Lots going on, lately!

Not much time to post lately, as so much has been going on. In addition to moving back to the States and getting re-settled, there have been some other major events in my life this past month. Chief among them was Mom's passing and all the final arrangements involved...

Also, I've been remodeling my house to make it handicapped-accessible so my parents could move in. The remodel is a major undertaking (tile floors, wider doors, ramps, grab bars, roll-in shower, ADA toilets, etc.). I've had help from dozens of folks, without whom I simply couldn't have done it - I'm very grateful for everyone's help. And though Mom unfortunately won't be moving in as we'd planned, my Stepdad Troy moved in last week.

Troy is a great man. He served in the Navy in WWII and in the infantry in Korea as an enlisted man. He was wounded and earned a Purple Heart in both wars. He's a staunch Democrat and holds that Clinton was the best President of modern times. Life has dealt him some rough cards, most recently with the passing of his wife of 27 years. We have a great relationship and I'm honored to be able to help take care of him.

Speaking of which, we both got a kick out of Clinton's recent interview with Chris Wallace. If you haven't seen it yet, you should check it out. As Troy said, "Old Bill kicked his ---".

Ahem.

I'm also enjoying two classes at CGCC: American Government and Statistics. Both are pretty much review courses for me, but I need to take them as pre-requisites for beginning the Master's of Public Administration program at ASU next year. I'm enjoying the courses, too. Not only are they educational, but after one AmGovt class last week, I registered two new Democrat voters!

***

Finally for today, a few painful observations on recent news on Iraq:

1. Less safe: Seattle Times--A stark assessment of terrorism trends by U.S. intelligence agencies has found that the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq has helped spawn a new generation of Islamic radicalism and that the overall terrorist threat has grown since the Sept. 11 attacks. Our war in Iraq has made us LESS safe.

2. More money: CBS News--The Pentagon is in the early stages of drafting a wartime request for up to $100 billion more for Iraq and Afghanistan, lawmakers say, a figure that would push spending related to the wars toward a staggering half-trillion dollars.

3. More torture: Guardian Unlimited--Torture in Iraq is worse now than it was under the regime of Saddam Hussein and "is totally out of hand", according to a United Nations investigator. "The situation is so bad many people say it is worse than it has been in the times of Saddam Hussein," said Manfred Nowak.

4. More troops: LA Daily News--The U.S. military is likely to maintain and may even increase its force of more than 140,000 troops in Iraq through next spring, the top American commander in the region said Tuesday in one of the gloomiest assessments yet of when troops may come home.

5. No plan: Washington Monthly--According to retiring Brig. Gen. Mark Scheid, months before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld forbade military strategists from developing plans for securing a post-war Iraq. Scheid is the retiring commander of the Army Transportation Corps and, as such, was in charge of much of the logistical planning for the invasion.

"I remember the Secretary of Defense saying that he would fire the next person that said that," Scheid said. "We would not do planning for Phase 4 operations, which would require all those additional troops that people talk about today.

"He said we will not do that because the American public will not back us if they think we are going over there for a long war."

Scheid's assertion today has been corroborated by retired Maj. Gen. John R. S. Batiste, who commanded the Army's 1st Infantry Division in Iraq. So: the lack of postwar planning wasn't merely the result of incompetence. It was deliberate policy, so as to dupe the American people into supporting it.

So...stay the course? I don't think so.