Hanoi Jane and Baghdad Cindy
Does it ever occur to anyone else that perhaps the protesters need to focus on the evils of our enemies, instead of the so-called "mean-spirited...administration?"

Hitting a Nerve
I have to admit that I'm angry as I write. My morning paper contains above-the-fold photos and headlines about the antiwar protesters in DC, LA and SF. When I look at their old faces (somebody tell these people they're old, will ya?), I think of the chaos and carnage these exact same people caused as a result of the last big antiwar rallies.

Yes, chaos and carnage. Think about the last days of Saigon and the image you might see is the thousandsupon thousands of South Vietnamese we stranded there. Think of the horrors of Cambodia, then put on a couple of decades and contemplate the 300,000 poor souls buried in Saddam's mass graves.

And they don't need to bore me with the argument that such protests do not hurt our troops. Of course they do. What are they, stupid? Defense Secretary Gates is right when he says they embolden our enemies. But they won't admit it. They just won't; this has always been a great frustration to me--their intellectual dishonesty about cause and effect.

Add to that the ridiculous idea that America is, as John Kerry calls us, an international pariah. This coming from the Democrat candidate for president. Aren't you glad he lost?

Meanwhile, so as to not be accused of looking antimilitary, an outrageous mock display of an American flag-draped coffin, with empty combat boots at its foot, is front and center on the speakers stage.

Outrageous. You have to wonder about these folks and their real souls...what is about this country, which has been so good to them, would foster such hateful rhetoric? And please spare me from the argument that it's their patriotic duty. That's simply hogwash. They are nothing more than over-the-hill narcissists with waaaay too much money and waaaay too little gratitude. Their behavior against their fellow citizens and a country whose noble ideals and demonstrable charity through its own blood and treasure is an insult. Rwanda, Somalia, Kosovo and Darfur, Palestine and Iraq are only small examples of America's largesse.

America Can No Longer Fight Wars
I've come to the conclusion there is never going to be another chance for America to fight a foreign war. The media simply will not allow it. Their small-minded, leftist, elitist (as they sit in their ivory towers and mansions drinking Cristal) attitudes refuse to acknowledge some very important facts:

1. We now have a volunteer military. There is not one soldier, sailor or marine who is not there by choice;
2. America has broken every military promise it has made to protect and/or deliver peoples from tyranny beginning with Vietnam until now; and
3. The hatred for George Bush is the antiwar movement's catalyst. Because he is not "cool" and because he is a Republican who defines himself as a stalwart for democracy, and because they are convinced in their little brains that Bush is an illegitimate president--still--they have fanned out their own style of hatred in ways that the media adore. Their adolescent need of paternalistic, powerful imagery ("we need a father to guide us") causes this president not to fit their Hollywood template. Someone tell them Kennedy is dead and Willie is out of office.

My husband, once in the newspaper business, even admits to participating in these rallies in the 70s at University of Colorado. "But at least I've learned better," he stated last evening, in addition to something like, "They're at it again. The same people, the same BS."

So, the rest of the country will sit by, as most did during the Vietnam era, and allow these irrational fools to reinvent our foreign policy, if President Bush allows it, the idea of which makes me furious--and rather sick.

In the meantime, it's important for the president to take advantage of the time he has and do all he can to fulfill our promise in Iraq. He still has time left; but he must act now and without hesitation by revising the rules of engagement upward, defining what is victory and managing an impossible Middle East situation by calling Iran's bluff and engaging Israel in an attack upon Iran's nuclear sites.

And by the way, the president is still in charge, like it or not. If the protesters are against that fact, then they'd best change the U.S. Constitution.

Thanks for the read.

Two Americas
Evidently, lawyering has been very good for this American.

John Edwards' America
RALEIGH - Presidential candidate John Edwards and his family recently moved into what county tax officials say is the most valuable home in Orange County. The house, which includes a recreational building attached to the main living quarters, also is probably the largest in the county. The 28,200-square-foot home also Orange County's most valuable RALEIGH - Presidential candidate John Edwards and his family recently moved into what county tax officials say is the most valuable home in Orange County. The house, which includes a recreational building attached to the main living quarters, also is probably the largest in the county.

"The Edwardses" residential property will likely have the highest tax value in the county,- Orange County Tax Assessor John Smith told Carolina Journal. He estimated that the tax value will exceed $6 million when the facility is completed.

The rambling structure sits in the middle of a 102-acre estate on Old Greensboro Road west of Chapel Hill. The heavily wooded site and winding driveway ensure that the home is not visible from the road. "No Trespassing" signs discourage passersby from venturing past the gate.

Don Knight, Orange County building plans examiner, told CJ that, including the recreational building, the Edwardses' home would be one of the largest in Orange County.

Knight approved the building plans that showed the Edwards home totaling 28,200 square feet of connected space. The main house is 10,400 square feet and has two garages.

The recreation building, a red, barn-like building containing 15,600 square feet, is connected to the house by a closed-in and roofed structure of varying widths and elevations that totals 2,200 square feet.

The main house is all on one level except for a 600-square-foot bedroom and bath area above the guest garage.

The recreation building contains a basketball court, a squash court, two stages, a bedroom, kitchen, bathrooms, swimming pool, a four-story tower, and a room designated "John's Lounge."

Thursday afternoon, the Edwards for President press office was unable to provide information on any additional buildings planned for the estate.
(Reprint from Carolina Journal, 1/26/2007, by Don Harrington.)

Most People's America
Anyone who has been to my house knows it's pretty nice and comfortably big. Not huge, you understand, but big enough to swing a couple of cats. In all, not including garage space, it measures about 2810 square feet.

Mr. and Mrs. Edwards' house is exactly TEN times bigger than mine. Ten!

I don't care how big Citizen Edwards' new house is. I do care, however, when he hypocritically, as a Presidential candidate, lectures me from John's Lounge about poverty and his so-called Two Americas. I'm thinking John needs to tone it down a bit. But what do you expect from new money?

Thanks for the read.

Personal Sacrifice
I'll keep this brief.

I wish I had had an ability to pass a note to Condi Rice when Barbara Boxer indicated that neither of them have to worry about being affected by the war.

I would have said,

"Senator, we are all affected by this war and its outcome. Especially when and if we fail in Iraq. You will begin to feel the fallout when America comes face to face, on its own soil, with these new masters of our destiny."

This is the problem. People in America don't get it yet. I don't think they ever will until it's too late.

Thanks for the read.

Pelosi's Coronation
Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California and Speaker of the House, contends she is "the most powerful woman in America." Yes, she actually made that statement at one of her inauguration "teas."

I have always loved watching Democrats as they try to remain "one of us."

Bill Clinton's Wife, Hillary
Hillary Clinton, the presumed Democrat candidate for president, must be turning this way and that in disbelief as she watches Nancy take over the mantle of most powerful. After all, this is Hillary's handle--being the most powerful woman in America (don't forget smartest) , isn't it?

I predict there will be infighting the likes of which we've not seen in decades. Remember, the Democrats have no agreed-upon policies. Their differences are so huge, so radical, there's little chance of coming together. The past will reveal the future: they are biting off more than they are allotted, a tendency to think they''ve been handed more than they actually were given, e.g., George McGovern.They love power and like hungry hyennas, are sniping at each other over the carcass. (Someone take Cindy Sheehan aside have a word, will ya? She's upsetting Nancy when she ruins the Dems' new conferences.)

I'm thrilled to see the Dem's self-conscious display of "taking back the people's house." You know, the kids, the grandchildren, Richard Gere and Tony Bennett in the gallery lends the Dems that gravitasse they consider so very important. If Gerald Ford hadn't had the bad manners to die, her four-day inauguration would have been the lead on every news outlet.

Speaking of bad manners, where were all the Democrats during President Ford's funeral? At one of Pelosi's celebration parties, you say? Tacky...and arrogant.

Meanwhile...
If Nancy can handle the bitterness of the Dems she has screwed so far, this might be a good season for the old gal. However, pols have long memories and when given the opportunity, many of the most bitter will find a way, any way, to get back in power, and get Nancy out. I wish them luck on that.

Nancy is said to have a index card file of those who owe her, and of those whom she owes, a practice she learned at her Baltimore mayor-father's knee (when Baltimore was at its most corrupt). Nancy isn't your grandfather's grandma. She is one tough machine-style political broad.

Today, speaker of the house; tomorrow, vp or president? I may be barking up the wrong tree, but my hunch is she likes this limelight-- a lot. Recently exiled Queen Hillary may want to think of ways to curtail Nancy's excitement.

Ah, shucks, Nancy, go ahead and say it. You're not only are the most powerful woman in America. You've conquered the world!

Thanks for the read.