This opportunity comes once in a lifetime you better lose yourself

In 1998 the US controlled and funded of team of Afghan spies that acted as anti-Taliban agents in Afghanistan. They were well-equipped, loyal to the US and the Northern Alliance, exceptionally well-trained, bellicose and trigger-happy. A plan was hatched for them to kidnap Bin Laden from his Tarnak Farm compound in Afghanistan. Although there were fears that the team was just using the CIA for money or prestige, they did supply useful intelligence, and it wasn’t for this reason that the raid was ultimately canceled:

“If they did go through with a Tarnak raid, some White House officials feared, women and children would die and bin Laden would probably escape. Such a massacre would undermine U.S. interests in the Muslim world and elsewhere.”

Any thoughts on this?

Term limits for Supreme Court Justices?

Sandra Day O'Connor remarked the other day that she left the Supreme Court earlier than she would have liked:

Retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor would have preferred to stay on the Supreme Court for several more years, but she stepped down because of her ailing husband. "Most of them get ill and are really in bad shape, which I would've done at the end of the day myself, I suppose, except my husband was ill and I needed to take action there," O'Connor said.

Look, I don't want justices to have to take tests every year or something to prove their competency, but I don't know if I'm comfortable with this lifetime appointment thing when they absolutely come hell or high water refuse to retire.

The article goes on:

As a retired judge, O'Connor maintains an office at the Supreme Court, still draws a salary and occasionally sits as a judge on the federal appeals courts.

She's doing all right.

Here are some judge fun facts.