Two Babes and a Brain

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Pakistan slams 'ignorant' Obama attack warning

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan accused Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama of "sheer ignorance" for threatening to launch US military strikes against Al-Qaeda on Pakistani soil.

""Such statements are being made out of sheer ignorance," Pakistan's Minister of State for Information, Tariq Azeem, told AFP. "They are not fully apprised about the ground realities and not aware of the efforts by Pakistan.""

link to full article

some historical perspective:
Report from The United States Institute of Peace, "US-Pakistan Engagement: The War on Terrorism and Beyond"

The Cost of Clean-up

If, after 9/11, they had told the American people, anyone who wants to help can come right down and do so, the world might have tipped over. Everyone I know, wanted to go and help. Most people would have done so without gloves never mind respirators.

The NY Times has this article on the health issues of those who cleaned up Ground Zero. There are several places in the article that talks about how the workers didn't wear the respirators because they didn't want to slow down recovery efforts and because the respirators are cumbersome and so on, and yet Giulliani is blamed for not standing there demanding they wear them.

I'll bet if we had just taken care of them after, if we had paid for their medical care and helped their families there would be less argument about all of this. Seems to me, that you can compare the first responders and those who cleaned up Ground Zero to soldiers...they answered the call when we needed them.

We should take care of them now that they are in need.

Not sure lawsuits and insulating cities from lawsuits is what this should be about.

Chris

9/11 Tribute...

Lt. Dennis Mojica
Age: 50
Killed at: World Trade Center
New York, N.Y.

Dennis Mojica was a father, a friend, and a fireman. He was many things to many people. We chose to honor him with words by others, far more eloquent than any we could come up with...Today we ask you to stop and think of him, his family and the lives he touched.

Fireman...

A Token of Respect

Author: Tom McLaughlin

Shoulder to shoulder they work
for eachother and for all.
Through wind rain and snow they answer the call.
Their very lives entrusted
to their brothers who care.
Knowing if they fall
at least one will be there.
A breed apart from others these men who fight fire.
A calling to which many
would love to aspire.
But they as firemen
know all too well
that in a moment's time
their lives can be hell.
A soft spongy roof
or room full of smoke
it takes only one breath
and you start to choke
They do their job willingly
ask little more than respect
often picking up the peices
of lives that are wrecked.
Their calling is to be there
Where ever the need
A very noble calling
of the men of this breed
Many have fallen
and have given their all
Trying to save another
they took the fall.
Truly these men are heroes
for having paid the price
And making for another
the supreme sacrifice.
So if in your travels
A fireman you see
Please remember he's there
to save you and me.

Father...

I Loved Her First

Heartland

Look at the two of you dancing that way Lost in the moment and each others face So much in love your alone in this place Like there's nobody else in the world I was enough for her not long ago I was her number one She told me so And she still means the world to me Just so you know So be careful when you hold my girl Time changes everything Life must go on And I'm not gonna stand in your way But I loved her first and I held her first And a place in my heart will always be hers From the first breath she breathed When she first smiled at me I knew the love of a father runs deep And I prayed that she'd find you someday But it still hard to give her away I loved her first How could that beautiful women with you Be the same freckle face kid that I knew The one that I read all those fairy tales to And tucked into bed all those nights And I knew the first time I saw you with her It was only a matter of time But I loved her first and I held her first And a place in my heart will always be hers From the first breath she breathed When she first smiled at me I knew the love of a father runs deep And I prayed that she'd find you someday But its still hard to give her away I loved her first From the first breath she breathed When she first smiled at me I knew the love of a father runs deep Someday you might know what I'm going through When a miracle smiles up at you I loved her first Friend... A FriendA friend is like a shade tree Beside a summer way. A friend is like the sunshine That makes a perfect day. A friend is like a flower That's worn close to the heart. A friend is like a treasure With which one will not part.

In Memory...

"When you look up at the sky at night, since I'll be living on one of them, since I'll be laughing on one of them, for you, it'll be as if all the stars are laughing. You'll have stars that can laugh!"

And he laughed again.

"And when you're consoled (everyone is eventually consoled), you'll be glad you've known me. You'll always be my friend. You'll feel like laughing with me. And you'll open your windows sometimes just for the fun of it... And your friends will be amazed to see you laughing while you're looking up at the sky. Then you'll tell them, 'Yes, it's the stars. They always make me laugh!"

Please visit the other bloggers of the 2,996 Project.

This is my party...god help us all

The email is below. Whine, whine, whine...and anyone who votes based on a Disney movie deserves the leaders they get...

Dead Kennedy Week...but different

In response to the "insult to those still suffering its aftermath" comment in Lisa's post below, let me say this:

I am sick of 9/11. When I was a kid, every November, they would start showing Kennedy specials as the anniversary of Kennedy's death approached...in my not so tactful way, I would call it Dead Kennedy Week. 9/11 has become the same thing. It has become a media event--a collective cathartic moment set to music with picture perfect lighting. Therapy for the masses. The whole event has been robbed of its meaning.

We didn't band together to do anything. We haven't changed the way we do things. We haven't insisted that money be spent to truly improve our security. We haven't demanded accountability from our leaders. Hell, we can't even begin construction on a new building to replace the ones they knocked down.

We seem to be satisfied with the appearance of change.

And so, here comes the anniversary of 9/11 and with it the staged moments of grief and silence and remembrance. Someone call central casting for the widows and orphans, after all we want out National Day of Mourning to look good.

Chris

I Don't Read New York Magazine...

... and this is why.  Asking the question "What if 9/11 never happened" in and of itself is ridiculous... asking that question only five years after the fact is insulting to those who are still suffering the aftermath.  But lets get to the crux of this article.... the real reason for it.  An opportunity to bash Bush...again.

Yet if a war against Islamofascism was unavoidable, the same can’t be said of the other war in which we’re currently, tragically, ensnared. Although many of the neocons in George W. Bush’s administration had long nurtured fantasies of invading Iraq, 9/11 was the sine qua non for the transformation of those dreams into policy. Without the specter of the gruesome atrocity at the World Trade Center, Bush would likely have been unable to induce either Tony Blair or Colin Powell to support him and his doctrine of preemption—and without the complicity of those two, his designs on Baghdad would almost certainly have been stalled in their tracks.

Did you catch the term "neocons"... like that?  How about this...

—it’s difficult to conceive of what Bush’s legacy would be in the absence of 9/11 and its fallout. Rampant profligacy? Record deficits? Slavish fealty to the rich? Quite possibly, all three. Or perhaps, as historian Douglas Brinkley offers , Bush would have defined his administration by taking up the challenge presented by another disaster, Hurricane Katrina: “Rather than standing on the rubble at ground zero with his bullhorn,” Brinkley says, “Bush would best be known for standing on some waterlogged roof in the Ninth Ward.” Or perhaps he would have gone down to defeat in 2004, a 9/11-free election centering on domestic affairs, in which the Democratic candidate, therefore, wouldn’t have been John Kerry but John Edwards or Dick Gephardt—or Al Gore.

Al Gore????.... yeeesh.

But they don't stop at just President Bush..... they throw in a bit of Rudy as well...

Erase 9/11 and the local political scene would be similarly transfigured. Rudy Giuliani’s bank account would be much diminished—and his presidential prospects would be nonexistent.

...and top it all of by calling Leiberman a "putz".  OOPS... that's "a miserable, deluded putz".  Sorry, my mistake.

All of this under the premise of "marking the 5th anniversary of 9/11".  Bullshit.  It's nothing more than another liberal wacko using the anniversary of our nation's greatest tragedy to spew his hatred for this country.

Lisa

Why the public interest?

Good morning. It's Friday and it is THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL...yea!

So, there is not a lot being taken seriously here at TwoBabes--at least not by me--this morning. However, Bombtruck over at ABP has posed a question so I figured I'd offer an answer.

Can anyone tell me why this program is a matter of public interest?

He asks this of the revelations in the NYT this morning that we are sifting through international bank records. (ABP piece here,NYT piece here)

Here is my answer as to why this would be in the public interest:

In the United States, the program has provided financial data in investigations into possible domestic terrorist cells as well as inquiries of Islamic charities with suspected of having links to extremists, the officials said.

and

In terrorism prosecutions, intelligence officials have been careful to "sanitize," or hide the origins of evidence collected through the program to keep it secret, officials said.

Sorry, citizens of the US have rights and no matter what the excuse, the government can't do things contrary to those rights. I don't care how many signing statements the President signs--the Constitution applies to all men (and women) of the United States.

These guys don't think so. They think the law is for everyone else. They think if they disagree with it they don't have to follow it. Well, they do.

And so that is why this program is in the public interest.

I think we should change the law. I think we should amend the Constitution. I think citizens get more rights than non-citizens but we haven't done that yet. SO, this stuff without a warrant of some type and this stuff used in Court without disclosing where it was obtained form is just wrong.

Chris

Others talking about it: Michelle Malkin, Patterico's Pontifications

Memorial Day...

Usually, we each write a post for Memorial Day. This year everything is up in the air. We've had some changes. Lisa is adjusting to her new life and her new schedule, Colonel Hunt has departed for bigger and better things and I am flat out with kids and work and trying to get my act together before I officially become old on Tuesday.

I sat and thought for a long time about what I wanted to write and no one thing jumped out at me. This Memorial Day is a jumble of thoughts, so that is what you are getting.

I am up early to take my kids to the parade. This year was unique in that I wasn't going to go. I have lunch plans with a friend from college and thought that I would skip it--except my kids won't let me. It's Memorial Day, they told me. It's important to go and say thank you and honor the soldiers, Mom. Every now and then, the stuff you do right comes back to bite you in the butt. :o)

Yesterday, on my way out of the grocery store, I tried to sneak by the two teenagers sitting there collecting money for what I assumed was some sports thing. I heard them ask the lady behind me if she wanted to donate a dollar to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. I turned around and went back to buy my poppies. They thanked me for my donation and gave my poppies for my kids and I. I wondered where the veterans were and why it was these disinterested kids doing the poppy thing. It's not like we are short on Vets...

My 9 year old has recently developed that 9 year old fascination with soldiers and war and killing the bad guys. I assume it would have happened even if we weren't currently at war. Young men doing amazing things is always fascinating. My Dad told him the story of how my Grandfather was wounded at the Battle of Metz and captured by the Germans. Eventually, he found his way home with a bum arm and a purple heart. I had never heard the story of how my Papa was wounded.

The Marines under in investigation for criminal acts in Haditha are on my mind lately. I am shocked and appalled and outraged...and heartbroken. Obviously, there can be no excuse for what they are accused of doing but there can be understanding. An impossible job in impossible circumstances...media reports say they were on their third tour...friends blown apart in front of you...constant fear that you will be next...a war where the enemy looks the same as the people you are trying to help...all of this...I think of the things we ask these young men and women to do and the price they pay for it. I think of the missing limbs and the scars we don't see.

I am thankful for our soldiers, impressed by my grandfather's service, proud that my son recognizes some of the great things our military does and saddened for the things that happen to our soldiers as a result of wars. I'm hopeful that one day none of it will be necessary but expect that it always will...

Say thanks to a soldier today. Say a prayer for them. Remember the fallen. Happy Memorial Day.

Chris

Liar, liar, pants on fire...

Hmmm...

"The Bush administration has urged a judge to dismiss a similar case, saying it threatens to divulge state secrets and jeopardize national security. The government argued in briefs that the courts cannot decide the constitutionality of the president's asserted wartime powers to eavesdrop on Americans without warrants..."

Two things here...

1) I thought we weren't eavesdropping on Americans without warrants and

2) If not the Courts, then who? Checks and balances? Hello?

There is more here on just what the government might be doing that they said they weren't doing.

Chris

Explain it to me...

If we all agree that abortion is a bad thing, and I would hope that we could, then we should all agree that preventing abortion is a good thing. Preventing the need for abortion is something we should all, whether we are pro-life or pro-choice, be in favor of.

So, why would anyone want to limit the availability of contraception?

The "Deficit Reduction Act of 2005" actually stripped away the promise to cover family planning for all Medicaid enrollees.

Why, would we not want to have Medicaid cover contraception for low-income subscribers? Since the abortion rate is higher among low income women, shouldn't we want them to have access to birth control?

Isn't stopping abortion in this way, saving a life as well?

Explain this to me...

Chris