Sunday's links and comments

From the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review we get an article that reminds us of a fact about leaks, "Loose lips sink ships."

When is it OK to sacrifice national security for personal gain or political one-upmanship?

For the common-sense-challenged, the answer is: "Never."

In the years since Sept. 11, an odd assembly of Capitol Hill-types, their staffers and disgruntled federal employees from myriad intelligence agencies have played the "gotcha game" with the White House's methods of protecting the citizenry.

Enabled by the media (which, by the way, have Ph.D.s in "gotcha"), they have become desensitized to the reasons some things must remain secret. They're making secret-revealing an extreme sport.

5 Myths About U.S.-Saudi Relations by Rachel Bronson examines some misconceptions people have about Saudia Arabia.

Would you support a 2008 presidential bid by Sen. Sam Brownback? That question is a poll question attached to a puff piece on potential presidential candidate, Sam Brownback in The Wichita Eagle. 38% said yes while 62% said no. That can not be encouraging from a home state paper.

Questioning if the world be better off without Israel is a piece by June Elliot Brott examining the oft-repeated assertion that everything would be better if Israel ceased to exist. Most of us just dismiss that thought as the ramblings of anti-semitic madmen, but she goes a step further and looks at the Middle East and the rest of the world without Israel.

Israel's enemies argue that if there were no Jewish state, the world would be better off.

But how? Would the Middle East be peaceful? Would Iraqi Sunni and Shia stop killing each other? Will Iran cease its nuclear bomb plans? Would China grant Taiwan independence and leave Tibet? Will Sudan stop slaughtering its non-Arab citizens?

Without an Israel, will gas be cheaper? Will Islamists stop beheadings? Would Saudi Arabia give women full rights? Will Muslim families stop honor killings of their raped daughters and sisters?

Will "I Hate Israel" -- Egypt's hit song -- change its title to "I Hate America?"

Would Pakistan and India share Kashmir? Will no more rainforests be cut down? Will Osama bin Laden cancel plans to destroy America?

Read the whole thing.

Last week I wondered if Jason Johnson was in danger of losing his starting pitching job. The reasons for a change continues to mount. Yesterday Johnson gave up 8 earned runs in less than 4 innings pitched. This is not a great (or even very good) pitcher going through a rough stretch. At 32 years old and with 208 career starts, Johnson is what he is - a below average pitcher. Meanwhile, Jeremy Sowers, the AAA pitcher people want to replace Johnson, pitched a 1 hit shutout Friday night. After nine starts, Sowers has a 6-1 record and an ERA of 1.07. Looks like he is ready for the next level.