I woke up early this

I woke up early this morning. Everyone else is sleeping and it's a dead quiet outside and 13 degrees Fahrenheit. This morning I'm thinking about war - how quiet it is here in Coventry, Connecticut compared to many places in the world. Before 9/11, a lot of the world's problems seemed so distant to me. Now that they've hit on my doorstep, the times we live in seem more perilous than ever. What will war be like and what will happen? There are so many ways the world is changing. It seems as if one bad thing is leading to another and somehow our country is a piece of this large puzzle that is being put together. What will the puzzle show when it's complete? Will it be a picture of annihilation?

My fear is not that we can't beat Saddam Hussein. But, I characterize him as a wild animal at this point. One who will do whatever is necessary to survive. His type does not care about his people. He care about power and staying in power. And, when trapped, like a wild animal, will do anything at his disposal to survive. If he has nothing to lose, it would be logical to release everything in his arsenal. That would mean that a great many people would die trying to overcome him. In the end, he would be gone along with much of his country. Many thousands of our people would be dead, and the entire region would be destabilized for the next war lord to come to power.

A few days ago we went to level "orange" - next to the highest level of alert. They fear we will be hit on our own soil soon once again. Once again we believe it will be a hit from Al Qaeda. On one of my searches for Al Qaeda, I came across this link at the Department of Justice. It is the Al Qaeda Training Manual. You don't have to read far to realize that we are dealing with fanatics.

On the other end of the spectrum is a different animal altogether - North Korea. They are taking advantage of the timing of all of this. After making threats to start their power reactors once again, all we have done is to give them a warning not to. Are we in any position to do otherwise? The possibility of this going to a nuclear exchange would change the world. Once we go down that road, containment would be difficult. The only thing about a nuclear war is that it wouldn't go on long. At least that is my theory. The world has never seen that kind of war, but I would imagine the major cities being wiped out at first strike. This would happen over a course of only a few hours. In the end, who is left would build some war memorial for all who died. I would imagine the memorial being erected as a reminder to future generations of the consequences of entering into this kind of war. This is one possible future I see. As for me and the ones I love in Connecticut, we would probably be gone. Much of our defense product (submarines, ships) come from this area. It would be a logical first-strike target.

Convicted killer in gay-bashing case executed.
I remember this crime that took place back in 1993. I remember the crime being described in so much detail that it was almost like being there during the last moments of Nicolas West's life. The 23 year old had been taken to a remote area of Smith County (Texas) where he was stripped, ordered down on his knees, and shot as many as 15 times. Dunn stated that he could "not positively say" he did any shooting but evidence showed that he used a .357-caliber Magnum and that the shot he fired into West's head was the last of the more than a dozen bullets and a shotgun blast fired into the victim. West's body was found two days later. Dunn was arrested driving West's truck. Other links: The Advocate.

Second oil company dumps protections for gay employees.

A Vermont state senator is hoping to amend the state constitution to outlaw same-sex marriage, but senate leaders say they doubt the proposal will go anywhere. Sen. Julius Canns (R-Caledonia) said he will formally introduce the proposal soon but that he is still soliciting cosponsors from among his colleagues. He already has a handful of backers. The constitutional language would be simple: "That marriage between two people of the same sex is invalid in Vermont and shall not be recognized for any purpose." Canns's proposal would not affect the state's landmark civil unions law, which permits gay and lesbian couples to join together legally and qualify for the hundreds of benefits conferred by the state through marriage. But it would prohibit the state from allowing the civil unions law to be amended into full marriage for same-sex couples. "I've been doing for this for the last three sessions," Canns said. "The people of Vermont never, ever had the opportunity to vote on the issue."

Politicians in Minnesota introduced a bill into the state house of representatives Thursday that would eliminate antidiscrimination protections for gays from a decade-old human rights law. Supporters of the bill say the current bill persecutes Christian conservatives who consider homosexuality a violation of God's law. "I know a lady who was fired from her job because she disagreed with homosexual activities in her school," said Republican representative Arlon Lindner, the bill's chief author. "We're hearing complaints about cross-dressing in the schools," he said, adding that the law is "being used as a pretext to promote homosexuality in the schools, and there are lawsuits being filed against religious organizations whose beliefs conflict with hiring homosexuals." The one gay member of Minnesota's senate, Scott Dibble, had harsh criticism for the bill. "Extremists in the Republican Party are overplaying their hand," he said. "Once people find out that in the proud tradition of Trent Lott they are trying to divide Minnesotans, this absolutely will backfire." Dibble said he finds it particularly offensive that the bill would remove sexual orientation as a classification in the law's definition of Holocaust survivors and victims.