"Scuze the bland layout, folks. Blogger 's gone and F!@#$%^&*ed up the entire site. I'll be back when I get it moved over to Movable Type. I guess I've put it off long enough. Words cannot express how I loathe Blogger. Well, not words that I like to use, anyway.

On ChristDot, a discussion is currently on about whether invading Iraq squares with Just War theory. Here is my entry, in response to someone who thinks we shouldn't be "attacking someone based on their potential to do harm ":

I've been a gun owner since I was 18 years old, but I know that Rachel Lucas will rejoice with me today, because I finally did my part for the Second Amendment! Here's my new baby:

Look out, Gun Control Inc.! Another 2nd Amendment family hits the streets!

Two and a half years later, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. If Gus had lived, there's a good chance it would have been him to command Apollo 11.

Chances are, most folks today don't even know about that terrible tragedy. But I remember. Rand Simberg and Orrin Judd remember. Many others of the Apollo generation remember today, and stop, if only for a moment.

Ed, Gus, Roger, we honor you for paying the ultimate price. Let's pray that it wasn't in vain.

This is the clearest summary I've seen as to why we must invade Iraq. (Link via Rachel Lucas)

UPDATE: If that's not enough, then try this. If you want still more, or if you'd like an in-depth look at Iraq, our relations with them, with a fully-annotated, well-reasoned explanation of why we must invade, then read The Threatening Storm: The Case for Invading Iraq. Excellent, and non-partisan.

I've always liked George Clooney. He seemed to be a decent, likable sort of guy.

I'll never watch anything associated with him again.

Here's the money 'graf:

. . . As first reported by syndicated columnist Liz Smith, Clooney opined at a National Board of Review event that "Charlton Heston announced again today that he is suffering from Alzheimer's."

When asked by Ms. Smith if the remark went over the line, Clooney replied: "I don't care. Charlton Heston is the head of the NRA; he deserves whatever anyone says about him."

Now, people can have disagreements on issues while still acting civil. This is beyond the pale. It is indecent and dishonorable.

I am sick unto death of actors and singers thinking that just because they're famous, they can solve all the world's problems. On the bright side, I should be able to retire early with all the money I save from not buying CDs & DVDs and going to movies.

I'm not going to post what I'd really like to say about Mr. Clooney, but you can go here for a close approximation of my sentiments.

Dave Barry has a blog!

Yes, that Dave Barry.

I thought I'd had enough of these things. Guess not:

Which OS are You?

No comment.

January 28th, 1986 , 11:39am
"Challenger, go at throttle up..."
"Roger, go at throttle up..."
"...uh-oh..."

"One minute fifteen seconds...
velocity 2900 feet per second...
altitude nine nautical miles...
downrange distance seven nautical ...
miles...
" ...Flight controllers are looking
very carefully at the situation...
obviously a major malfunction...
we have no downlink.... "

Seventeen years ago today, The shuttle Challenger was destroyed, 72 seconds after liftoff.

The Crew:

Francis R. Scobee, Commander
Michael J. Smith, Pilot
Judith A. Resnick, Mission Specialist
Ellison Onizuka, Mission Specialist
Ronald E. McNair, Mission Specialist
Gregory A. Jarvis, Payload Specialist
S. Christa McAuliffe, Teacher in Space

all perished.

Hearing those words, seeing that image, even after 17 years . . . I still almost get sick to my stomach.

I remember where I was when I heard about it. I was working as a drafter, and the man in the next cubicle (who had a radio) stood and shouted, "The shuttle just blew up!"

After a moment of shocked disbelief, I rushed back to my apartment, flipped on the TV and saw that awful footage replayed over and over . . .

When I got back to work, I called my then-fiance, who was attending Baylor University. I tried to tell her what had happened, but I just broke down sobbing.

Many saw the Challenger disaster as a sign that we shouldn't be "wasting our time" going into space. The next day, some jerk asked me, "So, space-boy, do you still want to fly on the shuttle?" I looked him square in the eye and replied, "In a heartbeat."

I still do.

Via Instapundit, this article on where Homeland Defense really begins: the home.

The opening paragraph:

"Let me tell you, as a cop, I'm not gonna be there," Mark Granko told his students, who sat transfixed, listening to war stories from his 25 years as a police officer, including five on a SWAT team. "I don't care if you call 911. By the time we get there, it's over."

Read the rest of it.
BTW, does anyone know if a similar service is offered in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area?

This has to be a Candid Camera Moment: Iraq to chair U.N. disarmament conference.

Let me get this straight: first, Libya heads the U.N. Human Rights group, then Syria heads the Security council, and now this. Talk about an Axis of Evil! One is tempted to think that the U.N.'s movements are being written by Douglas Adams. But you can't make up stuff like this.

The League of U.N.'s time is officially D-U-N done. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, "Mr. Bush, tear down that building!"