Intelligent words...

better late than never.

On Progress (or, Toward a More Moderate Center):
Tom Friedman's column in today's NYTimes
and an editorial in today's PBPost.

Helluva game

It was good to be outdoors in the cold. True football watching weather. Somerset kept the ball on the ground for most of the first half, and were racking up the yards, but kept turning the ball over. 10-0 Lancaster up at the half.

The Spartans came back in the second though. A touchtown and two point conversion. Good defensive stand, and another touchdown. Lancaster was cheap, lots of penalty yards, a few facemask calls. Still, with a 4th down and 6, they connected with a receiver who ran along the sidelines taking the ball in for the touchdown. Somerset still had a chance with about 3 minutes left on the clock. They got a few first downs, but then, with a 4th and 1, they chose to again put it in the air, instead of sticking with what got them there -- a solid ground game. Their receiver didn't have a chance as the ball was well overthrown, and Lancaster just played out the clock with over a minute left.

All in all, a very good prep game. I was glad the Spartans came back, and gave Lancaster a run. The local media reports this small-town team (Div. 5 remember) has won state 5 times now, and sent half the town to watch the game. It was cold, and good to be amongst like minded fans who love the game at that level. The slightly post-full moon made for a pretty walk back to the car -- left the truck at home yesterday due to the more densely populated neighborhood around the stadium where I parked.

Tomorrow's the deer rifle hunting opener across the state. Personally, I'll be at a PFC hearing, same as last Thursday and Friday evenings. Don't get me wrong -- I do love my work and see the importance of it. Tomorrow's also the Miami Book Fair, arguably the best in the nation. That would be my first choice.

I'm anticipating a warm and loving holiday, full of thanks. No sarcasm intended. We'll each bring a dish or two -- if you're local, might I recommend the Norske Nook Dutch Apple pie out of Osseo? -- as well as good conversation and genuine cheer. Between the weather, the company, and the food, Thanksgiving is one of my favorites. Family members will be at the Macy's parade and pre-parade activities this year; I'm wishing for decent temperatures for them, though they are hearty enough and can dress warmly.

Here's my wish for readers this year: May you be thankful for what you have, get more of whatever it is you want, and continue to find happiness throughout your year. Love one another, but that last one goes without saying.

See you back here in December; you're always welcome to read my modest thoughts.

101

The title refers to my 101st post in the current log. How apt then, that I was going to be linking to this David Brooks piece in today's NYT, which could be subtitled Middle East Peace 101 (one o one):

Today, Gaza is spiraling into the abyss, cut off from Israeli markets and abandoned by the Arab world. When Gaza sinks, the West Bank will surely follow, and if Palestine turns into Somalia, Israel will not survive untouched.
...
(U)nilateral disengagement is no option because the Israelis will never do it well. Driven by normal self-interest and by the bitterness of war, Israelis will grab too much land, and impose too much pain. A nation of philosopher-kings could impose a just unilateral solution, but no such nation exists. Unilateral action is bound to be unjust and thus unstable.

The sad fact is that no matter how long and futile the chess game sometimes appeared, someday it will have to start up once again.

Hopefully sooner, rather than later.

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Yesterday brought only a dusting of snow here, our first of the year, but a road trip took us north west to Wisconsin's Coulee region. A few more inches of snow, a few degrees colder as the altitude increased, more than a few visions of natural beauty. It was a relaxing ride. Have I mentioned my love for trees, all trees?

This afternoon, I'm heading over to the college football stadium to watch the state's division 5 football final. The local school colors are also red and black, and this is a solid and growing community whose team will be a class act -- win or lose. Two years ago, they also played here in the finals and won. Teamwork, teamwork, respect, teamwork. Their attitude permeated throughout the community, and perhaps only if you've lived in smaller places can you appreciate what winning brings. (Remember Larry McMurtry's, The Last Picture Show? That's a good example of the opposite losing effect on the community in that book.)

Two years ago, I was living in a student neighborhood close to the stadium, where I had heard the roars of sold-out crowds on Saturday afternoons when the Badgers scored. I kid you not, and maybe it was the wind direction or barometric pressure affecting the sound travel, but the state high school games were louder in their enthusiasms, no doubt with less than half the crowd size.

Both teams have undefeated seasons prior to meeting this evening, not for lack of strong competition either, and surely we're in for a good game. Go red and black, but more importantly, remember still character counts.

Balance

I've heard it argued that questioning possible manipulation of intelligence, and wanting answers, is somehow unpatriotic. The spin is: question how we got ourselves into this current military foray = not supporting the troops. Nonsense. Absolute nonsense.

Listening to such critics, well that's a little like asking the cheerleading squad to give an honest assessment of the team's progress. Sure cheerleaders "want" the team to win. But their motives for winning are not necessarily the same as those of teammates actually playing the game. (Don't get me started on what possibly might motivate such cheerleaders. Let's just say "accountability" may not be a familiar word.)

Here's an editorial from today's PBPost, an example of the Fourth Estate holding someone's feet to the fire:

In a Veterans Day speech — actually, a series of applause lines in search of a speech — President Bush claimed that "it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how" the Iraq War began. That line got some applause, but not from those who wonder how the man responsible for starting and conducting the Iraq War can accuse others of being irresponsible.

Panicked by polls indicating that he has lost Americans' trust, the president attacked critics who have said his administration manipulated intelligence. One of his quotes is a perfect example of how he continues to twist facts. He said critics "have argued that extremists have been strengthened by our actions in Iraq, claiming that our presence in that country has somehow caused or triggered the rage of radicals. I would remind them that we were not in Iraq" on 9/11.

But there is no doubt that the war in Iraq has been a recruiting tool for terrorists. Worse, because of the administration's mistakes in conducting the war — using too few troops to secure the country; disbanding the Iraqi army — Iraq has given terrorists an extraordinary opportunity to kill and wound Americans. The president is right that American troops were not in Iraq on Sept. 11. But neither was Iraq involved in the Sept. 11 attacks. That is why critics such as this newspaper supported the decision to invade Afghanistan but question the decision to invade Iraq. As for "rewriting history," Mr. Bush has rewritten the justification from weapons of mass destruction to the establishment of democracy.

The president also claimed that his critics are "fully aware that a bipartisan Senate investigation found no evidence of political pressure to change the intelligence community's judgments." As The Washington Post reports, the president was referring not to a Senate committee but to a panel President Bush himself appointed. That panel was led by former Sen. Chuck Robb, D-Va., and Judge Laurence Silberman, a Republican who noted, when releasing the report in March, "Our executive order did not direct us to deal with the use of intelligence by policymakers, and all of us were agreed that that was not part of our inquiry." In fact, the Senate committee that is supposed to investigate manipulated intelligence has let Republicans delay its work.

How the U.S. got into the war is important, but how the U.S. will get out is more pressing. The president, seeking more applause, declared, "We will never back down, we will never give in, we will never accept anything less than complete victory." That's hard to applaud when there is no workable definition of "complete victory." It's hard to applaud when Iraqis just have adopted such a flawed constitution. And it's hard to expect "complete victory" when only recently has the 5-mile road from Baghdad to the airport been secured. Americans would love to applaud the capture of Osama bin Laden or of Musab al-Zarqawi. But even those would not represent "complete victory."

The president says others were just as wrong about Iraq as he was. That's no defense, particularly with the question of intentional misinformation not settled. Americans, for all their doubts, would applaud President Bush if he found a way to conclude this unecessary war successfully. For now, they are right to hold their applause.

The Final Inspection

(Passing this one along from last week's email inbox):


The soldier stood and faced God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining,
Just as brightly as his brass.

"Step forward now, you soldier,
How shall I deal with you ?
Have you always turned the other cheek ?
To My Church have you been true?"

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't.
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can't always be a saint.

I've had to work most Sundays,
And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,
That wasn't mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime,
When the bills got just too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God, forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place,
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around,
Except to calm their fears.

If you've a place for me here, Lord,
It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand.

...

There was a silence all around the throne,
Where the saints had often trod.
As the soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.

"Step forward now, you soldier,
You've borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."

~Author Unknown~

A good week.

Sorry for not posting here much, if you click here regularly. (?)
No news is good gnews, as Gary Gnu used to say.

I'm getting busier here at work, and really enjoy the satisfaction of accomplishing things. So busy makes the time go by faster, and may be more quiet for my blog, but don't interpret that as sad times here. Promise there'll be more next week, so do come back, k?

A good day...

here at work (aside -- aren't the double ellipses, when you come out of a title and pick up the text, redundant? I think, stylewise, one set suffices. Follow my lead if you agree, no matter where you put them, and let's eliminate unnecessary punctuation!)

Things are starting to really come together at work. A big day tomorrow, more understanding by me how our efforts here translate to something that can be measured in the real world. Really can't be more specific, but it's good to have a confident feeling about certain circumstances.

Personally, I credit the brussel sprouts. Picked up Saturday at the local Farmer's Market, this colder weather crop has been included in several of my meals since then. Ah, green leafy vitamins that smell nasty when steamed, but taste... well, rather tasteless actually. But a little honey and butter, with fresh carrots and squash, who knew eating good could be so tasteful?

Wow...

This is an interesting breaking story. I heard on the tv news last night that a young woman was reported missing after taking pictures for her job at Auto Trader, the trade magazine where they come out and shoot a picture of your vehicle for sale. Browsing the newspaper online now, I see one of the last people she apparently met with was a Wisconsin man who had been released recently from prison, after DNA evidence showed he did not commit the sex assault in question. (The man's family owns a junkyard, or "auto salvage" and apparently have had vehicles photos taken before on their property.) I hope the Calumet County Sheriff's team is able to solve this mystery soon, for all involved. Not knowing has to be the absolute worst.
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Think I mentioned here before that there is a funeral home down the street from my new place. One evening, I returned from work to find a large firetruck parked in front of my brick building. Someone's dinner gone bad?? Then I noticed the whole side street, which parallels the funeral home, was parked with trucks and emergency vehicles from nearby towns. It was the death of a relatively young -- early 50s -- fire official (I forget the exact title), and a large number turned out to honor him at the wake, as there was only a private burial set for the next day.

I'm expecting a full street today too, depending on what time I get home. Heard on the news this morning that a reserve officer who died recently from war injuries was being buried out of that funeral home. As I drove by toward work this morning, there was a large semi -- Black Horse emblem on the back -- parked in the street but twisting as the driver backed up to get into the parking lot. The front of the funeral home was already ringed with American flags set about 5 feet apart -- must have been at least 50 around the property. Two young soldiers in uniform were walking in the parking lot. Leaf blowers were out cleaning the lot and lawns of the gold and reds that had fallen this weekend.

I've been involved in "event planning" in past jobs, and can attest to the many details that go into creating a smooth and successful gathering. Done right, it's taken for granted and participants can focus on the content and not the "minor details" that add up in creating the atmosphere. I read a little about this man's life -- active duty for a number of years, followed by time in the Reserves; a Madison mother proud of her son for participating in rebuilding Iraq for the people; a fiancee who was scheduled to be married a few weeks ago when the man's tour was extended... We sometimes fix on the little details; it brings things home in a way we can relate to as fellow humans.

Today and tonight, my thoughts are with the group gathering down the street to say goodbye to someone they love. I hope they find peace and yes, even joy, in the way they remember this man who lived his life as he saw fit