Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Scott McClellan Tells All

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The big news in political circles this morning is the new book by former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan which paints a not-so-pretty portrait of President Bush, especially related to the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina. This is notable, in my opinion, in that it is the first book (that I’m aware of) accusing Bush of intentionally misleading the public in the lead-up to the Iraq war by somebody who was actually in a position to have known what was going on. All such books previously have been conjecture-based hatchet-jobs by the political opposition.

I have no reason to doubt that McClellan is telling the truth—or, at least, what he believes to be the truth. Having said that, I must be perfectly clear that nothing I have read so far regarding McClellan’s book changes my opinion about the war in Iraq, since using a propaganda machine to sell the war with bad data does not mean that Iraq didn’t violate 17 U.N. Security Council resolutions (they did) or that military force was not justified (it was). Further, even if McClellan’s book is 100 percent accurate, lying to the public is not an impeachable offense any more than me lying to you would be a criminal act. Immoral, yes, but not criminal—unless, of course, the president had been under oath (he wasn’t).

So, despite the left-wingers salivating over this ‘evidence’ with which the president can supposedly be impeached, please, calm down and read your Constitution. McClellan’s revelations may rightfully cause outrage, and may be politically devestating for Bush (and for the Republican Party), but remember to keep it all in perspective—and remember that bad arguments and bad decisions don’t necessarily discredit our entire enterprise in Iraq.

Feeling Better (FINALLY); Mario Kart Wii!

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I’m finally starting to feel a bit better, which is good because I think I just bankrolled Vicks’ existence for the next six-months-plus. As many of you know, I generally shy away from medicines since they generally just treat the symptoms (which, in many cases, actually help to kill the virus). But, after the first week or so, I gave in and have been ingesting a steady diet of chicken soup, Dayquil, and Nyquil.

Let me state, for the record, that the phenylephrine decongestant they’ve put in most medicines to replace the now-tightly-controlled pseudoephedrine (in a classic example of ‘punish everybody for the sins of a few’ syndrome) doesn’t work even half as well. It is worth the annoying trip to the pharmacy counter to get your hands on the old-fashioned stuff, even if you ludicrously have to show ID and be entered in a database for it. Nyquil D, most especially, was the only thing that let me sleep and stay somewhat sane over the last week.

Anyway, we actually left the apartment for part of the afternoon today, including a trip to Target where we picked up Mario Kart Wii. That should keep us occupied for a while now ;-). And I should be getting back into a regular pattern of posting now that I’m conscious again.

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Posted in: Life

Democrats and Our Enemies

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Independent Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman (CT) has long been among the politicians I respect the most. He does not hesitate to state what he believes, no matter whether it is in-keeping with the current beliefs of his party, and no matter what effect it has on his political stature. That, my friends, is the mark of a statesman, not a mere politician. We need more statesmen in both major parties.

Due to my illness, I’ve been sleeping rather than following the news the last few days, so I have to give many thanks to Melissa’s brother Michael for sending me a link to this column. Appearing in Wednesday’s Wall St. Journal, ‘Democrats and Our Enemies‘ by Senator Lieberman is destined to condemnation from today’s Democratic Party of Howard Deans, Hillary Clintons, and Barack Obamas. It states the truth for what it is: the Democratic party used to stand for freedom and was willing to use military force, when necessary, to advance it. Today it does not.

Lieberman, unfortunately, seems to be about the only Democrat that sees the war on terror (including the war in Iraq) as the urgent matter of national security that it is. The fight against radical Islam is not a law enforcement issue, it’s a war against a dangerous ideology bent on world domination—just like Communism before it, and Nazism before it. It’s a fight we must fight, and must win.

Sick (Still? Again?)

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I’ve gotten lots of really interesting emails in the last few days; I’ll reply soon I promise. Unfortunately whatever bug I got almost two weeks ago now has either come back with a vengeance, or—perhaps more likely—my weakened immune system has succumbed to a separate, unrelated virus. That’s almost two full weeks now of feeling terrible, then feeling better, then feeling almost normal, then immediately feeling terrible again.

~sigh~

Anyway, I’ll probably be home from work tomorrow if I feel anything in the morning like I do right now. That will give me a chance to bang out all these interesting replies to all these interesting emails.

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Posted in: Life

AP: Senator Kennedy Has Brain Cancer

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The Associated Press is reporting that Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy (D-MA) has a brain tumor. Kennedy was admitted to the hospital last weekend after suffering an unexplained seizure, and tests now reveal that the Senator has a form of brain cancer known as a malignant glioma. The prognosis is fairly grim, with life expectancies for people with this form of cancer generally ranging from one to five years. Kennedy is the second-longest serving member of the United States Senate, having been elected in 1962 to fill the seat vacated by his brother, President John F. Kennedy (D).

While I rarely, if ever, find myself praising Senator Kennedy either for his politics or his character, I certainly don’t wish him harm. My prayers are with Senator Kennedy and his family as they deal with this difficult diagnosis. There will certainly be trying times ahead, and I wish him all the best.

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.