I've been quiet for a while. I've seen the news, but so has everyone else and by the time I sit down at the computer I'm left wondering what I can add that hasn't already been covered a thousand times. But nonetheless, there are things to address.

WMDs. We've heard that expression countless times now. President Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq based on two justifications: Their possession of WMDs (and inclination to use them) and links to al-Quaida. Despite the protestations to the contrary of such luminaries as Teddy "can I take your daughter for a drive" Kennedy, we know g*dd*mn well Saddam had WMDs. He used poison gas liberally in the war with Iran, then he killed tens of thousands of Kurds with poison gas, which is--well, was--considered a WMD. I say "was" because once Teddy, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer et al realized that recognizing gas as a WMD would stymie their "I hate Bush" crusade, they decided to raise the bar. At this point I think we'd have to witness an Iraqi-built Death Star before Teddy and Nancy would admit that they might just possess WMDs.

But facts are facts. We KNOW he had gas, which until the Democrats lost their majority was considered a WMD. And it gets better. Recently translated and declassified documents indicate that Iraq did, indeed, have a continuing WMD program. Not only that, but ties to al-Quaida. And just as I suspected (because I pay attention to people smarter than me), the weapons were shipped to Syria. I'm not stupid enough to hold my breath to see if Teddy wants to eat any crow, but I'll keep it in mind. I'm also curious to see if France, which pledged support should we uncover evidence of WMDs, has anything to say. Peut-être nous avons été confondus...

My guess is nobody will admit they might have been mistaken. Teddy Kennedy is a bloated, self-righteous horse's a$$ who killed a woman and got away with it, yet somehow manages to look himself in the mirror every morning while he shaves. Robert Byrd--the “soul of the Senate”-- is an unreconstructed Klansman who to this day thinks it's acceptable to call people n**gers. And these are two of the senior Democrat senators, if not the two senior Democrats. France as a country pledged to contribute to efforts in Iraq as long as we found evidence of WMDs. Well, we found evidence. Hello, France--Là où êtes vous maintenant? All of the above are so invested in their denials and denunciations of the war that none can afford at this point to make good on their promise of support once their original standards have been met. Can you imagine the fallout if Ladykiller Kennedy would announce to the Massholes who keep electing him that he was wrong, and there truly is some justification for the invasion of Iraq? But, “Wrong” isn't part of Teddy's lexicon. If it were, he'd have admitted long ago that he was wrong that night that he killed Mary Jo Kopechne.

By the way, if you think I need to lighten up on on my criticism of Teddy, try again. It's a matter of record that he killed a girl and swam back to his hotel room to catch a night's sleep before he even bothered to report the accident. He then used his father's connections to get away with it. A police diver testified that given the attitude of the auto and her body position, Mary Jo likely survived quite some time after the crash—maybe even while Teddy was back at his hotel room and in the shower...And now, with 44 years under his belt, he's considered by some to be one of the most august members of our most deliberative body. Congratulations, Massachusetts. I believe in redemption, but Teddy has done nothing to redeem himself. Even post-accident, he has a history of sordid behavior.

Point is, we have discovered evidence that Saddam had a WMD program in place, beyond even the chemicals he was already using. Most likely, we already knew that through other means before the war. Even the most clueless president (oh, say, Billy Clinton for the sake of argument) has at hand a very sophisticated, professional intelligence network. So Bush didn't just charge into Iraq—he had information. And it's pretty unlikely he would set himself up by ordering the invasion with no justification, knowing that sooner or later the facts would be sussed and he'd be labeled a villain.

This one's for NOTR:


Firefox

What was it Ward Churchill said? Something about chickens coming home to roost?

And so they have:

Jane F**da's 1972 trip to North Vietnam is haunting her again. The Georgia Senate on Thursday nearly unanimously defeated a resolution that would have honored the actress' charity work in the state.

Can't say I feel in the least sorry for her.

There's just a certain "unthinking-ness" on the left. They exist on platitudes and prepackaged assumptions. Anything Bush does is wrong and if they don't know why, they'll invent a reason.

Some years ago a couple moved into a house out on the main road. I was incredibly unimpressed with them at our initial meeting, so I've not gone out of my way to get to know them. They claim to train race horses--I suspect they probably muck out the stables. Their property abuts ours in the back and they maintain an amazing collection of animals on their property. Three steers, four horses, 29 goats and an indeterminate number of chickens, dogs and rabbits. They don't milk or eat any of the animals--they simply collect them.

Saturday we were working in the yard and a number of people walked into the goat pen. For some reason my wife felt obligated to go down and have a neighborly chat. I stayed away for a while, then finally broke down and joined her. At that point most of the people (who apparently were boarding an animal there for a 4H project) departed, leaving just the woman who lived there. We talked for a bit and I was beginning to feel guilty about having written her off as a moron when she started on politics.

Utterly clueless, she started ranting about the now failed deal to have a UAE-based firm administer US ports. She shouted "How could Bush not have known it was an Arab firm? What an idiot". At that point I declared my arthritic knee was bothering me and headed for the house.

Bush knew damn well the company was from the UAE. Hell, he pushed the whole idea. Now, I disagree with him on it, but I can offer cogent reasons for my disagreement--not an utterly fabricated reason just because I hate Bush, ergo everything he does is wrong.

I disagree because handing control of ports also means handing over knowlege of security procedures and response capabilities to a firm that more than likely will be populated with Islamists, or at least people sympathetic to Islamists. But that's too much for people of her intellect to grasp. She can't even wrap her mind around the fact that Bush was fully aware of where the company is based. She justs hates Bush, and that makes it so.

Friday was a bad day.

A Marine from here was killed in Iraq last week. He was a member of the parish where the kids go to school, so funeral services were held there. A number of children from the school were chosen to line the route of departure (on the way to the cemetary) with flags--it was a class act.

I thought long and hard about attending the funeral mass, but finally decided that since I didn't know anyone in the family I'd almost be something like a spectator. While I wanted to pay my respects, I didn't want to be some guy nobody knew, lurking on the fringes.

Then I thought about the Fred Phelps crowd and the Patriot Guard Riders. Fred Phelps, for those who don't know, is a pathetic lunatic who styles himself as a Calvinist minister. He claims that since the US military doesn't actively persecute gays it is an evil institution. He somehow feels he has the authority to speak on God's behalf and claims "God hates fags". His mind is so twisted that he feels he has to attend each and every military funeral to compound the hurt that parents, relatives, spouses and children are feeling by holding a little protest rally attended by signs bearing messages such as his signature "God hates fags" as well as even more hurtful signs thanking God for smiting US troops, and in the case of Catholic funerals, signs declaring that the pope burns in hell. Incredibly, he has followers. Maybe not so surprising as even Charlie Manson and Jimmy Jones had followers. For the record, Phelps, a lawyer, was tossed out of West Point and has been disbarred, with the Kansas Supreme Court noting that he has "little regard for the ethics of the profession".

The Patriot Guard Riders, on the other hand, formed up specifically to counter Phelps and his pathetic followers. It's a motorcycle-based outfit, but they won't turn anyone down. They exist specifically to screen funeral-goers from the Phelps lunatics, and often escort the funeral procession on their bikes. A true class outfit, but it's a crazy world when people have to band together to protect mourners from hateful cretins.

Well, I decided that the Phelps crew wouldn't even be able to find this town on a map, and since I didn't want to be relegated to a spectator's role, I skipped the funeral mass (while delivering paperwork and a huge deposit to the school Snakeeater, Jr. has chosen to attend).

Got home to find out that Phelps' morons do have their sources. Apparently some of them actually can read. My son related to me that they were glued to the window at school watching protestors at the funeral. I hit the ceiling so hard that my wife actually hid newspapers from me. Those G*dda*m freaks actually hit our town and protested at that young man's funeral.

I spent Friday evening boiling and kicking myself for not attending the funeral. It wasn't a good night. I became a bit more philosophical today, realizing that had I attended the funeral there WOULD have been an incident, and I'd have spent the night in jail trying to figure out how to pick up the soap, all on the account of some worthless, hateful prick. The Riders are a class act, screening the mouners from the Phelps crowd. I'd most likely have failed their expectations and decked one of the morons.

As it was, the school principal went out and informed the cretins that they were on private property and not welcome. Police were then called. My son claims that some billy club action and at least one pepper spraying ensued. Unfortunately, he's given to exaggeration, but in this case I truly hope he was accurate.

The Army has traditionally named helicopters after American Indian tribes. Off hand I can think of Iroquois, Chinook, Kiowa, and Apache. Some exceptions would be the Cobra, Skycrane and Little Bird. Even some munitions are named after American Indian tribes, such as the Zuni rocket.

NOTR reports that the new armed reconnaissance helicopter is slated to be named Arapaho, and makes an amusing (and, in my opinion, entirely accurate) observation on what the troops will likely refer to it as.

I always enjoy photos, videos, etc. of troops cutting up and having fun. Reminds me of the good old days and shows the clueless attack dogs of the left that military personnel aren't just "serial killers", but real live people with intellects.

Got the following link from my brother-in-law. Mardi Gras in Iraq--who'd have thunk it? The troops are from the 256th Infantry Brigade, LA National Guard serving as part of the 42nd Infantry Division, NY National Guard.

Duck your heads and hide the women--there's a new law firm in town.




Law Firm