An American Dream

Three hundred miles east of the Somali coast, pirates attack and capture a cargo ship flying the Stars and Stripes and manned by Americans. The word spreads, and the U.S. Navy  sternly warns that it is aggressively trying to decide what to do. In Washington, the Obama White House is issues two press releases, one  reporting that the President will monitor the situation and another confirming that he is bravely  monitoring the situation.

Meanwhile, 20 America merchant seamen aboard the  decide they don't need no steenken Navy, nor White House either. They  arose  like the spirit of John Paul Jones to capture the pirate leader and send his fellow sea thugs scampering.

Spot news reports this hour say that is exactly what is happening, give or take a few trivial nuances. So may we honor our private enterprise sailors above all.  This is the stuff of legend. 

We might also kill a little time  writing to the Pentagon and the White House. Tell the fellows that we possess a navy and its commander-in-chief for reasons other than handwringing indecision. I mean, like, we ain't French.

EDIT: Looks like one of those nuances is the captain bobbing about in  a small boat, hostage of the three pirates who got away.

 

Lift dat barge, Uncle.

Why in Hell do we do all the heavy lifting?

STRASBOURG, France (AP) – European leaders pledged at NATO's 60th-anniversary summit Saturday to send thousands of soldiers and police to train Afghanistan's army and secure its coming elections, but they shied far from matching America's pledge to dispatch a large number of new combat forces.

Mr. Obama, Are You Listening???

Disclaiming, I find the idea of homosexuality repulsive.*  Nevetheless, that Iowa court decision justifies itself with one simple statement that hasn't a damned thing to do with sex-- homosexual, heterosexual,  horizontal, vertical in a hammock, or intergalactic. 

The Iowa court wrote in its summary decision: "The court reaffirmed that a statute inconsistent with the Iowa constitution must be declared void even though it may be supported by strong and deep-seated traditional beliefs and popular opinion."

Eat more corn, just out of gratitude.

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*The same does not necessarily apply to all homosexual people.

Report from Brokeback Hog Lot

Hoo boy!  Are you guys going to be hearing a  lot about Iowa. The Heart of Bucolia Supreme Court has just made gay marriage legal. 

Hawkeye land becomes the fourth* state in the nation to legalize it. Probably making  gays even gayer, Iowa is (wrongly) perceived as the most conservative Bible-belty kingdom this side of  Alabama, and the gays believe if it can happen in the corn fields  it can happen anywhere.

See? Iowans can do something besides turn dimwits into U.S. presidents.

EDIT: Surprising absolutely everyone,  the court decision was unanimous.

*EDIT 2: Strictly speaking,  Iowa is the third -- accompanied by Connecticut and Massachusetts --  rather than fourth . The Proposition  Eight  fight technically returns California to the man/woman-only standard.