Points to Ponder:

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. [John Stuart Mill]

Four Down, Four to Go, and a Bit on "Benedict" John Murtha:

U.S. officer charges dismissed in Haditha killings

Out of the original eight who were accused in early January of 2006 of being "cold blooded murderers" by one of the highest ranking fifth columnists in the United States House of Representatives (referring to one "Benedict" John Murtha), four have been exonerated thus far. The article sums up the problem in a nutshell with this quote from the defense counsel:

You don't want the lance corporal, the 19-year-old kid with the M-16, thinking twice about pulling the trigger for fear that he'll end up being investigated if in fact he reasonably believes there are insurgents involved with the attack upon him.

In a military situation, you have to make split second decisions. Sometimes those decisions however much one may want otherwise will have disasterous results. However, a soldier in a warzone if he reasonably believes that he is being attacked, has the right to self-defense. Furthermore, the presumption should be that the soldier acted correctly unless there is solid preponderant evidence indicating that the contrary proposition is more probable.

It truly disturbs me that there are people in America who want to see failure in Iraq simply to advance their own ideologies. It is my hope that the remaining four are also exonerated and "Benedict" John Murtha is subjected to contempt by the congress for his irresponsiblity. Bryan Preston{1} has the footage of someone in the msm with some actual cajones confronting "Benedict" Murtha on his previous statements and readers can watch him try to weasel his way out of being accountable for his previous statements:

Rep. Jack Murtha confronted about Haditha accusations (HotAir TV)

Truthfully, I would prefer to see him soundly caned{2} but since that is not going to happen, I hold out the hope{3} that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will grow a pair and have this disgrace of a congressman censured. I do not even care if she views throwing Murtha under the bus as a politically calculated move for 2008 -whatever it takes to get it through to politicians and other public figures that condemning people without a trial will not be tolerated. PERIOD.

Notes:

{1} The commentator formerly known as the proprietor of The JunkYard BLOG -one of our favourite reads in years past.

{2} For the record, I volunteer to do the caning if by some stroke of luck that is agreed to as punishment for Murtha.

{3} Not a good hope mind you, just a faint one.

Pope warns Catholic theologians against arrogance

It would be nice to see him issue a similar warning to self-styled "apologist" sorts who can be every bit as dogmatic in their opinions as any Catholic theologian but who have a lot less to be humble about (to put it nicely).

Points to Ponder:
(From James Madison)

The two great points of difference between a democracy and a republic are: first, the delegation of the government, in the latter, to a small number of citizens elected by the rest; secondly, the greater number of citizens, and greater sphere of country, over which the latter may be extended."

"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."

A just security to property is not afforded by that government, under which unequal taxes oppress one species of property and reward another species.

Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may be a reflection on human nature that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. What is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?

An elective despotism was not the government we fought for; but one in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among the several bodies of magistracy as that no one could transcend their legal limits without being effectually checked and restrained by the others.

As a man is said to have a right to his property, he may be equally said to have a property in his rights. Where an excess of power prevails, property of no sort is duly respected. No man is safe in his opinions, his person, his faculties, or his possessions.

Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of.