Next Steps

I've been trying to find a pithy way of putting this together, but words are failing me. So I'm just going to come out with several short-fusers.

#1. How on God's green earth is Kerry going to get more allies to come to the board when he keeps insulting and discouraging the ones we have now? Implying that he knows better than Allawi what's going on in Iraq when Allawi lives there seems... a little arrogant, I guess? And his sister is in Australia, trying to convince the electorate there that their involvement with America in Iraq has made them a target, and they should stop? How does this fit in with "finishing the job", or bringing more allies to Iraq to help? I'm not an expert on international politics by any stretch of the imagination, but I've spent time in sales, and two years preaching in the Philippines, so I know a little about convincing people that your course of action is correct, and the recent actions of the Kerry campaign strike me as being just plain wrong.

#2. Iran. Who out there really belives that they're enriching uranium for the sake of bringing electricity to their cities? They're working to generate power, all right, but it's political/strategic, not domestic/electrical. And going to the U.N. is still the right thing to do... for now. Remember, we went to the U.N. for a long time before we went into Iraq. Fat lot of good it did us in the long run, with Kofi Annan now saying that it was an illegal war. (Screw you, Mr. Secretary-General). But we still went. And we're going again. Certain appearances have to be maintained, even if we believe they will do no pratcical good. I'm personally surprised that we're getting the semi-favorable response we've had so far, after claims of WMD stockpiles in Iraq turned to be false (or we were just late to the party - another possible downside to working through the U.N.). Maybe without a big fat cookie jar to stick their hands in (Oil-for-Food, anyone), and Iran's recent announcement and distribution of a new strategic missile, France and Germany will treat us as the traditional allies we've been to them for the last fifty years.

Still reading? Thanks!

#3. The assault weapon ban. No one buys an Uzi for hunting. People buy an Uzi for fun. People buy an Uzi for defense. People buy an Uzi for their own peace of mind. Sometimes, someone probably buys an Uzi for crime, and I realize that. While I do not personally own a gun, denying someone the right to own the gun they want seems wrong to me. I'm a big advocate of personal responsibility. And if someone feels that they're responsible enough to own an Uzi, great. And if they're wrong about that, and they use the gun irresponsibly, either in crime or by leaving it out and causing an accident, then they've proven themselves wrong and we need to throw the book at them.

UPDATE: Well, I obviously have no idea what was covered under the assault weapons ban. And I'm a little embarassed. Now that I've done a little research on it, the ban itself makes even less sense. Maybe a grenade launcher is over the top. Okay, maybe the rotating cylinder shotgun is a bit much, but everything else on here I can see a sportsman using. I mean, banning a folding stock or pistol grip? More than 5 rounds in a shotgun? Got to admit, I don't understand why you'd ban those kinds of guns.

Phew. That feels better now that I've gotten that off my chest. Five days to the first debate!