Random Thoughts

• So shuttle astronauts successfully pulled two protruding tile spacers from beneath Discovery. Glad to hear the process worked, but it does beg the question, "why are the spacers there in the first place if you can simply remove them before reentry.?" Today, NASA determined that it would not be necessary to perform another EVA to correct a problem with a thermal blanket. More good news, I guess, but I really wonder if these are, in fact, problems or if NASA is jumping at shadows now. In any case, it's time to question the viability of the shuttle program itself. Now, I'm all in favor of the manned space program, but I don't think the space shuttle is the answer. It's time to move on.

• Al Qaida released another threat against the US and UK today and the President responded that we'll continue the offensive. What offensive? Now, don't get me wrong. I'm 100% in favor of the war in Iraq. What I'm not in favor of is just sitting our boys over there as targets. We're in a war and we need to fight that war. We don't need to continue the offensive, we need to actually start the offensive! The insurgency starts in the training camps in Pakistan, is funded in Saudi Arabia, and uses Syria as the path into Iraq. If we want to truly end the insurgency, then we need to deal with those three clandestine supporters of terrorism. Until we do, the casualty count will continue to rise and we'll be no closer to ending the insurgency. The Iraqi people are about as prepared to assume control of their country as South Vietnam was in 1974. Anyone that believes turning it over to the Iraqi army is practical is simply delusional.

• CNN did an interesting editorial piece earlier this week on the poor job Human Resources departments do in supporting the employees they allegedly are there to benefit. They couldn't have been any more accurate. As a manager at a large northeast company, I have yet to see our HR department do anything to support the employees. Oh, they're great at putting up balloons during major business events, or putting up decorations for the holidays. When it comes to providing support for an employee during time of need, however, they make the clerks at the Department of Motor Vehicles look compassionate. In my view, the department is well named. The last I knew, a "human resource" was a slave. How appropriate.

• An 11-year-old girl hits an 8-year-old boy in the head with a 2 1/2 pound rock and is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. The left is outraged that they would charge this girl with such a serious crime, despite the fact that she could have killed the kid. To top it off, as a result of her plea agreement, her punishment is to meet with the boy and "talk to him." WHAT? Is this really how candy-assed our society has become? As far as I'm concerned, they should send the brat to Singapore for a good old fashioned caning! Come to think of it, send the judge, too.