Gettin' Short

Let the countdown begin.

Jeff Jacoby picked up on some nonsense going down in San Francisco. Apparently, the San Francisco Board of Education voted to abolish JROTC (Junior Reserve Officer's Training Corps). The program allows high schoolers of all types to learn responsibility, leadership, and moral decision-making. (It's kind of like a military version of the boy scouts for high schoolers.) The school board's reason: "[They] don't want the military ruining our civilian institutions." According to one board member, JROTC is "basically a branding program ... for the military." This is quite orthodox in Nancy Pelosi's hood. Last year, SanFran voters passed a ballot measure to remove military recruiters from college campuses. (The SCOTUS later ruled that if a school did not allow military recruiters, it could not receive federal funds.) So, if you don't support the programs that build up our troops, do you still support the troops?

Well, it took longer than I expected, but a Democrat is finally claiming an election race was stolen. Christine Jennings of (where else) Florida's 13th District is claiming that "machine error" resulted in a skewed race in favor of Republican Vern Buchanan. The undervote Jennings is claiming hovers around 2.5%. Al Gore was unavailable for comment.

The newest Pentagon suggestions for Iraq include going long, going big, or going home - to simplify the proposals. From what I've seen and heard, a combination of the former two are required if this thing's gonna work. RJ Eskow at HuffPo says that's Jeff Gannon's plan: Go Big AND Long.

I am currently reading SOAR: A Black Ops Mission by John Weisman. Good stuff.

A family member made it in the news. Check it out.

Reading Assignments:
Dennis Prager: Light Up!

Coming To Terms

Well, I better get used to it - Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer, Majority Leader Reid, Minority Leader Boehner, and Minority Leader McConnell. It doesn't sound right, but it beats the hell out of Majority Leader Murtha. America has one thing going for it: Foreign policy is not directly controlled by the Congress.

Two hippies have a great plan for achieving worldwide peace: a global orgasm. Instead of rallying in downtown SanFran, The Global Orgasm for Peace is asking for everyone (no ages were mentioned) to have an orgasm on December 22, the first day of winter. The founders' theory is that, because a release of sexual tension is calming, people will "channel their sexual energy into something more positive [than war]." They even have their junk-science to back it up!

One of the plans on the Democrats' agenda is to raise minimum wage to $7.25/hour. On The View, last week (yes, I watched The View) Rosie O'Donnell asserted that $7.25 was not enough to live on - that being the current minimum wage in California. I agree. High school kids and youngsters beginning a career need a boost in pay. Though, a mere $7.25 isn't high enough. Let's make it $10/hour. Nay! $13/hour! Perhaps then can sixteen-year-olds finally be financially stable enough to live in this rough nation. I just hope businesses don't raise the price of a Big Mac to justify the increase in worker pay. (Come to think of it, how is a federal minimum wage even constitutional?)

Charlie Rangel, once again, is calling for a military draft. His plan treads along these lines: If the American people knew that their sons and daughters have a chance at serving in Iraq (God forbid!) they would rally behind the anti-war effort and demand an immediate withdrawal of troops. Good plan, but the last call for approval failed 402-2. "I don't see how anyone can support the war and not support the draft." Check out the video - quite absurd. If the draft is reinstated, I hope they include women... you know, for equality!

A Special Forces captain threw his friends a rockin' "Nice Knowin' Ya" party following his death in Iraq last year. The party cost nearly $100,000, including airfare, hotel rooms, and drinks for the 120 invite-only buddies. Rock on. Nobody parties like the military - not even college kids.

With politics mostly out of the way, more mainstreamers like Sen. McCain are rallying for a bigger footprint in Iraq. Neocons like Kagan and Kristol have been urging this for a while. I'm glad somebody has a rational plan. Let's hope someone heeds this good advice.

Reading Assignments:
Joshua Muravchik: We Must Bomb Iran and Neoconservatism Ain't Dead
Thomas Sowell: Milton Friedman, R.I.P.

Post-Election Funk

No apologies for my truancy. I was stuck in Irak because I didn't do my homework and apply myself in college. Help, John Kerry! Get me out of here! I'm much to incompetent to accomplish my mission.

Since the election, I've been a little down. Reality hit me hard and it was hard to come to grasp with the Democrats' cunning. It's hard to believe they actually got away with stealing every election they won, but they did - thanks to Diebold electronic voting machines. My attitude will improve when all the troops redeploy from Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Balkans so that they can fight the Global War on Global Warming.

So much for personal freedoms in Belmont, California. Unless you live in a single-family detatched residence, don't get caught smoking. Belmont City Council's bold move to ban smoking throughout the city goes one step further than the City of Calabasas'. It is now a finable offense to smoke in your car, on the sidewalk, and in apartment buildings. What a fine use of law enforcement. Won't someone please ban the combustible engine to save us from ourselves!

As with every post-mid-term election environment, the race is on for the next presidential race. As far as the Repbulican ticket is concerned; Giuliani and McCain have thrown their hats in the ring, Allen's out on his ass looking for a job, and Romney is far from a household name to even stand a chance in the primary. None have presented a strategy for Iraq that will win over the moderates and the now-voting-Democrat-we're-throwing-a-fit Republicans. Who knows, we may end up with Billary for another four years.

My new unhealthy addiction has become the iTunes Music Store. I recently purchased In the Wake of Determination by Story of the Year and Don't You Fake It by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. I also realized that there's little difference in pop-punk bands. Very little originality.

TUAW's getting pumped about the iPhone set to debut in 2007. Pictures here. I think it would look nice with a new Mac mini.

Reading Assignments:
Frederick W. Kagan: The Asininity of "Rapid Reaction Forces" in Iraq
John Ridley: The Manifesto of Ascendancy for the Modern American Nigger
Walter E. Williams: Politics isn't the Answer for Black Social Matters