Another Road Trip

I'll be leaving in the morning, going to Colorado for some river running and some music (and some micro brews, of course). A dear friend is going with me, so I shouldn't get into too much trouble. Back in about 10 days (sweaterman promised to handle the Boobie duties while I'm away), give or take.

Fresh Friday Boobies

(Picture by DbacksSkins, a friend from AZ Snakepit; don't ask me how our comments during a baseball game led to his sending me his Boobie pics. Thanks, 'Skins!)

Dear Baseball Fans

Please go read this :http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/delving-into-the-dalkowski-depths/. You'll be glad you did.

Only 1,500 Nukes Left

Obama's new proposed nuclear weapons reduction treaty with Russia will reduce our arsenal by roughly 30%:

Washington - President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev committed Monday to reaching a new nuclear-arms reduction agreement that would set both strategic warheads and warhead delivery vehicles, such as missiles, at post-cold-war lows.

Yet despite the upbeat tone at the first of two days of summit talks in Moscow, the two leaders offered few specifics on how the looming stumbling blocks to a new era of cooperation will be overcome. Those issues include American plans for a missile-defense system in Eastern Europe and US-supported expansion of NATO to Ukraine and Georgia. The two presidents issued a "joint understanding" that commits the two countries to reducing strategic warheads to a range of 1,500 to 1,675 – down from the current ceiling of 2,200 – and to a maximum of 1,600 launch vehicles. The goal is to
reach an agreement in time to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which expires on Dec. 5.

Although the Obama-Medvedev statement speaks only of reaching an agreement "at the earliest possible date," Mr. Obama affirmed at a joint appearance of the two leaders Monday that the treaty "will be completed this year."

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0706/p02s01-usfp.html

Which means we'll only have the capacity to destroy the planet nine times over, rather than the prior twelve times over. I suppose this is good progress, but I doubt that these numbers will convince the rest of the world to abandon their nukes. 1,500 is still a hell of a lot.
I'm just waiting for the right-wing attacks on Obama for "weakening America." I guarantee they're coming.

McNamara

Robert McNamara...for people my age, his name evokes anger and pain. Before Rumsfeld brought us Iraq, McNamara's Vietnam was the greatest example of military wrongheadedness in American history. In later years he expressed regret and remorse for his actions, but it was much too little too late to wash the blood of some 58,000 American, and countless Vietnamese, souls from his hands. The simple fact that he lied and escalated the war, even after he "knew" it was lost, is enough to condemn him to a legacy of shame.
I suppose I shouldn't speak ill of the dead, but that's one bastard I won't miss.

(Added: Read Attytood for a much deeper analysis)