Harry Reid said the war in Iraq is lost.

Like Dennis Prager, I too very much value clarity. If you, Harry Reid, truly believe this, if you, all the remaining Democrats, truly believe this, then put your actions where your mouths are: completely cut off ALL funding for the troops in Iraq.

Do something totally stunning and unusual: take a stand for your beliefs.

Absent a complete abandonment of Iraq, I would recommend intense intelligence-gathering by American and allied troops for the next month. In that time period there should be a moving of USAF’s three primary bomber systems: the B-1B Lancer, the B-2 Spirit and the venerable but still serviceable (such a remarkable aircraft!) B-52H Stratofortress.

In Iraq, intelligence would have analyzed the major cities in Iraq and then determined which of them (or which specific areas of them) would be targeted for a leveling by US bombers.

In concert with US intelligence services and in this time, CIA and other requisite agencies would be working with the Mossad and aligned Israeli intelligence arms in order to identify which portions of Iran should be targeted in re potential nuclear program sites for destruction.

At the same time that sites are targeted in Iraq, these selected sites in Iran should likewise be leveled. I would also recommend the current location of Ahmadinejad be included in the target list, when that list is activated. If he were not in Tehran, I would likewise include Tehran in the list.

Simultaneously, I would recommend an equally-heavy strike directly on Damascus, Syria.

Finally, various selected sites in Afghanistan, previously identified by US military and intelligence sources, would be involved. In the process I would ensure that “some” of our ordnance magically somehow managed to make itself felt not only directly on the border with Pakistan, but just a tick into Pakistan proper.

These runs would all occur at roughly the same hour, on the same day.

I would consider this to be a Rather Large Statement.

And a Statement is precisely what the United States needs to make to Islam.

BZ

(CNN) — A jet flying in formation with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels precision flying team crashed into a Beaufort, South Carolina, neighborhood, causing an “enormous fireball” during an air show, authorities said.

The Navy aviator was killed, Beaufort County Coroner Curt Copeland said. The F/A-18’s pilot is the only known fatality. The aviator’s name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

My heart stopped when I read this today. The men who become Blue Angels endure a rigorous vetting from literally hundreds of applicants. Only the finest of the finest are considered. And only the very best are chosen from those pickings. These are men who have committed themselves to excellence, dedicated themselves to precision, and have managed to stand out in a sea of exquisite candidates.

One man died today. We do not yet know his name.

But because he was a Blue Angel it is a given: he was the best of the best.

I look out my window and it is raining; perhaps that is fitting for this post. And we as a nation, we are diminished by a fraction. But diminished nevertheless.

One more good man dies. God bless he and his family.

But he died doing what he loved. That much is certain.

And now we must acknowledge: he really is flying with the angels; all of them now. There is a heaven, and he is there. I am unsure why this has struck me so. But it has hit me hard and as I write this my eyes are clouded with tears.

As it has been, as it shall ever be: only our best seem to fall.

BZ

For a few hours, I had a post up which dealt with the Westboro Baptist Church, complete with links and an explanation for its presence. I have re-thought this post and taken it down. I decided that I did not wish to provide this entity with any more publicity than it already has.

BZ