SamSaid!

SURVEILLANCE

     The leftwingers and anti-Bush people have succeeded in their most recent gambit. Anyone with common sense or an IQ over 40 would understand the need to intercept messages between terrorist groups or agents  who are hell-bent on killing Americans and others. But courtesy of the New York Times and other anti Administration spokesmen, now the whole world knows of our program to intercept messages (via wiretaps) either coming from overseas to the US or the other way around. Now, just aske youself   a simple question  –  who in his/her right mind in Al Queda is going to be using voice communications as they prepare their dirty work. They may be half crazy, but they aren't stupid. Sure, they may use the phones etc to mislead us, but whatever we had to gain from the intercepts is long gone.

      We have a lot going for us in technology which the terrorists simply can't match. So why should Americans who claim to be patriotic get such a charge out of disclosing information  that will clearly benefit Bin Laden and his murderously zealous crew? Somehow I get the idea that there are those who derive pleasure out of helping the terrorists. It is almost as if they are saying, “If Bush is in favor of something, it should be defeated”.

     Being President is not an easy job, and it is even tougher when there are forces dedicated to making it tougher. Just watch the evening network news  — NBC, CBS, and ABC. Better abbreviation is the BBC (Bush BashingCooperative). That's one of the reasons why  I watch Fox news.

CARTOONS

     Bin Laden  and Zawahiri are still squirreled away in the remote mountains of Pakistan/Afghanistan. At least that is the common knowledge, and noboby else seems to have a better idea. Through their muderous legions, they continue to pester the Western Coalition of nations, but they have not gone away. In the last two years , we have made life much more difficult for Al Queda and have assuredly disrupted  their operations and organization. They no longer enjoy the relative anonymity of prior years, and cannot safely plan and communicate with out detection. With limited resources, they cannot expect survive or win in the long run.

     Al Queda badly needed a boost, and got it with the furor over the Muhammad cartoons that were published in a Danish newspaper   —  and it didn't cost Bin Laden a cent. Now, there are additional millions and millions of Muslims who are angrier than ever at the West. Now, all Bin Laden and Zawahiri have to do is point to the West and say, “See, we told you so! The Big Satans must be destroyed”.

   Not much we can do about things like this, except to weather the storm. For sure, Al Queda  will have a bigger supply of willing suicide bombers.Personally, I thought some of the cartoons were both clever and humorous. My favorite was the Voice from above saying, “Hey, guys, slow it down  –  we are running out of virgins!”

     The cartoons are funny. A nuclear weapon sitting in Iran is not.

SUPER BOWL 

     The season ending Super Bowl of the National Football League has become the premier sports event in the US  –  surpassing the World Series, Major Golf events, the Rose Bowl, NBA basketball, US Open Tennis , and probably the summer/winter Olympics as well. Now the SB has become even more than a sporting event considering all of the TV extravaganza time that saturates the airwaves for 2 long weeks every January/February. Super Bowl # 40 (XL) is now history as the Pittsburgh Steelers  defeated Seattle, 21-10.

     The Steeler story is a good one. For the last 1/2 of the season they defied all of the odds by winning 7 consecutive key games playing away from home when one loss  would have ended their season. The Steelers did not have an abundance of great players but they had any number of good ones who rose to the occasion and sparked victories. Their payroll was far from the highest in the league and as a “smaller” city franchise they faced distinct disadvantages against the heavily bankrolled major cities. Theirs is the classic story of how the underdog “good guys” beat the odds and won  — led by a tenacious emotional coach. The Steelers have now won 5 Super Bowls and each time the players are awarded very fancy rings. With the 4 SBs won in prior years, soon  the fifth ring will be forthcoming. As the saying goes, “One for the thumb”!!

VOTING

     Hamas has won the election in Palestine and the collective efforts of many to secure peace in the eastern Mediterranean has taken a big setback. To many Palestinians, Hamas has been a source of good deeds. At the same time, however, they have been murderous butchers and the sponsors of terrorism. In the past, the US has provided aid (i.e., money) to Palestinian quasi government  leaders — believing that such a gesture  might bring stability to the Arab/Israeli standoff. But the Arafats of the world happily took the money, paid lip service to peace efforts, and continued on their killing ways.

    Now we are confronted with a major policy decision, i.e., whether to offer aid to Hamas (theoretically the Palestinian people)?  Do we want to subsidize known killers? George B says “no” but don't bet on the left wing Democrats in Washington. And of course, as the result of rigged elections, we now have a major problem in Iran, and even the EURO 3 (France, Germany, Russia ) are a bit nervous about a Nuclear Iran. Thus far, the recalcitrance and belligerence of the Iranian leaders rule out virtually everthing except the military option. It may be the last option, but it may not be all that far away.

     Any way you look at it, George Bush has a very tough job  — and it isn't made any easier by the attack dogs snipping at his heels.