Liberal or not, at least she recognizes that the future is about succeeding in Iraq and that’s the best way to bring peace; not leaving and allowing Al Qaeda to regroup.
I am glad to see what she is doing to help the people of Iraq. This is one of those rare instances where putting aside political differences to help suffering people proves to be the best hope and the answer to solving the problems of the world.
If only more celebrities would take a productive role in the fight against terrorism and human rights abuse.
As for the question of whether the surge is working, I can only state what I witnessed: U.N. staff and those of non-governmental organizations seem to feel they have the right set of circumstances to attempt to scale up their programs. And when I asked the troops if they wanted to go home as soon as possible, they said that they miss home but feel invested in Iraq. They have lost many friends and want to be a part of the humanitarian progress they now feel is possible.
This is an interesting video from the Sandia National Laboratories website that may provide evidence to skeptics who cite lack of debris after the Pentagon crash. The U.S. Sandia National Laboratories conducted and filmed the test in 1988.
The absolute and total destruction as shown in the video is amazing. It makes perfect sense to me that the same thing happened in the Pentagon crash.
Here it is from every conceivable angle and speed. WorldNetDaily has a shorter version with sound.
A video clip widely circulated on the Internet shows a test that pulverized an F-4 fighter on impact with a hardened target, providing evidence to answer 9/11 skeptics who question why so little identifiable airplane debris remained after the hijacked American Airlines Boeing 757 hit the Pentagon.
The test, conducted in 1988 at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., was designed to demonstrate whether a proposed Japanese nuclear power plant could withstand the impact of a heavy airliner.
A rocket-propelled, 27-ton F-4 Phantom jet, attached to a sled, aimed to hit a 3.7 meter thick slab of concrete at a speed of about 475 miles per hour.
The mass of jet fuel was simulated by water, as the effects of fire following such a collision were not a part of the test.
The test established that the major impact force was from the engines.
F-4 fighter jet engines are considerably lighter than a commercial jet.
According to the Sandia test report, about 96 percent of the aircraft’s kinetic energy went into the airplane’s destruction and some minimal penetration of the concrete, while the remaining 4 percent was dissipated in accelerating the 700-ton slab.
The concrete slab was not fixed to the ground but actually was floating on an air cushion.
The test showed the major portion of the impact energy went into the movement of the target and not in producing structural damage to the target.
Except for some slight indentation, the concrete slab was largely undamaged by the impact.
Real-world nuclear power plant containments are, of course, anchored to the ground.
The video shows the F-4 jet pulverizing on impact. The only parts of the airplane that remain intact and recognizable are the very tips of the wings, which exceeded the concrete slab in width and were not involved in the direct impact.
Four different video views of the test and three still photographs are archived on the Sandia website’s video gallery.
The test was performed under terms of a contract with the Muto Institute of Structural Mechanics, Inc., of Toyko.
Sandia is a government-owned, contractor-operated facility. Sandia Corp., a Lockheed Martin company, manages Sandia for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. Sandia Labs was first established in 1949 in Albuquerque.
Should repeat drunk drivers have to use special license plates?
Maryland lawmakers will begin work today on a proposal to require special tags for people convicted of three cases of impaired driving.
Under the bill, repeat violators would have their regular license tags pulled and replaced with ones that include the letters D-U-I in red. The violators would have to use those tags for one registration period.
The proposal comes as several states try shaming repeat drunk drivers. Tennessee requires convicted drunken drivers to do 24 hours of roadside cleanup while wearing orange vests emblazoned with the phrase, “I am a Drunk Driver.”
Ohio requires yellow license plates with red letters for some convicted drunken drivers. One Arizona county attorney posts the names and faces of drunken drivers on a Web site.
Maryland’s proposal would take effect in October if approved.
The bill is up for debate today in a House committee.
Liberal or not, at least she recognizes that the future is about succeeding in Iraq and that’s the best way to bring peace; not leaving and allowing Al Qaeda to regroup. 
