I'm back

Been off line for a bit but I'm back, having moved a short distance and taking advantage of a sweet property deal (Appraised at $299k, bought for $243k, 5.75% FIXED for 30 years. 2100 sqr feet with two car garage, tile floor, etc. If you're interested in moving to the lower east side of South Carolina or northern Georgia or a few other places in Texas, email me . If you credit me with sending you their way, I get a $500 Home Depot Credit Card if you close. This kind of deal is going on and on in this area. DR Horton is making its money by volume sales on new homes in really nice subdivisions with incentives like $2000 cash cards on closing. They buy your 100%mortgage down to 5.75% fixed if you close by a certain date. If you know nothing about home buying, trust me, this is a great deal. ) But I digress....

So al-Qaida Deputy Leader Ayman al-Zawahri had an open question period on line recently. I turned pale watchin all the pundits place such a high value on this event, even though no answers have been forthcoming to the over 900 posts and x2 or higher questions. Many of the questions focused on long term strategy for al-Qaida with a liberal dose of questions regarding command and control of operatives and the big one, why hasn't there been further attacks on the US? What surprised me though were questions of the same flavor regarding no attacks on IRAN ! Apparently the true believers on the lower end of the food chain regard Iran as a target for aggression as well. (psst, hey dumbasses, Iran is getting the bomb !)

So anyway, the pundits are for some reason feeling that the lack of answers to people who MUST be al-Qaida holy warriors must be a sign that the top of the food chain has no control. Further, the type of questions posed MUST be reason to believe that no information is travelling down to where it is needed. What a crock. People, if I asked you about masturbation in a crowded room, would you answer me ? Most likely not. But if you really felt I needed the answer you would use a more private mode of communication, which is likely what the al-Qaida leadership did. This not counting that the purpose for the on-line forum was probably NOT what they stated it was for. Hell, it could have been a CIA plot to gain intel on operative email addresses and user names. Stranger shit has happened and worked in the past.

Thats all for now.

I couldn't find anything interesting today.

So here's a baby llama

We are creating these people.

So here we have another piece of shit taught by the bleeding hearts that the quickest way to immortality is to obtain a weapon and randomly kill people.

The same people that use the phrase 'bi-polar' instead of 'childish' or 'immature' created Robert A. Hawkins. The parents that let him go with business unfinished and tasks left undone created Robert A. Hawkins. The lady who took him in rather than just renting him a room, you can tell by the way she describes him as 'a lost puppy that nobody wanted' that Robert A. Hawkins was not required at any time to become a man. She, too, helped create Robert A. Hawkins. The society which aggrandizes spree killers and serial killers showed Robert A. Hawkins the path to notoriety. "Now I'll be famous" The Beast caught eight this time. If we make an example of those who created him, perhaps we'll take one step closer to safety from Robert A. Hawkins.

The Political Bomb

It seems lately that the politics surrounding Iran's nuclear weapons program, or lack thereof, is getting more dangerous than the bombs themselves.

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's foreign minister on Tuesday welcomed the U.S. decision to "correct" its claim that Tehran has an active nuclear weapons program, while Israel's defense minister said Israeli intelligence believes Iran is still trying to develop an atomic weapon.

I have an issue with the word 'trying', seeing as most nuclear weapon information can be achieved by Internet capability and, as everyone knows, the French will sell a bomb to damn near anybody. I believe Israel has the most advanced intelligence network in the world, bar none, but I can't help but think that the politicians who interpret the data may be self serving. The sky is falling, as it were, brings billions in aid to Israel each year. Please, don't get me wrong. I'm probably more pro-Israel than the average American but history shows that while Israel is correct to perceive a threat, if George Jr is willing to admit a mistake then we most definitely made a glaring error. Israel may wish to be more specific in its claims, perhaps involving itself a little closer with the intelligence gathering efforts of its allies.

A U.S. intelligence assessment released Monday reversed earlier claims that Iran had restarted its weapons program in 2005 after suspending it in 2003 because of international pressure

This brings to question as to how we came to the original false conclusion in the first place. It lends weight to the argument of those who say that George Jr was using this issue as a starting platform for a war against Iran. To my embarrassment, I held the same opinion. But we apparently were wrong and other reliable sources agree.

In Vienna, the U.N. atomic watchdog agency said the U.S. finding is consistent with its own.
"Although Iran still needs to clarify some important aspects of its past and present nuclear activities, the agency has no concrete evidence of an ongoing nuclear weapons program or undeclared nuclear facilities in Iran," International Atomic Energey Agency director-general Mohamed ElBaradei said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071204/ts_nm/iran_usa_dc_9;_ylt=AvPjF53oz7RrOgq5hoyjtIsUewgF

And while the new findings should be somewhat of a relief, others advise a more cautious approach, opting instead to say we should be vigilant as the sky MAY fall.

Iran had this to say:

Iran quickly welcomed the report, published on Monday, as a vindication of its long-standing claim that its nuclear program had only peaceful civilian aims.
"It's natural that we welcome it when those countries who in the past have questions and ambiguities about this case ... now amend their views realistically," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told state radio."The condition of Iran's peaceful nuclear activities is becoming clear to the world."

When he smiles, you can see his fangs, but my gut tells me that Iran may have opted for buying its own nukes rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. I do not side with France and the UK in calling for continued and increased sanctions to pressure Iran. Now would be the time to back off a bit and see what happens next.

But Britain, whose position on Iran is closely aligned with Washington's, said it would continue to push for increased international pressure.
"We think the report's conclusions justify the actions already taken by the international community to both show the extent of and try to restrict Iran's nuclear program and to increase pressure on the regime to stop its (uranium) enrichment and reprocessing activities," a spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.
"It confirms we were right to be worried about Iran seeking to develop nuclear weapons (and) shows that the sanctions program and international pressure were having an effect in that they seem to have abandoned the weaponisation element."

It seems the international community would have us fight against something Iran MIGHT do. I do not agree.

World powers met last Saturday in Paris to discuss a further round of sanctions against Iran over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can produce fuel for power plants or, potentially, nuclear weapons.
Two U.N. sanctions resolutions have been passed so far against Iran, unanimously but after diplomatic wrangling among the five permanent U.N. Security Council members -- the United States, China, Russia, France and Britain -- plus Germany.
Close U.S. ally Israel was unimpressed by the report, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called for the U.S.-backed campaign to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions to press ahead regardless.

To 'press ahead' might allow the others to sleep a little better but it ignores the forest for the trees. Further, it allows Iran to take actions in a more justified light, painting them as the victims of western oppression. I would not give them such political leverage. This all could lead to a future where Iran wants a bomb and we finally have to give them one, though not in the manner they seek.

Illegal Immigrants and identification cards..

It would seem one of the minor topics dujour deals with illegal immigrants and drivers licenses/ identification cards and I thought I'd throw in my two cents.

In my area there is a large influx of illegal immigrants from every country south of the border. Alot of people bitch (though not too loudly) but for the most part the impact is invisible. They aren't taking jobs away from anyone as we have more jobs than workers. While alot of the manual labor workers pay no taxes, they still pay sales taxes when they buy things. The issue is the laborer who pays no taxes and then gets welfare, food stamps, assisted medical care and other such niceties we pay for and they haven't.

So now the screaming political rant is that we should make it hard for them to live here. Do not give them drivers licenses and such. The problem you think you are causing really isn't a problem for them. I see the look of confusion. You see, without a license Jose is still going to drive to work. His wife is still going to drive to her job. They are going to drive to the doctor, grocery store, etc albeit, without a legal license. So now you get that evil glint in your eye. "Chicken, doesn't that mean you can put them in jail when you catch them ?" Why yes, young Jedi, I can. But lets look at this another way.

*Space- a county jail can only hold so many people. Were I to ticket AND jail these people the jail in this county couldn't hold the ones we would take in just one weekend. In South Carolina they are entitled to a Bond Hearing within 24 hours of arrest, yes, which means unless they spit at the judge they will be out most quickly. But with county, municipal, security, and Highway Patrol putting these drivers away we would not have enough space. Have to stack them like cord wood which is against their Constitutional rights.

*Finances- even if these people are only in jail for a few hours, it still costs the taxpayer hundreds of dollars. Here's the kicker- it costs more to jail them than the county recoups when they pay the fine. Keep them in jail long enough to lose their job and now YOU get to pay for THEIR welfare and food stamps.

*Relationships- long term, these people are not going to leave the country just because I put them in jail for not having a license. They are not going to leave if I put them in jail every weekend for not having a drivers license. No, they will stay, but with a sense of animosity toward me and this country in general. I see them every once in a while now, those people of Hispanic origin who act as though the laws of this country mean nothing since they themselves are illegally here. The crimes escalate in nature and severity as their sense of apathy toward our community grows.

Now lets add my two cents. I've got ten years as a Patrol Officer (read: Neanderthal) and I've learned to be able to pick out the information I need from a Mexican Drivers License and a few others but what about the officers with no such knowledge ? Would not an identification card written in English assist the young patrolman greatly, adding to his efficiency and decreasing the amount of time he has to spend on each individual case ? And what about identifying the suspect they are talking to ? On any given day I can show you in the Booking Computer a dozen different jail birds who have been to jail under a half dozen names because they don't have an identification card to prove otherwise.

And what about drivers licences ? Keep in mind and remember your own adventure in obtaining the license for vehicular freedom as a teen. The one key factor in building up to getting a DL was TAKING A TEST ! You had to show you knew what the laws were. You had to show you recognized street signs and traffic markings. Finally, you had to get in a vehicle and convince an over-worked and under-paid DMV employee that you knew what the fork you were doing behind the wheel. With a license we would know the illegal knows how to drive. Without boring you with detail, suffice to say YOUR insurance rates would go down.

So what I'm saying here is, issuing ID cards would assist me in doing my job as well as lowering the money you have to shell out in taxes. Plain and simple. Not issuing them makes my job slightly more difficult on several levels and does nothing toward driving these people home. The chuckle you share over the little bit of revenge would turn to tears if you knew how much it was costing you to achieve it.

The usual, on ice

http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylc=X3oDMTI4Mmh0a2twBFJfYWlkAzAEUl9kbW4Dbnl0aW1lcy5jb20EUl9maWQDM2E2MzRjMmZiODMwOTAxNzI2Mzc5ZTVhODRjNjllNDEEUl9sdHADMQ--/SIG=157r2bca5/**http%3A//thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/the-blackwater-gunners-account/index.html%3Fex=1352782800%26en=65562282f13c91b4%26ei=5089%26partner=rssyahoo%26emc=rss
I tell you, I like people with opinions. I love a good debate, where both sides are opinionated and educated in their subject. Everyone brings something to the table. I am not satisfied with the stale debate over Blackwater and Iraq and all that it entails. It seems that neither side has done its homework.
I've posted a few, here and there. How we as law enforcement guarding the US don't fire warning shots, why should our armed forces ? If the guy sees guns pointed at him and keeps driving, he's asking to die. If your spotter tells you to shoot in a certain direction and you hesitate, chances are you're going to be killed right quick.Things that to me seem common sense but to others are foreign concepts. Doesn't help that our Commander in Chief has idiots advising him on public relations. No, seems to me we've hit a road block that could be quite easily be explained to everyone's satisfaction should the right person use the right words. All caused by a guy who knew he was driving his family to their deaths. Bin Laden must be pissing his pants laughing at this point.

God save me from comparisons...

With some room for error and unreported casualties on both ends, still, things are calming down a bit. Some would say that the reduction was due to the Muslim fast of Ramadan but I have to disagree. First reason being the statistics that on average the militants escalate their attacks during this time period. Then again, it could just be a ruse, they know that tactically the soldiers would be on high alert due to the history of this ritual, so they wait until the soldiers have spent a few sleepless nights then attack. But that has not come to fruition. Second, like the Viet Cong before him, people fighting for what they believe is their beliefs would take a certain pride in violating their rituals for the cause. "This is what I am sacrificing for my God."

No, and I know I'll be disagreed with, but I think that, like the Viet Nam War, the insurgents may be close to a major manpower shortage. I do not doubt the heart and faith that these people show, but after a while the body count has to lead to attrition folks. Barnum said, "There's a sucker born every minute." Well don't you think eventually the clerics preaching dissent will eventually run out of bodies to hurl into the flames ? Don't get me wrong, I don't think they're beaten, but you need a boy to carry the gun into the fight and they are running out of fighters.

We are experiencing a slight manpower shortage on our side of the fence too, but not so much that our efforts will be hampered. The strength of the United States has always been its ability to outproduce the enemy. The average soldier does not want to be in Iraq, according to a friend who just returned, but they will do the job needed to be done while they are there.

My greatest fear is that, like Viet Nam, we will start pulling out before we are ready. Congress needs to remember that every pen stroke has the potential to cost lives. Should we move on to Iran ? Oh hell yeah. Should we cut a garrison in Baluchi Pass in the Uruzgan province (shown above) from 500 men to 200 to supply the new effort ? Not if you value the lives of the 200. None left behind will be safe unless you turn Syria into a glass parking lot so the best bet would be to increase the training garrison over there. Train hordes more Iraqis to defend the backs of our troops as we move on toward the next foe. Then throw them in the deep end of the pond. I think the Iraqi troops will learn to swim rather than sink.