The Fight Is On

The Lad just turned 7 months a week or so ago, and already we're engaged in our first battle of wills with him. He's grown accustomed (our fault) to being rocked to sleep, and will not go to sleep at night if you lay him in his crib while still awake. So we've started to put him down anyway, and let him learn to fall asleep.

Easier said than done.

The instinctive reaction of any parent (well, any decent parent) is to want to rush to our baby's side as soon as he cries. Crying is a natural reaction to distress, and is a good indicator that something's wrong. Usually, something mundane but nonetheless worthy of attention, like a dirty diaper of an empty belly or an "owie" (that's the medical term, laymen may know it as a "boo boo"). It can also be an indication of more dire distress.

But in this case, it's him being pissed because we're not giving in to what HE wants.

Well, not right away.

The truth is, it's not going so swimmingly. We're supposed to let him fuss for about five minutes, then go tell him he's alright, make sure he's covered and comfy, and then leave him in the crib. That, at least, is the theory. In practice, we make it about 2-4 minutes between each time we respond (due to the mounting fury of his cries), and after 3 or 4 times, we usually give in and pick him up, rocking him to sleep as he wants.

So we're in a no-win situation. If we leave him in his crib, his cries break my heart. My greatest fear in life is that I would ever neglect my child. If we pick him up, we fail to help him learn, and are spoiling him. My second greatest fear in life is that I will fail my child in rearing him right.

I've a feeling that while the battle of wills over going to sleep will one day be over, the deeper internal struggle will go on forever.

Jason Atkinson Leads the Way

Gullyborg over at Resistance is Futile reports on yesterday's meeting between GOP gubernatorial candidate Jason Atkinson and Oregon Bloggers. From what he has to say, I'm liking Atkinson more and more all the time.

I also look forward to the next meeting between Bloggers and Atkinson, hopefully I can attend the next one.

Oregon: A Swell State

Thanks for the Memory to friend (but not fellow blogger) Lurch.

After meeting TFR at her work each day and taking the helm of the MoronMobile, We drive along I-205 back towards home, to be greeted by the picture-framed view of the Three Sisters, a set of tall peaks in the Cascade Range.

Well, soon there may be a fourth sister.

Or maybe not, according to the article.

I've known about the bulge growing in the area for some time, but I didn't have all the details right. I thought it was one of the Sisters herself. But apparently it's a region near the mountain.

I also learned something I didn't know, but doesn't surprise me, which is that Oregon is home to 4 of the 18 most active volcanoes in the U.S. (Putting us in such impressive company as Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii. Welcome to the Ring of Fire, baby!). Those four are Mount Hood (I suspected that), Crater Lake (I thought she was extinct, but apparently is only dormant), Newberry Crater, and South Sister.

It was also a bit unsettling to learn how inadequate monitoring of them is. Usually volcanoes give you some advance warning, but still, the sooner we know the better, doncha think?

Whether the magma will move again or ever reach the surface is a mystery. But if it did, geological history suggests it would result only in small cinder cones that spew ash and lava.

...but would still be cool to watch.

The good news is that such an eruption likely would not seriously affect any population centers, Chitwood said.

Yeah, except for Bend, that's pretty remote country.

This could be kind of cool. Back when I thought one of the Sisters herself was bulging, I was worried about the towns and the city of bend and all the potentially threatened wildlife. But if it results in a much smaller but still interesting to watch event, it's a win-win. Scientists get the chance to observe a volcano being born, Oregon Tourism gets a boost, and the Cascades get to blow off a little stress, all without any real harm being done.

Cooking Blues

It's been a while since I posted a recipe, mostly because it's been a while since I had a chance to try any new ones out. Last night I had a chance to tinker, and came up with a cool dessert recipe. I hope to embellish it later, but for now it's pretty good on its own for now:

Sweet Blue Corn and Hazelnut Tamales

1 cup masa
1 cup blue corn meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup apple juice
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup oil or melted shortening
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts

dried cornhusks, soaked for 2 hours in cold water

combine the dry ingredients in a glass bowl. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, honey, vanilla, and apple juice. Heat over low until lukewarm, stirring until sugar and honey are melted. Pour into dry mix, mixing together with your hands until you have a smooth, lump-free dough.

using a mixer, beat shortening until fluffy. combine dough, mix thoroughly and continue to beat until light.

place 2-4 tablespoons of dough in each cornhusk, fold sides over and then fold over ends. Steam approximately 1 hour or until husks no longer stick to the tamale.

Makes a bunch.

I'm considering a couple of ideas for a sauce to pour over them, but nothing yet.

A Little Good News

Thanks for the Memory to Howie, posting for Blogfather Rusty.

Hostage Roy Hallums has been released!

Rusty's been deeply involved for some time in the effort not to let Roy be forgotten. It looks like that effort was not in vain. The story of his release is running on Fox News, CNN, and the NY Times. This is good news indeed.

Rusty points out that up until now, for the months that Roy was missing, the State Department would not comment on the existence of another US Hostage in Iraq. Given the news today, I can't help but wonder if that wasn't for purposes of Opsec (Operational Security). The less they talked about him, the less wary the Tangoes would be of search efforts.

Either way, I'm glad he's free. Congratulations to Roy, his family, the brave US soldiers who rescued him, and to the Jawa Report for keeping the faith all this time.

Long Shot

I've been conversing with Vulture Six, my impending host, who is recommending that I make sure I get vaccinations for Hepatitis-A, Tetanus, and Influenza.

So the next day or so will be spent looking into that. Wish me luck.

I'm not squeamish about needles -- as a veteran of childhood diseases and surgeries, they're old hat. I am squeamish about the effect on my wallet.

Phoenix Rising

This is a Bleg for information.

It has come to my attention that I have a four hour layover in Phoenix on my way home. Is there anyone in the Phoenix area who can recommend something to see that:

A) can be reached quickly enough to get there, do/see it, and get back to the airport without jeopardizing my next flight;
B) Is worth the trouble?

UPDATE:

Whoops. Never mind, I was looking at the second flights ARRIVAL time in Portland, not it's DEPARTURE time in Phoenix. Layover's an hour at most.

News From the Home Front Lines

The following was forwarded to me from my cousin, whose boyfriend is serving on one of the U.S. Navy ships in the story, the U.S.S. Bataan. It gives a glimpse of the earliest rescue efforts put forth by the Navy, immediately after Katrina swept through:

THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 03 SEP 05

Crew Faces Uncertainty In Gulf
By KATE WILTROUT, The Virginian-Pilot

ABOARD THE BATAAN, GULF OF MEXICO — If all had gone according to plan, the 1,300 sailors aboard this ship would have returned to Norfolk on Friday in time to celebrate the holiday weekend with their families.

Instead, after six weeks at sea for a maritime exercise, the amphibious assault ship is doing doughnuts in the gulf, its flight deck buffeted by the rotor wash of search-and-rescue helicopters flying up and down the hurricane-battered coast. Friday, the Bataan took on more than 80 medical personnel pulled from duty at a Jacksonville, Fla., naval hospital. The surgeons, pediatricians, anesthetists and obstetrician-gynecologists don’t know whether they will treat hurricane victims flown aboard ship or if they’ll be asked to set up a makeshift clinic on the beach.

The Bataan’s crew lives with the same uncertainty. Since Sunday, it has been the only major Navy ship in the area, and it’s doing a little bit of everything. Helicopters have left its flight deck carrying pallets of peanut butter, Vienna sausages and water. They’ve plucked survivors off the roofs of flooded buildings. The 12-man crew of the Bataan’s landing craft utility, from Virginia Beach’s Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base, has seen the devastation up close. The boat spent two days navigating the Mississippi River, looking for signs of human life along its banks. Instead it found the bloated carcasses of cows, horses, dogs and alligators.

When the boat left the belly of the Bataan on Wednesday, crew members didn’t know what to expect, said Chief Warrant Officer 2 William Fish. They were prepared to hand out food and water – including 100 sandwiches they made themselves – as well as provide toilets and power to residents or rescue crews.

They came across two men in a boat searching for family members.

“Other than that,” Fish said, “there was nobody living that we saw.”

The boat continued upriver, passing through the tiny Louisiana villages of Pilottown, Venice and Boothville. They saw no signs of human life anywhere – but no dead bodies, either.

In Venice, the chief warrant officer said, the boat pulled into a pier in the pitch black. The crew members shone their flashlights into the darkness and shouted to let people know they were there.

“No one showed up,” Fish said. “The word is eerie.”

Further upriver, in Boothville, the crew prepared to tie up again but was dissuaded by the barks and growls of a Rottweiler, Labrador retriever and German shepherd.

“I don’t want you to think we’re sissies,” Fish said, “but I didn’t want to risk any of my men.”

After journeying about 55 miles upriver, with the sandwiches they’d made still untouched, the landing craft turned around.

Then debris knocked out its starboard propeller. A generator went down. A thunderstorm hit. The boat limped back to its mother ship early Friday morning. Though most of his crew hadn’t slept in more than two days, Fish said, Friday afternoon they were prepared to head out again.

Two of Fish’s sailors – engine men Samuel Hawkins and Garland Bourgeois, both petty officers first class — have a personal stake in Hurricane Katrina’s devastation. Bourgeois has family in Kenner, La.; Hawkins in Moss Point, Miss.

Bourgeois said his wife, in Hampton Roads, had made contact with his parents. They evacuated to Lafayette. Hawkins had less to go on: A sister in Gulfport went to Moss Point to check on their parents. The house was flooded but intact. No one was home.

“I wish I knew what they were working through,” Hawkins said.

The Bataan will soon have lots of company in the gulf: Other Norfolk-based ships, including the carrier Truman, amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima, dock landing ship Tortuga and amphibious transport dock Shreveport, are on their way.

“Everyone is bringing something different to the flight,” said Capt. Nora Tyson, the Bataan’s commanding officer.

Tyson said the flight crews on the Bataan are working overtime and then some.

“We are basically flying our guys from 7 or 8 a.m. until 2 and 3 a.m.,” she said.

Tyson, a pilot herself, said her tour of the wrecked coast seemed more nightmare than reality.

“You feel like it’s a bad dream you’re going to wake up from,” she said. “You just say, 'This is not us. This is not our country.’”

Yes, and it's my country too, and I'm damned grateful that it's being defended and served by people like the crew of the Bataan. God Speed, Captain Tyson, and thank you and your crew.

Texas Bound

Back on the first in my entry on Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, I mentioned that I was seriousy considering going down to help out.

Well it look like everything's falling in place for that to happen. Here's the progress so far:

1. I never heard back from my local Red Cross chapter, but I spoke to good friend and fellow blogger Vulture Six who assures me that the local Red Cross in Houston has PLENTY of room for more people to help out at the Astrodome, and he's graciously offered to put me up while I'm there.

2. a woman in my church has offered her frequent flier miles to cover my airfare, so I have a way to get there.

3. We have at least two and maybe as many as four volunteers to help care for The Lad while I'm away and The Feared Redhead is at work, so childcare is almost all covered.

4. The scheduling department at my work has agreed to approve time off on short notice, the only hting in the way now is supervisor approval if the time in question conflicts with other previous vacation requests.

So it's at least 80% certain at this point that I'll be spending a week helping in Houston. Of course I plan to keep you all apprised of how it goes. But I also have a couple of requests from my readers:

1. If you're in the Houston Area and would like to meet up for an evening aftyer the day's work, drop me a line.

2. I'll be taking along clothing to donate as well as cash to buy more supplies to donate. The cash will come from my coworkers, TFR's coworkers, and members of our church. If any of my readers want to add to the kitty, Vulture Six will be helping me set up a Paypal donation button on this blog. Deadline to give would be Wednesday the 7th. If you don't give by then, please go give directly to a relief organization.

Thanks for your prayers and well-wishes, keep 'em coming.

UPDATE 9/6/2005:

Vacation time has been approved and the flight confirmed -- I'll be in houston Saturday evening.

Effective Deterrents

Thanks for the Memory to Ace of Spades:



Seems to me that shooting is the LEAST horrible fate looters could face inside!

Damned Just... and Just Damn

Thanks for the Memory to LMC at the Llamabutchers who writes:

USA v. Richard Reid

One of the other lawyers in the office passed along the imposition of sentence in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in United States v. Reid. Judge Young:

Go read the rest there. Wow. That judge really gets it.

In Katrina's Waves

Today, Bloggers across the net are participating in Disaster Relief day. I didn't get around to officially signing up, but I'm going to toss my hat into the ring from here and urge my readers to give.

A couple of charities that I and TFR believe in are among those listed, and I give them my hearty endorsement. They are:

Operation Blessing

Samaritan's Purse

Mennonite Disaster Services

Please give. We are.

UPDATE:

I just got off the phone with my local chapter of the American Red Cross, and they are going to call me back with information about volunteering for disaster relief work. I've also spoken to TFR about this, as well as emailed an inquiry to my boss. If I can get the following details resolved, I plan to go help with the relief efforts:

1. I will need special permission from work to take my vacation on shorter notice than normal.
2. I will need to be able to spend the amount of vacation time I have to spare, if the Red Cross can only accommodate long term volunteers, I can't miss extra work.
3. I need to scrape up travel expenses to get there. We don't have that in our budget.
4. We need local friends and/or family to step up and help The Feared Redhead care for the lad while she's at work and I'm gone.

I'd appreciate any prayers, well wishes, or financial support my readers want to pitch in. Thanks.

Good Luck With That

To whomever found my Blog while doing a Google Search for Giadas DeLaurentis Naked:

If I had that here, do you honestly think I'd be a measly Large Mammal in the TTLB Ecosystem?

It Was a Very Good Year

Thanks for the Memory to Robert of the Llamabutchers.

This is a pretty fun meme. Go to Music Outfitters, and lookup the year you graduated from high school. The search will bring up a list of the top 100 songs from that year. Post them. Put any you liked in bold, strikeout any you didn't like, and leave alone any you don't remmember or don't care about one way or the other.

So without further ado,

1987:

1. Walk Like An Egyptian, Bangles
2. Alone, Heart
3. Shake You Down, Gregory Abbott
4. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me), Whitney Houston
5. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now, Starship
6. C'est La Vie, Robbie Nevil
7. Here I Go Again, Whitesnake
8. The Way It Is, Bruce Hornsby and the Range
9. Shakedown, Bob Seger
10. Livin' On A Prayer, Bon Jovi
11. La Bamba, Los Lobos
12. Everybody Have Fun Tonight, Wang Chung
13. Don't Dream It's Over, Crowded House
14. Always, Atlantic Starr
15. With Or Without You, U2
16. Looking For A New Love, Jody Watley
17. Head To Toe, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
18. I Think We're Alone Now, Tiffany (hey, I thought she was cute, ok?)
19. Mony Mony, Billy Idol
20. At This Moment, Billy Vera and The Beaters
21. Lady In Red, Chris De Burgh (Second whiniest song ever
22. Didn't We Almost Have It All, Whitney Houston
23. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, U2
24. I Want Your Sex, George Michael
25. Notorious, Duran Duran
26. Only In My Dreams, Debbie Gibson
27. (I've Had) The Time Of My Life, Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes
28. The Next Time I Fall, Peter Cetera and Amy Grant
29. Lean On Me, Club Nouveau
30. Open Your Heart, Madonna
31. Lost In Emotion, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
32. (I Just) Died In Your Arms, Cutting Crew
33. Heart And Soul, T'pau
34. You Keep Me Hangin' On, Kim Wilde
35. Keep Your Hands To Yourself, Georgia Satellites
36. I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me), Aretha Franklin and George Michael
37. Control, Janet Jackson
38. Somewhere Out There, Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram
39. U Got The Look, Prince
40. Land Of Confusion, Genesis
41. Jacob's Ladder, Huey Lewis and The News
42. Who's That Girl, Madonna
43. You Got It All, Jets
44. Touch Me (I Want Your Body), Samantha Fox (There wasn't a teenage boy in America who didn't break into a sweat thinking of Sam Fox singing this song to them!)
45. I Just Can't Stop Loving You, Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett
46. Causing A Commotion, Madonna
47. In Too Deep, Genesis
48. Let's Wait Awhile, Janet Jackson
49. Hip To Be Square, Huey Lewis and the News (Shut up! I did NOT identify with this song!)
50. Will You Still Love Me?, Chicago
51. Little Lies, Fleetwood Mac
52. Luka, Suzanne Vega
53. I Heard A Rumour, Bananarama
54. Don't Mean Nothing, Richard Marx
55. Songbird, Kenny G (Actually I can't remember it, but it's Kenny G so I struck it out on general principles.)
56. Carrie, Europe
57. Don't Disturb This Groove, System
58. La Isla Bonita, Madonna
59. Bad, Michael Jackson
60. Sign 'O' The Times, Prince (One of the few Prince songs I can't recall)
61. Change Of Heart, Cyndi Lauper (Ditto Cindy)
62. Come Go With Me, Expose
63. Can't We Try, Dan Hill
64. To Be A Lover, Billy Idol
65. Mandolin Rain, Bruce Hornsby and the Range
66. Breakout, Swing Out Sister
67. Stand By Me, Ben E. King
68. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight, Genesis
69. Someday, Glass Tiger
70. When Smokey Sings, ABC
71. Casanova, Levert
72. Rhythm Is Gonna Get You, Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine
73. Rock Steady, Whispers
74. Wanted Dead Or Alive, Bon Jovi
75. Big Time, Peter Gabriel
76. The Finer Things, Steve Winwood
77. Let Me Be The One, Expose
78. Is This Love, Survivor
79. Diamonds, Herb Alpert
80. Point Of No Return, Expose
81. Big Love, Fleetwood Mac
82. Midnight Blue, Lou Gramm
83. Something So Strong, Crowded House
84. Heat Of The Night, Bryan Adams
85. Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You, Glenn Medeiros
86. Brilliant Disguise, Bruce Springsteen
87. Just To See Her, Smokey Robinson
88. Who Will You Run Too, Heart
89. Respect Yourself, Bruce Willis
90. Cross My Broken Heart, Jets
91. Victory, Kool and The Gang
92. Don't Get Me Wrong, Pretenders
93. Doing It All For My Baby, Huey Lewis and The News
94. Right On Track, Breakfast Club
95. Ballerina Girl, Lionel Richie
96. Meet Me Half Way, Kenny Loggins
97. I've Been In Love Before, Cutting Crew
98. (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right To Party, Beastie Boys
99. Funkytown, Pseudo Echo
100. Love You Down, Ready For The World

Hmmmm.... that's 47% of the top 100 that I liked (back then, some still today), and only 7% (well, really 6%) that I didn't. Yup, as I recall, it was a fun time to be young, and the soundtrack was part of that.

Peace Offering

For Smallholder.

Thanks for the Memory to Russell at Mean Mr. Mustard.

Ovofacial

Yesterday I posted a (now removed) very snarky, nay, quite biting, post in response to a post by Smallholder at Naked Villainy. I was quite angry because I felt the post in question maligned me as members of a specific group of bloggers. SH contacted me personally and made it clear that he knew full well that I had conducted myself in a way different from those with whom he takes issue, and in no way intended to defame me by his post. His gracious effort to convey this to me was effective, and I have remove my offending post.

In retrospect, I should have contacted him personally with my objections before airing a feud that really wasn't to begin with. For thisd I am ashamed and offer my apologies to my readers and to my friend, you all should have been able to expect better from me.

The Other Foot

Last night I tossed out for discussion the idea that I might take some of my vacation time to volunteer to go help with disaster relief in the Gulf Coast. TFR quickly disabused me of this idea, since we don't have the money for me to travel and she needs my help with The Lad. I'll have to satisfy myself with giving blood and money.

For the most part I've been heartened by the outpouring of support and compassion shown by so many. My cousin sent me a link to news of her boyfriend's ship being sent as part of the relief efforts. Good friend Vulture Six has a rundown of different government and private relief efforts. There's even a Blogger Relief effort getting under way.

Despite this, I am disturbed to see the looting and a few other incidents of barbarism, and I'm disgusted that some would use this as an opportunity to slam Bush and the United States.

I can't help but wondering. Countries like Germany, whose Green Party leader blames this on Bush, and who was among the countries critical of US relief efforts after the Tsunami, they're already scrambling their navies and air forces to send relief, and their people are holding huge fund-raising drives to help the people of Louisiana, right?

Right?

Update (Thanks to reader Filou):

Actually, right.

I stand happily corrected.

Darfur: No More Out of Sight, Out of Mind

I've made my feelings known in the past:

Something needs to be done about the Genocide in Darfur.

This isn't a partisan issue.

The efforts so far are a good start, but need to go further.

The last thing we can afford to do right now is to assume that since the slaughter has abated, everything's just fine. The group darfurgenocide.org agrees, and in an email I received from them today, makes some excellent poits as to why:

The Sudanese government is playing a game, the same one they've played throughout Sudan for 20 years. They claim to want peace, but will try to fix the negotiations to get what they really want - despotic control over the people of Darfur and the power to begin the genocide again anytime the international community looks away.

Only one thing can stop them: a peace agreement that gives real power to the people of Darfur through representation in government and a fair share of Sudan's resources. To get this, the Darfurians need international support - our support.

They then explain that one of their fund-raising efforts is to help raise awareness of the situation and increase the public awarenss, media coverage, and thus negotiating leverage of the people of Darfur.

I think that's an excellent campaign, and I think that we as Bloggers can do more than give them our financial and moral support. I believe we can use our Blogs as a collective Bully Pulpit from which to give Darfur a voice. I have borrowed and modified Pastor Niemoller's quote, but this time the original is more germane. I will not be silent and wait for someone to come for me, I will speak out. Write your congressmen, your local paper, and post to your Blogs. Keep talking about Darfur until even the Sudan listens.

What Part of "In Harm's Way" Don't You Understand?

(Originally posted at 9:47 AM Aug 29 2005)
Thanks for the Memory to Blogfather Rusty.

A Reuters soundman was killed and another journalist wounded during a firefight in Baghdad. According to accounts, the shots that killed them may have been fired by U.S. Troops. Let's start by saying that the loss of human life, especially when unnecessary, is always tragic. I am not celebrating the death of this man, nor will I argue that he deserved to die.

But let's be clear on something else. While he was not an enemy combatant, neither was he just an innocent bystander suddenly caught in the crossfire. Reports from all sides indicate that he was responding to a possible story, and was seeking out the firefight in which he was killed to cover it. This means he was taking his life in his own hands. Firefights are by their very nature, deadly places. Think about it. Two or more individuals are firing weapons designed to kill, and they are firing them with the intention of killing each other. Death is in the air, and if you drive into such a situation, you have to expect that it just might alight on you. Furthermore, there's no reason to believe (and I expect to see this argument cvome from the fringes of the Left quickly, if not already) that he was targeted specifically because he was a journalist. As Dr. Shackleford points out, possession of camera gear alone is not enough to distinguish you as a non-combatant in Iraq -- the terrorist have their own cameras crews (as if sympathetic western media weren't enough!) tasked with recording suicide attacks and the detonation of IED's among other things. So even assuming that their gear was evident at the time they were shot (and this is still unclear), their status as journalists may not have been.

In short, if you take on the job of war correspondent, and intentionally seek out battles to cover, and are subsequently killed, that is tragic, but in and of itself is neither surprising nor outrageous. If you're not prepared to take that risk, then maybe the local sports beat is more your speed.

UPDATE (8/30/2005):
The more I learn about the incident, the less inclined I am to think of this as a tragic accident and the more inclined I am to think of this as a tragic accident brought on by the stupidity of the actions of the victims. Read on, from Rusty's Blog:

Here is an update on this incident from a reader:

The cameraman in question was
shot by soldiers in my son's unit. First hand reports are that the moron sped
into the middle of a firefight, jumped out of his car and threw up to his
shoulder a TV or Movie camera with a sound boom and telephoto lens.

It was [understandably
considering the circumstances] mistaken for an RPG and the moron quickly became
the late moron.

Incidentally, this crew was
told beforehand NOT to go into the area of the firefight, as it was entirely too
dangerous.

After a post-battle
debriefing and investigation, the soldiers were determined to have adhered
properly to the rules of engagement, and were found innocent of any
wrongdoing.

Actually, the first hand
report was: "Some dumb b**tard came up to us in a speeding car, jumped out and
pointed his camera at us. We thought it was an RPG and lit him up."

Perhaps Reporters Without Borders should be complaining about Reuters not training their crews to have some common sense instead of seething against the U.S.

Paging Neville Chamberlain

Your Legacy is on Line 1.

Thanks for the Memory to Ace of Spades and Vulture Six.

Supporters of Israel knew this would happen. We knew that the capitulation of Gaza would not bring peace. We knew that it was a mere Lebensraum ploy, and that with each Israeli concession, the demand from the Palestinians would be "more!" We knew that this would not bring peace.

And the Palestinians agreed with us. They said as much. And now they've backed their words with deeds -- dark deeds.

Understand one thing, and be very clear about it. The violence in Israel will not end when the Israelis abandon Gaza. It will not end when there is no Israeli left in The West Bank, in the Golan Heights, or in Jerusalem. The forces carrying out these bloody attacks will not rest until there remains not a single jew in all of what is now the State of Israel. Indeed, many of them will feel the restless itch of the trigger finger, the allure of the Cemtex, so long as there exists any Jewry on the entire planet.

The time for appeasement is at an end. It is time to recognize that no amount of surrender will ever bring real peace.