tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35207822011-07-28T20:30:59.580-05:00Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10211100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-62897534369554950822010-10-03T17:54:00.000-05:002010-10-03T17:54:32.685-05:00

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Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-29108278073584047872010-10-03T16:54:00.006-05:002010-10-03T17:04:18.894-05:00

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-89944294656578686362010-05-06T12:46:00.003-05:002010-05-06T12:49:57.908-05:00

Do not link to this post - this is not the record copy, which will appear on Sense of Events on May 7. Having been focused on the flooding here in Tennessee (what, you didn't know?), I have not posted until now about Faisal Shahzad, a.k.a. the Times Square bomber. I won't cover the back story because I presume you're familiar with it. One persistent theme in the media has been, as the CS

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-48274747657171802007-10-25T18:00:00.001-05:002008-12-10T05:46:40.673-06:00

The man I am sitting with in the photo below, taken in Jericho last Saturday, is Bassem Eid, the founder and manager of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group. Mr. Eid is a Muslim and a member of the largest Arab tribe in the West Bank.Right to left: the author, Bassem Eid, Ruth Lautt.Mr. Eid formerly helped monitor and investigate claims of human rights violations by the Israelis. After

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-39337560447977820462007-10-24T21:07:00.000-05:002008-12-10T05:46:41.416-06:00

The news today is that Israel fired missiles into Gaza to kill Mubarak al-Hassanat, a top-ranking Hamas member directly involved with firing Hamas' homemade Kassan rockets into southern Israel. Hamas has been firing the anti-personnel rockets into Israeli towns and countryside with regularity for years. I went to Israel on Oct. 15 and returned just tonight. Two days ago I visited the town of

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-46979292175595667422007-10-12T10:35:00.001-05:002008-12-10T05:46:41.881-06:00

Via email from OHC contributor Daniel JacksonGalil Dawn"After several days of very sandy (literally) days, the dawn's light over the Galilee for the last several days has been excellent. I have been getting up before dawn the last few days to climb the side of Mount Turan to photograph the dawn. It's been spectacular as the Galil Dawn image shows taken from the east ridge looking east over

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-13261626305505521382007-10-11T21:51:00.000-05:002007-10-12T10:50:32.031-05:00

One hundred thirty Muslim scholars have sent a letter to Pope Benedict and other Christian religious leaders calling for competition between Islam and Christianity " 'only in righteousness and good works.' ""If Muslims and Christians are not at peace, the world cannot be at peace. With the terrible weaponry of the modern world; with Muslims and Christians intertwined everywhere as never before,

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-64967565857880912152007-10-11T12:17:00.000-05:002007-10-11T21:50:49.659-05:00

A few days ago the news was released that a High Court in the United Kingdom ruled that Al Gore's film, An Inconvenient Truth, may not be shown to school students there unless preceded by court-mandated disclaimers:... The Court found that the film was misleading in nine respects and that the Guidance Notes drafted by the Education Secretary’s advisors served only to exacerbate the political

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-30816038761035822032007-10-10T15:15:00.000-05:002007-10-11T22:02:13.669-05:00

James Joyner picks up on Mario Cuomo's piece in the NYT in which Mario says that Senators Jim Webb and Hillary Clinton are off track when they want Congress to enact law demanding that the president "go before Congress to ask for a 'declaration of war' before proceeding with an attack against Iran or any other nation." But there is no need for this demand to be put into law, as the two Democrats

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-1172336795379582712007-02-24T10:59:00.000-06:002007-02-24T11:06:35.383-06:00

The earth floats: “3-D model shows big body of water in Earth’s mantle.”A seismologist at Washington University in St. Louis has made the first 3-D model of seismic wave damping - diminishing - deep in the Earth’s mantle and has revealed the existence of an underground water reservoir at least the volume of the Arctic Ocean. It is the first evidence for water existing in the Earth’s deep mantle.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-1159499474685133692006-09-28T22:05:00.000-05:002006-09-28T22:11:14.813-05:00

The best onboard video setup of an RC airplane I have seen or ever heard of. I want one real bad. Watch the video and you will, too!You can download a full quality version here:http://www.rc-cam.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=1066&st=20music: Enigma - Lord Of The Dance - Celtic Dream

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-1154893403091700472006-08-06T14:43:00.000-05:002006-08-06T14:44:36.516-05:00

PallywoodWhat happens behind the scenes of Palestinian "protests" that they don't want you to see. How Palestinian audiovisual productions are designed to deceive Western TV reporters.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-1153536330289321832006-07-21T21:19:00.000-05:002006-07-21T23:05:15.080-05:00

Jerry Pournelle relates, [I]n the first days of McNamara's tenure as Secretary of Defense, he invited the Commander in Chief of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) to explain the US strategic war plan (known as the Single Integrated Operational Plan or SIOP). After the review, McNamara said in horror "General, that's not a war plan! All you have is a kind of horrible spasm."I have been wondering

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-1153332156238350772006-07-19T13:00:00.000-05:002006-07-19T13:02:36.260-05:00

The shepherd tends his flock at night as the wolves are ever present. He increases his control of the space around his pastures to establish a buffer for his sheep; to keep the wolves out of range. Finally he yields some of that space back to the wolves only to see the attacks against his sheep increase to the point that he begins to lose them to the wolves. What do we expect shepherds to do? We

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-1153327886076303622006-07-19T11:51:00.000-05:002006-07-19T11:51:26.150-05:00

Genocide of Christians in Sudan, persecution elsewhereHere is a video summary of persecution of Christians around the world, focusing on Sudan. Another entry in the "religion of peace submission" watch.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-1111249666005223222005-03-19T10:27:00.000-06:002005-03-19T11:09:54.706-06:00

Via Amendment XIX I learned that British army Pvt. Johnson Beharry has been awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military award of the British armed forces. After reading his story, A. XIX's writer concludes, One more thing, next time someone says that we went into Iraq "unilaterally" I am going to suggest they have a talk with Private Beharry.Part of Beharry's citation reads, As the lead

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-1111184887234820432005-03-18T16:28:00.000-06:002005-03-18T16:32:45.393-06:00

... they couldn't do better than this, reported by OpinionJournal: The Associated Press plans to offer its member newspapers "two different leads for many of its news stories," reports Editor & Publisher, the news industry trade magazine: "The concept is simple: On major spot stories--especially when events happen early in the day--we will provide you with two versions to

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-1111183228587921932005-03-18T16:00:00.000-06:002005-03-18T16:00:28.586-06:00

A Florida judge today cleared the last hurdle to removing the feeding tube from Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged woman who is unable to feed herself. Without the tube, Terri will slowly starve to death. ABC News says that CNN reports that Terri's sister says the tube has already been removed.   On a radio news report I heard today, Sen. Tom Delay said that Senate Republicans would work through

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-1111179693403178612005-03-18T15:01:00.000-06:002005-03-18T15:01:33.406-06:00

Just got this spammail: Dear Paypal customer, As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in thePayPal system. We recently noticed the following issue on your account:A recent review of your account determined that we require some additional information from you in order to provide you with secure service.   Case ID Number: PP-069-680-616   For your

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-1111161169915553342005-03-18T09:52:00.000-06:002005-03-19T15:00:38.416-06:00

Blogger has become the Mordor of the blogosphereBut the question is whether they will care. First stop: Bezahlt(dot)Org, who points out that Blogger's Status Page had a notice posted on March 11 (a week ago) that the service was aware of the "stability problems" with Blogger and was working to correct them (a week ago, I remind you). Most of these problems were caused by an increased amount of

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-1111159711707343672005-03-18T09:28:00.000-06:002005-03-18T09:34:05.803-06:00

"Brigades of death" are AWOLA year ago today I posted about how the Abu-Hafs al-Masri/al-Qaeda Brigades delivered a letter to a London Arabic-language newspaper overnight, saying: "Learn your lesson, you lackeys of America, the brigades of death are at your gates . . . Our brigades are now preparing for a fresh strike. Will it be the turn of Japan, America, Italy, Britain, the al-Sauds, Australia

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-1111157188112052482005-03-18T08:46:00.000-06:002005-03-18T08:46:28.113-06:00

this is a test using html email with embedded links and blockquote. One year ago today on One Hand Clapping: Ukraine's 19th Army Battalion anti-chemical weapons unit is readying for Persian Gulf deployment, where it would stand by to help neutralize the effects of a potential Iraqi offensive against neighboring countries. The 531-man volunteer unit has been training for four

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-1111121685155671942005-03-17T22:54:00.000-06:002005-03-17T22:54:45.156-06:00

Until Jan. 1, 2003, I did not have an off-Blogger host. My Blogspot site is still there, but I changed its files' location months ago to my own server. Its address is href="http://www.donaldsensing.com/blogspot/">http://www.donaldsensing.com/blogspot/.Perhaps two years of posts have made it difficult, somehow, for Blogger to publish to the root directory of www.donaldsensing.com. I don't put a

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-1111115919911456922005-03-17T21:18:00.000-06:002005-03-17T21:42:52.343-06:00

Read Antonin Scalia's speech about Constitutional misuse by judges. It's all readworthy, but these excerpts are my target for now: I am one of a small number of judges, small number of anybody: judges, professors, lawyers; who are known as originalists. Our manner of interpreting the Constitution is to begin with the text, and to give that text the meaning that it bore when it was adopted by the

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-1111115884947597192005-03-17T21:17:00.000-06:002005-03-17T21:22:59.070-06:00

The US Army has returned to the status of the "first among equals" of the US armed forces. That according to Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer of the Lexington Institute Adjunct Professor of Security Studies, Georgetown University. This is one of the four major trends in US defense posture. The other three:* Transformation as envisioned four years ago is faltering, and it will

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-1072971562296739222004-01-01T09:39:00.000-06:002004-01-01T09:40:55.043-06:00

The NATO standard pistol is worthless More proof that the Beretta M9 automatic pistol that is the standard issue to American troops, firing NATO-standard 9mm ball round, is almost as much of a threat to our own troops as to the fedayeen enemy:In another incident, one of my guys got hit (luckily, in the plate of the vest he was wearing) with a 9X19 pistol round at close range. He immediately

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-867577832002-12-31T13:04:00.000-06:002002-12-31T23:04:28.000-06:00

3d US Infantry Division begins deployment. Military writer Thomas Holsinger of StrategyPage.com emailed me this story: The entire Third Infantry Division is being deployed from Hunter Army Airfield and Fort Stewart. This kind of massive deployment hasn't happened since the Gulf War in 1990. . . . Military officials are not releasing where these troops are being deployed to at this time. Last

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-867534342002-12-31T11:10:00.000-06:002002-12-31T11:11:37.000-06:00

Weird things of 2002 are summarized by today's Washington Post. My favorites, with my italicized introductions: He's a real nowhere man: TEHRAN -- Iranian police were on the lookout for an alleged sorcerer who conned a man into believing he was invisible and could rob banks. Proper gun control is hitting only what you aim at: AMMAN, Jordan -- The groom spent his wedding night in jail after

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-867514932002-12-31T10:17:00.000-06:002002-12-31T10:18:09.000-06:00

The continuing trauma of World War II leads reader Richard Heddleson to make some thoughtful observations. He cites Glenn Reynolds:Back when I was practicing law, one of my clients -- the president of the American subsidiary of a European company, a Pole who had lived through World War Two under circumstances that would make a good thriller/tearjerker movie -- said that he thought Europe was

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-867511152002-12-31T10:07:00.000-06:002002-12-31T10:07:46.836-06:00

101st AIrborne Division (Air Assault) begins deploying to the Persian Gulf. WKRN TV, a Nashville ABC affiliate, announced in its post-MNF news show last night that aviation units and aircraft of the 101st ABN, based at Ft Campbell, KY, are deploying to the Persian Gulf.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-867235272002-12-30T20:56:00.000-06:002002-12-30T21:52:29.000-06:00

What we have got and they have not. What has the Battle on Omdurman in Sudan, 1898, got to do with a potential new war in Korea? Bear with me. In Sept. 1898, British troops under Sir Herbert Kitchener destroyed the Islamic Dervish army in Sudan in the Battle of Omdurman. The battle was exceedingly one-sided. The weapons and tactics of the Dervishes could not compete with British supply, weapons

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-867154472002-12-30T16:59:00.000-06:002002-12-30T16:59:44.706-06:00

Speaking of Army Chaplains, here is a story about them from Soldiers magazine.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-867153732002-12-30T16:57:00.000-06:002002-12-30T16:57:29.813-06:00

The Army won't let me back on active duty. I perused the Chaplain subsite of the GoArmy web site, and sent this email to the email link on the site: I retired in 1995 as an Army artillery officer. I have since completed my M.Div. and have been ordained an elder in full connection in the UMC. Is it possible for me to return to active duty as a chaplain? In only two days I received an answer

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-867143552002-12-30T16:26:00.000-06:002002-12-30T16:26:18.000-06:00

We're short on staff this week. I took the Command Sgt. Maj. to the airport at oh-dark-thirty this morning. She is doing some TDY to visit family in NC. I'll post some stuff during MNF tonight, and maybe before. In the meantime, please read Little Green Footballs today, and be afraid, be very afraid.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-866458382002-12-28T21:51:00.000-06:002002-12-29T17:59:53.000-06:00

Saddam's most dangerous failure was my topic back on Sept. 23. I explained why one kind of comparison of Saddam to Hitler was apt: he, like Hitler, has no vision for his country that outlives him. I've been catching up on David Warren's work this evening, and found his essay, "Scorched Earth," of Dec. 21. David echoes pretty much the same theme. Read them both and see whether you agree. David

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-866449032002-12-28T21:17:00.000-06:002002-12-28T21:17:10.826-06:00

Speaking of North Korea, David Warren writes, The argument that President Bush's "axis of evil" speech provoked their present behaviour I would have thought too silly for anyone to believe, but as I write I'm listening to the BBC. I am reminded of George Orwell's old truism, that there is nothing you can say so demented, that you will not get a choir of intellectuals singing along. David writes

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-866399882002-12-28T18:18:00.000-06:002002-12-28T18:18:11.830-06:00

Here's a good reason so much mainline journalism is junk - reporters can't do math: "Math in newspapers isn’t so much doing arithmetic calculations, it is having a sense of numbers and proportions," said the Toronto Star science reporter, Peter Calamai. "It is having a detector that tells you, this just doesn’t add up. It is not that you have to be able to solve quadratic equations or do long

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-866399812002-12-28T18:17:00.000-06:002002-12-28T18:17:50.190-06:00

Best of the Web Today on Friday asked what I had been wondering, too. Namely, why the Powerball lottery, or any other lottery, is worth a jot ot a tittle opf news coverage: A Lotto Nonsense At least the clone story is more interesting than yesterday's big news. We refer, of course, to the lottery jackpot a West Virginia man won. This story was unavoidable if you were watching TV news yesterday;

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-866304962002-12-28T12:21:00.000-06:002002-12-28T12:22:37.000-06:00

I will move off Blogspot's servers come January 1. I have rented server space at Cornerhost.com and bought the web address of DonaldSensing.com. I will still call the site One Hand Clapping, but its address will be www.donaldsensing.com. I will also still use Blogger for blog writing, so everything will look the same.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-866304002002-12-28T12:18:00.000-06:002002-12-28T12:18:20.690-06:00

Rumsfeld ramps it up by signing mobilization orders for Reserve Component (Guard and Reserve) forces, "heavy on the logistics side," according to one official. As of Dec. 24, there were 53,217 RC troops on active duty, according to the Dept. of Defense, actually a couple thousand fewer than the week before. And if you read the detailed tables of this DOD document, you'll see that Special Forces

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-866094242002-12-27T20:38:00.000-06:002002-12-27T20:38:49.693-06:00

I've been in a drug-induced stupor since Christmas afternoon, so that's why posting has been virtually non-existent. I awakened Christmas morning at three o'clock in excruciating pain. My back felt as if someone was stabbing it with steak knives on the right side just below the shoulder blade. Luckily, my sister-in-law is a nurse practitioner, and she kindly called in a prescription for relaxant

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-865492122002-12-26T08:53:00.000-06:002002-12-26T08:53:03.810-06:00

Military Christmas Days since the end of the Cold War are listed by columnist Austin Bay, who kindly emailed me the link. Anyone who has ever worn a uniform and spent the Christmas holidays guarding the motor pool, flying a mission or dodging bullets cannot help but recognize our soldiers' sacrifice and applaud their commitment. The personal burden is real. At the moment two friends of mine are

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-865488612002-12-26T08:37:00.000-06:002002-12-26T08:37:03.413-06:00

Iraqi army will "distract" the US Army "by using light and medium weapons," according to the Iraqi army's newspaper, Al-Qadissiya, according to the Associated Press. The wire service said the Iraqi army has held exercises in central Iraq to practice fighting in "rural and populated areas." Now read this Washington Times report and ponder whether "light and medium weapons" will be very effective

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-864884862002-12-24T13:14:00.000-06:002002-12-24T13:14:37.120-06:00

I'll be back online Thursday. Merry Christmas to all!

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-864464742002-12-23T13:39:00.000-06:002002-12-23T19:15:28.000-06:00

If you get the cockpit there safely, all is well! Here is video I shot from the back seat Saturday of my 15-year-old son landing a Beech Commander - with assistance from a flight instructor, Glenn. Glenn is an airline pilot and certified flight instructor presently flying an Embraer 145 for American. Last May I conducted his wedding to a member of my church; Angie met him when she started taking

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-864463402002-12-23T13:36:00.000-06:002002-12-23T13:37:52.000-06:00

Too bad the Taliban didn't have an answering machine! It would have saved them a lot of grief.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-864385442002-12-23T10:08:00.000-06:002002-12-23T10:08:58.396-06:00

The history of smart weapons is explained in this Washington Post article. Interesting reading, but it dfoes not mention that the Germans invented PGMs in World War II (and I think there was an early American PGM tested then, too). Thanks to Joe Katzman for the link!

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-864382612002-12-23T10:01:00.000-06:002002-12-23T14:08:37.000-06:00

A little bit of prophecy is found on Geitner Simmons blog. He cites a review of Norman Podhoretz's new book, "The Prophets: Who They Were, What They Are." According to the review, Podhoretz says in his book that the Hebrew and Jewish prophets have been misread, lo, these many centuries: They [the Hebrew prophets] were, he concludes, not chiefly interested in predicting Christianity, or in

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-863809432002-12-21T20:55:00.000-06:002002-12-21T21:10:20.000-06:00

The liberation of Iraq won't be a Gulf War style operation. Tom Holsinger emailed me his response to my posting about his StrategyPage article, "The Invasion of Iraq Has Probably Begun." Says Tom, IMO the first notice many or even most senior Iraqi officials/officers might have that the overt invasion has started, if one is necessary, could be a phone call telling them to step outside with their

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-863781942002-12-21T19:11:00.000-06:002002-12-21T20:56:18.000-06:00

It was a great day to fly and I got some good videotape. As an experiment, I'll upload a short sequence to my ISP-provided web space and see whether a link to it on this site will work.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-863618472002-12-21T09:28:00.000-06:002002-12-21T09:28:19.080-06:00

Tom Holsinger has responded to my post about his essay I cited here, entitled, "The Invasion of Iraq Has Probably Begun." I'll post his return comments later today - soon I am going to my daughter's basketball game, then this afternoon I will go flying with my son.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-863387602002-12-20T17:21:00.000-06:002002-12-20T17:24:21.000-06:00

More on prepositioned combat equipment. I said a few posts ago that the US has prepositioned large military stocks on the Persian Gulf area over the last several months. Here is a Washington Post article that provides details. In Washington, defense officials said there was far more heavy equipment in the region than has been reported, even with the Pentagon acknowledging the presence of about

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-863383292002-12-20T17:08:00.000-06:002002-12-20T17:08:16.916-06:00

Iraq war not inevitable, says respected military analyst Tony Cordesman in this news report. . . . many observers feel there is still wiggle room left for Iraq to avoid a war, despite the seeming finality of the U.S. ultimatum. One widely discussed possibility is a coup that removes Hussein from office before the start of military action. Another is a "deathbed conversion" in which Hussein

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-863380512002-12-20T17:00:00.000-06:002002-12-20T17:00:17.750-06:00

Bush administration's anti-Iraq effort is well coordinated, says Howard Kurtz, media critic for the Washington Post. He indicates that Bush & Co. are playing the media like a violin.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-863358492002-12-20T15:54:00.000-06:002002-12-20T17:25:44.000-06:00

Iraq is already being gradually conquered, says Tom Holsinger, and all it will take to topple Saddam will be a short, violent nudge. Since Glenn Reynolds provided the link, almost everyone has probably already seen the article, so I'll not excerpt it. But Tom puts into words what I have been mulling for some time. I have pointed out before that all the invasion scenarios we have read about in

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-863271082002-12-20T12:05:00.000-06:002002-12-20T12:05:46.030-06:00

"The trouble with the Left" is elegantly explained by Paul Greenberg. The trouble with the left in American politics is that its first, instinctive resort is to power rather than persuasion, to government rather than to liberty. The trouble with the left is that it may love The People, but not the individual, who might make choices the government would not approve. The trouble with the left

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-863251462002-12-20T11:17:00.000-06:002002-12-20T16:15:24.000-06:00

Tennessee boy to make good. With the resignation of Trent Lott as the Senate Majority Leader, the buzz now is that Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee will be the next majority leader. Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico told Fox News that he will ask for Frist to be elected by acclamation. He also said that the Republican caucus meeting, now set for Jan. 6, should be moved up to meet as soon as possible.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-862950712002-12-19T18:50:00.000-06:002002-12-19T18:50:10.930-06:00

New WTC designs are PTSD embodied, says Jeff Jarvis, who says he simply hates the designs announced this week. : Other designs -- and other aspects of the designs [cited and linked] above -- are chaotic to the point that they are disturbing. My son looked at one and said, "That looks dangerous." He's quite right. I looked at the frightening, falling angles and could only think once again of

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-862721892002-12-19T09:17:00.000-06:002002-12-19T09:17:45.000-06:00

War to come in February, if it comes. The Washington Post reports, The Bush administration has set the last week in January as the make-or-break point in the long standoff with Iraq, and is increasingly confident that by then it will have marshaled the evidence to convince the U.N. Security Council that Iraq is in violation of a U.N. resolution passed last month and to call for the use of force,

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-862706182002-12-19T08:34:00.000-06:002002-12-19T08:34:42.056-06:00

"Putting the brakes on bloggers" is not too bad an idea, according to Norah Vincent. Commenting on an Australian court's decision to let Barron's be sued in Australia for an article published in America, Vincent says that while Big Media might be able to fend off such challenges, poor bloggers don't have the resources. After making small compliments to personal web sites, such as the one you are

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-862538942002-12-18T22:20:00.000-06:002002-12-19T07:51:31.000-06:00

Is North Korea really just a paper tiger? Personally, I think so, taking rare issue with Steven Den Beste, who has a long post comparing the two nations of the peninsula and discussing the politics of, well, everything - it's a long post. But here's what I will discuss: South Korea has more than twice the population of North Korea, and more than 40 times the GDP. The situation is not comparable

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-862399022002-12-18T16:42:00.000-06:002002-12-18T16:42:22.476-06:00

As a reminder, this is what I want for Christmas, and you can help make it happen!

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-862395342002-12-18T16:33:00.000-06:002002-12-18T16:33:34.246-06:00

If Rumsfeld brought back the Whiz Kids, we're in serious trouble. For the first time I have a pessimistic uneasiness about the course of the impending Iraq war. Buried deep in the Washington Post column I cited next post down is a sentence that is very disturbing sentence if it is correct: The influence of the Joint Chiefs on military policy appears to have diminished under Defense Secretary

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-862389412002-12-18T16:19:00.000-06:002002-12-18T16:19:01.416-06:00

Bunkum reportage: Army and Marine chiefs unhappy with Iraq war planning and caution that the Iraq war could be very nasty, unlike what some Pentagon planners apparently think. The US Army chief of staff, Gen. Eric Shinseki, and the commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. James L. Jones, are both reported to have voiced concerns that the conflict could be protracted and bloody and that not enough

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-862359452002-12-18T15:12:00.000-06:002002-12-18T15:15:57.000-06:00

Iraq will suffer mass destruction in a war is what some American intelligence officials conclude, saying it is highly possible that Saddam will. . . . . . destroy [Iraq's] own oil fields, food supplies and power plants and blame America for the devastation in the event of war, U.S. intelligence officials said Wednesday. The officials, briefing reporters at the Pentagon, said they have evidence

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-862353852002-12-18T14:58:00.000-06:002002-12-18T14:58:48.106-06:00

I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. President Bush has decided that there will be no military campaign against Iraq until next year, if there is one at all. The White House said Wednesday there were serious omissions and problems with Iraq's weapons declaration, but President Bush decided the violation of a U.N. resolution was not an immediate cause for war. Instead, advisers said

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-862029442002-12-17T22:37:00.000-06:002002-12-17T22:38:12.000-06:00

Guns and freedom is the subject of a very long post and comment series on Rachel Lucas' web site, pointed to by Glenn Reynolds. Citing at leangth another writer, Rachel makes excellent points. Almost as excellent (if I do say so myself) as those made here.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-861930632002-12-17T18:50:00.000-06:002002-12-17T18:50:46.240-06:00

I'M GOING CHRISTMAS SHOPPING so I'll be back online later this evening, assuming I don't wear myself out.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-861927792002-12-17T18:44:00.000-06:002003-01-03T12:35:53.000-06:00

What I want for Christmas is Italian. It's a Beretta AL 391 Target SL 12-gauge, automatic shotgun. Now all you have to do is click here to help make my dreams come true! Or just click on the shotgun below! (snivel on) Please, please, please! (snivel off)

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-861909242002-12-17T18:03:00.000-06:002002-12-17T18:03:55.110-06:00

Lott will be gone in just days from his post as Senate Majority Leader, says US News. I wonder what bribes the other Republican senators will offer him to get him to step down. Look for Lott to have another powerful position such as a key committee chairmanship.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-861907872002-12-17T18:00:00.000-06:002002-12-17T22:57:06.000-06:00

"95,000 tons of diplomacy" is how the UK's Sun describes the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier. The Sun says that 300,000 troops will be used to topple Saddam and that for Britain, "the build-up to war will be launched by the Ministry of Defence TODAY." HMS Ark Royal will join four American carrier battle groups. (Ark Royal is not a flat-deck carrier as its world War II namesake was or US carriers are

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-861899512002-12-17T17:42:00.000-06:002002-12-17T17:43:02.000-06:00

US military broadcasts directly to Iraqi people, according to this Foxnews story. Transmitted five hours a night from American planes flying Iraq's southern no-fly zone, the broadcasts are the first of their kind since those used in the 1991 Persian Gulf War when Iraqi forces were ousted from Kuwait, defense officials said. The broadcasts of Arabic music and anti-Saddam messages began Thursday,

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-861321712002-12-16T16:26:00.000-06:002002-12-16T16:36:14.000-06:00

I'll be at the Monday Night Football game tonight rooting for the Titans to beat New England, the defending Super Bowl champs. Tennessee has had lousy luck its last couple of Monday night games, but needs this win to stay in first place in AFC South; because Indianapolis won yesterday, it is a half-game ahead of Tennessee as of this morning. But the Titans beat the Colts twice this season, so if

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-861290422002-12-16T15:21:00.001-06:002002-12-17T17:18:11.000-06:00

Clinton says Democrats exploit blacks. No, not a joke, he really did say it, except it is black columnist Clinton LeSueur, not Bill C.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-861290552002-12-16T15:21:00.000-06:002002-12-16T17:28:12.000-06:00

Lott's remarks are no reason to dump him, says Dick Morris. He is no racist. There is not a racist bone in his body. That's why one third of Mississippi blacks vote for him, year after year. He took the lead in doubling funding for historically black colleges in Mississippi, sponsored the bill to make racially motivated arson a federal crime, broke the filibuster to get the Africa Free Trade

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-861090762002-12-16T08:02:00.000-06:002002-12-16T14:27:49.000-06:00

Disarming the Germans didn't work and neither will disarming Iraq, says George Will. In 1918, the allies imposed dracinian weapons inspection and disarment regimes on the defeated German nation, but you know what happened only 21 years later. The reason weapons inspections didn't work after the Great War was the disarming Germany was not the real problem - demilitarizing Germans was. The victors

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-861079352002-12-16T07:31:00.000-06:002002-12-16T07:32:10.000-06:00

Dumping Trent Lott will snowball, warns Wesley Pruden. If Trent Lott is forced from his job as majority leader, as now appears likely, the Democrats will be foolish to stop there. They can demand that he resign from the Senate as well ("erase the Mississippi stain on the heaving bosom of the fair Republic"). Does anyone believe the Republicans won't cave on that, too? Ronnie Musgrove, the

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-861077552002-12-16T07:26:00.001-06:002002-12-16T07:26:29.966-06:00

Jettisoning the anti-war dead weight is what John Stryker says the anti-war movement needs to do. As it stands, the anti-war movement does more to help the government than curtail it by being a court fool everyone can point to and laugh at. If it ever wants to be taken as a sober and serious movement capable of attracting reasonable people to its ranks, then it'll have to jettison the dead

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-861077422002-12-16T07:26:00.000-06:002002-12-16T07:26:17.000-06:00

"A moose once bit my sister." As I was channel surfing last night's movie offerings on cable while waiting for the Sunday night NFL game to start, I ran across AMC's enhanced broadcast of The French Connection. That means that they show a wide-screen version and instead of the black blanks top and bottom, they move the picture all the way to the top and fill the bottom blank with mindless trivia.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-860385412002-12-15T13:21:00.000-06:002002-12-15T13:21:59.140-06:00

I HAVE BEEN SWAMPED WITH WORK since Wednesday and am home only briefly until I return to work this afternoon. I will try to post again this evening while I watch Sunday Night Football on ESPN. As you might imagine, December is the busiest month of the year for those of my vocation, but not only for the obvious reason of Christmas-related events; it is a month when people become ill, too. I

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-859620682002-12-13T15:03:00.000-06:002002-12-13T15:03:09.130-06:00

Trent Lott is "The Internet's First Scalp," says John Podhoretz. He says the outrage over Lott's endorsement of Thurmond's Dixiecrat platform began in the blogosphere and has been driven by it. The drumbeat that turned this story into a major calamity for Lott, and led directly to President Bush's welcome disavowal of Lott's views yesterday, was entirely driven by the Internet blogosphere.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-859297612002-12-12T22:48:00.000-06:002002-12-12T22:48:21.250-06:00

Honduras is a deadly place to fly, as five American soldiers tragically discovered Wednesday evening. They were flying in a US Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter when the craft went down on a mountain 85 miles north of the nation's capital. Tegicigalpa. All five died. Peacetime is dangerous, too. I spent a tour in Honduras in 1989 and went all over the country, mostly by helicopter. It is very

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-858496132002-12-11T12:38:00.000-06:002002-12-11T12:42:31.000-06:00

"We'll nuke you back" is a threat we probably would never carry out. Charles Johnson points out this news story of the Bush administration's threat to retaliate with atomic weapons against states that use them against us. The threat was contained in a White House document, called the "National Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction," to be delivered to Congress on Wednesday. The

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-858398182002-12-11T09:03:00.000-06:002002-12-12T06:24:55.000-06:00

Some famous apologies are compared to Trent Lott's recent weasel words by Jesus Gil. He compares the RC Act of Contrition with Lots's pseudo-apology for his racism-tinged praised of Strom Thurmond, then offers other apologies examples from Saddam Hussein, Jerry Falwell, Bill Clinton and Cardinal Bernard Law. Then he asks, "do any of the above apologies meet the criteria for a true apology?"

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-858370592002-12-11T07:53:00.000-06:002002-12-11T07:53:34.786-06:00

Here's more on the Scud missiles seized at sea yesterday.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-858353322002-12-11T07:01:00.000-06:002002-12-11T07:01:22.026-06:00

Saddam's rope-a-dope of the inspectors has a new angle now. Glenn Reynolds reports that Saddam is sending his nuclear scientists to Syria, Libya and Sudan and putting low-level techs in their places. Glenn concludes, "The whole thing is a charade, and everyone knows it. Soon, even Hans Blix will figure it out." Blix, figure it out? There is nothing for Blix to figure out - as I wrote earlier, "

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-858112202002-12-10T19:05:00.000-06:002002-12-10T19:06:57.000-06:00

Why pro-choice must mean weaker government. Fred McMahon writes in Canada's National Post that prosperity starts with economic freedom. Observing that the wealthiest Canadian province, Ontario, is poorer than all US states except West Virginia, Montana and Mississippi, Fred says that for prosperity to come later, economic freedom must come now. Economic freedom is about personal choice -- the

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-858070872002-12-10T17:32:00.000-06:002002-12-10T17:32:28.133-06:00

Clergyman says Santa's reindeer would burn up from atmospheric friction if they flew as fast as would be required to makes Santa's rounds, Richard Heddleson reports. Youngsters at a Christmas carol service were devastated when the Reverend Lee Rayfield told them Santa Claus was dead. Even parents at the service in Maidenhead, Berkshire, were shocked to hear Mr Rayfield say it was

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-858057462002-12-10T17:00:00.000-06:002002-12-10T17:00:35.890-06:00

A world without international law would be a jungle, said former Labour Member of Parliament Tony Benn, in response to a suit filed by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in England, urging the UK's High Court, "to declare it against international law for the UK to go to war against Iraq without a fresh UN resolution." The case marks the first time a government has been challenged in the courts

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-858042742002-12-10T16:28:00.000-06:002002-12-11T07:51:11.000-06:00

Why North Korea is in the Axis of Evil. A cargo ship, tracked since departing from North Korea, was stopped by Spanish and US forces east of the Somali coast. The ship was carrying a dozen Scud missiles. We haven't learned of its intended destination, but gee, let's see: maybe Iraq? Iran? Update: The Washington Times reports that the missiles were headed for Yemen, and that the ship had been

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-858040892002-12-10T16:24:00.000-06:002002-12-10T16:24:16.690-06:00

The media aren't buying the celebrities' war protests, at least that is my impression from scanning a few reports on cable news today. Both Headline News and MSNBC were somewhat less than complimentary in the segments I saw a little while ago. I no longer try to analyze why people like movie stars make such gestures. They just hate America and freedom is my conclusion.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-857975192002-12-10T14:02:00.000-06:002002-12-10T16:40:09.000-06:00

Jesus' birth to a virgin: Text and Context. Steven Den Beste recently garnered debate about the history and meaning of the Christian doctrine that Jesus' mother, Mary, was still a virgin when she became pregnant with the Christ-child. The genesis of Jesus in Mary's womb is told in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. What's the difference between the divinity of Jesus and the divinity of,

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-857579552002-12-09T19:55:00.000-06:002002-12-09T19:55:18.000-06:00

Banner waving for Kerry already, The New York Times announced today that its first weekly installment "about the prospective candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination begins with Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts." Get that? The next presidential election is 23 months away and the Times is starting a weekly series about the Democratic prospective candidates. That's about 100

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-857489142002-12-09T16:39:00.000-06:002002-12-09T16:39:20.180-06:00

Little posting today due to a sore throat - just haven't felt like typing. I'll try again tonight during MNF.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-857482292002-12-09T16:23:00.000-06:002002-12-09T16:23:07.840-06:00

That sounds like an excellent reason to nuke Hanoi and fire Trent Lott! When I was a battery commander in 2d Battalion, 3d Field Artillery Regiment, 3d Armored Division, V Corps, US Army Europe, my first sergeant was an old school Vietnam veteran. If you saw the movie We Were Soldiers and remember the sergeant major, then you have a good idea what my 1st Sgt. was like. Top had a simple solution

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-857052632002-12-08T20:37:00.000-06:002002-12-09T07:41:28.000-06:00

Understatement of the week: "The West has mastered the problem of reconciling religion and freedom, while several Middle Eastern nations have not," James Q. Wilson, professor of political science at Pepperdine University. Cite.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-856635032002-12-07T21:20:00.000-06:002002-12-08T20:39:16.000-06:00

Who sank the Bismarck? A few days ago CPO Sparkey had a posting about who sank the German battleship Bismarck. Seems a Discovery Channel show reopened an old debate about whether it was sent to the bottom by British shells or by the Germans scuttling it. As I write this, the History Channel's show on the ship's one and only battle cruise is ending. It said that in the final battle between

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-856596872002-12-07T19:24:00.000-06:002002-12-07T19:24:51.000-06:00

If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle 'em with bullhockey. Iraq has turned in its report on its weapons programs, titled, "Currently Accurate, Full and Complete Declarations." It's 12,000 pages long. Saddam's latest tactic is simply to bury us in paperwork.

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-856401572002-12-07T09:18:00.000-06:002002-12-07T09:23:32.000-06:00

What happens after today with Iraq is discussed by David Warren. As I write this, Mr. Blix has announced that he intends to conceal the most interesting parts of the document from the United States and other Security Council members until he has had time to consider them. This will add another dimension to the confusion. The U.N. bureaucracy has further announced that it will also take the time

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520782.post-856399892002-12-07T09:12:00.000-06:002002-12-07T09:19:09.000-06:00

The US Constitution is not a "living document" and Eugene Volokh shows why it isn't (link via Instapundit). Writing on interpreting the Second Amendment through a lens of "evolving standards," Eugene shows that such an exegesis actually serves to buttress, rather than weaken, the argument that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to keep and bear arms, but it's still the wrong

Donald Sensingnoreply@blogger.com0