Free kibbles

US to maintain 15 combat brigades in Iraq as of early next year. I bet that number drops. Bush wants to be able to say Republicans cut troop levels before November.

I doubt Iran has the armament to shut down shipping in the Persian Gulf even if it really wanted to. It would be financial suicide for them. They would have no fuel and no money within days. Sure, the government is suicidal, but the people of Iran aren't. We would have air superiority immediately if we chose. I don't know about the capability of their missile arsenal and whether or not we could protect ships from them.

Terrorists in Pakistan didn't just execute the 2 people accuse of being US spies, they beheaded them to cheers from the crowd. That sounds like a good enough reason to carpet bomb that hell hole to me.

This is an interesting case. The Texas Supreme Court overturned a jury decision finding a church responsible for a girl's psychological problems because of an exorcism. It seems to me anybody performing an exorcism should be legally responsible for the consequences, but this girl obviously had psychological problems before the exorcism, or there would never have been an exorcism, so I don't see how she can blame her problems on the exorcism. I don't see how the First Amendment would protect church members from liability. It protects freedom of religion, not freedom from consequences of actions.

Reason reports that the gun control fight isn't over. Does the decision apply to the states as well as D.C? The good news for Republicans is that gun control is now a hot button issue in the presidential campaign. I hope Congress impeaches at least one of the justices who voted against the Constitution before November, but I don't think those wet dishrags have the backbone for it.