Just a few days

Until I board a plane for Boston. I got back from the motorcycle trip yesterday, and it was a big reminder of why I love this part of the country.

We loaded up my little bike (Honda Shadow 600) and headed East. Now, I take up two-thirds of my bike's weight limit. My girlfriend caps it off. Add in 50 pounds of gear and a steep mountain pass, and you've got one dogged down bike. But we made it without a hitch. As much as I hate the politics (and quite a few of the people) in Puget Sound, the rest of the country is just breathtaking. Riding through the farmland and up mountain passes is the way traveling should be done. I was born with a wanderlust, and this trip brought it back in a big way. I shot two rolls of film, but haven't gotten them developed yet.

(side note: All you people with fancy digital cameras who take pictures and post them while on vacation, and expect me to do the same; bite me. Or buy me a digital camera)

I wish I could describe this trip, but I don't know if I have the words. There's one part of Highway 2, where you drive down a hill and through a cut, and into.... nothing. The road drops down, but for a moment you're staring at a solid cliff wall half a mile away, and it looks like you're about to go sailing into the great blue yonder. A strait canyon, half a mile wide, with cliff walls hundreds of feet high on both sides, and you're on a road right in the middle. The mountain passes were shredding clouds as we rode by, and coming off of the pass is like falling into a sea of green. You could smell the pine trees along the Wenatchee River. Coming West out of Spokane is like going through a doorway and into miles and miles of rolling farmland, tans and browns as far as you can see, with a black ribbon of road and the occasional farmhouse as the only interuptions. Words just can't do it justice, you have to see it and do it.

And if it's on a motorcycle, so much the better.

However, on to some news you can use. Courtesy of Random Nuclear Strikes, we have yet more proof that weapons, even big ones, can be dismantled and moved. I hear the gasps of disbelief on the Left, but it's true! And guess what, you numbskulled nitwits, when you give someone over a year to prepare and hide their stash, chances are you're not going to find it without some serious digging!

And for those of you who read that article and say that we shouldn't worry about North Korea yet, please stop stealing my oxygen.

And while I was perusing The Mrs., (as in du Toit) I found an article that made my blood boil. Congress, it seems, wants to restrict Special Forces Operations.

"Congress is set to impose new restrictions on the use of Special Operations Forces that for the first time will require a presidential order before deploying commandos in routine but hidden activities."

I. Am. Speechless.

"The restrictions were added to the report by members of the Senate Intelligence Committee after consultations with Stephen Cambone, the defense undersecretary for intelligence, according to current and former U.S. officials and documents obtained by The Washington Times."

I want to find those "members of the Senate Intelligence Committee" and beat them to death with their own arms, having ripped them said idiots off seconds prior! The idiocy contained herein is overwhelming! Did these worthless nutbutters actually think they were doing anything good?

"Gee Bob, how can we help our boys fight terrorists?"
"Well Chuck, hows about add one more level to their chain of command, screw with their authorization process, and demand that we be allowed to OK their plans, all while making it public!"
"Wow Bob, that sounds great!"

I think it's time the congress critters are reminded where their power comes from. I don't care who wrote this piece of crap, it needs to be removed. And the congress critter who wrote it needs to go. Republican, Donk, I don't care, the monumental stupidity of anyone who would risk our SF boys is too dangerous to be allowed to mess with the military. When time is of the essence, when lives are at risk, when the mission NEEDS to be accomplished, the last thing the SF needs is some ass-breathed shitsmear congresscritter poking their nose in, or demanding consessions before they allow the mission to proceed.

I need more coffee...... with lots of whiskey. Yeah, that's the ticket.