National Security Questions Unasked

National security questions seemed few and far between during the campaign. Other than whether one was or was not suited to be commander-in-chief and when and how to end the Iraqi war, I heard little about domestic issues. This seems strange to me because the over kill in airport security has contributed a great deal to the demise of our economy.

I resist flying at all cost. I'm a white knuckle flier to begin with. Pair that with the anxiety of the personal scrutiny by total strangers, not being able to complain when it goes over board, the chance prescriptions and other valuables may disappear from luggage and not being able to take even essential grooming supplies with you has made the experience one I can do without.

Now the TSA is testing the see everything x-ray machines at airports. I believe they are already being tested in Phoenix. Bet McCain doesn't have to go through them. Oops. He has access to Cindy's company jet. Oh well.

Why has no one ever asked the candidates if they intend to retain these oppressive security tactics? Have enough potential terrorists been deterred to justify the cost to the economy? Airlines are dying. So are hotels and resorts that are destinations and in turn the retailers that cater to the tourist. We're not flying within our own country and foreign visitors are opting for other choices for the same reasons.

"Out there" a ray of hope shines. Germany has said they will not join in the practice. While already used in some European countries with the blessing of the European Commission, EU lawmakers have put forth a resolution criticizing them saying they are equivalent to "a virtual strip search" raising serious human rights concerns.

If there is a country in the free world that understands the downside of war, terror and human rights abuses it would be Germany.

Is anyone in the TSA paying attention? Are the candidates?

The Globalization Of Our Landmarks

According to the New York Post Abu Dhabi is buying the Chrysler Building. This bit of news got me to thinking whether Homeland Security is on the right track worrying about illegal aliens crossing the Mexican border rather than worrying about who is buying up our landmarks and who happens to have an issue with those buyers.

Japan is a huge player. Japan based entities have interest in, if not outright ownership of, such icons of American culture as Tiffanys, Manhatten's Algonquin hotel and Exxon headquarters in Rockefeller Center, the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas, even St. Clement Winery in the Napa Valley.

Our friends, the Brits, are in on Almaden wines, Ballpark Franks and French's Mustard not to mention part ownership of the Watergate complex in Washington D.C.

The West Germans are in on Allis Chalmers and Doubleday. Dubai owns New York's Essex Hotel.

We've been stewing for years about foreign automakers not only taking over our markets, but also our manufacturing facilities. We've also been stewing for years about the loss of our jobs to overseas operations that are more economically attuned to the bottom line.

Just think of it as a plus when it comes to keeping the homeland safe. I think the repercussions would be interesting if a bunch of renegade Arabs decided to smack a plane or two into the Chrysler Building!

However, if someone gets ticked off at the Brits or the Japanese would we have to worry about what's in our wine or hot dogs and mustard? We'd be okay with Nestle products because they are Swiss owned and the Swiss don't fight with anyone.

Now I'm wondering - what's going on with our tomatoes?

Lunatic "Fringe"

In a recent commercial for Dunkin' Donuts, talk show host Rachael Ray was wearing a fringed scarf with a paisley print. Obviously she is not exactly a fashion plate. It makes the image too busy, taking away from the product. At least that's how I see it.

Bear in mind I'm just a simple blogger, not a famous syndicated columnist and Fox News commentator.

That credential belongs to Michelle Malkin who sees the scarf as something entirely different. To her it resembles a kiffiyeh, a traditional headdress worn by middle eastern men. Malkin, however sees it as a garment made popular by the late Yassar Arafat and worn by Muslim terrorists as seen in beheading and hostage videos.

Oh, my. It's bad enough our government officials see a potential terrorist in each and every one of us. Now its news commentators. Come on! Rachael Ray?

Take a good look at both. Do you see any resemblance between one and the other? Bingo! Good eyes. They are both black and white!

To add to the lunacy, Dunkin' Donuts caved (oops, wrong connotation) into the furor raised by Malkin's comments and pulled the ad.

I'm going to ask Hub to make the coffee extra strong in the morning. I'm going to need it just to get through the day knowing that while I wait at Starbucks while he gets his hair cut there might be another Rachael Ray lurking behind a newspaper at the table next to me. And knowing the likes of Michelle Malkin are allowed to vote!

When The Scales Are Even Justice Is Served

Today is the third anniversary of one of the most horrendous crimes that has happened in recent memory in our fair community. Joseph Duncan came to town. He killed a mother, her male friend and her son. He kidnapped two younger children from the same family and ultimately killed one of them. For some reason he came back to town with the young girl, stopped at the local Denny's, was recognized and arrested.

The case is now in the sentencing stage in Federal court. Delay after delay. The holdup? His mental competency. Those scales of justice aren't quite even yet.

There is better news in another small town. This is the case of a MySpace account being set up for a phantom person with the sole intent of harassing a young girl suffering from low self esteem. With the enticement of a "boyfriend", messages soon turned cruel and when one finally stated the world would be better off without her, the girl committed suicide.

The upshot of this case is that an adult woman helped in the creation of the account and the scheme. The last I had read about the case, there would be no prosecution because there was no way of directly tying the actions on MySpace to the suicide. That was on the state level. The Feds had a whole different perspective.

Today an AP story says the woman has been indicted.

Public outrage helped by cooperation from MySpace has struck a blow to cyber bullying and cheers to the U.S. attorney who pursued it.

A thirteen year old girl on medication for ADD and depression killed herself. An adult helped perpetrate the hoax that caused it.

Be careful out there. You never know who is on the other keyboard. Remember Joseph Duncan had a blog too!

Welcome to Idaho

Interstate 90 travels through 73 miles of Idaho from the Washington/Idaho border to the Montana/Idaho border. We travelled it often when we were living in Seattle and visiting family in Montana.

The Idaho stretch has one rest stop in those 73 miles. You have several additional miles to travel either east or west before you find another. It is an ideal place to stop. We let the dogs stretch their legs along a nice stretch of the Centennial Trail that runs through the east bound side.

It also is home to one of the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce's visitor centers, manned by friendly senior volunteers and chock full of tourist information for the whole tri-state area. Definitely something for everyone. Last year when our Senator was arrested in a Minneapolis airport for allegedly suspicious mens room behavior, it came out that this bucolic rest area was also a haven for those seeking a quickie.

Wow. Right here in our tourist destination want-to-be northern Idaho! A place where those wanting to visit would stop to gather information.

It's one of those news items that fade from memory when you live here and don't have reason to frequent the place. One would assume the authorities would be dealing with the problem.

But no. Apparently not. In today's Coeur d'Alene Press there was an update, if you will. It seems the restrooms have also become a haven for those who want to shoot up. The janitors are finding something like 30 discarded needles a week!

What the heck have the authorities been doing? The article tells us the rest rooms are vandalized routinely even with a crackdown on the lewd conduct. Some crackdown! What's even more disturbing is the information that tells of the State Police conducting a sting back in 1987. Let me see now. 1987, 1997, 2007 and there is still a problem. Twenty years?

Maybe we can get the officer from the Minneapolis airport that nabbed our Senator to join the ISP stakeout team. Twenty years of a problem in our only rest area is not only disgraceful, it's unacceptable.

Dancing With (the) Stars - All Four Of Them

I listened, along with General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker, to the pontificating Senators during yesterday's hearings. I paid just enough attention to realize that more was not being revealed than was.

Though the language differed, there was a thread that prevailed throughout. Every time there was an actual question rather than an accolade, we were told, mostly by Crocker, that it is a complex situation.

Obama asked what we need to know.  ... if the definition of success is so high, no traces of Al Qaida and no possibility of reconstitution, a highly-effective Iraqi government, a Democratic multiethnic, multi- sectarian functioning democracy, no Iranian influence, at least not of the kind that we don't like, then that portends the possibility of us staying for 20 or 30 years.

If, on the other hand, our criteria is a messy, sloppy status quo but there's not, you know, huge outbreaks of violence, there's still corruption, but the country is struggling along, but it's not a threat to its neighbors and it's not an Al Qaida base, that seems to me an achievable goal within a measurable timeframe, and that, I think, is what everybody here on this committee has been trying to drive at, and we haven't been able to get as clear of an answer as we would like.

That's it.  What is the administration's definition of success?

What seems quite clear from what was not said is that we also have no exit strategy. I don't think either the General nor the Ambassador was lying. You can't lie if you have no truth.

Yet today, the General did an about face before the House on whether or not the fiasco in Basra was due to bad planning on the part of the Iraqi forces.  I'd feel much better about the whole process had he not done so.  But then, I guess we need to look at the definition of "bad planning" as the administration would have it.

I can only ask why it is bad strategy to end the war and leave the region to a fate of it's own making when there is no definition of success and therefore no way to plan a strategy to achieve it?

Remember the dance-a-thons of old? One by one the contestants would collapse from exhaustion. The last contestants standing won.   In our case, will it be exhausted funds, personnel and public opinion? I doubt we will be the last contestant standing. It will be one or another of the Shiia sects or the Sunni.

It's time to face reality: noun - the world or the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them.

Do We Really Want Another Delusional President?

There was an interesting commentary on Hillary Clinton and her dream in Thursday's Financial Times. It was written by Sally Bedell Smith, author of For Love of Politics: Inside the Clinton White House (Random House).

She addresses much of what we already know from Hillary's pact with Bill for political glory, putting up with his infidelities to the point of denial, "dodging bullets", real or otherwise, and the morphing of her dream to be the first female president into the idea the public "owes it to her".

It troubles me when ambition becomes so intertwined with a lack of reality. Remember back when Bill was President and she had conversations with Eleanor Roosevelt? Her supporters sluff all such talk off as being no more than campaign rhetoric. Yet I look at the most recent episode of the Clinton version of Fantasy Island. Mark Penn, her chief campaign strategist, met with the Colombian ambassador regarding having his firm lobby for a bilateral free trade agreement; an agreement Clinton is against. Yet the campaign sees no conflict of interest. Boy, I do.

So here I have a picture of Hillary badly in need of her Box shots or a new makeup artist. This is the real Hillary. Deep down, beneath the rhetoric, the exaggerations, the half truths, etc. For all woman who hide from reality under layers of cosmetic improvements, it is not that the rest of us don't want a woman as president. It's that we don't want this woman.

Then there is John McCain. He can go on Letterman and slap down old jokes all he wants. He is old. How's his health? Why won't he release his records before we're expected to vote for him? His history of cancer is of concern.

His attitude on Iraq concerns me. Al-Maliki began raiding Shiite militia strongholds. It was to be another "defining" moment for the Iraqi forces. Just last Sunday I wrote a post with a photo showing those forces handing over their weapons to al-Sadr's militiamen. Now the raids have been called off completely.

There are several points to consider. The Iraqi forces cannot or will not stand on their own. And, as Shiia, they do not want to fire on their own. How many times have similar instances occurred and how long are we to wait while Iraqi civilians and U.S. military continue to lose their lives?

War aside, I see little of substance or understanding of the issues, what's more solutions. He has also hinted he may be a one term president. That puts a governor on his efforts from the get go. Plus, due to age and health issues, will we really be electing his vice president? Just who will that be?

True, the unexpected can happen to anyone. I think in this circumstance, however, odds need to be factored in.

We, the people of the United States, do not "owe" either of these candidates the presidency. To believe otherwise is delusional!

Two Sides To Every War Except In Iraq - It Has A Multitude

Snow up to our knees took all the ambition out of us Saturday so we cratered in front of the tube and watched the excellent PBS Frontline presentation Bush's War.

The timing was good. The headlines of unrest are popping up with renewed frequency and General David Petraeus is due to give another update soon. We already know plans for troop withdrawal have been cut. We're hearing one presidential candidate tell us he would like to keep troops in Iraq until it becomes a peaceful, democratic nation. Right.

The current uprising is in Basra, an oil rich Shiia stronghold where Shiite militias are facing off against Iraqi forces who are also Shiia. In what is one more U.S. appeasing show of "toughness", Maliki has demanded the militias give up their weapons. Is that what the picture shows? No. It shows the Iraqi forces handing over their weapons to al-Sadr's Mahdi militiamen. Ooops!

Today's news informs us al-Sadr has pulled his troops off the streets - but who has the weapons? He has made his own demands of the Maliki government to maintain a quieting of violence.

Back to Bush's War and why it is timely to watch. With controversy among the candidates as to how and when to end this conflict, I found a refresher most helpful. The program takes you through the entire time line from 9/11 to when Rumsfeld was forced to resign. It has interviews with many of the major players and speaks to the head games they played with one another. It makes quite clear that Dr. Rice has made a wise decision to not seek the presidency nor accept an offer of the vice presidency. It brought to mind details I had long forgotten but are vital to the decisions that the next president will have to make.

The link above will take you to the site and you can view the entire program online if you have the time and inclination. Most of you won't I should guess because it is long. What it does do, though, is reaffirm how out of sync our own leaders were with one another, how we were duped by ambitious Iraqi exiles, and how totally ignorant we were - and are - about how the Iraqis themselves feel.

As long as we are on their soil we will be viewed as the occupiers. They will resist us and those who support us. Would we not do the same if the tables were turned?

Stout-hearted Men

...and women. All sizes, ages and shapes. 4000 of them. Fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, friends and lovers. Gone.

I find the timing of the fifth anniversary of this war, the 4000th lost American and Easter an interesting convergence of events.

Unlike the legend of Easter where Christ rises from the dead, these 4000 will not. They are lost forever to their families and to their country. All the potential they carried within them, all the life not yet lived, lost - forever.

That these lives are being lost at a slower pace than before, that there are far fewer of them than in Vietnam or Korea is of little significance. They are still gone. Others step forward to fill their space. That we have such men and women in this country that choose to do so is a testament to the inherent decency of our people. We are indeed fortunate to have that decency as part of our moral fiber.

What might be well remembered, however, is the majority of these warriors are our young hailing from modest backgrounds. Far different from those who created the circumstances in which they find themselves.

We are told the cause is just and that success is vital. I wish I could recall just what that cause is and just what success is so vital. It's partially why I've chosen to look at a new brand of leadership for my country. One that will not take us into an unprovoked war, one that is not driven by personal ideology. One that recognizes those for whom we're sacrificing our soldiers don't care enough about that "cause" to take it on themselves nor agree that "success" means just that. Taking it on themselves.

It's why I agree it's time to end the carnage. Yes. It will continue after we are gone. That is their will. We cannot change that. Perhaps it is time for the rest of the world to step back and let the region deal with it's own demons. The rest of the world seems far more willing to do this than we are; they are far more proximate to it, have lived with that proximity for as long as the conflicts have existed and perhaps understand far better than we that there are some things, no matter how unjust they may seem to us, that we cannot change.

Billions of our dollars have gone into this war. How much better could it have been spent within our own borders? It is lamented that we've never been asked to sacrifice for this war. Go shopping. Yet we can't afford the gas to get to the stores. We can't afford the goods or the foodstuffs when we do get there and can't afford the mortgages on the homes we want to return to. Our phone conversations and e-mails can be intercepted with impunity. We can't board a plane, enter or leave the country without the indignity of searches. You think this is not sacrifice? And when you write a post such as this you will be branded in some circles as being unpatriotic.

One thing we do still have, however, deep down in, is that spirit of goodness and decency. Just look at the 30,000 or so veterans who have come back from the horrors of war mentally and/or physically altered for the rest of their lives. They fight once again, odds many of us would consider insurmountable, because of who they are as individuals and who we are as a people.

Those of you who would be our leaders, look at them, see them, thank the Almighty for them but do not abuse the privilege of leadership by misinterpreting the power of war over the power of peace.

From "New Moon" by Sigmund Romberg/Frank Mandel/Laurence Schwab and Oscar Hammerstein II

Give me some men who are stout-hearted men,
Who will fight, for the right they adore,
Start me with ten who are stout-hearted men,
And I'll soon give you ten thousand more.
Shoulder to shoulder and bolder and bolder,
They grow as they go to the fore.
Then there's nothing in the world can halt or mar a plan,
When stout-hearted men can stick together man to man.

Ah, yes. As is often the case lyrics can be inspirational and true. But be cautious, those tens of thousands are dwindling rapidly!

Attention Span And Fatigue

Our economy is on the verge of collapse. Terrorist activity in the Mideast is on the upswing. The Chinese are crushing the Tibetans. Wars, or the threat thereof, are popping up like weeds where the snow has melted.

We are in the midst of the most crucial presidential primary season in recent history. Yet I fear we are back sliding into the "politics as usual" mode. I read an article, As campaign drags on aides put lives on hold. As I read I realized the people quoted aren't concerned about noble causes but more about how the campaigns have disrupted their lives. It struck me that their commitment was to the money they could make or the rush, maybe, rather than about belief in the candidate for whom they are working.

At any other point in the history of campaigns this probably wouldn't have caught my notice. This time it does. I browsed the headlines on the Drudge Report and found these: Many voting for Clinton to boost Republicans, Obama Clinton teams exchange barbs, Former GOP Senator rips Hillary as Bush enabler and my favorite Why does Hillary wear such bad clothes...! Do I care?

Well, you know, I'm tired of it too. I'm tired of the rancor and the meanness of spirit. That can be an end result of fatigue, I grant you. Yet the candidates soldier on. We who are interested soldier on. Aides are finding that the attention span of a two year old isn't enough. This whole process is meant to be something other than their own personal lark.

I must say, however, this is the media's bread and butter. If they didn't cover the spats and the trivia with such glee perhaps there wouldn't be so much.

I don't really care that Hillary isn't a fashion maven. I care very much how she feels about Achmenijad's party retaining power in Iran and what, as commander-in-chief, she would suggest be done about the situation concerning China and Tibet. I care about how Obama feels about both also. For starters.

Ring-a-ding-ding!

Ah, that pesky phone again! It just may become the icon of what is wrong with the candidates rather than what is right!.

While doing a story for Salon on the implications of the now infamous Clinton ad, Mark Benjamin came across information that surprised even a seasoned journalist like himself.

In his interviews with senior military officials many expressed doubts that either Clinton or McCain should be the one we want picking up that phone. While all expressed admiration for McCain, they find his temperament worrisome.

An example of the quotes should give us pause. From retired Air Force General Scott Gration, "I have a tremendous respect for John McCain, but I would not follow him."

From retired Major General Paul Eaton, "I like McCain. I respect McCain. But I am a little worried by his knee-jerk response factor."

Stephen Wayne, a political science professor at Georgetown, who is studying the personalities of the candidates, "The anger is there." About Clinton, he had this observation, "I just gave a presentation on Hillary's temperament for the presidency. I came to the conclusion that it is not really a good presidential temperament, with one caveat -- if you compare it with McCain's." Talk about red flags! Forget the red phone!

Not all, of course will agree with these statements, but we've just seen McCain show arrogance by being late for lunch with the President and testiness when pressed by a reporter regarding a conversation with John Kerry during Kerry's candidacy.

It brings the argument about "experience" full circle - back to the issue of "judgement".

I don't want him answering the phone and I don't want his finger any where near the button!

This Is NOT "Change"!

You've got to love it! Or maybe not. When all else fails - like a campaign focusing on change, bring out the tried and true from the past eight years. The campaign of fear!

I'm afraid. Very afraid that young mothers are going to buy into it. The "experienced" person picking up the dreaded red phone in the middle of the night. I rather enjoy the picture of Hillary dressed to the nines, studiously (note the glasses) working in presumably the oval office at three in the morning. Maybe that's Bush's problem. It is said he's in bed most nights by nine!

Note to Hillary. This is not "change". This is fear mongering. We've been living with it since September 11, 2001. I wish you had stayed above it. If you do pull out the nomination I fear that the campaign between you and John McCain will be no more than that. Fear. The fear of what either of your administrations might bring. The fear that we may never get another shot at hope and change.

Your experience at handling a crisis is just as non-existence as Obama's. You admitted, after having visited the war wounded that the hits you've endured are nothing compared to what so many of we Americans deal with on a daily basis.

Crisis management experience really should be a bit more substantial than dealing with your husband's philandering. Please.

It's enough worrying about whether that phone will actually ring. I should like to believe any of the three major candidates has the judgement to handle it. What I fear is that I may be mistaken.

Transitional Housing - The Line Is Blurred

Be careful what you wish for. From all the high rise condo projects in town, gated developments around the lake and multi-use facilities being built in our area it would seem the pro growth advocates are winning.

In an area that is economically depressed it is coming with a price. A wider differentiation between the haves and the have nots. Jobs that don't pay enough to support an increasingly expensive area, the accompanying stress, depression, crime. The county has been lobbying for a new jail for years. Our state prisons are over crowded. The state is in a budget crunch. To alleviate the overcrowding more and more attention is being given to transitional housing.

An article in this morning's Press warns that there is going to be more of it. That being a given, just what is it? Here's where the article has left me confused.

Okay. We are talking about parolees released from the prison system transitioning back into society. They are, for the most part, felons including sex offenders, arsonists, and other violent criminals. Who would want them in their backyard? Just what are the recidivism rates for these crimes?

The article goes on about a private, faith based company that has plans for 16 "recovery" houses in Kootenai County this year. Whoa. Wait a minute. They talk about how these homes are for ex-addicts, not ex-inmates. They supposedly exclude the more heinous offenders such as those listed above and that those who become residents are charged $400 per month in rent.

I am getting really confused here. One, where are these people going to get $400 per month? Two, it is stated addicts are considered disabled and there are laws protecting them from discrimination. Let's back the horse up to the cart here.

We're talking about two levels of offenders. The violent and predatory versus those with addictions. Those with addictions are protected. Those who are not so afflicted (if there are any) are not. Do we at the present time have facilities within the county that separate one from the other? Or are they so melded together, differentiation is, in fact, impossible? I would like to know how many of each, where they are located and what type of oversight is in place?

If the Department of Corrections, and the local agencies who share the information, want to be as "transparent as possible" make known to the community where these facilites are, who populates those currently in place and how they are monitored.

You tell us it's not just your problem, it's everyone's. Well, make it so.

Police Get A Bad Rap. Or Do They?

In an ongoing discussion about affordable housing, our city fathers are telling us it's needed for the "good people" of the area. Our college level instructors, firemen and police. Two things come to mind right off the top of my head. One, why are these professions the only ones mentioned? And two, why are we paying them so little that they need special consideration when it comes to the housing market? One gets what one pays for. In quality of public servant as well as housing.

This doesn't bode well for our area when you look at the problems the police have in neighboring Spokane. The pay scale is considerably higher than here and they still could use some quality control! If the picture of the paraplegic being dumped from his wheel chair by a shreriff's deputy doesn't haunt you perhaps memories of events closer to home will. Remember Otto Zehm, a mentally impaired janitor who was beaten, hog tied and suffocated by seven officers? None of them have been prosecuted.

Or the gang that couldn't shoot straight tasering a man threatening suicide, causing him to jump? What happened to those officers?

Or the deputy who exposed himself to a barista and is now on unpaid leave until his retirement when he can collect his pension.

"Good" people? Hmmm.

We have good police officers to be sure. Just like the Catholic church has good priests. Far more good than bad, but at times it looks like the police departments have become a haven for wrong doers much like the church has been for pedophiles. And they protect their own.

Today's headlines in the Spokesman include two more stories to add to the llitany. A U.S. Marshall posted in Spokane is promoted even after it is discovered he lied about his education, having bought a bogus diploma and transcript from a phony online University.

The other speaks of a bill working it's way through the Idaho legislature that will bar felons from becoming sheriffs! Who'd have thought that was an issue?

So when push comes to shove and I take a look around, I wonder if both our terminology and our priorities are a bit skewed.

The Republican Strategy?

It took me a long time to decide that Barack Obama would be the candidate I would support should he win the nomination for President. It's not that I agree with all of his policies. I don't. I have been a small government Republican for most of my adult life.

But you know what? The man has a vision and a healthy dose of realism. He knows achieving the goals he has set forth will take time and be difficult. He can lead the Congressional horse to water. Making them drink will take leadership of a different sort; one we haven't experienced in this country for far too long.

I skim headlines from several different sources on a daily basis to see what is happening outside the realm of election politics. Governing by fear still seems to be in vogue. Three from today read Bush orders clampdown on flights to U.S., 'Earth shattering' events worry Chertoff, Pentagon charges September 11 suspects.

We want the death penalty for men who we've admitted torturing. That should make al Qaeda back off!

I expect to see more and more of these types of headlines as we near, and actually get into, the general election campaign. More fear mongering to boost the militaristic candidacy of John McCain. And if McCain should win, it gives credence to the legacy Bush would like to have. Justification that his policies were correct.

It works. There is a nagging knot of fear constantly eating away at me. I try to ignore it, minimalize it, but it is there. It's more than a fear of terrorism. That is the least likely of them. It's how it permeates my life. The constant, uncomfortable edginess from not knowing what this adminstration is likely to do next. How many more personal liberties are we going to lose? When will writing a blog stating these thoughts come back to haunt me? Something so silly as seeing a hit from Washington D.C. with a .gov behind it sending a chill through me. It's there, and it's exhausting. I'm sick and tired of it.

That's why I harbour within what Obama is offering. Hope. Hope that he means what he says, hope that my judgement is sound, that he has the ability I believe he has, hope that he can deliver us from evil - without more war.

Lest We Forget There IS A War Going On And On And On...

Well, the Republicans are rallying around the one candidate who has made a career out of thumbing his nose at them. I find myself wondering if the American public wants another "maverick" in the White House. Or have the last seven years been quite enough, thank you.

McCain is an old war horse who got lucky on an immense political gamble. The surge. It's working, he insists. Is it? Politically it seems the Iraqis could care less. Militarily, McCain's area of "expertise", remains iffy. Consider the headlines in this morning's Spokesman Review. U.S. troop casualties on the rise in Iraq and Reserves, Guard called unready for threats in U.S.. Here we go again.

I was under the impression that the consensus of public opinion is that the war was ill conceived in the first place, and we want out. We're told it's a war we must win!

We've heard so may different explanations of what winning means from our current President my head spins. I'd like to hear McCain's definition. If it indeed includes the Iraqi government stepping up to the plate, which they have yet to do, how does he intend to make that happen? If his idea of victory is from a strictly military standpoint, we'll be there long beyond my remaining years.

Beyond the war, what is his vision for the country? Not meaning to diminish his service to his country and loyalty to his men under horrific circumstances in Vietnam, I don't necessarily consider those attributes reason enough to elect him to the Presidency.

When the flak jacket comes off and the armed escorts are no longer surrounding him, I'll believe progress is being made. McCain makes me nervous. I don't trust mavericks.

REAL"istic" ID

This is what happens when you put a lawyer in charge of something outside his area of expertise. Chaos. Why doesn't the Department of Homeland Security just decide issuing National ID cards is the way it's going to be and be done with it? We're headed in that direction anyway.

We have new passport regulations that require the imbedding of an identity verification chip. How safe does this keep us? About as safe as the new drivers license rules to permit boarding planes, entering federal buildings, etc.

The thing that is curious to me is the time frame between the conception of these bright ideas and the actual implementation. The passport deadline keeps getting pushed back because of the overload of applications. So what happens in the meantime? All holders of those old style passports must be potential terrorists?  Never mind that nothing has happened.

One of the drivers license requirements is that drivers born after December 1, 1964 have to get a more secure license in the next six years.  Six years?   What all can happen in six years??

States who are finding this a financial burden are required to apply for a temporary waiver. If they do not, Homeland Security will punish we citizens. Residents will have to use a passport (if they can get one) or a newly created Federal passport card (National ID??) if they want to avoid a "vigorous" secondary screening at airport security.

Way to go. Inconvenience us some more. Impose more personal indignities upon us. Scare us just a little bit more. Nice.

By the way. Make sure each and every employee of the Federal government has to meet the same criteria, especially members of Congress.

Players Not Ready For Prime Time

Two candidates have blamed misstatements on the fatigue of campaigning.

The first was Huckabee bemoaning the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Part of his statement included this, "...have an immediate, very clear monitoring of our border, and particularly to make sure, if there's any unusual activity of Pakistanis coming into the country. We just need to be very very thorough in looking at every aspect of our own security internally."

The second from Bill Richardson in an interview with John Roberts discussing water boarding, "... standing against terrorists like Musharraf."

There are two issues in play here. One, if careless statements are brought about by being tired from campaigning, what is likely to come from these minds bent from the stress of the Presidency?

Two, like it or not, Pakistan is an ally in our fight against terrorism. For all the rhetoric, especially from Richardson, about the need for negotiation and diplomacy, calling Musharraf a terrorist doesn't help.

We'd do well to remember Ms. Bhutto, as well as her husband, had their own ethical problems while both in and out of power. Her rhetoric wasn't to be trusted any more than Musharref's. It just fit better with our goals!  Neither faction will win awards for political sainthood!

Look at the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. If we have any hope of crossing it in our pursuit of the Taliban, al Qada and bin Laden, we don't need a new leader with a mouth preceding the brain.

What we need is a President who will move away from the "our way or no way" mentality and realize that just because we think our way is right, those we're dealing with may not agree. And at times, they may even be correct.

Wolf - Crying Or Clothing?

Our President, who has cried wolf so often during his administration, for once has it right. I only hope it isn't too late. He misled us about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He has misled us so many times about our mission my head still spins. But I doubt he is misleading us when he speaks of how dangerous Iran is to not only Mideastern peace but to world peace.

All of a sudden an intelligence report comes out debunking previously held theories about Iran's nuclear weapons aspirations. Every politician running for office is jumping on the "I told you so" band wagon as are many of our so called allies. I wouldn't be so quick to rush to judgement.

It is important to remember Iran's Ahmadinejad is a few fruits short of a cake. Plus he doesn't really run the country. He is merely the front man for the Imams. None are know for truthful disclosure.

What most of us find objectionable about our President is the way he handles those he considers adversaries. He won't talk with them. Diplomacy seems to be a word left out of his mind set. However, to think Iran doesn't have nuclear ambitions is shortsighted and naive.

He was not wrong when he stated Iraq had those same ambitions. What he didn't want to admit was they did not have the capability at the time and diplomatic oversight and sanctions were keeping those ambitions in check. If what sanctions and oversight is in place in Iran goes away they will have a much easier time moving ahead.

The sudden move by what seems like the whole world to return to business as usual on the basis of one questionable report is fool hardy. That our Presidential candidates seem to be joining this frenzy is about as frightening as it can get. I don't see that any of them have a clue as to how to effectively deal with the Mideast. That too is frightening because we're going to get one of them!

So much for crying wolf. As for the wolf in sheep's clothing one need look at the affable Mr. Huckabee. Here's a man who would be President espousing more theocratic views than secular ones. Buyer beware. These Mideastern countries are theocracies. Government and religion as a single entity.

Remember the separation of church and state? Careful now.

Equal Justice?

It has been just about a year since Ann Kirkpatrick was hired as Spokane's police chief. She inherited a department with severe budget and personnel problems. A departmental public relations overhaul was badly needed.

I don't know how she's doing with the budget but her handle on public relations would appear to need some help. At least to one who gets information from the local press. An officer has escaped prosecution for shooting to death an unarmed assailant. It was deemed justifiable. The victim was apparently involved in a drug deal when the officer came upon him. A chase took place, ending in a fight. It is reported that the victim twice went after the officer who then tried pepper spray. When that failed the bloodied officer shot him. Dead. The story did not elaborate as to whether the victim was high, or just wanting to get away. It did not state whether or not the officer was equipped with a taser. It did not state whether or not he called for back up. Do they not do this any more? Is shooting to kill the standard operating procedure?

Fast forward to this week just passed. A mentally impaired man had perched himself on a local bridge threatening to jump. The standoff lasted through the night and well into the next day, some twenty hours. The man barely spoke yet it is reported negotiations took place.

A face saving agreement had been reached for the man to surrender. Face saving for who? A mentally impaired man who wanted to kill himself? Was he worried about what people would think?? The police approached with weapons drawn. Weapons drawn? The plan was to taser him once. Taser him? Why? Look at the reaction being tasered evokes in the picture! He had supposedly agreed to be taken into custody.

The taser was fired but only one probe found its mark. The man retreated and jumped and died. I wonder if both probes had found their mark if the force wouldn't have knocked him over the edge anyway.

The report states "Everyone involved in the effort to help the man was shaken by his decision to jump". Twenty hours on a bridge. An agreement to be taken into custody. Then approached by police with weapons drawn and a taser fired at him.

I'm not sure one had to be mentally impaired to have wanted to jump. So much the worse that he was. What are they teaching in police academies these days?