Air Force Voices

Defending Bolton

Winfield Myers is right

"The U.N. is morally bankrupt, corrupt, and in dire need of reform."

We need to take a stand and give voice to important issues.  Silence is not an option.

NYT already has its 'hit and run piece' out there...I am sure the lefty blogs do as well.  Again, I like what Winfield Myers has to say:

"If the left wants to pick a fight over Bolton's nomination, bring them on. This will be yet another example of the intellectual bankruptcy of the modern left -- of its desire to avoid tackling tough problems, and of its incapacity for creative thinking on, seemingly, any important issue."

I like the nomination...it speaks truth to power.

American GIs pay the price

WSJ's Opinion Journal has a great editorial.  I am sure all Americans mourn the death of the Italian secret service officer.  However, the editorial raises an important question:

"So perhaps Ms. Sgrena will also shed a tear for the Americans and Iraqis who will die because of the ransom that was paid for her release."

"Not only does paying ransom encourage more kidnapping--of Italians especially--it also puts money in the hands of the enemy..."

I agree.  God bless the troops serving in Iraq.

QDR Watch

Secretary Rumsfeld officially kicked off the 2005 Quadrennial Defense Review.  Inside Defense (you need to register) has the story.

This is a sweeping review of the U.S. armed forces.  It is expected to shake up the size and shape of the military as well affect the number and type of weapon systems the Pentagon will buy in the future.

The results won't be ready for a while...but you can expect lots of hours (and internal battles) taking place as money is transferred between the services. 

See previous posts under the QDR category.

The looming blogwar

Thomas Sowell has a good post and a sequel (HT: RealClearPolitics) about the eventual battle over Supreme Court nominees and the rules for the confirmations process. 

Senator Robert Byrd has already taken a couple of 'pop shots' (see Democracy Project's post) on potential if not certain changes in Senate rules.  Here is what I liked best from Winfield Myers' post:

"Elections ought to mean something  ...over the past couple of decades, liberals have used the courts, and the federal courts in particular, to legislate from the bench. In this way, they have forced Americans to obey judicial dictates they would never have approved of through the legislative process."

Of course, this is common knowledge...however, it needs to be in print over and over...so the message sinks in.

Hugh Hewitt (and others) spoke of the looming blogwar (see his book Blog on pg 103-104).  What is important is to get ready for the onslaught by harnessing the public opinion power of the blogosphere.

It is going to be big!  No use sitting on the sidelines.  This affects every American.  Stay tuned!

Oh Canada!

For my Canadian readers...

Tech Central Station's Rachel Marsden has this post on Canada's pullout from the Ballistic Missile Defense program.  Memorable passage (taken from a Seattle Post-Intelligencer article):

"Canadian firms may now have to overcome two handicaps when competing in key American markets -- the long-standing handicap that they are not American and the new handicap in the post-Iraq environment that they are Canadian."

Read the post...according to Marsden: Who is at a disadvantage...American or Canadian citizens?

I'll still share a "beverage" with you!

Bullet riddled car

Michelle Malkin, Little Green Footballs, and Captain Ed have spectacular photos (?) of the automobile that came under heavy weapons fire during the unannounced hostage release of an Italian journalist (HT: La Repubblica.it).

I saw a couple of similarly looking vehicles outside the main gate here in the states.  Must be a conspiracy.

New US Ambassador the UN

Michelle Malkin has a great post regarding President Bush's nomination of John Bolton to be our UN Ambassador.  There are several other links on her site that are worth reading. 

FoxNews carried the story this morning.

I'd write more...but I have to run.

Update 3: Blogging Regulations!?!

Captain Ed has an update plus a news item from the AP that alleges a conflict of interest for Senator John McCain.

"Quite frankly, this stinks. Here we have a man who has done more harm to the First Amendment as anyone in the past generation, all the while scolding us on coordination of electoral efforts..."

I am sure there is more to the story...but I agree with Captain Ed...this stinks.

Other posts: 

- Winfield Myers of the Democracy Project

- UCLA Law Professor Eugene Volokh

Troops deserve better

JunkYardBlog and Michelle Malkin have teamed up and uncovered some outrageous behavior by "The Most Trusted Name in News"...first Eason Jordan...now this!  Is there a link?  Hmmm...(see this earlier post by JunkYardBlog here)

These young men and women serving in Iraq have enough to deal with…being maligned in the press (via altered quotes) is wrong!  They deserve better.

Sometimes the MSM gets it right...this is not one of those times.

I am thankful for the efforts of a handful of exceptional people and not letting this slip by...someone needs to hold the MSM elite accountable...I join your efforts.

Italian Hostage

Michelle Malkin has some more depth on the Italian Hostage Release controversy.  For those of you familiar with the story, I totally agree with her last line:

"This is war, not a game of 'Mother May I?'"

Major Mike also makes some great points...especially:

"Don't buy into it...push back...this one is way over the top. Mobilize. This topic needs to be swarmed."

I wholeheartedly agree!!   We should not be blaming the troops!  More to follow...

Scrapple Face (demonstrating the absurdity out there) has another great post.