E. coli contamination in the watershed?

Is there a connection between the contaminated water and the bad spinich, or is it a mere coincidence?

Is the processing plant currently being examined by investigators used to process other vegetables? And if so, which ones?

Should we be buying any fruits or vegetables from the Salinas Valley for now?

How worried should we be?

The local supermarket only carries bagged vegetables from Salinas, so for the moment, bagged salads from Salinas are off my menu, until they nail down the problem and fix it.

Pope Should Not Go to Turkey: Danger is Too Great

Pope Benedict XVI should not go to Turkey in November.

It's too dangerous and he's too tempting a target for a dunderheaded extremist to ignore. What kind of situation will exist if a Roman Catholic Pontiff is assassinated in a Muslim country, even if it's considered a moderate government and friend of the West?

I hope the Pope does reconsider going to Turkey. Now isn't the time.

US Navy Retires F-14 Tomcat: F/A-18 to Replace Cold War Weapon

The United States Navy retired the F-14 Tomcat from service today after 34 years of service. The fighter projected American air power into all corners of the world and protected the various U.S. Navy fleets and bases.

The F/A-18 Hornet will replace it.

Most will remember the F-14 from the Tom Cruise film "Top Gun" in 1986.

It got very expensive to maintain the fighter, which required forty hours of service on the ground to keep it in the air for one hour of flight time. Over the last year every F-14 squadron was deactivated and their equipment flown back to the United States for mothballing, dismantling, or preparation for their new role as museum pieces.

The Soviets definitely didn't like the F-14; it was designed to shoot down Soviet bombers and fighters that were threatening U.S. Navy aircraft carriers or military bases. Now Iran is the only nation left in the world flying the F-14 and they're in various states of disrepair since the U.S. government won't sell them spare parts to maintain the air-superiority fighter.

Wikipedia has a fairly complete list of F-14 squadrons and their histories. It should be noted that some of the F-14 squadrons now fly the F/A-18 as well as other combat aircraft.

Chavez Uses the Very Free Speech to Criticize Bush That He Denies to His Own People

Much is being said about Venezuelan President Chavez's juvenile comments at the U.N. and in Harlem the last couple of days.

Ironic that he criticized Bush on a free speech platform that he denies to his own people. He ought to allow that kind of speech at home against him, as he is not as universally loved by his people as some would have you believe.

Churches Set on Fire, Nun Murdered by Uneducated Dolts Professing to Belong to Islam: Divine Retribution Awaits Them, Not Virgins in Paradise

As predicted, news broke that the uneducated dunderheads began killing Roman Catholics and burning down churches belonging to several Christian denominations, and not only the Roman Catholic Church.

Seven churches have been damaged or destroyed by firebombs. Also, an elderly Roman Catholic num was gunned down in a childrens' hospital in Somalia in apparent revenge for Pope Benedict XVI's remark about force-conversion of the unwilling being evil. She was shot three times in the back and died in an operating room a short time later.

So what did the nun do wrong that made her a victim of Somali gunmen in a hospital? What earned her a death penalty from Muslim extremists?

Not a thing, except that she was a Catholic and she was a convenient target.

Islam, Judism and Christianity all share some core beliefs found in the Old Testament. Among those are a strict prohibition against the murder of innocents. Yet these dunderheads persist in slaughtering innocent people under the banner of a religion that says their actions are "un-Islamic." They bring shame to their entire religion and add to the misunderstanding and distrust about Islam that already exists in the West.

Some of their senior clerics were on the radio yesterday, calling the murder of the nun a vile act from those who profane Islam with their ill-considered actions.

Someone needs to tell her killers that the only one going to heaven out of that situation will be the nun, who was killed while caring for the sick and injured in that hospital, and forgave her killers with her dying words.

No virgins await the killers in paradise. All that awaits them is God, who abhors the murder of innocents and has already welcomed Sister Leonella into heaven.

Crocodile Hunter Remembered: Steve Irwin's Life Celebrated in Memorial Service

Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, was remembered in a memorial service at the zoo that he co-owned and loved. Some 5,000 people were in attendance and the service was carried live around the world.

It was a celebration of Steve Irwin's life and comes two weeks after his fatal encounter with a stingray, which perceived his presence as a threat and rammed it's tail barb into his chest, killing the popular conservationist and TV star.

It was a very nice service.

May he rest in peace.

Muslim Reaction to Pope's Words are Confusing: Are They Defending Spreading Their Religion Through the Sword and Proving the Pope's Point for Him?

Pope Benedict XVI is under fire from Muslims around the world, and angry demonstrations are taking place in many Muslim countries because of his quotation of a Byzantine emperor who criticized Mohammed's use of jihad to force-convert others to Islam. Muslims are taking offense...when they shouldn't.

The pope was making the point that religious teachings that call for forced conversions to any religion were and are evil. So he was also criticizing Christianity too, but the Muslims seem to be ignoring that fact.

No apology from the Pope is warranted.

On a related topic, I see the Jewish population around the world hasn't held violent street protests over the publication of Holocaust cartoons in Iran and Europe. They haven't burned down any embassies or murdered bystanders in those countries.

Oh, right. The Jews don't do that. The extremist Muslims do.

Strange how some members of a so-called "religion of peace" throw it straight into the garbage can whenever it suits them, whether it's over a publication of a cartoon of Mohammed, or the Roman Catholic Pontiff pointing out that any religion that resorts to violence to convert the unwilling is worthy of that same garbage can.

When will the extremist Muslim double-standards stop? And how many embassies are they going to burn this time with their (barely) adolescent behavior? How many (of their own) people will pay the ultimate price when they're killed in the streets to satisfy their religious blood-lust?

September 11th Observed: We Will Never Forget the Heroes of 9/11

No politics today.

Patriot Day went off without a hitch, as millions from around the world paused to remember the horrifying events of September 11th, 2001, and to remember the names of the lost.

May they rest in peace.

9/11 Video of South Tower Collapse: Video Debunks "Building Brought Down by Explosives" Argument

I had not see this video of one of the World Trade Center towers collapsing before. This particular video was shot over on 6th Avenue according to the caption as the South Tower began to break apart. It is zoomed in so close that you can see debris falling away from the building, then the corner twists inward and the entire thing just caves in.

This video seems to debunk the 9/11 conspiracy theorists that the building was brought down by demolition charges. It is clearly a structural failure.

What I found amazing was that the floors on the top part of the building were pancaking the same way as the floors that were at the line of collapse as the whole thing caved in under its own weight. This was all going on simutaneously.

Pay particular attention to the hole in the concrete slab on the corner of the building as it twisted in on itself.

Withdrawing From Iraq Immediately Won't Change the World Situation One Bit: Americans Will Continue to Die

It's amazing that people assume that if we pulled out of Iraq immediately that the violence would stop and Americans would cease being killed by terrorists, both in foreign lands and in our own lands. That's not what would happen. History proves it.

To illustrate that point, let's take a look at how many Americans have died and been maimed since the jihaddis declared war on us before we realized we were in a war. I've also included figures for the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.

1993 World Trade Center Bombing---------6 dead, >1,000 wounded
1/25/93 Shooting at CIA HQ------------------2 dead, 3 wounded
1998 Embassy Bombings--------------------12 dead, unknown number of wounded
Khobar Tower Bombings--------------------19 dead, 24 wounded
2000 USS Cole Bombing--------------------17 dead, 39 wounded
9/11 Terror Attacks------------------------2,902 dead, >10,000 wounded/sick
Afghan War*----------------------------------329 dead, 893 wounded
Iraq War*------------------------------------2,974 dead, >19,773 wounded
*As of 9/5/06

Totals:
6, 261 dead Americans
>31,732 wounded Americans

All of this due to the jihaddis deciding to murder people to protest U.S. foreign policy decisions.

They won't stop once the war in Iraq is over. They've already been killing Americans for over ten years...both here and over there, and before we went after Iraq and Afghanistan. And the number would be worse if we included all the 1980's hijackings of airliners, passenger ferries and bombings, such as the 1986 Berlin nightclub bombing and Pan-Am Flight 103.

A pullout from Iraq now would simply be a signal to the terrorists that the old target was taken down and a new one put up in it's place.

Honestly, how long after a pull-out would it be before an Iraq War jihaddi walked into a New York cafe with an explosive belt and blew himself to hell and brought the war to our streets? It would only take one incident like that to prove that the "fight terrorism over there to keep it from coming over here" crowd was right. ONE.

As much pain as the Iraq War has caused here, we can't leave until the Iraqi government is strong enough to stand alone and rely on it's own resources to secure itself.

More Election Year Politics: Immigration Reform Set Aside By GOP Despite Major Problems Across the Border in Mexico

In a very unwise move, the GOP shelved plans to address immigration reform before Election Day, in spite of Mexico's continued disputed Presidential Election and growing threat of political violence across Mexico.

This decision may come back and bite them hard.

Mexico's Supreme Court upheld the election results this morning, but Mr. Obrador has vowed to disregard the decision if it didn't go his way.

He's also said that he would form a rival government and attempt to run Mexico, while disrupting the legitimate leadership of Mr. Caulderon. This can only go so far. With President Fox vowing to install the winner by any means necessary, this escalates the possibility of violence.

The GOP is trying to focus attention on their political strengths in order to reinforce their election campaigns, but securing the border will quickly become a national security issue if Mexico erupts in violence. This is not a problem that they should sweep under the carpet. Immigration reform includes securing the border, which is also a national security matter, but they're choosing to ignore it because it doesn't help them win their elections.

People will start to come across the border in force if violence does begin in earnest and our immigration problem will be ten times worse in very short order. And in a worse-case scenario, Mexicans already living here take up arms against other Mexicans living here who support the opposite side.

We don't need this. Like I said before, Mexico's problems have to stay south of the Rio Grande.

Mexican Election Court Set to Make Final Ruling Tuesday: Leftist Challenger Vows to Form Second Government, Setting Stage For Civil War

The Mexican court system is set to make it's final ruling on the disputed July 2nd presidential election sometime Tuesday.

It is widely believed that it will choose to affirm the results of the election. But the challenger has vowed not to accept such a decision, claiming that he will form a new government in Mexico City, attempt to collect taxes, and to put the winner of the election, Felipe Calderon, "under seige."

Protests have already turned violent, with police using clubs and tear gas to break up a small protest after the protesters began throwing rocks at them. This is merely a sign of things to come if the court affirms the election results.

Outgoing President Fox has vowed to make sure that the winner is installed as Mexico's sole leader, whether it's Calderon or his opponent, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. This is going to get a lot worse real quick.

TV's "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin Dies: Severe Injury From Stingray Kills TV Star

Well-known Austrailian "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin died early today from a severe injury caused from a stingray stabbing him in the chest.

It happened as Irwin was scuba diving and swam over the top of the stingray. It reacted and one of the fish's tail barbs hit him hard, going through his chest and into his heart.

Fans and detractors alike are in shock. He was 44 and leaves his wife and two children behind.

Many questioned his wisdom over doing the kind of stunts that he did, but over time he just seemed to anticipate every possible behavior displayed by the creatures he stalked. His reaction time was nothing short of astonishing. He didn't die facing a crocodile on land. He was hurt underwater, where his speed and reaction time were neutralized and the advantage belonged to the creatures of that underwater realm.

I still think his decision to hold his baby while feeding one of his crocodiles a couple of years ago was a very bad mistake and it harmed his public image. I referred to him as an idiot at the time. But the work he has done since then in the area of crocodile research aided the scientific community and his popularity rebounded after a while. His documentaries are facinating.

His legacy will endure through his research.

His death is being described as a "freakish" accident, but that's a demeaning way to describe how a man died. May he Rest in Peace.

Mexican Democracy Under Fire: Mob Rule Reigns in Halls of Mexican Government

Mexican democracy is in grave danger of being toppled.

Opposition members of the Mexican Congress physically took control of the floor of their chamber, preventing President Fox from delivering his final State of the State address. The protesting members are supporting leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's challenge of the July 2nd presidential election which he lost by a slim margin.

Huge street protests have been taking place, and though no one has said it openly, Mexico is headed toward a civil war. That's my opinion. Now is the time to reinforce our border with Mexico as Mexican problems need to stay south of the Rio Grande. We don't need their political problems to spill over our border.

Democrats Haven't Articulated What Their Party's Alternatives to GOP Plans Are: They Can't Replace Something With Nothing and Expect to Win Election

The Democratic are employing their "stealth" strategy again across the country, refusing to take positions on anything. They are very vocal in saying "NO" to GOP legislation, "NO" to President Bush, and "NO" to those in their own party who disagree with the activists who appear to have captured control of the Democratic Party.

So far they are sitting back and enjoying making the GOP squirm as early polls point to voter dissatisfaction with the GOP-controlled House, which is dominated by "moderate" (aka closet liberal) Republicans.

Does anyone remember the "Anyone but Bush" mantra employed by the Democrats during the 2004 Presidential campaign? They used this to draw attention away from Kerry's terrible record of being on both sides of an issue and flip-flopping like a fish out of water during the campaign itself; Kerry's unwillingness to take a side on specific issues didn't help them either.

There's no doubt that the Republicans will definitely lose some seats in the House, but how many? Pundits have already awarded control of the House to the Democrats, but it isn't over until the fat lady sings. And she isn't singing until Election Day is over.

If the Dems rely too much on voter dissatisfaction alone to win the day, they may not have things go their way. Voters want to hear what candidates stand for. And they want to cast their vote based on those views. The Republicans are speaking loud and clear, but the Democrats aren't.

They're using a failed tactic again, hoping that voters will put them back in charge of the government BEFORE they put their platform together.

Casting a blind vote like that is not an option. People need to think before they vote.

No Word on Damage to Wake Island from Super-Typhoon

There's no word yet on how Wake Island fared from taking a direct hit from Super-Typhoon Ioke. The island atoll was expected to be completely submerged as the storm pushed water over the top of the low-lying island.

The U.S. Navy and Air Force are sending units to assess the damage to the island and to see if the waters have receded.


Should be interesting to see.

Wake Island About to Be Clobbered By Super Typhoon: Island Completely Evacuated

A very dangerous Category 5 hurricane is making it's way across the Pacific and will slam into Wake Island by tonight.

Super Typhoon Ioke is continuing on it's westerly course in the Pacific Ocean and is expected to completely submerge Wake Island under the storm surge, which is expected to be 18 feet high. The island itself rests 8 feet above sea level. Wave heights are expected to be in excess of 40 feet. As a result, the U.S. Air Force completely evacuated the island of it's 200 workers and as much equipment as they could in two C-17 Globemaster III's.

They're saying that everything not made of concrete on the island will be utterly destroyed as this is the most powerful Pacific hurricane ever recorded. It's a stark reminder of the power of these storms and what they can do to man-made structures as well as the natural environment.

If Hurricane Katrina had been as powerful as this super-typhoon is, the damage sustained by our Gulf Coast would have been much more extreme than it was. The storm surge and giant waves would have pushed right over the top of the levees. They would have been the equivilent of speed bumps for the monster waves. And the breaches would have been bigger, too.

As bad as Katrina was, it could have been much, much worse.

No Justice for JonBenet Yet: Self-Confessed "Killer" Had Nothing to Do With It and DA Drops Charges

Apparently JonBenet Ramsey's killer is still on the loose. Well, DUH!!

The self-confessed "killer" John Mark Karr was nothing of the sort; he's an attention-seeker who greatly enjoyed his time in the limelight and used JonBenet's death to get exactly what he wanted.

The DNA didn't match, so the entire "case" came apart. It should be noted that the police had an obligation to bring this man home to investigate whether Karr did what he said he did, and they did precisely that. The prosecuting attorney looked at the results of DNA testing and confirmed what Karr's family was saying, and dismissed the charges against him.

The press ought to be ashamed of itself on how it handled this entire mess. Splashing this man's face all over creation; recording every movement Karr made and moving it to the top news story position under the screaming caption "BREAKING NEWS." This was a total media-driven fiasco.

How many copycats are going to follow Karr's example now? And how much law enforcement time and effort will be wasted in sorting out the liars from the real criminals? Whatever follows, the blame will belong exclusively to the media.

More Contradictions in Global Warming Debate

First they tell us that global warming is causing the glaciers to melt. Now they tell us that some of the glaciers are growing due to global warming.

The global warming people don't know what's going on any more than the rest of us. One theory is just as good as the next.

International Moratorium on Cluster Bomb Use is Needed: Civilians Pay TOO High a Price Long After Conflict Ends

Before I go any further, I need to go on the record as having a strong dislike of cluster bomb and landmine use by various military and paramilitary forces. These weapons end up killing more civilians than the enemy that they were being used against, years later, long after peace has been declared.

Cluster bombs have again been in the news since it was learned that Washington was looking into the Israeli use of American-built cluster bombs on civilian areas in southern Lebanon. It was understood that these weapons were to be used against defined military targets and invading Arab armies.

Hundreds of American cluster bomblets have been spotted littering the southern Lebanese ground; three Lebanese soldiers died last week while disarming an unexploded shell. One Israeli soldier died while removing a mine that was planted by his army the same day. And civilians are dying, too.

A cluster bomb works by bursting in the air above a target and scattering hundreds of bomblets over a wide area. The bomblets fall on and around the target and explode. The results are devastating.

The weapons have become very controversial since up to 30% of the bomblets don't explode on contact, it turns them into deadly landmines where they impact. Cluster bombs were extensively used against Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq, and the after-effects are continuing to take a toll on civilians, soldiers and especially children who pick up the bomblets, thinking they're toys.

There needs to be an international moratorium on producing and using these weapons. In their current form, they endanger more civilians over the long haul than they do enemy soldiers.

Syria Doesn't Want U.N. Peacekeepers in Lebanon Watching for Syrian Aggression Against Lebanon or Israel: That's Why They're Objecting to U.N. Plan

Syria flatly said "NO" to peacekeepers being stationed on the Lebanese side of the Lebanon/Syria border today, saying it would be a "hostile act."

The real reason Syria doesn't want the peacekeepers keeping watch is that they are in the process of defying the cease-fire and re-arming Hezbollah. Syria doesn't want their illegal arms shipments to Hezbollah to be intercepted or observed by the U.N. This is more than enough reason to station the peacekeepers along the Lebanese border with Syria. It's the only way to make sure that Syria stays out of Lebanon's internal affairs.

By all means, station the peacekeepers there, and let's see what the Syrians are REALLY up to.

Whole Lot of Nothing from Iran on 8/22/06--No Nuke Compromise; Cease Fire Holds; No Israel-Iran Conflict

A whole lot of nothing happened on 8/22/06. It's good that dire predictions of war between Iran and Israel didn't come to pass; it would have been the end of Iran as we've known it. Half the Middle East would be in flames by now.

Iran made no decision on the nuclear incentive package offered by the West, but said it was willing to "enter serious negotiations."

Sounds like another stall tactic from Iran.

Self-Confessed Child Killer is Getting Too Much Press: Media Rewards Karr By Giving Him the Attention He Craves

The media frenzy surrounding self-confessed killer Mark Karr is ridiculous, way overblown and utterly retarded.

They're going to all look ridiculous if it turns out he's simply an attention craving lunatic who confessed to the killing of JonBenet Ramsey simply to get his fifteen minutes of fame. Thanks to the media circus, it's become much worse than the circuses surrounding the OJ Simpson case, the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding skating fiasco, the Michael Jackson trial, and about two dozen lesser cases.

If it turns out he did kill JonBenet, then the media has simply splashed the face of a child killer into millions of homes around the world, repeatedly, 24 hours a day.

The media ought to take a breath, step back, and examine what they're doing by having their cameras trained on this individual, who is a liar at best and a murder and rapist of children at worst.

It's going to inspire copycats to confess to other crimes that they didn't commit, just to get their faces on TV and their names in the newspapers, and it's going to waste law enforcement resources and time to sort it all out.

"Nobody Died When Clinton Lied" Slogan: Selective Memory at It's Best

The "Nobody Died When Clinton Lied" mantra found on t-shirts and bumper stickers isn't quite accurate.

People forget that Clinton ordered Tomahawk cruise missile strikes against Afghanistan and Sudan on August 20, 1998, to distract the American public from his Monica Lewinsky scandal following his testimony to a Grand Jury three days before and a few weeks before the Starr Report was submitted to Congress for consideration.

This, from a President who was reluctant to arrest or take a shot at bin-Laden when American authorities knew where he was and could have taken him off the street years before 9/11...and then all of a sudden he gets the nerve to strike at the al-Qaeda leader, his bases of operation and...some kind of milk and drug plant in Sudan. It was a weak response to the destruction of two U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania from terrorist bombs three weeks prior.

"Nobody Died When Clinton Lied" indeed.

They still aren't sure how many of the thirty killed in Afghanistan were al-Qaeda/Taliban supporters and how many were innocent civilians.

Now if someone wants to compare body counts between the Clinton and Bush administrations, that's a different story altogether, but it's not germaine to the bumper sticker discussion.

August 22nd and the Middle East: Will Iran Attack Israel On or About This Day?

This is a strange one.

August 22, 2006, is referred to in the Islamic calendar as the "Night of the Shia'a and Miira'aj", when the Prophet Mohammed ascended to Heaven from the Asqa Mosque in Jerusalem, and that a great light was seen in the skies over Jerusalem as he visited Heaven and Hell before returning to Mecca.

It also happens to be the specific date that the Islamic government of Iran chose to reply to the Western incentive package to end it's nuclear weapons program. The West had originally wanted a response by June 29th, but the Iranians chose August 22nd. Why not September 1st, or July 20th or June 30th?

Frontpage Magazine is suggesting a "nuclear attack or a full-scale assault on Israel" due to the Iranian President's threats against Israel. One of the people it interviewed for the story, one Farid Ghadry of the Syrian Reform Party, said that "Ahmadinejad is planning an illumination of the night sky over Jerusalem to rival the one that greeted the Prophet of Islam on his journey."

It sounds like a stretch to me, but the Iranian President is clearly nuts, and with Israel's "not-victory" against Hezbollah, he may well try something this week. Iran just happened to kick off a major wargames exercise yesterday.

Israel will turn Iran into a parking lot if it does launch an all-out assault. I do not think that Israel will even bother using conventional forces to stop Iranian missile launches or airstrikes. They'll eliminate Iran as a threat through other means, regardless of the consequences.

Israel Didn't Violate the Cease-Fire: Iran and Syria Did By Smuggling Arms to Hezbollah in Violation of U.N. Resolution 1701

The U.N. was quick to decry an Israeli raid deep into Lebanon to stop an illegal arms shipment to Hezbollah today, calling the Israeli military action a "violation of the cease-fire resolution."

Horsecrap!

This is just more proof that the U.N. passes resolutions that it doesn't enforce. There is an arms embargo against Hezbollah in the same resolution (1701) that the U.N. says Israel broke. Yet Iran and Syria continue to ship arms to Hezbollah, which led Israel to act...in support of resolution 1701. It's Hezbollah and it's benefactors who are violating the resolution.

The Security Council has no business passing resolutions it has no intention of enforcing. This "cease-fire" doesn't have much time left to it.

Reason for French Reduction of Troops in U.N. Force is Obvious: Syria Threatened Them and Paris Knuckled Under

The reason for France's sending a mere 400 soldiers to join a U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon instead of the force of 3,000 French soldiers that was expected by the United Nations is quite obvious.

Syria threatened to turn Hezbollah loose on the French peacekeepers in a repeat of the 1983 Hezbollah suicide attack on French and American forces, in which fifty-eight French soldiers and 241 American Marines died.

France caved in.

U.S. and Israeli Armor is in Trouble: Russian Anti-Tank Missiles Can Destroy M1 and Merkava Tanks

The U.S. and Israel have discovered that the new Russian AT-13 Metis-M (NATO codename: Saxhorn) anti-tank missile can penetrate the reactive armor and thick armor plating that both armies have come to rely on for their tanks to survive on a modern battlefield.

All versions of the U.S. M1A1 and M1A2 Abrams main battle tank and the next generation Israeli Merkava main battle tank have proven vulnerable to the anti-tank missile. It uses a "tandem" warhead, or a warhead that explodes twice.

The first part of the warhead is designed to take out a tank's "reactive" armor (explosive packs or bricks which explode outwards to blunt the impact of the missile and keep the tank operational.) Both the U.S. Army and the Israeli Army use reactive armor on their main battle tanks.

Then the second part of the warhead hits the tank itself and penetrates, exploding on the inside. Israel lost four Merkava tanks and at least 26 other Merkavas were badly damaged by the Russian anti-tank missiles (which were originally sent to Syria by the Russian Federation and then transferred to Hezbollah). Israel captured a number of the weapons plus the Russian-made RPG-29 (which also happens to have a tandem warhead) and has filed a protest with the Russians over the illegal transfer of arms.

The number of tank crews injured or killed was very high and made up a significant percentage of the Israeli military killed/wounded.

U.S. forces are encountering the weapons in Iraq as well with devastating results: tanks that ate multiple RPGs and kept on fighting during the invasion of Iraq and in the months afterward can be severely damaged or destroyed by a single Metis-M hit today.

When the U.S. makes an arms deal, there's a "no transfer" clause in the contract; do the Russians do the same thing? If Russia's against terrorism, one would think they would be demanding explanations from the Syrians on why their most advanced weapons systems ended up in the hands of terrorists.

In any case, the U.S. and Israeli defense communities are working on a fix to the problem. Hopefully it's an easy solution and they make haste.

Americans Who Supported Hezbollah Over Israel During War are Traitors: What Other Explanation is There?

Before I proceed further, some points: Lebanon is not Hezbollah, and Hezbollah is not Lebanon.

I have a major problem with Americans who sided openly with Hezbollah against Israel during the recent fighting. Those people chose to side with terrorists over a democracy. One common thread (especially in the media) in their supporting of Hezbollah was their pointing out all of the good works that Hezbollah does where they have a presence.

Good works, eh?

They were blindly firing lethal weapons into northern Israel and murdering people. At the same time, they placed their rocket launchers right next to peoples' houses (the very same people that Hezbollah was "helping") to insure that any Israeli retaliation would destroy the houses and whomever was inside them. Good works, indeed.

More than one Israeli military video showed the Israeli bombs hitting the launcher, then the rockets inside the launcher went off and struck nearby houses, causing the actual damage to the structures. But Israel ended up taking the blame, despite what their videos showed. Hezbollah's PR people did an amazing spin job on the entire war.

I disagreed with Israel's widespread attack on Lebanon and thought it was excessive. But I wanted Israel to destroy Hezbollah, regardless of the fate of their missing soldiers. Many others felt this way too.

But for Americans to support a terrorist organization against a democracy is revolting. And particularly since that particular terror group murdered 241 United States Marines as they were resting in their barracks in Beruit as part of a U.N. peacekeeping force in 1983. Hezbollah has American blood on their hands, and our own people would side with them against Israel?

Americans who support Hezbollah are traitors to their own country.

UN Cease-Fire Can't Hold: It Simply Has Too Many Fatal Flaws Built Into It By the Feuding Security Council

A closer examination of UN Resolution 1701 (the cease-fire resolution aimed at stopping the Israeli/Hezbollah war) reveals that it does mention previous resolutions which call for the disarmament of paramilitary groups (Hezbollah), but does not authorize the international force to carry out the disarmament plan.

France and Lebanon are trembling at the very idea of disarming Hezbollah. And now Israel is saying it won't leave Lebanon until it is relieved by the U.N. force. And the U.N. is saying it may be weeks or months before they get their force in. Things are moving too slowly.

The only thing robust about this de-fanged U.N. force will be how fast they scuttle their butts out of town after the cease-fire collapses and the shooting begins again. And the U.N. Secretary General has the unmitigated gall to insist that Israel not respond to further Hezbollah rocket strikes? That's like telling an angry boxer not to hit back when the bell rings for the next round. Mr. Annan has yet to get the Hezbollah boxer out of the ring.

For all the good that they're going to do, perhaps the Lebanese Army should redeploy back to where they were. They run the risk of getting royally creamed by Israel if they are mixed amongst the Hezbollah militias once fighting resumes.

This cease-fire has about a snowball's chance in hell of holding. The only way to stave off disaster is for the U.N. force and the Lebanese to show some initiative and start taking away Hezbollah's weapons as the U.N. Security Council has already directed.

More U.N. hypocricy, passing resolutions that they have no intention of enforcing.

Bye Bye, Democrat Lieberman. Hello, Independent Lieberman

The Democrats finally won an election against someone they didn't like! But it says something when the only thing they can crow about is beating a member of their own party, and not a Republican. Senator Joe Lieberman lost the primary election on Tuesday and is now promising to mount an independent campaign to retain his seat. Now the Democrats are starting to weigh in, asking Joe to drop out for the good of the party.

Good of the party, my foot.

I hope Joe does stay in. He needs to teach his party a lesson about loyalty. He was hung out to dry by his so-called friends, so I don't blame him for wanting to go about this in his own way. I think he's prepared to draw enough votes away from the Democrats to throw the election to the Republican candidate.

But a betrayal like the one Lieberman experienced MUST be answered, so I applaud Senator Lieberman for his gump in going after his own party. And the Dems should remember that if he wins the seat he's still a liberal, no matter what his view on the Iraq War is, so he's going to vote with them regardless of his party label. And he says what he believes, whether or not it's the popular thing TO say.

I do like Joe Lieberman, despite his being a flaming liberal. And I hope he makes his party suffer for their turning on him.

What is an Anti-Semite? And Does Mel Gibson Fit the Profile?

There's been a lot of conversations on whether Mel Gibson is an anti-semite since his arrest for drunken driving and his subsequent tirade against Jews. Gibson has repeatedly apologized, saying that the alcohol made him say terrible things against those of the Jewish religion. I'm inclined to believe that he is not an anti-semite.

But this situation has brought up the question: what is an anti-semite?

One definition that I've seen is "an opponent of Jews." Does this interpretation mean someone who disagrees with someone (who is Jewish) about a particular issue, or someone who doesn't like the Jewish religion, or someone who harbors hatred toward the Jewish religion and it's followers? What about someone who openly disagrees with a particular part of the Jewish faith itself? This definition is way too broad.

Wikipedia's definition is "hostility toward or prejudice against Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial group, which can range from individual hatred to institutionalized, violent persecution." This definition is better; though the definition doesn't include feelings less than hatred.

Now, does Mel fit into either of the above descriptions? I don't think so and here's why:

Consider: Mel Gibson has an Israeli bodyguard (possibly a former Israeli Moussad agent no less, if media rumors turn out to be true) and a Jewish spokeswoman. Would Mel hire someone he hates to protect him and his family (for the last ten years!) or to speak on his behalf? That doesn't really make sense.

Consider: is Mel Gibson anti-British? He made them look REAL bad in "The Patriot" and in "Braveheart" but does that mean he hates English people? NOT.

Consider: Mel Gibson holds to pre-Vatican II Catholic beliefs and has gone so far as to build a church on his property so that he can practice his religion freely. Does this mean he hates post-Vatican II Catholics? NOT.

He's no more an anti-Semite than he is a British hater or a Catholic hater.

I think that people are reading too much into Mel's behavior. He was drunken lush when he was pulled over, and he proved it when he opened his mouth. But an anti-Semite? I think not.

Unless he says otherwise, it's unproven speculation. But he has a ton of explaining to do to save his career from the damage that is being inflicted on it by those who think he is an anti-semite, and from his own appalling behavior.

But people should have the decency to refrain from putting labels on other people when the people they are accusing are getting treatment and choose not to hold daily press conferences to satisfy the media's thirst for scandal.

The treatment Gibson is getting in the media and in Hollywood is a scandal of its own.

Microsoft Telling Hackers to Take Their Best Shot at Cracking Windows Vista is Unwise

It's been reported for a little over a week now that Microsoft Corp. has challenged hackers to try and hack their new state-of-the-art (and unreleased) Windows Vista operating system.

I think someone's cheese has slid off his cracker. Microsoft is nuts to dare hackers to break their system. That's just asking for trouble and more embarassing security breaches.

Given Microsoft's track record so far, this looks like a publicity stunt. And they should remember that hackers will attack their operating system on their own time, not on Microsoft's.

OK, Oil Speculators, Tropical Storm Chris is Going Away: KNOCK IT OFF!!

They're doing it to us again!!!

Gas prices jumped from $2.94 a gallon up to $3.15 a gallon overnight due to the possibility of Tropical Storm Chris heading toward the Gulf Coast.

There was no disruption in the oil supply, no oil platforms or oil refineries were damaged or destroyed, and there was no increase in demand. And the storm is going away. This means gas prices should immediately return to $2.94 a gallon, correct??!

Of course not. They'll take three weeks to drop the prices down again, making more windfall profits along the way.

Revolting.

Media And Public Need to Leave Gibson Alone So He Can Focus on His Alcohol Rehab Program

Mel Gibson released a second statement yesterday, clarifying his first statement and acknowledging his tirade against Jews, and asked for forgiveness.

Now that that's out of the way, will people leave Gibson alone so he can focus all of his attention on his rehab program? In order for the treatment to work properly, he has to focus all of his attention and energy on getting better.

He can explain himself AFTER he's completed his treatment program.

People Should Remember that Mel Gibson is Fighting a Battle with Alcoholism (and Losing So Far): Tirade Was Alcohol Speaking

People have been very quick to get on the "Everybody Against Mel Gibson" bandwagon and that is a mistake.

Gibson is an admitted alcoholic. And following his arrest for driving under the influence, he entered a rehab program that deals with addictions.

It's an understood fact that when someone is drunk, they sometimes say things that are very offensive. That's the alcohol doing most of the talking. So when I hear that Mel Gibson went on an anti-Jewish tirade when he was extremely intoxicated, that's not the real Mel Gibson speaking.

Point: many are angry at Israel for bombing so many innocent civilians in their war against Hezbollah. I've expressed that kind of anger at Israel for all the collatoral damage they're causing on this blog. Alcohol is an an amplifier and if Gibson was feeling anger at Israel too, the alcohol impairment might well have amplified that anger and caused it to come out in the form of an unfortunate verbal assault on Jewish people.

He's also fighting to get out of a very long shadow cast by his father's anti-Semetic comments. He probably worries about what his dad is going to say next all the time, and the alcohol probably brought that out of him too.

I cannot condone what he said, but my understanding of alcoholism has increased exponentially in recent weeks and how alcohol treatment programs work. I understand a great deal more about it now having observed someone going through it.

Most of Gibson's tirade is the alcohol talking; when he's in the rehab program he will need to confront things he's said and done while under the influence of alcohol. This will be a part of it. And his fellow recovering alcoholics in AA will keep him honest too.

He may well come out after his treatment is done and come clean about how he feels about things. I will reserve my judgment until then. The press and Hollywood probably should too.

Nazi Aircraft Carrier Located on the Bottom of the Baltic Sea

One of World War II's secrets was finally revealed to the world last week with the discovery of the Nazi aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin on the bottom of the Baltic.

She was constructed in 1938 but never saw combat and was captured by the Soviets in 1945. The ship was roughly the same size as the largest American carriers of the war. When the German shipbuilding yards were about to be captured by Soviet forces in April 1945, the Nazis scuttled her.

But the Soviets refloated the ship, repaired it and used it as a ferry to haul German and Polish equipment back to the Soviet Union until at least 1947, when Western spies photographed her and witnessed what happened to her next.

According to recently released KGB documents and reports from the Western agents, the Soviet Navy and Red Air Force used her for target practice and sank her with bombs, gunfire and torpedoes. It was thought by Soviet officials that knowing how to sink a state-of-the-art aircraft carrier would be useful (if they ever had to fight the U.S. Navy) and was a valuable state secret, so the Soviets kept the exact location of the wreck of the Graf Zeppelin quiet for decades.

All of that changed last week when a team of oil explorers were doing a sounding on the bottom of the Baltic and detected the wreck. No one is sure which nation has control over the wreck, but the discovery has shed light on what was one of World War II's most facinating secrets.

Hezbollah Won't Honor Any Cease-Fire: Another Solution is Needed to Stop Mideast Fighting

The talk of an immediate cease-fire in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah/Lebanon is only that: talk.

Does anyone out there REALLY think that Hezbollah will stop fighting Israel because of a U.N. resolution? They're a terrorist organization committed to the destruction of Israel and have no desire to live alongside it.

And they don't care about who they sacrifice in the process. Remember: they're the ones who are placing their military hardware next to apartment buildings and houses in southern Lebanon and daring Israel to defend themselves, knowing full well that collatoral damage will destroy Lebanese property and lives.

Hezbollah's handlers in Tehran and Damascus aren't interested in allowing Israel to exist either and are even less inclined than Hezbollah to see an end to the open warfare. And they don't care if all of Lebanon is blown to kingdom come in the process.

The world knows full well that Hezbollah will continue to rain rockets down on Israeli cities but don't want Israel to fire back. Hezbollah must be disarmed or destroyed.

For all the noise that diplomats from around the world are making, I'm not seeing those nations volunteering troops for a U.N. force in southern Lebanon either. A cease-fire will hold only if the international community has the brass to back it up with boots on the ground. They should put up or shut up.

It's laughable that they want Israel to sacrifice their national treasure (their people who continue to die from Hezbollah rockets) in the name of peace while refusing to risk any of their own to insure that the peace is kept. And the U.S. shouldn't bail the world out on this either by contributing fifty times the amount of troops that the smallest donor nation provides either.

World complaints require a world fix. And if they're not part of the solution, then they're part of the problem.

Corporal Joe Micks---1983-2006---Rest in Peace Friend

I've just learned that a friend of mine from Scout camp and brother Eagle Scout was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq.

His name was Joe Micks and he was from Rapid River, Michigan. We served on Camp Hiawatha staff together. For a time he worked under me as a lifeguard on my waterfront staff. His brother Andy was also a staff member at Camp Hiawatha.

Two of his Army comrades were also killed in the bombing.

Joe's funeral was last week. I didn't find out until tonight due to time and distance. I'm very saddened by Joe's death and will always remember a young man with a sense of humor who knew what he wanted to do with his time and his skills.

Goodbye, Joe, and thank you.

Attack on U.N. Building in South Lebanon Was Hezbollah's Fault: They Were Using the Base as Cover for Rocket Launchings

How quickly the story changes.

It's being reported that the U.N. base that came under Israeli attack was being used as a shield to launch Hezbollah rockets into northern Israel. Apparently Hezbollah was inside the compound launching rockets at the time of the air attack and the damage to the U.N. compound was collatoral damage, as Hezbollah had hoped would happen.

This was a Hezbollah ploy from the get-go.

The peacekeepers won't use force to keep others out of their compound, so Hezbollah was running amok on the base.

It's time to pull the rest of the peacekeepers out until a cease-fire is established and definite rules of engagement against the terrorists are in place.

Dean Should Practice What He Preaches: Calls for End to Divisiveness While Comparing Opponent to Stalin

Howard Dean's hypocricy knows no bounds.

The Democratic Party chairman issued a statement calling for an end to divisiveness in Washington politics, while at the same time comparing Florida GOP Senate hopeful Katherine Harris to Stalin and calling her a "crook."

This comes on the heels of his proclaiming traditional marriage as "outmoded and bigoted" following court losses on gay marriage in Georgia and New York. (In those cases, the courts declined to rule on gay marriage, deferring to the respective state legislatures.)

Come on, Mr. Dean, practice what you preach.

As Bad as Middle East Looks, We Have to Remember that We Have Two Wars Going On Ourselves

We've been distracted from our ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq ever since fighting broke out in the Middle East and we need to refocus some of our attention on where it's needed.

It's being reported that a family in Texas has lost both of their sons in combat. One was killed two years ago in Iraq, the other recently died in Afghanistan.

Losing one son would be bad enough, but losing both? I cannot begin to imagine the pain that this family is going through.

Before we commit to joining any more foreign adventures, we need to conclude our business in Iraq and Afghanistan. We owe it to the fallen and their families to finish the job that they started and then get out of there.

So perish the thought of U.S. troops being peacekeepers in Lebanon. If we do go over there, it'll be to fight Hezbollah, not keep them away from Israel. Hezbollah has the blood of 241 U.S. Marines on their hands from the 1983 Beruit barracks bombing that they have yet to answer for.

Another Security Breach: 540,000 New Yorkers at Risk of Identity Theft

Oh, not again.

A computer containing names, addresses and social security numbers of some 540,000 disabled residents of New York may have gone missing. It was an insurance company that reported the computer missing.

When are these companies (and governments) going to do a better job of protecting people's privacy and identities?

Cargo Vessel from Singapore in MAJOR Trouble off Alaska

A cargo ship carrying 5,000 cars to Vancouver from overseas is floundering off the coast of Alaska at this late hour.

U.S. Coast Guard and Air Force units are enroute to the stricken vessel to try to save the crew and possibily the cargo ship, but it's taking on water and listing nearly 90 degrees to starboard. How this happened is unknown, but it got into trouble sometime on Sunday and began sending out distress calls.

Amazing photo.

Lebanon Rejects Secretary Rice's Peace Plan: No Surprise There

News came today that the Lebanese rejected Secretary of State Rice's plan for peace in the Israeli-Hezbollah-Lebanon war which entered Day 12 today.

It's hard to talk peace when one's country is being blown to smithereens. That's how the Lebanese reacted to talk of dealing with Hezbollah while the bombs continue to fall. It's unfortunate that all sides are being so bull-headed about a simple cease-fire between Lebanon and Israel.

Here's an alternative cease-fire deal that Secretary Rice should offer to Israel and Lebanon:

Lebanon and Israel should agree to stop shooting at each other directly. No more Israeli bombing of central and northern Lebanon, and the Lebanese forces stay out of southern Lebanon where Hezbollah's fighters are. Lebanon allows Israel a free hand to deal with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon until the rockets stop coming across the border and the fate of Israel's missing soldiers are determined. Israel promises to focus it's firepower against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon exclusively.

This would allow Israel to effectively harness it's military power and get on with sending more Hezbollah terrorists to hell where they belong.

This plan is far more effective than the ones being floated by the U.S., Israel and Lebanon so far. The politicians really need to get their heads out of the sand and pay attention to what's really going on around them.

Hezbollah Social Services: Public Face for Terrorists and Murderers

Sickening.

Some in the media over here are trying to humanize the Hezbollah movement for their works of charity over in Lebanon.

We'll be sure to include that in their collective obituary along with the following: THEY'VE KIDNAPPED PEOPLE and are FIRING ROCKETS AT ISRAEL.

Here's how the equation works: no kidnappings + no rockets = no Israeli military action.

Those in the know should get it into their heads that Hezbollah is erasing their own good works with the evil that they are committing in the name of God.

If Hezbollah REALLY wanted to do good things for the people of Lebanon, they'd sell their weapons back to the Iranians and Syrians, renounce terrorism and use the money from the weapons sales to fund their charities. Until they do, it's just a public face that they use while attempting to murder people miles away.

Vague Language on Cruise Ship Accident Leaves Many Questions

An Associated Press story came in this morning about a cruise ship unexpected listing to port after suffering a "steering failure." Hundreds were thrown about by the sudden movement, water drained out of the swimming pool and the occupants of the pool suddenly found themselves sliding down the wet deck into whatever was in their way. Dozens of injuries were reported. Windows were broken, furniture was destroyed, TVs were thrown from their perches and broken and all sorts of other damage was inflicted on the ship.

The cruise ship was the month-old Crown Princess and displaces 113,000 tons of water with its huge bulk.

Parts of this story don't make sense.

The story quoted a passenger as saying that "several of the upper decks were flooded with seawater." Look at how high the upper decks are on the ship in the photo above. If several of the upper decks were flooded with seawater, exactly how far over did the ship go?

Now, if some of the LOWER decks were flooded with seawater, then that would make more sense, but the UPPER decks? What kind of steering failure would push the ship nearly onto it's side?

And the damage all over the ship? People were violently thrown about and were quoted in the story as "hanging onto stuff for dear life." They also indicated all of this happened very quickly; far too quickly for a steering problem to have this kind of widespread impact all over the Crown Princess.

It sounds like this ship was hit by a rogue wave. What's really going on here?

Potential U.N. Cease-Fire Will Not Hold: Hezbollah is a TERRORIST Group, Not a Nation and Not a Member of the United Nations

Israel is taking military action on three fronts, not two as is widely accepted.

They are going after Hamas, Hezbollah and Lebanon. The first two are vicious enemies of democracy where no U.N.-brokered cease-fire will hold. The third has a weak government whose military is significantly weaker than Hezbollah and would be defeated if sent against Hezbollah. They would blow the Lebanese army away.

Hamas and Hezbollah need to be destroyed, and Israel is making it happen. That's the bottom line.

I'm not too happy about Israel bombing civilian targets in Gaza and in Lebanon, but chances are good that a cease-fire will be worked out between the governments of Lebanon and Israel within a couple of weeks.

But the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel will continue indefinitely; southern Lebanon will become a no-man's land for the immediate future.

And after giving it a great deal more thought, I do think that the Lebanese government is hoping that Hezbollah gets taken off the Lebanese map so that the democratically elected government of Lebanon can get down to the business of establishing control over all of Lebanon, and not just the north and central parts of the country.

They don't need the Iranians and Syrians sticking their noses into Lebanese business through Hezbollah either. Peace will be easier to achieve without Hezbollah being around to screw things up.

International Community Begins to Float Some Good Ideas to Stop Middle East Fighting: Syria and Iran Continue to Destablize Situation

The international community seems to be getting it together. The G-8 issued a statement yesterday blaming militants for starting the conflict, for Hamas and Hezbollah to cease fire and return Israel's captured soldiers, and for Israel to show "utmost restraint" in their attacks if they have to defend themselves.

Tony Blair and UN Secretary-General Annan are floating a plan to send peacekeepers into the Middle East. This is not a bad idea at all, provided it doesn't involve U.S. troops as they are a magnet for terrorist attacks themselves and that Hezbollah and Hamas are our enemies too. The U.S. would rather see Hezbollah and Hamas destroyed.

On the other side of the coin, Iran is threatening Israel with "unimaginable losses" if Israel attacks Syria. despite the fact that Israel could turn Iran into glass at a moment's notice with its arsenal of nuclear weapons. Iran is banking on what it sees as Israeli reluctance to use Israeli nuclear arms, but the Israeli government has never been afraid to use their military anywhere in the world for any reason.

Syria appears to be supplying Hezbollah with Qassam rockets. The giveaway is the steel ball bearings that are in the rocket's warhead. These are unique to Syrian weapons and are designed to scatter at high speed following the rocket's impact and to hit unarmored targets...like people. Hundreds of the steel balls have been recovered by Israeli authorities as well as being pulled out of people hit by these terror weapons.

What is yet to come?

Tsunami Hits Indonesia Following 7.2 Magnitude 'Quake: Extent of Casualties and Damage Unknown

As if there wasn't enough going on in the world right now, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast off of Java this morning and generated a tsunami that slammed into Indonesia's coastline.

This was definitely not a repeat of the monster tsunami that struck the region in December 2004 that killed over 229,000 people, but still, the waves were enough to obliterate some structures along the coastline of Java Island.

Tsunami warnings are posted for neighboring countries for the next several hours.

Israel Uses a Sledgehammer to Kill a Mosquito: Major Disaster in the Making and the Bush Administration is Acting as the Israeli "Yes-Man."

Missiles and rockets are flying in both directions over the Israeli/Lebanese border as Hezbollah and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) continue to mix it up.

One has to wonder why the Israelis targeted a power plant in Gaza and why the fledgling democratic Lebanese government has been targeted by Israeli bombs and missiles. Israel knows where Hezbollah is firing their rockets from, and they also know where Hamas is doing it from as well. Yet Israeli bombs and missiles are hitting civilian targets as well as legitimate terrorist targets in both Gaza and in Lebanon.

By the way, the power plant that was destroyed in Gaza was insured....by a U.S. government agency. So the U.S. taxpayer will be replacing the plant that Israel wrecked.

And why isn't the U.S. offering alternative U.N. Security Council resolutions to the ones that have been proposed so far? Lebanon is asking for a cease-fire, which the Israelis and the U.S. both rejected. What does Lebanon have to do, offer to unconditionally surrender to beg Israel to stop targeting civilian assets?

Israel does have a right to defend itself, but not to punish noncombatant civilians who have nothing to do with Israel's missing soldiers. Bombing civilian airports, power plants, bridges, and roads to hurt Hezbollah actually hurts ordinary civilians more.

Remember, Israel has invaded a fledgling democracy that is still struggling to emerge from the shadow of Syria. This is a country that was hailed only a few short months ago as a shining example of the Lebanese people choosing democracy over foreign military occupation. Yet President Bush quickly turned on Lebanon to support Israel's right to self-defense. This could be a very costly decision.

The weak Lebanese government may be toppled by this war launched by Israel. What's going to replace it? Has President Bush or the Israeli Prime Minister considered that?

Israel should limit itself to fighting Hezbollah and Hamas, and the U.S. should be insisting on that point instead of handing the Israelis a blank check and a permission slip to do what it wants in the name of self-defense.

U.N. Security Council Needs Major Housecleaning: Five Permanent Seats Should Be Turned Into Rotating Seats

The United Nations Security Council is cracking again, and it's because of the veto-holding members who hold the permanent seats.

Three permanent members of the council plus the majority of the non-permanent member states want sanctions against North Korea for their reckless firing of ICBMs and Scud-type missiles, but Russia and China don't. And because they don't, the motion auto-fails.

Here we go again with the Security Council quivering under stress.

They really need to look at permanently abolishing the permanent seats on the Security Council and replacing them with rotating seats so that they match the rest of the council. A two thirds majority should be able to pass motions pertaining to things like North Korean aggression and dealing with issues like Darfur or Rwanda.

The Russians and Chinese refusing to budge on North Korea is simply another indication that the Security Council needs to be revamped.

North Korean Counterfeiting of U.S. Money Deserves Sanctions: Kim Jong-Il's Government Doesn't Deserve to Exist

North Korea's protesting U.S. economic policy toward them is laughable. They brought U.S. ire down on themselves.

Pyongyang suspended it's participation in six-nation nuclear talks because of their anger with the U.S. government going after international banks that were aiding and abetting North Korean government counterfeiting of U.S. dollars among other things.

In fact, the recent changes in how our money looks is an effort to curb North Korean counterfeiting of U.S. dollars. So the next time you have an orange-back $10 bill in your hand, it's (in large part) because of North Korea's illegal activities.

Kim Jong-Il's officials use their counterfeit U.S. money to maintain an extravagant lifestyle while their destitute people STARVE to death.

This North Korean government must disappear from the face of the Earth and it's members prosecuted for allowing so many of their own people to suffer and die while Kim Jong-Il and his brood get fat at the costly expense of so many others.

Here's a historical context to put this in as provided by Claudia Rosett of USA Today in Friday's USA Today:

In 1994, when Kim Jong Il took over from his late father, North Korea was pursuing the nuclear bomb. Hoping to coax Kim into the civilized fold, the United States led the way in setting up a nuclear-freeze deal, in which a consortium of nations sent North Korea fuel and food, and began building Kim two modern nuclear reactors.

Kim pocketed the aid for his military, starved to death an estimated 1 to 2 million North Koreans, test-fired a missile in 1998 over Japan, sold missiles to the Middle East and cheated on the nuclear freeze. When U.S. diplomats finally confronted North Korea in 2002 over its secret uranium enrichment program, Kim's regime declared it had every right to nuclear weapons, fired up its old Yongbyon nuclear plant, renounced the non-proliferation treaty, threatened the United States, Japan and South Korea with a "sea of fire" and "total war," and in 2004 invited a U.S. delegation to come gaze upon a sample of plutonium.

The U.N. Security Council ought to get busy and start securing North Korea's cooperation by any means necessary. And if that means imposing sanctions, then they should DO IT!

North Korea Launches Seventh Missile Today; More Expected

International outrage is continuing to grow over North Korea's missile barrage that has taken place over the course of two days. The U.N. Security Council is meeting at this hour to decide what to do about North Korea's blatant act of aggression.

A seventh missile was launched today.

It's become apparent that North Korea should be completely disarmed as they are too immature to be trusted with ANY military equipment. Why do they need a 900,000-man army? To enslave their own people? To stop a South Korean invasion? To aid in Afghanistan or Iraq? NOT!!

They should be putting all their military money into buying fuel and food for their starving masses instead of buying armor and armament.

North Korea is it's own worst enemy and that scenario is playing out right in front of us. Their stunt is going to backfire.

North Korean Missile Launches Continue

Unbelievable...North Korea launched a sixth missile 30 minutes ago.

They're in so much trouble already and they're still firing away.

Missiles Fly over Sea of Japan: North Korea Launches Combination of Medium and Long Range Missiles

The little North Korean runt Kim Jong Il is acting up again, defying the international community and test-firing an ICBM as well as a number of shorter-range missiles to act as decoys.

The ICBM exploded 35-40 seconds after launch, but it doesn't really matter. North Korea is going to get slapped around now via economic sanctions and other non-military means.

It's good that the missile malfunctioned and didn't crash down on Japanese territory. The repercussions would have been grave as the Japanese might have retaliated by launching air strikes against the base from which the missile had originated, as would have been their right.

The other missiles splashed down in the sea of Japan some 300+ miles off the coast of Japan.

This was clearly planned to coincide with our Independence Day celebrations, though the launch of the shuttle Discovery was not something that the North Koreans anticipated. But the North Koreans probably saw that as icing on the cake. But if they're looking for a comparison of their rocket technology to ours, then they have quite a ways to go if their rocket exploding was any indication.

No North Korean runt will rain on our parade. North Korea will get slapped around by it's neighbors and the U.N. while our Independence Day fireworks will go on as scheduled.

North Korea's splash was only as big as their missile hitting the water.

Discovery Lifts Off from Florida: So Far, So Good

NASA successfully launched space shuttle Discovery this afternoon. At first look, there appeared to be no damage done to the shuttle, though there was foam falloff as expected. NASA engineers are looking over tons of camera footage to make certain that it will be safe for Discovery to return to Earth safely in two weeks.

They really need to get the foam inside the tank somehow; that would eliminate this needless risk from a shuttle program that already has enough risks that go along with it.

Congratulations to NASA on a spectacular 4th of July launch.

Happy Independence Day

Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July!

Remember...drinking and fireworks definitely don't mix.

Surprise, Surprise: NASA Engineers Find Five Inch Crack in Discovery's External Fuel Tank Foam

The space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank foam is cracking and it hasn't even launched yet.

Are NASA managers getting the message yet? FIX THE PROBLEM.

NASA Delays Shuttle Launch a Second Time; NASA Still Has Time to Stop a Terrible Mistake From Happening

Follow the train of thought, if you will.

If you put a fox into a henhouse, he's going to have chicken for dinner EVERY time.

If you don't fix a recurring problem on a space shuttle blasting it's way out of the Earth's atmosphere, the problem will be repeated EVERY time.

So why is NASA insisting on putting the shuttle into space without solving the problem of foam coming off the external fuel tank? As things stand right now, the foam will begin falling off as soon as there is upward thrust from the solid rocket boosters. A one-pound piece of foam hit the Columbia at over 500mph and blew a hole in the shuttle's wing, compromising the heat shield and dooming the shuttle. Discovery narrowly avoided the same fate last year when foam came off the fuel tank but just missed hitting the spacecraft.

NASA is rushing into things and endangering the entire shuttle program. If the Discovery is lost, they're going to start dismantling the shuttles Atlantis and the Endeavor before the day is out.

The new safety features that they've installed on the Discovery will keep the crew alive this time, but still, what happens if the Discovery is damaged and they have to send up the Atlantis on a rescue mission and that spacecraft gets damaged by the foam falloff problem? Are they going to rush the Endeavor back into service to bring back TWO shuttle crews knowing that the foam could strike and cripple Endeavor too? And will there be enough food and air on the International Space Station to support THREE shuttle crews who are trapped in space?

The chance of all this happening is remote, but if Discovery is deemed unsafe for atmospheric interface due to foam compromising the shuttle's structural integrity, they have already stated that they will send Atlantis up on a rescue mission within 25 days; there's no way that they can diagnose the problem and fix it in that time.

If the engineers think they need more time to fix the problem, NASA should give it to them.