Posturing

I sincerely hope this is posturing on the part of some unnamed spokesmen. Supposedly, the administration is considering an attempt to shoot down any North Korean missile launch. If it works, it reveals our capabilities. If it doesn't. it reveals a weakness.

I do not see an upside here.

Frankly, if North Korea were dumb enough to actually launch a nuke at the US, it would take all of three seconds, give or take, to make South Korea an island.

I don't see a downside to telling the North Korea that, either.

101st Blog Of The Day

Well, I darn near missed this today, what with going to pay respects, but I remembered in time. My ongoing mission to visit one member of the fighting 101st each day led me to Physics Geek. And there is much beer blogging!

Remembrance

Remembrance of the fallen. Remembrance of the victims. This is a worthwhile project.

H/T Howie's Moisture Farm

Does This Guy Even Understand?

How freaking silly he looks to everyone but the furthest of the furthest left wing at this point? And they are getting suspicious. John "Hey! This Is A Great Hat!" Kerry, who was for it before he was against it and then against it before he was for it. Then was sort of for it until it polled badly, then abruptly declared he was an idiot. Oh, sorry, that should have read that he abruptly admitted he was completely wrong. Now his strict, firm, hard date to get troops out of Iraq has been pushed back six months.

By Kerry.

WASHINGTON — Senator John F. Kerry is pushing back by six months the deadline he wants to set for removing combat troops from Iraq, as he seeks to build support in the Senate for his plan for troop withdrawal.

The proposal to be offered by Kerry today would require President Bush to remove nearly all US troops from Iraq by July 1, 2007. The Massachusetts Democrat's initial plan — to remove troops by the end of 2006 — received just six votes in the Senate last week, and the later date is intended to build support for the proposal, said April Boyd, a Kerry spokeswoman.

“Every vote for a deadline withdrawal is Congress saying to President Bush that we will not accept war without an end policy in Iraq," Boyd said.

Yet the concept of any deadline for troop withdrawal remains controversial among Democrats. Prominent Democratic senators, including Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York , have rejected the idea of setting a time frame for bringing home troops.

As near as I can tell, the doctor overshot with his Botox needle and got the whole, damn frontal lobe.

Cue the hamster.

Senate “Immigration Reform” Flushed?

Looks like it is. The House is suddenly developing a spine.

"Our number one priority is to secure the border, and right now I haven't heard a lot of pressure to have a path to citizenship," said Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., announcing plans for an unusual series of hearings to begin in August on Senate-passed immigration legislation.

"I think it is easy to say the first priority of the House is to secure the borders," added Rep. Roy Blunt (news, bio, voting record), the GOP whip.

In deference to the president, neither Hastert nor any other Republican official in either house said publicly that the president's ambitious plan — including a guest worker program as well as an opportunity for citizenship for many illegal immigrants — was dead for the year.

But several Republicans in both houses, speaking on condition of anonymity, were less guarded.

"There will be no path to citizenship," said one lawmaker who attended a strategy session in Hastert's office.

Some officials added that Republicans have begun discussing a pre-election strategy for seizing the political high ground on an issue that so far has served to highlight divisions within the party. Among the possibilities, these officials said, are holding votes in the House or Senate this fall on additional measures to secure the borders, or on legislation that would prevent illegal immigrants from receiving Social Security payments or other government benefits.

I've been saying all along that the first party to figure out "secure the border" is the priority, wins. About time the Republicans got it. CA-50 showed how important the illegal immigration issue is.

Got One

Captain Ed has been following events in Iraq today while I was busy paying respects. It would appear that a big fish just got killed and possibly several others captured.

UPDATE IV: Thanks to CQ reader Brendan F, we see that the BBC has updated their report:

Gen Caldwell said on Tuesday US forces had killed Zarqawi's "right-hand man" in a raid in Yusifiya on Friday, near where the US troops were abducted.

The general said Iraqi Mansur Suleiman al-Mashhadani was "a key leader in al-Qaeda" and could have succeeded Zarqawi.

So now we have mainstream media confirmation on the kill — and it appears we also have another senior AQI leader detained. It may take some time to get the information clear about the later CENTCOM release.

I think that sounds like some pretty good news.

For A Hero

The first thing that hits you are the flags.

Midwestern towns don't have suburbs. You'll be driving past corn fields, sometimes beans or wheat, then *click* just like that you are in a town. Today, the second you enter the town, there are the flags. From tiny ones to a mammoth one flying from the extended boom of the fire company's ladder truck, they are everywhere. Some people have planted rows of small flags on the edge of the lots, others are on poles. Some have flags hanging from buildings. There are dozens of hand lettered signs,too.

Turning North, the flags become even more numerous. One Church has so many large flags out front it's hard to see the building itself. A bit further along, though is the church where you need to go. You can tell by the ranks of white cars lined up. More flags there. Parking is difficult unless you go down a side street.

The long walkway to the doors of the church have ranks of men and women positioned almost shoulder to shoulder. Each has a flag, snapping in the brisk wind. These people wear leathers, most have designs on the back. Patriot Guard Riders or Legion Riders the lettering says. You pause, almost afraid to walk that gauntlet, it seems almost sacrilegious. But they wave you in and you walk past calling your thanks to them for what they are doing, what they are standing for. You can't say it to each one, your voice keeps choking.

You enter and a woman asks you to sign the register. She tells you there is no more room on the main floor, you'll have to climb to the balcony. You notice the long, flag-draped shape on a sort of a wheeled cart. You look at poster boards filled with pictures. Then you climb the steps and find one of the few remaining seats.

You stand when they ask you to, you sit when requested. You answer the responsive readings, helping the lady next to you decipher the Green Book since she is obviously unfamiliar with the Lutheran services. You sing, and you sing your very best to try to honor the occasion. Then it's over and it's time to join the procession.

This time it's the people that you notice. The flags are still there, of course. In fact, they have multiplied, because people are holding more of them. In fact, they are almost a continuous line, sometimes a few in a group, sometimes many ranks deep. Many, if not most, hold flags. They range in age from babies to stooped, old people. They line the entire route of the procession. Surely some have come from other places, this place isn't that big, is it? One person holding a sign say "Thank you Ben", makes your eyes burn.

Then the long, long line of cars reaches the cool, green shady place. It's obviously old for the trees are mature. It's a very pretty place, on a nice rolling piece of ground that slopes down toward a small valley. You park where they point and get out and join the throng. After a while, the flag-draped shape emerges from the car, borne by young men with studied stiff-lipped seriousness. Some words, seven rifles fire three times each, then the lost and lonely sounding bugle.

Then it's over, and you drive home.

His name is SPC. Benjamin James Slaven and he was 22 years old.

© Gaius Arbo, 2006. All rights reserved.

Confirmation

US Military spokesman Major General William Caldwell confirmed that the two bodies found earlier appear to be those of the two missing soldiers.

At a press conference in Baghdad, U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell confirmed that the remains, found late Monday by U.S. troops, were believed to be those of Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore.

Caldwell said the cause of death was "undeterminable" and that DNA tests would be conducted to verify the identities.

My heart goes out to the two families. I would be nice if the media would leave them alone right now, too. Let them get through this ordeal without making it worse for them, please.

DDOS Update

I haven't received any status report about the DDOS attack on my hosting company, but I am resuming it is still going on judging from the number of spam comments my site is still blocking. There were 69 this morning when I first logged in.

No Real Surprise

There are reports that the US has moved it's anti-missile system into operational mode in the face of North Korea's apparent intent to launch a multi-stage missile. I don't think that's really as big a deal as the breathless reporting makes it sound. The system has been deployed, quite openly, in a posture to defend against a missile from North Korea for a while now. We posted about it here. I suspect it's more a case of letting the North Koreans know we are watching them closely. The old cold war dances continue.

It’s Rather Official

CBS News has made the formal announcement that Dan Rather has left the network. To their credit, they did not shy away from the forged documents in their write-up on Rather's career, nor did they dwell on it.

Rather's departure from the "Evening News" was clouded by his high-profile role in a flawed CBS News story about President Bush's National Guard service and some harsh comments from old CBS colleagues, including Cronkite, who suggested Schieffer should have been given the anchor job years ago.

In September 2004, Rather was the correspondent on a "60 Minutes" Wednesday piece that used documents that purported to show Mr. Bush received preferential treatment during his years in the Texas Air National Guard.

The authenticity of the documents was almost immediately questioned, but CBS News and Rather continued to defend the story long after it was broadcast. An independent panel that probed the network's handling of the story concluded CBS News failed to follow basic journalistic principles in the preparation and reporting of the piece.

Although the Guard story was a low point in Rather's career, it was far from his only brush with controversy. There were well-publicized run-ins with two top Republicans, Richard Nixon and President Bush the elder. And in 2001, he made an embarrassing appearance at a Democratic fundraiser in Texas hosted by his daughter.

Ah well, it gives us one more excuse to link to this post and our very own photo-journalistic assessment of Rather's demise.

99% Of Lawyers

Give the rest a bad name. A lawyer defending a 79-year old woman accused of shooting her ex-boyfriend, is complaining that his client's constitutional right to a trial by her peers is being violated.

The potential jurors are all too young.

As Lena Sims Driskell peered over her gold-rimmed glasses Monday at potential jurors in her murder trial, some of the 58 candidates were young enough to be her great-grandchildren. Only five seemed close to 70, the legal age for exemption as a juror in the state of Georgia.

"This is the youngest jury pool I've ever seen," said Driskell's attorney, Deborah Poole. "Most of these people look under 30. How does one have a trial when you are not able to include a whole class of people in the jury?"

Driskell is accused of fatally shooting Herman Winslow on June 10, 2005, as he read the newspaper at the senior citizens home where the two lived. After dating for a year, police said Driskell became angry when Winslow broke off their relationship and started seeing another woman.

Driskell is charged with murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm.

Police say she was wearing a hairnet, stockings, a bathrobe and slippers when she confronted Winslow at his apartment. Winslow complained and a security guard tried to calm Driskell down, but when he turned around she drew an antique handgun she had hidden behind her back, put the gun to Winslow's head and fired up to four times, Detective D.B. Mathis said.

"I did it and I'd do it again!" Driskell was quoted as yelling to the officers who found her waving the gun and holding her finger on the trigger when they arrived.

Hairnet, bathrobe, stockings, slippers and packing heat. This sounds like one tough retirement home. There's a picture I just did NOT need in my head.

Make Dinner Or Else

A Chinese woman has been arrested for killing her husband. She had been forcing him to do her bidding around the house.

At swordpoint.

Police said Tang Xiaowan, 25, who has been practicing swordsmanship since she was young, had often forced her husband of three years at swordpoint to carry out her demands.

On March 3, her husband, Li Weidong, refused to cook dinner because he was late for work.

Police said Tang picked up her sword and put it on Li's chest and promptly slipped, stabbing Li by mistake.

By mistake? Look, don't get any ideas, ladies. This is not necessary to get help around the house. Honest. And any men who might be living with a woman who does get ideas from this story, I do know a guy who makes armor.

Excuse me, I have to go hide the sword I got for Father's day. I wondered why she bought that for me.

Timelines And Realities

In today's Washington Post there is a piece by Mowaffak al-Rubaie, who is Iraq's National Security Adviser. In it he lays out the plan that the Iraqi government and coalition forces are following. This, of course, completely negates the nonsense people like Murtha and Kerry spout about needing a plan. There is a plan. More importantly, the plan is goal-driven, not a slave to arbitrary dates formulated by some politician half a world away.

There has been much talk about a withdrawal of U.S. and coalition troops from Iraq, but no defined timeline has yet been set. There is, however, an unofficial "road map" to foreign troop reductions that will eventually lead to total withdrawal of U.S. troops. This road map is based not just on a series of dates but, more important, on the achievement of set objectives for restoring security in Iraq.

Iraq has a total of 18 governorates, which are at differing stages in terms of security. Each will eventually take control of its own security situation, barring a major crisis. But before this happens, each governorate will have to meet stringent minimum requirements as a condition of being granted control. For example, the threat assessment of terrorist activities must be low or on a downward trend. Local police and the Iraqi army must be deemed capable of dealing with criminal gangs, armed groups and militias, and border control. There must be a clear and functioning command-and-control center overseen by the governor, with direct communication to the prime minister's situation room.

Kerry's grand plan is to call an enormous meeting and force the Iraqi government to "do something" by holding them hostage to a precipitous troop withdrawal. Besides the fact that the "do something" way of doing business inevitably leads to failure, the Iraqis themselves see the pitfall of that approach:

While Iraq is trying to gain its independence from the United States and the coalition, in terms of taking greater responsibility for its actions, particularly in terms of security, there are still some influential foreign figures trying to spoon-feed our government and take a very proactive role in many key decisions. Though this may provide some benefits in the short term, in the long run it will only serve to make the Iraqi government a weaker one and eventually lead to a culture of dependency. Iraq has to grow out of the shadow of the United States and the coalition, take responsibility for its own decisions, learn from its own mistakes, and find Iraqi solutions to Iraqi problems, with the knowledge that our friends and allies are standing by with support and help should we need it.

Read the whole thing. It's short and to the point.

Maybe It’s The Coverage

The Washington Post has a story up about an upsurge in the number of Vietnam vets seeking help for PTSD.

More than 30 years after their war ended, thousands of Vietnam veterans are seeking help for post-traumatic stress disorder, and experts say one reason appears to be harrowing images of combat in Iraq.

Figures from the Department of Veterans Affairs show that PTSD disability-compensation cases have nearly doubled since 2000, to an all-time high of more than 260,000. The biggest bulge has come since 2003, when war started in Iraq.

Experts say that, although several factors may be at work in the burgeoning caseload, many veterans of past wars reexperience their own trauma as they watch televised images of U.S. troops in combat and read each new accounting of the dead.

"It so directly parallels what happened to Vietnam veterans," said Raymond M. Scurfield of the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast campus, who worked with the disorder at VA for more than 20 years and has written two books on the subject. "The war has to be triggering their issues. They're almost the same issues."

At VA, officials said the Iraq war is probably a contributing factor in the rise in cases, although they said they have conducted no formal studies.

Or maybe it's not the images of the war, but the way the coverage is being presented. Maybe the veterans are watching the media trying to do the same thing that was done to them 30 years ago. Maybe they are sickened by watching the media and the left trying their best to lose this war like they lost Vietnam. Maybe they are afraid of what will happen to a new generation of soldiers who are being demonized by the media and the lefties.

Just guessing.