Hussein Is Dead

Saddam Hussein was executed at dawn this morning and is now dead. I say "good riddance."

Hussein was a brutal dictator. One could even argue that in a certain light, he was worse than Adolf Hitler. While Hitler ordered executions and tortures, he had others do his dirty work. This was unlike Hussein, who on occasion would take part in these activities.

I'm not so sure I agreed with the method of execution. Lethal injection would have worked just fine and would be more humane. Now you ask, why be humane with a monster like Hussein? Because that's what sets us apart from brutal dictators like Saddam Hussein.

As for the Iraq War, I have mixed thoughts, however, they lean against the war. I am ok with the reason for going to war with Iraq. If truly there were WMDs there, Hussein eventually would have either used them or sold them or the technology to however he saw fit. Theoretically, it is better to get Hussein out of power before something like that would happen.

But President Bush I feel rushed in too far and too fast. He substituted cowboy diplomacy over conventional diplomacy. Instead, we should have continued focus on bin Laden in Afghanistan. I also feel the UN was too lenient during the 1990's with its inspections. Had they done a better job, I think we'd be more informed about WMD in Iraq.

The biggest gripe I have over this war is the way it has been managed. At the start of the war, I think Gen. Tommy Franks did a superb job at running the major military operations. He did what a general should do; fight a war and not to set policy. But after President Bush declared "Mission Accomplished," it started to fall apart. It's a sad state of affairs when our men and women in uniform have to scrounge around for metal because the Pentagon can't send them proper protective armor plating. It appears that there is *no* real plan of action for this war. There's no exit strategy in sight. The result is strained relations with the world, added budget deficits and worse yet, roughly 3,000 Americans killed. A staggering price for a quagmire.

I agree with the goals and objectives of this war and really hope we are successful. I fully support our troops and am quite proud of them for the difficult work they have to do, despite a few bad apples. I also think there are some positive aspects of what we've done over there regardless of negative reports we hear about.

Common Sense of it All: The execution of Saddam Hussein will hopefully close a chapter on this war and with luck we'll see a change for the better.

What If?

This might be a fun post to think about. What if the time is early 2007 and a blogger bash occurred in Peoria. Many bloggers got the word out that they would run for city council. The elections came around and astonishingly, all city council members with exception to Gary Sandburg were voted out, including the mayor, and the following were voted in (I don't know where anyone lives, so my apologies if I have you in the wrong district):

1st District - Willy Nilly
2nd District - Peoria Illinoisan
3rd District - CJ Summers
4th District - Scott Janz
5th District - Polly Peoria
At-Large - Scott O'Brian
At-Large - Emtronics
At-Large - Chef Kevin
At-Large - Vonster
Mayor - Billy Dennis

The Common Sense Dude didn't get his petition in on time and Vonster beat him out. Better luck next time.

Now, what do we do? Where are our priorities to run this fine city of ours? What steps do we take to make things better?

I would start with tackling the crime problem. Though to get more cops on the beat, the budget may have to be dealt with. Let the real blogger bash begin!!

Getting Around Town

On the opinion page of today's Journal Star is a letter from a gentlemen named John Doering from Dunlap. He is sounding off on the Journal Star's contention that Peoria is a "15 minute city," to where you can get anywhere in Peoria in 15 minutes. To that I also have to say "Bullsh*t!"

Mr. Doering blames the problems on selfishness and New Urbanism. I agree that selfishness could be one of the causes to this problem; how many people do you see talking on the phone, driving haphazardly. How many other drivers run lights, hog lanes, exercise little or no use of turn signals or are completely inconsiderate. Angie at Angie's Drama can site you many examples.

But I'm not sure about blaming New Urbanism altogether. Our city planners have continued to do a poor job at planning our city's roadways. I don't think they could plan themselves out of a wet paper sack. But what planning, for lack of a better word, they have done is what *they* think New Urbanism is.

But Mr. Doering is right; you cannot travel Knoxville Ave for any stretch of distance and not be stopped by a red light. I will also add that there seems to be far more drivers on the road than ever before, which is odd because the population around here has not gone up significantly.

Common Sense of it All: <insert sarcasm here> With fewer motorist on the roads, you could probably get around town faster during yesterday's snow storm than you could on an average day. <end sarcasm>