Afghanistan

There has never been a clearer reason to get out of Afghanistan since the Soviets faced the same problem thirty years ago. If President Obama was wise, he'd stop the coming bloodshed in that country before it ever gets a chance to start.

Among some of the most important reasons is that unlike Iraq, the people of Afghanistan have no stomach for a national Army. Even their own government doesn't want an army greater than 60,000 troops. This is a force roughly the size of Canada's with a population of 30 million.

As the lack of direction continues our country now plans to send more troops to this country. Like every time we send more troops anywhere it won't be long before the existing population will see this as an occupying force. Once this sentiment has been established we will find ten new enemies for every one soldier we send there.

A young woman in my church just lost her husband of four months to an IED in Afghanistan. More families will become devestated with hurt and loss as we continue to be mired in fighting in the hills against an invisible enemy.

The United States no longer has the means to slay dragons all over the world. Hopefully some day we'll learn that our over-aggressiveness in foreign policy makes us less safe, not more.

Harry Reid explains how taxes are voluntary...sorta

I have to hand it to him though.  He did give it a try.

Jan over the years has asked politicians to think philosophically about the different aspects of government force. Some of his interviews have been traps but I think two people in particular were able to sit down with him and engage in thought experiments with good cheer. One being Harry Reid and the other being Joe Biden.

Happy Birthday Constitution

Sorry I didn't get you anything. I almost forgot about your birthday to be quite honest. Seems like we don't see you around much anymore. I don't want this to sound mean really so please try to understand the spirit of what I'm saying. We've kind of moved on.

Now sure, I know you're the law of the land and all that but aren't you really more symbolic than real these days? I mean you go on and on about enumerated powers and the protection of the individual at the expense of the collective but isn't that a little 19th Century?

We have really smart politicians who can fix things and they've promised not to abuse their power. I don't want to be a bummer on your birthday, because I really do like you. I'm just sayin' maybe you're not really that big of a deal anymore.

Happy Birthday anyway.

Defending ACORN

I can't defend the people that worked in these two ACORN offices in Baltimore and Brooklyn. It's pretty much indefensible. I also can't defend ANY tax money going to this organization.

I will defend the other works that ACORN has done in the inner-city to educate citizens about their rights. They've stopped the abuse of police power by telling citizens in many cities that they do not have to consent to unwarranted searches and be bullied into letting police into their houses.

They have worked side-by-side many libertarians educating citizens on their natural rights which government should be protecting, not infringing.

Like I said, I can't defend the indefensible. I will defend what I know of ACORN and much of what they do this country needs.

Veronica? Really?

I blame Archie's friends really. Reggie and Jughead have never become a trusted source of encouragement for Archie. He spends his life dragging these two bozos around and when he could really use some advice...where are they?



I'm not saying this can't last, but I'm worried where Archie will turn when it doesn't. Betty will likely pair up with someone else by the time it does...I could see it being Moose just to match the first awful pairing.

I predict a short engagement that gets broken off at the last minute and he can go back to just being friends with both.

I'd like to also add that President Obama probably was lying and if so...it's a good thing. You cannot have a public option to pay for people without including illegal immigrants. Hospitals will DEMAND to get paid for services and will be enrolling people in the public option to ensure payment...whether or not they're citizens.

I'm not more against this than I am the public option in particular. If you're going to offer benefits to people who live here, it will just happen. They're using public schools and they'll use public health insurance as well. Nobody, including the President should have to pretend it won't or shouldn't happen.

Sorry I fooled you into thinking about healthcare again. Congrats Archie.

Bathroom Scrawlings

Maybe the only thing redeeming about using a public restroom is that it is sure to have interesting writing on the wall.  I hesitate to call it graffiti because I see it as more than simply defacing a surface, but more like an open forum.  Like a toilet blog.

Some interesting tidbits I’ve found:

I’ve come to believe that Anarchists communicate with each other through public restrooms similar to how hobos used to leave signs for each other.   From two anarchists I found these two messages:

• Be free.  Live Free.
• Where there is no discord, there can only be order.

Another popular scrawling is the drawn (or in one case carved) penis with a set of testicles.  I’m not sure who these people are that see it as important to contribute to the public forum this way but I think the movie Superbad (don’t click on this if you don’t want hear swearing or crude language) gave us a clue.

Lastly I enjoy all types of religious discussions in the public restroom.  In Billings I found an ongoing discussion about the deity of Christ.

• Jesus is Alive!
• Jesus is Alive! Dead!
• Jesus is Alive! Dead! He’s alive moron.
• I wish you were both dead! (complete with arrows pointing to previous points)

I didn’t add to this conversation as I believe they’re both right in that order.  Think about it.

Maybe this blog and others can replace the low-tech bathroom alternative to public forums.

Missoula, Montana

Missoula is my favorite city in Montana without a doubt.

First of all it’s a college town.  Secondly it’s a football town.  Maybe most importantly, it’s a train town.  Missoula actually has a railroad turntable!  If you’re a train nerd like I am then you’re impressed.  If you’re not then I’ll say that is has a lot of college-aged women.

Missoula is not a big city but has decent big entertainment distractions.  Montana Griz football, excellent college basketball and minor league baseball.  They’re all fully supported by Missoula and the surrounding areas.

My family wandered around Missoula and was happy to see parts of its historic district, a great old train depot and steam engine, and a whole lot of stores to buy junk in.

Montana is a huge state and if you stick to the Interstate you’re missing an unimaginable amount of small side attractions.  That said its major cities are split apart perfectly for day trips ensuring you’ll always have a decent choice of a hotel while you look around.

Wallace, Idaho

Traveling west on Interstate 90 the family and I were still quite a few miles east of Spokane and a town we remembered days earlier on our Eastbound journey was on our minds as we went home.

Wallace, Idaho sits just off of Interstate 90 and is a fantastic historic town.  Plenty of old brick buildings and turn-of-the-last-century charm makes this a great place to stop and pee…or look at antiques.

One of the stops was an antique store that had a sort of creepy feel from the beginning.  I was immediately met by the store’s owner who sat in an old barber chair just inside the door.  He looked like he was in his 60’s and his silvery pony-tail indicated that his age and his decade of choice were the same.  There were lots of antiques that reflected the swinging, partying aspects of life from earlier decades. Some were cool and some just had a seedy vibe.

I talked to the owner briefly before leaving and he shared that he was from the same area where I live.  He said he used to run whorehouses and gambling houses in the area back in the 60’s.  If I'd had another 30 minutes I would’ve liked to have learned about his journey from…uh…the 60’s all the way to Wallace.  Next time.