Telegraph | News | Saudi royal family lambasts Michael Moore for twisting the truth in his 9/11 film
And speaking of Mr. Moore's film: A few facts to contend with.

Who's Bloggin' the Dems
Worth a look. The Cyber Journalists are in great stride covering the Kerry Re-Awakening, as in Dawn of the Dead, Lurch, etc....
Also, John Fund describes some of the best blogging.

More on Sandy Berger's Theft
Democrats in Congress, particularly Democrats who oppose the Bush administration's misguided war with Iraq, make a huge mistake when they attempt to defend Sandy Berger, who served as former President Bill Clinton's national security adviser and who now stands accused of stealing and destroying classified materials on terrorism.

One of my favorite photos. Earth at night.

Day by Day by Chris Muir
Very good, very contemporary, very funny.
Check out the cartoon daily here on Liberty Just in Case.

And Speaking of Timing
If you've watched CNN today, the lead story has been an investigation of Richard Shelby allegedly leaking classified 9/11 conversations.
Listen to the keywords: Republican, leak, classified, 9/11.
It's a great spin for taking the pressure off Sandy Berger.
Trouble is, it's alleged, unproven, and denied by Senator Shelby.
None of those three words, alleged, unproven, denied, can be said about the former National Security Advisor and former top Kerry advisor.

Missing Documents That Matter
So let me get this straight. Tom Daschle and company are all worried that Mr. Bush's records, which the Democrats were screaming for, have been found. They are not however worried about the highly classified, code word accessible only documents a former National Security Advisor stuck in his pants.

Given that Berger walked out of the National Archives with classified material and 40 to 50 pages of notes he had taken, and that he failed to show these papers to archives officials for review before leaving, as he should have, can he be still trusted with classified material?

Archives officials say that Berger turned over the notes when contacted by archives workers about missing files, but other documents are still missing. A search of his home and office failed to locate the missing documents. Does this raise a question regarding Berger's willingness and ability to safeguard classified information in his possession?

Berger's attorney says his client's actions were "inadvertent." Inadvertence happens to be one of the conditions that can mitigate security concerns under the federal government's adjudicative guidelines when considering violations of security regulations. Well, what caused archives officials to begin watching Berger as he worked with classified materials in their special room for reviewing documents? Officials familiar with the case told The Post that some documents were missing after Berger's previous visit, so archives staffers coded the papers he was interested in reading to help them detect when other papers disappeared. After one of Berger's visits, one source reported to The Post, those materials had disappeared from the files.

"Inadvertent" means not focusing the mind on the matter. Sources who tell The Post that archives officials witnessed Berger stuffing papers in his clothing may be of the view that the former national security adviser's mind was focused wonderfully on what he was doing. Sandy Berger denies walking off with classified stuff in his pants. But getting to the truth is, in fact, what this is all about.

At issue is not Berger's sense of injustice or embarrassment, or the gotcha game that is being played out by Republicans, or the Democratic establishment's willingness to give Berger the benefit of the doubt because he's one of their own.

In a time of war, the above issues seems far more relevant than George Bush's National Guard service.

Play for a Kingdom
Just finished a great book, combining both baseball and the Civil War. Worth a read. Not political, just a fun summer book for both baseball fans and Civil War fans.

If It's Not Close They Can't Cheat: Crushing the Democrats in Every Election and Why Your Life Depends On It.

A how to book for serious Republicans. And one of the best books I've seen on why this election is so important. I know I posted on the book before, but this is worth posting again. You can purchase your own copy by clicking on the link to the right.

The 9/11 Report

Well, here we go. Obviously I haven't read the whole thing, but it is most assuredly worth reading the first chapter as a reminder of what we are fighting for. It makes for difficult, though at times inspiring reading, especially the confirmation of the story of the heroes of Flight 93.

Fundraising by Neighborhood
I've posted a site like this before. Great way to find out how much your neighbors have contributed.

Terror in the Skies: Part II
Well, the story continues. The mainstream media has just begun to bite into this story. Stay tuned.

Kerry At Work
From Drudge. Very, very funny. Except to the LA Times.
Hey, Drudge didn't call him a "Girlie-Man."
At least not yet.

A Bergerler at the 9/11 Commission Hearings?
What the heck is this all about? Sandy Berger, former National Security Advisor is under investigation for pilfering papers from a secure room? Whew! Good thing he's a Democrat, or this story would be all over the networks. And that would interfere with the really, really huge story of Ahnold calling Dems in California "girlie-men."
My favorite quote from the Left on Arnold's statement:
From the LA Times:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger mocked his opponents in the California Legislature on Saturday as "girlie men," and called upon voters to "terminate" them at the polls in November if they don't pass his $103-billion budget.

Gov. Schwazenegger MOCKED his opponents. The nerve! Did he not get the memo that only Mr Goebbel's Jr., and Al Franken are allowed to do that in the People's Republic of California????

Chirac tells Sharon he is not welcome in France
On the other hand, I have no trouble figuring what's wrong with this travesty.

Aladdin expels Ronstadt after political remarks
Actually, it appears folks were at least as angry that she didn't perform her greatest hits as her support of Mr. Goebbels, Jr.

Bush/Cheney News
To the right, below the cartoon.

Red or Blue Which Are You?
Hint: Mine came up saying I should get out of the sun, as I'm looking very Red. I'm sorta proud of that.
Set your screen resolution to 1024X78 to be able to take the whole quiz.

Bush and Veterans
What you will find just above this is an open letter, signed by 21 Medal of Honor winners.
For a fascinating, and patriotic look at how some of these men got their medals, visit Home of Heroes.com
If Kerry wants to wave his service and support of veterans, its important to hear what Veterans have to say about him. And what they have to say about Mr. Bush.

THE FACTS ON VETERANS
President Bush's Record:
Annenberg Public Policy Center: Kerry's Claims About Veterans Health Cuts Are Not True. The University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Center stated in a FactCheck, "[F]unding for veterans is going up twice as fast under Bush as it did under Clinton. And the number of veterans getting health benefits is going up 25% under Bush's budgets. That's hardly a cut. … FactCheck.org twice contacted the Kerry campaign asking how he justified his claim that the VA budget is being cut, but we've received no response." (FactCheck.org Website, www.factcheck.org/article.aspx?docid=144 , Accessed 2/18/04)
Increased VA Funding. The President's FY 2005 budget proposes to increase funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs to $68 billion from the 2001 level of $48 billion. The President's budget requests $29.5 billion for VA's medical care for next year, more that 40 percent above the 2001 level. The past four straight VA budget increases have provided more than a 40 percent increase in VA health care alone since 2001-- enabling a million more patients to receive treatment.
Increased Health Care Service to Veterans. In the past four years, President Bush's budgets have allowed the VA to enroll 2.5 million more veterans for health care services, increase outpatient visits from 44 million to 54 million, increase the number of prescriptions filled from 86 million to 108 million and open 194 new community-based clinics available for veterans. The number of veterans registered for health benefits increased 18 percent under President Bush and will increase by almost 26 percent by October 2004. ("Funding For Veterans Up 27%, But Democrats Call It A Cut," FactCheck.org Website, www.factcheck.org, Accessed 2/18/04)
Concurrent Receipt Of Benefits. President Bush has twice signed legislation effectively providing "concurrent receipt" of both military retired pay and VA disability compensation for combat-injured and highly-disabled veterans, reversing a century old law preventing concurrent receipt.
Cutting The Disability Claims Backlog. President Bush promised to reduce the disability claims backlog, and at his request, Congress has provided VA with the resources it needs to reduce claims. Claims backlogs have dropped from a high of 432,000 and are approaching the goal of 250,000 while the volume of claims decisions per month has increased from 40,000 to 68,000. The average length of time to process a veteran's compensation claim has dropped from approximately 230 days to 160 days and the VA expects to meet its goal of 100 days this year.
Help For Homeless Veterans. As a result of the President's 2003 budget, community grants were expanded to all 50 States and Washington, D.C. for the first time in history, ensuring that homeless veterans have access to housing, health care and shelter.
Additional Prescription Drug Coverage. Last year, President Bush took the unprecedented step of allowing veterans waiting for a medical appointment who already have a prescription from their private physician, to have those prescriptions filled by the VA. This is saving veterans hundreds of dollars in drug costs.
VA Expansion. The President is seeking to improve outpatient veteran's health care services through the CARES improvements, which will result in the construction of two new medical centers in Orlando, Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada; over 100 major construction projects to revitalize and modernize VA medical centers in 37 states; creation of 156 new community-based outpatient clinics; potential creation of four new - and expansion of five existing - spinal cord injury centers; and opening up two new blind rehabilitation centers.
John Kerry's Record:
Kerry Voted Against Last Year's Supplemental Defense Funding, Which Included Extra $1.3 Billion For Veteran Health Care. Kerry voted against the fiscal 2004 supplemental package of $86.5 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Senate version included an additional $1.3 billion for veterans' medical care.
Kerry Skipped Vote That Funded VA With $28.6 Billion For Fiscal 2004, Including $1 Billion To Expedite Processing Of VA Benefits Claims. Kerry skipped the vote on Fiscal 2004 Omnibus Appropriations, which included $28.6 billion for the VA. The amount was an increase of $2.9 billion over the previous year, and included $1 billion to "expedite claims processing at the Veterans Benefits Administration." (U.S. House Committee On Appropriations, "House Passes FY04 Consolidated Appropriations," Press Release, http://appropriations.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=342, 12/8/03)
Kerry Voted Against McCain Amendment To Require Equal Access To Health Care For All Veterans. Kerry was one of only 18 Senators to vote against the measure. (H.R. 3666, CQ Vote #268: Adopted 79-18: R 50-0; D 29-18, 9/4/96, Kerry Voted Nay)
Kerry Voted Against Last Year's Supplemental Defense Funding, Which Included $1.3 Billion For Veteran Health Care. (S. 1689, CQ Vote #400: Passed 87-12: R 50-0; D 37-11; I 0-1, 10/17/03, Kerry Voted Nay)
In 2001, Kerry Voted Against Amendment That Would Have Increased Funding For Veterans' Medical Care By $650 Million. (H.R. 2620, CQ Vote #263: Motion Rejected 25-75: R 8-41; D 16-34; I 1-0, 8/1/01, Kerry Voted Nay)
In 1999, Kerry Voted To Kill Amendment That Would Have Reallocated $210 Million For Veterans' Medical Benefits And $10 Million For Construction Of Veterans' Extended Care Facilities. (H.R. 2684, CQ Vote #286: Motion Agreed To 61-38: R 16-37; D 45-0; I 0-1, 9/22/99, Kerry Voted Yea)
Kerry Skipped Vote That Funded VA With $28.6 Billion For Fiscal 2004. (H.R. 2673, CQ Vote #3: Adopted 65-28: R 44-4; D 21-23; I 0-1, 1/22/04, Kerry Did Not Vote; U.S. House Committee On Appropriations, "House Passes FY04 Consolidated Appropriations," Press Release, http://appropriations.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=342, 12/8/03)
Kerry Missed Two Votes In 2003 That Extended Military Health Coverage To National Guard, Reservists And Their Families If Called To Active Duty. (H.R.1588, CQ Vote #447: Adopted 95-3: R 51-0; D 44-2; I 0-1, 11/12/03, Kerry Did Not Vote; S.1050, CQ Vote #185: Adopted 85-10: R 39-10; D 45-0; I 1-0, 5/20/03, Kerry Did Not Vote)

Perspectives: Victor Davis Hanson




Whom to Blame?



History’s Verdict
The summers of 1944 and 2004.


About
this time 60 years ago, six weeks after the Normandy beach landings,
Americans were dying in droves in France. We think of the 76-day
Normandy campaign of summer and autumn 1944 as an astounding American
success — and indeed it was, as Anglo-American forces cleared much of
France of its Nazi occupiers in less than three months. But the outcome
was not at all preordained, and more often was the stuff of great
tragedy. Blunders were daily occurrences — resulting in 2,500 Allied
casualties a day. In any average three-day period, more were killed,
wounded, or missing than there have been in over a year in Iraq.

Pre-invasion
intelligence — despite ULTRA and a variety of brilliant analysts who
had done so well to facilitate our amphibious landings — had no idea of
what war in the hedgerows would be like. How can you spend months
spying out everything from beach sand to tidal currents and not invest
a second into investigating the nature of the tank terrain a few miles
from the beach? The horrific result was that the Allies were utterly
unprepared for the disaster to come — and died by the thousands in the
bocage of June and July.

Everything went wrong in the days after
June 6, and 60 years later the carnage should still make us weep. The
army soon learned that their light Sherman tanks were no match for Nazi
Panthers and Tigers. Hundreds of their "Ronson-lighters" — crews and
all — went up in smoke. Indeed, 60 percent of all lost Shermans were
torched by single shots from enemy Panzers. In contrast, only one in
three of the Americans' salvos even penetrated German armor.

Prewar
America had the know-how to build big, well-armored tanks, with diesel
engines, wide tracks, and low silhouettes. Yet General George Marshall
had deliberately chosen lighter, cheaper designs — the idea being that
thousands of mass-produced, easily maintained 32-ton Shermans could run
over enemy infantry before encountering a rarer, superior 43-ton
Panther or 56-ton Tiger. Should he have been removed for such naiveté,
which led to thousands of American dead? Whom to blame?

Similar
blunders ensured that Americans had inferior anti-tank weapons, machine
guns, and mortars when they met the seasoned Wehrmacht. On the Normandy
battlefield itself, on at least three occasions, faulty communications,
tactical breakdowns, bad intelligence, and simple operational laxity
resulted in Americans blown apart by their own heavy bombers as they
were trying to facilitate breakouts. Almost as many Allied soldiers
were casualties in a collective few hours of misplaced bombing than all
those killed so far in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Generals Eisenhower
and Bradley probably miscalculated German intentions at Argentan, and
thus allowed thousands of veteran Germans to escape the Falaise Gap in
August. Tens of thousands of these reprieved Panzers would regroup to
kill thousands more Americans later that year. Whom to blame?

The
subsequent Battle of the Bulge was a result of a colossal American
intelligence failure. Somehow 250,000 Nazis, right under the noses of
the Americans, were able to mount a counteroffensive with absolute
surprise. For all of our own failure to account for the missing WMD, so
far an enemy army of 250,000 has not, as it once did in December 1945,
assembled unnoticed a few miles from our theater base camps. Whom to
blame?

Terror in the Skies, Again? - WomensWallStreet 
A frightening story, if true. Very much worth reading.
Here's a taste:
 
On June 29, 2004, at 12:28 p.m., I flew on Northwest Airlines flight #327 from Detroit to Los Angeles with my husband and our young son.  Also on our flight were 14 Middle Eastern men between the ages of approximately 20 and 50 years old.  What I experienced during that flight has caused me to question whether the United States of America can realistically uphold the civil liberties of every individual, even non-citizens, and protect its citizens from terrorist threats.
On that Tuesday, our journey began uneventfully. Starting out that morning in Providence, Rhode Island, we went through security screening, flew to Detroit, and passed the time waiting for our connecting flight to Los Angeles by shopping at the airport stores and eating lunch at an airport diner. With no second security check required in Detroit we headed to our gate and waited for the pre-boarding announcement. Standing near us, also waiting to pre-board, was a group of six Middle Eastern men. They were carrying blue passports with Arabic writing. Two men wore tracksuits with Arabic writing across the back. Two carried musical instrument cases - thin, flat, 18 long. One wore a yellow T-shirt and held a McDonald's bag. And the sixth man had a bad leg -- he wore an orthopedic shoe and limped.  When the pre-boarding announcement was made, we handed our tickets to the Northwest Airlines agent, and walked down the jetway with the group of men directly behind us.
My four-year-old son was determined to wheel his carry-on bag himself, so I turned to the men behind me and said, You go ahead, this could be awhile. No, you go ahead, one of the men replied. He smiled pleasantly and extended his arm for me to pass. He was young, maybe late 20's and had a goatee.   I thanked him and we boarded the plan.
Once on the plane, we took our seats in coach (seats 17A, 17B and 17C). The man with the yellow shirt and the McDonald's bag sat across the aisle from us (in seat 17E). The pleasant man with the goatee sat a few rows back and across the aisle from us (in seat 21E).  The rest of the men were seated throughout the plane, and several made their way to the back.  
As we sat waiting for the plane to finish boarding, we noticed another large group of Middle Eastern men boarding.  The first man wore a dark suit and sunglasses. He sat in first class in seat 1A, the seat second-closet to the cockpit door.  The other seven men walked into the coach cabin.  As aware Americans, my husband and I exchanged glances, and then continued to get comfortable.  I noticed some of the other passengers paying attention to the situation as well.  As boarding continued, we watched as, one by one, most of the Middle Eastern men made eye contact with each other.  They continued to look at each other and nod, as if they were all in agreement about something. I could tell that my husband was beginning to feel anxious. 
 
Much more on the link, read the whole thing.
So, is it true? Don't know.  Has that Urban Legend sort of feel to it, but then again....
Michelle Malkin is running it down, as are others in the blogosphere.  Stay tuned.
 For more info, and other links, check out Hugh Hewitt's website.

A Plug for Hugh Hewitt's newest.

Great Read for both sides of the aisle.

Like myself, Professor Hewitt sees the War as the pivotal issue for years to come.

The Terrorists Among Us

These are intercepts of cell phone conversations from just before the Madrid Bombings.

They influenced one election in a democracy. They are working on ours....

Mr. Ahmed said in an intercepted conversation on May 26, "The Madrid attack was my project, and those who died as martyrs were my dearest friends."

"I was ready to blow myself up, but they stopped me, and we obey God's will," he said. "I had wanted a heavy burden, but I didn't find the means. This plan cost me a lot of study and patience. It took me two and a half years."

In a conversation on June 4 in which Mr. Ahmed was wooing Mr. Ragheh into becoming a suicide bomber, Mr. Ragheh posed for the photograph that was to be distributed after his martyrdom.

"Come a little closer," Mr. Ahmed said. "Stop, move just a little. Like this it will be a marvelous day, with your face illuminated. You have a light around your face. It's not artificial. It's a luminous light that will never leave your body."

Mr. Ahmed told his young charge that he listened to soothing cassette tapes of martyrdom continuously, and told him to do the same.

"They will make everything easier when you feel them enter your body," he said, explaining that a suicide mission "takes five minutes, and then everything blows up."

And meanwhile, another look at the The Senate Intelligence Report

"The Committee did not find any evidence that Administration officials attempted to coerce, influence or pressure analysts to change their judgments related to Iraq's weapons of mass destruction capabilities."

So reads Conclusion 83 of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on prewar intelligence on Iraq. The Committee likewise found no evidence of pressure to link Iraq to al Qaeda. So it appears that some of the claims about WMD used by the Bush Administration and others to argue for war in Iraq were mistaken because they were based on erroneous information provided by the CIA.

A few apologies would seem to be in order. Allegations of lying or misleading the nation to war are about the most serious charge that can be leveled against a President. But according to this unanimous study, signed by Jay Rockefeller and seven other Democrats, those frequent charges from prominent Democrats and the media are without merit.

Or to put it more directly, if President Bush was "lying" about WMD, then so was Mr. Rockefeller when he relied on CIA evidence to claim in October 2002 that Saddam Hussein's weapons "pose a very real threat to America." Also lying at the time were John Kerry, John Edwards, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and so on. Yet Mr. Rockefeller is still suggesting on the talk shows, based on nothing but inference and innuendo, that there was undue political Bush "pressure" on CIA analysts.

One more thing: I am not convinced this Senate report is the final word on the subject of WMDs. But what the report does in no uncertain terms is take the "Bush lied" mantra off the table.

More Moore Deceit
I've made a tough decision. I've decided NOT to see Mr. Moore's propaganda peice. I can't morally pay the money, and can't bring myself to sneak in after paying to see Dodgeball.
Perhaps when it hits DVD, I'll sit down with it, Bowling for Columbine, a couple of Goebbel's films (Joseph, not George)from the 30's and a big bowl of pepto bismol,er, I mean popcorn.

After the election.

While I'm watching replays of Kerry Edwards' concession speech....

On CNN.

While the Media cries....

Remember Yellow Cake, 16 words, and the mantra Bush Lied?
It would appear the lies are not coming from Bush and company, but from his accusers. In this case, the somewhat honorable Joe Wilson.

DraftDitka.com
A somewhat psychotic plea from the Resistance, here in The People's Republic of Illinois. Sigh.

Alexander Hamilton
Read this wonderful piece by Tom Roesser while getting my oil changed today. Lots of facts, most of which I didn't know.

Drew Curtis' FARK.com
A very, very funny site.

Trivia, and Reality
I don't often include large quotes,as I want folks to read articles on the website. This from Victor Davis Hanson is an exception:

At a time when tens of thousands are risking their lives to end the barbarism that has spawned a quarter century of worldwide terror, the New York Times wishes us to know that its columnists can properly pronounce Iraq and really do remember that freedom "rings" more often than "reigns."

Meanwhile, an even smugger Billy Crystal was introducing the billionaire John Kerry at a millionaires' banquet in L.A. with similar gravitas — comparing 9/11 to the president's SAT scores. Oh yes, 3,000 incinerated on September 11 add up to the president's combined SAT score. Analyze that: comparing charred corpses to multiple-choice tests taken by high-school seniors.

The message of this out-of-touch, spoiled idiotocracy seems to be something like, "How embarrassing for us to have an inarticulate president who has freed Iraq and inaugurated democracy in Saddam's place." Are all these people crazy and ignorant of history — or do they simply want a free civilized Iraq and the American soldiers who brought it about to fail?

Do the trivialists want Saddam and the Taliban back in power? Does a Mr. Allawi repulse them? Do they wish 10,000 American troops back in Saudi Arabia? Perhaps they want Libya to resume its work on nukes? Do they care whether Dr. Khan returns to his lab? Or do they think it is child's play to hike back through the Dark Ages into the Pakistani borderlands looking for bin Laden? And is it all that easy to have prevented another 9/11 attack for almost three years now of constant vigilance? Perhaps they would like to deal with the corrupt, duplicitous, and tottering Saudi Royal family, which just happens to sit on 25 percent of the world's oil reserves — without whose daily production the economies of Japan, Korea, and China would almost immediately grind to a halt.

And this, from the same article:

There is a great divide unfolding between the engine of history and the dumbfounded spectators who are apparently furious at what is going on before their eyes. Mr. Bush's flight suit, Abu Ghraib, claims of "no al Qaeda-Saddam ties," Joe Wilson, and still more come and go while millions a world away inch toward consensual government and civilization.

For over a year now, we have witnessed a level of invective not seen since the summer of 1964 — much of it the result of a dying 60's generation's last gasps of lost self-importance. Instead of the "innocent" Rosenbergs and "framed" Alger Hiss we now get the whisk-the-bin-Laden-family-out-of-the-country conspiracy. Michael Moore is a poor substitute for the upfront buffoonery of Abbie Hoffman.

The oil pipeline in Afghanistan that we allegedly went to war over doesn't exist. Brave Americans died to rout al Qaeda, end the fascist Taliban, and free Afghanistan for a good and legitimate man like a Hamid Karzai to oversee elections. It was politically unwise and idealistic — not smart and cynical — for Mr. Bush to gamble his presidency on getting rid of fascists in Iraq. There really was a tie between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein — just as Mr. Gore and Mr. Clinton once believed and Mr. Putin and Mr. Allawi now remind us. The United States really did plan to put Iraqi oil under Iraqi democratic supervision for the first time in the country's history. And it did.

This war — like all wars — is a terrible thing; but far, far worse are the mass murder of 3,000 innocents and the explosion of a city block in Manhattan, a ghoulish Islamic fascism and unfettered global terrorism, and 30 years of unchecked Baathist mass murder. So for myself, I prefer to be on the side of people like the Kurds, Elie Wiesel, Hamid Karzai, and Iyad Allawi rather than the idiotocrats like Jacques Chirac, Ralph (the Israelis are "puppeteers") Nader, Michael Moore, and Billy Crystal.

Sometimes life's choices really are that simple.

Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity:Fahrenheit 9/11
One of the more scathing critiques of Moore's movie. And from a more liberal point of view, Michael Isikoff.

Glimpse at Early Universe Reveals Surprisingly Mature Galaxies :
OOPS. Thought the Big Bang was a random event. Hmmmm. Looks like Intelligent Design raises its head once again...

"Observations challenge standing view of how and when galaxies formed
A rare glimpse back in time into the universe's early evolution has revealed something startling: mature, fully formed galaxies where scientists expected to discover little more than infants.
'Up until now, we assumed that galaxies were just beginning to form between 8 and 11 billion years ago, but what we found suggests that that is not the case,' said Karl Glazebrook, associate professor of physics and astronomy in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and co-principal author of a paper in the July 8 issue of Nature. 'It seems that an unexpectedly large fraction of stars in big galaxies were already in place early in the universe's formation, and that challenges what we've believed. We thought massive galaxies came much later.' "

Another 9/11: Victor Davis Hanson
At least someone out there is considering the response.

And While The Adoring Media Focuses on Kerry/Edwards

: "Sen. John Kerry emphasized that he agrees with the Catholic Church's interpretation that life begins at conception but repeated his opposition to banning abortions.
'I oppose abortion, personally,' Kerry told the Telegraph Herald in Dubuque, Iowa, where he campaigned over the weekend.
'I don't like abortion. I believe life does begin at conception. But I can't take my Catholic belief, my article of faith, and legislate it on a Protestant or a Jew or an atheist ... who doesn't share it. We have separation of church and state in the United States of America.'"

Folks, if human life begins at conception, what does that make the taking of that life? And what does it make a politician who would make the above statement?

A Statement from John Kerry's first choice for Vice President:

Sen. McCain:

It’s a big thing this war.

It’s a fight between right and wrong, good and evil.

And should our enemies acquire for their arsenal the chemical, biological and nuclear weapons they seek, this war will become an even bigger thing.

It will become a fight for our survival.

America is under attack by depraved enemies who oppose our every interest and hate every value we hold dear.

It is the great test of our generation and he has led with great moral clarity and firm resolve. He has not wavered, he has not flinched from the hard choices, he was determined and remains determined to make this world a better, safer, freer place. He deserves not only our support but our admiration. That’s why I am honored to introduce to you the President of the United States, George W. Bush.

We Are All Soldiers Now
I began this blog over 2 years ago for 2 reasons.

The first was to keep an evergrowing email list of folks both at work, and around the country informed without getting fired from my job for inappropriate internet use.

The second, and far more important reason, was as my own personal reaction to 9/11. This has remained a guiding principle of this site. It will remain so.

I may bounce around other topics, from Saturn to Haliburton and back again, but in the end, The War is the focus.

As part of that, I offer a reprise of my all time favorite Peggy Noonan essay, more appropriate now than the day it was written back in November of 2001.

As the conventions and General Election approach, the threat of another attack increases exponentially. Many analysts believe the purpose of an attack is to sway the election, much as the terrorists did in Spain.

If this is the case, it begs a very important question:

Who do you think the terrorists would prefer as President?

The easy and intellectually dishonest answer is neither George W. Bush or John Kerry. This avoids the question.

One of them will serve the next 4 years.

Who does Osama Bin Laden want in that position?

This, more than any other question, should influence your vote this November.

Remember this picture of Titan. By the far best picture we've ever had, it will pale in comparison to what will come from Cassini.

Calling Bush a Liar
Interesting perspective on this, from Nicholas Kristoff. No friend of George.

Halliburton:Some Facts

If you plug two words in Google, Halliburton and Cheney, your computer screams corruption. The left has taken over Google when you try to do a search.

Decided to do a little research in to the company. Here, from its own website, is a little bit about Halliburton:

"About Halliburton

Founded in 1919, Halliburton is one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the oil and gas industries. The Company adds value through the entire lifecycle of oil and gas reservoirs and provides and integrates products and services, starting with exploration and development, moving through production, operations, maintenance, conversion and refining, to infrastructure and abandonment. Halliburton employs more than 100,000 people in over 120 countries working in five major operating groups:

Halliburton's Energy Services Group consists of four business segments:

? Drilling and Formation Evaluation
? Fluids
? Production Optimization
? Landmark and Other Energy Services.

These segments offer a broad array of products and services to upstream oil and gas customers worldwide, ranging from the manufacturing of drill bits and other downhole and completion tools and pressure pumping services to subsea engineering.

The Engineering and Construction Group, known as Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), is Halliburton's fifth operating segment. It serves the energy industry by designing and building liquefied natural gas plants, refining and processing plants, production facilities and pipelines, both onshore and offshore. KBR's non-energy business meets the engineering and construction needs of governments and civil infrastructure customers. KBR also provides operations and maintenance for a wide variety of facilities. "

One very important fact: There are few companies who do what Halliburton does. This may explain the awarding of contracts far more than any supposed special interest from Dick Cheney.

Watching Katie Couric Play Badmitton
Apparently NBC had larger priorties than the first pictures of Saddam on Trial.

Cassini at Saturn
There are some things NASA does right. Cassini is one of them. Make no mistake, folks. Cassini is a big deal.
Over the coming months we will get views of the most photogenic planet in the Solar System that will astound and surprise us all.
And I can't wait to see if Titan really has an ocean...of hydrocarbons.