The Second Amendment means only flintlocks and muzzle loaders in exactly the same way that the First Amendment means only quill pens and hand-cranked printing presses.
Congratulations to Arizona Diamondback pitcher Randy Johnson, who set two new records tonight by pitching a perfect game against the Atlanta Braves, winning 2-0.
He was the oldest pitcher to pitch a perfect game (beating Cy Young’s 100-year-old record of 37), and had the longest period between no-hitters (14 years).
Given that there have been only 17 perfect games in Major League history (out of all the thousands of games pitched), this is something of which he can be justifiably proud, and we salute him.
I notice that most of the commentary that appeared because of my last post was pretty much silent on the gay marriage issue. There was one allusion to it, but that was all. I figure that is because it is a done deal and, like David in the biblical account, once the bad things has happened, there is no more use fretting about it.
I still oppose it, not so much for the moral reasoning (I oppose it in that context as well, but one prays in secret, you know, and lives the faith), but because it is a trmemdous loss to both the rights of the States, and the individuals that vote against the recognition of same-sex marriage. Just watch and see.
OK...another couple things about the WMD they found in Iraq....
What a lot of people are failing to realize is that Saddam either lied when he destroyed the WMD’s, or wasn’t given proper information. Wait....but...he would still be lying (with intent to mislead, of course), even if he were telling the truth as he knew it at the time...um...no...Hans Blix said that Hussein got rid of his WMD’s, even though there have been several found, along with precursors and...no...wait....no...since Bush lied about it, then they must not be there, no matter what they find.
If you read the last paragraph, and saw the irony, then you have to realize that I find anyone with an IQ of over 7 that thinks the President lied, while Saddam told the truth about the WMD’s, absolutely insane and consciously ignoring the reality of the situation. Why? OK....let’s see...there are four possible scenarios:
1)Saddam gets rid of the WMD’s, according to the UN resolutions. He lies about that fact, leading everyone in the world except Hans Blix to believe that he has WMD’s. We ask for proof, he offers none. We invade, spending billions of dollars and putting Bush’s rep on the line. We find no WMD’s. Bush is humiliated, Saddam is out of power. Winners? No-one.
2)Saddam gets rid of the WMD’s, according to the UN resolutions. He tells the truth about it, showing all sorts of verifiable proof. The UN is satisfied, the US is satisfied. Saddam survives, and Bush can’t raise enough political capital to go to war. We go and attack someone else. Winners? Hussein. Losers? No-one. Bush neither gains or loses in this situation. He doesn’t get hammered over the War-related stuff, but the Leftists hammer him over a bunch of other bullshit that they make up.
3) Saddam keeps the WMD’s(or part of his stock), and tells the UN that he got rid of them. Hans Blix goes over there, finds illegal stuff, and dithers about in his peculiar way, seeing nothing like Sgt. Schultz. The UN, because they have the backbone of an octopus, do nothing except touch their private areas in anguish. Bush, because he’s basically gone to War against Islamofascists, tells all interested parties that we’re going in unless Saddam either ditches the WMD’s or leaves. Saddam, being an idiot, stays on, and we go in, kicking the hell out of his army and removing him from power. Winners? Us and Bush, because victory is assured through patience. Losers? Saddam. He is in a cell, lying about his little insurgents, and he’s looking at his own death at the hands of his countrymen.
4) Saddam keeps his WMD’s (or part of his stock), and tells the UN he has them, and they can kiss his Tikrit-ish ass. The United States breezes into the UNSC, tells everyone that he’s a threat, and though France, Russia, China, and Syria bluff and posture, they abstain from voting, because the gig is up. The US goes in with 100,000 UN troops, and Saddam is captured, his legacy is humiliated, and he stands trial at The Hague. Winners? The United States, and all freedom-loving people everywhere. Losers? Saddam, Syria, and all the Food for Oil asshats that got rich over dying Iraqis.
So, there was only one way that Hussein could survive this without his kids getting blown up by an Apache gunship, and without him having to live in a latrine until capture by nice US Army soldiers. He could have given up his WMD’s, built up his conventional army with French and Russian weaponry, tickled the clitoris of Kofi Annan enough to get the sanctions raised, and ruled for another 15 years, with his sons taking over his little sandy empire of death. However, he didn’t take that road.
Why? It is widely known, and understood, that Saddam Hussein was a great political survivor. He was imprisoned with a death sentence by the Iraqi government before his, and escaped. He returned as a heavy-handed expert on torture, and rose up to lead Iraq. He had great skill in governance, and in his little fascist world, he was the exemplar....so, why did he doom himself?
My opinion? He had WMD’s, and saw them as power. However, when the chips were on the table, he shipped them out (or a good portion of them out), and hid the rest, in order to be used against our occupation forces. Problem is, we killed the people he trusted, sent his little darlings ‘bu-bye’, and found his scurvy ass in a hole. There are WMD’s scattered and stored in little areas all over Iraq.....I bet many are found over the next few years.
Problem is, they haven’t been found in great numbers yet....and the trickle of American casualties have polarized the electorate, and given Kerry traction where this War is concerned. As I have said before, Kerry is an anti-War nut, as big as you would see in any march opposing GWB’s War on Terror. He has been for 40 years...a blue-blood, Baby-Boomer, egotist, opportunist leftist that hates war, American proactivity, and neoconservative thought. He was defined, as a man and a politician, by the Vietnam War, and his VVAW brothers, and has not deviated from that point in any realistic manner. This discomfort of 13 deaths per week (about 1% of the death rate of WWII) has allowed him to gather momentum. The Prison thing doesn’t help, either, but that, as I have also said, was inevitable, and inexcusable.
Now, if more WMD’s are found, and it is shown that they are of Iraqi origin, then we will see, at the same time, the largest voter turnaround in the history of modern Presidential elections (if GWB finds WMD’s in Iraq, he wins 65-30), and the greatest self-flagellating of the media of all time. First, they will try to cover it up...then, downplay it. Then, as it erupts, they will have specials on why it wasn’t found, why Bush waited to make it public, and why the Media itself was castigated for being anti-Bush. Watch and see.
I still believe that we weren’t wrong. I still believe that WMD’s are there...somewhere, and that they will be found. And, even though that isn’t the only, nor biggest, reason for fighting this War, I will wait for their discovery with trust and expectation.
For our cause is just.
Less...
I gotta say this, though. There’s nothing like Instant Karma to make you feel good about life.
With all the high gas prices, inevitably, calls for the tapping the Strategic Oil Reserves are bound to crop up.
If we had a major breakdown in worldwide oil production, THEN sure, tap the damn thing. However, just to manipulate it to give some semblance of a election gambit is worthless.
Would I be naive in thinking if some corporation tried to manipulate prices like the Democrats would have the White House do, they would NOT be raked over the coals for it?
This is new...now Bush is somehow in charge of gasoline prices, making sure Americans have jobs AND making sure they have a savings account.