Whew! Tax Time is finally done with – let the celebration (or, in our case, mourning) begin. Sigh… at least they’re done.

Blogging will be light the next few days, as I’m scheduled for a red-eye outta Phoenix tonight for a much-anticipated week-long visit back east to spend some time with family and friends. But first, a couple of notes before I say “sayonara”:

I both love and hate Good Friday. I’m so glad Christianity is a resurrection religion. While the poignance and solemnity of Good Friday is an essential aspect of my Christian faith and the Church Year, I’m always very glad to get it behind me so I can celebrate Easter and the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. Every time I ponder how low I feel this day, it gives me pause whenever I try to put myself in the place of Jesus’ disciples, family, and friends: can you imagine the horror and sadness they must have felt! At least we know there lies before us the Empty Tomb and the joyful Easter to come – there’s no way amidst the bloody death of their leader they could have known God’s plans for them, and, indeed, humankind. We can only imagine how they must have thought, seeing everything they had lived for and loved be so suddenly and violently taken away. I’m glad that as Christians we belong to a resurrection faith, believing in the triumph of life over death and promoting societies that reflect that belief.

If only things could be the same in the Muslim world. Along with the continued violence in Iraq, there was a mosque bombing in New Delhi, and it appears that Iran’s wacko president is at it again.

Somehow, I don’t think the Israelis are amused. I believe we are far closer to military action than anyone has led on. For a while now, I’ve been thinking about this Officers Club blog post from January:

As I’ve made clear before, I support a preemptive strike against any and all Iranian nuclear facilities, from their reactors right down to their heavy-water processing facilities. Before people get hysterical about invading another Middle Eastern nation and screaming “empire” until they are blue in the face, this is what I mean when I say “preemptive strike.”

The United States, striking from carriers in the Persian Gulf, bomber bases in Guam, and air bases in Turkey (long-time adversaries of the Iranians) should initiate a 3-4 day air campaign similiar to Operation Desert Fox against Saddam in 1998. The objective would be two-fold: knock the Iranian nuclear capabilities back to the stone age, and sting their military to the point where the Ayatollahs understand that their own bomb “just ain’t worth the effort.”

As it turns out, the author of that post, John Noonan, is posting today in OPFOR (hat tip: Hugh Hewitt), and he notes that, in a recent Weekly Standard column, retired Air Force general Tom McInerney (one of my Fox News Analyst faves) appears to be on the same wavelength:

What would an effective military response look like? It would consist of a powerful air campaign led by 60 stealth aircraft (B-2s, F-117s, F-22s) and more than 400 nonstealth strike aircraft, including B-52s, B-1s, F-15s, F-16s, Tornados, and F-18s. Roughly 150 refueling tankers and other support aircraft would be deployed, along with 100 unmanned aerial vehicles for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and 500 cruise missiles. In other words, overwhelming force would be used.

The objective would be, first and foremost, to destroy or severely damage Iran’s nuclear development and production facilities and put them out of commission for at least five years. Another aim would be to destroy the Iranian air defense system, significantly damage its air force, naval forces, and Shahab-3 offensive missile forces. This would prevent Iran from projecting force outside the country and retaliating militarily. The air campaign would also wipe out or neutralize Iran’s command and control capabilities.

While I believe something needs to be done about Iran, and fast, and am willing to consider a limited but intense air response, I still think it will have to at least start with the Israelis. While we may be aware of the danger, it is the Israelis who have to be really feeling the heat right now. I mean, how many times can a guy tell you he’s going to kill you before you take pre-emptive action? While I have no doubt the world will condemn Israel (and the US, if it goes that way) if a military response occurs, I think even Kofi Annan deep down wishes Iran would either shut up or just go away. Unfortunately for all of us, they will not, so action must (and soon) will be taken.

The Mourning Dove maternity watch continues. Whichever one it is (male or female) with the tiny white ring around his/her eye: what a cutie – I can only imagine how beautiful the baby will be less than 2 weeks’ hence! (Do I sound like Steve Irwin here?).

Anyways, searching the ‘net, I happened upon this, in a lovely haiku collection:…

hot afternoon

mourning dove fans

one wing the other

And finally, given that Monday is the day of the 2006 Boston Marathon, I thought this reminiscence by Mary Katherine Ham appropriate. I hope you enjoy it, as I do her writing.

See you on the East Coast!