I read today that two senators I usually think are fuddy-duddy putzes are taking the lead in asking some pertinent questions. According to the Washington Post, senators Byrd and Hollings are questioning the scope of President Bush's defense budget request and the open-ended nature of the "war on terrorism." 'Sabout friggin' time. I mean, I was all for the initiative in Afghanistan simply because, well, hell, we had to blow something up. A country can't just take a hit like that and not express a show of force, especially against an ideology as stupid and brutish as the one espoused by Al Queida (who is this "Al," anyways?). I had hoped that our purpose in Afghanistan hadn't really been about finding bin Laden or about waging a "war on terrorism." I had hoped that it was just about kicking somebody's ass to show people that we still can and will when we're pushed. If that was the purpose of action in Afghanistan, we have achieved it, and it is time to set up the provisional government, let those people get back to farming poppy seeds for good American heroin, and to come home. Now, however, Bush wants to escalate the "war on terrorism." In my opinion, emphasizing an offensive against terrorism is the wrong approach. Sept. 11 didn't happen because we forgot to kill enough terrorists. It happened because the protectors and generators of this nation's intelligence had become fat and happy with the end of the Cold War and because the security systems in our airlines had gone to bloody hell. Homeland Security is the name of the game, but our president wants to keep on beating his chest about the "axis of evil." History has taught us that going to war with ideas is kind of like owning a boat. Ya'll know what a boat is, don't you? It's a big hole in the water that you throw money into. I'm ready for more Democrats to step up to the plate and start asking questions. We've got a president who was barely elected acting as if he has a mandate to lead who wants to go to war with the whole damned world. We've got a war going on that doesn't seem to have an exit or an end in sight. Come on, Dems. Stand up and speak.