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.

FRENCH MILITARY VICTORIES (PART II)

This is classic: "Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion." – Donald Rumsfeld

From NewsMax.com

AT LAST, A GOOD IDEA FROM THE IRAQIS

The Iraqi "leadership" has decided to encourage suicide bombers as one of their last desperate methods to lash out at people who want to liberate them. Wow. Why didn't we think of encouraging them to do this before? I hope a lot of their soldiers decide to take that way out. It will save us some ammo.

This is classic: "Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion." – Donald Rumsfeld

BACK ON THE HOME FRONT

Daily now we are hearing interviews with families of soldiers killed in action in Iraq. Newspapers are publishing their obituaries in the main section as well. Though heart-wrenching, I think it is important to keep these reports coming. No matter how just, the horrors of war must not be trivialized and forgotten. I only hope our politicians are taking heed of these reports and are as affected by them as I am.

"War is a continuation of Diplomacy by other means." I did not really understand that sentiment until I started tracking geo-political relations in the middle 1990's. War is also not supposed to be an abandonment of rules and guidelines. Wars should be waged according to rules of engagement. Wars are conflicts between governments, not people. When enemy governments like in Vietnam or now Iraq use their own people as combatants, hide military equipment amongst civilians, and commit atrocities to POWS they are showing a complete disregard not only for life but for behaving in a reasonable manner.

FROM THE FRONT

It is amazing to think that soldier's on the front line can instantly report back to friends, relatives, and complete strangers about their experiences.LT SMASH

Day 8 of the war and I am worried that things are going to get much worse for the "coalition" in the near future. The Iraqi's have turned to guerilla tactics, mainly inter-mingling with civilians. How does a conventional army counter such tactics and still play by the "rules of war." Like in Vietnam, how do you fight an enemy that does not play by the rules? How do you protect the civilians while rooting out the combatants? Tough, tough, tough.