Much Ado About Nothing -- The 9/11 "Investigation"
One should try and stay focused on certain basic facts amid the press-driven hullabaloo.
Every single individual, including Richard Clarke, has testified that no one could possibly have predicted 9/11. The reason for this is that the millions of bits of information held by the FBI and CIA were not collected in one single database. In fact, the FBI, believe it or not, had no computer system at all until recently. The upshot, then, is that there were no glaring mistakes by anyone, so we should be moving forward to correct the aggregate weaknesses that might have revealed something helpful.
Even though neither Clinton nor Bush are held to have criminally blundered, many ask why the former did nothing in eight years, and why Bush chose to go after Saddam?
The Clinton administration was not fond of the military and had a weak DOD which presented neither enthusiasm nor good options. Nevertheless, the administration was aware of the threats, but had few specific opportunities to act on a terrorist outfit holed up in a primitive wilderness area surrounded by Muslim countries unexcited about the prospect of the US involving them in any way in such a wild goose chase. Despite the protestations of this committee, one can imagine the difficulties to be faced at home and abroad had a president went off on such a venture. Recall the 'bombing the aspirin factory' hubbub. And then of course there was Monica...
As for Bush, he was in office 7-1/2 months on 9/11. It would be difficult to fault his reaction to that event with a straight face. He went straight to Afghanistan to hunt down the perps. The problem with him, according to critics, is that he was so obsessed with Iraq before and after. It seems fairly clear why this was. Saddam had a history of killing hundreds of thousands of people with WMD, had shown aggression against other countries, had shown some nefarious contact with terrorist Al Qaeda, paid handsome sums of money to homicide bombers in Israel, had made fools out of the UN and their resolutions for years, had attempted an assassination on a US president, and the majority of US citizens thought we should have finished him off in the early '90s. And, of all the state sponsors of terrorism, it was do-able.
One final thought. I trust the people screaming about preemptive strikes are not the same souls who are now so outraged that we took no such strikes before 9/11.
And on that subject, it's an unfortunate word to have been embraced, preemptive. We live in a new world with new realities and would be derelict to sit and wait for a first strike. Any informed person understands that.
So sit back and enjoy the show. That's all it is.
The Pimpernel
Monday, March 29, 2004
A Mean Little Man
As a staff person of many years, I can recognize the symptoms of pomposity and self-importance emanating from the person of Richard Clarke.
He is right; everyone else is wrong. Clinton was wrong, Bush was wrong; Condaleeza Rice was wrong; DOD was wrong; the FBI was wrong; the CIA was wrong. Even Congress contributed to the problem. If only they had listened to him we wouldn't be in the mess we're in.
Although his testimony of two years ago is inconsistent with his testimony now, he explains the difference as that of a loyal employee vs. that of an ex-employee. I'm sure employers are lining up to hire him. Which Richard Clarke was a man of integrity who can be counted on to speak the truth?
He's an irritating little man. And I do mean little.
As a staff person of many years, I can recognize the symptoms of pomposity and self-importance emanating from the person of Richard Clarke.
He is right; everyone else is wrong. Clinton was wrong, Bush was wrong; Condaleeza Rice was wrong; DOD was wrong; the FBI was wrong; the CIA was wrong. Even Congress contributed to the problem. If only they had listened to him we wouldn't be in the mess we're in.
Although his testimony of two years ago is inconsistent with his testimony now, he explains the difference as that of a loyal employee vs. that of an ex-employee. I'm sure employers are lining up to hire him. Which Richard Clarke was a man of integrity who can be counted on to speak the truth?
He's an irritating little man. And I do mean little.
Thursday, March 25, 2004
The Martha Phenomena
My 91-year-old mother has been traumatized by Martha Stewart's situation and is continually cheerleading for her cause in an attempt to win me over. Yesterday she actually broke down in tears at Martha's plight, wondering how I could have such a hard heart.
In truth, I have no feelings one way or the other about Martha. I don't know the woman. I don't own her stock. I have no boat in this race. As an accountant, I look at it with cold, simple logic. If she's guilty, fine. If not, fine.
One thing does occur to me. It gives one pause to consider how a person can be convicted of lying...and yet not be convicted of the crime that would prove the lie. Perhaps I haven't been paying close enough attention.
My 91-year-old mother has been traumatized by Martha Stewart's situation and is continually cheerleading for her cause in an attempt to win me over. Yesterday she actually broke down in tears at Martha's plight, wondering how I could have such a hard heart.
In truth, I have no feelings one way or the other about Martha. I don't know the woman. I don't own her stock. I have no boat in this race. As an accountant, I look at it with cold, simple logic. If she's guilty, fine. If not, fine.
One thing does occur to me. It gives one pause to consider how a person can be convicted of lying...and yet not be convicted of the crime that would prove the lie. Perhaps I haven't been paying close enough attention.
Tuesday, March 09, 2004
Let me get this straight. We have a deliberate act of lawlessness (anarchy) by a government official wanting to offer 'marriage' to sodomites (as in Sodom and Gomorrah), followed by * nothing: an absolute lack of response on the part of our elected officials whose responsibility it is to uphold the law. All this, after the recent disrespect for the legal system by the actions of Michael Jackson, in court on charges of pedophilia. We are headed for the end of law and morality in this nation unless we wake up.
This is a blatant and deliberate attempt by the homosexual community to bypass the law, and the wishes of the people, in order to get this issue directly into the courts. Why? So that well-placed and sympathetic 'judges' can continue their activism of corrupt and debased causes. And why are public officials so slow in their tepid responses? Because they have no morals, no honor, no courage. They believe in nothing but appeasement and tolerance. Is their anyone left with guts?
Why do homosexuals continue to up the ante, finally to the point of demanding the oxymoron of 'marriage'? Notice that they can never stop talking about their sex lives. How many heterosexuals do you know who are obsessed with forcing their sexual lives into the faces and realms of others? The important truth here is that allowing them to do whatever it is they want to do in private will never, ever be enough for them. No one gives a fig what they do behind closed doors. But they live with guilty consciences and want to assuage them through the collusion of societal sanction. And this is something they will never achieve, regardless of how many lawless legal victories they may win.
Are they alone in their guilt? Of course not. But most people who live in debauchery and immorality have the grace to hide it. This is because they comprehend right from wrong. Adulterers live in constant fear of being caught. People hooked on porn practice a solitary vice. Young people traditionally hide their youthful errors from their friends and family. None of us is exempt. Not one. But most people still have the moral sensibility to at least recognize good from evil. To lose that is to lose any hope for the future.
We have allowed evil to have an increasing influence over our society over the past several decades, beginning with the removal of prayer from school and the societal sanction of abortion, both through judicial activism. The blessings this country has known are a direct result of our Christian heritage from the founders, of which almost all memory has almost been abolished through our 'education' system, undermined with the shrill voices of the politically correct. If we fail to wake up and reverse course, we are headed to a level of debasement of unthinkable depths.
Carole, Christian Citizen
This is a blatant and deliberate attempt by the homosexual community to bypass the law, and the wishes of the people, in order to get this issue directly into the courts. Why? So that well-placed and sympathetic 'judges' can continue their activism of corrupt and debased causes. And why are public officials so slow in their tepid responses? Because they have no morals, no honor, no courage. They believe in nothing but appeasement and tolerance. Is their anyone left with guts?
Why do homosexuals continue to up the ante, finally to the point of demanding the oxymoron of 'marriage'? Notice that they can never stop talking about their sex lives. How many heterosexuals do you know who are obsessed with forcing their sexual lives into the faces and realms of others? The important truth here is that allowing them to do whatever it is they want to do in private will never, ever be enough for them. No one gives a fig what they do behind closed doors. But they live with guilty consciences and want to assuage them through the collusion of societal sanction. And this is something they will never achieve, regardless of how many lawless legal victories they may win.
Are they alone in their guilt? Of course not. But most people who live in debauchery and immorality have the grace to hide it. This is because they comprehend right from wrong. Adulterers live in constant fear of being caught. People hooked on porn practice a solitary vice. Young people traditionally hide their youthful errors from their friends and family. None of us is exempt. Not one. But most people still have the moral sensibility to at least recognize good from evil. To lose that is to lose any hope for the future.
We have allowed evil to have an increasing influence over our society over the past several decades, beginning with the removal of prayer from school and the societal sanction of abortion, both through judicial activism. The blessings this country has known are a direct result of our Christian heritage from the founders, of which almost all memory has almost been abolished through our 'education' system, undermined with the shrill voices of the politically correct. If we fail to wake up and reverse course, we are headed to a level of debasement of unthinkable depths.
Carole, Christian Citizen
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