So I'm reading Instapundit and I come across this article quoting from an inteview Senator John McCain did. Go read the article and decide whether it's too harsh to say that the man has lost it... He's a potential presidential candidate. And I already had issues about his "campaign reform". But a man who thinks "I would rather have a clean government than one where quote First Amendment rights are being respected, that has become corrupt. If I had my choice, I'd rather have the clean go...

If this article means what I think it means, there's going to be some metaphorical heads on pikes out in front of Langley in the near future.   To which I comment - if you're going to dabble in politics, be prepeared to play the price. The Civil Service isn't the right arena, anyway. UPDATE: More on the bureaucratic fighting here

I'm reading through my blogs, as I do of a morning before going to work, and I see on Citizen Smash's blog a link to a Reuters' story about the failing health and possible demise of Yasser Arafat - at various times Palestinian head of Government, strongman, and terrorist; in parallel and in series. And I think to myself, "this is at least as much the end of an era as the fall of the Berlin Wall". I venture that there is nobody in Palestine who can take up the mantle of Yasser...

I plan on expanding on this later, but I just watched Kerry's consession speech, and I realized that whatever else he may be, this man deserves my respect. Possibly in another time, with another world situation, he might even deserve my vote. But he managed to be graceful in defeat; which in politics is important.

It didn't occur to me when I was there, but I was ID checked at the polls (sort of); I had to sing the register. This obviously doesn't prevent people from regsitering multiple times, but it does reduce the chance of someone voting in my name

Just got back from my polling place - it had only one machine when in previous years it had 2... and turnout was up. Go Vote!

Christopher Hitchens provides yet more proof of the potential WMD threat in Iraq. Subtitle (Saddam Hussein didn't have nuclear weapons - yet)

Bush used the potential of Iraqi WMDs to invade Iraq so that we would have Iran (a country that there is not question anymore about being inimical to the USA and attempting to acquire WMD) caught in a two-front vise. So that we would have battle-hardened troops on the border of Iran. He took advantage of Saddam's intransigence. This compares to the undeclared war FDR had going in the North Atlantic between the US Navy and the Nazi Kriegsmarine. FDR had to drag the US kicking and screaming ...

Glenn Reynolds finds them, and pulls out the gems. I link to them, and add my comments. I must call attention to one thing here though. DW came to me this morning and said the UN inspectors looking for WMD in Iraq have concluded that Iraq had none. To which my response was "That's not the point of the war." And now I find out the rest of the story: "Although they found no evidence that Saddam had made any WMD since 1992, they found documents which showed the "guiding theme" of his regim...

I draw your attention to the following articles ( part 1 and part 2 ). Written by one of the many people who are more eloquent that I, they cut to heart of why I still support President Bush and will be voting for him on 2 November. September 11th, 2001. The second of two days where I can remember where I was when I heard the news (the first was the Challenger disaster). What I particularly remember is standing in the doorway between the tech bay and the imaging room in my place of em...

This is a quick note jotted off in haste - I'll be updating it later. But the link goees to a story about a NJ teacher who is in hot water for posting a picture of President GW Bush in a display of other presidents. More to follow when I have time

Was it legal for the presenter to give it to him? Was it legal for him to accept? And does he still have it, transporting it in violation of several federal laws? Mind you, I'm not a big supporter of the laws in question - as the commentor on the site says, these laws have dubious relationships with the 2nd Amendment. But still... how is a senator any different from me if my father decides to give me a shotgun of his, when we reside in different states? Edit: Apparently there is an except...

This Drudge Report makes an interesting snark about the gun-toting image that Senator Kerry is trying to project. For those of you who are wary of Drudge's accuracy, the facts he is basing this on are easily checkec (and perhaps why Senator Kerry is not running on his record?) UPDATE: Instapundit has this to say on the subject

We now have an example of criminals using alternate means to commit violence in what should be a violence-free paradise now that guns are extremely difficult to get ahold of. And, no doubt, we'll hear that no-one "needs" to have a crossbow; and they can be banned "to protect the people" or other such nonsense. Feh.Updated to correct spelling

I've been somewhat busy these last couple of weeks. I started a new job the second week of July. I'm working as phone-based technical support for a major CDMA cellular carrier. I'm supporting the carrier's data products as a second/third level support tech. Basically, if you are using data services over the CDMA system (or CDPD; an analog data system), and the first level technicians can't solve your problem with the resources they have, they escalate to us. I generally dela with around 15 ca...