J's Cafe Nette

Archive for August 1st, 2007

Both directions of an interstate bridge have collapsed in Minneapolis, MN, near the University of Minnesota campus.

The bridge just collapsed and there is no known reason at this time.

Fox News is reporting the Interstate 35 bridge over the Mississippi collapsed on both sides. There are fires and black smoke.

If you watch the TV you can see rescue people on the collapsed bridge that wasn’t submerged, and cars twisted above it.

This is a developing story.

Check your local news for more information.

Check here, and here for now.

To view a slide show go here

Pray for the people who are involved in this tragedy that there will be a minimal amount of life lost. So far one fatality is confirmed.

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Here’s the story and below is the video.

And we wonder what’s gone wrong in Washington.

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In a court of law in this country you are presumed innocent until proven guilty. I am not writing this to defend the United States Army or former Secretary Rumsfeld although some may interpret it as such.

If you make a blanket statement of someones guilt then in my opinion you need facts to insert in that statement so all may judge for themselves.

This exchange today mimics much of what we have been subjected to in these Congressional Hearings:

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, demanded to know whether there was a White House and Defense Department strategy to manage press portrayals of the war and other events.

“Well, if there was, it wasn’t very good,” Rumsfeld remarked.

“Well, you know, maybe it was very good,” Kucinich objected loudly. “Because you actually covered up the Tillman case for a while, you covered up the Jessica Lynch case, you covered up Abu Ghraib, so something was working for you.

“Was there a strategy to do it, Mr. Rumsfeld?”

“Congressman, the implication that ‘you covered up’—that’s just false, you have nothing to base that on, you have not a scrap of evidence or a piece of paper or a witness that would attest to that,” Rumsfeld replied hotly. “I have not been involved in any cover-up whatsoever.”

No evidence, no paper trail (and goodness knows there has been enough of that which has transferred hands), just the words for a soundbite from a Congressman.

As far as the Pat Tillman case is concerned, the punishments have been presented. Whether anyone agrees that they are sufficient, is a matter of personal opinion. There are many who have perished in more than one war due to friendly fire. Do many know their names or the circumstances surrounding their death except perhaps those in their units and immediate families?

I am not for one minute saying the Army handled this particular situation correctly, but I was not there and did not participate in the investigation and neither did these Congresspersons nor the press so how can they know more than those directly involved?

Pat Tillman was a brave Army Ranger whose life was cut short by what has been deemed to be accidental friendly fire. I doubt sincerely that there is anyone, in his unit or for that matter on this planet, who would not prefer to have him alive today, as we would every man or woman killed in war or conflict.

To use his death or the death of any soldier to score political points in Congress is abhorent to me. If you have proof that there was a massive cover up at the Pentagon (remember, the Army has already dealt with its own) or White House, by all means please bring it forward and I will stand with you in agreement that those involved should be punished.

Otherwise, please allow this man to Rest in Peace.

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I don’t drink beer but if I did Anheuser Busch would have my business on a regular basis after what I read today. Via Mudville Gazette:

For those few that have missed the Dawn Patrol, here’s my excuse. My kids come home from work the other day and say “How ’bout we go to Bush Gardens (Tampa)”
It’s FREE for military.

That’s right, those that are not familiar with this program it’s called “Here’s to the Heroes”
“Here’s to the Heroes” provides a single day’s free admission once a year to any one SeaWorld or Busch Gardens park, Sesame Place, Adventure Island or Water Country USA, for the service member and as many as three of his or her direct dependents. Any active duty, active reserve, ready reserve service member or National Guardsman is entitled to free admission under the program. He or she need only register, either online here or in the entrance plaza of a participating park, and show a Department of Defense photo ID. Also included in the offer are members of foreign military forces serving in the coalitions in Iraq or Afghanistan or attached to American units in the U.S. for training.

This appears to be a fantastic program and shows tremendous support for our troops and their families. If you are currently in the Armed Forces I encourage you to follow the above link and find out more of what is available to you free of charge.

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I’m getting there.

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Today is the birthday of the man I love and married.

I don’t want to let this day to go by without wishing him a happy birthday on this blog.

In December we will celebrate our fortieth wedding anniversary, and I can tell you honestly I have seen him angry maybe two times in all the years I have known and loved him.

He’s a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and friend. He’s a dedicated Christian and God couldn’t have found a better match for me.

What he is I’m not. I’m talkative and he’s quiet. I get angry and he doesn’t. He’s patient and I’m not.

He is the most wonderful man I have ever known and I hope we have many more happy years together.

I love you, Sweetheart. Happy Birthday! <:-p

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First NYC banned cigarettes, then trans fats and now they are banning baby formula. That’s right, they want all mothers to use breast milk on their babies.

First they moved against smoking, and then trans fats. Now, city health officials are taking on the bottle — as in a baby’s bottle.

On Tuesday they announced a new campaign to promote breastfeeding instead of using formula.

Baby bottles beware. City hospitals don’t want you around. Instead, they want infants to eat at Mom’s instead.

“We’re producing it. Why not give it to the baby,” new mother Mashia Nelson said.

The push toward breastfeeding means a ban on freebie formula when you leave the hospital.

“It was just the diaper bag and formula information and formula and we don’t do that here anymore,” Nelson said.

Let me state upfront I was a bottle mother as breastfeeding didn’t appeal to me and the doctor told me either it did or it didn’t.

I also know breastfeeding is supposed to be better for the baby, and the bonding is tighter. It’s just that milk leaking out of me at strange times wasn’t what I pictured as being what I wanted.

If a mother wants to breast feed, I admire her, but I don’t condemn those who prefer not to breastfeed and no city should make it difficult for a mother to choose how to feed her baby.

The formula has vitamins in it too. What if the mother is a drug addict? Do you want that going into the baby? What if she’s not eating properly? Do you want to deprive the baby of essential vitamins and nutrients to satisfy your sense of power over new mothers?

I say let the mothers decide and keep the city out of their business.

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After all the wheeling and dealing by Rupert Murdoch and the Bancroft family, we now know officially Murdoch’s News Corp will be the new owners of Dow Jones, which is also the parent company of The Wall Street Journal.

There are two sources for this information. The first is The Wall Street Journal (Subscription may be required.) and the second is Fox News.

This quote is from Fox:

NEW YORK — Dow Jones & Co. (DJ) has entered into a definitive agreement to be purchased by News Corp. (NWS), the companies confirmed Wednesday.

After weeks of negotiations, members of the Bancroft family, which represent 37 percent of the voting shares of Dow Jones (more than half of their 64 percent held), agreed to back the deal. The companies valued Dow Jones at $5.6 billion — or $60 a share — but it is unclear if that number includes assumption of debt. Another 29 percent of Dow Jones shares are publicly floated, and most analysts expect the overwhelming majority of those shares to be voted in favor of a deal.

“It is our most fervent hope that in the years to come, The Wall Street Journal will continue to enjoy, and deserve, the universal admiration and respect in which it is held all over the world,” a Bancroft family spokesperson said in a press release.

Under the terms of the deal, a member of the Bancroft family or another mutually acceptable person would be appointed to News Corp.’s board of directors.

The deal marks the end of what had been nearly four months of wrangling, infighting and controversy since News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch first broached the idea of acquiring Dow Jones, which publishes the Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, SmartMoney, MarketWatch and Barron’s. Murdoch suggested a deal in March during a meeting with Dow Jones Chief Executive Rich Zannino and made a formal offer to the board in April.

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We need all the help that we can get.

Most Syrians favor working with the United States to seek an end to the Iraq war, yet also support financing Iraqi fighters and other Middle East groups the U.S. considers terrorists, according to a rare poll of Syrians released Wednesday.
The survey also found that an overwhelming number of Syrians consider trade and political relations with Western countries important, but they narrowly oppose closer ties to the U.S.

The poll was sponsored by Terror Free Tomorrow, a bipartisan organization that seeks to erode support for international terrorism. Its advisory board includes Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the presidential candidate, and former House Speaker Thomas Foley, D-Wash.

Earlier this month, the group released a survey of Iranians that found most favored their country developing nuclear weapons.

Objective public opinion surveys are unusual in Syria, whose regime — led by President Bashar Assad — has imprisoned pro-democracy supporters.

The United States has largely sought to isolate Syria, which it considers a major destabilizing influence in the Middle East.

The U.S. has repeatedly accused Syria of allowing foreign fighters to cross its border into Iraq to join forces with al-Qaida and anti-U.S. insurgent groups, which Syria denies. Syria has also been accused of helping Hezbollah in Lebanon, Palestinian radicals and other militant groups.

In the poll, 63 percent of Syrians said they favor their country working with the U.S. to resolve the war in Iraq. By a slight 44 percent to 39 percent margin, most said they oppose fighters crossing from Syria into Iraq.

Yet three-fourths said they support financial assistance for Iraqi fighters, the Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah. The U.S. considers Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah terrorist organizations.

In addition, seven in 10 said Syria should refuse U.S. investments and trade “to create more jobs in Syria,” with similar numbers opposing U.S. investments in energy refineries and U.S. humanitarian aid.

“Even though they don’t support the U.S. — in fact that’s an understatement, they’re very negative about the U.S. — they still want to work with the U.S.,” said Ken Ballen, president of Terror Free Tomorrow. “They still want the war resolved, and they’re willing for their government to work with the U.S. to resolve it.”

Story

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Speaks for itself.

Adm. Michael G. Mullen, President Bush’s nominee to head the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Senate panel yesterday that the war in Iraq is taking a heavy toll on the U.S. military, warning that American forces are “not unbreakable” and stressing the need to “plan for an eventual drawdown” of troops.

Appearing in a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mullen, 60, acknowledged that the increase in U.S. forces cannot continue past April 2008 under the military’s current force structure. He also cautioned that Iraqi political reconciliation is not keeping pace with security improvements.

Unless the Iraqi government takes advantage of the “breathing space” that U.S. forces are providing, Mullen said, “no amount of troops in no amount of time will make much of a difference.”

Testifying alongside Mullen was Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright, 57, the nominee to become vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He heads the U.S. Strategic Command.

In written responses to committee questions, Mullen warned that “there is no purely military solution in Iraq” and that the country’s politicians “need to view politics and democracy as more than just majority rule, winner-take-all, or a zero-sum game.” Absent that, he said, the United States will be forced to reevaluate its strategy.

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Rick Moran at Right Wing Nuthouse has put brilliantly how I feel .

Everyone else is writing about the article in the New York Times by O’Hanlon and Pollack so I might as well throw my two cents in as well.

O’Hanlon you might recall is the Brookings Fellow who advocates a “soft partition” of Iraq into Sunni, Shia, and Kurdish areas. In this scenario, our boys would be like traffic cops, herding the hundreds of thousands of refugees kicked out of their ancestoral homes and foced by this “soft partition” to move to their designated sectarian area.

Pollack is an equally blooded academic who has been a supporter of our efforts in Iraq since the beginning.

They make news today because they believe “sustainable stability” in Iraq is a possibility:

Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms. As two analysts who have harshly criticized the Bush administration’s miserable handling of Iraq, we were surprised by the gains we saw and the potential to produce not necessarily “victory” but a sustainable stability that both we and the Iraqis could live with.

Now there’s a battle cry for you: “Forward to ‘Sustainable Stability!” I actually liked the Baker-Hamilton rouser “We must find some way to Mitigate Defeat!” Has more of a ring to it, don’t you think?

If we are not going to ask men to die for victory, time to change the broken record being played by Bush and others and let the Iraqis die for it. It’s their country. Let it be their victory.

The rest.

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I wonder if his parents think that it’s all show. If there is a God in heaven, Kensinger and everyone that participated in this dishonoring of a fallen soldier, would at the very least be sent to prison.

The Army censured a retired three-star general Tuesday for a “perfect storm of mistakes, misjudgments and a failure of leadership” after the 2004 friendly-fire death in Afghanistan of Army Ranger Pat Tillman.

Army Secretary Pete Geren asked a military review panel to decide whether Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger, who led Army special operation forces after the Sept. 11 attacks, should also have his rank reduced.

In a stinging rebuke, Geren said Kensinger “failed to provide proper leadership to the soldiers under his administrative control” when the Army Ranger and former pro football star was killed in 2004.

Geren said that while Kensinger was “guilty of deception” in misleading investigators, there was no intentional Pentagon cover-up of circumstances surrounding Tillman’s death _ at first categorized by the military as being from enemy fire.

“He let his soldiers down,” Geren said at Pentagon news conference. “General Kensinger was the captain of that ship, and his ship ran aground.”

Geren said he has directed a review panel of four-star generals to decide whether Kensinger, a three-star, should have his rank reduced. If Kensinger is demoted to major general, his monthly retirement pay of $9,400 would be cut by about $900, according to Army officials.

“Had he performed his job properly, had he performed his duty, we wouldn’t be standing here today,” Geren said.

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