We're the Military and Airpower Guys of Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online + a stray we found wandering around looking lost. All original material JHD, BHD, JR, WT, and KA 2003-2007 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/05/hi_fires_may_27.html Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:27:07 Z Movable Type 4.12 en Copyright 2008 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite. You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place... Yesterday, today, and who knows, maybe tomorrow, the Master and Mistress of Argghhh! will be out searching for a new location to raise the Standard of Argghhh! Several hundred miles of travel already, searching out those sites that call to us. There are two that are candidates, and both will probably support the Armorer's Dream -... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/05/hi_fires_may_27.html http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/05/hi_fires_may_27.html Sun, 27 May 2007 23:02:52 -0600 Good luck with the future. And just a note from a dad about one of his sons. My son Ram (his code name not his real name)having completed Army basic, then Jump School .. then Selection .. then SUT and SERE .. is now beginning the process of learing his MOS and Language. He is proud, he has found a home. As a former Marine Artilleryman and Infantryman, I could not be prouder. AS we now honor Memorial Day I want to say.... Aroogah, and Hoorah. God Bless America, and God Bless all of those of you who support the US Military. Good night Chesty, wherever you are. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/05/hi_fires_may_27.html#comment-60485 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/05/hi_fires_may_27.html#comment-60485 Sun, 27 May 2007 21:25:55 -0600 Diplomatic Baghdad [Mark Steyn] Even neocon warhawks are wont to roll their eyes when chaps start listing all the good news from Iraq that never gets reported: I remember Rich Lowry scoffing at one such recitation on an NR panel last year. So Chris Muir's Memorial Day cartoon will leave many cold. Nonetheless, one statistic caught my eye: 47 nations now have embassies in Iraq. That's a high number. America has diplomatic representation pretty much everywhere, but even wealthy nations usually skimp. My Canadian passport advises me to contact the nearest British consular representative if I'm in one of the many parts of the world where Ottawa feels it's not worthwhile showing the flag. EU members often share embassies in distant parts. Embassies are expensive to maintain, especially in war zones, where you're often an easy target. So 47 embassies is impressive, especially when you consider over two-thirds are non-Arab. The Romanians, for example, maintain diplomatic missions in about a third of the world's countries. They don't bother with New Zealand, which is left to their Third Secretary in Australia to handle. Yet they have a mission in Baghdad, although there are undoubtedly fewer Romanians in Iraq than in NZ. Iraq itself is now operating 60 embassies around the world versus New Zealand's 40. I hasten to add I'm not picking on the Kiwis, just looking for appropriate mid-rank stable nations with which to compare the alleged quagmire. The fact is that Iraq is not just the nightly plume of smoke on the evening news. It's got a relatively thriving economy, a commercial sector and a diplomatic presence that reflects that. ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/05/hi_fires_may_27.html#comment-60483 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/05/hi_fires_may_27.html#comment-60483 Sun, 27 May 2007 19:32:58 -0600 ...and the Napoleon is in full recoil! Nice... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/05/hi_fires_may_27.html#comment-60482 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/05/hi_fires_may_27.html#comment-60482 Sun, 27 May 2007 14:17:55 -0600 Great front yard. I was already envisioning a line of Civil War rifleman behind that fence. Re; "Day by Day", an imaginary chick in a cartoon is as close as those Iraqi metrics are ever going to get to reality. You have to wonder, if reconstruction is such a success, why the Republicans, led by Duncan Hunter, tried to close down the office of the Pentagon's Special Inspector-General for Iraq Reconstruction, Stuart Bowen. It was only the Democrats' victory in November that won his office a reprieve. It's nice that Iraqi kids have been vaccinated, as they always were. Shame that more than half of Iraq's doctors have fled the country. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/05/hi_fires_may_27.html#comment-60479 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/05/hi_fires_may_27.html#comment-60479 Sun, 27 May 2007 12:17:43 -0600 Have fun with the house hunting. That's always been kind of fun. Moving though?? God how I hate moving. I hate the smell of cardboard, hate the sound of tape ripping across the boxes... HATE IT!!!! I have moved 18 times and I KNOW there's another move or two in my future...but it sure would be nice to put down some roots. Plant a lilac bush and still be living in the house when it matures and smells so pretty. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/05/hi_fires_may_27.html#comment-60477 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/05/hi_fires_may_27.html#comment-60477 Sun, 27 May 2007 11:58:32 -0600 Happy house hunting! http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/05/hi_fires_may_27.html#comment-60474 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/05/hi_fires_may_27.html#comment-60474 Sun, 27 May 2007 10:48:46 -0600