A woman who should take up knitting.

Let's see if we can get a handle on this.

Let's start with the stark stupidity:

Last night the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament chairwoman, Kate Hudson, said she was "appalled" by the Chancellor's apparent intention to renew Britain's nuclear arsenal, which she said would be "nuclear hypocrisy of the worst order".

She said: "To actively pursue a new nuclear arms race in that way will only contribute to global tensions and lead other countries to conclude that they also need to develop nuclear weapons."

First, hypocrisy denotes conduct that is knowingly inconsistent with a previously declared position, ideal, or standard. For decades Britain has indicated its intention to maintain its nuclear deterrent and it has, in fact, maintained it. Britain has never mentioned that it intends to abandon its deterrent.

THEREFORE, Ms. Hudson says, Britain is hypocritical by maintaining its deterrent.

Had the British said they were not going to do anything to maintain the effectiveness of their existing deterrent and then said they would, we could talk about hypocrisy.

Depending.

But hysterical leftist critics must make a beeline to "hypocrisy," "moral decay," "racism," "insensitivity," and "mean-spiritedness" in any disagreement with political opponents, right?

Second, how does one initiate a "new" arms race if one merely sticks with what one has had for, oh, 45 years?

According to the Hudson "analysis" then, news that the Brits were intending to rustproof the telemetry antennas on the missiles might be enough to set off a global scramble to acquire nuclear arms.

And . . . it's a "new nuclear arms race" to replace an existing missile that can deliver a nuclear payload 4,600 miles away with a more reliable missile that can deliver a nuclear payload 4,600 miles away?

Kate Hudson should be fretting over cutworms and china patterns instead of matters bearing on the defense of the nation.

Well, okayyyy. We'd trust her with design of a new mess kit or choice of curtains in military offices.

"Britain 'will keep' nuclear deterrent." By James Kirkup, Scotsman.com, 6/22/06 (emphasis added).