Wednesday's links and comments

When advocates of the senate illegal alien amnesty bill defend it they often claim the illegals "are just doing jobs American's won't do." Here is an example from right here in Ohio of the type of job they must be referring to:

Drug agents have discovered the largest marijuana crop ever found on a state wildlife area and one of the top five marijuana busts in the state's history. The marijuana crops removed today from the Mackey Ford Wildlife Area on Rt. 762 in Pickaway County consisted of more than 10,000 plants with an estimated street value of $10.5 million.

Officials said they did not have enough evidence to point to specific suspects, but they believe the marijuana was being grown by Mexican nationals who came to the area to grow the drugs. They found phone numbers from Mexico, Mexican currency and food at the scene.

We shouldn't be surprised if people who disobey our laws to come here break our laws while they stay here.

Sometimes progress is measured in very small steps. Consider this headline regarding Nigeria:

Nigeria inaugurates new president in peace
For first time in six decades, a salute, not violence, marks change in power

One thing that has differentiated the United States from other nations has been the fact that from our founding we have been able to install a new national leader without military intervention. Don't get me wrong, Nigeria still has massive unrest and it will take more than a new president to fix their myriad problems, but this is a start and you have to start somewhere.

Norman Podhoretz of the Wall Street Journal has an unfortunately compelling commentary titled "The Case for Bombing Iran." I say unfortunately compelling because while I agree that we can not afford nuclear weapons in the hands of someone like the madman leading Iran who has declared that wiping Israel off the map is one of his primary goals, I am very leery of what may follow any action against that country. Having traversed the Strait of Hormuz numerous times I understand how easy it would be for Iran to shut down shipping through that narrow passage.

If you are feeling too comfortable, read this article - Report confirms terror dry run. One thing we learned from the various investigations regarding 9/11 is Al Qaeda doesn't act on a whim. Rather, they did years of planning and made several dry runs prior to 9/11 to gauge our defensed and our reactions to various behaviors. We have been very fortunate since 9/11 not to have any successful attacks on our soil. I attribute that to our efforts around the world to disrupt their operation. However, everyday vigilance has also played a key role. Unfortunately, the lack of attacks will in time lead to reduced citizen vigilance. We can not be lulled into letting it happen again.