Bin Lessend

It seems to me that the media is missing the possibility that Bin laden has been marginalized as far as being an active part of terrorism. All we've seen from him in the last 3 years has been video congratulating others who have commited acts and just recently it's gone from video to only audio messages. It's an assumption no less but one that should be considered. The threat of him is still there and we should not detour in trying to locate and capture him but I think that most of the groups are now acting independently. This of course also makes those groups more effective locally but less globally. It becomes a war of attrition. The more groups we eliminate and the less stature they command the less effective these groups will become. Also, the money trail is what keeps them going so we need to push harder to find their sources of funding. It's awfully hard to buy guns and explosives when you can only trade other items for them instead of cash. "I'll give you 10 bales of hay for 1 AK47?"
The people who sell weapons to these radicals are interested in cash. They make money selling guns and without a stream of currency they'll likely try to find a new buyer. Of course the risk is they'll find another terrorist group who has cash but the point is they won't have an easy time of it and that makes it risky of being found out for them.
On the subject of the lack of armor for the troops. Give them what they need. End of story. I don't understand what the problem is there. I also can't figure out why we don't have Humvees that can survive a RPG or AK47 attack? We're the USA. We can do better. We have the resources, funds and brightest people to fix this. I don't think any taxpayer would disagree that we need to provide them troops with the best armor in the world. Let's get rid of some of those pork barrel projects that congress likes to spend our money on and put it where it'll save lives. Maybe they should look at building a more mobile, agile style tank that is smaller and faster so it can go where the humvee can go and take the beating it will recieve. The thing is, we need to find out what works in places like Iraq so we can be prepared to respond quickly and lethally if need be.
One thing also about North Korea. Is it me or is the leader of that country just a big overgrown baby? Every time a country says it's going to impose trade sanctions or build up military forces around that area or say BOO! to them they say it could be recieved as an act of war. They say this for everything. "Hey North Korea, we're going to skip around on the border and sing and dance and make a bonfire." Their response would of course be, "If you do that we'll see it as an act of war." I think they should add at the end of that statement "This is a recording".
I think it's time we make a deal with China. We'll give you North Korea and you give us Taiwan. What a deal!

Dec 9, 2004

This is my first time writing a blog. Sometimes ya just got something to say and no one to say it to so this is a perfect solution. Say it to no one and everyone at the same time.
I've got a pretty good life. A wonderful wife, a super 3yr old boy and a precious 1yr old baby girl. Pretty normal. Once in a while I have enlightnened moments where a profound thought pops into existance in my head so I'll be sure to try and share them when it happens.
I've got my share of concerns also but none so large that I fret constantly. I consider them my challenges and as such they are a normal part of life. Anyone who doesn't have any worries or the occasional problem is either dead or too young to know better.
It's 2 weeks before Christmas and as with most people, we're spending too much on the holidays. It's not that we go hog wild, but I wonder where the balance is? After you add up all the events, gifts, extras, dining, babysitting, and time spent attending to those things it's amazing we survive at all. They say it takes until April before you would be able to keep any wages you earn if you were to pay your yearly taxes up front, then it must take until at least February before you could clear the bill for Christmas. It's like a years of fun and activities packed into 3 weeks time.
Don't get me wrong though, I'm not bitter or depressed or resentful of the money we spend during the holidays. I know that I have been blessed with a full life and that is just another facet of that life. It's a balance.
To go around moaning about the cost and packed schedule would only be cause to remind you that without it all you'd just be sitting around at home. Giving gifts and sharing time with friends and family are some of the best things you can do to lift your spirits and get that boost of good feelings from those who like you. It's a small price for the returns you recieve. If you doubt, then just think of those who do not have the option of going into debt to celebrate the holidays or may not even know it is a holiday.
Enough for now. We'll see if I decide to continue this blog later on.

Thanks for reading.