May they have better luck.

Than they did with the X-33. I'm a firm believer in space exploration and hope Lockheed Martin's guys are up to this task.

It's time we left the cradle.

Wow, bold move.

I consider CNN's decision to rebroadcast 9-11 quite bold as they've spent the last 5 years downplaying the event.

Bravo for CNN.

And then there were eight.

Buhbye Pluto, 76 years is a good lifespan in the big leagues.

Excellent article from Chrichton.

I really enjoyed this discussion on hubris and complexity, basically at least one person seems to understand that we don't understand what we're told to be afraid of by people who claim to understand.

I think the sage Homer Simpson...

...put it best. "In this house we obey the laws of Thermodynamics!"

But, people never seem to listen to poor Homer.

Barone hits the nail on the head again.

I often enjoy Michael Barone's work, and this column is an especially good, if short, read. There's a need to understand that elites on the Left aren't interested in defending this nation, they're actually desirous of our defeat.

And in their self-hatred they're willing to overlook everything that'd be lost should the West lose this war. I've been scoffed at for likening what we're going through to the "Barbarians at the Gate" period for Rome. But that's indeed what we're facing.

Hizballah, Iran, Hamas, Syria, al Qaeda, Chavez, the Taliban, Sudan, Eva Morales, Robert Mugabe, while not formally allied, are at the gates and are wanting to destroy the freedoms and ways of the West.

Gay marriage? Fuhgeddaboutit. Divorce? Gonner. Elections? Nope. Science and medicine? Nor to these Luddites.

I'd say it's time to wake up, but a sizable chunk in he West is in active denial. We will win this war with or without this chunk, or it simply won't matter.

The institutionalized theft known as Digital Rights Management

Why do I consider it theft? Simple reason, it pretends that you no longer have the right of ownership and that the original seller can take back your property at their whim. This is called theft when people without expensive lawyers and corrupt judges do it.

But we are expected to take it lying down.

So what starts me on this is I recently had to replace a dying motherboard. So when I fire up iTunes again...I have to reauthorize the songs I've bought directly from iTunes...for use on the same machine. So I've used two of the five authorizations generously given me for use of my property to play a song on just one machine.

Gee thanks iTunes.

And some will complain that I signed that away with their ToS. But you can no more sign your right to unlawful seizure of property (which is really what DRM boils down to) than you can sell yourself into slavery.

Now the real shenanigans come in retail stores. Buy software lately? I bet you haven't...because if you look at those half-baked EULA's, you didn't really _buy_ anything. You're just essentially leasing it. Sound like bait-and-switch? It should, and it needs to be exposed in my opinion.

Or at least they should be required to post the ENTIRE EULA on the box so you have the option to read it...like you would with any other leasing arangement.

/rant

More evidence that computer models aren't predictive.

They're just models after all, without the variables defined or understood. Case in point the horrible hurricane season we're having, as predicted last year. Global warming has the things churning the ocean like solar-heated butter.

Wait...what? It's quiet? The sea temperatures are below normal?

But...that's not possible. I was assured we were all doomed because we live a better and cleaner life than 30 years ago. All the nay-sayers keep harping about the better without any attention to the cleaner...or without any science done to prove man-made global warming is going on.

They demand it for creationism in the class room, they demand it whenever anyone tries to shrink government...but they accept man-made global warming on faith.

*sheesh*

Politicians against voters, again.

Reading about how Arnie is about to be named the hero-du-jur of the rabid Left, he's actually deciding to go against the welfare of the citizens of California. Grand, isn't it?

In exchange for unemployment, increased deficits, decreased opportunities, and killing our economy...Schwartzenegger will get a few moments of back-patting from SUV-driving, private-jet-flying elites.

Just has to sell us out to a bit of junk science. *sigh*

If he really cared for California he'd work to get money diverted to research to investigate whether or not man-made global warming is real...NO ONE has done this research yet.

"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room."

Just a little insanity for you, but when a peace protest breaks out in fisticuffs you know something screwy is afoot.

Terrorism on a roll.

Two major victories in a week for the forces of terror. Not only did Hizballah score a minor tactical and huge strategic victory against Israel, but now Judge Taylor and the ACLU won another battle for their side in Michigan.

Folks, this isn't a civil police action this is a full blown war. And no amount of self-delusions can change that. Our enemies realize that, want that, and work to win. Meanwhile large segments of our community fight to keep us FROM fighting.

People will die as a result of Taylor's anti-US decision, and freedoms will erode because of her doing the ACLU's bidding. If you want to preserve freedoms you'll hope to see this bad decision overturned.

This is a global war, a World War, and the US legal system is, like Iraq and Afghanistan, an active front in the war. We really need to start acting like that.

Airport Security

So I picked up two friends from LAX today and was thinking about this latest terrorist mess. No liquids, basically no carry-ons, no etc. May not have been able to kill anyone, but it sure makes us look silly so it's still a nominal victory for them.

Which leads to a greater point. By using signal intelligence Demos want to ban, and British internal security we simply don't have, we were able to stop one plot at the cost of some freedom and major disruptions all around. Aka, this is the face of the world the anti-war Demos want to live in...constantly eroding freedoms in a reactionary defense that tries to minimize lost life not prevent the loss of life.

Something to remember the next time you hear someone deluding themselves about this being 'a war you can't win militarily.' Not only is this a war that can be won with armies, it's one that MUST be won with armies over there if we're to preserve the freedoms inherent of liberal democracies.

Business Comma-tery.

This article illustrates the importance of minding your P's and Q's, a trait growing rare in the up-and-coming generation.

Hey Comrade Moore.

Reading this tripe from Mikhail Moore and I wasn't surprised by his continuing counterfactual history.

He lied in Roger and Me, and in Bowling for Columbine, and in Fahrenheit 9/11...so naturally he continues here.

The only reason Iraq is unwinnable is because wealthy and corrupt men like Moore revel in every serviceman's death while they endlessly repeat al Qaeda's talking points. If al Qaeda didn't see the effect Moorons are having here they wouldn't be trying this hard...they'd realize they've lost.

So Moore, I suggest you continue your purge. Like your spiritual forefathers in the USSR and Germany, purges did a great job preparing them for the main match. I'll be over here, with my popcorn, watching the party of hate eat itself.

As will the vast majority of America.

The Joy of Migraines.

Reading this article(Registration required) shows that a lot of progress has been made in figuring out migraines. And most of what we knew was wrong.

No real surprise as this happens all the time.

The most important advice is:

Perhaps most important in finding relief is seeing a doctor highly experienced in diagnosing and treating migraines.

As I went to the doctor and was told I had 'adult onset' migraines, when it seems it was just poor dietary constraints (too much chocolate too near bedtime).

Back.

Heh, life's been hectic but things should settle down a bit now. I should resume blogging normally as of today.

Educause, all wrapped up.

My final update from Boulder. It's a fun little town and I will be back, hopefully for more Educause events. But for now I'm exhausted.

Too much fun, too much altitude, too much learning. If I was a drinker I'd be in real trouble. :)

Today were our presentations, with each of the six groups covering their questions in different ways. As you can see, we were all quite silly.

I'd give more detail, but that'll have to wait for the wrap-up post...aka when my brain works again. The presentations were quite fun though and were an excellent way of showing some of what we learned. We'd have showcased more, but there is no way to fit more information in a 10 minute presentation.

Another thing these presentations demonstrated was the ease at which teamwork can be built and the quickness with which solutions can be achieved. All that's required is a bit of professionalism and a smidge of swallowing pride.

Two results of the brilliant faculty here at Educause.

Yeah, I know, I'm gushing. But it's this is an amazing conference. I'm going to push for all my current and future coworkers to go to this as it's benefits extend beyond just managing staff.

The connections I've made are incredible, and some of these folks are people I'll be asking for help and advice from for years to come.

So I come away with whole new ways of leading and training my staff, which isn't just valuable to me but immensely valuable to them too. If I can better lead my OCs then I'll be better positioning them to handle the real world.

Which, curiously enough, bears no resemblance to working on a college campus. Not even a little.

This, by the way, is our group...well, most of it. I'm off to the left as narrator while our two 'abducted' employees are off to the right. You'll note that we adopted the hotel's haunted reputation for our skit.

Shh, don't mention the bedsheet to housekeeping. I don't think they noticed it had vanished.

I'll wrap this up with a group shot of our faculty. This was taken just as we began our 'testimonial' part, where we talked about what we were bringing away from all of this.

The most touching part, for me, was when one of my colleagues stood up to seek out those that had impacted him most here and mentioned me as one of the three that had most influenced him this conference. It seems my insight into staff management had shown considerable wisdom and he was thankful for it.

Heh, seems there's hope for me afterall.

Tomorrow, my plane ride home...if TSA lets me.

Educause, wrapping up in Boulder.

Back again from another fun filled day of Educause. Today was the longest day out of the set. But it was also the best, I feel, over all. All general sessions today, but they expanded the main room so there was less crowding.

Man, we covered so much today it's difficult to remember it all. The first session was a general one on communication. Items like handling the 'Yes ands...' and 'Yes buts...' which plague management. Well, and plague people in general nowadays...just say yes or no for heaven's sake.

We next moved onto a discussion on the future of IT in higher education. Both promising and challenging at the same time, but that's to be expected. I found this one a bit disjoined though, and I think part of that has to do with some of the preachiness.

The general disdain that came across with respect to colleges being expected to produce economic impact was a bit surprising. You'd think in an era where one of the biggest problems facing universities is their self-created 'ivory tower' mentality, they'd strive to avoid it.

You shouldn't demand exemptions from budgetary considerations when making critiques of budgetary processes. Ultimately schools serve the citizenry, and if legislatures feel safe to cut their funding this means that legislators feel safe in doing so. And that only happens when the average Joe no longer values colleges...which comes out of the 'ivory tower' school of PR.

After lunch we came back to work on career building. To be honest, I've never much planned my career. Which might explain how much of it's currently unmet.

But I've gotten better lately and the tools presented here will help immensely.

After the career planning one we went into a session about effective teamwork. I can't give details without spoiling things, but this was an amazing seminar. The best of the Institute, imnho. I gained some valuable material that will be of immense value later this quarter.

At once my OCs should be very happy and quite scared.

After that session we spent well over an hour working on our team presentation. That's my team, Green Team, the best one of the Institute. From left to right that's Scott, Joan, Alan, Kathy, Melissa, Ginny, and Joe. I'm hiding behind the camera, naturally.

My contacts here, although not as developed as they could be if I was more energetic, will still be quite useful as I cultivate them through time. Plus, these are very good people whom I'm glad to have met. Our presentation should be cool tomorrow, and I may post video if it doesn't embarrass Scott too much. :)

I wrap up tonight with another picture of the Flatirons. I want to come back to Boulder and hike up there somepoint. Hopefully with some close and/or special friends, and maybe in about 100 pounds.

Boulder has breathtaking scenery and is worth the visit, although I think they've let their 'free spirit' situation dilute their potential.

C'est la vie. Tomorrow's the final formal day of the Institute, we'll have fun.

Educause, 2nd full day - Dry Boulder, CO

First things first, in maintaining a good, strong seminar you need to keep your seminees fed. And every morning we get a nice breakfast to be consumed in the half-hour before we begin. Fruit, breads, juice, coffe, and an egg dish have been available both mornings so far, and it's quite good. Just enough to enable us to have a energy crash before the first session is done.

Well, in theory at least.

Our first activity today was a session on 'Emotional Intelligence', basically how you read and understand the emotional state of both yourself and others. There are plenty of managers who can't do this, but still the material was ill prepared. The handout in folder didn't gel with what was being discussed, we finished way to early so we just filled time, and we got way off topic. So this was more than a bit of a wash.

After this we broke then went into our individual units. First up was a session on 'Project Managing', and this one was extremely informative. There was a lot of material I hadn't thought of before or even been aware enough to think of. My redoing consultant training will be much more interesting when I apply some of these things. And, for that matter, my projects outside of work will benefit immensely too, once I get the hang of this.

I also learned of Project Management Professional certification, "pimp" as it was dubbed. It's offered by the Project Management Institute and is rapidly becoming a standard in education, more so than even a PhD. Only caveat, you need a minimum of 4500 hours of project management before you can enroll to take the test. No, 4500 is not a typo.

Anyways, we broke for lunch as usual and were joined by the Educause President. I didn't get a chance to talk with him as he was at another table, but I sat with the Project Management people and soaked up more information on projects. UCSB seems quite behind on a number of fields, this one included.

But I'm finding out we're way ahead on things like net security. I also picked up a couple of nifty software packages I'll have to mention to Steve, he might find them useful.

After lunch we went through a session on hiring, training, motivating, and retaining staff. As I have such high through-put on staff most of it was old hat, but I helped a few new managers with tips on interviews and rewards. I've learned that managing student staff is vastly easier and more rewarding than career staff.

Yes, I don't have as much 'respect' or 'cache', but I have less stress and more flexibility.
We took the class photo at 3 then broke for the day. I went back to walking about Boulder, and have been most places within about half-a-mile of the hotel. The city's gorgeous from a scenery perspective, but has some seedier parts. The biggest turn off is how overrun the town plaza is with drifters and panhandlers. It's a lot like SB and might just be a symptom of rich, vacation-destination towns. Probably a symptom of the political leanings of the town, as this place is very similar to SB politically.

Here's a picture of the Boulderado taken from a bit north on 13th street. It's a really pretty building, one that I'm quite familiar with now. Should I come back to Boulder, I will stay here again. I recommend it highly.

It lacks a pool though...I could really use a pool. (Or the one here is just well hidden...I'll ask later).

Next update tomorrow, which is our busiest day. Then a short day on Thursday and I fly home on Friday.

Let me know if you have any requests on things to photograph or do while here, I'll try to work them in.

First full day of Educause.

Boy it's been a busy day, exhaustion is quite an option after four separate seminars. One quick perk was apparent though, being a West Coaster I wasn't too far removed from my normal schedule. A number of folks are from the East Coast, and they were all up bright and early around four. :)

There are a bit over fifty of use in the conference with seven faculty. Our general sessions are held in this larger room but we split into smaller rooms for most of our activities.

This morning started with 'the Changing Faces of IT' in which we talked about some of the future trends to be expected in University IT. From straight forward items like the growing power of open source to more exotic items like the influence in gaming on the teaching in University.

Fortunately the sessions are broken up by frequent breaks. Breaks that see a considerable rush for coffee. The sun was back today as this storm moved on, and the temperature was up a good 15 degrees from yesterday. So outdoor breaks were encouraged.

After the morning session we broke into two smaller 'tracks' for the remainder of the day. We had three more sessions during this, one on time management, one on leadership, and one on communication.

Naturally, any seminar on time management is doomed to run over time...which we did. Not a problem though as it was very informative. A lot of what struck attendees as novel or new were items I'd been doing for ages (thanks Ray for teaching me to use to-do lists!)

The leadership one was also quite informative, while I found I was doing a pretty good job, it showed me how much more I have to learn. My staff should see a lot better care from me once I fully digest what we went over.

The communication seminar was also very interesting. Seems my biggest problem is not listening closely, something that I'd been aware of at some level, but not enough to act on it. So that's marked for improvement. I also found that I had perfectly balanced the four aspects of communication, which either means I'm great at communicating or just can't shut up. I leave that one for history to decide. :)

I skipped doing a group dinner and hiked around old town Boulder. Silly me, I had a camera yet failed to take many pictures. Also, 5700' elevation is a bit much for a beach dog like me, especially one as out of shape as I.

The city is beautiful, and very much a college town. Lots of pubs and lots of pan handlers, kinda like IV but with class and merchants.

Anyways, we have a shorter day tomorrow so I may get more of the town on film. Depends on my mood.

More later.

Educase, the first two days.

Well, I'm in Boulder. I didn't bring my laptop along which I thought would preclude me from blogging, but hey this hotel is equipped with a couple of nice HPs! :) Oh, and pardon a few of the photos, it's a new camera so they're a bit blurry as I've been learning it's quirks as I go.

Anyways, got to the SB airport at 5:30 Saturday morning. This is where the first fun part of my trip appeared when I learned that my name is on the 'Do Not Fly' list. No real inconvenience for me beyond 15 minutes in a line. But as I'm hoping to go on a Japan trip next year I'll have to keep this in mind.

Have I mentioned that this list doesn't seem very useful? The whole screening process is actually borderline absurd really. I mean, come on, statistically speaking they would be better off just profiling the passengers and going after the backgrounds that are jihadi-oriented, not 5 year old blonde girls (one of the conferees here had her daughter pulled aside for the 'detailed search').

Your tax dollars misappropriated people.

But anyway, the plane was a very nice Canadaair SRJ (I think) 200. The flight lasted two hours and was rather pleasent, only two screaming kids and they were silent for most of the flight.

We arrived in Denver and two things came to mind. First, how flat the Plains really are. I've never been out here and 'wow'...what a weirdly flat horizon.

The second thing was how there was nothing near the airport. I'm used to LAX, Burbank, and all the LA airports...with buildings and offices right adjacent to the property. This looked more like it was set in a MadMax world.

But that's neither here nor there...I'm just showing my geology bias for actually liking mountains.

Inside the airport is another matter. The thing was huge! I got off the plane, up into a loading terminal...into a main terminal, down three moving sidewalks, through a virtual mall, and finally road a train before I got to the actual terminal. Any bigger and I would have needed a connection flight from the tarmac to the terminal.

The fountain was a nice touch too, greets you when you come up from the train. Again, compared to LAX, this place is rather cool and a bit intimidating. Too bad I don't fly more. Anyways, after about an hour I caught a van ride into Boulder. One of the Faculty for Educause was on the van, so we talked a bit.

The hotel itself is fantastic, an old Victorian hotel with newer additions that still look like the hotel at large. Lots of wood panelling, rich decorations and the like. I'm very happy to be here.

The rain's kept me pretty locked up though. It's been pretty steady during the day but is supposed to let up tomorrow so I'll see more of Boulder.

Also the food here is wonderful, if a bit 'yuppie'.

The conference started today and is filled with a myriad of wonderful people. I've learned quite a bit so far and today was merely introductions. I can't wait to see what we do over the rest of the conference.

More tomorrow.

Posting irregularity.

I'm between a vacation and a business trip (which leaves tomorrow). I should get back to posting on the 15th or so (sooner if I can find a good computer setup in Boulder).

So, my apologies to those few who do read, it'll pick up shortly.

(Which is good, because the news is insane lately)

-SB Viking.

Telcom Welfare thwarted, for now.

The initial attempt enact Telcom Welfare (ie ending net neutrality) has been thwarted by a ridiculously narrow margin. We're not out fo the woods here and need to keep pressuring to prevent the Telcoms from enacting their own little welfare bill.

It'll be interesting to see if they're able to buy enough legislators to give themselves this windfall.

Which, naturally, will be borne on our backs.

It comes in pints?!

A hobbits exclamation in Bree, an Englishman's glee in Germany.

Makes me wonder how the pretzel business is going.

Curious about Lego?

I've always loved Lego, and it's still a guilty pleasure of mine. Over at How Stuff Works they give some great information on how those addictive blocks function.

'Nuh uh', foreign policy style.

Reading Daniel Bernstein's piece over at Volokh I find myself reliving a number of arguments I've had here at UCSB.

Read the whole thing.

No kidding.

Seems Rowlings may kill off Potter.

That'd be about as surprising as book seven being 500+ pages long.

Follow up to sportsmanship

As I mentioned yesterday, leading by example is a lost art.

Well, seems others have a sense of humor too.

Temper tantrum in front of a crowd: $1000
Scaring a poor batboy: 7 Days Suspension
Having your video broadcast across the web: Priceless.

Care to place wagers?

According to Rowling, two die in her volume 7.

<speculation>

My own speculation is either Harry or Voldemort buys it, as they both shouldn't survive. But as for the other, I'm not really certain...so many could or should buy it.

I'm really intriqued by her reprieve comment. I'll be interested to see if my hunch comes to pass.

</speculation>

Bill bin Keller strikes again.

If you've been following the news, it seems that Bill Keller and the NY Times decided to put all of us at risk in their never ending intelligence gathering role for al Qaeda.

Thanks guys.

Instapundit has been following it here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. *phew*

I for one have to say that I agree with the of the National Review and that the press credentials of the entire New York Times should be revoked as a sanction for their continued putting lives at risk.

And while Michelle Malkin's photoshoppers may be harsh, they're actually pretty accurate on where the NY Times has placed itself.

On the side of the people who brought down 1, 2, and 7 World Trade Center on that bright, sunny day just five years ago.

And speaking of anger-inducing refs.

Looks like I'm not the only one upset at the World Cup officiating. And you know it's bad when the body that runs world soccer issues a condemnation mid tournament.

I'll never grouse about lousy NFL calls again.

Good sportsmanship...

...starts with the manager, right? Of course it does, although someone should tell Joe Mikulik that, and maybe help the poor guy get some help.

Perhaps a side career in boxing?

En Guarde!

Looks like Arnie isn't actually all that interested in doing what's needed to stem the flow of illegals into California.

Not surprising actually, but sad that a man who campaigns on his 'tough' image isn't willing to do his job.

Hypocrisy Watch

So here's another example of how the old media works.

Some 60% of Americans disapprove of the Iraq front and thus the media hammers the president for keeping us in there because he's at odds 'with the public' and they are wise.

Now, according to ABC's own research 60% see no need for drastic or immediate action on the AGW hype. So the press hammers the President because he's in sync with the populace and that we people are ignorant.

But, of course, the media is against freeing oppressed people and also against economic opportunity here at home, so they apply those criteria to the news which then explains their position.

Once again put at risk by newsmen.

In the never ending battle to make more money at the cost of American lives and your safety, the NY Times and LA Times broke an expose on a anti-terror program that the NYT acknowledges is LEGAL.

All so the bin Sulzbergers can make a few quick bucks at the cost of our soldiers lives.

Okay, it's nerdy...

...but it's fun. And what's better than a philosophical look at Superman vs. others on a Friday morning?

Net Neutrality - 21 Century's Freedom of Speech

The neutrality of the internet is vital to everyone, not just those playing World of Warcraft. If staying informed and being empowered are things you like, visit www.savetheinternet.com and help all of us stop this assinine motion.

The favorite cheese for software developers?

Swiss apparently based on the number of highly popular, and highly vulnerable, software packages out there.

It's not called AOHell for nothin'

Geez, reading this makes you realize why AOL has its problems. The representative may have been fired but the real question is 'has AOL stopped this policy?'

'cause there's no way this was some rogue operator.

The problem of conspicuous wealth...

is often talked about. But some guys have a totally new spin on it.

Hawking's got taste, just not in his theories.

While I agree with Hawkings on his China comments, he's way off on his global warming hysteria.

Yes, he's a genius...at math and astrophysics. But he's simply not a qualified person when it comes to the great Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) scare. Yes he's an expert, and he's a scientist...but he's not a geologist, nor a paleoclimatologist.

It's akin to seeking out Dwayne Wade for advice on water polo. He's an expert and an athlete...but he's not in a position to give expert advice on water polo.

As a geologist I have to point out that the Earth's tectonic regime is vastly different than Venus', which means different rules are in play. Further, Earth's CO2 levels have been immensely higher in the past than they are now, and some of those times saw Earth colder than it is now.

Anyways, when it comes to AGW, yes the world is warming...because it's coming out of the little Ice Age from ~1300-1850. When temperatures were significantly colder than now, which isn't mentioned anymore.

Isn't it amazing that people can whine about the anti-science of 'creationism' but force the anti-science of AGW down our throats?

Hypocrites.

Snatching Defeat from the mouth of Victory.

I swear, every time the Dems have a chance of gaining ground they do something stupid like this. 149 voted to lose the war against terror/Islamofascism. 149...think about that.

On the record against:

Our way of life.
Our service members.
Our safety.
Our children.

That's pretty amazing. 73% of Congressional Democrats want bin Laden to win. Including our esteemed elitist Lois Capps.

For the record, here's the text of the resolution:

RESOLUTION

Declaring that the United States will prevail in the Global War on Terror, the struggle to protect freedom from the terrorist adversary.

Whereas the United States and its allies are engaged in a Global War on Terror, a long and demanding struggle against an adversary that is driven by hatred of American values and that is committed to imposing, by the use of terror, its repressive ideology throughout the world;

Whereas for the past two decades, terrorists have used violence in a futile attempt to intimidate the United States;

Whereas it is essential to the security of the American people and to world security that the United States, together with its allies, take the battle to the terrorists and to those who provide them assistance;

Whereas the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and other terrorists failed to stop free elections in Afghanistan and the first popularly-elected President in that nation's history has taken office;

Whereas the continued determination of Afghanistan, the United States, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will be required to sustain a sovereign, free, and secure Afghanistan;

Whereas the steadfast resolve of the United States and its partners since September 11, 2001, helped persuade the government of Libya to surrender its weapons of mass destruction;

Whereas by early 2003 Saddam Hussein and his criminal, Ba'athist regime in Iraq, which had supported terrorists, constituted a threat against global peace and security and was in violation of mandatory United Nations Security Council Resolutions;

Whereas the mission of the United States and its Coalition partners, having removed Saddam Hussein and his regime from power, is to establish a sovereign, free, secure, and united Iraq at peace with its neighbors;

Whereas the terrorists have declared Iraq to be the central front in their war against all who oppose their ideology;

Whereas the Iraqi people, with the help of the United States and other Coalition partners, have formed a permanent, representative government under a newly ratified constitution;

Whereas the terrorists seek to destroy the new unity government because it threatens the terrorists' aspirations for Iraq and the broader Middle East;

Whereas United States Armed Forces, in coordination with Iraqi security forces and Coalition and other friendly forces, have scored impressive victories in Iraq including finding and killing the terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi;

Whereas Iraqi security forces are, over time, taking over from United States and Coalition forces a growing proportion of independent operations and increasingly lead the fight to secure Iraq;

Whereas the United States and Coalition servicemembers and civilians and the members of the Iraqi security forces and those assisting them who have made the ultimate sacrifice or been wounded in Iraq have done so nobly, in the cause of freedom; and

Whereas the United States and its Coalition partners will continue to support Iraq as part of the Global War on Terror: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) honors all those Americans who have taken an active part in the Global War on Terror, whether as first responders protecting the homeland, as servicemembers overseas, as diplomats and intelligence officers, or in other roles;
(2) honors the sacrifices of the United States Armed Forces and of partners in the Coalition, and of the Iraqis and Afghans who fight alongside them, especially those who have fallen or been wounded in the struggle, and honors as well the sacrifices of their families and of others who risk their lives to help defend freedom;
(3) declares that it is not in the national security interest of the United States to set an arbitrary date for the withdrawal or redeployment of United States Armed Forces from Iraq;
(4) declares that the United States is committed to the completion of the mission to create a sovereign, free, secure, and united Iraq;
(5) congratulates Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and the Iraqi people on the courage they have shown by participating, in increasing millions, in the elections of 2005 and on the formation of the first government under Iraq's new constitution;
(6) calls upon the nations of the world to promote global peace and security by standing with the United States and other Coalition partners to support the efforts of the Iraqi and Afghan people to live in freedom; and
(7) declares that the United States will prevail in the Global War on Terror, the noble struggle to protect freedom from the terrorist adversary.

Good news on the Murtha front.

There are few possible victories in this war than the defeat of John Murtha. It's good to see that re-election troubles for uber-fifth-columnist Murtha. The point here is that anyone as intent on contributing to the harm and death of our soldiers as Murtha needs to be defeated.

So, support Diana Irey for congress. Not just to give better leadership in Washington, but to protect the lives of those in uniform.

Interesting assessment of Iran by al Qaeda.

I found this recovered document fascinating. But aside for their primary goal is using our media to win their war I found the following fascinating:

3. The possibility of acquiring new weapons from the Iranian side, either after the fall of Iran or during the battles.

I mean they want us to war with Iran, but they also expect Iran to fall. They've fought our forces, they've listened to the talking points about us being overstretched, and yet they expect not our loss and their looting our gear.

They expect an Iranian loss.

I wonder if Murtha's read this? Or if he's still on Zawahiri's mailing list?

93-6?

Makes you wonder when votes like this are going on what's the real game of the pro-terrorist Left is? I mean if they're working to be constantly ridiculed as hypocrits, they're good at it.

Tyranny is always descending on America and landing in Europe.

Hard to believe that this kind of thing would go on in a supposed western democracy.

Perhaps Belgium would feel better if home schooled children wore small, yellow stars?

I swear, you can't make this stuff up sometimes.

I knew there was a reason I like Rudy.

It's rare but refreshing to see a major political candidate speak truth to our energy problems. But that's Rudy for you.

It takes a lot of courage to stand up to Big Green, and if Rudy keeps that he'll be a powerful candidate in 2008.

What's worse?

That the Democrat leadership wants us to lose the war against Islamofascism?

Or that they work for that every single day?

Sheesh, I mean when you hear their constant bickering over how we need to lose (which they call 'setting a timetable') you'd think they got their talking points from Zawahiri. I mean an honest assessment of Iraq shows we're winning there, and rather decisively, and at a cost below what any other nation has ever paid for supressing a guerrila movement.

The only place where it appears we're losing is in the eyes of the Old Media, just as their masters in al Qaeda like.

But they file their stories from New York with their ledes already prepared before the story is actually written, so it's not really journalism but bin Laden propaganda.

Real scientists on global warming.

For those who actually study the subject, you've known that the man-made global warming hysteria is essentially a funding stunt by researchers. The mystery for me has been why climitologists have stayed silent with the never ending junk-science barrage being launched at the American public.

Well, I find this salvo a refreshing push back. And I hope we'll have more of them because it's bad for science and secularism what the fear-mongers like Gore are doing.

Good point on comparisons.

Considering that a cursory examination of Joe Wilson exposes him as an exaggerator at best, Jim Lindgren raises a valid point here.

CNNSI had the right headline for that loss.

"Reality Czech" reads the headline talking about our memorable performance to open this World Cup. Memorable for all the wrong reasons. We should at least make other nations work for it a bit.

Sheesh.

Dog bites man.

Looks like a tropical system is gathering towards Florida. While I understand the big business behind global warming hysteria, a large penninsula sticking into hurricane prone waters should be expected to get hit by storms.

What's next? "Blizzard buries the Yukon" headlines this December?

Looks like Norway isn't as boring as I've heard.

My friend Knut always makes Norway sound rather dull, but they can have a blast too.

I really hope they find some good chunks of that rock, it'd be great to study.

Boss gets 72 virgins, I get $25 million.

So, the human race was improved today with the bombing of al Zarqawi off the face of the earth.

That we got his #2 was a great benefit.

I'm just confused on one little point...based on my friends and colleagues, Iraq's only about oil. So what's Zarqawi doing there?

Scorecard on Iran.

Let's see...

1) Iran's threatening to wipe out a major developed democracy.
2) Has a 25+ year history of supporting terrorists.
3) Has significant oil reserves and thus directly influences world oil prices.
4) Opresses women and their rights.
5) Is ruled by a cadre of madmen.
6) AND is developing nuclear weapons.

This naturally means that the continued ethnic unrest throughout the country would get major headlines here in the US.

Right? You'd think.

So where are they?

...

I hope Karl Rove isn't paying attention...'cause this shows that one way Bush has of getting the press to cut him a break is to threaten to wipe out France while opening federal lands to oil drilling and turning the SEALs loose on other nations that disagree with us...and jailing random educated women wouldn't hurt too.

Ever have tech woes?

Well, PC World has compiled a list of 25 doozies for ya.

I'm guilty of a PCjr, which I thought was so cool back then. But I think my phone has more power now.

It's only funny 'cause it's true nominee.

This site has an appropriate bumper sticker for those who want to celebrate our new nobility. Duke Hastert and the rest should be properly honored.

Blogging's been light.

I don't have much traffic, but figured I'd mention that I've been consumed with car problems and work and such.

I'll fill people in on the car problems when I can.

"Have Mouth, Will Insert Foot."

The motto of Denny Hastert, Newt, and the other blithering idiots who have come out and said, essentially, that the law doesn't apply to Congressmen.

Well, that's news to your bosses Denny. The 300 million of us who get tax gouged to pay for your 'earmarks', junkets, and corruption. Remember us?

Seems like you've forgotten and live so isolated in your smoke-filled back-rooms that you have no idea what we're like or what we want.

But, it's perfectly fine to try to insulate your corruption behind a self-enriching misreading of the Constitution while ignoring the infringements done to the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment and elsewhere.

If you're legislators and citizens of the US, then you'll get your act together and let the Justice Department do it's job with Rep. Jefferson. If you want to be aristocrats, then just let us know. We, your bosses, fired the last batch that tried it.

Ask the Brits.

If you're not amazed by this...

...then you don't follow baseball.

When the Detroit Tigers are dominating there may be something seriously wrong with the world.

Although, in a good way here.

Boston College shows genuine class.

Instead of the farcical protests I'd heard were planned, the students and families at Boston College showed genuine class to Condi today.

Bravo class of '06 at Boston College. And bravo to Boston College for actually inviting Condi and not caving to a few nuts among your faculty and student body.

Hey Reid, a little history.

Harry Reid (D-DC) calls the proposal to make English the official language 'racist.'

And we need to take his position on this seriously, as his party has shown itself an expert on this through the years. In fact, he's channeling a bit of Calhoun on this one.

After all, they formed the Klan in the 1860s, reformed it again in the early 20th century. Jim Crow grew out of their leadership, which had earlier led to Dred Scot. Rosa Parks stood up to his party's policies, just as LBJ rebelled against Senate Democrats to get the Civil Rights act through. And just as affirmative action and quotas continue the centuries-long practice of racism from Senate Democrats by insisting that blacks aren't capable of doing things on their own.

So thanks Reid, we'll take it under advisement. And if you're busy, you can have Sen. Byrd provide other commentary on it for you.

Sheesh.

Wealthy Donors 1, poor and middle-class taxpayers 0.

In another blow against poor and middle-class Americans, my local Congresswoman worked to ensure our continued dependence on foreign dictatorships for our standard of living. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) once again ensured that her rich donors in Montecito have a good view while the rest of us get tax-gouged to pay for their pork.

Here's the infuriating part:

"Drilling for natural gas means drilling for oil," argued Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif., citing industry pronouncements that where there is gas, often oil is found and probably would be developed. "Drilling three miles off our coast will not lower gas prices today or anytime in the near future."

The only reason it can't help in "the near future" is because of conditions Capps has helped create. By stifling the industry, putting on horrible controls that prevent refining, and by then pronouncing there's 'no quick fix', she's trying to play both sides of the issue.

Thanks Lois, I like being sold out to your rich donors. Hopefully their next junket takes you someplace nice.

Real news from Iraq.

An eye-witness account with actual historical experience with Iraq provides a stark contrast with the pre-packaged news made in New York.

"The Baathists and jihadists, their prior efforts to derail Iraqi democracy having come to naught, have now pinned their hopes on creating enough chaos and death to persuade Washington of the futility of its endeavors. In this, they have the tacit support not only of local Arab and Muslim despots rightly fearful of the democratic genie but of all those in the West whose own incessant theme has been the certainty of American failure."

I wonder how 'reporters' like at the NY Times or WashPost can live with themselves knowing they're willing accomplices of al-Qaeda's strategy?

What's important is that we citizens realize this and stop accepting their deceit.

Three planets found orbiting a Sun-like star.

This is just cool. The prevailing opinion some 20 years ago was that we were going to be an anomaly, that stars wouldn't have planets on balance.

Now they're everywhere.

This has to be one of the greatest scientific paradigm shift never reported on. Kind of sad we've gotten that cynical.

Censure Murtha

Advancing your position at the cost of American lives, Democratic Rep. Murtha's modus operandi, should be deplored, censured, and publicly mocked.

If you can honestly buy this self contradiction: "Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood," then you might want to try the Koolaid. (Hat tip to Best of the Web.)

Hey, Murtha, Semper Fi is supposed to mean something to you, try supporting your fellow Marines instead of their enemies!

I wonder if any of these will spark boycotts?

For those bored with the pending snooze-fest known as the Da Vinci Code, you can create your own Dan Brown novels.

Curiously enough, I wonder if Tom Friedman writes his columns this way.

Tom Friedman, contact your parser.

Get the feeling that the 'mid-east expert' Thomas Friedman stuck in a bit of a loop?

Fortunately, these next three to six months will be crucial to Friedman's career.

Note-taking, taken too far.

And our random story of the day, here's what they did before iPods.

Hoping his prediction is just a bit off.

So, Pat Robertson's at it again.

He's hoping that:

"If I heard the Lord right about 2006, the coasts of America will be lashed by storms,"

I suspect that the Lord may, if He's just, be planning to send a small meteor to take out Robertson's studio and mansion.

Here's to hoping!

My IOU to Senator Frist.

So I received a survey from Senator Frist's office regarding how Republican leadership should be doing their job. I answered it faithfully and when I got to the final question it asked if I wanted to donate money.

Given my current disenchantment with Senatorial Republicans (I'm looking at your Lott, Stevens, and Mccain), I decided I'd include an IOU. Once they get their act together, I'll send cash.

My IOU:

IOU NRSC

In lieu of a donation at this time, I’m enclosing this IOU that I will make good upon when the following conditions are met:

1. Earmark elimination – The outright elimination of the earmark/pork process in Washington. This open corruption is ruining this entire nation and must be dealt with firmly, swiftly, and totally. Support Senator Coburn!


2. Securing the border – A nation that surrenders sovereignty of its borders is not destined to last long. Our nation is in that situation now and must move to correct it. This includes 1) a border fence, 2) easing citizenship procedures for legal applicants, 3) enforcement of existing laws and full funding of Border Patrol, 4) a Solomon Amendment-like law forcing all cities, states, and agencies to lose funding if they do not enforce immigration law in full, and 5) demanding concessions from Mexico, if they can’t fix their problems then they need to have us help them fix them.


3. Opening America to energy exploration – Allow this country to drill for it’s own oil, remove/ease the anti-American barriers to refinery building, and slap down this talk about ‘price gouging.’ If a 4% profit by a company is gouging, then the 16% tax by the government is criminal. Besides, if people truly care about the environment they’ll be pleased to do drilling here where the environmental laws are strong and not in Saudi Arabia where they’re non-existant.


4. Permanent tax cuts or a flat tax – None of these two-year extensions. If it’s good enough for 2 years, it’s good enough for good.


5. Free Trade Area of the Americas – Expand NAFTA to each and every nation in the Western Hemisphere that wants it…start with Chile and move on from there. It’s been proven good for jobs here; it’ll just be more so and will build security.


6. Fighting back against Democrat lies – Every lie uttered by the Main Stream Media and the Democrats needs to be countered swiftly and forcefully…no more Murtha’s painting a false picture that becomes reality because the Republicans are afraid to lose their Tim Russert time.


7. Repeal McCain-Feingold – It’s immoral and criminal that Republicans would willingly scrap part of the Constitution just for media face time. The moment McCain stated he wanted a ‘clean government’ over “First Amendment protections” it became obvious this was a power grab, not reform.


8. Protecting the Blogosphere – Bloggers are journalists, in the purest sense of the word. Any attempt to silence or restrain them is an assault on the First Amendment and must be stopped.


9. Protecting the Internet – The attempt to kill the internet must be stopped. The www.savetheinternet.com site will help you see what I mean. Protect net neutrality or we all suffer.

When these 9 are addressed and met then I will be exceedingly generous with my donations and in my time spent campaigning. Until then, I’m not convinced Republicans in Washington are serious about governing this great land.

When he's right, he's right.

Borrowing from Drudge, Rush Limbaugh opined today: 'I can't think of any single issue, in the 18 years I have been on the air, which has Republicans more up in arms than this one.'

Boy is he ever right. The Republicans, and most of the independents, I talk to are furious about the border situation. And they're furious about Washington not doing anything.

The problem really isn't that Mexicans are coming north in large numbers, I'd (like most of my friends and family) have no problem if they could all come north legally. Anyone who says this is about race or whatnot is wrong and clueless.

This is about America being a nation of laws...laws that our politicians won't enforce and cry that it's 'too hard'. Well, if it's 'too hard' then what are you doing in politics? Politics is about doing hard things for the good of the nation, not about making yourselves rich with the corruption known as porkbarrel.

No, what we have found is a bunch of whining children compmlaining that we voters actually expect them to do their job.

So, let's help them.

First off, the misnamed 'Immigration Debate' needs clarity. This is really three issues here.

1. Border Security - Should the US actually enforce it's own laws with regards to the US border? What does it tell us about our national leadership if they don't view of the territorial security of the US as important?
   
   Until politicians get serious about this no one should take the lip service we're hearing seriously.


2. Holding Politicians Accountable - As an offshoot of 1, any politician who is't doing what they can to help enforce US laws (ie, how San Francisco is a 'safe zone') should be exposed and left to the voters.
   
   But what we need to do here is have a Solomon Amendment-like system where any agency/body/municipality that chooses to not enforce US law not be entitled to any federal funds. That some cities are allowed to be in open defiance of valid federal law is unacceptal and feeds the problem.


3. Mexico's in trouble - There's no two ways about it, any nation that's shedding 500,000 able-bodied workers a year to another country has massive internal problems. Mexico needs 1) Capitalism...the real kind, not the cronyistic version they've seen before, 2) Governmental reform, the government structure in Mexico seems horrible broken as it can't police it's territory, control it's police, or provide the safety needed for businesses to grow, and 3) Hope, which is the hardest thing to provide but the one thing most desperately needed.

So America can handle 1 and 2, and must if it's to continue. But 3 is something Mexico must deal with, even if we have to help.

If Mexicans are coming north to do jobs 'Americans won't do', perhaps Americans should also head south to do jobs Mexicans won't do.

What are they thinking!?

So UCSB, where I work, is planning to replace a perfectly functional gate with one more 'aesthetic'. A large traffic circle at the end of a 65mph stretch of freeway, plus an archway, to show off. Not a bad waste of $5.5m that could be spent on other projects around campus...or actually making wages on campus competitive.

But, on the positive side, they plan to start in time for Commencement...meaning that the major way off campus (and one of only 3 ways out) will be potentially off line for that event.

Joy!

Bush whacked? Seems not.

I was fearing the worst out of Bush's speech tonight, especially considering illegals have everyone in fits. Turns out I was pleasently surprised instead.

I think Dartblog has it close here, especially in avoiding the 'job's American's won't do' tripe.

UPDATE: Upon further reflection, the surprise comes from it not being a total flop of a speech. Overall, I feel let down now that I've had time to read the proposal as outlines.

Sure, it gets great mileage.

So the headline on Drudge reads "CAR GETS 8000 MPG", but read this article and you see it's just a hobby car, with a 35cc fuel capacity. Which works out to be a still somewhat respectable 73 miles to the tank on about a tenth of a pint.

Reading the earlier link shows that you essentially have a bobsled on wheels. The 'car' weighs in at under 110 pounds too.

As the inventor crows: "The car is important because it is a reminder that the way to achieve fuel-savings is to drive lighter cars. It's the weight of this car that is the main reason for its fuel-efficiency." Problem here is that the weight of a car is also a crucial element in the safety of the vehicle.

So, yeah, great mileage. But if you sneeze while driving you blow off a fender.

One sick puppy in NC.

Reading Ed Cone earlier...sheesh. My first thought is this poor sod just has a messed up mind, needs therapy, etc.

But, then again, he may be perfectly sane.

A little chilling how madness and evil are so similar.

Ever wonder what's on a Congressman's to-do list?

Given everything that's going on in the world and this country you'd think some heady stuff would be on tap in a Congressional office.

So what so you think Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-Pa) puts high enough up on America's danger list as to introduce a separate bill?

Funding the War on Islamofascism? Nope.

Securing our borders and enforcing our existing immigration laws? Doesn't seem so.

Fighting corruption and earmarks? Not a chance.

No, Fitzpatrick is seeking to spend our money to create a federal law to oversee access to MySpace, Facebook, and other social websites. (Fortunately for these sites it'll probably be like our border laws and totally ignored by Washington.)

Finished laughing? Good, because he's serious.

"As the father of six children, I hear about these Web sites on a daily basis," Fitzpatrick said. "However, the majority of these networking sites lack proper controls to protect their younger users. Also, many parents lack the resources to protect their children from online predators. My legislation seeks to change that." [emphasis added]

He's right you know...it's far too much to expect that a parent would actually care enough about their child to parent.

Just as it appears that it's far too much to expect a Republican to act like a Republican.

New mechanism for Triton's capture.

While they've been talking about Neptune's moon Triton being a captured body for some time, this article provides a new mechanism (at least for me) of how that could come about.

Very cool.

Not just Egypt.

Of course, following up the previous article, despotic tyrants in Egypt aren't the only ones afraid of critique. Blogger Will Vehrs was suspended ten days for having the temerity to voice his opinion.

Why is it so hard to engage a critique in debate? It's hard to imagine something as large and bloated as a state government can't find someone to rebut Vehrs' points.

And make no mistake, this is censorship. Not the ham-handed method of actually stoping someone from commenting, but the insidious method of making the person think twice before voicing their opinion.

Simple logic then, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, censoring might just be the clearest form of fear.

Remember though, as Kerry is fond of misquoting, "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism". So Vehrs isn't just being a critic, but is a patriot!

Update: Over at Bacon's rebellion they mention more of the background here. Seems Armstrong (D-Egypt) is involved quite a bit here.

So, mid-level state employee presents his own citizen's take on things, and gets browbeaten into submission and suspension. Yeah, I'm sure Henry County and Martinville are in great shape when that's the reaction.

Pharoh Mubarak, let your people go!

As Max Boot opines in the LA Times, what are we doing with Egypt being considered an 'ally'?

If our goal is to bring freedom to the oppressed citizens of Islam, shouldn't we be demanding it of our allies as well as liberating our enemies?

Egypt gets billions of dollars in aid a year, but can't stand a free election. They are called ally yet scream anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism in their news. They're called friend but imprision people with a critical voice like blogger Alaa Ahmed Seif al-Islam.

What's going on are two forces combining into an ugly reality.

First, there's the old wartime schtick of 'my enemy's enemy'. Mubarak is opposed to al-Qaeda, evidenced by their repeated bombings of Egypt's resorts, so the 'real-politik' demand is to treat him as a friend. Just like we did with Pinochet, Batista, Noriega, Saddam, Suharto, etc. Old diplomacy dies hard I guess.

Second, tyrants like Mubarak read our news. They're smart, and they see the al-Qaeda backing Left ripping apart anything in this country they can get their hands on. And they know that Bush is out of office in January 2009 (or sooner if Pelosi (D-al Qaeda) gets her way.) They just have to bide their time while their fronts like the NY Times sells their tens of millions of people into perpetual bondage just because the Left hates Bush.

So our State Dept is playing it's old games, and our internal opposition has turned so collaborationist that our enemies just have to wait.

Because until we get our act together, there'll be no promised land to lead these people to. We need to demand our 'friends' take this time and our largesse to peacefully transition into free societies.

Things I'd be willing to sacrifice...

Reading CNN I come across this article about what Americans are willing to sacrifice to compensate for the cost of gas.

Now, normally, a push-poll like this wouldn't merit anything, let alone the first post of a new blog. But I think this needed a little commentary.

No where did the polling firm think to ask things like 'Would you be willing to repeal the roughly 16% of the current cost of gas goes to taxes that vanish in the general fun instead of being used for roads and highways?' or 'Would you be willing to see relaxed environmental laws so refineries can actually be built?'

The point is the word 'sacrifice', when used like this, is being misused. Usually, a sacrifice involves losing luxuries first. Now the argument is usually framed in the size of the car being the luxury to lose. What isn't brought into this are luxuries like laws preventing refinery construction, mandates preventing oil drilling, etc.

The sacrifices often sought by CNN and the like are a bunch of misanthropic requirements designed to 'punish' you because you're too wealthy. Not to solve the problem.

Just a thought.