Dorothea is 
grouchy. Several years ago, Alisa found an article in something (I had thought it was Mothering magazine, but Alisa says it was not) that described the challenges of managing relationships over the long haul. In particular, dealing with your spouse when their actions are "predictably stupid and unforgivable". Recognizing and understanding that my spouse will never change and will always do things that are predictably stupid and unforgivable has been useful to me. Alisa agrees sometimes and other times she's not so sure. That brings up numbers 26, 39, 64, and 92 of the 100 Best Things about Being Male: One mood, all the time!
I've read a fair number of antiwar articles that breathlessly describe Iraq's potential to become another Vietnam. Vietnam has cast a shadow over American foreign policy the entire time that I've been an adult. Still, that possibility seems to me to be the least of the risks we face. The real damage we've done is to the patient work of the last thirty years toward building multilateral relationships and a vision of the future where force is not used unilaterally. We've set ourselves up, not as the world's policeman, but to be perceived as the world's global bully. This will turn, not just Iraq into the next Vietnam, but the whole world.
In war news, the enemy forces have pushed up to all three bridges. Two have been taken and one is still contested. Reinforcements have arrived and are pushing toward the southern bridge. Losses have been heavy, including 1 Apache, 9 M1A1 tanks, and many Bradley fighting vehicles. The enemy has lost more, but is still in control of the bridges. It looks unlikely that the whole area will be cleared in time.