Far East Cynic

A line that Lex wrote the other day got me to thinking. Thinking again about the fiasco in Iraq and how it is tying my beloved country down for what will be a good number of years.

Lex was writing to criticize Hillary Clinton for daring to complain about the legacy that he will bequeath to his sucessor. Something that she believes will be her. (I don’t-I firmly believe it she can’t win-too many people really hate her).

Here is what Lex wrote:

The thing that troubles me is that results matter-not just intent-and based on that GWB has failed miserably in his role as the “decider”. Also, and while I hate to agree with Hillary, it is quite clear whoever succeeds Bush will have this mess on their hands-to the continuing detriment of the United States.

Why does that bother me? Because if you look at Lex’s assertions more closely we accomplished none of the things he lists. However the President-the one who 58% of Americans wish would just go away-basically sticks to this line of thought and ignores the factual evidence to the contrary. In fact, he asserts that pointing out the failed results is somehow a disloyal act:

I’m confused. If democracy is so damned important to have in Iraq, then should they not see the world’s longest running democracy having meaningful debate about issues of life or death importance to the nation? However if you believe that democracy will take years to get right in Iraq than stability should be the better priority. Even the founding fathers of the United States understood that not every civilization is not ready for democracy right away. That was why the built protections into the Constitution to save the public from theselves (such as no direct election of Senators-something that took 120 years to change).

“Led a unified national and coalition campaign which swiftly defeated the largest army in the Arab world”-Hardly. Most of the major European powers opted out-with good reason, they had already been burned with things like this. The partcipants in the “Coalition of the coerced” were in it because they basically faced a choice of missing out if this thing worked, since most of them needed or wanted something from the United States (Entry into NATO, aid, trade-you name it). Unlike his father, it was striking that none of the major Arab nations contributed troops and the nation that should have helped-Turkey-was neither required or desired. Who out of the G-7, besides the US and Britain actually stepped up to the plate really? And how may of them are still there? (I’ll bet you a beer Britian will be gone as soon as Tony Blair goes.)

“Deposed a ruthless and dangerous tyranny, liberated 25 million minds,”-true, insofar as it goes. However as it turned out those 25 million minds simply traded one tyranny for another. The lack of security in the country is the key thing that prevents development of Iraq. Also they are still saddle with the yoke that is Islam around their necks.

“Sponsored three national elections in a part of the world where such things had been thought impossible and enearthed the first tender seedlings of democratic institutions in a part of the world that more than anything else desperately requires enlightened government.” -Those elections proved exactly what? That given the chance, Arabs can be just as stupid and elect bad people as anyone else. I’d be willing to bet that a lot of Iraqis would glady have traded their purple fingers for reliable electricity, the ability to go out with out fear of a violent end, and some sort of economic security.

Much as I hate to do it, I have to agree with Lee Kwan Yeu when he recently wrote that the Americans got the order wrong in setting up Iraq. He points out that rather than create a beacon of light, the Americans may very well have let the genie out of the bottle:

With Sunni control of Iraq removed, Shiite Iran is no longer checked from extending its influence westward. And by allowing the emergence of the first Shiite-dominated Arab state, the United States has stirred the political aspirations of the 150 million or so Shiites living in Sunni countries elsewhere in the region.
The United States has long relied on its traditional Sunni Arab allies, such as Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia,to keep the Arab-Israeli conflict in check. Now the power of the Sunni bloc may no longer be able to counter an Iran that supports militias such as Hezbollah and Hamas against Israel. The new Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, found it necessary to publicly support the Shiite Hezbollah in Lebanon during the fighting this past summer.

Yeu goes on to write (sadly the rest of the article is behind a pay portal) that the first priorty in Iraq should not have neen democracy-supresssion thereof is something he knows a thing or two about-but economics and infrastructure. He’s probably right about that, but that too would have required a long term occupation. Something I dare say no American, Bush included, really thought that they would have to do.

Hwoever Yeu points out that it takes time to condition the populace to democracy-again, something he knows about since he’s never allowed Singapore to have one-and that if you can divert the attention of folks to material pleasures they might forget about killing each other. He’s probably right about that-its the formula the UAE and other gulf states have used very effectively for the past 20 years.

The problem with the Singaporean approach though, is that the Iraqis are burdened by religion. Singapore’s Chinese majority is not. Islam is the rock that gets in the way every time.

However Lex’s prose is the basic script that the Kagans, Cheney’s and Rices of the world want us to stick with-no matter how much it costs in American blood and treasure. 65% of America no longer believes it however. And a lot of polticians, on both sides of the aisle, are waking up to that fact. Something has to change.

I think that in the end Iraq will emerge in better shape-after a lot of bloodshed.
Blood shed they are going to have whether the US is there or not. And it will have a strongman back at the helm eventually. It may or may not be a friend of the United States-that I tend to doubt. The Arab countries have a bad track record of biting the hand that feeds them. The real question is can the United States emerge better for the experience? I’m not sure it can. And as I have said over and over again-this should be about American interests first and foremost. They are the only ones I care about.

Which is why this script desperately needs a rewrite.

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Doing things to too much of an extreme. It what one could say about the USAF firewall policy.

Whatever happened to the idea of encouraging recreational usage of the internet-so long as it does not interfer with buisness. As I have rapidly discovered in the past couple of days about the only sites I can get to are Sesame Street and the 700 Club.

What is up with that?Pretty soon they are probably going to ban Sesame Street I think.

So its taken me about two days to figure out short cuts and workarounds to big brother. It involves careful planning and using 3 different computers at 3 different locations. And freezing my ass off walking between them. What is really amazing to me is not being able to reach my work e-mail from my laptop because the hit is coming from a Korean IP.

Probably the Air Force, like China wants to purify the internet. And ensure conformity of thought. God forbid you would think for yourself.

Maybe that is the price we pay for our technological advances. I’d like to think not, but sometimes I wonder.

At least in the old days one could read subversive books. You know-like 1984.

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Ah, the time has come the Walrus said, to pay the piper. Limited posting for a day or so unitl I can work my way through the inevitable IT issues that come up dealing with the US Army and US Air Force. A firewall here, a blocked IP there (this blog included) and voila you can’t get into your own work e-mail.

There are always work arounds, but it takes time to get them figured out.

In the meantime there are some great things read out on some of the other streets in Bloggerville.

E @ L has found that I need to update my links again.

Its cold here and I have plenty of work to do so I’m not getting out and about till later in the week. Picked up a copy of Foreign Policy Magazine to read since I can’t surf porn the internet. They have some great articles including their cover piece:

They also agree with me about India.

SJS has a post that will keep you awake at night…worrying about China.

Michelle Malkin needs a makeover……and some new boots.

Speaking of Iraq, I’ll bet Condi Rice hates it when Iraqi lawmakers agree with Democrats.

Spike has come to a logical conclusion based on the latest news.:

I know what’s gonna happen next. There’s going to be a massive outbreak of attacks on cigarette smokers and the attackers will use this as their defense, saying “I wasn’t trying to hurt the guy, I was trying to help him” and lawyers will wave this article around and the attackers will not just get acquitted, they will get medals.

It won’t just be smokers pal-us beer drinkers are in for it too.

Speaking of zealotry, the new model of dictator, Hu Jin Tao wants to purify the internet.

Oh I forgot, he’s the dictator the US trades with. So he can’t be that bad right?
This guy is the new model of tyranny folks. This type of thing is just the opening act.

And it looks like Carl Rove will get an invitation.
“Its called a subpoena!”-Senator Finistire.

Got to run……the libary thought police are coming to hunt me down.

Ja ne!

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But without Seinfeld’s ratings.

Yesterday was a very interesting day. No real reason for that, I meandered around Hong Kong, and amazingly enough left Wanchai relatively early. However it was just one of those days, a good day, with some unusual twists and turns.

Woke up at a reasonable hour-which is amazing in itself, given how late I stayed in Lan Kwai Fong on Friday night- and slid on out for some breakfast. Normally the hotel offers miso soup, which, among its other abilities is reknowned for its ability to cure a hangover. Today is was just congee and more congee. A food I have never really acquired a taste for. However I knew I needed nutrients and fluids so waded through breakfast, all the while reading the trials and tribulations of Hong Kong in the South China Morning Post.

Breakfast complete, back to the room to map out the day. Check e-mail, read some blogs, listen to the BBC on the “telly”. Watch the maid flinch in horror when she opens the door to clean the room and sees that I have used all the towels and left water from the shower on the bathroom floor. (Next time I have to remember to put the curtain inside the bathtub……). Could you come back in 20 minutes please? I promise to be gone by then.

Out the door and out on to Nathan Road. The big question of course, which way? Jump on the MTR and head north to Mongkok and points beyond or back over to HK island. I opt for option 2.

The weather is nice, but there is a little coolness in the air. I emphasize the word little. You would never know that from the look of the Hong Kong citizenry though. They are all dressed in coats looking like the snow was going to start any minute. I’ve never seen so many girls in fur lined boots even in Tokyo or Hokkaido. What’s up with that?

Meander down towards the Penisula Hotel, taking a quick stroll through their lobby. Someday when I can afford to blow 350 dollars a night on a hotel room I will stay there.

Through the underpass and come up the stairs to witness a scene I wish I had brought my camera for. Walking in front of the entrance to the stairs are two women with strollers, jabbering in Cantonese. In tow are two boys who could not have been more that five years old or so. Boy #1 turns around and smacks boy #2 for no reason. Mom #1 yells at boy #1 who simply shrugs it off. His attention was fixed on his victim, boy #2. He acknowledges Mom’s remonstrance, then puts his hands on his hips and gives boy #2 a “There! I showed you!” type of look. The look on his face was priceless. An animated conversation between the Moms and the boys ensues in Cantonese and off they head for the Harbor. Me too.

Its a beautiful day, but with Hong Kong’s characteristic haze on Victoria peak. The Harbor is especially “fragrant” this morning. Coming up to the walk of the stars I spot an Aerospatiale helicopter making some knots, paralleling the coast of Hong Kong Island. Somebody has some money! It gets lower and lower and it sets down just to the left of the Hong Kong convention center. I’m intrigued, because just in front of the where it sets down is the USS Rentz, tied to a mooring buoy. I’m surprised because, not having ever cruised in Westpac, I thought small boys went pierside. Must have sucked for the guys in the duty section and on restriction. The ship was just a stone’s throw from the joys of Wanchai. At night with some imagination they could probably see the lights of Jaffe street.

While I thank God in heaven for never having been a ship driver, I always thought it must be really cool to be a surface ship Commanding Officer in a port visit like this. No admiral looking over your shoulder, no CAG and his entire staff, just you and your responsibility for what your crew does. Plus I am told there is no way a carrier could ever be anchored that close to shore in Hong Kong.

Time to move on. Down the harbor towards the Star Ferry. People still dressed like they are in Alaska in February. Pause from time to time to admire the view. Decide that I have killed enough time and head for the entrance to the Star Ferry. I wanted to see what all the fuss had been about.

Now here is where the weird stuff begins. Climbing the stars to the upper deck entrance of the ferry to Central, a Pakistani man or Indian man stops me and says that I have a lucky face. He says he noticed that I was there physically but my mind was somewhere else. (Which was true-I was thinking and talking to my self under my breath). He tells me that while I have been moderately successful in business I am seeking, I’ve not been really advancing in my life. WTF?

I thank him and try to move on, but the fellow just does not want to give it up. He tells me that 2007 will be a lucky year for me and that an golden opportunity will present itself to me in a couple of months. (For SJS, mind you this was after I read your e-mail….).He continues on pointing out his ability to read the future. He asks me to take my sunglasses off. He says my worry lines around my eyes show that I think too much. I’m trying to figure out : 1) if this one of the “destiny moments” that one sees in the movies or 2) the little bastard is waiting for the right moment to hit me up for money. Sadly, I decide its option 2. I thank him profusely, but tell him I really need to run. At first he seems determined to continue talking about me and my life but I think he finally grasped that I am buying the fact that he does not know me from Adam and I have a right to be suspicious. Nonetheless, the incident bothers me for a good while after. Did I just blow a good thing?

On to the Ferry admiring a really beautiful Chinese girl. Her eyes were to die for. (Her breasts were not too bad either. ). Across the harbor to the new Central Ferry terminal, which for what my opinion is worth is not as well located as the old one was. It also tries to look historic, but does not really pull it off well. If you come to Hong Kong in the future, be aware that you will not be were you used to be, especially in finding the right bus que.

Walk around Central, through the park and up to the HSBC building. One thing I have noticed in the past couple of days is the increased number of police I have seen around. In the park by the Legco building I finally figure out why. It must be open season on visa overstayers, because any woman who looks even remotely Filipino or Indonesian is being shaken down for their indentity card. One poor woman is sitting with a sad face while the policeman is talking hurriedly in Cantonese on his radio. He is holding what looks like an indentity card. ( The girls in Neptunes last night told me that the police had raided the place doing the same thing then.)

I decide its really time to check out SoHo, something suprisingly in all my HK visits I’ve never really done. So I walk on over to that marvel of suburban transportation, the mid-levels escalator. ( Or Travelator as it is known). Up, up, up the hill I go till I get to the holy of holies-THE KRISPY KREME store! Which just happens to be located next to a bar. Had a donut then moved to the bar for lunch. For what it is worth, they make great burgers at McSorleys’. Properly beered and fed I worked my way up the hill again.

One of the things I never knew was that there is a mosque in the mid-levels. That was a surprise. Saw several terrorists Muslims coming out. Spotted a book store-like an idiot I went in. 356 Hong Kong Dollars poorer I come out with a book about the 1956 Suez war and a John Grisham novel.

Stumble, and I do mean stumble, across the Sun Yat Sen museum. Its not a great museum really, however I have been to the one in Singapore so I thought it was appropriate to check the square here. The building it is in is beautiful-it should be- as it used to be a Mormon temple. Somehow the Mormons were “persuaded” to give it up in 2004.

Being a history buff of sorts I’ve always wanted see how the stinking commies PRC dealt with Sun Yat Sen given that he has a direct link to the history that became Taiwan and both nations revere the man. The exhibits were mostly factual, but the verbiage used was interesting. He is always portrayed as a revolutionary. That’s suprising given the fact that he was also a real doctor and never held government office for that long. He did, however, set into motion the chain of events that brought down the Qing dynasty.

By now it was 3 o’clock. I decided that I thought I should see Kolwoon Bay-I’ve never ridden the MTR to that part of the New Territories. That decision proved itself to be a big mistake. The MTR lets you off in a shopping mall-complete with Ikea-but not near a bay at all. AND, as an extra added bonus, I got the distinct impression that I was in a gweilo not wanted zone as I walked around looking for a way out from the apartment buildings.

Which was troublesome, given the fact that I knew hordes of Indonesian maids and others would be converging on Laguna while I walked amidst the Scandavian furniture items.

So with the sun just beginning to set I beat a hasty retreat, via 3 trains, back to Wanchai.

As for the rest of the day……..well you know the story. I did, however, come back reasonably early enough to awake today with out too much trouble. That is progress. Klong had their “closing party” last night. Cute girls in Blue Girl dresses pushed too many Blue Girl beers on me.

A good day- probably boring to read about. But it was mine, and for some silly reason I’m going to treasure it as I head for Seoul in a few hours. Silly me.

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That needs to be shown to every one in the US military.

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But no time to say it.

Tomorrow I will write about the amazing day I had. But for now I need to look for these:

It was Australia Day yesterday!

And head to Wanchai to meet these:

They seem to be here in great numbers!

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To have a cup of coffee and read the Hong Kong Standard while thinking about my life that is. Surely there must be cheaper and less time consuming ways to think about making changes.

There are. They just are not as fun.

I’m not sure why it is, but coming here relaxes me in strange sort of way. (Of course, my sojourns into Wanchai do just the opposite!)

I was up at 7 this morning. For once I did the prudent thing and did not take a late night taxi over to Wanchai when the band at the hotel bar finished its set. (One of the Filipina singers had a diamond nose stud-what’s up with that?) As a result getting up this am was quite easy. Had breakfast, checked e-mail, made some phone calls, then laid back and watched the news.

Which was nothing but more of the same. Lebanon is falling apart, Iraq is still a mess, and Barack Obama is black, still a smooth talker, and Hillary hates him. Situation normal-must be time to set out for the day.

No matter how many times I come here, I always start out my visits the same way. MTR to admiralty, walk around the park, Tram up the peak. Coffee in Pacific coffee sitting outside in the sunshine.

On the way seeing interesting things. A maid, helping a gweilo boy get a drink of water at the fountain. The bride being “suited up” by her friends for wedding pictures. The mega Mercedes limo in front of the bridal registry. Looking back down to the harbor and seeing the haze. Some older gentleman sitting and staring into space.

It always seems like this city was made just for me. The trick, of course, is to find a means of gainful employment in it. (Any suggestions-please send them along.) In the interim I have to be content with these short visits where I almost always do the same old thing.

Like stay too long on the netvigator Internet terminal, thereby pissing off some burly Australian looking over my shoulder as I type this, pointing to the timer I never bother to use.

Just like the world and the news. Maybe me-and it- need to make a dramatic change.

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Starting a road trip today. Couple a days of fun in my second favorite city (HK) then on to Korea followed by Hawaii. Try packing for those climate changes with just one suitcase! Korea weather is 0.2 degrees Celcius when last I checked. Honolulu is in the 70′s………..

Yep, needed a second suitcase…thank God for wheels and taxis! Now if I can just find my card for the MTR……………..wonder how much money I have on it from my last foray down to the Fragrant Harbor?

At least in my previous workplace trips were usually only about 10 days. This one is for almost a month. With bad working hours again when I get to Hawaii. Thus, I have earned a couple of days on the front side for fun and a trip up and down Jaffe Road.

Sitting here in a very crowded lounge. Sitting across from what appears to be ageing hippies on a trip around the world. From careful eavesdopping I have deduced they are first going to Thailand then to Africa………what is up with that? From the look of the guy with the beard, he is unequipped to really appreciate Thailand…..at least not in the way I would appreciate it.

I need to go back to studying my Japanese. I used to go to class a couple times a week, now my work schedule, finances and travel will not permit it. However I was intrigued when I read a sign at Immigration that was definately new. It was in Japanese only and talked about the ban on travel from Japan to North Korea. I guess they don’t print an English versuion since they assume that no westerner would be stupid enough permitted to travel there. It used to be legal for Japanese to go however.

So, when I finish this beer-its off to board the plane! See you folks on the other side!

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Between just starting a job and being in a thankless one for two years:

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I did watch the state of the union speech today. Since it was on at 11 am Japan time, I could not have the luxury that many DC residents had of being drunk during it. I probably would not have used so many swear words and talked to the TV so much. Of course, I had to say it under my breath since a lot of people in the room actually liked what he said.

So, it was a typical Bush speech. If you like him, you love it. If you don’t like him, you hate it. If you believe Iraq is a part of the war on terror, you support his words. If you think, as I do, that Iraq is about Iraq and really has nothing to do with defending Americans-in fact it actually runs counter to many of the foreign policy objectives the United States should be pursuing. Evidently the Iraqis did not like it either, since in their midst a bunch of car bombs went off right after the end of the speech.

Plus, Bush’s words make little impact when considered against the backdrop of other things said and other news. I find it astounding that the Prime Minister of Iraq at the end of November, asked Bush to exactly the opposite of what the United States is pledged to do now.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had a surprise for President Bush when they sat down with their aides in the Four Seasons Hotel in Amman, Jordan. Firing up a PowerPoint presentation, Maliki and his national security adviser proposed that U.S. troops withdraw to the outskirts of Baghdad and let Iraqis take over security in the strife-torn capital. Maliki said he did not want any more U.S. troops at all, just more
authority.
The president listened intently to the unexpected proposal at
their Nov. 30 meeting, according to accounts from several administration
officials. Bush seemed impressed that Maliki had taken the initiative, but it did not take him long to reject the idea. By the time Bush returned to
Washington, the plan had already been picked through by his military commanders. At a meeting in the White House’s Roosevelt Room, the president flatly told his advisers that the Maliki plan was not going to work. He had concluded that the Iraqis were not up to the task and that Baghdad would collapse into chaos, making a bad situation worse. And so the Americans would have to help them. From that early December meeting on, Bush was headed down a path that would result in his defying critics and the seeming message of the November elections by ordering 21,500 more U.S. troops to Iraq. A reconstruction of the administration’s Iraq policy review, based on more than a dozen interviews with senior advisers, Bush associates, lawmakers and national security officials, reveals a president taking the lead in driving the process toward one more effort at victory — despite doubts along the way from his own military commanders, lawmakers and the public at large.

Bush’s assesment may or may not be right, but what this revelation does tell is that Iraq’s government is not the soverign entity that the Bush administration is saying it is. If it were a sovereign government, the only acceptable respones would have been “Fine, knock yourself out. We will be more than happy for you do it your self. Its about goddamned time!”

Probably the reason the plan was rejected is that people are not sure about Malaki and doing it his way would have allowed him a vehicle to use the Iraqi military to continue to settle Shiite scores-something I believe Malaki is still saying- when you read between the lines of his public statements.

If you read a lot of the writings on both sides of the aisle there is not much confidence in the Iraqi prime minister. With good reason, because by my count he has failed the US on at least 6 seperate occasions. And getting his cooperation now is critical. Based on his track record even people who support the war are cautious in their assesements of what he can deliver.

My real fear is that both sides have really, deep down, written off the Iraqis because they are cannot and will not put their stupid adherence to Islam behind them and move on to progress. So conservative pundits- the Town Hall Harlot chief among them are laying the ground work of assigning blame. They will claim and are begining to say that Germany US could have won the war, but liberal left wingers stabbed the effort in the back. This tactic will avoid blaming the Arabs-all of them-who have allowed this mess to arise and instead focus on the political advantage it can bring them in the post Bush, post Democratic Congress. That’s a short sighted approach because even without Iraq there are still challenges out there to be dealt with. The next few months will tell if I am right or not.

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I can surf porn blog again! I mean really blog not just quick posts from the library………….

Turns out the ISP had done maintenance that had reduced the signal strenght to where we live. So much so that the modem could not pick up a signal. The repairman did something that restored that. So I was right, the problem was in the connection.

So now its back to regular surfing and provocation. Hooray!

Except, I’ve got to go out now…..so this will have to do.

I did want to pass along something however. It will have little meaning to those who have never served in the Navy or for that matter, any other military service. However it seems to me the right words I wish I could have written in response to a recent post by the Phibian. It describes better than I can the dilemna faced by the current generation of 20 somethings who are serving. Old farts who are just advocating that all should volunteer for any bad deal that comes along, would do well to remember this man’s comment about not using people up like they are disposable batteries. I wish the current occupant of the White House would remember it.

Any way, here is the article for your reading. I reprinted it so that you won’t have to go behind the Proceedings firewall. This explains better than I can why I am in favor of national service:

I am admittedly a fossil from another age. As a retired Sailor, I am forced to recognize that I may well be past not only my usefulness, but my relevance as well. I must continually remind myself that clinging to old ideas may be comfortable but not always practical. Yet I am haunted by something from the past and cannot help but wonder if it may be time for the resurrection of an old idea, one that may have been abandoned as an act of temporal expedience rather than sound and lasting judgment.As world events transpire these days, I watch from the comfort of an armchair rather than the bridge of a ship, and I know that, short of another terrorist attack such as 9/11, these happenings will have little or no direct effect on me. I no longer have to leave my family for long deployments or go to the jungles of Southeast Asia to face unknown dangers. Being human, I am tempted to sit back and say, “I did my time; now it’s someone else’s turn.”

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To work with the government travel office.

Scott Adams must have worked in government at one point. He shows great understanding of every government travelers frustration in working with the agents at the ticket office or working with DTS…..(Defense Travel System-also known as a corporate welfare.)

Click to enlarge the cartoon!

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The modem still just sits there and blinks. I’ve tried new cables, reloads of software, nothing works. Reminds me of launching with yesterdays codes and then trying to get the link to work.
(A bit of an inside joke……..as SJS can tell you E-2 NFO’s never check out the wrong codes and then go flying with them……….. ).

Lots of news to observe and no real time here to comment on them. Suffice it to say there is great coverage of the recent Chinese anti-satellite demonstration. Lest any on doubt where I stand on the issue, China is a once and future enemy of the United States. The launch is simply them demonstrating their desire to be a world power. Good thing the US Navy is getting smaller isn’t it?

I also wonder how much of that technology was stolen and or sold to them by companies lusting after the billion person market?

Picked a fight with the S.O. last night. No real reason just my own grumpiness and frustration with her for being right. She did nothing to deserve it-I’m just at a down spot in my life right now. I think she knows that deep down-at least I hope she does. The problem is not her-its me. And its not going to fix itself soon.

So I should apologize….but not for a while anyway. Might as well milk some mileage out of it while I can.

Maybe it can lead to make-up sex? Madmae Chiang has some thoughts on that score. I especially like Indiana’s version of the perfect woman!

Now however, I have to getr running and go back to the not so perfect one………………Hopefully my internet can get fixed tomorrow!

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On my internet service provider that is.

Seems the Chinese may have destroyed more than a satellite-I cannot get my cable modem to work at all. All troubleshooting has been exhausted so I now I have to wait till next week to get a repairman out to see why I am not getting Internet. (Its either in the cable or the modem I think.) Since I usually post from home (Can’t surf for beer and babes at work )-posts will be sporadic till I can get it fixed. Plus I go on the road for a while at the end of next week.

So stick around-you can talk among yourselves about me!

More to follow later.

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James Webb, has been reviled for not being nice to the President. Turns out according to Wonkette, that Senator Webb is no the only person who has gotten into a dust up with the man:

What to me is interesting, is that one of Webb’s first’s acts in office was to propose legislation of real benefit to the Soldiers serving in this war. Webb who has been pilloried for calling Bush out for his hypocrisy about caring for the Soldiers he has sent to war, has at least done something in Congress that George W. Bush could not do during 6 years in office, propose real change and improvement in veterans benefits-recognizing that this is a long term investment in America.

Since I was one of those folks caught in the “gap” , the infamous VEAP program which did not give me s**t in the way of educational benefits…having been accessed after expiration of the GI Bill, and not eligible to particpate in the Montgermery GI Bill due to my time in service when it was passed- I am very excited about this piece of legislation. I especially can’t wait to hear the good Dr. Chu come out in opposition to it, since for the last few years he has been the administration attack dog on improving benefits. I suspect he will have more than a few things to say in opposition, if his testimony on concurrent receipt and other improvements is any guide.

At least Webb is being true to his word. If that means he snubs the President……well that’s ok with me. Good for him!

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