Castration!!!

Last week, our daughter reminded us that it may be time to get Gizmo neutered. He just turned seven months. My wife scheduled the procedure mid February. Somehow I was not comfortable with that decision. So I did research (meaning Goggled) on neutering dogs. Just about every site I visited encourage castration. Even PETA highly encourages castration. Its the best thing for the dog and its the best thing for you.

The Humane Society presented the most logical argument for castration. Some sites are down right hostile to all males. Quotes include: You can no more effectively tell your male dog, "Always wear a rubber !" than you can tell your bitch or your neighbor's bitch "If you can't be good, be careful !" And my favorite: if your dog is neutered it tells the ladies that you are a man who is totally secure in his sexual identity. Funny stuff.

Basically, the argument for castration falls into three categories. First, it is good for the community. This is a none issue. Gizmo is a lap dog with no chance of escaping from the house and terrorizing the female dogs in the neighborhood. Second, it is good for the owner. Another none issue. Dont need to castrate Gizmo t make him more affectionate. He already is very loving. When we play he gives me love bites. Its male bonding. He never bites the girls in the house. Finally, its good for the dog - reduces cancer and prolongs his life. By how long? There doesnt seem to be any empirical evidence to support this. Are we talking an extension of 5 additional years? Highly unlikely.

I just dont see any real advantages for the dog to make castration worth it. I dont want Gizmo fatter and more docile. I love him the way he is right now. I grew up with a lot of dogs, none of which was castrated. They lived long and happy lives. It is unnatural to surgically change their behavior to make them easier to manage.

Allies Still?

Richard Baehr summarizes why Europe has abandoned Israel. So why are the Europeans so hostile to Israel, and so sympathetic to the Palestinians?

There are a number of factors that explain European behavior towards Israel. I have identified seven of them:

Europe's dependence on Middle East oil
Europe's rivalry with the US
The growing number of Muslims and their militancy
The small number of Jews, and their passivity
The role of elites in Europe's politics
Europe's long term disease of anti-Semitism, and
The decline of Christianity in Europe.

In the process, it clarifies why Europe (with a few exceptions, most notably Britain) can not be considered an Allie of the United States. For the most part, Europe and the US do not have similar national interests. This discrepancy was most evident during the run up to the Iraq War.

Part of the resistance to American efforts may have been honest disagreement about the results of continued inspections, and hence the wisdom of going to war over WMDs. But a far greater part, especially in the case of France was designed to spite the US, and interfere with America's projection of power abroad. A final factor of course was money- the spoils for France, and Russia and Germany from the oil for food scandal, the largest financial scandal in the world's history, but reported in this country almost entirely on just one channel (FNC), and in one newspaper - the Wall Street Journal.

The Surge

Sending 20,000 additional troops to Baghdad will not win the war. It is a prescription for curing the symptom rather than the illness. It is a temporary fix. Bush's goal is simple - Sufficiently reduce the violence in Baghdad to create a perception of victory. This will allow him to gain the political capital to make his next move.

The real illness is Iran and Syria. We are really fighting a proxy war against Iran and Syria. Iraq is merely the battleground for that war. Bush has never spoken about this directly to the American people. There are enough evidence to prove this, but the media is keeping quiet about it. If Congress knows, they are not saying anything about it. Bush is in his last two years in office. He has stood his ground all these years. He should make one last stand. Show the evidence to Congress and the American people that Iran and Syria are waging war against us and declare war against Iran and Syria.

Otherwise, our only hope of winning this war is for a Democratic Congress supporting a hawkish Democratic President.

Update: And a more thoughtful article


Update 2: Wretchard points out the same thing.

Bwahahaha!!!

Where We Are Going

At first, you dont really see the shift coming. It is a lot of little things. It may start out as a small shift in attitude in a single city. A minor concession to be politically correct. Then the changes will be hailed as a victory for our multicultural nation. Eventually, it will be accepted as this is the way it should be.

What Are They Thinking?

It never fails. When I watch politicians (ok, democrats) on a debate show, I invariable wonder if these guys really believe what they are saying. I see politicians taking a position that does not make sense when you look at the empirical evidence. Take tax increases for example. Historically, every time a U.S. president reduces the tax rate, tax revenue increases following an increase in GDP and productivity. Globally, industrialized countries with lower tax rates have lower unemployment rates. To take the position that we must raise taxes to support spending on some social program does not make sense.

The conclusion I come to is that democrats put self interest above country whether they are bought and paid for or just to position themselves for the next election. Although sometimes, there are others that just have no clue.

Setting US Policies based on Polls

According to an AP poll, 70% of Americans oppose sending more troops to Iraq. The implication being that the President should listen to the American public. Two thoughts on that:

First, there is only one poll that matters and that is called an election.

Second, its an AP Poll......nuff said.

The Democrats Show Thier Backbone

The Democrats will hold a vote in the House and Senate to oppose President Bush's plan to add more troops in Iraq. The vote will do nothing in practical terms. The Dem's ran on the promise of retreating from Iraq. Now they are retreating from thier promise.

On second thought, maybe not. This seems to be typical of thier thinking

“If you really want to change the situation on the ground, demonstrate to the president he’s on his own,” said Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. “That will spark real change.”

The Dems must really believe that symbolic gestures will effect change. Lets try symbolic gestures on Iran, North Korea and the U.N.

The Media and Terrorism

David Frum summarizes the results of a study on Islamic terrorism.

1) Europeans across the political spectrum share a belief that their comfortable lives have been jeopardized by an American-imposed "war on terror" that has radicalized their Muslim populations. Khosrokhavar's research suggests exactly the opposite conclusion: It is the failure of European societies to assimilate their Muslim migrants that creates a security threat for America.

2) The French media play an astoundingly important - and incredibly irresponsible - part in stoking the anti-American and anti-Israel prejudices of French Muslims.


Now extend those conclusions to the U.S. drive-by media.

A Strategy for the Long War

Grimm writes an excellent article on a Grand Strategy for winning the war against Islamists.

Winning in the Financial Battlespace

We are certainly kicking the butts of Islamists in the military battlespace. Now, some good news that we are also giving them a beating on the financial arena.

In the end, it is in information warfare that will determine if we win or lose. Right now, the Islamists are handily beating us with the help of the drive-by media.

Russia - More Evidence for the Decline of the West

In America Alone, Mark Steyn observes that the the decline of the west is evident by looking at demographics. In The Bear Walkabout , Mark writes:

"There are ten million people in Moscow. Do you know how many of them are Muslim? Two and a half million. Or about a quarter of the population. The ethnic Russians are older; the Muslims are younger. The ethnic Russians are already in net population decline; the Muslim population in the country has increased by 40% in the last 15 years. Seven out of ten Russian pregnancies (according to some surveys) are aborted; in some Muslim communities, the fertility rate is ten babies per woman."

"The Toronto Star (which is Canada’s biggest-selling newspaper and impeccably liberal) recently noted that by 2015 Muslims will make up a majority of Russia’s army."

The kicker:

"That’s to say, what’s left of the Soviet Union has hit the apocalyptic jackpot: the Middle East has Islamists, Africa has Aids and North Korea has nukes, but only Russia has the lot – a disease-riddled Slav population and a fast growing Muslim population jostling atop a colossal nuclear arsenal."

Views of the Earth

This gives quite a different perspective of earth. Link

Teenage Angst Slightly On Hold

I noticed my daughter have been spending more time with her girlfriends lately. So asked her if she has resolved her issues with her friends by spending more time with them and less with her boyfriend. She said yes, and everything is fine now. So I asked, how does he feel about all this changes. My daughter said: "He is fine with it. He is well trained. Very obedient."

I have to admit that I found some pleasure in this knowing that she is in control of the relationship. So I asked her how he feels about being well trained. She said "Well, he feels down sometimes but he really is ok with it." Then I asked her if thats the kind of guy that she wants. She looked at me and smiled "Its fine for now."

Gizmo

Sometimes, you just don’t know what you are missing. Before September of last year, I was content with my life. My business, family, lifestyle….all was good, nothing to complain about. Then we got this guy.

My daughter asked for a maltipoo for her birthday. And wouldn’t you know it, this dog - Gizmo changed my life. Pre-Giz, I’d wake up at about 5:30am, jump into the shower, and head straight to work. Post–Giz, I’d wake up at about 5:30am, play with him, jump into the shower, play with him, take him out for a walk, play with him some more, then go to work. His impact is that he has really slowed down my pace. And I am happier for it. When I come home from a tough day at work and see this guy…the day just brightens up and all the troubles go away. I never knew what I was missing.

Foreign Investment Warning

If you have a large investment in foreign funds, this guy is worth listening to.

An Army of One

Remember the movie Predator? I've always thought the Predator's combat armor was really cool. The Predator's combat armor seems downright old technology compated to the Future Warrior, and this is real.

Forests Forever

This is an amazing collection of photos of various forests in the world. Warning: flash site. http://www.forests-forever.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi

Teenage Angst

I have a 15 year old daughter. Does great in school, very responsible and fairly mature for her age. I noticed that she didnt look quite right over the last few days so I asked her what was bothering her. She said that she feels she is drifting away from her close friends and it is bothering her. The primary reason is that her friends and boyfriend are competing for her time.

Of course, I took this as an opportunity to encourage her to be "less serious" with the boyfriend. After all, shes only 15!!!! This is the time for her to establish the bonds with her friends that will last a lifetime. Well, she took it to mean I disapprove of her boyfriend. I said no, I like the guy but I think that she is just too young to be serious with a guy at this time.

Well, she met with her friends and it looked like she worked our her issues with them. She still has her boyfriend. Grrrrrr!