No McChrystal, No Budget and No Men

Dear Mark: Because of some controversial remarks, Gen. Stanley McChrystal has been relieved of his duty as the top commander in Afghanistan. Do you think it was the right decision for President Obama to accept the resignation of McChrystal after the general's comments in Rolling Stone? — War Hawk in Watauga

Dear War Hawk: I do not believe that President Obama made the right decision, whether he accepted McChrystal's resignation or actually fired him. I found the remarks in the Rolling Stone article concerning the president and some of his officials to be mild at worst and rather disappointing considering the level of noise in the media over this story.

With the innocuousness of the remarks, President Obama had two choices: relieve McChrystal of his duties or reprimand him, get on the same page and get back to the war in Afghanistan. I believe Obama seized a political opportunity to look like a tough commander in chief winning a showdown with a highly decorated military general.

The president's antiwar liberal base is already lined up at the local California medical "pot shop" to buy medicine for a celebratory smoke-out.

As President Obama likes to say, this is a "teachable moment" for the commander in chief. War is a serious business and not just a vessel for political saber-rattling to gain votes. Obama would do well to put some ice on his bruised ego, look past McChrystal's protocol violation and actually examine why the general made his unfortunate remarks.

If there are policies or people in place detrimental to the war effort, the president should take corrective action in order to ensure victory in Afghanistan.

President Obama wants to treat the gulf oil spill like a war — well, it is time he started treating Afghanistan like a war and not some annoying campaign slogan he used to get elected.

Dear Mark: I am so furious over the arrogance in Washington. Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced that Congress will not be approving a traditional budget for 2011. Every household, business and municipality has some kind of budget. What's so special about these idiots? — Spendthrift in Sunnydale

Dear Spendthrift: The fact that Steny Hoyer, Nancy Pelosi and others survive without spines is what makes them "special." The Democrat leadership realizes that Americans are furious at the spending habits of this Congress, and with the midterm elections approaching, Hoyer is afraid another irresponsible budget will completely doom the Democrats. Hoyer and Pelosi are also afraid of losing their cushy corner offices.

Dear Mark: An article in The Atlantic magazine by Hanna Rosin talks about the end of men. In biological terms, the end of men would subsequently mean the end of women, so why would the author trumpet this concept? — Keeping My Man in Montgomery

Dear Keeping: Guys, let's face it. If it weren't for women, we'd still be living in caves and wearing animal hides. I don't believe that Rosin's goal is the end of men, but to simply point out the changing dynamics of men and women in America. Some of the areas the article looked at included the increase of economic power of women, the influence of women in politics and industry, as well the fact that the majority of people earning their degrees today are women.

My only question is that if there are no more men, who will kill all of the spiders?

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