Apparently...

The "Third Way" act is wearing a bit thin.

Aussies...

A few posts back, I saluted the Canucks, so here is something for the Aussies...



Hey, Dixie Chicks. This is how to do it. Otherwise, STFU.

Oh, yeah. It doesn't hurt that Beccy is hot in the same way that other Aussie ladies can be.

h/t B5.

Reductio ad Absurdum...

Gee, fella's. As I reflect on all this, I now see that you're right, and that I've been wrong all along. The War in Iraq is wrong on so many levels. We were lied to. Repeatedly. There were never any WMDs. There wasn't a plan on how to win the peace after we’d achieved the military victory. No one has ever been able to enunciate a decent exit strategy. We've accomplished nothing in Iraq except to create more terrorists and more problems than we can ever deal with. Mea culpa...we never should have gone into Iraq.

Now that I've seen the error of my ways, I think the best course would be to apologize profusely and get out of Iraq in the fastest way possible. Timelines-Bah. Let's get out now. Right now. Every day we're there, things get a little worse. (OK. A lot worse.) If we need to assuage our guilt over the damage we've done, let's throw together a big bunch of money, and let the U.N. administer the re-building. I hear they’re pretty good at stuff like that. Maybe the French or the Russians could do better than we've been able to do (Hey. They couldn't do worse, now could they?). Iraq has been nothing but a big mistake.

And as I'm looking at the world from this new perspective, I'm thinking that we should re-examine Afghanistan too. We've been there almost five years now and we still haven't been able to find Osama. I mean, C'mon, it's just one guy we're looking for. How hard can it be? (And on this point alone, Rumsfeld deserves to be fired.) The Taliban is resurgent, they're growing poppies like there's no tomorrow and they have no control--none--of their border with Pakistan [Ignoring for the moment that it is a fair observation that we don't have control of ours either.]. Did we learn nothing from the Soviets?

You know what else? Elections, smelections. These aren’t real democracies we’ve stood up. They’re nothing more than Islamic Banana Republics. I guess it was sorta quaint to see those men and women in their traditional clothes all lined up waiting for the chance to proudly dip their fingers in ink. But really now. Are we really—seriously--supposed to believe that all these disparate tribes are even remotely capable of forming functioning democracies? I mean, a bunch of them can’t even read. Ridiculous. As bad as Saddam and the Taliban were, at least they made the trains run on time (OK, OK, OK. The Taliban didn’t have trains. But they did get everyone called to prayer on time. Let’s give them that.)

And let’s look at just who these knuckleheads elected. For crying out loud, the Afghans “elected” some guy who wears a frikkin’ cape everywhere he goes. Wazzup wit’ ‘dat? And the Iraqis were able to finally, finally settle on a guy who needs to shave about 4 times a day. Would it hurt him to keep a Norelco nearby? Helloooo? Plus, al-Maliki is a Shi’ite, fer christ mohammad sakes. Can anyone guess another country where you can find a bunch of Shi’ites? Does anyone else hear alarm bells? Ding. Ding. Ding.

While we’re in the neighborhood, let’s not kid ourselves about Pakistan. They don’t have control of their side of the border either, and their intelligence service is thoroughly infiltrated by the bad guys. At least Musharraf is able to wear a decent suit, but I don’t trust ole’ Pervez as far as I could throw him. I mean, he’s both the President and a General. Bad combo, man. Bad combo. Does anyone really believe he wouldn’t incinerate Bombay in a New Delhi minute if he thought he could get away with it? He may have figured out that cozying up to Bush was the key to keeping his job (and his head on his shoulders), but I’m tellin’ ya’, he’s bad juju. Bad juju.

So now that I’ve looked at it all in the right light, I say we get out of the Mid-East. The biggies like Iraq and Afghanistan as well as Qatar, Bahrain and all those other crappy little places nobody can find on a map. All of it. Just get the hell out of Dodge, if you get my drift. None of it is worth our blood and treasure. And you know what else? I’m thinking that redeploying to Okinawa is still too close to the action. You know, the Indonesians don’t exactly like us either and they’re the most populous Islamic nation on the planet. Moving to Okinawa is just asking for trouble.

And let me tell you something from personal experience: The Okinawans don’t like us either. Not. At. All. They hated our presence there since before I was flying through there in the mid-eighties. The Japanese, much as they come off as all polite and everything, can really chafe at a conquering military presence on their soil. And who wouldn’t? We need to think about getting out of Japan too. Isn’t it time yet?

Since we’re looking at Japan, I guess we ought to look at South Korea too. Besides cheap DVD players and Hyundais, can anyone tell me how we benefit from a close relationship with South Korea? Me neither. And the semi-democracy we keep propped up there isn’t exactly what the people want. Unlike today’s American anti-war protestors, the South Koreans can get thousands to show up for demonstrations against their government. And these demonstrators are violent.

I guess I ought to also think about Taiwan, but try as I might, there’s really nothing to say. I don’t know one thing about Taiwan, other than that we have simultaneously extended our nuclear umbrella over Taiwan while we also oppose their independence through our One China policy. Could there be anything more contradictory? Let’s let China take back Taiwan. I mean, there are no gulags in Hong Kong, are there? What could go wrong in Taiwan? We’ve got Hawaii. Don’t the Chinese deserve an island paradise too? Not even a Puerto Rico? Guam?

There’s one other thing. I don’t think the Asians really even like their democracies. Every time you see one of those stories about a fistfight on the floor of a legislature, it’s from Taiwan or South Korea. Contrast that to the images of the guys who can get things done in North Korea and China. Everybody is always smiling and clapping. Democracy and liberty are over-rated. Only a crazy man would want liberty. The Asians like their dictators. They really do.

Since it looks like I'm repainting the whole damned house, I should at least look at the condition of things in the living room: Europe. Here is the sad truth: We've got troops in Germany, Italy, and Great Britain for no damned reason. The Russians are done--the life expectancy of a Russian man is 59 years. (Plug that into your Social Security calculator.) The Warsaw Pact is more than kaput...the Warsaw Pact countries have been fighting tooth-and-nail to get into NATO. Just who American troops are protecting Western Europe from is beyond me. It's well past time for the Western European countries to stand on their own. We need to bring our European troops home too.

Finally, I can't ignore the source of just about every problem in the Mid-East: Israel. You know, I'm sorry about the Holocaust and everything. We should have allowed more Jews to emigrate here. But man. They've had 60 years to find their niche, and they're still fighting their neighbors. They just can't get along. The Palestinians have been downtrodden for far too long. I'm not saying we should support the Pali's, but I think we need to re-think our support for Israel. Let the Israelis work it out with the Pali's and their pals. It's none of our business any longer.

As I look at the world, there are two kinds of countries: Countries who may need us but really, really don't like us, and countries who like us but really, really don't need us.

So in a nutshell, here is my plan: Bring back everybody. Every swinging dick. (Sorry, ladies. I lost my political correctness a long time ago.) Fold the Navy into the Coast Guard and keep them within eyeshot of an American coastline. Fold the Army and Air Force into the Border Patrol. Decommission every American military unit with a strategic mission. We're going to save a ton on military expenditures, and we'll be able to keep the homeland safe.

[/ reductio ad absurdum]

If it isn't obvious, I believe in exactly none of the above. We have a special place in the world: The one remaining superpower. I don't like being the world's policeman, but nobody else is going to bring stability to the world. Try for a minute to think through what the world would look like if we withdrew. You can just withdraw from Iraq, or you can withdraw from everywhere, and I end up at the same place: A world far less stable than before we left. I don't think that we're colonizing the world in our form. Rather, I deeply and completely believe that the liberty we far too often take for granted is something that everyone on this planet inately seeks. What we're doing in Iraq (and the rest of the world) is to offer them a chance at that kind of liberty.

The War in Iraq is central to the War on Terror. But don't take my word for it, and don't take George Bush's. Take Osama's.

The history of the last thirty years shows a steady escalation of Islamofacist actions against the West. In recent history, these actions have accelerated. Spain changed their government and withdrew from Iraq after AQ attacked their trains. The recent coup in Thailand was led by a Muslim General. France is in the middle of an intifada today.

The Democrats today are sporting seven or eight different ways to handle Iraq, but they all center on getting out. Getting out means giving up. And the Islamists aren't going to give up until we're defeated. Thoroughly. Not just in the Mid-East, but everywhere.

I apologize for the length, but as you can tell, I am passionate about this topic. If you've gotten this far and are interested in another lengthy and scary read, you can find one here. There are elements in this story that I wouldn't necessarily predict, but I'm afraid that if Democrats have their way, there will be far more truth here than most of us would like.

Christopher Walken...

...via Karl at Protein Wisdom.



And for no other reason than this one cracks me up every time I see it (also from Karl. And I'm glad that NBC hasn't, in defense of their copyright, tubed the YouTube.)...



This election is in the bag.

Tomorrow...

Chris Wallace of Fox News Sunday will interview John Kerry.

...almost two years after he nearly won the White House, we will discuss the latest foreign policy and political news with Sen. John Kerry. What are the Democratic Party's proposals for addressing the North Korean nuclear threat and the escalating sectarian warfare in Iraq? And with the likelihood that Democrats may win back one or both houses of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections, what are their legislative plans for next year? We will discuss the foreign policy challenges with Sen. Kerry, along with his chances in the 2008 presidential campaign.

Good questions, those. I wonder how long he will take before he drops the "Bush Lied" line.

Barbarians....

This is why they are barbarians.

h/t Powerline.

Our Friends...

...the Canucks.



h/t Op-For.

"Liberals...

...know exactly what they wouldn’t do, but never what they would."

Obviously, found over at Jeff's place.

"I'm so ronry. I'm so ronry..."

[Sorry. Couldn't resist the Team America reference.]

My Good Friend...

The following was stolen shamelessly from Cowboyblob,

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.

He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sun light.

When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.

When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"

This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.

Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.

Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up."

The man gestured, and the gate began to open.

Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in too?" the traveler asked.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.

After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence.

As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.

"Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?"

"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in."

"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.

"There should be a bowl by the pump."

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.

The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog.

When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.

What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.

"This is Heaven," he answered.

"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."

"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's Hell."

"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"

"No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind."

This photo is one taken by Daughter#1 for the photography class she took this past summer.

I've always felt that I'm not half the dog-parent that I ought to be. Abby deserves more walks, more baths (and better care of her ears), more throws of the Kong, more time in the pool. Still, in spite of my failings, she loves me like nothing else. She's a great dog, and one day, if I'm lucky, I'll walk with her (and Chelsea) in Heaven.

How you know that you've successfully raised your children...

From Kim, via Rodger...

Your son should understand...

* Drive a car well, ie. a stick shift;
* Know how to handle any gun, and be comfortable with its operation;
* Understand basic macro- and microeconomics;
* Know the difference between a popular democracy and a representative republic;
* Be able to cook a basic meal (meat, rice/potatoes, vegetables) from scratch;
* Speak at least one foreign language
* Understand how to read a map, and be comfortable with basic orienteering;
* Have two years’ experience in a trade (any trade, eg. carpenter, electrician, welder, auto mechanic, plumber);
* Play a musical instrument, and have a basic understanding of music;
* Understand basic self-defense/unarmed combat techniques;
* Have excellent manners, and know all aspects of social etiquette;
* Travel to a foreign country (Mexico and Canada don’t count, in the U.S. circumstance);
* Be extremely knowledgeable about history (for the reasons given by Coop [shown at the link] );
* Have read at least twenty books in the Western Canon;
* Be able to use a computer, especially spreadsheet, word processing and basic database programs;
* Be able to write a cogent, grammatically-correct essay of no less than 1,000 words in length
* Been a member of a social group or club (4H, Boy Scouts, Young Republicans, whatever) for at least two years

Your daughter should understand...

The basic rules of fashion (and the difference between fad and fashion, never giving in completely to the former)

Be comfortable in the body she was born with

How to properly groom herself and apply/wear make-up appropriate for the setting/circumstances

Sew (sufficient to hem, reapply a button, make curtains) including a knowledge of fabrics and fashion terms

How to iron beyond getting the creases out (knowing how to properly iron a dress shirt including a non-permanent press version, set creases in slacks, and handle pleating)

The rules of etiquette in both business and personal settings for a variety of cultures, including:

* How to set a table
* How to make introductions
* How to make seating arrangements at a table
* Proper conduct at formal events, such as weddings, funerals, etc.
* Rules of reciprocation

Recognize gossip, know how to avoid it, and people who do it

Be an ear/shoulder without being a martyr or know-it-all

Bathe and clothe a baby

Feed a baby

Be physically fit sufficient to birth a baby and endure a 2-year-old

Understand the basics of child psychology and child rearing, sufficient to properly coach a child to explore, read, and discover

* Basic arithmetic
* Basic science
* Properly address and handle a tantrum

Write letters

Be gracious without being condescending

Understand our system of government sufficient to keep vigilance of it and properly exercise her right to vote

Be able to defend herself, her husband, and her children with a gun

Read at least 20 books from the Western Canon and understand them

Recognize at least 100 paintings/art treasures and what is good/bad about them

Play at least one musical instrument, and understand the basics of music

Recite poetry or sing without being self-conscious

Speak a foreign language sufficient to travel in that country

Play bridge to win, and win gracefully

Drive defensively

Understand how a car works, sufficient to attend to its required maintenance

Be able to use basic household tools to perform basic household repairs

Know how to hang a picture and WHERE to hang it

Understand the basics of design as it applies to household decor, architecture, garden and landscape planning/maintenance

Manage a household:

* Hire, direct, and train household staff
* Menu/meal planning (including organizing and planning parties and events)
* Budgeting and forecasting
* Maintain records (including important documents, expenses/checking and savings accounts, etc.)

Cook/Kitchen management, including:

* Make bread
* Understand dietary considerations (health, customs, and religions)
* Select, keep and store ingredients properly and safely
* Understand the proper use and selection of herbs and spices
* Bake a pie, including fruit, cream, and meringue
* Make sauces, including rue-based, vegetable-based, and creams
* How to test for doneness in meats, breads, and cakes
* How to choose equipment and serving pieces
* Be capable of making an entire Thanksgiving dinner on her own (on time and everything hot/cold as appropriate)

How to say “no”

How and when to say “yes”

Be supportive of her husband without deameaning herself

Recognize and end relationships that are destructive

Dance etiquette

Walk gracefully in high heels (or know not to wear them!)

Tell a joke

Bathe a dog

Kim appears to be a bit harder on his daughters than he is on his sons. However, this is good preparation for life, as life has always been harder on women than on men.

By Kim's standards, we've failed our children on a number of counts, but overall, they're turning into wonderful young adults, in spite of our failures.

School Shootings Post #2...

I've got O'Reilly on in the background as I write, and he's interviewing Geraldo Rivera regarding his predictions of more school shootings (especially of school-age girls) after the Bailey, Colorado shootings. Since then, Geraldo's prediction has come true with the subsequent shootings in Wisconsin and more recently at the Amish school in Pennsylvania. Of course, being the knuckleheads that they each are, O'Reilly and Geraldo are all wrong, but their discussion is predictable. Geraldo is advocating giving male High School seniors and parents radios and cell phones to help them as they patrol the schools. He even admits to being an "old fashioned liberal" [Geraldo's response: "No. I'm a radical."].

They are failing to think outside the box. More cops. More parents. Better communications. This is their thinking. None of it will work. I said so here, over a year and a half ago, in my first month operating this blog.

The kids in schools will be vulnerable to the crazy sick adults and the disgruntled kids (not to mention the terrorists) who turn up in schools with murderous intent as long as they insist on keeping schools as gun-free zones. You cannot possibly put enough cops into each school every day to protect the kids until time immemorial. The American public won't accept the taxes it would take to pay these cops.

"They see our compassion as weakness and our integrity as blindness to reality."

OK. OK. OK.

I've been remiss about posting here for the past week or so. Patterico has scored an amazing and exclusive interview with an Army nurse who has personal experience with the terrorists at Gitmo.

Read below. You won't regret it.

Part One.
Part Two.
Part Three.
Part Four.
Part Five.