Do you want America to win?

If you listen to talk radio, you'll find this adminstrations sympathizers repeatedly invoke the "do you want America to win?" line to put of their inquisitors. What kind of a loony question is that?

Of course we want America to win. But tell me exactly how this adminstration is going about ensuring that America wins this war. Is it by never planning carefully to win the peace in Iraq once Baghdad fell back in '03? Is it by using fewer troops than necessary when it was clear to all and sundry that we were shorthanded in Iraq? Is it by having an incompetent Defense Secretary who is arrogant and so sure of himself that his various mistakes go unpunished? Tell me exactly, how you are going about winning this war.

The question itself is misleading. It is an attempt to divert attention from their own ineptness and instead turn the light on inconsequential verbal jousts.

Election '06

Election day is not far off with the mainstream media (MSM) claiming that polls show it will be a bad day for the Republicans. I am not so sure. I get the feeling that people have enough doubt in their minds to not trust the Democrats on national security issues. In my mind, its time for a change. I thing the central issue on the table is Iraq. We went in there with good intentions; this was a winnable war, but was screwed up by an inept administration that failed to plan ahead and executed poorly. For that they must pay the price of defeat at the hustings. I still cannot believe that Rumself heads the DOD. He should have gone long ago. Give up that "I serve at the request of the President.." drill is what I'd say to him. His arrogance and refusal to own up to mistakes is unbelievable.

I believe in small government, low taxes and freedom of the market. Those traditionally have been values that conservatives and Republicans have stood by. But the crowd in Washington swears by a more extreme ideology that makes me uneasy. Should they win this election season, I am afraid that the same guys who are the architects of the prevailing mess in Iraq will preside over our policy toward Iran. They have done such a great job with Iraq; imagine what they'll do with Iran.

It's time to send these folks a message: we have had enough of this nonsense; we need a fresh start, even if it means two years of gridlock between a Democratic legislature and a Republican executive.

Detroit Tigers

The A's flattered to deceive yet again. They were swept by a very good Detroit Tigers team that nobody expected to reach the World Series after years of inept performances. Hats off to them and best wishesS

State of Denial

If you have been paying any attention to the news, then you know that the latest work of Bob Woodward titled "State of Denial" has touched off a furor in Washington. This is Woodward's third book on the Bush Administration; his two previous books were well received by the White House and cast a favorable light on the Bush Adminstration. When the second book came out, the White House actively suggested that people should pick up a copy and read it.

This third book is critical of the Bush Adminstration and the President himself and has the White House on the defensive. From the little that I have read in excerpts, it portrays the President and his war council as out of touch with reality.

Woodward has a reputation for doing endless hours of research and interviewing his sources extensively. His sources tend to be the main players at a given moment in time, who surprisingly provide him access to documents and notes that otherwise would never see the day of light. His latest book has forced some of his sources to go on TV and deny some of the statements and actions attributed to them in the book.

Which brings me to this question that puzzles me. How come these sources agree to speak to Woodward in depth in the first place? Don't they know that anything and everything they say can be published? Why do something voluntarily and then deny it later? Won't it be better not to provide access at all? How does Woodward manage to persuade these folks to talk in the first place?

The baseball playoffs

My Oakland A's will battle the Minnesota Twins starting tomorrow in the AL playoffs. Minnesota is a tough place to play, and the A's will have to fire on all cylinders to advance to the next round. It should make for a very interesting series. The Twins are favored to win, but you never know when it comes to the playoffs. Here's hoping the A's make a run to the World Series.