Appreciation

[libertarianhawk]

I complain a lot about politicians who do things I don't like in this journal. So I'm going to take a moment to acknowledge two doing the Right Thing.

President Obama visited Afghanistan and spoke to the troops.

We are going to disrupt and dismantle, defeat and destroy al Qaeda and its extremist allies. That is our mission.
...
We face a determined enemy. But we also know this: The United States of America does not quit once it starts on something.

That's exactly what I want to hear. There's also a lot of Obama's actions on the war that I'm glad to see. Keeping the most dangerous terrorists at Gitmo. Taking the offensive with drones. Keeping enough troops in Iraq. This is important and I'm glad he's doing it right.

On the home front, I've complained before about my Congresswoman's fondness for extra government spending (aka "earmarks"). I supported her opponent in the primary because he spoke against that. But Kay Granger has joined other members of the House in swearing off earmarks in this year's budget. This is a big sacrifice as it threatens her beloved Trinity River Vision project. If their efforts help reduce the proliferation of earmarks we'll all be better off for it. Earmarks are the top method for bribing Congressmen into voting for bills. So thank you, Rep. Granger.