Pat Robertson is dumb

Ok, so there's no question that we should watch out for Venezuela - but Pat Robertson, the "Christian" broadcaster, has just issued a fatwa calling for the assassination of Chavez (see http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/23/robertson.chavez/index.html).

What a moron.

I just don't see how people like this can call themselves Christian. But then, look at the current justifications being used for war. Most ethicists can cite the MORAL justifications for war:
A just war can only be waged as a last resort.
A war is just only if it is waged by a legitimate authority.
A just war can only be fought to redress a wrong suffered.
A war can only be just if it is fought with a reasonable chance of success.
The violence used in the war must be proportional to the injury suffered.
The weapons used in war must discriminate between combatants and non-combatants.
But, for some reason, there are people who think that we can skirt these ideals. Where would the world be if we just laid down our arms and looked for a way to help each other?

Speaking of war - my preparations move forward for deployment. I'm going to spend the day today packing all of my personal gear. It's going to be hard to fight the temptation to take "comfort" items - but the necessities WILL be packed, dammit! My coffee maker and grinder WILL be going, and I don't want to hear anything about it. God says "Suck it up" - but that doesn't mean, suffer without coffee. I can suck it up a lot better with Starbucks in my system!

These are interesting days - meeting some very interesting people. Should be a good time.