Government Seizes Four Retired F-14 Tomcats To Prevent Iran From Getting Its Hands on Spare Parts

The government seized four retired F-14 Tomcats today that were insufficiently prepared to be put on display this morning. Under the law, all military aircraft need to be demilitarized and be made incapable of flight. Apparently these four aircraft were not sufficiently dismantled enough.

One of the fighters was used as a prop for USA Network's popular "JAG" series. Another was said to still have military grade afterburners.

Iran is the only nation on earth that flies the F-14 as part of it's air force now; the U.S. retired it's entire fleet of F-14s last year due to the cost of operating them and the amount of time needed on the ground to keep them in the air. Government officials were worried that Iranian agents could acquire needed parts from the retired aircraft to service their F-14s.

Iran is scouring the globe for parts for the fighter; many are not airworthy anymore, and those that are need a lot of work. The U.S. recently banned selling of F-14 parts worldwide, partly out of concern that the parts could be transferred to Iran.

The four F-14s seized were at airports in California.

Death of a Comics Hero: Captain America Killed by Sniper in Today's Issue of "Captain America"

I'm going to take a little bit of time with this one.

Marvel Comics killed off one of their longest lasting icons in the final core issue of their controversial "Civil War" series.

Captain America bought the farm, felled by an assassin's bullets.

In 2006, the Civil War storyline opened in the Marvel Universe and took in many of the superheros, including Captain America, Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Hulk, the Punisher, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and dozens of others.

In the first issue, a team of superheroes battles a group of villains and things go very badly. One of the villains blows apart and six hundred innocent lives--including many children--are lost in the explosion. The public demands the U.S. government take action.

In response, the government requires all superhumans to unmask and register with the government. The superheros break into two camps: one that supports the Superhuman Registration Act lead by Iron Man, and those who support civil liberties--lead by Captain America. All who refuse to unmask and register are declared fugitives by the U.S. government.

Many superhumans--some of them bad guys-- join Iron Man's side with promises of government pardons for their prior actions.

Spider-Man unmasks at a press conference to show his support for the Act; the shockwaves from that were/are still reverberating in the Marvel Universe. He eventually changed sides and was declared a renegade.

Several major battles between Iron Man's government faction and Captain America's Secret Avengers took place; casualties were taken by both sides. In the final issue, a hunted Captain America surrendered to Iron Man, throwing his mask to the ground--which the Punisher picked up. He ordered his troops to surrender, and is assassinated as he is brought in handcuffs to the courthouse.

The allegories to our post-9/11 world are unmistakable. The loss of civil liberties in exchange for security, an unpopular war--fought on our own soil in Marvel's case--in progress that kills as many civilians as it does combatants, the Patriot Act superseding (and duplicating) laws already on the books, secret trials, attacks on superhumans by ordinary citizens which mirror the unfortunate revenge attacks carried out on Muslims in the days following 9/11, superhumans being locked away without cause or trial, and many other reflections--of us.

Fortunately, many comic book heroes have this knack for surviving--even as they appear to die. The Death of Superman by DC Comics in 1993 was a classic example. It's unlikely that Marvel would kill off one of their most beloved comic characters for long--especially since he's still making money for them.

This has been one of Marvel's more fascinating storylines in recent memory.

More Political Hypocrisy: Critics Slam Coulter for Calling Edwards a Gay Slur, But It's OK for Them to Call Their Rivals "Nazis"

Mr. Pot, leave Mr. Kettle alone.

Ann Coulter turned a lot of heads by referring to John Edwards as a "faggot" and then followed up her remarks by saying she wouldn't denigrate gays by comparing them to John Edwards.

Demands from various individuals and groups have been for her to apologize for her remarks.

I don't think she should. Not until some others do first.

After all, some of these SAME people have nothing to say when THEY refer to their political opponents (or the U.S. military--SENATOR DURBIN) as "Nazis" or other foul expressions.

It's opposite sides of the same coin. Throw the thing out.

But these people shouldn't go crying foul while overlooking the use of the Nazi label against the other side. "Nazi" hurts just as much as the aforementioned gay slur.

It's just more of the "I'm going to hit you. Don't hit me back" routine.

California Town to Use Birth Control to Limit....SQUIRREL POPULATION??!

Only in California...

A California town council is concerned about a large squirrel population in a park and is going to use birth control to try and reduce their numbers.

SQUIRREL BIRTH CONTROL??!

Why don't they reduce the surplus animal-activist population first? They'll have to be shot, of course. (I'M KIDDING!!)

This is what happens when activists have more of a say than common-sense people do. Just declare a hunting season with bounties to be paid for each squirrel carcass and be done with it!

Squirrel birth control. Ay yi yi.

Is Alan Greenspan Retired, or Isn't He?

Stocks took a tumble late last week and early this week partly because former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan told a financial newspaper that there was a "one in three chance of the U.S. economy slipping into a recession" in 2007.

Investors keep a close eye and ear out for any bad news whatsoever, and Greenspan still wields considerable influence over stock market happenings, though he retired from his old job.

Is Mr. Greenspan retired or not? His remarks are clearly undermining the current chair, which could adversely affect the markets.

Those two had better put their heads together.

Bush Administration Chooses New Nuclear Warhead Design; Critics Charge Hypocrisy in Move As Negotiations With North Korea and Iran Continue

The Bush Administration has chosen a new nuclear warhead design to replace aging warheads sitting atop ICBMs for more than twenty years.

The move is to match Russia’s announced upgrading of their entire nuclear missile inventory back in December of last year. The timing of the U.S. announcement couldn’t have come at a worse time.

With nuclear negotiations ongoing with North Korea and Iran, the move will undoubtedly be seen as hypocrisy on the part of the U.S. in upgrading its nuclear arsenal while talking to other nations about not developing their own nuclear arms.

There is a very fine line that Washington needs to walk at this moment, and announcing a new nuclear warhead design and plans to replace obsolete ICBMs with state-of-the-art ones isn’t a real smart idea.

North Korea’s already screaming about it; how far behind can Iran be?

Walter Reed Army Hospital Problems are Tip of Iceberg: Government is Really Screwing Up

The brew-ha-ha over the poor condition of Walter Reed Army Medical Center seems to have raised the public consciousness over the very bad condition that parts of the facility are in.

Defense Secretary Gates is angry; the Army secretary and the commanding officer of Walter Reed were sacked, and repairs are seemingly underway.

Big whoop. The resignations and firings are meaningless, unless something positive results.

Walter Reed Army Hospital is slated for closure, and a new Walter Reed hospital complex is to be built. There was a reason for the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) folks to do this. They said in their report that wounded soldiers and their families deserved a state-of-the-art 21st Century facility and that the current facility wasn't up to the task. It also said it would cost too much to repair the existing facility.

Instead of pumping millions into Walter Reed's highly publicized problem areas, why don't they close down Building 18, where the attention is focused? They're already renting hotel rooms or bed space at other hospitals for wounded and injured soldiers; they can handle doing that for the occupants of Building 18, too, until the new facilities are ready.

These soldiers were sent into hell to begin with; why are they going through hell back over here, too, in their own country? They don't deserve this.

Congress needs to make sure that all military medical facilities have the funding that they need; that includes access to mental health care and whatever else the soldier needs to recover, and banning medical co-pays for veterans wounded in combat.

Our government sent them there; it should be on the government's dime. Not one penny should be coming out of the pockets of the soldier or his/her family. Nightmare stories have been coming out about this for quite some time; soldiers are paying for government screw ups.

The soldier and the soldier's family should not see one page of paperwork; most are inundated with complex paperwork which, if not filled out properly, can deny the soldier his/her earned benefits.

The government needs to get this right, and soon. To allow this to happen is unthinkable.

Kerry Attacks Ambassadorial Nominee for Supporting Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in 2004 Election: Sore Loser

Senator Kerry went after Ambassador to Belgium-nominee Sam Fox for his support of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth group in his confirmation hearings yesterday.

That group went after Kerry's war record during the 2004 Presidential Elections after allegations arose that Kerry was distorting his military record and that he had refused to sign a Form 180 privacy waiver which would have allowed the Navy to release all of his records.

Kerry finally did sign the form in 2005, months after losing the Presidential Election. We'll skip his excuse for not signing the form earlier, but it is in the linked article.

He may have released the information in 2005 to avoid being attacked on the same issue if he decided to run for President in 2008 (he decided against running for now).

The records contained nothing new or explosive as some of the hard-core Swift Boat Veterans had been expecting. After-action reports of the battles that Kerry got decorated for are still missing, so the Swift Boat Veterans will continue to be a force to be considered.

Enter Sam Fox. Fox is a conservative St. Louis businessman who gave the Swift Boat Veterans $50,000 in 2004, during the height of the Kerry-Swift Boat Veterans fight. Kerry challenged Fox in the hearing, saying that Fox's decision makes him unfit to be a United States Ambassador.

I don't care about the Ambassadorship or who has it.

I'm not happy that Kerry is attacking Fox for supporting a conservative group and exercising his freedom of association, which is derived from the freedom of assembly clause and right to petition the government to redress grievances.

If we applied the same standard to Kerry that Kerry is applying to Fox, Kerry's membership in the Skull and Bones secret society would make him unfit to be a United States Senator.

The difference is that the Swift Boat for Veterans group operates in the open, where everyone can see them and what they're doing; S&B does not.

So who's more suspect: a businessman who gives $50,000 to a conservative group who wants to be an Ambassador, or a United States Senator who joined an elite secret society, wants everything both ways, engages in deception throughout the Presidential campaign, and refuses to allow the Navy to let his official military record to be released to the media--even thought the release would have helped his campaign against the Swift Boat Vets?

Senator Kerry ought to get over it.

One of Life's Mysteries: Father Who Lost 3 Daughters in 2004 Tsunami is Now Proud Father of Three Triplet Daughters

A policeman from Indonesia who lost all three of his daughters and his wife during the 2004 tsunami (which ravaged Indonesia and ten other nations in the region) experienced a miracle when his new wife gave birth to triplets in Banda Aceh--all daughters.

I hope they all survive too.

Even though it's out of the international news for the most part, vast areas of Southeast Asia remain devastated; the people there are still suffering from lack of basic necessities and mourning their dead, so it's encouraging when news like this comes out of the disaster area.

Al Gore Needs to Practice What He Preaches: His Energy Use is Off the Scale

How's this for an inconvenient truth (about Al Gore)?

He's the undisputed King of Hypocrisy and hubris! And yet, the press is totally ignoring Mr. panic monger's using more energy and gas in one month than "...an average American family does...in one year."

Oink!! Oink!!

Democrats Shouldn't Limit U.S. Military Mission in Iraq: Very Bad Move in the Making

The latest Democratic proposal for Iraq has the scope of the U.S. military's role reduced to fighting al-Qaeda terrorists, training the Iraqi security forces, and helping Iraq to secure it's borders.

A question for the Democratic brain trusts in Washington before they even think of moving forward on this legislation:

How does one identify an al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) member? They won't be wearing name badges or wearing black t-shirts with big lettering that identify them as a member of that particular group. Last time anyone checked, they wear civilian clothing.

If they limit the U.S. military to fighting AQI alone, what about Ansar al-Islam, the Mahdi Army, the Tawhad and Khalid bin Al Walid Brigade, Al-Istikhbarat al-Askariyya, Fedayeen Saddam, Izz al-Din al-Qassam Forces/Hamas members, plus the dozens of local insurgent groups who are striking at U.S. targets in Iraq?

To attempt to bind the hands of our troops is a very bad idea. That has already happened through political mismanagement of the war through November of last year; this would be an even bigger mistake.

That's not even bringing up the constitutional issues that will arise between Congress and the White House if Congress attempts to circumvent Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution.

If they want to revise their 2002 vote on the war, they can have at it.

But attempting to micromanage the war by binding the hands of the military in what it can and cannot do in Iraq is an overreach of Congress on one hand, and a grave mistake on the other.

Polls Find Adults are Scaring Young Kids About Global Warming

A recent poll in the UK has found that 50% of kids aged 7-11 are losing sleep over global warming concerns.

The article takes the side of the global warming crowd, while ignoring the detrimental effect that unfounded worries are taking on kids, if the poll is correct.

Adults need to moderate their global warming rhetoric when explaining it to elementary aged children. If these kids are losing sleep over something as politicized and misrepresented as global warming is, then the adults who are teaching these kids about global warming have gone way over the line and contributed to childhood anxiety over a naturally occurring process with a human (and COW) component.

The more brainwashing that global warming people do to children at a young age, the less likely they will be able to absorb new information about global warming once we do (finally) get rock-hard evidence that will directly contradict parts of current global warming propaganda.

These children won't believe it because they've been politicized and brainwashed into believing the propaganda from the get-go. That's wrong, and very dangerous.

People who believe global warming can be stopped are hopelessly stupid. Save the planet, my afterburner. But a seven-year-old can't tell the fact from the stupidity. Shame, shame, shame.

British Begin Pullout as Shiite Civil War Rages in Southern Iraq: If That's the New Measure of Success, We Should Pull Out of Baghdad Immediately

British Prime Minister Tony Blair went on British national TV and announced that 1,600 British soldiers will be out of Iraq by the end of summer. Blair and the White House said separately that success was the main reason that the British were able to begin pulling their army out.

Success?

Last time anyone looked, there was a full-scale Shiite civil war raging all around the British sector, which is centered around Basra. The Mahdi Army is trying to conquer the area for Muqtada al-Sadr and the British are claiming success?

If a civil war is the new measure of success, then why are we sending more troops to Baghdad while the British are beginning to pull out of southern Iraq? What??! What??! Baghdad isn't screwed up enough yet??! Oh. OK.

This war is getting stranger and stranger every day. Now utter disasters are being claimed as successes.

Murtha's Proposal Intrudes on Separation of Powers; The President in CinC, Not Murtha and Not Congress

Congressman Jack Murtha is announcing plans to put all kinds of conditions on what the military must do in order to get money that's been allocated to waging war in Iraq.

They include: one year of training for any soldier designated for a combat tour in Iraq, one year time limit in Iraq with no extensions, no soldier goes to Iraq unless fully trained and fully equipped, and one year between combat tours.

These are great ideas, but there's only one problem. These ideas should be coming from the Constitutionally recognized Commander in Chief.

That's not Jack Murtha; nor is it any of his colleagues in Congress. It's the President of the United States.

Congress does have the power of the purse, but only to the point of a "yes" or "no" vote to spending bills of their or the President's creation. That means if the majority of Congress wants to pass a spending bill that funds the military but ends funding for the Iraq War, they can do so at will.

But these conditions (which I do like) cannot be made by Congress as to how the war is waged and how military personnel are moved around. That falls into the President's jurisdiction.

Murtha ought to push for President Bush to adopt these "suggestions" as military policy, and get to the main event of the Democratic agenda that they keep denying: their intent to de-fund the war itself (which I think is unwise at this point).

There's got to be a better way to expressing displeasure with the President than feeding parts of the Constitution into a paper shredder. Bush did it first (equal protection), now Congress wants to do it too.

THROW THEM ALL OUT OF OFFICE!

Sunni Terror Groups Strike At Iranian Government: Islamic Press Claims Bombs Were Manufactured in U.S.

A radical Sunni terror group launched a series of terror attacks in and around the city of Zahedan, Iran, over the last week, killing Revolutionary Guard militia members and prompting the Islamic press to claim that the bombs were American built.

That idea is ludicrous as Iran makes it's own bombs and has a black market for those Iranian bombs. It's more likely that they were Iranian-built bombs bought on Iran's black market, which has also supplied weapons to Iraqi insurgents too.

This is the Iranian press and government trying to blame their terrorist problems on other governments, despite Tehran's probable involvement in training these terrorists for action in Iraq. They didn't take into account the possibility that their terror trainees were going to take their weapons and use them on the people who are their real enemies--the Iranian military.

That's as good an explanation as Iran's, and probably not far off the mark either.

In any case, Iran should go bark up it's own tree.

Practice of Extending Tours of Duty in War Zones Must End: It's Not Helping Military Families That Are on Verge of Breaking Apart

Every time a military unit is sent into a war zone, there is a spike in the number of divorces in the unit, or problems at home involving children get worse. Extensions of these tours of duty make bad situations even worse and push borderline families over the edge. It has to stop.

Military families are suffering already; some of these soldiers need to get home immediately and get their kids and families back on an even keel. And they need to see to their own physical and mental health too.

Extending tours is not good policy; and while some of the soldiers may not mind it, their families certainly do.

If we are sending these troops to Iraq or Afghanistan for one year, then they should go for one year and then come back, regardless of the security situation. If anything, we should be shortening their stays---sending them over for one year, then bringing them back ahead of schedule.

That plan wouldn't work with the current rotation plan and troop levels, but it's something they really ought to look at and make alterations to accommodate it. And if that means pulling out 60,000 troops this year to increase the size of the soldier pool available for future rotations, then they should do it.

Something has to change, and soon.

JetBlue Incident Shows (Again) That a "Passenger Bill of Rights" is Needed When Bad Weather Shuts Down Airports

Last week's monster snow and ice storm exposed a glaring weakness in the airline industry that should have been dealt with already, but hasn't been.

Passengers aboard some JetBlue Airways jets were forced to sit for close to ten hours in jets that couldn't take off as the storm shut down JFK International Airport. The aircraft were parked on the taxiway waiting for clearance to take off and hours went by.

Many of the aircraft didn't have food or water on board and the doors had to be opened every ten minutes to let fresh air into the passenger cabins. Still more hours went by. Finally buses arrived to take the passengers off the planes and return them to the terminal, which should have happened hours before. I can't imagine waiting ten hours for a plane to take off.

JetBlue offered free tickets, discounts and other bonuses to their captive passengers once they were back in the terminal. Analysts called the move "smart." JetBlue also announced that they were introducing a passenger bill of rights on their own.

Other airlines are refusing to do so; they would rather have dissatisfied customers vote with their feet, which leaves them free to take their passengers hostage in the meantime. They shouldn't be waylaying people like that.

It's a wonder that the passengers didn't try to seize control of the jet in their frustration.

Judge in Anna Nicole Smith Case Needs to Be Replaced Immediately: He's Worse than the OJ Simpson Judge

The judge in Florida who is in charge of handling where Anna Nicole Smith is buried is a cowboy and needs to be replaced.

CourtTV was shaking it's head in confusion this morning over what the judge was allowing the attorneys to say, and refusing to rule on a single objection that was raised as the various motions were filed. He's also talking more about himself than he is the case. Who cares about his college career and his job as a substitute teacher?

It's not his job to educate the TV audience in the finer points of Florida custody law; he knows what the law is; the attorneys do too; that is his audience.

His sole job is to rule on where Anna Nicole is buried; the paternity issue for Smith's infant daughter is being handled by another court but he wants to rule on that too and attempted to take jurisdiction over the California case, setting up a jurisdiction battle with the court in California.

In my opinion, this type of showboating hasn't been seen since Judge Ito's clumsy handling of the OJ Simpson murder trial in California.

Someone needs to take charge in that Florida court room; the judge sure isn't.

Anna Nicole Smith Nightmare: An Example of an Estate Fight

The Anna Nicole Smith case that is currently raging in courtrooms in Los Angeles, Florida, and in the Bahamas are examples of why everyone who has underage children, or any assets, or wishes regarding where they are buried should be spelled out in precise detail in a current will.

Granted, the Smith case(s) are an extreme example of why this is a good idea.

I don't even want to talk about all the people coming out of the woodwork claiming to be the father of Smith's infant daughter, other than to say that it's disgusting, or Anna Nicole's occupation or life choices in becoming the type of star that she was.

But there definitely are lessons to be drawn out of this.

The Smith case has been turned on it's head due to an outdated will which names her deceased twenty-year-old son as the sole beneficiary, while not mentioning her new daughter (or husband/boyfriend/whatever) at all. It did not specify where she was to be buried. It was not filed in court, which the lawyers immediately attacked.

It does give Howard K. Stern, the legal father of Anna Nicole's infant daughter and executor of the will, power to settle some of these issues pending legal challenges.

Then there are the attorneys: Anna Nicole's mom has one, Howard K. Stern has at least one and IS one, all the prospective fathers (sickening) who are seeking custody of the infant, the prosecuting attorneys in at least two jurisdictions who are conducting criminal investigations, all in court arguing with the judge. It's mass confusion.

It's really sad to see a situation this bad played out on CourtTV and on E! and all the networks, but hopefully it causes at least one family that hasn't planned anything to get started and to maintain their plans with their changing life situations. The Anna Nicole situation is sad, and rotten to the core, but some lessons from this spectacle can be taken from it.

Estate fights can get as nasty as this one, especially when an entire legion of competing attorneys get involved, and vast fortunes are involved, or custody of wealthy heirs are in question, or there's any question of custody at all.

That's why families should spend some time getting end-of-life issues resolved before it is a problem. That's the most valuable lesson to be taken from this celebrity situation.

Ugly, ugly, ugly.

Democrats Rule By Opinion Poll: This is Worse Than Trying to Replace Something With Nothing

The Democrats appear to be heading in an unprecedented direction in their control of both houses of Congress. And many Republicans are following their example. And it's going to come around and bite them when they least expect it.

I speak of opinion polls. Many in Congress are bending like reeds in the wind when they hear what the latest opinion polls are. John Kerry was notorious for this during the 2004 Presidential election, refusing to say where he stood on issues until he saw which direction the wind was blowing first.

Many other Democrats did this too, refusing to say where they stood until they figured out which direction their voters were leaning, then all of a sudden coming up with all kinds of sound bites that their people wanted to hear.

Politicians are well aware of this, but the public needs to learn that opinion polls reflect the feelings of people based on the information that they've been made aware of. In other words, it's stuff on the surface. Imagine a lake:

Nice and calm on the surface. Just what we like to see.
But when it gets nasty, this is all that we see:

Waves, turbulence, and uncertainty.
Yet look at what's happening underneath the surface:

My point is that information coming out of Iraq is like a lake. We don't see everything except what is presented to us by the media (the surface information). We don't hear stories of what's happening in other parts of Iraq where there is no insurgency, or the situation is vastly different (the information underneath the surface) than Baghdad or the Anbar province, where most of our casualties have happened.

It's a vicious cycle. The Democrats came to power with help from the liberal-media complex that steered the conversation toward what was happening in four of eighteen Iraqi provinces. They don't dare go into any depth on the rest of Iraq that returning soldiers continue to tell stories about. Good news in Iraq is bad for the anti-war people in Congress.

Leaders should develop their platforms based on their beliefs, then lead the nation in that direction, not base their leadership decisions on opinion polls that are reflective of the surface situation that any idiot with a TV set can see. Leaders should LEAD.

And sooner or later, politicians who don't lead will be Kerry-ized, with the same result as the Bush-Kerry campaign. Based on that point, I don't think we've seen the end of tumultuous turnovers in Congressional power. I think power in Congress is going to change hands a lot in the future.

Debate Rages Over Use of "Articulate" to Describe Senator Obama: Severe Overreaction in Progress

Prominent African Americans have been going on TV lately, criticizing the use of certain words to describe Senator Obama. Some criticisms of some of the words are acceptable, but others are way off the mark.

Senator Biden got in trouble for describing Obama as the first "mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy..." Biden ended up apologizing for the remarks, which Rev. Jesse Jackson said were "highly suggestive, but not off-color." Biden realized that he royally screwed up and mended the fences with Obama, which was the right thing to do.

But the debate raged on over the use of the word "articulate" (separate from Senator Biden's unfortunate remarks) which, to some, smacked of condescension. Some have severely overreacted to this word and took to the airwaves last night on FOX News and on CNN. They were angry, and unwilling to listen to other points of view.

If someone says one is very articulate, the proper response is "thank you." It's a compliment, and Senator Obama's speaking style is superior and better versed than many of his fellow politicians, as well as many in the general public for that matter. He's an outstanding public speaker.

But if "articulate" is good enough to describe you, or me, it should be good enough for Senator Obama and the talking heads on TV too.

Congress Questions Sending Billions in Cash to Iraq: Vast Sums Missing, But Whose Money Was It?

The Senate questioned former Coalition Provisional Authority governor L. Paul Bremer about a huge amount of money that was sent to the Iraqi capitol prior to the end of the formal occupation and the handover of power to the Iraqi government.

And I'm questioning why the Senate is wasting time on this particular question.

The funds belonged to Iraq and came from Iraq's oil sales and were assets of former President Saddam Hussein's government which were seized following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The legitimate government of Iraq requested the funds be unfrozen and sent over in cash so that they could pay their bills and pay their employees.

The question of how these particular funds were used are an Iraqi problem, not an American one. There are more important matters for our elected officials to focus on.

Iraqi Government Says One Thousand People Died in Last Week: They Need to Get in Gear

A major crackdown from the Iraqi government cannot come soon enough, as the government there announced 1,000 people died in the last week alone.

That's WITH Iraqi and U.S. military forces in action, with an operational Iraqi government and a supportive U.S. government pushing for the Iraqis to do more to stabilize their country.

It's hard to imagine how bad things would get if U.S. and coalition troops pulled out immediately as some are suggesting.

It might make the slaughter in Rwanda and Darfur look tame by comparison.

"Peace at any cost" is a popular mantra of the anti-war movement, but the cost could be much worse than anyone thinks.

Sunni governments would begin mass shipments of weapons to the Sunni side to help them (as Saudi Arabia has already promised to do if the U.S. leaves too early) kill the Shiites, who vastly outnumber the Sunnis. Iran would support the other side. Both sides would be much more heavily armed than they are now, and more than one nation would send troops in to support their side.

There would be no peace at too high a price if things aren't carefully thought out. But one thing is absolutely certain:

The Iraqi government needs to get in gear and MOVE IT.

World Appears Headed for Major Bird Flu Incidents: How Far Away Can Mutation Be?

A UK newspaper is reporting that officials are preparing for massive outbreaks of the bird flu in bird populations around the world this season. It makes one wonder how far down the road a mutation is, which would enable the virus to jump from avians into humans.

The story was sparked by an outbreak in Great Britain, where some 150,000+ turkeys are in the process of being slaughtered and the farm where they were at being quarantined by British health authorities.

Nations are being encouraged to prepare for a widespread outbreak of human avian flu, which could cause major disruptions. Every time a human becomes contaminated, the chance of a mutation occurring increases substantially.

The World Organization for Animal Health is monitoring the situation globally, as well as outbreaks of other animal diseases. Their web site is pretty extensive.

The U.S. government has put together it's own web site which is quite good too. It provides links to every state's plans for dealing with an outbreak.

Michigan's plan is here (pdf format). It calls for health screenings at airports for all outbound travelers, isolating all inbound sick travelers, closing public gathering places, limiting non-essential travel and other measures, depending on the severity of an outbreak.

Scary stuff, but it's data everyone should be aware of if there is a pandemic, or a lesser type of outbreak, to prevent a panic.

Republicans Are Learning a Lesson on What Happens When Majority Party Tries to Ban Minority Party Tactics

I seem to recall criticizing the Republican majority for trying to do away with the filibuster and other minority-party rights as the (then) minority Democrats were obstructing several Republican measures and votes on Presidential choices for federal judges.

They're paying for their arrogance as they are now in the minority and the Democrats are stomping all over them. And the only thing the Republicans can do is cry about not having a voice in much of the new legislation that is being ram-rodded through Congress.

Take your medicine, GOP, and learn from your very costly mistakes.

Hopefully if they regain their majority they will remember that they might need the very political weapons that they tried to ban if there's a repeat of the 2006 mid-term elections.

They got thumped on Election Day, and they've been getting thumped by the Democrats who are using Republican tactics to get their way ever since.

Political OWNAGE!!

Nigerian E-mail Scam Costs Michigan Town Nearly $187,000: Treasurer Up on Charges

Harrisville, Michigan, became a victim of a Nigerian e-mail scam that has been making it's way around the planet for the last couple of years.

The town's treasurer fell for it and supplied the scammers with the town's bank account numbers, leaving him holding a very empty bag. The total cost: $186,500 in lost pensions, municipal operating funds, and other essential city resources. Now investigators believe that as much as $1.2 million may be missing from the county as well.

He lost $72,000 of his own money as well.

The former treasurer is up on embezzlement charges, but it won't bring their money back.

I think this is one of the first times that an entire city has fallen victim to this e-mail scam. What a disaster!

Democrats on Verge of Breaking Promise Not to Cut Funding to Troops in Iraq

The Democrats in Congress are on the verge of breaking their promise not to defund the troops in Iraq. This is hardly a surprise given many ran on anti-war platforms. And their defeatist Republican lap-dog colleagues are too weak and ineffectual to disagree with them. I believe de-funding was always inevitable--it's what the Democratic majority wanted all along.

But still, to cut off reinforcements and bullets and equipment to the soldiers who are over there now is irresponsible. And Congress will be unable to keep dodging their collective responsibility in authorizing the war in the first place. Their votes gave Bush the authority to invade Iraq, whether his intel was good or not.

They keep saying they are a co-equal branch of government, yet they clearly don't want to take their share of the blame. They're co-equal all right, but only to a point.

The military needs to complete their mission and soon. We have bigger fish to fry and Iraq is taking up too much time, attention and resources. Blindly cutting their funding to bring them home in six months without a measure of success will only make the situation worse, not better.

All that will happen is the next President will have the unenviable task of sending troops back in once terror groups use Iraq the same way they used Afghanistan to attack New York and Washington. And Congress will blame Bush for that too, for stopping the war too soon.

And this will be after Congress and the next Administration decide to slash military rebuilding funds, too.

What a vicious cycle we find ourselves facing.

French Darken Eiffel Tower to Promote Climate Change Concerns: Meaningless Display

In an effort to bring attention to an upcoming conference on global change, the electrical company that operates the lights on the Eiffel Tower in Paris will shut them off for five minutes.

Five WHOLE minutes on ONE evening.

Why don't they turn the lights off after 11pm EVERY night--on a permanent basis, except for the aircraft warning lights at the top of the tower? That would be more meaningful than turning the lights off for five minutes on one evening.

I wonder how much energy and money will be wasted when they power the projectors back up. I believe they will use up more energy than if they had simply left the lights on.

Wasteful publicity stunt. Perhaps they should let Greenpeace keep it's banner on the tower--that seems more effective way to bring attention to global climate change.

Child Rape Movie Appears to Be a Dud: They're Talking Going Straight to DVD

This is my final post on this movie, unless someone says something really outrageous and deserves some attention.

I'm still fuming over the Hounddog movie (that features a child rape scene) over the moral lines that it succeeds in crossing.

Dakota Fanning remains in the news, telling the media that some of the criticism leveled at her and her parents have been "uncalled for and hurtful."

She and her parents should have thought about the storm of controversy before they "decided" to do this movie and offend so many people; not the least of whom are rape victims and sexual molestation survivors. Many are coming forward and posting their thoughts online.

Just because child rape is a fact of life doesn't make it right, or acceptable, or something to be worthy of presentation in a movie. That's what has people so hot.

Some of the criticisms that have been expressed about her mother have been harsh; the minor tongue-lashing I administered in my last post pale in comparison.

But "uncalled for?" She's playing an adult game in an adult world under adult rules, and if she can't take the heat for her (and her mom's) bad decisions, perhaps she should stick to more appropriate venues, such as her recent film "Charlotte's Web", which was brilliantly executed and did more to further her career than a child-rape scene in an adult-themed movie.

It's pure exploitation and the proof is in what happens before the rape scene: reportedly her character dancing in wet underwear and t-shirt, her waking up as her naked father climbs into bed with her, her demanding that a young boy expose himself in exchange for a kiss, doing some kind of provocative pole dance, and then a teenager raping her.

And she really should stay out of the news on this controversy. She doesn't have enough life experience or judgment to speak on this issue or lecture adults on whether child rape is any more acceptable on the big screen than it is in real life.

"It's just acting" she says, but that's the tip of the iceberg. If acting out a scene causes a huge tidal wave of controversy, then they should probably find out more about what the underlying issue is.

This is also where her parent(s)--and all the other parents of children in this film--should have put their foot down and said "I won't allow this. It's crossing too many lines and you don't want this kind of bad publicity at this stage of your career" or "And as a parent, I object to the very idea of my child participating in a movie like this."

That's it from me.

12-Year-Old Child Actress Defends Her Child-Rape Scene in New Movie: She Has No Idea What She's Done

It's more than a little offensive when a 12-year-old not only participates in a simulated brutal child-rape scene in a movie, but then defends her "decision" and says that the controversy is "blown out of proportion." I think not.

Her parents ought to exercise some parental authority and keep her out of the limelight for a while. Then again, maybe they should have their heads examined too, for green-lighting this scene in the first place. What were they thinking?

This is a line that shouldn't have been crossed. Some groups are saying that there should be a federal probe to see if any laws were broken. I support that idea.

The big question (among many) is whether the scene is simulated child pornography (which is illegal in the United States.) It doesn't sound like it's actual child porn under this definition, but the laws on simulated porn are very complex and do not necessarily involve nudity--or even kids (see above link).

It doesn't matter that Brooke Shields and Jodie Foster played controversial roles in films when they were young too--the laws concerning child welfare are much stricter now and this controversy should be looked at in the current climate, not in yesterday's.

If there is a federal probe, many of these troubling questions will be addressed, and this controversy will be with us for some time to come. But if there isn't, it will blow over quickly and Hollywood's reputation will take another (well-deserved) blow.

I will not be going to see this movie as I find the idea of child rape abhorrent and won't support an "artistic" portrayal of it in a movie or any other medium. And no 12-year-old has any business participating in or defending a child-rape scene. Does she have any idea the damage she's helped to do? I suspect she doesn't have a clue.

Chavez's Latest Tirade Against American Officials: "Go to Hell, Gringos!"

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez said that U.S. officials should quit commenting on his country's problems (Chavez-caused, of course) and told American officials via the media "Go to hell, gringos!"

He's stifled dissent in his own country, now he's trying to stifle international coverage and commentary of his ruining his country.

Official Washington won't comment on his comments, but here's what they'd love to say:

Get over it, Mr. Chavez. First, go jump in a lake and cool off. Then go back to the zoo where you belong. Or perhaps you should follow your own advice.

What's not funny is his mismanagement of the Venezuelan economy. No economy can survive what he's doing for very long, and when their economy crashes in the next year to sixteen months, what will be funny is his attempts to kiss up to Washington for aid--if it gets that bad. Then we'll see if Washington has a long memory or not.

GI Attempting to Get Sleeping Mats Sent to Iraq Gets Nothing But Insults Back From Company: Disgraceful

An American soldier attempting to order some sleeping mats for his soldiers and himself got a rude e-mail back from the company he was attempting to order from, saying that if he had any sense, he and his men should get out of Iraq.

What a darn shame.

There's a time and a place to express one's views on Iraq, but not in the course of a business transaction, and not against a soldier who's trying to make life a little easier for the people in his unit. A simple "Sorry, we don't, but you may want to try..." would have been acceptable, but whoever was reading the e-mail had to choose that way to express his political views.

I would encourage people not to do business with this company.

Hillary in '08: NO WAY JOSE

Hillary Clinton came out and announced she was forming an exploratory committee as a precursor for a run at the Presidency in 2008.

As promised on December 27, 2005, this blog will be partially dedicated to campaigning against her candidacy.

It's not that the country isn't ready to have a woman for it's President; it's that Senator Clinton isn't ready to be President of the country.

I stand by my words. Vote against Senator Clinton in 2008. Remember: if we get her, we get HIM too.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq Proves War Critics Over Here Wrong: They Will Bring the Battle to Our Own Streets

Remember the debate over the statement that "if we pull out of Iraq now, the terrorists will come over here and start killing us in our own streets?"

Critics of the war said "nope. Won't happen. That's pro-war propaganda."

I came out in support of the above statement on November 12, 2005, on this blog, saying that ..."and yes, if we leave before the job is done, we may as well put armed troops into our own streets because that's where al-Qaeda will show up next. Once American and foreign troops are gone from Iraq, the war will shift to Europe and North America and those parts of the world where Westerners have a presence.

The peaceniks can go bury their heads in the sand if they want, but the problem will NOT go away that easily. Bin-Laden has said that he wants four million dead Americans before he will even consider stopping his jihad. Where, pray tell, might he find four million Americans? Not in Iraq. Not in Jordan or Indonesia. Not anywhere else in the world, but here in our own country. Duh!!

So for those stupid enough to believe that ending the Iraq War will appease bin-Laden, or any of his followers into not launching suicide attacks on the United States, think again. Get your heads out of your butts!"

The media is reporting today that al-Qaeda in Iraq tried to get terrorists into this country on student visas for the purpose of launching attacks on our civilian population.

Excuse me, but what more proof do the nay-sayers need, thousands of dead American civilians in body bags at their feet? Like I said before...they need to get their heads out of their butts!

Bush Criticizes Hanging of Saddam and Others: Did the Pot Just Call the Kettle Black?

President Bush told the press that he wasn't happy with how the Iraqi government executed Saddam Hussein, his half-brother and another aide who was in charge of Iraq's Revolutionary Court under Saddam's reign of terror.

Bush said that it looked like revenge killings to him.

Well, DUH!!

ALL death penalty cases are about revenge, even in this country.

Deterrence, my afterburner! When are people going to learn that some criminals crave death, and don't care that they might face a death penalty?

Who does the death penalty really deter? Those unlikely to commit a crime-- whether or not there is a death penalty, or the criminal who's made up his/her mind to kill or hurt someone?

The President has no leg to stand on when it comes to criticizing the capital punishment systems of other nations, since the United States engages in death penalty barbarity itself.

This, coming from the man who, as governor, had more people executed during his time in office than any other governor in U.S. history.

I'd rather not hear another word about botched executions from President Bush or anyone in his Administration who isn't an ardent death penalty opponent. I don't have the stomach to listen.

CNN Joins the Obama/Osama Slip-Up Crowd, Substituting the Senator's Name for the Terrorist's in Caption

CNN messed up last week and put Senator Barack Obama's name into a caption that was meant to read "Where's Osama?"

The Situation Room's Wolf Blitzer apologized on-air and called Obama personally to apologize, but the gaffe is the latest in a string of accidental and intentional substitutions of Senator Obama's last name for bin-Laden's first name; CNN is definitely not the first to do this.

Numerous instances of this have happened since Senator Ted Kennedy uttered the first public instance of "Osama/Obama" and conservative talk show hosts picked it up to ridicule Kennedy and Obama.

It's easy to make a slip of the tongue since the two first names are similar in spelling and pronunciation. Osama. Obama.

Still, I'm not comfortable with with this kind of accidental or intentional name-calling. It comes across (to me) as calling someone a Nazi, a choice of words for which I have nothing but contempt.

Those who delight in calling the senator "Osama" really ought to come up with something that doesn't have racial overtones to it. This is just nasty.

Sunni Rage Builds Over Saddam Execution: All-Out Civil War is Now Within Realm of Possibilities

The Iraqi government's decision to execute Saddam Hussein is backfiring on them, big time.

Saddam was executed at the beginning of the Eid al-Adha holiday, on the day that the Sunnis were to begin the observance. Further, he was taunted by Shiite executioners in his last moments. Enraged Sunnis in Iraq and across the Arab world took to the streets and that anger isn't going away. It's worsening.

The taunting was inappropriate and the timing was simply terrible. Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam consider the other heretics, and this merely reinforces that belief.

By executing Saddam, they denied his other victims--living and dead--and their stories to be told in an Iraqi court of law and in Saddam's presence. They were all robbed of justice--all but 148, for whom Saddam was executed.

It's more likely that non-combatant Sunnis will join the fight against the Shiite government because they don't trust it, believe it's behind the attacks on the Sunni population, and doesn't respect their religious beliefs.

It's safe to say that Iraq is in more danger of fragmenting now than it was before the Iraqi government decided to be hasty and execute the former dictator, though he was causing no harm while he was in U.S. custody.

Was what the Iraqi government did justice for ALL of Saddam's victims, or could they have benefited by keeping this man tied up in court for years to come? The full scope of this man's reign of terror will never be fully explored now.

Saddam Execution Denies His Other 100,000 Victims a Share of His Hide

The execution of Saddam Hussein was carried out a couple of hours ago by the Iraqi government. He was found guilty of crimes against humanity in the slaughter of 148 men and boys in a Shiite village following an assassination attempt on Saddam's life in the early 1980s.

But what of his 100,000 other victims?

My feelings on the death penalty notwithstanding, this sentence should have been delayed until the entire picture of Saddam's atrocities was known and he was held to account for every single life that he and his cronies took.

148 victims out of 100,000 were given justice. That amounts to less than 1% of 100,000 murder cases against Saddam.

He should have been forced to hear the names of every one of his enemies that he had murdered before any sentence was carried out. Now that will never happen.

Duke Rape Case Continues to Unravel: DA Should Drop ALL Charges and Prepare to Face the Music

The Duke lacrosse rape case continued to unravel this week with some of the charges being dropped, and the North Carolina state bar association filing complaints against the DA's inept handling of the entire affair.

The "victim" keeps changing her story and it's clear that there isn't enough evidence to carry anything forward. In addition, blunders in the interviewing of the victim (it never happened) and improper line-up identification procedures added to the prosecutor's problems. His prosecution of the suspects in the media is the main basis for the state bar complaints against him; the case against the DA opened two weeks after the woman reported the alleged rape.

Even if something did happen, the victim is unreliable. She's changed her story so many times that the entire case has been seriously undermined.

The remaining charges should be dropped.

Strategy for Winning In Iraq Isn't Working Because It Wasn't Designed for Muslim Country: It Was Designed for a Liberated Eastern Europe

The anticipated strategy change in Iraq needs to include a change in mind-set about HOW to win that war.

By mind-set, I mean the thinking that when our tanks rolled into Iraq, our politicians believed our troops would be warmly welcomed into Iraq and democracy would be embraced by all. "We are not conquerers, we are liberators."

The strategy used thus far in Iraq is from a playbook that was designed for if we got into a war with the Soviet Union in the 1980s and seized control of Eastern Europe after turning back a Soviet military thrust into central Europe. Or if NATO attacked the Warsaw Pact first to get rid of communism.

Something's got to change and soon.

Why "ThunderFerret" and Not "Johnny Specific Somebody" On this Blog?

I recently received an e-mail from someone asking why I didn't use my real name on this blog.

There's a specific reason that I do not use my real name or identity on here, and it's definitely not because I fear retribution.

It's because several years ago, I had a web site domain name registered in my real name instead of a more anonymous "pen" name. From bits and pieces of stuff on the site, someone was able to figure out who I was, where I was and and acquired an address for me. Since I was working for a not-for-profit in a very public position at the time, they were also able to figure out where I worked, who my boss was, and got all of his personal information as well.

The person who did this did it with me watching from behind him to see how easy it would be for someone to put 2+2 together and steal my identity. All he had was the web site address. It was shockingly easy for him to acquire other information from there.

I deleted the site, and reformatted many parts of it to exclude most of my personal information.

Today, there was a news article on MySpace users having their identities stolen because they have WAY too much information out there for troublemakers to data-mine. This was confirmation that I'm correct in limiting my information and remaining anonymous online.

There's too much danger of having one's identity stolen and a world of financial ruin that could follow a such theft. I also don't want some Mexican to illegally acquire an American job with my (stolen) identity.

Bloggers who write that anonymous blogs are bad and have their personal information posted for anyone to see are hypocrites, since many of them actually post false names instead of their real ones; and those that publish their actual information are just looking for trouble from identity thieves.

Any legislation that requires bloggers to identify themselves should reflect identity theft realities and not arbitrarily force people to put revealing information online because of WHAT they're writing about. Senator McCain should keep that in mind as he's proposed anti-blogging legislation in the Senate.

"Thunder" was one of my ferrets; his picture is posted on this blog.

Merry Christmas, All

Hope everyone had a blessed and happy Christmas today.

Iraq War Limits Our Options Against North Korea, Iran and Sudan: Shortsightedness in Political Planning of Iraq War Is Biting Us Now

The U.S. involvement in Iraq is having a detrimental impact on America's foreign policy objectives and more attention needs to be paid to keeping order in America's other foreign endeavors.

Six-party talks with North Korea ended without agreement yesterday. On the agenda for the five powers talking to North Korea this Friday is whether to continue the six-party negotiating format, or to go over to something else. They're waiting to find out what impact last month's U.S. elections will have on America's foreign policy.

Sudan has until December 31st to accept a U.S.-brokered deadline to admit United Nations peacekeepers into Darfur or else face "consequences." But we don't have an ambassador at the U.N. right now to keep up the pressure. Stronger resolutions were opposed by some of the other veto-wielding nations on the Security Council.

Iran faces a weak U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an end to their nuclear enrichment program, or other (undefined) steps will be taken, leaving Iran free to do what it wants. The same powers (Russia and China) also threatened to veto the entire resolution if it wasn't watered down.

Political mistakes and manipulations by the Bush Administration in the Iraq War are backfiring big time right now. When January comes around President Bush needs to have a master plan to deal with all of these critical foreign policy situations. And this should not include unilateral military approaches to dealing with the issues.

For instance, when December 31st comes and goes, the U.S. shouldn't announce that it alone is imposing a no-fly zone over Darfur to force compliance with the U.N.'s wishes when the Sudan tells the international body what to go do with itself. And Sudan is going to do exactly that.

It also shouldn't abandon the talks in favor of unilateral miliary action against Iran or North Korea. We have one major war going on, one smaller war, and not enough available ground troops to handle much more. At this stage of the game, we won't be able to help South Korea with sizable U.S. ground forces if North Korea decides on one final gamble to settle the score with South Korea. All of our heavy divisions are tied up elsewhere.

And if Washington chooses to settle the Iran question with force of arms, it's likely that U.S. forces in the region will be fighting the Revolutionary Guards in Iraqi and Afghan cities as well as the insurgency, al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

America's enemies are taking full advantage of the fact that the Iraq War is a tar baby and the U.S. military's strongest arm is already stuck. This perceived weakness is what is driving Iran and North Korea to be sure.

All of these problems can be dealt with if we have a cohesive strategy for Iraq, followed by a withdrawal and retooling of the U.S. military to put Iran and North Korea in their places.

Rosie and Trump Trade Insults: Now THIS is Good Television

Insults continued to fly between Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell as their on-air feud intensified.

I'm enjoying it a great deal.

It started with Trump's public redemption of the current Miss USA, who has been under fire for underage drinking and other major issues. He gave her a second chance and Rosie weighed in on The View.

She said that Trump was no moral authority given his track record of being divorced twice. Then she was wisecracking about his bankruptcies, but made some mistakes about whether they were business bankruptcies or personal ones. Trump has never gone bankrupt personally; it was his businesses that went under. But she didn't make that distinction. She also said he was like "one of those snake-oil salesmen from Little House on the Prairie."

Trump fired back saying he was going to sue her for the bankruptcy comments, then went on a blitz of news and talk-radio programs to throw insults at Rosie's openly gay lifestyle, her weight and other points of (dis)interest.

Then Rosie's girlfriend got in on it and Trump took some potshots at her too.

This is GREAT! Trump won't back down from anyone and all Rosie's done is made another enemy who won't let this thing die. The sort of war of words that is going on between them is Trump's kind of slugging match, so look for it to get wilder and wilder.

Presidential Pardon for Two Border Patrol Agents is a Great Idea: They Did Their Jobs

There has been a stir since August over the fate of two former Border Patrol agents who were forced to shoot a drug smuggler as he brought his poisons over the border from Mexico into the United States.

Former agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean were in pursuit of the suspect and believed he had a weapon and shot him in the buttocks to keep him from escaping, while in the course of their duties.

Charges were brought against the two agents; when they were convicted a couple of months ago, the department dismissed them. They were subsequently sentenced to 11-12 years for the shooting.

In addition, the drug fiend is suing the Border Patrol for $5 million. For what, denial of trade? He's lucky that the agents didn't hit him somewhere more vital and that he's still alive. The feds already paid his medical bills; that should be more than enough for a foreign drug smuggler who was engaged in breaking our laws and bringing his filthy poisons with him.

The convictions of the ex-border agents should be pardoned as soon as possible. 48 Senators and Representatives sent a letter to President Bush asking for his consideration. I hope he listens.

Deploying 40,000 More Soldiers to Iraq May Not be Enough

The White House is batting around an idea to briefly increase the number of troops in Iraq to stabilize it before beginning a gradual withdrawal from the war zone. The increase could raise the number of American troops in Iraq to around 180,000.

Let's put this into a historical analysis:

During Operation Desert Storm, the U.S. military used 575,000 soldiers to liberate a nation the size of New Jersey. It took 100 hours and an air campaign that took several weeks.

During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the U.S. military used 100,000 soldiers to conquer a nation the size of California. They've been fighting for three years and there's no end in sight. Current troop levels are around 140,000 in Iraq.

Guess what? An additional 40,000 soldiers won't make a whole lot of difference in the long run. Bumping the number up to 500,000 would.

They need to really think this through before sending more troops in.

Calling Someone a Nazi to Score Political Points is Reprehensible; This Tactic Has No Place in Civilized Discourse

Public figures shouldn't launch personal attacks on others by labeling them as "Nazis." I don't like it when liberals do it to conservatives, I don't like it when conservatives do it to liberals, and I don't like it when people in general do it to other people to score political points.

The latest example of a TV personality attacking someone by comparing them to Nazis or to Hitler was The View's Joy Behar. She initiated a blatant attack on outgoing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld while discussing the cover of Time magazine's Person of the Year issue. She didn't think naming everyone ("You") the Person of the Year was good enough, so she said: "You have to put, like, a Hitler type on the cover. Like, you put Don Rumsfeld there, or something."

Like, like, like.

Is she, like, a teen-aged teeny-bopper trying to sound intelligent? I'm not impressed.

Make no mistake: I'm not a fan of Donald Rumsfeld (see my prior posts), but I abhor the comparison that was made. It was sickening and wrong; even the audience didn't agree with her fine forensic analysis of the Time choice for Person of the Year.

Rosie ought to break out the duct tape and shut her up.

It seems like the more often people call one another Nazis or other adjectives which poison the atmosphere, the more the door to other bad words, such as the "n" word (for which other comedians have been heavily criticized for recently) is opened.

I think if things keep going as they are, we are in for a lot of terrible comments which will make the current atmosphere seem tame by comparison.

NO To Secular Christmas Cards: Happy December Won't Cut It

Here we go again with Grinches trying to hijack CHRIST-mas.

Some cards this year and my reactions:
Happy Holidays. (Fine.)
Merry Christmas. (Excellent.)
Happy Christmas. (Excellent.)
Happy Hanukkah. (Excellent.)
God Bless You... (Excellent.)
Happy December. (Straight into the garbage can.)
Merry Xmas. (See "Happy December")
Happy New Year (in place of proper Christmas cards). (See "Happy December")

Bah humbug to secular holiday cards. The Grinch-people are at it again, banning everything in sight and Christmas cards are being given special attention this year.

Happy December indeed. Thhhhp!

Iranian Conference on Holocaust Denials is Reprehensible and is a Cover for His Hostility to Israel

Iran's terrorist leader continued his anti-Jewish tirade with the announcement of a Holocaust conference to be held in Iran on Sunday and Monday.

The conference brought howls of protest from Germany, from Jewish leaders from around the world, from Israel (who the conference is targeted against) and from many others. It is expected that sixty leading Holocaust deniers from thirty countries will attend the conference.

President Ahmadinejad has already called for Israel to be destroyed and called the Holocaust a "myth."

He's also claiming that Iran is not hostile to Jews, despite forcing Jewish schools to teach an Islamic curriculum, forbidding Jewish texts to be taught in the Hebrew language but only in the Persian language, replacing Jewish principals and teachers with Muslim ones and forcing Jewish students to go to school on the Jewish Sabbath and pray on Muslim holy days. Jewish Iranians are also denied entry into institutions of higher Iranian education. (See the Reference.com entry here and scroll down to discrimination.)

This sounds like he's trying to turn Jewish Iranians into Muslims, doesn't it?

In any case, Iran is definitely hostile to Israel and this conference proves it.

People Need to Wear Seat Belts: Chances of Being Ejected from Vehicle in a Crash Increase Exponentially if They Don't

Too many people are losing their lives because they aren't buckling their seat belts. It happens every day, and the public isn't doing enough to educate itself on what can happen when someone neglects strapping themselves in.

Here's a demonstration of what can happen when someone falls asleep at the wheel and isn't wearing a seat belt. That's no crash dummy being tossed about. And he did not survive.

Here's what a crash looks like from the outside. It isn't funny.

Consider: it takes an average of three seconds to fasten the darn thing. Three seconds of sacrifice can save an entire lifetime.

I wrote a heartbreaking letter of sympathy to a friend of mine a couple of years ago who lost her youngest son to an auto crash after he was forcibly ejected from the back seat of the car in which he was riding in rural Houghton County, Michigan. I mourned his loss along with others who knew him better: his family and friends and his mom, Mary, who I knew particularly well from our Scouting activities together.

Two teenagers needlessly died in that accident. The 16 year-old driver was charged in the accident.

This year it happened again. This time it was one of my brother's friends who died early Friday morning after he was ejected from a SUV and it rolled over him.

I graduated with his sister Darcy from high school; his older brother was a year ahead of me; his younger brother was a year or two behind my brother. I wish there was something I could do; but there isn't.

All I can do is raise public awareness of how dangerous it is to not buckle up and I hope others will do so as well. Please encourage your loved ones, friends and strangers to use their seat belts; not only for the holidays, but always. There is simply no excuse for not buckling up.

I've been known to turn off the engine of my vehicle and wait until someone who was refusing to put a seat belt on did so. Aunts, uncles, cousins and neighbors have fallen victim to this tactic; even a former camp supervisor did about four years ago.

I wouldn't recommend what followed that incident: he ordered me out of the driver's seat, switched places with me, started the camp truck (I had hurriedly put my seat belt on in the passenger's seat), put it in gear and mashed on the gas. He promptly slammed us into a tree. I stayed in my seat; he hit the steering wheel and cracked his sternum and broke his nose. He was lucky that we hadn't built up much speed. I didn't have a scratch on me, except for some frayed nerves. Our boss was definitely not a happy camper and his boss wasn't either.

And the funny part was that I was held blameless as he was driving (and had been warned by the boss about speeding in camp before) and did not have his seat belt on. The truck was totaled.

Everyone in the car should have a seat belt on, no matter where they're sitting. We can reduce traffic fatalities immediately and substantially if everyone takes an additional three seconds....

Actor Wesley Snipes Surrenders to IRS at Orlando International: Faces Tax Evasion Charges

"Blade" actor Wesley Snipes surrendered to agents of the Internal Revenue Service this morning as he re-entered the U.S. through Orlando International Airport. He had been in Africa filming a new movie when a warrant was issued for his arrest. Two months of negotiations lead to a deal where he would turn himself in.

His accountant is on trial right now for tax fraud in Philadelphia.

Snipes plead not guilty to all the charges and posted bond. He will be allowed to return to Africa to finish filming on the movie before returning January 10th for another hearing.

It should be interesting to see how this develops.

Congress Only Worked 103 Days Last Year and Got Little Accomplished: Exactly What Are We Paying Them Full Wages For?

Democrats in the House of Representatives announced a five-day work week for the House when the new Congress is seated in January.

HUH??!

That's what they're supposed to be doing!

As it turns out, the House was in session for 103 days last year. And they received full pay for working less than 1/3 of the year??!

They ought to repay the other two thirds for not showing up for work. No wonder Congress didn't get anything done!

Is Anyone Out There REALLY Surprised That Hillary is Exploring Running for President in 2008?

Hillary Clinton's exploring whether or not to run for President in 2008 should come as no surprise to anyone. She was running the moment she and Bill checked out of the White House in 2001.

And even if she says she's not interested in running in 2008, she's already said that (then changed her mind.) She isn't officially out of the running until AFTER the primaries are held and the Democrats have their elected nominee.

It is a stated goal of this blog to campaign against HRC should she run. Remember--if SHE gets into the White House, we'll get HIM again, too.

Richards' Tirade Against African-Americans is a Total Farce: He Should Have Apologized and then Shut Up

"Seinfeld" star Michael Richards' racially charged tirade against two African-American men in a comedy club was bad enough by itself, but his appearances on Dave Letterman's show and on Rev. Jesse Jackson's talk-radio show were perfect examples of what not to do in a situation like that.

The aftermath of the tirade has been a total farce. His going on Jackson's show was a total waste of time; all the civil-rights leaders did was make an example of him, and Jackson later said that he didn't believe the apology that Richards mumbled WHEN they allowed him to talk. He was on the air for two hours; Jackson and his associates spoke for three quarters of the time, taking turns lecturing the comedian.

I listened to the entire show and from my point of view, they didn't care about what Richards said; all they did was climb on the soapbox that he provided for them and beat the daylight out of him with his own words. They were clearly out to destroy him for what he said.

He should not have gone on Rev. Jackson's show. It was all showboating by Jesse Jackson and his colleagues; nothing of substance came of it.

What he should have done was gone on a neutral show where he could have explained himself completely, apologized, then disappeared from sight for a while. Instead he's been in the news just about every day waging a PR campaign. And no, Jesse Jackson's radio show isn't neutral ground on most issues.

Richards is compounding his original mistake with more mistakes that are causing further damage to his reputation. He needs to get out the news and get his act together.

One Major Mess: What Do We Do With 80 Year-Old Nazi SS Guards Accused of Aiding in the Holocaust?

Ever since the end of World War II, the U.S. government and outside agencies have discovered the presence of Nazi SS prison guards who quietly escaped justice in Europe and ended up over here living amongst us. All concealed their true identities; many became U.S. citizens. When they're been discovered, they've been stripped of their citizenship and taken into custody to await transport back to Europe to stand trial for their alleged crimes during the Holocaust.

Now these former SS men are 80 years old or older. And their home nations don't want them back. They don't want to hold trials because of the embarrassment it would cause them.

Six such men are in such a situation in Michigan.

They've been stripped of their citizenship and are awaiting expulsion. But Europe doesn't want them back. The International Criminal Court cannot put them on trial as their crimes predate the ICC's founding in 2002. And these men have fewer years ahead than they do behind.

It's kind of hypocritical that Germany is willing to press charges against Donald Rumsfeld for alleged crimes against humanity in Iraq, but won't put members of the SS on trial for crimes committed during the Holocaust against Jews in the name of the German people.

So what is to be done with these SS men now?

If we do nothing and let them go, justice remains undelivered for their victims. If the decision is made to prosecute them here, will they all understand what's going on, especially those suffering from dementia or from Alzheimer's?

What a major mess.

Iraq War and World War II Timeline Comparisons in Press Are Misleading

The press made a huge deal about the fact that the Iraq War has lasted longer than United States involvement in World War II.

The United States fought the Axis Powers for 1,347 days according to their timeline and the day that they made mention of it was when the Iraq War entered it's 1,348th day.

There's a few things that they left out of their figures.

The war against the Iraqi army lasted 28 days when the coalition partners declared the war against Saddam Hussein's government finished.

The ongoing sectarian violence and insurgency is not being waged by Saddam's government as it no longer exists. The resistance is being waged by people who want the U.S. out of Iraq, and want members of their specific religion in charge of Iraq. Some of them may have been part of Saddam's government, but they aren't exactly trying to put him back in charge, are they?

The media reports forgot to mention that lengthy occupations followed the end of World War II. They ignored the entire Cold War in Europe and the occupation of Japan which lasted longer than the actual fighting did.

For the record:

The war against Germany ended on May 2, 1945.
West Germany was declared fully sovereign on May 5, 1955.
East Germany was declared sovereign in 1955 as well, though the Soviet Union had primacy there through force of arms until 1989.

Both joined the United Nations in 1973.

The war against Japan ended on September 2, 1945.
Japan was declared fully sovereign in 1952; it joined the United Nations in 1956.

The press should report the rest of the story and not just the parts that they like.

Lisa Holland Sentenced to Life In Prison; More Indictments in Case are Possible

Lisa Holland was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole yesterday. The judge said that she enjoyed handing down this sentence a great deal due to the horrific nature of the crime which ended the life of her adopted son, Ricky Holland.

So much for the Hollands. Unfortunately, they are not out of the news yet. Both Lisa and her husband Tim are saying that they will appeal their convictions and sentences.

In addition, the state has opened full-scale investigations of other family members who knew the Hollands had killed Ricky and helped them concoct the tale that Ricky was missing; Lisa's dad is at the top of the list. Also, state agencies have been conducting their own reviews of their conduct in the case but won't comment until the criminal cases are completed.

Looks like this is going to be in the news for quite some time to come.

Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789 by President Washington

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor-- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be-- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war--for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted--for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions-- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually--to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord--To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us--and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

President George Washington

Iranian Plan to Fingerprint Americans Entering Their Country is Fine: But Who's More Likely to Send Suicide Bombers to Attack the Other?

Iran's parliament recently passed a law that mirror-images a U.S. law (that allows for fingerprinting of all Iranian nationals entering U.S. territory) with a law that requires all Americans entering Iran to likewise be fingerprinted. Both sides require that the other's citizens go through extensive background checks. The measure is now before the Iranian Guardian Council for final approval.

Question: is it more likely that Iran would send suicide bombers to the U.S. to hit American targets, or would America send suicide bombers to Iran to attack Iranian interests?

Who was it who said they had 40,000 suicide bombers ready for attacks against Western targets if there is a U.S./Iranian military confrontation over Iran's nuclear program? It sure wasn't the U.S. who said that.

The Iranians are free to do what they want to control entry of foreign nationals into their country, but they should acknowledge that the U.S. has that same right, especially in the face of their threats.

Judge Sentences Tim Holland to 30-60 Years for His Involvement in Murder of Ricky Holland

I've beat up on the Hollands enough in this space, so I'm through thumping them, but the judge in the case was not in a similar mood and decided to go straight for the jugular, sentencing Tim Holland to 30-60 years for his involvement in the killing of his seven-year-old son, Ricky.

The sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of 13.5 to 22 years, but the presiding judge decided that wouldn't cut it and imposed a much more severe sentence for his failure to act.

His wife is to be sentenced in a couple of weeks.

My only comment is that I hope that the stiffer sentence doesn't lead to a protracted appeal. The ugly mood that festered down here during the trial has abated and most want the Hollands out of the news as soon as possible.

OJ Simpson is OUT of His Mind: New Book Describes How He Would Have Killed His Ex-Wife IF He Was to Do It

OJ Simpson is insane.

What other explanation is there for this?

He's publishing a book on how he would have killed his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ronald Goldman, HAD he been involved.

But he WAS involved. He avoided going to prison but was found responsible for their deaths in a civil trial, which lead to the judgment of $33.5 million against him.

Every penny he makes off of this should go toward paying off this judgment. What a dirty rotten thing to do.

Fox should not promote OJ's book by giving him interview time on their channel, and bookstores should avoid carrying the book like the plague. He needs to go back into his hole that he crawled into after the trial, and stay there.

Revolting.

Before Too Many Republicans Tuck Tail and Run, They Need to Remember That They're Still on the Taxpayer Time Clock

Republicans like Senator Lincoln Chafee need to remember that they're STILL in office, STILL on the taxpayer time clock and BEHOLDEN to fulfill the promises that they made to those who elected them six years ago.

The new Congress isn't seated until January, so this Congress is still very much in session. There's still work for them to do.

The recent election sets a mandate for the 110th Congress and for the President to follow. But the current Congress already has a mandate from prior elections that they should honor until they recess and the new Congress takes over.

They need to get back to work, and stop wasting time.

If they decide to keep the seat warm and do nothing, they should resign immediately and get off the taxpayer time clock. We aren't paying them to keep the seat warm and vote themselves pay raises until January. There's been enough of THAT already.

Arab Leaders Have Good Reason to Be Uncomfortable With Saddam's Death Sentence

This is not an endorsement of the death penalty on my part by any means.

Arab governments are beginning to register their discomfort with Saddam Hussein's death sentence.

Egypt's President Mubarak has made it clear that he is against the Iraqi government hanging Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity for fear of an escalation of violence in Iraq between Saddam's supporters and everyone else. Other Arab leaders are also squirming.

I notice that not one has publicly come to Saddam's defense or to protest the immorality of the death penalty the way many Western governments have.

Here's what Mubarak and other Arab leaders meant: "Oh crap. If Saddam can be tried, found guilty and sentenced to death for crimes against humanity, what happens if our own people get the same notion against us?"

Some Middle Eastern governments should be squirming for what they've done to their own people.

Defection of GOP Senator Sinks Ambassador Bolton's Nomination to United Nations: Who Will President Bush Nominate Now?

John Bolton's days as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations appear to be numbered as the Senate Foreign Relations committee is deadlocked over allowing an up or down vote on his faltering nomination.

A tie vote is the same as a 'no' vote; Republicans had the upper hand until Senator Chafee lost his re-election bid on Tuesday and decided the election results were a mandate for change on how business is being done in Washington. He made up his mind about supporting the nomination of Bolton in that spirit, which created a tie in the committee. The incoming Democratic majority leadership called further discussion of a Bolton nomination as "pointless" so his candidacy is all but dead.

This is not an altogether bad thing; Bolton had a reputation for being an abusive boss before; he has a reputation at the U.N. as being confrontational; diplomacy is about building consensus and Bolton doesn't help his own cause with his tactics. This was not a good choice to begin with; hopefully President Bush will nominate someone who is better suited to the position.

Bush Finally Allows Rumsfeld to Resign; Robert Gates Nominated to Be New Defense Secretary

Finally, some common sense from the White House.

Donald Rumsfeld was finally allowed to resign by President Bush yesterday; Robert Gates was introduced as the new nominee for the post.

It's unfortunate that the President waited so long to replace Rumsfeld; it should have happened after the Abu Gharib sex scandal in 2004, when Rumsfeld offered to resign. Bush said "no" then, but he should have said "yes" and put his Secretary of Defense out to pasture.

Why the Administration didn't forsee the insurgency or Iraq becoming a magnet for terrorists and jihaddis was never articulated by Rumsfeld; nor was an effective battle plan to deal with them developed by the Pentagon under Rumsfeld's watch.

Hopefully Gates (or whomever is eventually nominated if it isn't Gates) listens to his generals when they say they need more men and arms over there, or when they say that things are as good as they're going to get and it's time to start drawing back our forces and redeploying them elsewhere in the world. Rumsfeld turned deaf when told it would take an army of 400,000 to secure Iraq properly, and then fired generals who wanted more "boots" to get the job done right.

He was arrogant and didn't listen to his people in uniform.

It was very unfortunate that he wasn't more flexible in maintaining sufficient heavy divisions but allowed them to bleed out in favor of lighter more mobile divisions. Lighter and mobile is good, but not for Iraq. Nor for North Korea. These are plans that are going to need to be rethought by the new SecDef. The military was resistant to those changes to their structure in the first place, but Rumsfeld didn't care.

Bye bye, Don Rumsfeld.

Democrats Take Over House: GOP Did This To Themselves

It appears that the Democrats did very well for themselves this time around, capturing control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

How bad the GOP did is still in the air and will be for some time to come as a number of Senate races are still too close to call.

President Bush and the GOP did this to themselves by not doing what they were supposed to over the last year with regards to illegal immigration, spending, fighting corruption and improving the situation in Iraq. They allowed election year politics to interfere with doing their j-o-b-s.

In some cases, moderate Republicans were defeated by conservative Democrats. That's not an altogether bad thing.

It will be interesting to see how this shapes up in the coming weeks and months. But if the Democrats go too liberal on the issues, they may make themselves as vulnerable as the GOP was in this election for the next time around.

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.