You know, I am really sick and tired of the media and the left’s bitching about events in Iraq. No matter what happens, no matter what we do, there is always someone with a TV camera or a pen and paper willing to produce some shrill complaint and some hysterical analysis. Hannibal and Napoleon would be reduced to mere footnotes in history if they had been forced to prosecute their military campaigns under today’s rules.
Unfortunately, President Bush and our military leaders have allowed outside opinions to dictate the way the war is fought—all half-assed and touchy-feely. In the end, in many respects, the results should have been predicted. Can you say impotent and ineffective?
What kills me is that after screwing around with the process, these same forces and individuals (see Kennedy, Ted) have the audacity to sit back and complain about the results and not accept any responsibility for the outcome.
I think that it has been well proven that we cannot fight and win a war based on how the strategy and intimate details of the battles are PERCEIVED by civilians and the idiot media/politicians back home. What the hell do civilians and politicians know about war? Maybe it is genetic or a contagious disease, but even war hero/POW John McCain has let thirty odd years of politics dull his judgment when it comes to addressing military action.
Because of political correctness, they hardly teach civilians anything about past wars in history class any more. Most high school seniors can’t tell you whether General Cornwallis fought in the Revolutionary War or marched with Sherman through Atlanta in 1864.
Right or wrong, we chose to go to war in Iraq. Fifty years ago, before the days of CNN and the involvement of legions of “imbedded” reporters, before the two terms of the Bill Clinton Presidency and the resulting 40% reduction in active duty troop levels, we would have fought this war quite differently.
The war would have been prosecuted via a massive ground invasion, supported by an equally massive level of air support. Thousands of Americans would have probably been killed in the first week. Hundreds of thousands of civilians would have been displaced and tens of thousands of innocents would have been killed and wounded in the process. Remember the scenes from Paris in 1942 and 1943?
The Coalition forces would have ground their way through all of Iraq. They would have cut off the borders and relentlessly pursued the Iraqi Army and Saddam’s vaulted elite Republican Guard and security forces and we would have not stopped shooting until they were all dead or captured.
Next would have been Iran and Syria. They would have surrendered or faced the same fate.
But Nooooooo, not in 2003-2004. Can’t do it like that. We started out correctly, allowing our high tech Air Force to eliminate the Iraqi command and communications infrastructure. After “softening up” the battle field, everything else was done wrong.
We should have never allowed the Iraqi military to toss off their uniforms and meld into the civilian population. We should have made it extremely expensive for the civilian population to hide the military and later the so-called “insurgents.”
By controlling the borders, we should have made it impossible for the non-Iraqi “insurgents” to enter the country in the first place. But we didn’t.
So now we have to “dance with the one what brought us.” There is an election scheduled for tomorrow. The Iraqis seem to want to vote.
Ted Kennedy, his beloved Democratic Party, and the main stream media are apparently afraid that they will.
For that reason alone, I believe the election is a good idea.
Good Luck Iraq.
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Friday, January 28, 2005
T-Minus Three Days...and Counting
Imagine being fifty years old and never every having had the opportunity to vote in a political election. Unfortunately, there are entire herds of adults here in the US whom have had the chance to vote and routinely find the time to ignore the opportunity when it is available to them. Many times they are also the most vocal protestors in any given crowd.
Not me. I couldn’t vote against the dictator-butt-kisser-in chief, socialist loving Reverend Jimmy Carter in 1976 because I was too young, but I was there standing in line in 1980 when Ronald “The Gipper” Reagan was on the ballot. I’ve voted in every single presidential election since then and most of the mid term elections.
I am constantly amazed at the ignorance (and stupidity) exhibited by so-called voters who cannot even name the name of their US Senators. They have no clue whom their representative is at the state house level, but they will beat you to death verbally at every opportunity with the liberal/conservative Democrat/Republican talking points they learn in the headlines of the newspapers and by watching a few minutes of the TV evening network news.
So much for the state of American politics…Iraq is another matter.
In less than three days the registered voters in Iraq are going to have the opportunity to exercise a privilege that many here in the US routinely choose to ignore. Fourteen point five million Iraqi voters are going to VOTE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER FIFTY YEARS.
The Friends of Democracy Blog has some interesting insights into the street level goings on in Iraq. Instead of Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Greens, and H. Ross Perot’s, they have hundreds of “lists” representing individual political groups.
Here is an interesting example of a party platform. Along with providing a listing of their platform, I’m going to offer few select comments and some fairly important historical references for their education and use…
"The Coalition of the Independent Sons of Missan announced its list No.336. The Coalition is an independent professional group running for the Missan governorate council. The main points of its program:"
"1-Serving the people of the governorate in cities and rural areas with total honesty, integrity and sincerity, without any discrimination based on class, tribe or confession."
Sounds good to me…For reference, see The US Constitution. It’s got over two hundred years of experience and (ab)use. Caution, your mileage may vary.
"2-Improving deteriorating public services in the governorate, finding efficient solutions to the unemployment problem by encouraging investment in new projects and creating new jobs."
Again, a no brainer…but I suggest that you have to be careful with respect to government funding of jobs. Let the new jobs be created by private enterprise rather than the new government. See Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal
"3-Eradicating administrative and fiscal corruption in most government departments by naming competent, honest and experienced people to positions of responsibility and supervising works and projects in the governorate."
Amen, brother. Also, employing a digital camera phone for evidence gathering and the liberal use of a firing squad does wonders when it comes to encouraging fiscal responsibility.
"4-Eliminating the deleterious effects left by the previous regime in all fields of life, especially since they are reappearing under new forms and faces (corruption, dictatorship, nepotism)."
Do I have another Amen from the audience? How about a loud Hallelujah?
"5-Giving women a greater role at all levels to improve their actual state of inferiority"
Poor choice of wording here guys…let’s try eliminating the inferiority rather than improving it…
"6-Promoting the private sector in order to increase investments."
See the dictionary under the heading Reaganomics.
"7-Improving health services, working toward health insurance for all citizens."
Careful boys and girls, this is an extremely slippery slope. Suggest looking up Hillarycare in the dictionary. Health insurance = good. Universal healthcare = Canada
"8-Promoting and developing tourism, especially in the Ahwar areas."
I’m afraid that this one is going to take a few decades to develop…sorry guys.
"9-Protecting the environment."
Please, just don’t jump on the Global Warming and the United Nations Kyoto Protocol bandwagon. You guys just need to stop dumping zillions of gallons of raw crude out onto the sand and into the Euphrates river and everyone in the ‘global community” will be quite happy. And by the way, can you say $1.25 gas???
"10-Compensating martyrs families and victims of the former regime."
Again, careful here…where is the “compensation” money going to come from? Taxing the achievers in your society? Bad idea...
See September 11 fund. Why should someone that lost a loved one in the US in NYC on 9/11 get a million dollars and a poor woman whose husband was killed on the same day in a Florida construction accident or kid whose mom died in an Alabama car wreck get nothing?
Isn't it amazing how familiar the "planks" of this political "platform" are to all of us here in the US? It's not perfect but it is definitely a STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
GOOD LUCK IRAQ...
Not me. I couldn’t vote against the dictator-butt-kisser-in chief, socialist loving Reverend Jimmy Carter in 1976 because I was too young, but I was there standing in line in 1980 when Ronald “The Gipper” Reagan was on the ballot. I’ve voted in every single presidential election since then and most of the mid term elections.
I am constantly amazed at the ignorance (and stupidity) exhibited by so-called voters who cannot even name the name of their US Senators. They have no clue whom their representative is at the state house level, but they will beat you to death verbally at every opportunity with the liberal/conservative Democrat/Republican talking points they learn in the headlines of the newspapers and by watching a few minutes of the TV evening network news.
So much for the state of American politics…Iraq is another matter.
In less than three days the registered voters in Iraq are going to have the opportunity to exercise a privilege that many here in the US routinely choose to ignore. Fourteen point five million Iraqi voters are going to VOTE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER FIFTY YEARS.
The Friends of Democracy Blog has some interesting insights into the street level goings on in Iraq. Instead of Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Greens, and H. Ross Perot’s, they have hundreds of “lists” representing individual political groups.
Here is an interesting example of a party platform. Along with providing a listing of their platform, I’m going to offer few select comments and some fairly important historical references for their education and use…
"The Coalition of the Independent Sons of Missan announced its list No.336. The Coalition is an independent professional group running for the Missan governorate council. The main points of its program:"
"1-Serving the people of the governorate in cities and rural areas with total honesty, integrity and sincerity, without any discrimination based on class, tribe or confession."
Sounds good to me…For reference, see The US Constitution. It’s got over two hundred years of experience and (ab)use. Caution, your mileage may vary.
"2-Improving deteriorating public services in the governorate, finding efficient solutions to the unemployment problem by encouraging investment in new projects and creating new jobs."
Again, a no brainer…but I suggest that you have to be careful with respect to government funding of jobs. Let the new jobs be created by private enterprise rather than the new government. See Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal
"3-Eradicating administrative and fiscal corruption in most government departments by naming competent, honest and experienced people to positions of responsibility and supervising works and projects in the governorate."
Amen, brother. Also, employing a digital camera phone for evidence gathering and the liberal use of a firing squad does wonders when it comes to encouraging fiscal responsibility.
"4-Eliminating the deleterious effects left by the previous regime in all fields of life, especially since they are reappearing under new forms and faces (corruption, dictatorship, nepotism)."
Do I have another Amen from the audience? How about a loud Hallelujah?
"5-Giving women a greater role at all levels to improve their actual state of inferiority"
Poor choice of wording here guys…let’s try eliminating the inferiority rather than improving it…
"6-Promoting the private sector in order to increase investments."
See the dictionary under the heading Reaganomics.
"7-Improving health services, working toward health insurance for all citizens."
Careful boys and girls, this is an extremely slippery slope. Suggest looking up Hillarycare in the dictionary. Health insurance = good. Universal healthcare = Canada
"8-Promoting and developing tourism, especially in the Ahwar areas."
I’m afraid that this one is going to take a few decades to develop…sorry guys.
"9-Protecting the environment."
Please, just don’t jump on the Global Warming and the United Nations Kyoto Protocol bandwagon. You guys just need to stop dumping zillions of gallons of raw crude out onto the sand and into the Euphrates river and everyone in the ‘global community” will be quite happy. And by the way, can you say $1.25 gas???
"10-Compensating martyrs families and victims of the former regime."
Again, careful here…where is the “compensation” money going to come from? Taxing the achievers in your society? Bad idea...
See September 11 fund. Why should someone that lost a loved one in the US in NYC on 9/11 get a million dollars and a poor woman whose husband was killed on the same day in a Florida construction accident or kid whose mom died in an Alabama car wreck get nothing?
Isn't it amazing how familiar the "planks" of this political "platform" are to all of us here in the US? It's not perfect but it is definitely a STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
GOOD LUCK IRAQ...
Ego Blogging
I have to brag just a bit. Thanks to my Blogger friends in The Alliance (along with a good measure of hard work of my own) I am one of many that have scooped Fox news and most if not all of the main stream media on two popular news items this past week.
First, I sent out an E-mail last Saturday to a few friends and family members showing the fake VW Polo auto ad. Thanks to my friend Romeocat over at Cathouse Chat Blog for the tip and the link. Everybody has seen it by now.
The second item I found on my own. It was the Iraqi TV Election Ad compilation available on the MEMRI Site that I posted about on Sunday. FOX News has been running excerpts from the video on Wednesday and Thursday.
I found the ads to be very moving and produced in a surprisingly “western style.” I guess people are people no matter where they live and die.
Any way, I had FOX by three days on the mention…Hah!
(more new stuff on Iraq to come later tonight (or this morning)...
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Greetings From Baghdad
Well, not really. Actually, I’m here feeling a bit useless on the Georgia Coast. My heart just hasn’t been in Blogging this week as you can see from the lack of new postings. I had to spend part of a day working at the theater tearing down (what they call “striking the set”) from “The Mousetrap” that just finished a three-week run last Sunday. It’s sad that something that took two months to build can be torn down in only five hours.
And of course I’m still mourning Johnny Carson's death this week. Late night TV just hasn't been the same since his retirement, even with Leno's and Letterman's best efforts.
I've got the travel itch really bad. If I were fifteen or twenty years younger, I would do my best to go to Iraq or at least volunteer to go to Asia to help out with the Tsunami relief efforts. My age and health just won’t support my heart’s and mind’s wishes these days, however. It’s a bitch getting older…
As I posted last weekend, I’ve been following the situation in Iraq through the Internet, trying to get an independent feel for what is going on. I’ve actually turned FOX News and the TV Networks off for half of the day (I’m usually a 12 to16 hour/day news junkie) and I’ve been reading internet Blog sites and I’m a bit surprised at what I am finding.
There is River Bend Blog’s “Baghdad Burning” written by an articulate Iraqi woman that gives some interesting day to day insights into life in country. She’s definitely not 100% pro USA but she still has some interesting things to say. Healing Iraq, written by Zeyad, an Iraqi Dentist, has some interesting maps available that give a good picture of the ethnic and religious variations in the Iraqi population.
Iraq Net has a good assortment of English language news stories written with a slightly different slant from those found here in the NY Times or USA Today.
The Iraqi Schools site is currently managed by Major Nate Hines and is coordinating the collection and distribution of school supplies here in the US for delivery to students in Iraq. They’ve delivered over one million pounds of materials to date. Check them out and help if you can.
Finally, I’ll be following the brand new Friends of Democracy site that was just launched yesterday. It will be interesting to see what kind of news “scoops” I can get from this site. You can be there as the news develops too.
I say that we tell Dan Rather to kiss it…and gather our own news…
And of course I’m still mourning Johnny Carson's death this week. Late night TV just hasn't been the same since his retirement, even with Leno's and Letterman's best efforts.
I've got the travel itch really bad. If I were fifteen or twenty years younger, I would do my best to go to Iraq or at least volunteer to go to Asia to help out with the Tsunami relief efforts. My age and health just won’t support my heart’s and mind’s wishes these days, however. It’s a bitch getting older…
As I posted last weekend, I’ve been following the situation in Iraq through the Internet, trying to get an independent feel for what is going on. I’ve actually turned FOX News and the TV Networks off for half of the day (I’m usually a 12 to16 hour/day news junkie) and I’ve been reading internet Blog sites and I’m a bit surprised at what I am finding.
There is River Bend Blog’s “Baghdad Burning” written by an articulate Iraqi woman that gives some interesting day to day insights into life in country. She’s definitely not 100% pro USA but she still has some interesting things to say. Healing Iraq, written by Zeyad, an Iraqi Dentist, has some interesting maps available that give a good picture of the ethnic and religious variations in the Iraqi population.
Iraq Net has a good assortment of English language news stories written with a slightly different slant from those found here in the NY Times or USA Today.
The Iraqi Schools site is currently managed by Major Nate Hines and is coordinating the collection and distribution of school supplies here in the US for delivery to students in Iraq. They’ve delivered over one million pounds of materials to date. Check them out and help if you can.
Finally, I’ll be following the brand new Friends of Democracy site that was just launched yesterday. It will be interesting to see what kind of news “scoops” I can get from this site. You can be there as the news develops too.
I say that we tell Dan Rather to kiss it…and gather our own news…
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Why I Live On St. Simons
Everyone down here on the Georgia coast is going to wake up this morning complaining because our 70 degree weather has moved out in favor of 41 degree temperatures and 24 MPH wind gusts.
Then there is John Kerry’s lovely Boston, Massachusetts, which is enjoying a winter hurricane, as seen on this offshore NOAA buoy web site showing 53 MPH wind gusts and 20 foot waves at 4:00 AM 13 miles offshore near Boston.
Where is my fishing rod and tackle?
Then there is John Kerry’s lovely Boston, Massachusetts, which is enjoying a winter hurricane, as seen on this offshore NOAA buoy web site showing 53 MPH wind gusts and 20 foot waves at 4:00 AM 13 miles offshore near Boston.
Where is my fishing rod and tackle?
Iraqi TV Election Ads
You absolutely have to check out this compilation of TV ads I found on the MEMRI site I mentioned earlier, promoting the upcoming Iraqi election.
If you don’t have a cable modem or DSL, go to a friend’s house or the library and watch it.
Forget images of death, destruction, camels, and machine guns—modern, savvy advertising does exist today in Iraq.
I had no idea...
If you don’t have a cable modem or DSL, go to a friend’s house or the library and watch it.
Forget images of death, destruction, camels, and machine guns—modern, savvy advertising does exist today in Iraq.
I had no idea...
The Proof's In The Pudding
In the next week I expect everything relating to the Iraqi elections to really ramp up. By “things ramping up,” I mean that we will unfortunately see an increase in the number and frequency of attacks by the so called “insurgents” (most of us call them terrorists.)
We will also see an increased frenzy of negative news coverage in the Main Stream Media, dutifully addressing the gory details of each and every single blast, lamenting the “perceived” deterioration of social and political conditions, along with a generous portion of endless hand-wringing as the self-appointed pundits and TV talking heads lament the impossibility of holding meaningful elections.
In the mean time, what will I be doing? I addition to being grateful for living here in the US (in a Red state) and having our latest national election cycle behind us, I’ll be closely following the Iraqi election through several Iraqi Web sites and Iraqi Blogs.
If you are interested in doing the same, here is what you need to do to keep up with the election events without relying on Dan Rather and Peter Jennings.
First, I don't endorse or otherwise believe everything I read on any blog or website and suggest that you use the same skepticism in kind. There is this site, The Middle East Research Institute, which has some interesting, sometimes biased, insights into the local goings on in Iraq.
Then there are apparently a good number of English speaking bloggers in Iraq that can be linked to through Iraqi Bloggers Central. One of the more controversial sources found in their links is this blog, Iraq the Model, which is supposed to be written by two Iraqi dentist brothers, Mohammed and Omar, that currently live in Iraq.
They must be doing something right because Shara Boxer (no relation to Barbara Boxer?) recently took a shot at these guys in a complete hatchet job NY Times story published in, of all sections, The Arts.
Domestic and International Bloggers are now fair game for the media and I expect them to do everything they can to deliver a big old “see we told you so” at every opportunity. In the words of President Bush...Bring It On!
No matter, we know who we are and we know what we are doing….This is going to be VERY INTERESTING.
Just Watch…
We will also see an increased frenzy of negative news coverage in the Main Stream Media, dutifully addressing the gory details of each and every single blast, lamenting the “perceived” deterioration of social and political conditions, along with a generous portion of endless hand-wringing as the self-appointed pundits and TV talking heads lament the impossibility of holding meaningful elections.
In the mean time, what will I be doing? I addition to being grateful for living here in the US (in a Red state) and having our latest national election cycle behind us, I’ll be closely following the Iraqi election through several Iraqi Web sites and Iraqi Blogs.
If you are interested in doing the same, here is what you need to do to keep up with the election events without relying on Dan Rather and Peter Jennings.
First, I don't endorse or otherwise believe everything I read on any blog or website and suggest that you use the same skepticism in kind. There is this site, The Middle East Research Institute, which has some interesting, sometimes biased, insights into the local goings on in Iraq.
Then there are apparently a good number of English speaking bloggers in Iraq that can be linked to through Iraqi Bloggers Central. One of the more controversial sources found in their links is this blog, Iraq the Model, which is supposed to be written by two Iraqi dentist brothers, Mohammed and Omar, that currently live in Iraq.
They must be doing something right because Shara Boxer (no relation to Barbara Boxer?) recently took a shot at these guys in a complete hatchet job NY Times story published in, of all sections, The Arts.
Domestic and International Bloggers are now fair game for the media and I expect them to do everything they can to deliver a big old “see we told you so” at every opportunity. In the words of President Bush...Bring It On!
No matter, we know who we are and we know what we are doing….This is going to be VERY INTERESTING.
Just Watch…
