She Beat Me to It

This is a quote from a report about protestors in Olympia, WA trying to disrupt operations. She and others were apparently pepper sprayed when they, or others by them, were trying to tear down a fence at the ship yards.

"It burned. I couldn't open my eyes for 20 minutes," said Rachel Graham, among those hit. "My face is burning. I dunked my face in water and in Puget Sound."

I was going to tell her to go soak her head.

Haditha and John Murtha

Up until now, I have maintained an extremely low opinion of John Murtha. I do not know what he knows or has been briefed. Perhaps he knows everything about the killing at Haditha. Perhaps he knows the names of the Marines and Iraqis that were killed.

I would like to think that he would not accuse his fellow Marines of murder without being certain beyond a reasonable doubt that they were guilty of it. I would like to think that he, as both a law maker and a retired Marine, would base his accusation only on the results of a trial and use them solely for the governing of our armed forces by due political process.

What I would like and what I see here are vastly different. My experience with military justice has taught me that it is never neglectful, lenient, or timely.

I was one of my previous units' chasers. I escorted a sergeant who had fradulently made a $240 travel claim. His trial took about 3 months from the time of the completion of the investigation. Albeit the investigation probably did not take very long. However he was not on trial for his life and it was not during combat operations. Both conditions demand that only the most careful scrutiny be given to their cases individually.

Since I do not know what John Murtha knows, I cannot say with certainty that he is being quick to judge. Stating that the investigation should have taken a few weeks and then going on to say that as a matter of course, we massacre civilians does not lend credence to the alternative.

Given his view of the war and apparent antipathy toward any military action, it is hard not to slap him with an ad hominem argument and say that he is just using this for his own political gain.

I'm Not One to Complain

I usually do not complain without making some sort of suggestion for improvement or at least a constructive critism. I am not going to this time.

<rant>
Why in the world do smoke alarms always malfunction in the middle of the night! They never go off at 4:00 in the afternoon or even the slightly less convienient time of dinner. It is always at dead-o-clock in morning while everyone is asleep. It is rarely a chirp. It is usually the full blown alarm. Stop. Alarm. Stop. Kids are awake. Alarm. Dogs are barking.

<insert>Howard Dean yell</insert>
</rant>

Difficult Question Time

These are questions that I ask myself that do not necessarily have right or wrong answers. Sometimes they are simply rhetorical; although I'll still answer them. Often we are given two different bad options and have to choose one. For instance, "What if saving your child's life meant having to kill someone else's?"

I usually don't try to be so vauge but that is the gist.

1st Question:

Cindy Sheehan said that this country, the United States, is "not worth dying for." Assume that when she says "this country" she is referring to the political ideologies, the people as a whole, and the land itself. She believes this to be true. If correct, is there anything so sacred that it is worth dying?

Let's Get Unstable

Hugo Chavez has stated that President Bush is a threat to world stability.

If by being "unstable" he means frequent and free elections (none of this 25 years nonsense), an open market, and the right of people to express themselves in ways that may rouse the rabble, then I say, "Let's get unstable!"

If by whatever means he becomes ruler (not "leader" but "ruler") of Venezuela for 25 years, the only recourse that people who oppose him have is a bloody coup. How would that bode with his stability?

"Allowing" Iranian Nuke Program

Before I'd "treat" a country such as Iran like Libya, I'd also require that they formally acknowledge Israel's "right" to exist.

Mr. President / Mr. Bolton, please take note...

The rest of you, "sorry" about the gratuitous quotation marks.

Back

It has been quite a while since I've posted anything. Starting multiple businesses and travelling and family and and and has nicely taken up my time.

I hope to do more writing here in the near future. If my propects are anything to go by, I'll have a bit more leisure time in the near future. If reality is anything to go by, it'll be a long time before I post anything again.