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Kathryn (I Refuse to Call Her "K-Lo") Lopez at The Corner: An e-mail: "Is it possible that the whole Ellsworth AFB thing was a set-up from the start ? intended to make John Thune look like Superman? He?s a much...

Buffalo roams the battlefield to protect soldiers from mines

...what has been referred to as a "Humvee on steroids," the Buffalo is a 24-ton mine-protective, countermine/IED vehicle with a long grappling arm that faces down bombs, removes them and withstands terrific blasts without harm to its passengers.

Now THAT'S a REAL S.U.V.! Hoooo-rah!

Yankee ingenuity at work again! (Or should I say Confederate ingenuity, since the manufacturer is in SC?) These new vehicles are capable of coping with mines, and with roadside IED's. Like in any other war that lasts long enough, changed enemy tactics lead to technological innovation and/or changed equipment and weapoons.

Carried Away

This WaPo coverage of looting in the wake of Hurricane Katrina has more than a little sympathy, rationalization, and justification for much of the looting going on.

...as we are also learning from the post-Katrina chaos, what we think of as looting may be more complicated than it seems.

No, it's NOT complicated, moonbat. Stealing stuff, is stealing stuff. And most of the stuff being taken is NOT survival supplies!

Benigno E. Aguirre of the Disaster Research Center at the University of Delaware has been watching and reading about looters in Louisiana. "It may look from the outside as if they are stealing or breaking the law," says Aguirre, "when in fact some of them are trying to survive."

Yep - it DOES look that way, maybe because what's happening IS bad. If some ARE trying to survive, this isn't the prevailing behavior. For instance when a Wal-Mart was invaded by the latter-day barbarians, the guns, and electronics were the FIRST targets of opportunity, followed by other consumer items. The food, and (non-alcoholic) beverages were largely ignored. Yep, survival is insured by a new plasma HD TV!

On the other hand, he says, some of the thieves are garden-variety crooks. "There is always a very small number of people that are predisposed to crime, and they see a disaster as an opportunity to act." There are the disenfranchised who jump at the chance to get even with those who have more stuff than they do. "Disasters can become opportunity for class warfare, and that kind of appropriation of other people's property should be prosecuted," he says.

"Class warfare"? Sounds like our academician has been imbibing wisdom from the fountain of Marx. At least he concedes that they should be prosecuted, thanks be for small favors.

Many may be people taking drastic measures required by drastic times. And some, he says, are the in-an-emergency equivalent of hunters/gatherers, foraging for food, fresh water, medicine, matches, batteries, everyday essentials that are just not available. Not at home, not at shelters.

Again, the Wal-Mart case (as well as others) would be a counter-indication of the validity of this statement.

The images are played on TV over and over: Windows are smashed. Huge dudes muscle into an abandoned store and hustle out with stolen TVs and boomboxes. Women hoist unwieldy packs of diapers and cartons of baby formula. Run-amok hooligans snatch up jewelry and electronic gizmos. Other things are stolen: shopping carts of soda pops and snack foods, clothing, bicycles. There are survivors, scavengers and criminal looters, and it's hard to tell the difference.

No, the distinction is too fine. If someone breaks in to get some bottled water, or food to survive, the Chief would say OK. ANYTHING else - including "scavengers" are thieves. That's it. Comprende?

Ghost of Gen. Patton Speaks Out on Terror War

This Flash has some things to think about, and tends to reinforce the Chief's posting here. Check it out. H/T to Barking Moonbat Early Warning System for this one.

The main editorial in today's Rapid City Journal: Journal editorial, 9-4: Give credit to John Thune By The Journal Editorial Board Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan. - President John F. Kennedy Many people deserve credit...

To: Journalists Everywhere From: Me Let's either a.) stop talking about "looting," or b.) at least note that there are probably significant numbers of citizens right now who are scrambling for food and water. Looting is bad. But looting is...

I continue to argue that it is beneath the dignity of a political party to make someone's eating habits a political issue. I disassociate myself from any attack on Elesha Peterson Carr based on the fact that she is a...

New Orleans isn't out of the woods yet, but things are looking slightly better (or less disastrous), as Katrina is now "only" a Category 4 storm. (You know things are rough when you're optimistically saying that a hurricane is now...

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