Show Me A Hero

ABC News has an article today in Google News about Pat Tillman. Pat Tillman, you may remember, was a professional football player with the Arizona Cardinals who left his lucrative football career to join the Army after 9-11 and was killed in action in Afghanistan.

It seems as if the government was trying to play his death up as heroic, fighting against a numerically superior enemy and exhorting his men to take the fight to them. In fact, CPL Tillman was killed by "friendly fire" and not by enemy fighters.

The Tillman family speculates that the warrior hero image was conjured up to shift attention from the building scandal that was Abu Ghraib. They claim that Pat did not die a hero, but as a victim of circumstance.

Jessica Lynch, girl soldier, also testified that stories told about her heroics were likewise exaggerated. Contrary to reports that she went down fighting, she said, her weapon jammed and she prayed for help.

"I'm still confused as to why they chose to lie and try to make me a legend when the real heroics of my fellow soldiers that day were, in fact, legendary," Lynch said in her testimony. "The American people are capable of determining their own ideals for heroes, and they don't need to be told elaborate tales."

The article goes on to question if the White House knew about the false story, and concludes by noting that the Pentagon has not punished anyone for the falsehoods.

Here's my take on the whole thing. Pat Tillman gave up personal wealth and fame to serve his country in Afghanistan. Jessica Lynch, when captured, conducted herself in a manner befitting her status as United States Soldier, and identified herself as such to the rescue team. Both are heroes, not because of what happened to them, but because of how they reacted to it.

If CPL Tillman, for instance, had mocked those who gave up promising futures in order to enlist, and possibly die, in the War on Terror instead of answering the call to duty himself, my opinion of him would be far different. He was mocked instead, but unhesitatingly gave up his position with Arizona to go to a different sort of desert. That makes him a hero.

If PVT Lynch had, for instance, allowed herself to be paraded about on television cameras while making demeaning statements about her country or her government after being captured by the Iranian bumper boat squad, my opinion of her would be far different. But, by all accounts, she conducted herself honorably, and that makes her a heroine.

To Jessica Lynch and to the family of Pat Tillman, I have this to say. Being a hero isn't about how you die.

It's about how you live.

Sir Galahad, detail of a painting by George Frederic Watts, 1864

Guest Commentary

I got this in an email from an old Navy buddy of mine, and with his permission I am posting it entirely. The only changes to the original post have been in formatting to make it easier to read. My comments are inserted wherever I saw fit.

Hey, it's my blog!

So, without further ado, take it away Dex!

"I have had a lot of time to think about and have formed my opinion on immigration.

I`m not bothered by immigrants coming here. That is the foundation of this country. But what I do have a problem with is accountability on the part of Illegals within our laws.

Every year we have legal immigrants come to this country who desire to become citizens of the United States. They work very hard acclimating themselves to our society. They also go through the proper channels. The process takes a long time - I believe seven or ten years going through the the naturalization process.

(Note from the Scoundrel - friend James can attest to the length and expense of the naturalization process. His wife is Russian and is going through it right now.)

Their rights have been trampled on because they have had desire and all they see is people who have no business being here getting the rights and privileges that they worked so hard for!

I also have a problem with pouring tax dollars in to programs that are not designed to help citizens but to accommodate people who not supposed to be here. I have a big, big problem with politicians trying to circumvent the power of my vote by granting that right to people who did not properly become citizens by legal means nor served in the armed services to secure that right for themselves.

I also have a problem with a wave of people working in this country, who by their mere presence here allow employers to keep their wages artificially low for those Americans whose circumstances are not allowed to attain their true value in the market place. If you are a small business owner with working students or young adults on your staff, you are in direct competition with another small business who actively works illegals. That business owner playing by the rules is going to lose in the market place because he will be outbid on every job.

Now lets look at Illegal immigration from the point of view of the illegal. If a person is not here legally, he or she will be exploited from the time they step in this country. They have no legal recourse in this country.

(Note from the Scoundrel - the following points would be valid for illegals in Mexico, but here illegals are treated pretty well. A bevy of taxpayer-funded attorneys see to that. However, many illegals are indeed exploited in just such a manner, and threatened by their employers with these actions, because they believe that they will be treated this way if they seek legal recourse. End note.)

They are not citizens - they are illegal. They can be arrested and detained without just cause - they can be searched without Miranda having been read to them - they are not entitled to legal counsel - they are illegal.

They are not entitled to one single right - they are illegal. They are bought and sold into slavery - indentured servitude - they have no rights or legal recourse because they are illegal. They cannot report crimes to law enforcement for fear of being deported - because they are illegal.

They are forced to live twenty or thirty people in a townhouse. They cannot qualify for loans for homes because you have to have legal documents to purchase a home.

(Note from the Scoundrel - unless you go to Bank of America! Seriously, this is true, which is why most illegals have documents that are forged. This is also one of the reasons identity theft is such a problem. End note.)

They are transported by coyotes who force them into prostitution, drug trafficking, and other illegal activities to pay for their passage into this country. In some instances, they are left to die in the desert in trailers left by the coyotes. They are treated like cattle because they have no rights - they are illegal.

The solution is simple. It has to start with enforcement of the laws of this country and respect of our borders. Work visas are not difficult to get and to maintain it is just like getting a drivers license and keeping it up to date. But as of right now, our politicians want to use them just like everyone else wants to exploit the illegal.

We need to know what the character of the person is. Does he have a criminal record? Does he have any communicable diseases that can expose the general population to? Can he read and write?

The politicians (both lefties and righties) in this country have forgotten that we have an enemy that is looking for any weaknesses in our defenses. Our borders are wide open, because we lack the will to properly secure them.

If it sounds like I'm fearful, I am. I have seen the damage done at the Pentagon first-hand by people who were not supposed to be here. I and my children live in the flight path of more than a hundred planes flying overhead every day into Dulles, Reagan National, and Thurgood Marshall (BWI) airports.

I have formed my opinion. I hope I have exposed the politician's for being short-sighted and reckless.

Dex
Northern Virginia"

Fight For Me

Link!

He Knew The Face Of Evil

Liviu Librescu first saw the face of evil when he was 10 years old.

Born in 1930 to a Jewish family in Romania, his homeland was overrun by Nazi Germany in 1940 and soon became a part of the Axis powers. Romanian Jews, already suffering under harsh anti-Semitic laws in place, were rounded up and sent to concentration camps. His father was one of those swept up, but he and his mother managed to escape this fate. Fortunately, his father survived the concentration camp.

Between 280,000 and 380,000 Jews were killed in Romania during the dark days of World War Two.

Liviu Librescu was fourteen years old when the war ended. But the end of the war did not bring an end to the evil.

Romania suffered under the Communist yoke for 45 more years until the collapse of the Soviet Union. Liviu Librescu was able to secure freedom for himself and his family in 1978 after appealing directly to the Israeli government. In 1985 he moved to Virginia to teach engineering classes at Virginia Tech.

Liviu Librescu taught at Virginia Tech for 20 years and had an international reputation for his work in aeronautical engineering.

"His research has enabled better aircraft, superior composite materials, and more robust aerospace structures," said Ishwar K. Puri, the head of the engineering science and mechanics department.

On April 16, 2007 Liviu Librescu once more saw the familiar face of evil. That was the day a crazed killer went on a rampage and ended the lives of 32 innocent people before killing himself as well.

Liviu Librescu did not run from the face of evil. He ran towards it.

Librescu's son, Joe, tells of his father's actions as described in emails sent by his students, describing how the professor saved their lives by barricading the classroom door against the approaching gunman.

"My father blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee," Joe Librescu said Tuesday in a telephone interview from his home outside of Tel Aviv. "Students started opening windows and jumping out."

Liviu Librescu made his escape upon angel's wings.

Liviu Librescue was one of the 32 victims. He gave his life so that others might live.

Yit-gadal v'yit-kadash sh'mey raba, b'alma di v'ra hirutey, vyam-lih mal-hutey b'ha-yey-hon uv'yomey-hon uv'ha-yey d'hol beyt yisrael ba-agala u-vizman kariv, v'imru amen.

Y'hey sh'mey raba m'varah l'alam ul'almey alma-ya.

Yit-barah v'yish-tabah v'yit-pa-ar v'yit-romam v'yit-na-sey v'yit-hadar v'yit-aleh v'yit-halal sh'mey d'kud-sha, b'rih hu, leyla* min kol bir-hata v'shi-rata tush-b'hata v'ne-hemata da-amiran b'alma, v imru amen.

Y'hey sh'lama raba min sh'ma-ya, v'ha-yim aleynu v'al kol yisrael, vimru amen.

Oseh shalom bim-romav, hu ya-aseh shalom aleynu v'al kol yisrael, v'imru amen.

(The Kaddish is an old Jewish hymn of praise to God. It is recited at funerals and in memory of the departed.)

Rest in peace, Liviu Librescu. Your name will always be remembered here. The world is a better place because of you. The world is a poorer place at your passing.

Staff Photo, Virginia Tech

Second Verse, Same As The First

I am a big fan of Bill Whittle's writing, and I have recently linked his blog EjectEjectEject. Look for it on the sidebar.

I also signed up for a mailing list that discusses his writing on the aforementioned blog.

One of the most recent posts, in response to the latest entry on the blog, said in part "In conclusion I will be so bold as to venture our way of life is not worth defending if others want to kill us for it."

Un - freaking - believable.

I forget who said - and I'm feeling too lazy to look it up - that a society that refuses to defend itself does not deserve to exist, but the statement is dead on. I hope and pray that the statement quoted in paragraph two is not the belief held by a majority in this country.

Considering this, the recent shooting at Virginia Tech seems to be a natural extension of our society's effort to self destruct.

From what I understand, the young man who wielded the firearms was mentally unstable. Yet he was able to purchase two firearms and walk onto the campus, where firearms are not permitted (so much for that safe zone), and kill 32 people who were not allowed to have the instruments that may have prevented their own deaths.

There are many people that can be directly blamed for this tragedy.

He was declared to be mentally unstable, but not deemed an iminent danger to himself or others. Because of this, there was never an order for involuntary hospitalization to treat his mental instability.

Because he was never involuntarily hospitalized for his mental instability, he was not prohibited from purchasing firearms.

Because of laws passed in the last year, the school administration was not able to expell him based upon his mental instability, even though they were well aware of it.

Because the Virginia legislature allowed House Bill 1572 to die in subcommittee, the Virginia Legislature also allowed 32 innocents to die at Virginia Tech.

Because we have taught our children that "violence never solves anything," and because we deplore the use of violence even in the defense of self and others, the students were unprepared to defend themselves against violence.

HB1572 would have allowed the carry of firearms on campus.

Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear the bill was defeated. "I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus."

This irony will likely be lost on the anti-gunners.

There are some heroes in this tragedy. Meet Professor Liviu Librescu. He gave his life, blocking the door to his classroom as bullets pumped into his body, so that his students could escape through the windows and get away from the carnage.

Derek O'Dell was one of the students that barricaded the door to Room 206, where the shooting started, after the gunman had left the room. Wounded in the attack, his actions prevented the gunman from re-entering the room to continue his rampage.

If there had been one - just one - professor or student that had been allowed to carry his or her own firearm on campus, the death toll would have likely been smaller. Perhaps as small as one.

If we, as a nation, were conditioned to attack instead of surrender, the death toll may have been smaller.

In a related story, Westboro Baptist Church plans to picket the funerals. No, I'm not linking it. Don't feed the trolls.

If we, as a society, refuse to defend ourselves, we deserve to die.

Photo by Manny Garcia, AFP, Getty Images
Post updated on April 19, 2007

My Mother Was Right

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Third Level of Hell!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Moderate
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Moderate
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Moderate
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Low
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante's Divine Comedy Inferno Test

I'm doomed, I tell you. Doomed.
But at least there won't be any lawyers there. Just us lustful gluttonous avaricious wrathful violent slobs.

Friend James tells me I'm a wimp. He would.

All's Well That Ends Well

The world breathes a sigh of relief as militant Lutherans in the Midwest's notorious Manure Triangle suddenly and unexpectedly released 38 British Royal Marines that they had been holding since their April 10th capture on the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan.

After three horror-filled days that included forced ingestion of pickled eggs and ice cold beer (a move that was deemed "inhuman" by room-temperature brew swilling occupants of The Dolphin Pub in Portsmouth, England), the crew of the ill-fated HMS Chamberlain were released in a show of goodwill from Pastor Duane Gunderson, leader of the Decorah insurgents.

Iowahawk has the full story here. Hopefully this act of charity by Pastor Gunderson will serve to ease the long-standing tensions between the war-torn Midwest and their British oppressors.

That guy just ain't right.

Another Good Cause

I love motorcycles. I have a passion for anything on two wheels.

My first was a 1972 Honda CL-350, a solid and dependable workhorse that had a solid mounted engine and would vibrate your hands to sleep in a half-hour or less.

My second (and third) were Suzuki GT-550's, two stroke triples that I had in full-dress garb. I logged a lot of miles on those two bikes.

My divorce present to myself was a 1988 Harley-Davidson FXRS-Sp, pictured here with her traveling clothes on. Many miles were also logged on this bike, and she is presently awaiting a well-deserved rebuild after almost 200K miles and just as many memories - good and otherwise.

The most recent acquisition has a bit of a story behind it. When I got the Harley, I also convinced a good friend of mine that it was time for him to get back into two-wheeling himself. In fact, I started him off with a Suzuki GR-650 Tempter like the one pictured here that I picked up for a song from one of my Navy co-workers. Over time he upgraded to a Suzuki GS-850G, which he owned until multiple sclerosis ended his riding days forever.

I was sitting at his kitchen table with him over a cold beer when I had the saddest conversation in my life. He asked me if I thought he would ever get over wanting to ride. I responded that I didn't think it was the sort of thing one got over. He said "That's what I thought. You had better take that Suzuki on away from here then before I try to get on it and hurt somebody."

My plans for the Suzuki are to get it dolled up and sell it at auction, donating the proceeds to MS research. After the Harley gets her much needed rebuild and her PGR duds, that is. I can't think of a more fitting use for it.

And speaking of fitting, SGT Eric "Sketch" Hanley has a vision of a motorcycle that will honor his fallen comrades. Stop by to his site, won't you, and throw a few pennies his way? He has big dreams for this bike, and a Soldier's pay won't do it all. This bike will be a rolling memorial to those who understood that there are things worth fighting and dying for, in this war and in the ones that came before.

I can't think of a better tribute than that.

Listen To Your Pappy

"Never miss a chance to shut the hell up."
Tad "Pappy" Cage

OK, so I'm jumping on the bandwagon. I'll admit, I've never read Kat Cobble's blog until now. I've seen her name in comment posts, I've seen her posts linked, but haven't ever really been interested enough to follow them.

In this instance my employer has decided to "rightsize", so I too am in the job market. That's why this post interested me.

The bare bones of the story is this, a recruiting company (also known as headhunters) contacted this woman's husband to set him up for job interviews and such, as headhunters are wont to do. They then had him bring in his wife for the high pressure sales pitch, just before telling him the fee was going to be almost 5 grand.

Headhunters usually get their fees from the companies that they are recruiting for, if not chances are they are scam artists of one vein or another. The aforementioned couple declined the offer to be ripped off, and the wife blogged about it. Hilarity then ensued.

First, from His Imperial Majesty: "Company (JL Kirk & Associates) and law firm (King & Ballow) are about to get an unpleasant lesson in the wisdom of letting sleeping dogs lie."

Second, from Say Uncle: "In other news, don’t send bloggers stuff that makes you look like an asshat. They tend to blog about it."

And finally, the post that started it all from Katherine Cobble.

Fight's on!

Non Sequitur, 9/13/04

First, The Hanging, Then The Trial

In a move that was surely a surprise to no one that was paying attention, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper dismissed all charges against the Duke Three. What was surprising is how he did it.

In an announcement to the press this afternoon, Roy Cooper said there was "insufficient evidence to proceed on any of the charges." No surprise there. But what he said afterwards certainly raised eyebrows.

"We believe that these cases were the result of a tragic rush to accuse and a failure to verify serious allegations. Based on the significant inconsistencies between the evidence and the various accounts given by the accusing witness, we believe these three individuals are innocent of these charges."

Pay attention to the last 10 words of the above statement. "...we believe these three individuals are innocent of these charges." Not simply "insufficient evidence to proceed", but "we believe these three individuals are innocent of these charges."

I can't remember any case before this where the accused was not only released due to insufficient evidence to proceed but was also declared INNOCENT of all charges. At the same time, Mr. Cooper catapulted Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong deep under the bus.

Mr. Nifong surely faces serious times ahead in his ethics case in front of the Bar Association, and the statements from the North Carolina Attorney General certainly didn't help.

"I think a lot of people owe a lot of apologies to other people. I think that those people ought to consider doing that," Mr. Cooper said during the question and answer period following his statement. He went on to say that he thought it was appropriate that the North Carolina Bar Association was investigating the matter, but would not say if North Carolina would cover Mr. Nifong's legal bills or if any civil charges were expected.

It's good that these three young men have now been cleared of any wrongdoing, but that is simply not enough now. The woman that made the charges must be destroyed absolutely, along with the DA that pursued the charges for his own political gain. Otherwise the cloud will hang over them for the rest of their lives.

Added to that, the Duke University professors that signed the condemning statement owe at least an apology.

Race hustlers Jackson and Sharpton owe an apology in front of news cameras.

Durham Police owe an apology for the lineup and other procedural errors, and the officers and detectives that engaged in these questionable practices need to be fired.

Duke University's dean needs to offer an apology for statements he made, and compensation needs to be paid to the lacrosse coach that lost his job.

The entire city and county of Durham owes these men and their coach an apology for the way they were shunned and treated by the community, including the flyers that were posted on public streets and death threats that were made to the entire team.

The media owes an apology for the three ring circus they turned Durham into.

I wouldn't hold my breath though. And neither should Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans.

Duke doesn't deserve to have them look blue.

AP photo, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper

A Little Better

From Michelle Malkin's blog comes a story that makes me feel a little better about our Limey cohorts. It also gives the impression that their media is even worse about reporting the good news than our media is.

British Private Johnson Gideon Beharry of 1st Battalion, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, has been awarded the Victoria Cross for services set forth in two separate incidents. Pvt Beharry is the first Soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross since 1982, and is the first living recipient since 1965. Not for lack of trying though, Pvt Beharry managed to place himself squarely in harm's way not once but twice. Men of this caliber are rightly honored (or perhaps that should be honoured).

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration that can be awarded to British armed forces, equivalent to the Congressional Medal of Honor in the United States.

The first incident came about on 1 May 2004 when Pvt Beharry drove his damaged Warrior vehicle through an ambush, relying on guts and instinct after his platoon commander (riding in his vehicle) and his gunner were both injured and taken out of the fight. He led 5 other Warrior vehicles through the ambush site, then rescued both his commander and gunner before submitting to medical treatment himself.

The second incident happened on 11 June 2004 when, once again at the helm of the lead Warrior, he encountered yet another ambush and was seriously injured when an RPG detonated on the front armor of his vehicle, mere inches from his head. He once again maneuvered his vehicle clear of the ambush zone before losing consciousness, enabling the occupants of his vehicle to be extracted away from enemy gunfire.

Members of the British Royal Navy and Marines should pay attention. This is how a warrior conducts himself in the face of the enemy.

Photo (amazingly enough) from the AP

April Fools

This seems to be the year for internet pranks. Emperor Misha I put one over on his Loyal Citizenry (I'll admit it, I was taken in) that blew up on him. And now by way of Michelle Malkin I see that a company called Coptix has apparently pulled a fast one on the moonbats.

Meanwhile Iran has agreed to let the British servicemembers go, due to President Ahmadinejad's magnanimity during the Easter season. He calls it a gift to the British people. He also questioned the morality of a nation that could deploy women away from their children, and pinned a medal on the Coast Guard commander that intercepted and captured the 15 servicemembers.

COAST GUARD!?!?!?!?

OK, let me get this right. An Iranian Coast Guard glass bottomed rowboat intercepted and captured 15 sailors and marines on an away team from a British destroyer?

It was bad enough when I thought it was an Iranian gunboat or destroyer that made the grab, but COAST GUARD!?!?!?!?

If I were a retired British Navy squid, I would drown myself in shame. Preferably in a tall glass of ale.

I have two questions. First question, how does any vessel from a hostile nation enter a destroyer's battlespace unopposed?

Second question, how does said enemy vessel, once it has entered the battlespace of a destroyer, manage to snatch and grab 15 sailors and Marines - MARINES, fer godsake - ROYAL F'n MARINES! - and get away unopposed?

Lord Admiral Nelson's bones must have exploded in his grave.

It would have been bad enough if it had been destroyer vs. destroyer, but even then the odds tip towards the British. They have, after all, a long history of combat on the high seas. Not to mention that there was a US carrier battlegroup in the area, and airplanes are damnably fast.

One flight of two F/A-18's loaded with 500 pounders and 20mm Vulcan cannons is enough to deter the most determined destroyer skipper, especially when that flight's friends are surely not far behind. Add to that the fact that the Hornets can also carry air-to-ground missiles, and when I was in the Gulf we often did, and you have a formidable airborne deterrence force only a quick radio call away.

But to find out it was a COAST GUARD vessel...

Britannica, Mistress of the Seas, I weep for thee.
Photo of Iranian Coast Guard boat 1608 from DBL Imaging

Cabbages and Kings

At the end of WWII American manufacturing entered it's golden age. We were virtually the only country left on the face of the earth that had it's manufacturing capabilites intact. Europe and Asia would take decades to dig out from the rubble of the global conflict while we were able to immediately switch over from "arsenal of democracy" production to civilian useage.

American manufacturing in general, and the automobile industry in particular, enjoyed spectacular growth and almost no competition. American car manufacturers grew fat and lazy, without competition they lost their edge and forgot how to compete in a global market.

Like the song says, those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end.

But end they did. Faced with stiff competition from emerging Japanese automakers, American auto production hit a slump in the mid 70s from which we have not quite yet recovered. General Motors has axed Oldsmobile, the Plymouth moniker is likewise a relic of the past, and Chrysler is owned by a foreign company.

Twenty years ago we were focused like a laser beam on the Soviet Union. We stood four-square against Communist expansion, and the USSR was the nexus on which that expansion centered. With the collapse of the Evil Empire we were suddenly without purpose. Our military was curtailed when it was not cut outright, their reward for their steadfast opposition to Soviet aggression was to be downsized.

No good deed goes unpunished.

I have been following the saga of the 15 British sailors and Marines who have been illegally detained by the Iranians. This is not the first offense, indeed this is just the latest play in the Iranian hostage game.

The British are responding with strongly worded missives, with promises of even more strongly worded missives to follow. The Iranians are, for the most part, ignoring the empty threats of the toothless lion.

Maggie Thatcher took her country to war over a sheep infested rock off the Argentinian coast called Falklands. One can only wonder what she would do about having 15 of her servicemembers snatched from a Royal Navy vessel in Iraqi waters. I think her response would have involved multiple applications of high explosives with a "strongly worded" missive that said "Cease and desist, and let our people go, lest we become extremely annoyed at you."

Why are the Iranians engaging in this tomfoolery you might wonder, the simple reason is that they can. They are trying to make the point that Western civilization has become so deseased that they are no longer willing to stand up for themselves. And, a civilization that will no longer stand up for itself will deservedly cease to exist.

I sometimes wonder at those who will advocate peace at any cost. I don't think those who would mouth that empty platitude really understands what the cost may be. Europe for the most part has seemingly surrendered to dhimmitude. I would still place bets on Eastern Europe, only because it's citizenery have recently emerged from forced servitude under the Soviet state. However, one must remember that that era, too, is passing from the collective memory.

Islamic Jihad has vowed to bring the entire world under the crescent banner, and the peace at any cost crowd has refused to stand in their way. Citing the cause of multiculturism they refuse to see evil. The cost, before it is done, will be bloodshed, slavery and death.

What does this have to do with the American automobile industry and the fall of the Soviet Union? Only this; left without purpose or competition entrophy has done it's damage on our national psyche. We have reached the tunnel at the end of the light, and the dark has blinded us. Our enemies, and make no mistake they are our enemies, are not likewise handicapped.

The loyal opposition is solely concerned with gaining and holding power at home, damn the consequences. Who cares if the world burns, as long as we are on top of it. They not only dismiss the danger, they refuse to admit the danger exists; as if denying it's very existence will make it go away.

It won't. No more than Japanese competition went away because domestic automakers refused to acknowledge it. It won't go away, it will only grow stronger. We ignore it at our peril. This is not George Bush's war, it's not the Republican's war. It's our war, and if we refuse to acknowledge it it will still exist, and if we refuse to fight it we only ensure our own defeat.

At the end of World War Two we had Churchill and Truman to keep us focused on Communist aggression. At the end of the cold war we had nothing, and it shows. If we don't get focused now on Islamic Jihad we will lose to it before we even realize it's there.

"For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me." Job 3:25