Here’s what gets me when the weak-kneed run about criticizing and apologizing for the US’ use of enhanced interrogation techniques: Hundreds, and probably thousands of Americans owe their lives to the use of such measures. The only problem is, we can’t find and interview these folks because we don’t know who they are. Thankfully, the attacks never happened.

So here we go again. Really grasping the point requires thought, and that is something that is in short supply these days.

“What is not seen” is a fundamental principle in economics. Unfortunately it doesn’t fare any better there because, once again, it requires thought. We don’t see the roads and bridges badly in need of repair but being neglected. Instead we see the pointless infrastructure projects. It doesn’t matter that the highway or building has no purpose and may not even be used. Just look at all those jobs being created and resources being pumped into the economy. Purpose. Direction. Focus. Meaning. We don’t need these things. A flurry of random, pointless activity is good enough.

When it comes to EIT the difference is even more striking. It’s not a matter of inefficiency. It’s a matter of life and death. For all I know I might have been killed by some terrorist plot if it hadn’t been for information harvested by turning up the heat on villians. So, would I trade my life for a few moments of being able to pat myself on the back for being nice to someone who is bent on destroying me? Hell no! I wouldn’t trade a cat’s life for that, and I really hate cats.

I don’t feel a bit bad about thinking that way. No compunction to apologize to anyone. If you don’t want to be tortured, stop trying to kill Americans. OK, stop trying to kill Americans OR contribute to the campaign of BHO. Apparently either will get you free reign to hatch your nefarious schemes with impunity.

Here’s the problem with our single-minded focus on the economy, not that the economy isn’t worrisome. Unfortunately, while President Obama has been making personnel and compensation decisions for random, private organizations and spending every tax dollar you’ll ever contribute for the rest of your natural life, and Geithner has been torpedoing the US Dollar with his mouth, and Joe Biden continues to try to escape from whatever dungeon they’ve thrown him into, other nations are making hay. It seems as if every day brings a new page 2 or 3 headline featuring another foreign leader testing the boundaries.

Already in progress, North Korea is fueling a missile capable of reaching Alaska or Hawaii, while simultaneously taunting the US, Japan and South Korea. And here’s my favorite quote from this story:

The issue was top of the agenda Thursday when Obama met with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Myung-bak, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in London. Obama pledged to push for “peace and stability,” while Lee’s office issued a statement saying the two leaders agreed to keep working on a verifiable dismantling of North Korea’s worrisome nuclear programs.

Sec of State Clinton also said that the launch would be “very unhelpful.” No word on whether she was able to detect that that statement was very unhelpful in inspiring confidence back at home. OK, she said more than that. She also was able to blame the US, and promote the administrations’ new pollyannish foreign policy which is still sure to spark an international love-fest at some point in time. Maybe after North Korea gets done tweaking its ability to launch massive death and destruction halfway across the Pacific or Eurasia.

This psychotic nation is getting ready to test launch a long-range missile! In the process they have threatened to respond to any Japanese interference with a “thunderbolt of fire,” and they continue to sell missile technology to Syria and Iran. And our administration’s response: well, we want to talk about this, but everyone needs to be involved, it needs to be “shared.”

Obama is aware that he can’t fire Kim Jong-Il, right? Or cut his pay? Or even over-tax him? And he can’t put a kindergeithner in charge of relations among Pacific Rim nations, he does know that, yes? Because from here it appears that he is leveling at foreign relations the same arsenal of incompetence that we’ve seen deployed on the economy.

The schedule for the Chicago Boyz Clausewitz Roundtable is out.

“Pearl Harbor” is making the rounds on cable.  What a joke.

Who else but Ben Affleck could be involved in every major air battle of WWII?  They would have had him piloting the Enola Gay but 4 1/2 hours was just too long for a feature film.

The guy has put up with a lot of crap while serving with honor, distinction and success. 

Sign the card

Dave Ramsey fielded a call from a military wife last week.  For the uninitiated, Ramsey is a no-nonsense financial counselor and author, not a political wonk.

The woman was seeking advice on how she and her husband should handle a $100K check they are about to receive from the Dept of Defense.  It seems her husband lost both of his legs in Iraq as the result of an IED explosion.  So far, a story we’ll hear all too often from opportunistic politicians as the campaign season wears on.

Here’s where the story loses its appeal to a Clinton or an Obama.  The husband is in San Diego right now getting used to his prosthetic limbs.  After he completes an extensive regimen of physical therapy he’ll be put back on active duty.  Stateside now.  And obviously some billets will be off limits to him.  But according to the wife, taking this chance to duck out of the military was never a consideration.

This is his career.

He is a hero.

I am admittedly growing a little weary with talking/reading about the election. So, it was nice to find some good non-political blog fare this week:

Blog Comment Ethics: You operate a blog and one day receive an e-mail requesting that you remove one or more of the sender’s comments from your site. What do you do? The guys at Wizbang encountered this situation recently and asked their readers for advice. In this case it was a reader whose input was, in the opinion of Jay Tea, “not particularly clever or witty.” The reader is in the middle of a job search and is concerned that prospective employers will Google him and land on some of his political commentary.

Quick advice for the guy: In the future, don’t use your real name and/or don’t use your full name. With the damage done, all he would really need to do is make a bunch of less controversial comments and drive the problem remarks behind the first page of a Google search.

My two cents: No way (actually my exact words were “Screw You!”) And as we’ve just finished up a barrage of candidate interviews I sadly realized that what any prospective employer really needs to know about this guy, even more than any political bent or lack of discretion in the remarks he makes at times, is his basic weakness. He either succombs to “internet bravery” and says things while hiding behind the false veil of web anonymity that he wouldn’t be willing to say in person, or just doesn’t think that far ahead. If you’re not one to stand behind your words, posting things on the internet is not a good idea for you.

More generally, I view blogs as a conversation. Clicking the “publish” button is akin to saying your piece. Once you’ve done it you can’t take it back when speaking, and shouldn’t take it back when blogging. I would think a lot less of a blog if I learned that posts were heavily edited after being published and coming under fire. Same thing for comments. I say again, have some character and stand by your words. Also, grow up and realize that from time to time we say things that we later think better of. That doesn’t make you bad, it makes you human.

You and your germs stay home: – Laura W at Ace of Spades gives those who come to work sick a piece of her mind (language warning), via Insta-Pundit.

This is near and dear to my heart as I was sick most of the week and went through all phases of this scenario, from quiety cursing those “heroes” who have been spraying their crap all over the building for the last two weeks, to soldiering on myself, to giving in and staying home.

I’ve got to admit, I generally come down on the side of those who said that it must be nice to have a job like Laura W’s where you are basically unnecessary. Part of the problem, though, is that we usually aren’t just talking about one day. If I were to strictly adhere to the stay home if you are sick policy, I would have been out four days this week. There is no way that will ever happen. But even if we are talking some 24-hour bug, there will be days where work just can’t accomodate an unplanned absence. Example: My boss was out on Tuesday, which is the day I would probably have gone home early, so I pretty much had to be there. And this was our week to produce financials – I don’t care how sick I am, I won’t ever be the reason that our cabinet and board don’t get their numbers on time. So, my general strategy is to anticipate the day of peak misery associated with the illness, lay out that day and just understand that I am resting and gathering myself to go back in the next day, regardless of how I feel.

Of course, this leads to another discussion. People like me who take care of themselves and are in generally good health kind of get the short end of the stick and wind up, I believe, compensating for people who smoke, and eat like crap and have a bunch of other bad habits that result in their nearly constantly experiencing some kind of illness.

Don’t Screw with the US Navy! The World’s Finest Navy took out that defunct spy satellite this week. I know they had to repeatedly affirm that their purpose in this was simply to get rid of the hydrazine and sensitive intelligence before it came anywhere near the earth’s surface, but the exercise was rife with auxiliary implications. As modern warfare becomes increasingly dependent on a space communications component, this ability is huge. Also, we have demonstrated that we are a lot further along on missile defense than many knew. China wants us to share the details. I say, “bite me!” You know all you need to know. First, a tank full of toxic gas won’t be landing in your back yard, and second and more importantly, don’t screw with us! Video here:

More about the platform and weaponry involved: Navy Tech: Ticonderoga Class CG.

I was on a roll with the Navy links tonight.  I also ran across this video on the nation’s first fatal nuclear accident.  They showed us this video on the day we graduated from Nuclear Power School.

Summary:  (warning:  spoiler alert)  This film is kind of “old school,” but interesting because this was one freaky accident from the early days of nuclear power.  Basically with the reactor shut down, one of the control rods was unlatched.  Control rods are normally driven up and down by a slow speed motor, ensuring that the reactor will gain power (become critical) in a controlled manner.  During this maintenance evolution a technician pulled the unlatched rod out of the core by hand causing reactor power to increase so quickly that an explosion resulted.  The person who pulled the rod was impaled by the rod in the ceiling of the reactor area.  To give you an idea of Naval Nuclear humor, one of our “A” school instructors frequently and fondly referred to this technician as “Bob Shishka,” (a.k.a. Shishka, Bob).