Petrified Truth

Politics of the bizarre

Here's savvy political observer John Fund on what's coming later this week in Iowa.

The trouble with the Iowa caucuses isn't that there's anything wrong with Iowans. It's the bizarre rules of the process. Caucuses are touted as authentic neighborhood meetings where voters gather in their precincts and make democracy come alive. In truth, they are anything but.... They may not be as bad as the "smoke-filled rooms" of yore, but give me a simple primary election any day. I can't wait for New Hampshire.

Posted by Alan at 07:06 AM

What a mom's for

Here's a story of love and courage to warm your heart, and break it, from Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. Read the whole thing.

The sacrifices of injured soldiers, airmen and Marines are recognized with medals and commendations. But the mothers and wives who arrive here wide-eyed and afraid make their own sacrifices — abandoning jobs and homes and delaying retirement to help their wounded children reclaim their lives.

"The women here are the heroes, every bit the heroes as their soldiers," said Judith Markelz, who runs a 4-year-old program to aid the families of injured soldiers sent here for treatment. "These kids could not survive without their women."

The patients who arrive at Fort Sam Houston are among the worst wounded in war, suffering the kind of injuries that killed their predecessors in earlier conflicts.

So far, about 600 burn victims and 250 amputees have been sent here to recover at the Army's only burn center and at an amputee rehabilitation program set up since the start of the Iraq war. Their injuries will take multiple surgeries and months or years of recovery and rehabilitation.

When the injured arrive, fathers and siblings are often here for the immediate aftermath or early surgeries.

But the wives and mothers most often stay, Markelz said. They quit jobs, give up health insurance and abandon homes.

"None of us realized people were going to be here two years. That's not your normal hospital stay," Markelz said. "They didn't want to make San Antonio their home. Now, they can vote here."

One way you can help: donate to the Fisher House Foundation. They provide housing and support for the families of wounded warriors across the nation.

The Warrior & Family Support Center at Fort Sam Houston accepts gifts and donations as well.

Pakistan and the smart set

Mark Steyn's comments stood out for me among all the blather of the last two days following the sad assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan.

Benazir Bhutto's return to Pakistan had a mad recklessness about it which give today's events a horrible inevitability.... She was beautiful and charming and sophisticated and smart and modern, and everything we in the west would like a Muslim leader to be - though in practice, as Pakistan's Prime Minister, she was just another grubby wardheeler from one of the world's most corrupt political classes.

[...] The State Department geniuses thought they had it all figured out. They'd arranged a shotgun marriage between the Bhutto and Sharif factions as a "united" "democratic" "movement" and were pushing Musharraf to reach a deal with them. That's what diplomats do: They find guys in suits and get 'em round a table. But none of those representatives represents the rapidly evolving reality of Pakistan. Miss Bhutto could never have been a viable leader of a post-Musharraf settlement, and the delusion that she could have been sent her to her death.

Earlier this year, I had an argument with an old (infidel) boyfriend of Benazir's, who swatted my concerns aside with the sweeping claim that "the whole of the western world" was behind her. On the streets of Islamabad, that and a dime'll get you a cup of coffee.

As I said, she was everything we in the west would like a Muslim leader to be. We should be modest enough to acknowledge when reality conflicts with our illusions.

Related thoughts here.

Merry Christmas - Joyeux Noel - Feliz Navidid

Merry Christmas to the troops

Remember those serving far away -- they sure haven't forgotten us.

The holidays offer a special time to remember our many blessings as Americans – perhaps chief among them are the dedicated soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who protect our nation. Since assuming this post a year ago, I have been awed and humbled by our men and women in uniform who are carving for themselves a noble place in American history. [...]

We are in our seventh year of war – the first sustained combat with an all-volunteer force since our nation’s inception. Our troops and their families – Active, Guard, and Reserve – are giving so much. This holiday season, many of those in uniform are on repeat deployments or have had their tours extended. Many will miss midnight mass or have already missed Hanukkah’s Festival of Lights. Many will not hear the squeals of delight from their children on Christmas morning. Many will sing neither carols nor hymns. Instead, they serve half way around the world to honor a pledge they made to the country they love.

Please keep our troops in your thoughts and may God forever bless them and this wonderful nation we call home.

- Robert M. Gates, U.S. Secretary of Defense

Text via DefenseLINK

Reformation?

Here's a scary but important thought from Mark Steyn:

What if we've already had the reformation of Islam and jihadism is it? [...] And at one level the Islamist "reformation" makes perfect sense. After all, they look at Christianity's reformation and see that everywhere but the United States it led to the ebbing of faith and its banishment to the fringes of life. The jihadist reformation is, as they see it, a rational response to the Christian one.