Another link between Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. Strangely, not getting much airplay in the major news:

Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein gave terror lord Osama bin Laden’s thugs financial and logistical support, offering al Qaeda money, training and haven for more than a decade, it was reported yesterday.
Their deadly collaboration – which may have included the bombing of the USS Cole and the 9/11 attacks – is revealed in a 16-page memo to the Senate Intelligence Committee that cites reports from a variety of domestic and foreign spy agencies compiled by multiple sources, The Weekly Standard reports.

Saddam’s willingness to help bin Laden plot against Americans began in 1990, shortly before the first Gulf War, and continued through last March, the eve of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, says the Oct. 27 memo sent by Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith.

Two men were involved with the collaboration almost from its start.

Update: Tom alerts me to this memo from the DoD which states:

News reports that the Defense Department recently confirmed new information with respect to contacts between al-Qaida and Iraq in a letter to the Senate Intelligence Committee are inaccurate.

A letter was sent to the Senate Intelligence Committee on October 27, 2003 from Douglas J. Feith, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, in response to follow-up questions from his July 10 testimony. One of the questions posed by the committee asked the Department to provide the reports from the Intelligence Community to which he referred in his testimony before the Committee. These reports dealt with the relationship between Iraq and al-Qaida.

The letter to the committee included a classified annex containing a list and description of the requested reports, so that the Committee could obtain the reports from the relevant members of the Intelligence Community.

The items listed in the classified annex were either raw reports or products of the CIA, the NSA, or, in one case, the DIA. The provision of the classified annex to the Intelligence Committee was cleared by other agencies and done with the permission of the Intelligence Community. The selection of the documents was made by DOD to respond to the Committee’s question. The classified annex was not an analysis of the substantive issue of the relationship between Iraq and al Qaida, and it drew no conclusions.

Individuals who leak or purport to leak classified information are doing serious harm to national security; such activity is deplorable and may be illegal.

It seems to me the DoD is on damage control. The memo doesn’t deny any of the allegations of the original story. It just states that:

1) The DoD has not confirmed this story;
2) The DoD has not concluded there is a link;
3) Leaking classified info is a no-no.

What the memo does not do is it does not deny the underlying assertions, which would lead a reasonable person to conclude there is potentially a link, if found to be true. Since the DoD is not denying the assertions, draw your own conclusions.

I think it’s still a link.

Had the first ultrasound and I am glad to say that I am the proud father of a, err, pinto bean:

Barry has some comments regarding the resolution.

Probably bad form to use yourself as the QOTD, but I said this in Bubba’s comments and wanted it for posterity:

When I was young and stupid, I was a liberal. Then I got a bit older and a bit smarter and was a conservative. Now, I’m the smartest I’ve ever been and I am neither.

The Puppy Protection Act, which I blogged here, was introduced in the House.

TimesDispatch:

Richmond’s ordinance requiring people to obtain a permit from the police department before buying a gun has been determined unconstitutional by the city attorney, Police Chief Andre Parker announced yesterday.

Michael Silence writes:

Knox County’s law director will recommend a reference saying the Alabama chief justice “rightfully” displayed the Ten Commandments be stricken from the proposed resolution recognizing God as the foundation of American heritage and government.

Law Director Mike Moyers said the term should not be in the resolution in view of all the courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, that have ruled against the actions by Chief Justice Roy Moore.

“It’s bad form to pass a resolution suggesting the courts don’t know what they are doing,” Moyers said Thursday.

He should recommend they strike the whole resolution. This silly pandering is a waste of resources.

The Ninth Circuit says that homemade machine guns are OK. Actually, they say congress can’t regulate them because it’s not commerce. Sweet.

Tennessee law states:

(a) A person commits an offense who intentionally or knowingly possesses, manufactures, transports, repairs or sells:

…

(3) A machine gun;

…

(b) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the person’s conduct:

…

(7) Involved acquisition or possession of a sawed-off shotgun, sawed-off rifle, machine gun or firearm silencer which is validly registered to the person under federal law in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Records. A person who acquires or possesses a firearm registered as required by this subdivision (b)(7) shall retain proof of registration.

Any lawyers out there care to take a gander?

My guess in terms of federal law is that as long as you purchase a receiver that is not milled and assemble it, you’re probably OK. As for Tennessee law, it seems the NFA was ruled invalid and thus not applicable. But there is no NFA to register it to. I’m stumped.

Via CD Harris:

Scores carry handguns openly to press point

They carried their handguns in the open in holsters Wednesday, walking in circles around the Statehouse to protest the inability of Gov. Bob Taft and the state legislature to enact legislation permitting them to carry concealed weapons.

“We’re here to demonstrate to the legislature that this is the choice they have left us,” said Pete Brucken, 38, a computer engineer from New Carlisle.

Carrying handguns openly is permitted under Ohio law while carrying concealed weapons is not.

Brucken was among 125 handgun-carrying demonstrators at the peaceful rally organized by Ohioans for Concealed Carry Inc.

Surprisingly, no violence erupted. This is odd, because the Million err Four Mom March, the VPC, and the Brady Bunch have told us that packing would lead to violence in the street.

that because I am not a soldier I can’t have a valid opinion about the Iraqi war?

I am also not a politician and therefore can’t have a valid opinion about politics. I am also not a football player and therefore can’t have a valid opinion about UT football.

Man, I’ve just run out of stuff to talk about.

Update: False alarm, turns out I am a soldier:

US Code: Title 10
US Code as of: 01/26/98

Sec. 311. Militia: composition and classes

(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.

(b) The classes of the militia are –
(1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard
and the Naval Militia; and
(2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia.

Whew, that was close.

Publicola links to this story of an anti-gun woman who becomes pro-gun:

I’m not sure which is more embarrassing – the ignorance I displayed in my previous attitude, or the speed at which I was convinced how wrong I was by someone I barely knew. Oh, I tried to put up a fight with the person who started all of this, but I found out quickly how truly unarmed I was. I found nothing on the Internet to support my arguments, and everything to support his.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I tried to bluff my way through the debates, but I realized I was doomed when it wasn’t long before all I had left was “well, I’m against guns because, um, because, well, I just am!”

So, eventually I grudgingly admitted hell had indeed frozen over, and I was wrong.

Read the whole thing.

A newsperson actually did a story on safely keeping guns in your home. I am amazed.

Barry has the latest and he did an excellent job.

Big Stupid Tommy is a year old. Actually, his blog is.

Per this:

Rather than netting the suspected killer for whom they were looking, a phalanx of armed sheriff’s deputies burst into a northwest Harris County home Saturday, terrifying a sleeping 10-year-old girl and a man cooking gumbo.

Erik and Tyronna Green, who live in the 12400 block of Silverwyck, were shooting pool in their garage about 7:30 p.m., while Tyronna’s 10-year-old daughter, Lisa Eglin slept. Tyronna’s brother, Andrew Morrison, was just getting out of the shower. His girlfriend was in the house, and their cousin, Dennis Ceasar, was in the kitchen cooking gumbo.

That’s when about a dozen deputies with the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force burst into the home.

“All of a sudden, they were everywhere,” Morrison said of the deputies. “Telling everybody, `Get down! Get down! Get the f— down!’ None of us knew what was going on. We kept telling them they had the wrong house, but they wouldn’t listen.”

Tyronna Green said her daughter was awakened by men pointing guns at her and yelling at her to get on the floor.

“It was terrible,” Tyronna Green said. “She’s not even sleeping now at night.”

The deputies checked the identification of everyone in the house, then handcuffed Ceasar and took him away, leaving the others with only a vague idea of what had happened.

“They were looking for some guy named Shawn or something, from Louisiana,” Morrison said. “None of us even knew him.”

The police stated that they had the right address and that this was a ruse (or a coincidence). The police should have to prove that.

Michael Silence:

Knox County commissioners risk the potential of violating their oath of office if they vote for the proposed God resolution, a longtime Knoxville lawyer says in an e-mail to dozens of community leaders, including commissioners.

Arnold Cohen, who also copied the statement to the News Sentinel, says, “Pandering to the extremes is never wise” and urges the resolution be withdrawn.

Meanwhile, the Knox County Commission office has been logging feedback from e-mails and phone calls. Through Wednesday afternoon it had gotten 44 responses against the symbolic resolution and 18 in favor.

Maybe commissioners will realize how silly this little pandering is now.

It occurs to me that I have not blogged about guns since November 10. Well, we can’t have that, can we? Gun Porn round up:

Argghhh!’s Degtyarev Pechotnyi 28

Kevin’s trip to the AR15.com shoot.

The ugliest submachine gun ever.

Just today, the wonderful MT Blacklist stopped 12 spam comments. Thanks Jay.

Ron Bailey. Good stuff, give him a read.

Yahoo News:

A man had an uninvited house guest this week — a 3-foot alligator. Michael Hunt found the alligator in his garage Monday afternoon.

“He stood up on all fours, opened his mouth and growled,” Hunt said. “I hit the button to close the garage door to keep him in there.”

Someone named their child Mike Hunt? Heywood Jablome, Anita Joint, and I.P. Freely were unavailable for comment

Everyone is doing the church sign thing, here’s mine:

I crack me up.

Rodger has a cool chart on media bias.

Stop the Bleating has this funny bit:

My fed courts class is reaffirming my suspicion that the Supreme Court really does make this stuff up as it goes along.

I don’t agree with all of it but this observation hits the nail on the head:

WHY TRUE CONSERVATIVES SOUND LIBERAL: each side is against the centrist middle

Yup. Bush is no conservative.

That and other witty things like:

Wouldn’t You Rather Be SayUncle?
Choosy Mothers Choose SayUncle.

Can be generated at the ad slogan generator.

Via Longmire.

A local chapter of The National Conference for Community and Justice is fighting the God Resolution here in Knoxville, reports Michael Silence:

Knox County’s proposed God resolution would create intolerance and should be withdrawn, a local group that advocates racial and religious tolerance said in a statement released Tuesday.

The Knoxville Region of The National Conference for Community and Justice also says “facts within the resolution are highly selective and present an inaccurate historical picture of our founding.”

The resolution “would create an atmosphere of intolerance for cultures not represented in the statement,” the statement adds.

Knox County commissioners are scheduled to vote on the resolution on Monday, which urges all citizens to recognize God as the foundation of American heritage and government.

I’m glad someone is fighting it. Now, about Blount County . . .

From the WaPo:

Confounding President Bush’s pledges to rein in government growth, federal discretionary spending expanded by 12.5 percent in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, capping a two-year bulge that saw the government grow by more than 27 percent, according to preliminary spending figures from congressional budget panels.

The sudden rise in spending subject to Congress’s annual discretion stands in marked contrast to the 1990s, when such discretionary spending rose an average of 2.4 percent a year. Not since 1980 and 1981 has federal spending risen at a similar clip. Before those two years, spending increases of this magnitude occurred at the height of the Vietnam War, 1966 to 1968.

Discretionary spending is on the rise in the Republican lead congress. And $87B to Iraq and record deficits.

Yahoo News:

The creators of the video game series “Grand Theft Auto” want a federal judge to dismiss a $246 million lawsuit filed by the families of two people shot by teenagers.

Rockstar Games and its New York City-based parent, Take-Two Interactive Software, said the victims’ families were trying to hold them liable “based on the expressive content of the video game.”

Sue the lawyer or counter sue the family.

A lanky 15 year-old with a troubled life ran away from home. He lied about his age and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. After the graduation ceremony, he was resided in the fact that he would be going to Vietnam. He was wrong. The next day, he was summoned by his superiors. There in the office was the 15 year-old’s mother, who had come to take her son home. 15 year-olds couldn’t enlist. They left.

Two years later, now 17 and in a bit of legal trouble, he and his mom were told by a local policeman (and friend of the mother) that it would be in the 17 year-old’s best interest to enlist in the military to get out of town or likely be looking at a troubled life leading to prison or worse. The 17 year-old didn’t think enlisting was possible since he had been caught lying to the USMC. He enlisted in the US Army, who surprisingly was unaware of the USMC incident, and at age 17 he was on his way to Vietnam.

A year in Vietnam hardened the 18 year-old. While there, he contracted malaria four times. His hair fell out as a result and it would never grow back. He was bald at the age of 19. He was shell shocked and not ready to return to civilian life. Having completed his tour, he returned home to live with his mother and grandmother. His second night, he heard someone sneaking around in the living room. Without a thought, he ran to the dark living room to investigate and hoisted the intruder by his throat and held him against the wall. He realized the intruder was his grandmother who was trying to be quiet so as not to wake him. He broke down.

His days of being a troublemaker had returned. He was eating at a local diner and was engaged in a disagreement with a waitress over the meal. After some harsh language, he returned to his meal. The manager of the restaurant told him that he had to leave. His response was that he paid good money for his meal and that he would leave after he ate. The manager told him to leave or he would call the police. He continued to eat his meal. Four policeman arrived and told him to leave. He stated he’d be happy to after he completed his meal. This wasn’t good enough for the policemen, who remembered the lanky 18 year-old from his earlier trouble making days. They grabbed him. Without a thought, he broke the first officer’s nose and pinned a second to the ground. The other two tackled him and the two injured officers helped subdue him and put him in a police car.

The policemen friend of the family called the 18 year-old’s mom. He again suggested that he leave town soon because he didn’t belong. The 18 year-old agreed he didn’t belong. The next day, he volunteered for another tour of duty and was soon shipped off. The first tour was bad enough and this one would be worse. He was selected to be a CIA operative for one of the most controversial programs of the Vietnam War, Operation Phoenix. The 18 year-old was now engaged in a profession that no one would picture themselves in and people wouldn’t fully know about until decades later. He saw things people shouldn’t see and did things people shouldn’t do.

Years later, he finally returned to Knoxville as an Army recruiter. After a few nights of drinking and partying, the thought that he’d return to his past life of being the local troublemaker as it was in his nature seemed all to real. Then he met the woman who would be the love of his life. They were soon married and he decided that he would straighten up and be a career military and family man.

He would spend his life dedicated to the woman he loved and to the US Army. He would also spend his life saying on several occasions: If it weren’t for that woman and the US Army, I’d be in jail or worse. He’d also spend his life explaining to his children why they couldn’t set off fireworks on Independence Day and why loud noises caused him to jump or take cover. Glimpses of the story told would be revealed to his children slowly over time. They’d never piece them together until later in life but never know the whole story. And they’d never completely piece them together. Even this account lacks detail.

With respect to the war, he never was a talker. The bits and pieces that would lead to his children’s understanding would always be lacking in detail or the detail they had would come from other family members or military friends of their father. The story would never be complete and he would never talk about it unless he’d had a little to drink with his army buddies.

He had a hard life which made him work harder. At age 35, he was told that if he re-enlisted he’d be promoted to Sergeant Major. He declined and decided that he would not re-enlist. His reasoning is that he wanted to get out while he was young enough to have another career. He spent 15 years working as a federal agent and retired from that job as well. Not being one who could spend his second retirement doing nothing, he is now in local law enforcement. He would later regret not staying in the US Army. Civilian life was hard but he adjusted.

His life wasn’t easy and he worked hard. He did his duty voluntarily and never looked back. Here’s to you, Dad. Thanks.

You should read this. I’ll add one thing: if you are ever pulled over by the police and they ask to search your vehicle, tell them no. State exactly: I do not consent to a search of my vehicle. Don’t say anything about the fourth amendment or then you’re just a trouble maker.

Same goes for your house. Just say no.