Blackstar: Real Deal, or Misdirection?

My co-blogger discussed Blackstar last year when Aviation Week had it on the cover.

I've always had two questions about Blackstar:

1. Why that architecture?

2. Why then?

The second question is the real puzzle. Contrary to popular belief, governments can usually keep this sort of thing secret. We knew absolutely nothing about the F-117 prior to the Defense Department announcing it in 1988. We didn't get a chance to see one up close until 1990.

In the early 1990s, Aviation Week carried a number of stories about exotic aircraft. At that time, the reason was obvious: budgets were getting cut, and while black projects are relatively easy to keep alive (because their natural enemies most likely do not know about them), they're also, ironically, fairly easy to kill when funds get tight (because their natural allies most likely do not know about them). The only way to garner support for such a program is to make some judicious leaks here and there.

No such event militated in favor of revealing Blackstar last year.

Now, to the question of architecture. The Blackstar design requires the mothership to tote the entire spacecraft up to launch altitude; it requires high-speed separation of spacecraft and mother ship (which is hazardous to both); and it requires exotic equipment (mating and demating facilities in particular).

In short, it's for those who want to go to space in the worst possible way.

Now, consider the vehicle described in this link. Size is held to a minimum by using aerial refueling to transfer oxidizer to the vehicle after launch; infrastructure requirements and prelaunch checklists are held to a minimum because the fuel and oxidizer are non-cryogenic; the bird can take off and land from just about any Air Force base worldwide if necessary; and the resulting "Black Horse" spaceplane is about the same size as an F-16.

Consider, also, the fact that this paper is part of a larger study conducted in 1993-1994. That's thirteen years ago--more than enough time to build hardware, validate it, and put it into service.

That's thirteen years ago. The estimated cost for an RDT&E program was $150 million. Allowing for the usual tripling of RDT&E costs, that's about half a billion. Everett Dirksen's quip about "a billion here, and a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money" comes to mind. In a national budget of over two trillion dollars, $500 million is a rounding error.

So perhaps we have an aerospace wing based out at Groom Lake, ready to rain "Rods from God" down onto the heads of evildoers and miscreants around the world.

How to cover up the odd sonic boom as a Black Horse boosts into orbit? Simple, blame it on a concept that's borderline unworkable and probably never made it past initial hardware testing.

It's the magician distracting you with his left hand while his right hand palms the card . . .

Murdoch leaves a mark...

Rupert Murdoch left a mark on CNN.

What really will make this sting is the fact that it is the truth.

Cheap stunts...

Tom Tancredo sent lettuce to Secretary of Homeland Security Chertoff. He seems to brush aside concerns about some of the consequences of not passing a comprehensive immigration bill. Not only does it include Hispanics walking out from the GOP after this whole immigration debate, but it could easily involve American farms moving out to Mexico and/or Canada.

The left drove out a lot of our industry due to regulations and their support of the agenda of the AFL-CIO. The right is now trying to drive out our farms.

This is stupid. We should be trying to keep as much of our food produced domestically. It's arguably more important than oil.

64-35...

AJ-Strata live-blogged the immigration vote in the Senate.

The fact is, there is a silent majority among Republcians that supports comprehensive immigration reform. This silent majority has been largely shouted down by part of the minority that is very vocal, very angry, and somewhat questionable.

Now, some opponents, like MacRanger, are decent people who have come to a different conclusion than people like myself and AJ-Strata.

The thing is, the GOP is going to have to have a Sister Souljah moment with the loudmouths. They held sway in 2006, and the GOP took a significant hit among Hispanic voters as a result. It wasn't the entire reason they lost congress in 2006, but I'd be really amazed if a drop in the share of the Hispanic vote from 44% to 30% could be spun as helpful to the Republican party.

Chavez breaks the 8th Commandment*...

Hugo Chavez has decided to steal the property of some American companies - and the theft could reach as much as $6 billion for one of the companies alone.

If I were the CEO of ConocoPhillips, I'd be thmubing through the yellow pages, looking for my local Assasins R Us. Or, at the very least, I'd be doing some Googling.

Google's being evil...

Or, at the very least, they're cheatin'. I guess they're worried Bill Gates will kick their ass as he has done in the past against Apple, Netscape, and other companies.

Believe it or not, Microsoft is the underdog.

Deutschland ist nicht richtig hier...

Germany does seem to act kinda weird at times. For instance, their refusal to allow Tom Cruise into the country because he's a Scientologist.

Folks, I don't care for Scientology. I am perfectly happy as a slightly-lapsed Mormon (in other words, I drink Mountain Dew, enjoy movies like Die Hard and Broken Arrow, and read the occasional issue of Maxim - for the articles, of course). But Germany seems to have trouble with the concept of religious freedom.

Maybe I'm being oversensitive. Then again, considering what happened to some of my ancestors, some folks might understand why I get touchy about this issue.

Stabbing the Troops in the Back: Why "Friendly" Fire Isn't

Well, we now have another threat to abandon the troops and their mission. This time, it's from "conservatives."

Their message is simple: either Bush backs down on supporting immigration reform, or they will pull the plug on funding for Iraq.

"Treason doth not prosper, for what's the reason? For if it doth prosper, none dare call it treason."

Well, I dare call it treason.

It's official. I'm no longer a conservative. I'm a Donald Bellisario Republican--national security first, last, and always, and to hell with everything (and everyone) else.

To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, I haven't left conservatism. Conservatism left me.

More tough talk from Hugo...

Hugo Chavez is talking tough again.

If there is a war in that area, you can bet he will start it... and at the same time, he'll claim he is the victim. The usual suspects will buy it.

Romney says it...

Mitt Romney has finally spoken about what has passed for the dirty underside of the 2008 race for the Republican nomination for President: The anti-Mormon bigotry that has cropped up.

I've discussed this before. Brownback and Giuliani have promptly apologized when their aides went over the line in single events. That was very proper for them to do. John McCain's campaign, on the other hand, has had multiple incidents where his supporters raised Romney's religion as a negative.

That's a bit of a pattern. And given the recent unpleasantness with other unacceptable stuff that was allowed to stand, prompting my decision to suspend Townhall links until further notice, it does seem that among a certain segment of conservatism, anti-Mormon bigotry is acceptable.

What can I say?

Townhall is suspended until further notice...

Due to the inaction of the management of Townhall.com with regards to a blog that I believe crosses moral and legal lines, I have placed all Townhall bloggers presently on my blogroll "on suspension".

I wish it had not come to this. I briefly met and chatted with one of the bloggers who I linked to, but at this point, I feel there is no other option. I cannot continue to send traffic over to these sites.

Townhall: Home of the Cyber-McVeighs

At Townhall.com, "Peppermint" writes about assassinating US Attorney Johnnie Sutton in a bit of "fiction."

The rest of "Juliet's Diary" is equally perverse; it presents civil war and murdering one's political opponents as good old harmless fun.

This is why I'm not active at Townhall: I don't want to be on a Department of Homeland Security watch list.

Apparently, nobody at Townhall has flagged the post as offensive--and even if they did, Townhall doesn't seem to disapprove. I notified Townhall of this three days ago. It's still up there. I guess they're OK with it. And why shouldn't they be? Ann Coulter wrote "They Shot the Wrong Lincoln." My, my, that's not anything resembling incitement, is it, Annie, dear? I sent a couple of my Marines to the brig back in the day for much milder statements than that . . .

If Townhall wants to be the Official Website of Timothy McVeigh Wannabes, that's one thing. But it cannot simultaneously fill that role and be a serious participant in political debate. Unfortunately, they are joined at the hip with the Salem Radio Network, which hosts one of my ex-favorites, Hugh Hewitt. Looks like KCBQ (1170 AM) comes off my car radio's presets.

Memo for the management at Townhall: SET THY HOUSE IN ORDER. Assassination fantasies are off-limits, bigtime. Even if they're from your top-rated columnists.

New Europe speaks out...

The Czech President had a great question on global warming.

I wonder if Al Gore will have a response...

A "fix" we can do without...

If Senator Inhofe is right, Hillary Clinton and Barbara Boxer are planning to "fix" talk radio.

I guess they don't like free speech that doesn't go their way.

With Apologies to Trip & Snooze . . .

You Gotta be on Google

(to the tune of "You've Gotta be in the Guard" by Dos Gringos)

A long, long time ago
Before there was A-O-L
Nobody told a Microsofty
What he could not sell
He could integrate the browser
He could put icons in the toolbar
Now I know some things had to change
But we've gone to f***ing far!

Now you can't program this
You can't program that
Some f***ing lawyer just might get upset
And I just can't believe in this lurch
You gotta be on Google to do search!

They say that we've got talent
But judgement's what we lack
Like writing that Netscape memo
Well we won't take it back
Boies said he was offended
But that only made us smile
Because we knew deep down that he loved it
And he was only in denial!

Now I don't think it could get any worse
You can't update code and you can't search recurse
And I just can't believe in this lurch
You gotta be on Google to do search!

To do search.
To do search.
I just can't believe in this lurch
You gotta be on Google to do search!

Now this antitrust correctness it must come to an end
'Cause we're in the business of business, who gives a f*** if we offend
I can code bugs by the thousands but I can't upgrade Word
Now that's the dumbest f***ing thing that I have ever heard

Now I don't think it could get any worse
You can't update code and you can't search recurse
And I just can't believe in this lurch
You gotta be on Google to do search!

(With apologies to Trip and Snooze)

This ought to be a lot of fun on a stick...

It seems Segolene Royal, the MILF who ran for President of France, booted her not-quite-husband for infidelity, now wants his job.

See what happens when you cheat?

Going to hell in a handbasket...

Pakistan has rioting going on. The rioters have an interesting choice of targets. KFC restaurants in 2005 and 2007.

When Musharaff is gone, that place will go to hell.

Don't look now...

But the Brewers seem to be getting back to winning and expanding their lead.

Since being no-hit, they are 6-1, and have clinched their third straight series win.

This is the kind of baseball I enjoy. :)

DOJ's gone too f***ing far...

It seems that Microsoft cannot release a new product without having to run it by the DOJ, 17 state AGs, and its competitors.

Seriously, folks, we need to make sure we don't run into an abusive monopoly situation, but this anti-trust stuff has gone to f***ing far. Let Microsoft improve its products - and don't make `em tell the secrets to competitors.

Has the world gone mad?

The other side of the right Blogosphere...

MacRanger discusses the conservative blogs vs. Bush article at CNN over at MacsMind. What has been neglected is the fact that there are right-of-center blogs (including some conservatives) who are backing the President.

Strata-Sphere is probably the most prominent. But one just has to look at Sister Toldjah, The Anchoress, and Big Lizards to see that there is another side to this issue. One can also look at syndicated columnists like Linda Chavez and Michael Medved or conservative media outlets like the Wall Street Journal's editorial page and the Weekly Standard.

And why is there division? Well, let's just say that people both sides have flipped off poorly-thought out comments. Linda Chavez has come in for particular abuse - and a lot of the comments aimed at her have crossed the racism line. Quite frankly, she had every right to lash out at her critics and fire off with a broad brush, and she had no need to apologize, because all too often, the abusive comments have stood at Townhall for whatever reason.

That leads to something else that must be said. Both Linda Chavez and Congressman Chris Cannon have shown to my satsifaction that there are some very questionable ties between major anti-immigration groups like FAIR and CIS and eugenicists. Eugenics is a long-discredited pseudo-science that is all too often used to justify the racist beliefs of people like David Duke and Jared Taylor.

What needs to be noted is that these concerns are not coming from La Raza, Jesse Jackson, or Al Sharpton. These are conservatives with track records to prove their conservatism saying there is a problem. And sadly, too many on the right seek to ignore that - and those who do raise questions are accused of smearing those who oppose the immigration bill - or they are called race-baiters.

I'm sorry, but trying to cover up the inconvenient truths about the background of FAIR and CIS is unacceptable. It seems that the notion held by some conservatives that the right should police its own has some sort of unspoken immigration exception. I am unwilling to go along with this. It is this refusal to police their own that has pushed me into the Wall Street Journal's camp on immigration. I am willing to up the ante from a "no confidence vote" and completely walk away from conservatism if it comes to that.

But it's time that the other side be heard and be given a hearing.

Rickie's back...

Rickie Weeks returns and hits a couple of doubles. The Brewers win, 5-4, behind six and a third strong innings from Yovanni Gallardo.

Weeks back, Brewers offense back on track, Brewers pitching usually doing the job...

FEAR is Milwaukee's ally.

The Democrats' problem...

Eve Fairbanks hits the nail on the head in her latest column in the Washington Examiner.

The Democrats have that problem big-time. They never got over the 2000 election, and now, they are getting even angrier as they find out that being in power doesn't mean the problems will be solved easily.

That said, on the right, there is a need for serious anger-management work as well. On immigration, tempers are extremely hot, some ugly stuff has been said, and now, neither side can really back down.

Too bad we can't impose a 30-day cooling-off period for debates.

The UN is clueless...

See the Secretary-General's comments on Darfur.

Note to Secretary-General Ban: The genocide in Darfur is not being caused by global warming. The genocide in Darfur is being caused by genocidal maniacs who need to be killed.

OK, this is a stretch...

It seems someone claims the Brits were worried we might fire off some nukes in the aftermath of 9/11.

Now, I do recall the weather forecasts that were posted in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. I guess that must have spooked some folks on the other side of the pond.

But they were jokes, for cryin' out loud!

Time for Tony Snow to Tell Some Folks Off

Laura Ingraham has succumbed to Bush Derangement Syndrome.

The key quote:

"You keep repeating that, but nobody believes you," she said. "Nobody buys that this administration is serious about the border."

At that point, if I were Tony Snow, the conversation would end. Probably with a Costco-sized package of Marine Corps Noncommissioned Officer Top Secret Code Words.

Read some of AJ-Strata's stuff today...

Several of his posts are well worth the read.

This one, which links to my blog; this one, which debunks Michelle Malkin's latest column; and this one, talking about what needs to happen.

I'm not holding my breath.

Alyssa thinks SHE has it bad?

Alyssa Milano discusses her pain this year.

How about a little sympathy for my pain from last night, Alyssa?

Getting no credit...

One of the biggest frustrations I have on the immigration issue is that President Bush seems to get no credit for steps he has already taken to secure the border.

Look at this White House Fact Sheet and note some key points:
* The Border Patrol has increased from 9,000 agents in 2001 to 13,000 agents now - and plans to hit 18,000 by the end of 2008.
* Funding for border security has gone from $4.6 billion to $10.4 billion.
* Worksite enforcement actions increased from 24 in FY99 to 716 in FY2006.
* Nearly half of the planned 370 miles (at the end of 2008) of fencing/vehicle barriers have been built.

If that is not a significant effort to increase enforcement, then what is? Have the Border Patrol and ICE been playing tiddlywinks? People like Michelle Malkin and Tom Tancredo cannot have it both ways. President Bush has been making more of an effort to enforce laws that just don't work in the real world, and yet they resist any effort to make changes. In essence, their argument is that the increased enforcement is just a smokescreen to con patriotic Americans into allowing Jorge Arbusto to grant his shamnesty and then carry out his treasonous plan to establish the North American Union.

No wonder people like Lindsey Graham have been losing patience with them - particularly when a Joe Farah proclaims that the White House is disqualified from discussing border issues.

Lockheed goes Sore-Loserman...

The don't even wait for the award to file the protest.

I will refer people to my piece at Strategypage on the HH-47. It recently was re-run as a Dirty Little Secret.

Short version, the US101/VH-71 SAR variant got its ass kicked by the HH-47 in performance, past track record (four decades' worth), and existing logistical base/development risk.

John McCain needs to let this one go. The best chopper won.

LCS hang-ups...

Galrahn at Information Dissemination discusses the latest hiccups in the Littoral Combat Ship.

Now, the mission modules are being delayed. It seems as if the LCS is having one problem after another, including the cancellation of LCS-3 (the second of Lockheed Martin's monohull design for the LCS).

Can readers say, "Flight II Perry-class frigates"? That's what we ought to start looking into ASAP.

No scandal here...

Or, there shouldn't be about the FBI director using a Gulfstream to fly around the country.

Folks, some people need to be able to stay in touch at all times. The Director of the FBI is one of them. It's worth the $3.6 million per year - and the initial purchase of that plane.

Because, when it comes right down to it, senior members of the agencies and departments responsible for our national defense, including the intelligence community and law-enforcement agencies (particualrly federal, but also state and those of major cities) are never on vacation. Oh, Director Mueller may decide to go deep-sea fishing off the Florida Keys for a week, but if a crisis happens, heis back on the job.

Don't believe me? Well, look at 9/11. That day, Secretary of State Colin Powell was in Latin America for a summit. CINCCENT, General Tommy Franks, was also out of the country.

Tell me again why someone like the FBI Director shouldn't be using jets with communications gear that will let then stay in touch whereever they are.

MacsMind on Lieberman...

MacRanger has a good post on Joe Lieberman's comments about Iran. With many of the Sunni tribes falling into line with the Iraqi government, the last major obstacle to a stable Iraq is Iran's meddling.

He also correctly nails the hard left on their disingenuousness. If they support the troops, why won't they support an effort to do something about those who help the terrorists kill them?

One new blogroll entry...

Yeah, I do seem to be adding them - and a variety, too. Last weekend, it was Touch `em All, a baseball blog. Now, it's Information Dissemination, which talks Navy matters.

Check it out.

One new entry...

I've added Touch `em All - a blog by someone who bleeds blue. I bleed a slightly different shade of blue - and my shade of blue's gonna be winning in the playoffs.

The folks wearing her preferred shade of blue... well, right now, they'd be watching them on TV.

I hope she has no hard feelings...

UPDATE:

Now, the photo to the left is a better shade of blue for that blogger.

Amatuer draft day...

The Brewers got Matt LaPorta at #7 overall. A bat like Ryan Braun's that will hopefully be up and playing left field on Opening Day 2009. About the time Geoff Jenkins' contract runs out.

This ought to be fun.

An interesting idea...

I have long been of the opinion that Vladimir Putin is getting a bum rap - even from one pundits whose writing I have enjoyed. In this case, we have another example.

A number of people Russia are understandably not thrilled with the notion of America gaining more influence in Eastern Europe. This mean that Putin has to play to Russian public opinion to a degree. That said, Putin seems mature enough to understand that due to the actions of the Soviet Union, Russia's not exactly going to be on the best of terms with Eastern Europe.

So, while he has opposed the idea of a missile shield, he came up with a counter-offer: Install a radar in Azerbaijan. Putin also suggested the use of sea-based interceptors from Aegis vessels. While I'm no anti-air warfare expert, the Baltic and Med don't seem to offer quite the geometry that a land-based system in Poland would provide.

I think in this case, a compromise is in order. The US wants a land-based system and radar in Europe, Putin wants the radar in Azerbaijan and a sea-based system on American warships. My modest proposal is that we build both radars and take approaches to deploying interceptors. Putin will be able to say that he influenced the American missile defense system, Bush can say he kept his word to Poland and the Czech Republic, and we have even better capability top defend our NATO allies if Iran does something friggin' stupid.

Note to conservatives: This is how a disagreement should be handled - in a civil tone, and with efforts to understand and address the concerns of the other party.

My vote of no confidence in conservatism...

With a five-year sunset, the Senate has turned what had been an OK bill into nothing more than a band-aid on melanoma. If this provision cannot be removed in conference, then the deal will collapse.

At this point, I cannot begin to describe how disillusioned I am with conservatism. In the past couple of years, it seems to me that the movement has become not only more strident, but also it has sought to purify itself via the establishment of litmus tests. Indeed, when a pro-life President who has cut taxes and has been valiantly fought a global war on terror is called an alleged conservative, things have gone beyond the pale. Of all of these, the immigration litmus test is perhaps the most pernicious - it is one that has pushed conservatism to the brink of moral bankruptcy in my opinion.

Strong words? Well, no. My post in response to a Deb Saunders column provides the best example of this bankruptcy. So do my other posts on the matter. In essence, they backed up a couple of Border Patrol agents, who, after a questionable shooting, returned to the scene and tampered with the evidence.

Michelle Malkin, Tom Tancredo, Duncan Hunter, and others are calling these agents heroes who have been persecuted by the Bush Administration, which seems set upon selling out the United States of America to Mexico via the SPP and tolerating a so-called invasion, with the eventual goal of creating a "North American Union". Ok, it may be a bit of an exaggeration, but that sort of stuff has about as much credibility as the 9/11 truth movement, if you ask me.

It is already hard enough to support a movement that seems to view me as a quisling or traitor (or at least has no problem with people who do - and actively panders to the same). But I cannot be part of a movement that takes this sort of litmus test - which demands that the type of conduct that Ramos and Compean engaged in be celebrated as heroism.

No sale. I'm with AJ-Strata on this one. The immigration hard-liners killed the center-right coalition that largely worked from 1994-2005. Something new will emerge by 2008, largely to deal with the immediate task of keeping an incompetent political party out of power. Will it happen? For the good of the country, I hope so.

All Tancredo has to offer is blackmail...

There is no other conclusion that can be drawn based on the shift in his long-shot campaign.

His track recrod, frankly, sucks. Chris Cannon, the target of his 2006 purge attempt, beat his candidate by a 55.8-44.2 margin. It will fail, but we're only seeing the start of a civil war among the Republican party.

The Right goes Kos...

AJ-Strata is on target with a very good post on how conservatism has fallen. It used to be pushing new ideas. Some people on the right still do. But on immigration, it has lost all rationality. The Wall Street Journal's editorial board had it right. Conservatism met he 21st Century - and failed to adapt to it.

In essence, Townhall, RedState, and Free Republic have become the Huffington Post, DailyKos, and DU of the right. Conservatism became reactionary and knee-jerk on immigration, practically nodding its head when someone shouted "Amensty!" - not even bothering to check to see if it was true. And it decided that it could say "Screw `em to the 65%+ of America that favored a comprehensive immigration bill that involved compromise on both sides.

Well, as far as conservatives are concerned, "screw `em". This was not the movement I signed up for when I started to listen to Rush. At this point, I'll be perfectly happy to describe myself as a war-on-terror hawk who favors low tax rates, is opposed to abortion on demand, who favors a generally pro-business agenda, and who think that the bill currently in critical condition was a reasonably good first step towards fixing the problems we have with immigration.

Good-bye conservatism. It's obvious that someone like me is no longer welcome with you.

Barnes explains reality to the right...

Fred Barnes has laid out the reality of the situation regarding the immigration bill. The key graf is below:

Fine, some conservatives think, let's cool our heels. Attitudes on immigration will change. Then we can take action. But this means waiting until Washington is ruled by Senate majority leader Jim DeMint, House speaker Tom Tancredo, and President Pat Buchanan. It means waiting forever.

Doing nothing in the face of an unacceptable status quo is wrong. And in any case, we'd more likely be seeing Senate minority leader Jim DeMint and House Minority Leader Tom Tancredo. They'd make a great stand on principle that would be great for fundraising letters, and good for chest-thumping speeches in front of "the base", but they would lose, and lose badly. We would be stuck with a clearly horrendous piece of legislation.

Jon Kyl did the honorable thing - and the right thing by the country. When he recognized that the majority did not support his views on the matter, he decided to become part of the solution and get as much of his principles reflected as was possible.

We've got an OK bill pending. It's nowhere near perfect. A better bill could have been passed and signed in 2006, but House Republicans took their ball and went home. It may not have been the sole cause of the 2006 midterm disaster, but it didn't help, and it was certainly not the salvation that was promised. Now, those who pushed this want to welsh on paying the bill for failure.

Tip of the hat to AJ-Strata.

Dems incoherent on Iraq...

Eve Fairbanks has a good column in the Examiner showing the Democratic incoherence on Iraq. In this case, withdrawal doesn't really mean withdrawal. We're just going to reduce the number of troops and pretty much do the same thing we've always been doing.


Meanwhile, Strategypage reports that the fighting in Iraq has taken on an Iwo Jima-sort of tone. Tribes have turned against al-Qaeda, and that will leave the terrorists with fewer and fewer places to hide. Is everything about the surge going as planned? No - but that is the nature of war. Did Kido Butai plan on that little encounter with the Nautilus - which caused one destroyer to lag behind, allowing Wade McCluskey to follow it to the carriers and change the course of the battle in five minutes.

The Dems are nowhere near ready for prime-time. Their only hope is that the media can continue to paint a false picture of America losing the war.

The silent majority prevailing?

The opposition to the immigration bill seems to be subsiding, according to a Washington Post article today.

The opposition was very loud and very intense. but at the same time, when even the Rasmussen poll that is supposed to debunk a poll from the New York Times showed that 65% favored the provisions that were in the Senate bill, they were eventually going to lose.

Sadly, there is no avoiding a civil war among the Republican party. There's a lot of anger, hurt feelings, brusied egos, and grudges on both sides. But once the debate is over, the healing can begin.

The latest Democratic debate...

Is it just me, or does the latest Democratic debate leave me with the impression that the Dems are just going along without a clue about what's going on in the real world?

Weeks on DL...

Well, it looks like the first half of June will not be much easier for the Brewers. Rickie Weeks is on the DL with what seems to be some tendinitis in his wrist.


It's not long-term, it's just part of the recovery process for Rickie. Get well soon, Rickie.

No peace with Cella

Paul J. Cella's diatribe at Redstate is nothing short of an open declaration of war on those who support the comprehensive immigration bill. To put it simply, based on cherry-picked portions of a Rasmussen poll, those of us who support the comprehensive immigration bill are anti-American.

To put it bluntly, this is one of the most vicious lies I have ever had the distinct displeasure to read. But worse than the lies, the labeling of myself and others as traitors, the posting of pictures covered with a bulls-eye, is the silence. Part of me knows that there are those who oppose the present bill but who also know that the proponents - particularly President Bush, Senator Jon Kyl, and even John McCain - are honorable people doing what they feel is best for America.

Yet when a Michelle Malkin or Tom Tancredo accuses them of selling out America, or promoting amnesty, they are silent. They do not offer the slightest reproof to those who call these people traitors, Quislings, or agents of Mexico. They go along with claims of amnesty that have as much truth to them as Bill Clinton's claims of Republican Medicare cuts had in 1995.

Say what you will about George W. Bush and Karl Rove - they managed to pull off three election wins against the odds. In 2000, when there was peace and prosperity, they beat back Bill Clinton's vice president by a very slim margin due to a dirty trick on the part of a Democratic operative. In 2002, when one would think that cries of a stolen election would lead to Democratic gains, they re-took the Senate after the treachery of Jim Jeffords, and also gained in the House. In 2004, despite millions from George Soros, a media that discarded many pretenses of objectivity, and a massive in-kind campaign donation from Michael Moore, Bush and Rove won again.

Bush was straight with the base. He told them he was not an orthodox conservative. And when he won his elections, he tried to carry out what he promised. For being a man of his word, he has been attacked by conservatives. The same ones who were told where he stood on issues in 1999 and again in 2004. Now they act betrayed.

No, those who were betrayed were Republicans who thought that conservatives had at least been willing to give President Bush a free hand to accomplish his objectives. Boy, was I mistaken. A certain clique of conservatives with disproportionate influence among talk show hosts and other conservative media instead tried to hijack the GOP. When they failed to do so - and indeed, even found themselves losing primaries and unable to salvage a general election, they have now resorted to what can only be described as blackmail.

The Republican Party, if it is to be seen as capable of showing resolve in the face of threats from North Korea and Iran, cannot give in to a very loud and vocal minority. Repeated polls, including the one from Rasmussen, show wide support (60+%) in favor of the elements of the Senate compromise. Furthermore, it is the right thing to do.

If anything, people taking a stand for what believe in against all odds, including the venom and spite from their own base, is perhaps one of the most American things of all. It goes back to Thomas Jefferson writing the Declaration of Independence - and stating radical notions such as the self-evident truths that all men are created equal, and had undeniable rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness . It is George Washington crossing the Delaware to rally his country. It is Edmund G. Ross standing up to his supporters in voting to acquit Andrew Johnson of charges stemming from the unconstitutional Tenure in Office Act. It is Martin Luther King organizing the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It is Ronald Reagan and his push to win the Cold War. It is George W. Bush standing firm for what he believes in against attacks from all sides.

No, Mr. Cella, President Bush is not acting in an anti-American manner. Nor are any of us who support comprehensive immigration reform. We're just as American, just as patriotic, and just as principled as you. Furthermore, rather than give in to your bullying and hysteria, I intend to stand and fight for legislation that I think is good for the country. Furthermore, I demand that you not only state the nature of the "usurpation" that you allege is coming. I demand to know why you view supporters of this legislation as traitors. I demand that you state just what exactly you define at patriotism.

And if you cannot do so, then I demand you retract your scurrilous charges that those of us who back this immigration bill are traitors and acting in an anti-American manner. I did not wish for things to reach this level. But at this point, rhetoric like that employed by Polipundit, Paul J Cella, Michelle Malkin, and others leaves me the choice of either fighting this fight on the uncivil level that they have chosen to take it, with no rhetorical holds are barred, or acquiescence to tactics and notions that I believe to be immoral, unethical, and in direct opposition to the principles this nation was founded on (as found in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution).

Good men chose to fight and stand for what they believe in. I shall do so as well. Really, there is no choice. After all, I'm an American. If Paul J Cella wishes for civil war amongst conservatives, then he shall have his fill.

Spain's SOL, if you ask me...

Okay, let's get this straight. $500 million worth of treasure from a spanish galleon ends up on the bottom of the Atlantic and in international waters. Some folks from Florida find said treasure. Spain sues.

Spain has forgotten the very simple rule involved here: Finders Keepers.

Now, granted, the U.S. government is not much better. The U.S. Navy had a F3A-1 crash on someone's back 40 and left it there for over five decades. Someone then picks up the Navy's litter and starts restoring the plane. The Navy sued, until they were backed down through the intervention of Congressman Walter B. Jones, who quite rightly could tell that this was best described by the title of Penn Jilette's reality show on Showtime.

The rule is simple, you drop something in the ocean, particularly in international waters, pick the damn thing up. Otherwise, someone else will pick up your litter, and you will have a hard time getting it back.

Punk's Piece . . .

Ward Carroll weighs in on Cindy Sheehan.

I probably disagree with Mr. Carroll on a lot of things (although his "Fourteen Misuses of Good Music to Promote a Product" is dead on target). That said . . . he put this whole mess into far better perspective than I could, which is probably why he's published five novels (including the iconic novel of 1990s naval aviation, Punk's War), while I'm still a complete (expletive deleted) wannabe.

Linda Chavez fights back...

Linda Chavez has been one of those conservatives who has favored comprehensive immigration reform. For that, she has taken a lot of abuse. For an example, see the comments to one of her columns about the wife and kids of one of the heroes defending us in the global war on terror. And, like President Bush, she's tired of the abuse, and she returned fire.

The first two paragraphs:

Some people just don't like Mexicans -- or anyone else from south of the border. They think Latinos are freeloaders and welfare cheats who are too lazy to learn English. They think Latinos have too many babies, and that Latino kids will dumb down our schools. They think Latinos are dirty, diseased, indolent and more prone to criminal behavior. They think Latinos are just too different from us ever to become real Americans.

No amount of hard, empirical evidence to the contrary, and no amount of reasoned argument or appeals to decency and fairness, will convince this small group of Americans -- fewer than 10 percent of the general population, at most -- otherwise. Unfortunately, among this group is a fair number of Republican members of Congress, almost all influential conservative talk radio hosts, some cable news anchors -- most prominently, Lou Dobbs -- and a handful of public policy "experts" at organizations such as the Center for Immigration Studies, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, NumbersUSA, in addition to fringe groups like the Minuteman Project.

It's dead on target. Which is why there is a lot of howling going on. But the return fire is long, long overdue. I can go back over the past few years, and I can find where people who supported comprehensive immigration reform have been called quislings, traitors, and sellouts. I can find claims that they don't have principles as well.

Well, push someone often enough, and they will start swinging back. It's a lesson that every schoolyard bully learns at some point. Well, people like Michelle Malkin have been dishing it out for a while - and getting away with it. Now, that they have pushed people like President Bush and Linda Chavez hard enough and often enough, they are receiving some of their venom back.

I have no sympathy for them. Regrettably, there will be some broad-brush strokes dished out in this. I'm a little guilty of that, personally. But there comes a point where you just have to make it clear that you will not be pushed around any more. The return fire from Linda Chavez and George W. Bush is, if you ask me, overdue.

Backing down is not an option.

It seems that President Bush's comments yesterday struck some nerves.

I have long thought that calling his proposal on illegal immigration "amnesty" had about as much truth as Bill Clinton's claims in 1995 that Republicans wanted Medicare spending cuts.

Let's take a closer look at this. Big Lizards has a good, dispassionate take on the bill. The definition of an amnesty is a "general pardon", as dictionary.com states. As Dafydd demonstrates, there is no pardon here. To be more accurate, what we have here strikes me as something that Arthur Branch would have Jack McCoy do: A plea-bargain. Or immunity in exchange for testimony - like what was given to Monica Goodling.

So what is the beef with some of these people complaining about the bill? My suspicion is that it's because the bill is providing for punishment short of deportation. For some of these people, anything short of rounding up anyone who looks like they might be an illegal immigrant and shipping them over the Mexican border in cattle cars is amnesty.

Harsh? Well, maybe some of these anti-immigration types deserve this. Certainly, as I have outlined elsewhere on this blog, they have fired off some really nasty comments towards those who favor comprehensive immigration reform. And while Mary Katherine Ham is correct in pointing out that not all of the opponents of the comprehensive approach are bigots, she does seem to have missed that my side of this debate has taken its attacks, too. And being labeled a "Quisling" or a "traitor" tends to not only shorten my fuse, but it makes me more determined to stand my ground and fight. In my case, it led me to be somewhat unfair to Ms. Ham.

Furthermore, there are some bigots out there. I'll even name names: Jared Taylor, Lawrence Auster, and Steve Sailer. For the record, the latter two links ought to dispel any notions that the concern about these folks is just a matter of being PC. The first is from the personal blog of one of the founders of RedState.com. The second quotes extensively from another founder of that forum (the original link is down).

It comes down to two competing principles: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all mena re created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" on the one side, and "The plain fact is that [African-Americans] tend to possess poorer native judgment than members of better-educated groups. Thus they need stricter moral guidance from society" on the other. That is an either/or proposition if I ever saw one. One or the other must stand - the other must go to the ash heap of history. Note - the person who made the second quote is on one major conservative pundit's blogroll.

In essence, President Bush now has no choice but to fight. He cannot back down. This is a fight he must carry through to either victory - or to the bitter end. He's been standing firmly against the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 and against the anti-war movement. I don't think he is the type who will just roll over and play dead on this issue - not after the attacks he has been taking. To do so would be to acquiesce to bullying and false claims of amnesty. He cannot afford to show weakness at this point in time.

I for one, have no desire to back down. I want to see the comprehensive plan the Senate is now debating pass. I wish to see my side of this debate win - and to achieve vindication, particularly after what I feel to have been the misleading label of "amnesty" and the fact that some opponents have labeled me a traitor. If those sorts of political attacks fail, it can only be a good thing for the country.

We may actually be able to solve problems, not merely engage in political posturing.

Was the Battle of Yavin an Inside Job?

Uncomfortable Questions:
Was the Death Star Attack an Inside Job?

This meticulously researched article asks many disturbing questions about the destruction of the Death Star . . .

We’ve all heard the “official conspiracy theory” of the Death Star attack. We all know about Luke Skywalker and his ragtag bunch of rebels, how they mounted a foolhardy attack on the most powerful, well-defended battle station ever built. And we’ve all seen the video over, and over, and over, of the one-in-a-million shot that resulted in a massive chain reaction that not just damaged, but completely obliterated that massive technological wonder.

Using logic, reason, and common sense, it addresses the key issues of the Battle of Yavin, the worst disaster of Imperial Arms since the Clone Wars . . .

Presented here are some of the results of my soul-searching regarding this painful event. Like many citizens, I have many questions that I would like answered: was the mighty Imperial government really too incompetent to prevent a handful of untrained nerf-herders from destroying one of their most prized assets? Or are they hiding something from us? Who was really behind the attack? Why did they want the Death Star destroyed? No matter what the answers, we have a problem.

Emperor Palpatine must address these burning questions.

Nerf-Herders defy the laws of physics? How could any pilot shoot a missile into a 2 meter-wide exhaust port, let alone a pilot with no formal training, whose only claim to fame was his ability to “bullseye womprats” on Tatooine? This shot, according to one pilot, would be “impossible, even for a computer.” Yet, according to additional evidence, the pilot who allegedly fired the missile turned off his targeting computer when he was supposedly firing the shot that destroyed the Death Star. How did the missile make a right angle turn after entering the exhaust port? How could a missile shot in the vacuum of space–that would tend to keep going in the same direction as it was released, according to the laws of physics–be *sucked* into an *exhaust* pipe? "Exhaust" means to exhale or blow out... Wouldn’t the missiles have been blown awry of their target rather than sucked in? If it had been an intake pipe, then the “bending” path of the missiles could be plausible. Why have these discrepancies never been investigated, let alone explained?

These disturbing questions call the integrity of our Imperial institutions into question . . .

How could a single missile destroy a battle station the size of a moon? No records, anywhere, show that any battle station or capital ship has ever been destroyed by a single missile. Furthermore, analysis of the tape of the last moments of the Death Star show numerous small explosions along its surface, prior to it exploding completely! Why does all evidence indicate that strategically placed explosives, not a single missile, is what destroyed the Death Star?

Join me in demanding Death Star Truth!

Amazing rescue efforts...

My title really says it all about the efforts of lifeguards at Cocoa Beach, Florida yesterday. It was very impressive work on their parts.

They ought to get bonuses for jobs well done.

Cindy quits...

Well, it seems that George W. Bush has outlasted one of those against him. Cindy Sheehan has quit. Apologies for the link to DailyKos, but this is worth noting.

The Iraqi campaign of the Global War is one of those places where it is a contest of wills. If America stands fast, it will win. If it folds, then the global war on terror will be longer and bloodier, with an end that could be very rough.

America would win, but we'd have to deal with the fallout.

If it looks like a duck...

The recent controversy over Venezuelan TV should be yet another indication that Hugo Chavez's proper title should be dictator. You can almost see the checklist.

And when his popularity falls, what might happen? My suspicion is that he'll go the route that Argentina's military dictatorship went: Start a fight to get a brief advantage in domestic opinion.

GAMEX 2007

I spent a day at the Strategicon GAMEX event this past weekend. Most of my time there was spent helping playtest Modern Combat Simulation Group's Battle for Baghdad. The game is fascinating--even when you think you're going to get hammered, you're still engaged, because victory in a given engagement is not preordained--player decisions before and during combat can flip at least some of the outcome of a given battle. Of course, as this was a playtest session, there were some bugs in the design--Joe Miranda, the designer, took copious notes of our discussions. All in all, it was a fascinating day with some fascinating people.

I'm also going to put in a plug for Strategy & Tactics magazine--Joe Miranda is the editor, and has designed many of the S&T games published over the past 15 years. There is a non-game edition available at newsstands and bookstores, and it's well worth the read if you're interested in military history.

The lay of the land...

According to a poll done for CBS and the New York Times, a majority favor the components of the compromise immigration bill. 66% of Republicans favor the plea bargain in this compromise. In other words, two out of three Republicans are satisfied with fining the illegal immigrants and letting them stay here.

The writing is on the wall. It has wide support from a silent majority - almost a silent supermajority, one could say. So who is really out of step, the politicians, or the bloggers, columnists, and talk show hosts who are fighting this bill? If so, then it could be yet another good sign for Rudy Giuliani.

He's heeere...

Ryan Braun is in Milwaukee.

The Brewers are in first place despite a black hole of offensive production at third base. Third base is a hole no more.

The 2007 Brewers. Try and stop them.

Was on MacRanger's show last night...

We discussed both the exposure of a covert operation against the Iranian government and immigration. The show is here.

Feel free to also join in the boycott of ABC for its reprehensible actions that have endangered our national security.

A good start...

The GOP is going after Nancy Pelosi. She's made it easy for them. She has the time to chat with the dictator of Syria, but can't be bothered to attend briefings from our commander in Iraq. She's slow-walked funding for the troops. Nothing from her 100-hour agenda has become law yet.

Go get her, NRCC!

A funny post...

Mary Katherine Ham and I do not see eye-to-eye on the immigration bill. That said, her cinematic moments post is pretty funny and well-done in technical sense.

That said, there's something that deserves comment. To quote the original Hotline report:

"I promised the President today that I wouldn't say anything bad about ... this piece of shit bill," he said, according to two attendees.

I don't know about anyone else, but I thought that promises were meant to be kept. Now, I know John Boehner is a politician, but shouldn't a promise to the President of the United States be worth more than what he called the bill?

Paging Al Sharpton . . .

ABC News is reporting that the CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert "black" operation to destabilize the Iranian government.

I'm waiting for Al Sharpton to insist that it be renamed to "a covert operation of color."

Of course, now that ABC has reported on this covert operation, it isn't covert any more.

Bringing out the worst in us...

Yesterday, I finally understood why a number of Republican Senators wanted a fast debate on the immigration bill. The short version is that immigration not only exposes a fault line in the GOP, it has the uncanny ability to bring out the worst in people on both sides of the debate. And it has reached a point where neither side seems willing to back down. It's not just principle, either. For many, it's now become a matter of seeking vindication, or just simply refusing to give in to what they perceive as bullying.

Thus, the Republican party is on the cusp of a civil war, and as Orson Scott Card wrote in the afterword to his novel Empire:

Rarely do people set out to start a civil war. Invariably, when such wars break out both sides consider themselves to be the aggrieved ones.

That is the absolute truth when the GOP's fissure on immigration is discussed. Well, discussed is the wrong word. There has not been any real discussion at all. The two sides of the GOP are not talking to each other, they are screaming at each other. Worse yet, when someone like Jon Kyl does try to sit down and talk to the other side to work out something that everyone can live with, he gets called a sellout.

For every cry of "bigot" that has come from my side of the debate, there are corresponding screams of "sellout" from the other side. It gets worse as it goes on - and we find ourselves, in the heat of the moment, saying and posting things that we will later regret. We are all too aware of the attacks we have received and we forget that the other side has taken its cheap shots.

What is needed is what President Bush has called for: A serious, civil, and conclusive debate on this issue. The problem will not get any better with age. I'm going to do what I can to achieve that on my end. But I have to wonder if such a thing is even possible at this point.

A new summer fad...

This time, it's "Helmet boxing". The same public health killjoys who are after a lot of things that many people enjoy (tasty food, etc.) are complaining about it.

Parents just need to keep an eye on this, and be willing to step in. A little common sense is needed here, not overreaction.

Buchanan... the same old nonsense...

Buchanan's latest column is just the same old nonsense. For 256 years, as an earlier post shows, we have heard the same claims over and over again. They have generally proven to be nothing more than hot air.

So why are they to be believed now? They want to discuss culture, but what exactly is American culture? How is it at risk? Lots of dire predictions - but no specifics. Sounds a lot like Al Gore talking climate change, doesn't it?

Demanding perfection... rudely.

It seems the right is not only demanding perfection, they are being very rude about it. These folks have led the GOP to one election defeat, yet they continue scorched-earth tactics that will not only ultimately fail, but which will also eventually make Hispanic Republicans are as rare as black Republicans.

That isn't the only people who will be driven out of the GOP. Moderates, the business community, and farmers will also take their political support elsewhere. And thus, the hard-liners will have their pure party - and will also be a minority. If anyone needed any proof that the base of the Republican party is as blind on immigration as the base of the Democratic Party is about the global war on terror, one just has to look at how they are acting.

Talk about nerve...

Jimmy Carter has got a lot of nerve to say what he said about President Bush. Shall we quickly recap the consequences?

* Carter gave us the theocratic regime in Iran.

* Said regime took over our embassy and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.

* Said regime has sponsored numerous terrorist attacks over the years.

* Said regime now seeks nuclear weapons, and the current President of that country has openly declared his intention to destroy Israel and the United States.

* Certain elements of the armed forces under that regime are currently providing insurgents weapons, including explosively formed penetrators.

And he thinks Bush has been the worst foreign-policy President in history? Maybe he ought to look in the mirror.

What candidate discussion should be...

Eve Fairbanks has done an excellent column on Mitt Romney in the Examiner.

Not only has she gotten many of the details accurate, she also has given Mitt Romney a very fair shake. It's well worth reading.

Why not to believe Buchanan's ranting...

On immigration, there is a lot of heat and little light. So, let's take a look back at other times when immigration was an issue. Pink Flamingo has a great series of quotes from back then.

“…Immigrants will not be able to assimilate:

Where the
Italians wanted to be part of our family, millions of Mexicans are determined to retain their language and loyalty to Mexico. They prefer to remain outsiders. They do not wish to assimilate and the nation no longer demands that they do so. [Buchanan, p. 28, 2006]

VERSUS

Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a Colony of Aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us instead of our Anglifying them, and
will never adopt our Languages or Customs, any more than they can acquire our Complexion. [Benjamin Franklin, 1751]

Immigrants are responsible for crime:

Many Hispanics, as a matter of fact, you know what culture they are assimilating to? — the rap culture, the crime culture, anti-cops, all the rest of it. [Buchanan, 8/22/06]

VERSUS
“The Irish fill our prisons, our poor houses. … Scratch a convict or a pauper, and
the chances are that you tickle the skin of an Irish Catholic. Putting them on a boat and sending them home would end crime in this country.” [Chicago Post, 1868]

Immigrants plan to commit treason against America:
Mexican-Americans can now become citizens of Mexico again. The whole idea is to create this giant fifth column in the United States which can leverage the American government in elections and pressure them to do what is in the interest of the nation of Mexico. [Buchanan, 8/22/06]

VERSUS

[A] set of citizens, German and Irish, wanted to get the Constitution of the U. S.
into their own hands and sell it to a foreign power. [Theme of an American Nativist Party rally, 1844]

Immigrants come from inferior cultures:

[A]lmost all immigrants today, legal and illegal, come from countries and cultures whose peoples have never before been assimilated into a First World nation. [Buchanan, p. 221, 2006]

VERSUS

Today, instead of a nation descended from generations of freemen bred to a knowledge of principles and practice of self government, of liberty under the law, we have a heterogeneous population, no small proportion of which is sprung from races that throughout the centuries have known no liberty at all… In other words our capacity to maintain our cherished institutions stands diluted by a stream of alien blood, with all of its misconceptions respecting the relationships of the governing power to the governed. [Rep. Albert Johnson, 1927, justifying the 1924 National Origins Act]

Immigrants will dilute the white race:
If we do not get control of our borders, by 2050 Americans of European descent will be a minority in the nation their ancestors created and built. No nation has ever
undergone so radical a demographic transformation and survived. [Buchanan, p. 11, 2006]

VERSUS

The number of purely white People in the World is proportionally very small…in Europe, the Spaniards, Italians, French, Russians and Swedes, are generally of what we call a swarthy Complexion; as are Germans also, the Saxons only accepted, who with the English, make the principal Body of White People on the Face of the Earth. [Benjamin Franklin, 1751]”

I see a 256-year track record of nativism getting it wrong. If they have been so far off for so long, why should they be believed now?

Glad the road trip is over...

The trip provided a 2-5 record. They won the last game, though. But being a Brewers fan was excellent preparation for dating.

Heartache and disappointment usually abound in both areas.

An awesome upcoming movie...

DeNiro and Pacino are going to be working together again.

I loved Heat, and this one looks like it will be just as good.

Romney gets it wrong...

Mitt Romney gets a lot of things right. He's dead on target with the war on terror, judges, and spending cuts. But on immigration, his statement on the Senate compromise is dead wrong.

We were never going to deport 12-20 million illegal immigrants. We can, however, fine them, make sure they pay their taxes, and find out who has been employing them and if not punish them, we will know who to keep an eye on.

A hard line on the border is a loser electorally. Not only is it impractical, but it also cost the GOP among moderates, Hispanics, the business community and farmers far more than it gained from the far right in the last mid-terms. The best they can do is to get this issue off the table so that there is no more GOP civil war - and they also need to make sure that the hard-liners understand that failure has a price.

A well-deserved demotion...

Looking over recent posts at Redstate, it seems to me that the apparent demotion of conservatives in the Republican party is going to last for a while - and deservedly so.

Nowhere can the lackof perspective and inability to prioritize be reflected more clearly. When House Democrats are starting to try to squelch debate, both with Pelosi's attempt to kill the motion to recommit and their push for the Fairness Doctrine, when they are slow-walking funds for our troops in harm's way, and when 61% of Democrats seem open to the possibility that President Bush had advance warning on 9/11, these conservatives are more interested in asserting philosophical purity, or throwing a fit over a committee assignment. Rather than try to form a coalition with the 39% of Democrats who reject the conspiacy theory - a task that would be very doable with either Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney, who have won elections in very Democratic areas, these conservatives reject those out of hand.

We are in the midst of a global war against people determined to establish a global caliphate that reflects a somewhat twisted form of Islam. These are people willing to fly airliners into buildings, or blow themselves up in pizza parlors and bus stations. These are people who have vowed to carry out further attacks on us and to wipe Israel off the map. Defeating them is the primary task that the government of this country has.

And yet, two major players at Redstate seem to be stuck in a September 10th mindset. On September 11, 2001, we had the type of event that required a reassessment of priorities. President Bush did just that. His only failure in that regard was to not communicate the need for a reassessment to conservatives. Then again, I can blame him. Back then, I was under the impression that perhaps conservatives could figure the need for a shift in priorities out for themselves.

Sixty-six months later, though, it seems patently obvious that it was a mistaken assumption. We cannot afford to be diverted by bush-league issues, especially when they pose the reisk of empowering a party whose "base" is willing to seriously consider the stuff that belongs in a conspiracy theory.

If conservatives are unwilling to make sacrifices in order to ensure our country's victory in the global war on terror, then they'd better get used to warming the bench, because at this point, I cannot trust them to be out there on the field.

Why Rudy will probably win...

I am, when it comes right down to it, a Mitt Romney guy. He gets the global war on terror and what has to be done, and I am far more certain of his ability to do well in making judicial nominations than I am of the other top GOP candidates. That said, after last night's debate, Rudy Giuliani is the likely GOP nominee, and he is very likely to win the Presidential election in a landslide.

It is something I am very much at peace with. Giuliani has been focusing on the Dems, and rightly so. It is a party where 61% are willing to consider the notion that Bush had foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks. Yet at least two major conservative forums who I will not mention have been trying to nitpick the front-runners on abortion. It has been part of an increasing absolutism on social issues since the 2004 election that has, quite frankly, turned me off to social conservatives.

If you disagree with some of them on immigration, they insinuate treason. If you objected to the stridency of others, you were a party hack. That's from the tamer of the two sites. The other site allowed users to label those who backed a comprehensive immigration plan Quislings constantly, even an otherwise conservative candidate got the label.

If the powers that be at those sites expect people to sit down with them after they were called traitors and soul-sellers, they must be smoking some very interestingly flavored tobacco. It seems that a fair chunk of the GOP are as well. The conservatives didn't just try to push people out of the big tent, they were crapping in it. We saw the results in November, 2006. Lately, they have demonstrated to me that they seem to lack the perspective (see the recent trashing of Mitt Romney over a 13-year-old donation to Planned Parenthood by his wife - while ignoring the fact that Barbara Bush and Laura Bush both appear to be pro-choice themselves). Their focus on social issues and inside baseball also show a glaring inability to prioritize.

Are they seriously arguing that an appointment to the Appropriations Committee is somehow a bigger deal than Nancy Pelosi's efforts to hamstring our troops in Iraq? Or turning back Pat Leahy's attempts to give al-Qaeda's worst access to our courts? Or defeating Democratic attempts to re-impose the Fairness Doctrine via a "Hush Rush" Act?

If that is their sense of priorities, then they have a problem. It's not about principles - I tend to agree with most of their end goals. I just have no confidence in their judgement. If this means a divorce from conservatism, so be it. The only place conservative should come before country is in the dictionary.

Mile-high follies...

It seems one couple got a little too frisky on their flight. OK, joining the "Mile High Club" is not one of my burning ambitions. Still, it does sound like it could be fun. But these folks got carried away, and will pay the consequences.

Michael Moore vs. Fred Thompson

On the one hand, Fred seems to have Michael Moore worried. That must explain Moore's latest publicity stunt.

If Fred Thompson is smart, he'll remember Hyman G. Rickover's adage about teaching a pig to sing. As tempting as it would be to ask Moore if he is among the 35% of Democrats that believe Bush had advance warning of 9/11, Michael Moore's not worth the trouble - and all a debate will do is give Moore more publicity for his upcoming in-kind donation to the Democratic National Committee.

Cry me a river...

It seems some fugitives who took refuge in Cuba are worried about the future.

Can't say I'm terribly sorry about that. If they couldn't do the time, they should not have done the crime.

Shock jocks under fire...

It seems that more shock jocks are under fire. What is worse, Al Sharpton, fresh off his bigoted anti-Mormon comments, is leading the charge against them.

Of course, the ultimate objective is not the shock jocks. It's talk radio as a genre. If they can establish precedents to fire people for causing a firestorm, then it's a simple matter to go from Opie and Anthony to Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

In Iraq...

American forces are searching for three missing soldiers in Iraq. This has grabbed a lot of headlines.

We're facing an enemy who cannot defeat us on the battlefield. That said, an enemy doesn't need to. All he needs is to get something that will generate headlines - and if he can get some good video that will run on CNN or al-Jazeera, it's even better. Because at that point, the mainstream media will take over - and they will push the politicians into quitting.

Port deal blowback...

Or, more accurately, blowback from Congress scuttling it.

Surprised? We shouldn't be. After all, we publicly humilated a close ally who had provided immense support. I discussed it at Strategypage last year, although it seems that it is Ahmadinejad who is capitalizing, and not al-Qaeda.

That could make the consequences worse than I thought.

Dissing the Crew...

It seems the New York tabloids are unable to keep from dissing the Brewers, however slightly. The Post says that the Brewers benefitted from a weak schedule. The Daily News implies Selig looked out for them.

Time for the Brewers to show some arrogant New Yorkers who the best team in the majors is.

EDIT: For the benefit of the New York journalists - keep in mind that Rickie Weeks, corey Hart, and Bill Hall aren't quite firing on all cylinders. Also note that the Brewers are relying on a Counsell/Graffanino platoon at third, which is hitting .207 with six extra-base hits. If Ryan Braun were at third, there would be NO black holes in the Brewers' lineup. Dave Bush is the only starter who really has struggled - and the bullpen has one or two spots that are occasionally shaky.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

A modest proposal...

With all the fuss about the Iraqi parliament wanting to take a vacation (like Congress never does...), as well as the notion of benchmarks, I have a modest proposal for both this and their efforts to make some political changes.

Offer a bonus. For instance, if they pass the oil-revenue sharing provision, we pick up the tab for five years. If they pass the $10 billion in reconstruction, we provide twice that figure. Performance bonuses - especially for exceeding goals - are normal practice in the business world. So, let's try it in war.

Prude Patrol... again...

Don Surber discusses the push to include smoking in movie ratings.

Seems Hollywood could use a spinal supplement. I can speak a little to this myself - I have a couple of scripts that could easily be affected by this new shift in the rating system.

To paraphrase a creator of South Park: I don't like cigarette smoke, but I f---ing hate health nazis.

One spy busted...

Murdoc has the details on the conviction of Chi Mak. He even taunts one commenter who seemed to be taking the spy's side a while ago (said commenter deserved to be taunted). Murdoc's post back at the time of the arrest has a rough idea of what Mak did for China. One part of the case for reactivating the Iowa-class battleships is summed up in that post.

Seriously, though, this was good work by our counter-intelligence community. Hopefully, we will be able to deter the next spy.

Dems fail again...

Their effort to take out Alberto Gonzales has failed. This cannot be a good sign for the Democrats. With Bush's alleged weakness in the polls, they should have been able to knock Gonzales off easily.

Instead, they failed.

A good homestand...

The Brewers have finished a very successful homestand, in which they went 9-1, and are now heading for a tough seven-game road trip 6.5 games ahead of the second-place Cubs.

Not too bad at all. :)

Political Nonsense...

The recent fuss over Ann Romney's donation to Planned Parenthood is starting to frost me big time. Yes, back in the 1990s, Governor Romney's position on abortion was not what it is now.

That said, people need to keep in mind two things: First, he wasn't the one who made the donation, it was his wife. Second, we have had pro-life Presidents whose wives had a different view of the situation (Barbara Bush comes to mind).

That said, the usual commissars on the right are going to pounce on this. These commissars are going to destroy the Republican party's electoral viability - and in the process put the country in the hands of a party that has shown fecklessness at best when it comes to foreign policy and national security.

In a time when we are facing a global war on terror, abortion, immigration, and even fiscal discipline are secondary issues - to be addressed only when they do not interfere with achieving victory. If necessary, compromises on secondary issues need to be made. There is no room to demand ideological purity on pet issues. There is a much bigger fish to fry.

More fecklessness on defense...

This time, the target is missile defense. Murdoc has some details. Wired.com has more.

In this case, the fecklessness is obvious. The Democrats have never supported a national missile defense, and now, they are in a position to back up that dislike. Never mind that the world has seen plenty of reasons to question just how responsible North Korea and Iran are.

The ABL is an earlier technology than the new solid-state lasers. Indeed, we may be seeing an AL-2 come down the pike using those on a 767 airframe rather than the COIL of the AL-1's 747 airframe.

But this is a technology worth having. It needs to be deployed, not killed as we near the first tests. There have been numerous weapon systems that have had their lengthy and troubled development periods. They proved to be worth the effort. This is likely to be another... if it isn't aborted.

Wisconsin to gas station: Raise prices

It seems that good deeds must be punished. A Wisconsin gas station owner was giving senior citizens a break - and helping youth sports teams - through discount cards.

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture's reponse? STOP NOW. They even went so far as to threaten to sue him. I hope my dear mother will pardon my language, but the conduct of the state of Wisconsin in this matter has but one two-word phrase to describe it: Pure BULLSHIT.

Pelosi's gonna sue?

Nancy Pelosi is threatening to sue the President if he dares try to sidestep their efforts to micromanage the war.

OK, let me get this straight: In addition to being perfectly willing to hand al-Qaeda a victory just so she can stick it to Bush, she is also a crybaby. If she wants to hand al-Qaeda a victory, she has an option to do just that: She can defund the war. But she doesn't seem to want to deal with those consequences.

So why the fancy footwork?

Today's point-counterpoint...

The point-counterpoint readers have seen today is something I'm going to comment about for two reasons.

The first is that we face a serious issue. One just has to look at an article on the front page of today's USA TODAY and see it. Our war planes - and the support planes that help our troops fight - are getting old, we took about a decade off for a "peace dividend" and we are now seeing the price in airplanes with cracked wings and a reduced defense industry. This has to be fixed, and it isn't going to be cheap. Mitt Romney's plan to spend 4% of GDP on defense may not be enough. It may have to be closer to 5%. That's how bad it is. We have seen nearly 100 C-130Es that were flying combat support missions in Vietnam grounded due to cracks in their wings. The KC-135Es have been around for 42 years. The CSAR birds are also getting kind of old, and they have their own shortcomings. In the case of an aging USAF fleet, I'm reminded of the old saying, "Pick Two: Fast, Right, or Cheap." In this case, we need the solutions fast and right, so the cheap part is gonna have to be overlooked. I'm even willing to overlook corners being cut - largely because I think the much bigger fish that needs to be fried has to be dealt with first. Obviously, my co-blogger disagrees, which brings me to the second point.

This second point is bigger, and worth keeping in mind on other issues besides this one. There are multiple sides to every issue, and more often than not, each side has a point. All too often, issues like immigration have led to fights among Republicans, neither of which is willing to see the other side's points at all. There is guilt on both sides, but one in particular has taken the attitudes of Soviet-era commissars to anything that doesn't fit with their world view.

My co-blogger and I have disagreed on defense matters before (I was not a fan of the cancellation of the RAH-66 Comanche and I also believe that we should be reactivating the Iowa-class battleships - he disagrees). But we're both looking to get the same thing done - we both want the problem solved.

The same goes for those who disagree on other issues, like immigration. The fact that I favor an approach to the issue similar to President Bush's does not make me a squish on immigration. The fact that I would prefer to see us avoid embryonic stem-cell research doesn't make me opposed to science - or finding cures to diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and other ailments.

It's easy to solve problems when you recognize there are many ways to look at them.

Something is Rotten Inside the Five-Sided Puzzle Palace . . .

Part of my service in the Marines involved serving in SAR detachments at MCAS Beaufort and MCAS Iwakuni, and I work as a defense contractor in an acquisition command, so I have some familiarity with these issues.

The HH-47 is a heavy-lift airframe, and is considered for a number of reasons to be utterly unsuited for the SAR mission, mostly due to rotor downwash (which, under less-than-ideal circumstances, could kill a survivor being picked up--and less-than-ideal conditions are the norm in SAR, combat or otherwise). The USMC briefly considered the H-47 and H-53 airframes for the SAR mission in the 1980s, but decided to wait for the Osprey because of these problems--a decision that ultimately led to the demise of the USMC SAR mission, because the HH-46 airframes simply wore out before the Osprey arrived. The Air Force claimed to have a "matrix document" that stated the HH-47 was a medium-lift airframe. Problem is, Defense Daily reported that neither the Office of the Secretary of Defense or the US Air Force has produced any such document. Here are the money quotes from Defense Daily:

“It seems like there may not be a formal written document,” service spokesman Don Manuszewski said. “It may be an understood concept or construct.”

There “may or may not have been a matrix” that defined the classes for the CSAR-X selection panel, one Air Force official said. “There may have been charts depicting concepts for current [and/or] future presentation of each.”

Now, when you have confident assertions that a document exists, followed by those sorts of verbal gymnastics to explain why no one can produce a copy of it, there's something really wrong here.

The procurement process on this one is badly tainted. In procurement, the RFP is everything--it defines the intended product. The USAF ignored the RFP for evaluating operations & support costs--and that is usually the heart of the entire RFP. When this sort of thing happens, it's generally because someone in the procurement office issued the RFP with a winner already in mind, and the RFP itself was window-dressing to (a) cover the fact that there wasn't going to be real competition and (b) get around sole-source acquisition requirements. These things stink when it's a few million dollars for some Congresscritter's campaign donor (thank you, Mr. Cunningham), and they really stink when it's billions of dollars for a major combat system.

Whenever you have a really questionable procurement decision, it needs to be questioned in detail.

As for the question of "butting in" on the KC-767, that proposal was clearly a ripoff for the taxpayer, as the US government would essentially would have bought the aircraft twice over and not received clear title. The deal simply begged to be investigated. It turned out that there was a lot TO be investigated, and there are a bunch of contracts still be audited because Ms. Darlene Druyun handled them. She got nine months in Club Fed and seven months in a halfway house--she should've gotten ten years in a PMITA prison.

The legislative branch is the one that appropriates money and authorizes its expenditure. McCain--or anyone else in Congress--is not "butting in" when he demands an explanation for some really questionable procurement decisions.

No, the tankers and CSAR birds aren't getting any younger. Maybe the USAF should've thought about that before they decided to engage in really shady procurement efforts that just scream for investigation.

It's worth noting that both of these questionable procurements involve the Boeing Corporation. Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three or more times is a pattern. Perhaps it's time for the Department of Defense Inspector General, the Defense Contract Audit Service, the Defense Industrial Security Command, and every other regulatory agency within the DoD to take a very close look at Boeing.

McCain butts in - again...

In 2001, John McCain butted in, and ended up wrecking a deal that would have replaced aging KC-135E tankers with a more modern version based on the 767. Well, he's butting in again, this time over the new CSAR helicopter for the Air Force. This helicopter, the HH-47, is based on lessons learned from Iraq and Afghanistan - mostly due to the helicopter operations in the latter location. The Weekly Standard has some details, although I disagree with the article linked to, largely because of two questions.

For instance, its coverage neglects to mention that we are discussing an Air Force helicopter that going to operate from land bases. Why in the world is the CSAR-X's ability to operate from Navy vessels being discussed? And what shortcomings did the US101 and S-92 have that have not been mentioned in McCain's campaign?

The last time John McCain butted in, we had a deal for modern tankers kiboshed. This time, a new combat search-and-rescue chopper could be on the block. Does he really think that our tankers and CSAR helicopters are going to get any younger?

Lileks gone?

It seems that the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wants to get rid of James Lileks. Hugh Hewitt notes that Lileks has been shifted to reporting news. It's like signing Roger Clemens and asking him to be your mop-up man in the bullpen. To call it a misapplication of talent is an understatement. It's like saying that the Brewers are doing okay (they have played 31 games, and are already five games ahead of everyone else in the NL Central - take THAT, Hugh!).

That said, Minnesota is a place where you generally get a lot of left-of-center voters in the Minneapolis area, and one can't blame the Star-Tribune for wanting to go with the overwhelming demographics in their city.

2007 Milblogging Conference...

I attended the 2007 Milblogging Conference. Not only did I get the chance to put some faces to blogs, but I was able to catch up with some of the cool folks I met last year. I also got to meet up with Marc Danziger, who has a project that I am very eager to help out with.

My favorite moment? In a long conference filled with great panels, with a lot of great people, and great events (including a recorded address from the President), it just seems so unfair to just pick one or two moments as the best of the entire day. That said, Robert Stokley's speech about his son Michael, who was killed in action over in Iraq, probably was one that will stick with me for a long time. (Hat tip to Mary Katharine Ham - a new addition to my blogroll).

On a side note, I can now say I had lunch with Ana Marie Cox - a pretty nice person who is in need of the DVDs of the classic Battlestar Galactica series. And I mean the classic - with Dirk Benedict as Starbuck. The new one is not one I rush to see, although it has had its moments.

I missed Austin Bay - who was great when he was at the 2006 conference. All in all, I am looking forward to next year's conference.

Blogroll additions...

You may have noticed that there are two new additions to my blogroll. The first is Mary Katherine Ham, whose blog is impressive, even if I might not see eye-to-eye with her all the time (for instance, the classic Battlestar Galactica is better than the new version, IMHO). The second is Murdoc Online.

Great sites. Pay `em a visit. And be nice to them, please.

A minor disputation...

Hugh Hewitt seems to think the Indians are the best team in baseball.

Note - the Brewers have 18 wins, Mr. Hewitt. And I'm sure that if they meet up with the Indians in the World Series, it will not be too much different from what happened when the Indians and Brewers played that interleague series last year.

The Brewers SWEPT Cleveland, if you really need a refresher course in recent baseball history.

No timetable, no withdrawal...

President Bush fired off a very well-earned veto.

Read the whole statement, as well as what he said at CENTCOM.

Then compare it to the nonsense coming from Rosie O'Donnell and others. Decide for yourself who is more serious about the global war on terror.