The Times has it all figured out.

It seems that,

"There is a risk when troops in their teens and early 20s are thrown into nerve-racking battle, experts say."

A risk.
Ya think?

I would add that ultimately the buck stops with the policy-makers. World War 2 certainly should have shown us that people - ordinary people -  can be made to do absolutely anything if they are properly programmed. They can learn not to feel. They can laugh when they should cry. This is true for soldiers, and it is true for citizens made to fear for their lives. Agenda-driven politicians, aided by self-serving media, can whip us all into a frenzy and dispatch us into a numbing rage from which we do not awaken until we are allowed to do so.

Jackie had a lot more influence in the WH than just fine arts and making the intellectual life respected and honored, though that alone was no minor undertaking given the strong traditional streak of anti-intellectualism in this country and given she followed 15 years of social and cultural conformity in the land and overall mediocrity being rewarded in the two prior post-war White Houses.

Important too was her quiet behind the scenes influence on JFK on personnel matters, both in hiring and in deciding whether an aide needed to be moved out.  She had a keen instinctive sense of whether someone would be the right person for the job and once there whether the aide was acting in the best interests of the admin.  JFK highly valued her input on these non policy matters and when it was possible, acted upon it.

She was also almost always there at the end of a workday for the president to talk about what had occurred and so she was probably even better informed about the daily concerns in the WH than ER was, Eleanor not being truly a full fledged spouse (had her own separate room in the WH) and often a nonpresence with her many trips domestically and abroad.

ER I too rate highly but her influence on Franklin is overstated and she couldnt budge him on big issues like civil rights for blacks and increasing immigration of Euro Jews.  Her radio broadcasts and daily news columns were mainly an outlet for her to gently express occasionally some different views but had little impact on admin policies.  Had she and Franklin had a true marital relationship it's probable she would have been more effective in influencing the WH.

Romney has an additional problem because he is a Mormon. In a June 2011 Gallup Poll,Twenty percent of Republicans and Independents indicate they would not support a Mormon for President. Romney's religion was a factor in his poor showing in Iowa. A December Pew Research poll examining Republican voter attitudes about the candidates found "high negatives for Romney among white evangelicals." One evangelical predicted, "Eighty percent of evangelicals will not vote for Romney in a contested primary, and 20 to 30 percent will stay home or go third party in the general election because of the Mormon issue and because they see him as an advocate of abortion and gay marriage."

"How's this for an endorsement? Prostitutes at the world-famous Bunny Ranch Brothel in Nevada have endorsed Ron Paul for president. They said it was not an easy decision. They said it was hard to overlook Newt Gingrich's solid record of adultery, but still they had to go with Ron Paul."
--Jay Leno

Pats should put an end to the season of Tim and his Tebows.  NE 41 Denver 24.

Ravens should eke out another one thanks to their defense.  Joe Flacco -- still no better than his name suggests.

WASHINGTON -- Agents with Israel's Mossad agency posed as American CIA agents in operations to recruit members of the Pakistani militant group Jundallah, a report in Foreign Policy magazine said Friday.

Using American dollars and US passports, the agents passed themselves off as members of the Central Intelligence Agency in the operations, notably in London, according to memos from 2007 and 2008, said the report.

Jundallah (Soldiers of God) says it is fighting for the interests of the southeastern province's large ethnic Baluch community, whose members, unlike most Iranians, mainly follow the Sunni branch of Islam.

The Baluch straddle the border with neighboring Pakistan and Afghanistan and Jundallah militants have taken advantage of the unrest in the region to find safe haven in the border region.

In July it claimed responsibility for attacking the Grand Mosque in the provincial capital Zahedan, reportedly targeting members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps, killing 28 people.

--RawStory - Report: Mossad agents posed as CIA to recruit anti-Iranian terrorists

Evangelical leaders back Santorum

A group of 150 influential Christian conservative leaders on Saturday backed former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum as their choice for Republican U.S. presidential nominee.

"What I did not think was possible appears to be possible," said Tony Perkins, leader of the Family Research Council and spokesman for the group.

So why was it "created" as a peace symbol in 1958? Yeah, lots of conspiracy theories. My opinion is that it is simply the arrogance of late modernism. "I'm creating a brand new symbol and it will mean just what I say it does and history begins now!" sort of attitude.

In the letter, Phillips calls on Romney to answer the following questions:

1. When did you leave Bain for good -- full time or part time?2. When did you relinquish controlling interest in Bain, any Bain projects or Bain funds?3. When did you resign as the CEO?4. When was the last Bain document submitted to the government denoting you as an executive at Bain?5. When did you receive the final check from Bain for any investment in which you had and interest?

Romney should be careful what he wishes for about recutting it.  I saw the guy who made it talking about what I believe is the most damning incident in the whole affair - shorting the pension of a company so that tax dollars had to be used to prop up the seniors so Romney could walk away with more millions - which was not in the original film.

I come to this without a real opinion except that I oppose anything that curtails free speech.  but I encourage you to watch this segment when it come up on line.  probably later today or tomorrow.  the white house issued a statement that was, surprise, rather vague saying that the legislation should not in any way effect free speech.

I know that gives him the opportunity to take cheap shots and make inaccurate statements but he would do that anyway.