The U.S. House Intelligence Committee has issued this report on the strategic threat from Iran. It doesn't contain much beyond what you've probably already seen in the news -- in fact, it contains many accusations that are similar to those the Bush Administration made about Iraq before the invasion, though without the…
What does it meant to “lead”? According to dictionary.com, to “lead” means “to go before or with to show the way; conduct or escort: to lead a group on a cross-country hike.”
Based on this criterion, the websites of prominent Democrats display a stark lack of leadership on Iraq. A review of the websites of these Democrat “leaders” shows that they have no plan for dealing with the current occupation of Iraq.
I’ll cut to the chase. It seems as though we are headed for a repeat performance of the November 2004 election, where the plan of Democrats was to attack Bush as incompetent. That strategy will work even less in 2006 than 2004, because Bush is a lame duck, already thinking about packing his cowboy boots to retire to Crawford. Who cares about your concerns about a guy who is already on the way out?
The Democrats have certainly had lots of time to develop a plan on Iraq. After all, the war has been going as long as WWII, as indicated by this article from the Chicago Tribune:
The United States has been fighting in Iraq since March 19, 2003, when President Bush launched Operation Iraqi Freedom with air strikes against Baghdad. Monday marks the 1,245th day of the Iraqi conflict. By that reckoning, Americans troops will have fought in Iraq for as long as they fought Germany in World War II.
But back to the failure of prominent Democrats to develop any plan. A “plan”…
Senator Talent allegedly represents me. He is allegedly a thinking man. He allegedly cares about our country.
Senator Jim Talent sends me an email newsletter every month or so. His current newsletter says this about Iraq:
As day-to-day life there improves, my hope is that more Iraqis will view the liberation of Iraq and the ongoing political progress as a turning point for Iraqi society.
When was that written, I wonder? Two years ago? Three years ago?
What else has Senator Jim Talent been up to? [If you’re wondering why I always say “Senator Jim Talent,” I’m hoping that it will make this article more search-engine-friendly than not saying “Senator Jim Talent. After all, Senator Jim Talent is facing an election in November].
Senator Jim Talent does prominently announce some things. He’s so upset that payday loan shops are so incredibly evil (with their 500% interest loans) that he has announced that he is supporting a bill so that would require payday lenders to offer reduced loan rates, but only to members of the military. Screw everyone else, I suppose. I guess it never occurred to Senator Jim Talent that we should pay members of the military decent wages so they don’t have to desperately walk up to the counters of the payday lenders. Senator Jim Talent is also against promising new forms of stem cell research, but he somehow forgets to put it prominently in his newsletter that he prefers to let real children die in order to protect …
I think we all know the answer to this question already, so I won't belabor the point, other then to refer you folks to this Cato report, which gives an excellent discussion about the risks of terrorism, and how they have been grossly inflated -- by politicians to garner our votes…
I was trying to think of a way to impress Erika Price (see Erika’s comment here), when it dawned on me.
I was shopping at a big box toy store in St. Louis County tonight, accompanied by my wife and children. I was waiting for my family to make a purchase when I realized that I had a camera available in the car. I ran out to get the camera to snap a few photos to help raise a simple question: Are boys getting an overdose of the idea that violence is the best first approach to solving human conflict? Asked another way, how often is it that a toy marketed to boys suggests that there are ways of solving problems other than smacking someone on the head, stabbing them, shooting them, vaporizing them or slamming them into a wall? Based on the toys that one Toys R Us store displayed most prominently, the answer is not often. On what do I base this conclusion? Read on and enjoy the slide show.
Before you go thinking that I am a radical pacifist. Consider these things. I voted for Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984. Also consider that I loved superhero comic books growing up. Further, I supported military action against the Al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks. Violence sometimes has a place in solving some situation, in my opinion.
But back to the store. There’s no hint of violence in the baby toys. There’s …