Kick the Anthill

As I stated in last week’s Jedi Ramblings, this one is early.  I won’t be able to post tomorrow, because I’m catering our babysitter’s wedding.  So, without further ado, I present to you the Early Edition of Jedi Ramblings. Let’s see what’s rolling around in my head this week.  (Apparently, there’s a lot.  So don’t say I didn’t warn you!)

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Well, for starters, I’ve received a couple requests from people asking why I appear to be so all over the board whenever it comes to various subjects.  The reason is simple:  while I’m conservative, I’m also a moderate conservative.  Basically, this means that, while I most often personally agree with my conservative brethren, I don’t necessarily agree with them politically.   So, sometimes I seem more liberal than I really am on the inside.  But, I believe that we have the freedom to live our lives the way that we want to–as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else–and I am not in a position to ever tell someone how to live their life.

But I do expect the same in return.

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I suffered through the Michelle O. “interview” on Good Morning America this morning, but it was my own choice to do so.  I wanted to see what she had to say.  And basically, there was so much fluff there that it was hard to get through it.  If you want to see what she had to say, you can see it here.  It was on this morning, so the video is currently on their home page.  Tomorrow?  I have no idea where it will be.  So if you want to see it, I suggest you go today.

If you don’t see it today and it’s gone tomorrow, you can read an article about the interview here.  In it, she says

“It’s funny to have anybody characterize Barack as an elitist,” Obama told “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts during an exclusive interview.

“You know, this is the kid who was raised by a single mother, who didn’t have access to many resources, who, you know, has walked away his entire life from lucrative careers to work in the community,” she said of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. 

Um, excuse me?  Michelle.  Honey.  Have you been on your husband’s airplane?  What happened to him not travelling First Class?  Or did you miss his 2006 interview with Oprah when he said:

Over the summer Oprah offered Senator Obama a seat on her private plane, but he turned her down. Why does he prefer to fly coach? He says he instituted a policy after he became a senator that he wouldn’t fly on corporate jets…not even Oprah’s!

“I started realizing that when you get in the habit of taking corporate jets and eating dinner with lobbyists, you start getting detached from the people that you represent,” he says. “One of the things that I’m always worried about is starting to represent Washington to my constituents instead of representing my constituents in Washington.” 

Oh, well.  It’s not like he doesn’t have the money to have his own jet.  Especially since he backpedalled on the whole public financing thing.  I’m so not surprised by this.

Yes, I could go into more about what she said, but I think I’ve given her royal anti-Americanness too much time already.

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Unfortunately, I can’t stay off the Obama track at the moment.  Why?  Because, for some unknown reason, I’ve been mulling over his whole “let’s move the troops to Afghanistan!” thing.

Isn’t this the same guy who has said over and over and over again how opposed to a “dumb war” he is?  And he wants to move the troops from Iraq to Afghanistan? 

I take it he’s never seen a topographical map of Afghanistan.  When you compare it to, say, a topographic map of Iraq, you can reach one pretty good conclusion.  Iraq is, for the most part, flat.  It’s a desert.  Very few mountains.  Nothing to really get in your way as your shelling the snot out of the terrorists.  Pretty easy to see around you.

Afghanistan, on the other hand, is not.  It’s roughly 85% mountains.  Very little is below 1,000 feet above sea level, if what I’m finding is correct.  A good chunk of it is above 5,000 feet, and extends to well above 10,000 feet.  What’s the point of all that ‘useless’ information? 

Does anyone remember a ‘non-war’ war in a place called Vietnam?  Does anyone remember how many American soldiers were slaughtered or captured and tortured?  Does anyone remember why it was so difficult to fight over there?  Sure, some of it was because of how difficult it was to tell one Vietnamese from another, but still…  According to many, many people that I know who were actually there, doing the fighting, the biggest problem with fighting in Vietnam was due to how difficult it was trying to root out the enemy.  They could literally hide ANYWHERE.  It was immensely difficult to see, because of the terrain.  They were extremely proficient at fighting not only a physical war, but a psychological one, too.  Traps could literally be anywhere, and you wouldn’t know they were there until you triggered them.

Sure, I can understand wanting to go into Afghanistan to take out Osama.  I can completely agree with wanting to go into there and take out the remaining terrorists.  But sending our troops into a terrain that–while it’s a desert rather than a jungle–it’s still basically the same type of situation.  Miles and miles and miles and miles of rough, mountainous terrain.  Thousands–if not millions–of hidden caves.  Plenty of ways to hide deadly traps.  And we’re fighting people who are adept at fighting a psychological war.

Yes, I know we have troops already on the ground there.  And I support every action that they’re doing.  But, at the same time, it’s far more difficult to fight a handful of troops than it is to fight millions that are invading your country.  Guerilla warfare is difficult to deal with.  And that’s exactly what we would force our troops into.  Again.

Do I want Osama removed?  Yes.  I would love to see his hide hanging for all the world to see.  He deserves it.  But, at the same time, he’s now run like the mangy dog he is, hiding in a catacomb of criss-crossing caves, praying to his god that his life be spared from the American War Machine.  And that’s a good thing.  Why?  Because he’s the leader of his cult.  And, sometimes, leaving the evil that you know in their place of “power” is better than removing it and allowing an evil that you don’t know take over.

So, then, why did we go to Iraq?

Because, IMO, that was the absolute best choice out of the three countries that we had every right to invade.  For reasons I’ve already stated, Afghanistan would be difficult at best to take out.  That leaves Iran and Iraq.  Iran is run by a little snot who is so scared of us that he can only make veiled threats.  I believe that, if Ahminajihad were to truly make a threat against anyone would require more spine than he has.  And if he ever did do it, he’d soil himself at the first sign of the troops rolling over his pathetic little country. 

So, we took out the terrorists in Iraq.

Taking out Iraqi terrorists did several things for us.  One, it showed Osama that you don’t mess with us–and, as I said, it scared him into the mountains of Afghanistan, where he will most likely live until the end of his life.  Two, going up against Iran would be like sending a tank to kill an ant, and would serve absolutely no purpose in the long run.  Three, removing Hussein not only freed the Iraqi people from his tyrrany, but it also allowed us to spread Democracy.  If we could do something about the “people” (and I use that term loosely) who are controlling the oil, then all would be golden.  But as it stands now, we have taken care of the problem with a relatively small amount of blood on our side.  Yes, we’ve lost soldiers.  Even losing one is too many, IMO (I had a far faster solution to solving the problem.  And all it would have required is the pushing of a button).  But, in the long run, we were able to yank the teeth out of a large terrorist group, remove a family of savage curs, bring Democracy to the people they were oppressing, and show the world that you don’t mess with the USA.

So, now that we’ve spread that message, why send troops into Afghanistan?  Why not just pull our troops OUT of Afghanistan?  Obama claims that we need to send 7,000 more troops there.  Yes, I agree that the terrorists in the Badlands are getting stronger and more vicious.  But, sending our troops in there sounds like a really, really bad idea.  They’re called the Badlands for a reason.  IMO, if you really want to take them out of there, level the place with a few, well placed WMDs. 

The war in Afghanistan would be completely different than the war in Iraq.  In fact, to be honest, the war in Afghanistan would–in a lot of ways–mirror the war in Vietnam.  In the Vietnam War, we worked with the government to take on the insurgents.  The North Vietnamese fought with a lot of manpower, while we relied on our air strikes.  Why?  IMO it’s because, from the air, you can take out a lot of areas at once without having the difficulty of not being able to see around the next tree in front of you.  Unfortunately, being in the air also makes you an easy target.  In the Badlands, it could be the very same way–we’ll be able to see to send missiles into the caves if we shoot from above, but by the same token, we’ll also be easily seen.

If only we’d use a couple WMDs.  We could clear the place out with a very few American deaths.  Sure, we’d leave the environment a little worse for wear, but still.  Who really wants to go into the Badlands of Afghanistan, anyway?

Talk about a dumb war.

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On a happier note, I’ve had It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year running through my mind this past week.  My sons started school Monday.  They go to year-round school, which we have found works so much better for them than a traditional school year.  And with our youngest in first grade now, that means no more daycare costs!  At least, not until we have adopted our younger two foster children.  Assuming Department of Human Services allows us to do that.

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Speaking of DHS, I saw on the news last night that DHS is not suprisingly requesting yet again that the lawsuit against them be dropped.  Or, if they won’t do that, to please curtail the discovery process.

Quick rundown of what the lawsuit is about:

Nine foster children ages 4mo - 16yo are being represented in a class-action lawsuit against Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OK-DHS) because of how bad the foster care system here is.  The lawsuit says that OK-DHS “routinely places children who are in state custody in unsafe situations in which many suffer further abuse and even death.”  There’s a few other things in there, too.  Like adoption, termination of parental rights, a few other things.

OK-DHS has decided to beg for mercy, and ask that the discovery process be shortened because of the sheer amount of money they’re having to spend to try to come up with all the information being requested of them.  ‘Besides,’ they say, ‘the plaintiffs already have all the information they need.’ (I paraphrased that for you).  The plaintiffs are saying that it should be no problem for DHS to come up with all the information, because they have it on file AND because those nine children listed are indicative of all the children in the foster care.  Little do they know how little OK-DHS has in their computer system.  And I say that with the knowledge of how long it takes us to get ANY information about any of our foster children out of them.

Case in point–as foster parents, we’re supposed to have a copy of our foster children’s birth certificate for use for things like day care, school enrollment, etc.  Our sons–who were our foster children before we adopted them–birth certificates were nowhere to be found.  Do you know when we first saw our sons birth certificates?  When we received them months after the adoption was finalized.  Our boys (they’re biological brothers) came to us at 4mo and 2yo.  We adopted them when the youngest was 3 and the oldest was 5.  Our oldest was almost 6 before we saw the birth certificates.

Another point–if someone mistypes anything in the system, it gets lost.  Literally.  We’ve gone months and months and months without medical cards for our foster children.  Why?  Because the request wasn’t filed correctly.

So, while the plaintiffs are asking for information “DHS already has,” well, they don’t know what it is they’re asking about.

Oh.  The last line of the article I linked to is classic!

The department previously released a statement saying that although all systems can be improved, federal court intervention is not necessary.

heh heh heh heh heh.  That’s a good one.  Yes, they can be improved.  But they won’t be, until someone steps in to do it.  Just ask any foster parent.

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If you haven’t read today’s Dilbert, you need to.  It’s so appropriate, especially if you’ve been following MSNBC’s dreadful way of dealing with their pitiful ratings of their egregious show, Hardball with Chris Matthews.

*shivers just thinking about Chris Matthews*

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Have you seen Paris’ ad in response to McCain’s?  Loved it, and I’m not a Paris fan in the slightest.  But I had to laugh out loud at Tucker Bounds, when he told TMZ that, on the subect of energy, Paris is deeper than Obama. (h/t HotAir).

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Yesterday, while at a fellow Okie’s blog BatesLine.com, I read that Terry Hull of Terra Extraneus is looking for Okie Blawgers (that’s ‘legal blogs’ or ‘lawyers who blog,’ for y’all who don’t know the term).  So if you’re interested, or might know someone who is, see Terry.  You never know when someone might need your help, the way that Ron Coleman helped Michael with what the Tulsa World was pulling.

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Obligitory statement:  Christmas is only 15 weekends away.

(Here’s hoping you’ve started your Christmas shopping!)

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For those of you who have seen Eragon (the movie), but haven’t read the book, I recommend you do so.  I just finished reading it to my sons a couple nights ago, and I must say–it’s worth reading.  MUCH better than the movie!  It explains a whole lot that we didn’t get from the movie alone.

The way I did it was that I would read a chapter to them each night–no matter how long or how short, as is the Bedtime Rules in our house–and after I tucked them into bed, I’d read the next chapter.  Why?  So that I would know what was coming.  There’s a few words in it that I changed for the benefit of my kids.  Not too many, but a couple.

Keeping in mind that my sons are 6 and 8–well, 7½, but he’ll be 8 next month–they absolutely loved it!  To the point that they’ve asked me to get the next one, Eldest.  I’ll probably pick it up this weekend, after the wedding is over and done with.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to get through it before Brisingr releases Sept 20.  (You can pre-order Brisingr at Amazon.com now.)

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Along with picking up that book, I’m hoping to get to see Mummy 3.  If I do, I’ll do a review on Monday for y’all.  I’ve heard that it’s awesome, but I don’t want to get my hopes up too high.  I’ve loved the other two, so I’m hoping to enjoy this one just as much.

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Oh!  Almost forgot about something.  I don’t know if you’ve seen the trailer for Watchmen yet, but if you haven’t, I recommend that you do.  It looks AWESOME!  I can’t wait for it to come out next March.  March 6, 2009, to be precise.  (March 6, 2009.  Get it?  3-6-9?  ‘If they show it at midnight, it’ll be 3-6-9-12! ‘Watch’men?    Whatever.  It’s funny to me.)

If you don’t know what the story is about, I highly recommend that you read it.  Yes, it’s a comic book.  Big deal.  It’s still an amazing story that you have to read.  You can buy the soft-covered graphic novel that collects all twelve issues of the original story for $19.99 at your local comic book shop, or possibly Waldenbooks or Barnes & Noble or someplace like that.  Or, you can order it from Amazon for $10.99, and it’s eligible for free shipping with a $25+ order.

If you’re like me and prefer hardback to paperback, you’ll have to either shell out several hundred dollars for an older edition on eBay, or you can wait until November.  November 12, a regular, hardback copy of it will release for $40.  I, however, will be getting the oversized, slipcovered hardback Watchmen:  The Absolute Edition.  It’ll be $75 whenever it releases on November 12.  And with the prices of the individual issues on eBay right now, I’m kicking myself in the butt for not keeping them whenever they originally came out in 1988.

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In other comic news, this week was a heavy week for me.  Invincible Iron Man has finally decided to take the story up a notch (good thing, too, as I was about to drop it from my pull list).  Secret Invasion continued in the Frontline spin-off, and, while it’s OK, it’s not great.  I can’t wait for Secret Invasion #5 to come out next week, though.  Ultimate Origins 3 came out, and was much better than what I was expecting.  The Batman R.I.P. storyline is continuing–slightly–with three issues all dealing with it.  And I hope it gets better than where it is right now.  I do think that Jezebel Jett has everything to do with The Black Glove, for those of you following the storyline. The Red Hulk (or ‘Rulk’) storyline’s getting boring–he beat up Thor, this time around.  And no, we still don’t know who he is.  And yes, I do think I know, but I’m not telling.  The boys liked the latest Franklin Richards one-shot–it’s always funny.

Hopefully, next week’s releases will be much better than this bunch was.

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Well, I think I’ve exhausted everything that’s in my brain.  I hope you enjoyed this latest romp through the maze of my mind.

I’ll talk to y’all on Monday!  Until then, may God bless you and keep you safe in the palm of His hand!