Woody's Things

Ramblings and Opinons of an old man!

Memphis, TN United States

Simple site to log thoughts on current events and activity. Please feel free to give your comments.

Ahh Shucks!

December 23, 2005  /  Barry Wood

Wondering why democrats are not trumpeting the "polls" -- well a quick glance shows the polls are moving in the wrong direction for them and doesn't support their "gloom and doom" wishes.
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A Little Longer

December 22, 2005  /  Barry Wood

Well at least we are proactively pursuing terrorist for a little longer -- I just don't get the problem. The NYT says it can't find anyone that has been wronged utilizing this, and we all know they would try to find anything to make the President look bad, and senators agree we need something to ensure 9/11 doesn't happen again. What is the problem? Are we just going to extend this thing six-months at a time like renting an apartment.
Senate Votes to Extend Patriot Act for 6 Months
A much-debated domestic surveillance law won a reprieve last night when senators agreed to continue it for six months to allow House and Senate negotiators to resume efforts next year to rewrite it for the longer term.
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This is Scary - no Sad

December 21, 2005  /  Barry Wood

Trust me -- "there is no atheist in a foxhole"! Trying to censor a chaplain, officially or unofficially, is wrong. If the only chaplain at your disposal is of the Jewish faith we (military members) are intelligent to know that "in Jesus name" want be used, but most are aware if the chaplain's faith is Protestant then surely they will use "in Jesus name".
Military chaplains told to shy from Jesus -The Washington Times
I am a Navy chaplain being fired because I pray in Jesus' name,' said Navy Lt. Gordon Klingenschmitt, who will be holding 6 p.m. prayer vigils daily in Lafayette Park.
[...]
[b]About 80 percent of U.S. troops are Christian[/b], the legislators wrote, adding that military "censorship" of chaplains' prayers disenfranchises "hundreds of thousands of Christian soldiers in the military who look to their chaplains for comfort, inspiration and support."
Official military policy allows any sort of prayer, but Lt. Klingenschmitt says that in reality, evangelical Protestant prayers are censored. He cites his training at the Navy Chaplains School in Newport, R.I., where "they have clipboards and evaluators who evaluate your prayers, and they praise you if you pray just to God," he said. "But if you pray in Jesus' name, they counsel you."
Muslim, Jewish and Roman Catholic chaplains are likewise told not to pray in the name of Allah, in Hebrew or in the name of the Trinity, he added.
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The President Responds

December 17, 2005  /  Barry Wood

The President responds to the New York Times attempt to undermine our nations security. The below is what I find to be the most important comments -- I would have used words much differently then "unauthorized disclosure" -- treasonous disclosure comes to mind or maybe "aid and comfort to the enemy"... Nope, treasonous covers.
Radio Address by the President to the Nation
unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk. Revealing classified information is illegal, alerts our enemies, and endangers our country.
[...]
Leaders in Congress have been briefed more than a dozen times on this authorization and the activities conducted under it.
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Pelosi - "No Plan and That's Good"

December 16, 2005  /  Barry Wood

Nancy Pelosi admits Democrats have no plan, but says that is a good thing. I have a question -- if it is so good not to have a plan why are they demanding one be introduced, though one they choose to ignore has been introduced.
Pelosi Hails Democrats' Diverse War Stances
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said yesterday that Democrats should not seek a unified position on an exit strategy in Iraq, calling the war a matter of individual conscience and saying differing positions within the caucus are a source of strength for the party.
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Great Day for Iraqis - Bad Day for Democrats

December 15, 2005  /  Barry Wood

I am not sure how this will be spent as a negative -- but at the end of the day it is good news for Iraq and freedom, which translates to bad news for the "gloom and doom" democrats.
Heavy Sunni Turnout Is Reported; No Large-Scale Attacks by Rebels - New York Times
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 15 - In a day remarkable for the absence of large-scale violence, millions of Iraqi voters, many of them dressed in their best and traveling with other family members, streamed to the polls today to cast ballots in a nationwide election as Iraqi leaders predicted that the vote would split almost evenly between secular and Islamist parties."
n spite of some explosions in Baghdad and Ramadi, voting appeared to be strong in many parts of the country, including in Sunni neighborhoods where many people boycotted the last election.
"The numbers are larger than the previous election," Zalmay Khalilzad, the United States ambassador here, told CNN this morning.
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Told You So!

December 10, 2005  /  Barry Wood

Lieberman's Iraq Stance Brings Widening Split With His Party - New York Times
In my most recent post I said "let us watch what happens, politically, to him!" -- well as I thought, he is on the outside looking in. Remember Democrats claim to be the party of inclusion, inclusion as long as you agree with everything they say! Some excerpts:
WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 - Five years after running as the vice-presidential nominee on the Democratic ticket and a year after his own presidential bid, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut has become an increasingly unwelcome figure within his party, with some Democrats seeing him more as a wayward son than a favorite son.
In the last few days, the senator has riled Democratic activists and politicians here and in his home state with his vigorous defense of President Bush's handling of the Iraq war at a time some Democrats are pressuring the administration to begin a withdrawal.
Mr. Lieberman particularly infuriated his colleagues when he pointed out at a conference here that President Bush would be commander in chief for three more years and said that 'it's time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge that.'
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