GEMS FROM MASH

"I'm sick of hearing about the wounded. What about all the thousands of wonderful guys who are fighting this war without any of the credit or the glory that always goes to hose lucky few who just happen to get shot." ....Frank Burns

"Frank, it's after six, you can stop being snotty!" Henry Blake

"We all know it's brutal up there at the front, especially those of us at the rear" Frank Burns

"You've gotta understand I'm not working on sick people here. I'm working on hurt young people, with essentially healthy bodies that have been insulted by ammunition." BJ

"I'm a life long Anglophile. England is still the only place I know where any young man can grow up to be the Queen." Hawkeye

"I've got a soft spot for Klinger. He looks a little like my son, and he dresses a lot like my wife." Col. Potter

"I've eaten a river of liver and an ocean of fish! I've eaten so much fish, I'm ready to grow gills! I've eaten so much liver, I can only make love if I'm smothered in bacon and onions" Hawkeye

MY RESPONSE TO "ONE COUNTRY SHOULD NOT GO AGAINST WORLD OPINION AND INVADE ANOTHER ONE"

The ideal situation would be for the world body (UN or whomever succeeds them) to enforce their own resolutions. Then one country will not have to
take matters into their own hands. The reality is that other interests, primarily economics, dictate political policy. That reality is why we will
not intervene in Zimbabwe. The other reality is that dictatorships, as a form of government, actually function well from an economic standpoint.
That is another argument, however.

The so-called "pacifists" are great at identifying dictators around the world. They are great at convening, complaining, and issuing edicts and
sanctions. They are terrible at enforcement. Sanctions do not work because smugglers always find ways around them. I saw a looter driving a brand new
Iraqi Government BMW 730i in Baghdad yesterday. Danke Schoen!

Accusing George Bush of being an idiot may make for good jokes, but be serious. He does not act alone any more than Saddam would. He is the point
man for a circle of advisors and policy-makers that truly set the course for US policy. Bush is more like the CEO of a company. He is the 1st US
President with a business degree (MBA) as opposed to a legal background. He runs the country like a business. He filled the key positions with
competent people (Cheney, Bush, Rice) and trusts them to do what is right. He demands loyalty and professionalism.

The fact that there may not be actual WMD's in Iraq is completely irrelevant. The vision of our leaders is one of a democratic Middle East.
How we get there may be questionable, debatable, or whatever. However, history will be the judge. What he can't ask is for people to try and use
long-term perspectives on this issue. Because the vast majority of people can't conceptualize the big picture. They say things like "It's for oil" or
"It's for revenge" and that is fine. It is pointless to debate such arguments. Some say FDR let Pearl Harbor happen so that the US would
finally get involved with WWII. A decision like that is "bigger than us." I believe that our leaders, inspired by September 11, are doing something
over there that is again "bigger than us" and that history will show it was the right thing to do.

Here are links to lots and lots of war-blogs. Many are from embedded journalists. It is amazing that all of these front-line reports can convey such a full sense of what is going on. This is in contrast to all the filtered network news reports we can only get on TV.CyberJournalist.net: Iraq Conflict Coverage Weblog -- Great Work Gallery

The Marines have opened up the assault on Saddam Airport. They drove down Saddam Blvd, through the Saddam Gates, past Saddam Stadium, turned left at Saddam Memorial Park, and there it was. Saddam, we like ourselves a little bit much don't we?

BIKE LESSON #1

I almost crashed my bike this afternoon. I was coming down a hill in Percy Warner Park (by the driving range) and was going faster than I realized. Today's lesson is "Always pay attention to the road when speeding at 35 mph down an unfamiliar hill." You never know when the road is going to turn suddenly and it is surprising how long it takes to stop a bike (probably due to the tiny brake pads and tire contact patches.) I remember thinking (as my front tire left the pavement) that "This is going to hurt." Luckily I rolled through some gravel and into some high grass without a lot of ruts. I was able to stay upright and finally stop. It was reminiscent of Jan Ullrich's off-road excursion while racing Lance Armstrong in the TdF of 2001, except he rode off the side of a mountain at 40+ mph.

APRIL FOOL?

I got an email this morning saying drafting is going to be legal at the Hawaii Ironman. Is this an April Fool's joke?

I almost stepped on a snake here in TN last week. I forgot to research what kind it was until now but I think it is a non-venomous TN water snake. Let me just tell you that trying to ID a snake is not real easy.