Signs of death

Today, MeTheSheeple was out walking his dogs when he heard a loud, metallic noise. A beautiful bird of prey was seemingly losing his footing on a third-story piece of white aluminum guttering. He kept shifting and shifting, seemingly nearly falling off, leading MeTheSheeple to think for a moment that perhaps the bird* was hurt or injured. One of the dogs thought it was a great time to start barking at and threatening the raptor, which might have been a falcon. The little dog -- the lunch-sized one -- at least stayed quiet.

Anyway, the wounded deadly bird that couldn't keep his footing ... gracefully spread his wings and lifted off the guttering, with the dead squirrel slung underneath.

Sometimes, it seems, you can look at one thing and get an idea that's simply completely wrong. Someone else can look at the same thing and get an idea that's completely wrong, but in a different way.

Such a problem becomes all the more important when it's a matter of life and death. This is a parabel of more than a squirrel.

The U.S. military is looking at the debacle in Iraq and seeing disaster unless the course is radically changed. That interpretation depends on whether you believe the accounts of senior military leaders passed through a Republican who helped end the draft and the Vietnam War.

If you're a member of Congress, you might just believe that things are going so well that it's time to plan the victory parades. Heck, it's only three years since the mission was accomplished. So just because the military's destroying its equipment, wrecking its morale, unable to budget in the face of political demands ... why not take $20 million out of the defense budget to plan the victory parade? The Associated Press reports:

WASHINGTON // The military's top generals have warned Iraq is on the cusp of a civil war and that U.S. troops must remain in large numbers until at least next spring. But if the winds suddenly blow a different direction, Congress is ready to celebrate with a $20 million victory party.

Lawmakers included language in this year's defense spending bill, approved last week, allowing them to spend the money. The funds for "commemoration of success" in Iraq and Afghanistan were originally tucked into last year's defense measure, but went unspent amid an uptick in violence in both countries that forced the Pentagon to extend tours of duty for thousands of troops.

Stop the world! I want to get off.