In Memory

Eight years ago today, on a morning very much like this one, 3000 people died in the most horrific act of terrorism ever to occur on American soil.

The day was marked with tragedy and with heroism, with fear and with courage. What came after will be a subject for contention and debate for decades to come, but for today I choose to remember those people and their families.

Moral Markets, Chemistry, and How the Occasional Bastard is a Good Thing

Enraged

Sorry folks, you can’t go to war half way. 

Carrots and stick, folks.  All carrots and no sticks makes for brave warriors who perish on the field of battle because the local fighters have little to fear – not because of our own warriors, but because of the lack of resourcing and tactics being implemented.

UPDATE:

It now appears that this may be yet another example of a rules of engagement problem.

GANJGAL, Afghanistan — We walked into a trap, a killing zone of relentless gunfire and rocket barrages from Afghan insurgents hidden in the mountainsides and in a fortress-like village where women and children were replenishing their ammunition.

I’m not sure where the confusion is.  The Marines were invited to meet with this village, and they were ambushed.  They weren’t looking for trouble this time, but maybe that’s the problem.

U.S. commanders, citing new rules to avoid civilian casualties, rejected repeated calls to unleash artillery rounds at attackers dug into the slopes and tree lines — despite being told repeatedly that they weren’t near the village.

They waited for support and got none.  The civilians in this case were hardly civilians, were they? 

Those who say we don’t belong there seem to forget that this village doesn’t represent the entire country, but they did set up an ambush.  What would you do?  And do you understand the consequences?

Read it all.

Let the Satire Begin!

You knew there would have to be something to make fun of the Marvel/Disney Team-Up.

Well then. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aqgweyLi6lYA

Other Plans

That's nice Mr. President. Glad you like being on TV. I'll be busy.

President Obama to address Congress - Mike Allen - POLITICO.com: "President Barack Obama will address a joint session of Congress on health care reform in prime time on Wednesday, Sept. 9, a senior official tells POLITICO."

Listen to Big Brother

While I think it's important for children to learn respect for authority (and then how and when to disobey), and I'm certainly not going to dismiss the Presidents responsibility to be a role model, I do wonder exactly what this is all about. Considering the recent attempts to enlist the clergy in the fight for socialized medicine, I'm more than a bit concerned that this will be an attempt at indoctrination.

Take a day of vacation. Go to the zoo. Anything that would save your offspring from what I will bluntly say is just the quasi-fellating the executive branch. That cackling over a bubbling cauldron you hear is the NEA rejoicing.