Condoleeza Gets No Links from Me
"Taxes are not levied for the benefit of the taxed." -- Robert A. Heinlein
From survivalarts:
"I'm a software developer by trade, and one of my pet peeves is clients who expect me to be on-call in case they have a bug, or (more likely) forget how to use their software. I stand by the rule taught to me by a long-time developer: "There are NO software emergencies." His point being, trying to slap a bug fix onto an application under pressure is almost certainly going to cause more problems than the bug you originally introduced when you were developing at a measured pace. The cure for this type of issue is testing and training, not 24/7 availability." -- Bob Tipton
# Bill Whittle - Area Man Confronted with a 45; Defends Self with Toy Airplane - Bill Whittle's forty-fifth birthday was Wednesday. He was born 3 years and a day after me. Happy Birthday, Bill! My present to myself, with my Mom's nickels, was a flight simulator. His present to himself, with nickels from an unnamed but highly appreciated donor, was a real airplane kit (he calls it a toy because compared to what he really wants to fly, it is). Yowza! [whittle]
# Robert C. Byrd on the Senate Floor via LewRockwell.com - A Call for an Exit Door from Iraq - the senior senator from West Virginia chimes in on Fallujah. I can't find this in the Congressional Record for April 7 or via search on any other day, though it appears that the search engine doesn't yet include April 7. [Charley Hardman provided a link: click on the "Page: S3884" link on this page to read Mr. Byrd's comments directly from the Library of Congress.] [lew]
As worrisome as these developments are in and of themselves, the fact that they are occurring as the United States hurtles toward a June 30 deadline to turn Iraq over to an interim Iraqi government -- a government that has yet to be identified, established, or vetted -- adds an element of desperation to the situation.
Where should we look for leadership? To this Congress? To this Senate? This Senate, the foundation of the Republic, has been unwilling to take a hard look at the chaos in Iraq. Senators have once again been cowed into silence and support, not because the policy is right, but because the blood of our soldiers and thousands of innocents is on our hands. Questions that ought to be stated loudly in this chamber are instead whispered in the halls. Those few Senators with the courage to stand up and speak out are challenged as unpatriotic and charged with sowing seeds of terrorism. It has been suggested that any who dare to question the President are no better than the terrorists themselves. Such are the suggestions of those who would rather not face the truth.
This Republic was founded in part because of the arrogance of a king who expected his subjects to do as they were told, without question, without hesitation. Our forefathers overthrew that tyrant and adopted a system of government where dissent is not only important, but it is also mandatory. Questioning flawed leadership is a requirement of this government. Failing to question, failing to speak out, is failing the legacy of the Founding Fathers.
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It is staggeringly clear that the Administration did not understand the consequences of invading Iraq a year ago, and it is staggeringly clear that the Administration has no effective plan to cope with the aftermath of the war and the functional collapse of Iraq. It is time -- past time -- for the President to remedy that omission and to level with the American people about the magnitude of mistakes made and lessons learned. America needs a roadmap out of Iraq, one that is orderly and astute, else more of our men and women in uniform will follow the fate of Tennyson's doomed Light Brigade.
