Which was worse-the murder of minor-league ump Samuel White in 1899 by a player who didn't like one of the ump's calls and smashed the poor man over the head with his bat, or the decision to exclude African-Americans from organized baseball for decades?

But by my estimation, the Iraq War is over. We won. Which means the Iraqi people won.

⁷ For example, one irate blogger complained in his blog about a discovery that he had been plagiarized, "I recently lost out on a boatload of potential new readers because a blogger plagiarized my work verbatim. A high-traffic blogger (Michelle Malkin) then unwittingly linked to the plagiarist's blog instead of mine, and I missed out on all the traffic that came before I found the mistake and asked Michelle to fix the link."
http://davidm.blogspot.com/2004/10/serial-plagiarism-exposed.html

The sufficient condition for this equilibrium to hold is: V(u,u) ? V(u,n) > V(u,d) ? V(n,n)

• Bernard Lewis describes the presidential canditates as

  competing Chamberlains and the hope of a Churchill.

• Sam Munson posts Geert Wilders's film Fitna on radical Islamism (also available here). Go watch it. I've got no doubt that many Muslims see Islam as the religion of peace portrayed here. But that doesn't mean that the radical Islamism portrayed by Wilders is any less real, or any less of an existential threat to civil society.
• Abe Greenwald writes that McCain's new ad is directed at Obama:

  If everyone else is still toying with the idea of Hillary's triumphant superdelegate finale, no one's been told at McCain headquarters.

  (See the ad here.) I'm not as quick to count out Clinton. And Jennifer Rubin doesn't count out Gore.

Yale University president Richard C. Levin said Mendillo was once one of his favorite economics students. "We're delighted to see the Harvard endowment in the capable hands of a Yale graduate," he said.

• We've got a history of voting discrimination.
• Let's compensate for that history.
• Let's identify groups that need help.
• Let's establish target numbers.
• But let's be sure not to call the target numbers "quotas."
• Except for in the man/woman thing. We kinda need quotas there.

1. We've got a history of voting discrimination:

   ... right to vote have not always been extended... groups of Americans have been explicitly denied the right to vote... subjected to discriminatory and exclusionary practices... denying them voting rights.... past history of discriminatory denial of the franchise.... effects of past discrimination.... groups of Americans...may be under-represented in Party affairs.

2. Let's compensate for that history:

   ... a program of effective affirmative action is hereby adopted... Discrimination on the basis of "status" in the conduct of Democratic Party affairs is prohibited...efforts to include groups historically underrepresented in the Democratic Party's affairs... each state party shall develop and submit Party outreach programs... to achieve full participation by such groups and diversity in the delegate selection process and at all levels... shall adopt and implement affirmative action programs... such affirmative action shall be to encourage participation in the delegate selection process... approved Affirmative Action Plan.... encourage the participation of minority groups... not gerrymandered to discriminate... achieve the full participation of members of these and other groups

3. Let's identify groups that need help:

   ... race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation or disability... African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian/Pacific Americans and women. ...priority of consideration shall be given to African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian/Pacific Americans and women... African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian/Pacific Americans or women.... encourage the participation and representation of persons of low and moderate income.... the LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gendered] community and people with disabilities...

4. Let's establish target numbers:

   ... implement affirmative action programs with specific goals and timetables... if such priority of consideration is needed to fulfill the affirmative action goals... Plans shall provide for equal division between delegate men and delegate women and alternate men and alternate women... as far as mathematically practicable, also provide for equal division between district-level delegate men and delegate women and district-level alternate men and alternate women... State Parties may use goals to achieve these ends....

5. But let's be sure not to call the target numbers "quotas":

   ... shall not be accomplished either directly or indirectly by the Party's imposition of mandatory quotas.... in no event may such participation be accomplished by the use of quotas.

6. Except for in the man/woman thing. We kinda need quotas there:

   Notwithstanding sub-paragraph A.(2) above [the paragraph that forbids mandatory quotas], equal division at any level of delegate or committee positions between delegate men and delegate women or committeemen and committeewomen shall not constitute a violation of any provision thereof.

SECTION D. Representation Goals

1. Goals:

(a) The following are representation goals of this Plan based on the analysis set forth in Appendix D:

(i) African Americans, 28% (78 delegates and 11 alternates); 21
(ii) Latinos, 18% (50 delegates and 7 alternates);
(iii) Asian/Pacific Americans, 7% (20 delegates and 3 alternates);
(iv) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Americans, 8% (22 delegates and 3 alternates);
(v) Disabled Americans, 5% (14 delegates and 2 alternates); and
(v) [sic] Native Americans, at least one (1) delegate.

(b) The State Convention shall ensure that representation in the Delegation fairly reflects, consistent with Democratic voting population as a whole, including African-Americans, Latinos, Asian/Pacific Americans, women, Native Americans, persons under 30 years of age, persons over 65 years of age, persons of low and moderate income, workers, persons with a high school education or less, persons with disabilities, lesbians and gays, bisexuals and transgender persons, rural Democrats, veterans and ethnic and other groups historically underrepresented in Party affairs, if necessary by selecting members of those groups as at-large delegates.

2. Equal Division: The Delegation shall be equally divided between delegate men and delegate women and, separately, alternate men and alternate women, with a variance in each group ("the Variate") no greater than one. The Variate in one group shall be the opposite gender of any Variate in the other group.

Looking at those requirements and I can't help envisioning that that is what the Democrats would love to do for admissions offices at every state university in California if not the rest of the country.

?C. Affirmative Action Goals

Total Delegates: 127+ 18 alternates = 145

• African-American (Non-Hispanic): 14% 20
• Asian-American: 7% 10
• Disabled: 2% 3
• Hispanic : 15% 22
• LGBT: 8% 12
• Native-Americans: 1% 1
• Youth (18-35): 8% 12
• Arab American: 2% 3

Total 83 of 145

I thought Barack Obama's speech was strong, thoughtful and important. Rather beautifully, it was a speech to think to, not clap to. It was clear that's what he wanted, and this is rare.

• The first story is about a New York City Councilman who pleaded guilty Monday to two misdemeanors connected to unwanted sexual contact. The second sentence of the Times story mentions the guilty party's party:

  Mr. Gallagher, 43, a Queens Republican, told the court in a non-emotional tone that he touched the 52-year-old victim against her will....

• The second story is about New York's new governor who, soon after his inauguration Monday, admitted that he and his wife had carried on extra-marital affairs. The Times reporter must have had a hard time tracking down the new Governor's political affiliation, because in the nine-paragraph article he neglected to mention that the new governor is a Democrat.

Cuban sports officials were stunned by the desertions of up to seven soccer players at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Florida.

• "In 2006, Obama requested $8 million for Human Genome Expression at the University of Chicago."
• "In 2006, Obama requested that the University of Chicago receive $1 million to support its Construction of New Hospital Pavilion."

• "Top campaign adviser and friend Valerie Jarrett is the Chair of the University of Chicago Medical Center Board and also Chair of the Executive Committee of that board. She has also been named Vice-Chair of the University's Board of Trustees. "
• "Obama taught at the U. of Chicago law school and the Obama's two daughters attend school there."

... In the case of business, he seems to begin with the moral principle that self-interested behavior, such as moneymaking, is at best a merely practical activity, and if not constrained by noblesse oblige a positively malign one. ... Spitzer therefore wages war against the self-seeking, moneymaking bourgeoisie in the name of the little guy. All he asks in return is ever more power to do so.

... Spitzer's moral outlook has definite, discernible contours, and at its core are three elements that have shaped his crusades against business.

• First is an antipathy toward anything he perceives as greed. He may not be a socialist who wants to eliminate the pursuit of economic self-interest altogether, but he demands that self-interest be restrained and decorous-a necessary evil
• Secondly, Spitzer is profoundly egalitarian in his outlook. He assumes that conflicts of interest between the classes are manifold, and the danger of exploitation constant. With that conviction, he invariably sides with workers and small investors against the wealthy and successful.
• Third, and worst of all, Spitzer is a Jacobin: he is willing to sacrifice the political principles of a free society-individual rights, the rule of law, and democratic processes-when they stand in the way of his moral views.

As a sidebar to an article at ABC news about Elliot Spitzer, they've helpfully put together this slideshow of 13 politicians involved in famous sex scandals.(Collect them all!) Anyway, it's rather interesting that of the 7 Republicans on the list, all of them save one are identified by ABC as Republicans. Of the six Democrats on the list, only one is identified by party affiliation.

• From Spitzer's Jan. 2007 inaugural address:

  "And so in order to return to policies of opportunity and prosperity, we must change the ethics of Albany and end the politics of cynicism....
  
  "If ever there was a time that called out for introspection by those in government, it is now. Lincoln spoke of listening to "the better angels of our nature." Indeed, those of us who work in the great building behind me must hear and heed the serious responsibility that public service demands and rise to this moment and show the public in words and in deeds that we understand that our responsibility is to the people of New York."

• From a Jun. 2006 statement by Spitzer regarding pending legislation:

  Another important issue that needs to be addressed is the problem of sexual predators. For over six years I have been pushing for legislation allowing the civil commitment of such individuals, and we should not let another year pass without action.

  In addition, we need legislation to punish those who engage in human trafficking. This is a particularly heinous crime that primarily targets women and immigrants, including those forced into prostitution. This is a growing crime, and we need strong provisions allowing us to address it.

• From an Apr. 2004 press release from Spitzer's office:
  

  Attorney General Spitzer said today that 18 people associated with popular "escort services" operating in New York City, Long Island, Westchester and New Jersey have been indicted for promoting prostitution and related charges.

  The indictments by a Staten Island Grand Jury follow a lengthy investigation of the escort services, which authorities believed were really a front for a massive prostitution ring.

  "This was a sophisticated and lucrative operation with a multi-tiered management structure," Spitzer said. "It was, however, nothing more than a prostitution ring, and now its owners and operators will be held accountable."

• From a Feb. 2004 press release from Spitzer's office:
  

  New York State Attorney General Spitzer announced the indictment by a Dutchess County Grand Jury of the operators of a travel agency on charges alleging that they used their tour business to solicit customers for prostitution rings operating from South East Asia.

  The defendants... are charged ... with Promoting Prostitution in the Third Degree, a class "D" felony, and Promoting Prostitution in the Fourth Degree, a class "A" misdemeanor. If convicted on the charges, the defendants face up to seven years in state prison.

• From an Oct. 2003 description of Spitzer's "Clean Sweep" program from Neighborhood Watch: A Report from New York 's Attorney General Eliot Spitzer:

  To qualify for this initiative, a house, apartment or store must ... have been the site of repeated convictions in recent years for drug dealing, prostitution, or other type of illegal business...
  
  Attorney General Spitzer remains committed to filing Clean Sweep
  cases wherever appropriate.

• From an Oct. 2003 press release from Spitzer's office:

  Attorney General Spitzer today announced that a Monroe County couple were arrested and arraigned on a[n]... indictment filed by an Erie County Special Grand Jury, charging them both with running a prostitution business in Erie, Monroe and Niagara counties.

  The defendants... are each charged with two counts of Promoting Prostitution in the Third Degree, both are class "D" felonies....
  

• From an Aug. 2003 press release from Spitzer's office:
  

  Attorney General Spitzer today announced a lawsuit against the operators of a travel agency operating in Dutchess and Queens counties that arranged tours of South East Asian bars that serve as a venue for illegal prostitution.

  "The company ... promotes prostitution and the abuse of young women," Spitzer said. "This suit seeks a halt to this egregious conduct."

  ... Joselito A. Jimeno, Acting Head of Consular Post at the Consulate General of the Philippines said:

  "The Philippine Consulate General in New York hails the lawsuit filed by the New York Attorney General against "sex tour" operators as an important move in the international battle against crimes against women and children.

Targeting A Life Of Integrity & Purity

While life as a big league baseball player has brought Andy Pettitte fame and accolades, it has also brought with it temptation. However, Andy learned to deal with temptation long before he donned his first major league uniform. While still a teenager, Andy committed himself to Christ and a life of purity. With his target identified early on, he has been able to hit the strikezone throughout his life.

McNamee said that Pettitte called him while Pettitte was rehabilitating his elbow in Tampa, where the Yankees have a facility, and asked again about human growth hormone. Pettitte stated that he wanted to speed his recovery and help his team.

McNamee traveled to Tampa at Pettitte's request and spent about ten days assisting Pettitte with his rehabilitation. McNamee recalled that he injected Pettitte with human growth hormone that McNamee obtained from Radomski on two to four occasions.

I get to come here on a weekend day and watch a major league game for free -- and maybe even get to pitch in it. What could be better than that?

You want the shirt off my back too?

I'm crammed into the back of a C-130 cargo plane flying into BIAP, Baghdad's international airport. There are 50 others in the cargo hold with me, mostly soldiers, and two pallets of equipment. The temp is 124 outside. Inside the plane, there is no A/C. I suspect it's 130 degrees, maybe more. U.S. Army regulations require that we wear long pants, long-sleeve shirts, body armor and a Kevlar helmet on these transports. We are packed in so tight that the soldiers on either side of me have their bodies crushed against my side. We are allotted exactly 20 inches of butt space per person on the bench. The female soldier across from me has her knees in my crotch. My knees are shoved up against her thighs. Rucksacks sit heavily across laps. The heat is unbearable. The soldiers all have brought large bottles of water. Some also have camelbacks. I have no water and am sweating profusely. The flight time is around 1 hour and 20 minutes, but if we take ground fire, it could be far more. The soldier across from me and to the right sees that I am dehydrating quickly. He pulls out a water bottle and offers it to me. We're all wearing earplugs. There's no way to talk over the roar of the engines. But he hand-motions that he has more water in his ruck. I reluctantly take a swig and hand it back. He insists I keep it. Over the next 90 minutes, I slowly drain the bottle. He declines repeated offers to share. It isn't until we are close to landing that I realize he has given me his only water bottle.

Only some "quagmires" get reported

Three thousand seven hundred and forty-six American soldiers have been killed since the Iraqi conflict started in March, 2003. Every death is a tragedy. Over the same time period, Mothers Against Drunk Driving reports that around 75,000 people have been killed on roads here in the U.S. by drunk drivers. That's about twenty times as many as the Iraqi death toll for our soldiers. Yet, Sen. Kennedy and his ilk are only concerned about the deaths in Iraq. To be sure, it's not a perfect apples-to-apples analogy. Still, the mainstream media can turn any situation they choose into a crisis, whilst ignoring others. If we were forced to read the daily death counts from drunk drivers on the front pages of The New York Times and The Washington Post, then the "quagmire" of drunk driving would be a national crisis too.

Should we trust Gen. Petraeus?

Last week, I spent 2 ½ hours with General David H. Petraeus, commander of the U.S. forces in Iraq. I met him at his Baghdad residence. (I can't disclose the location for security reasons). We went for a 5.7-mile run and then did a 90-minute workout together at an improvised gym next to his office. We talked of many things-his family, his years at Princeton, the novels of David Ignatius, his favorite run at Fort Leavenworth, the proper technique for push-ups, the building of the Panama Canal, his philosophy on management and hiring, the time he got shot through the chest, his fastest marathon (sub-3 hours), even his fears, hopes and dreams. (That story will appear in one of the magazines that sent me to Iraq.) But I can say this: Like many of you, I've spent the last two days watching moveon.org, Rep. Lantos, Sen. Biden, et alia, desperately and crudely try to impeach the credibility of Gen. Petraeus. I understand the peculiar and mean-spirited nature of partisan politics and posturing as well as the next guy. Nonetheless, these attacks are just plain wrong. They say more about the attackers than the attacked. Petraeus has his faults; he is off-the-charts competitive, way too intense and focused in the extreme. But he is man of uncommon integrity. He could no more lie or deceive Congress than he could rob a bank. I asked him, in front of several senior members of his staff, when was the last time he talked to his wife. "It's been a few weeks," he said, clearly sheepish at the lack of communication. But he told the truth. That's who he is-rock solid and honest to the core. Anyone in the U.S. Congress who thinks Petraeus is capable of deceit either doesn't know the man or is willfully lying. (Petraeus did say he was in daily email contact with his better half.)

What about that op-ed from the soldiers in The New York Times?

As most of you know, on Aug. 19, 2007, The Times ran a fascinating op-ed piece, "The War As We Saw It, in which seven active duty soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division expressed strong skepticism about "recent press coverage portraying the conflict as increasingly manageable." To anyone remotely familiar with the Times' anti-war, anti-military bias, this op-ed was no surprise. But imagine this: Imagine that The Times ran a story on sales at Wal-Mart, in which they only quoted seven Wal-Mart employees, and that each of these employees worked a cash register at the check-out counter at the same Wal-Mart location. Imagine further, that The Times' editors decided to place more validity on this very narrow sales analysis than they placed on the tallies from the executive vice-president at corporate headquarters who is seeing system-wide revenue numbers. The Times would never do it because it's not responsible journalism. But the analogy holds. No doubt, the reality on the ground for these seven brave soldiers-two of whom have since been killed-is that Iraq is a big mess. But their experience is in no way indicative of what is going on across Iraq. Only the general officers, high up the chain of command, can see the big picture. Sadly, for The Times editors, the big picture indicates that we are winning, and The Times editors simply cannot have that. My sincere condolences, by the way, to the families and friends of the two fallen soldiers.

Is the surge working? Depends who you ask:

CNN loves to stick a microphone in an enlisted man's face to hear his impression of whether the surge is working. That makes for compelling TV, and is a clever way for the network to pursue its anti-war agenda. But it's not honest reporting. It's a cheap trick. That soldier has an extremely narrow view of Iraq. After two weeks in Iraq, my unscientific survey indicates that 95% of officers believe that the surge has been effective and that conditions are improving-at least in some areas. By the same token, 95% of the enlisted ranks-the frontline soldiers-disagree. These are the grunts who are leaving the relative security of the bases, going "over the wire," and putting themselves in harm's way. They tell me that there's still a lot of "activity" out there, soldier-speak for getting shot at, or risking getting blown up by an IED. So who is right? To be sure, my suspicion is that few get promoted in the U.S. military by sending up a report indicating that his/her unit just isn't able to complete the mission. Still, the soldiers are being sent to patrol the hot spots; it's no wonder their boots-on-the-ground thinking is that the war is a mess. That is their reality. The officers read daily reports about all sectors under their command. If Gen. Petraeus and his senior staff say conditions are improving, I'd trust them far more than the grunts.

How safe is it?

That's the question I am most often asked in communiqués with folks back home. People are getting killed here, both citizens and soldiers. Most trouble comes in one of four forms: (1) soldiers leave the safety of the base, go "over the wire" on patrol and get shot at by the bad guys; (2) The bases are subject to frequent indirect fire. That means the enemy lobs, however inaccurately, mortars or rockets up over the protective walls onto the bases; (3) Convoys are hit by an IED or EFP; and, (4) Accidents. Two helos crash in a sand storm or a Humvee rolls. But these are mostly things you read about, not experience. The mainstream media cover them all, giving the impression things are far worse than they are. Imagine if you lived in Norway, and every day there was an article on the front page of the Oslo paper about the latest violent crime in Nashville. A murder tonight. A rape the next night. You'd think Nashville was far too dangerous to visit. But who do any of us know who has actually been a victim of violent crime in Davidson County? Our troops are winning the war on the ground but getting undermined at every turn by the western media.

Media bias in Iraq? I'm shocked.

The two journalists are from The Daily Telegraph in London. It's 4 in the morning and we're waiting for a C-130 transport. They have a swagger about them that comes from having done three earlier tours in Iraq. The shooter is chain-smoking something that smells nasty, but he doesn't say much. The British scribe is talkative. He's explaining how to manipulate the "PAOs", the Army personnel tasked with looking after journalists. "We're here to show that the surge isn't working. But we tell the PAO that we want an update on the surge. So he'll get us some colonel who will feed us the party line. We smile and write it down. Then we'll embed with a unit for a few days, do a patrol and get the quotes we need from the front-line soldiers. It's an easy story."

Who says public service is dead?

It's 2:17 a.m., and I am in a holding area at a military base in Baghdad, waiting to ride in a Rhino (essentially an armored bus) to take me down to the International Zone. I fall into conversation with a reservist, an enlisted man, who helps the U.S. Embassy do projects with the locals. I need help figuring out how to open and prepare a MRE, the "meal ready-to-eat" that soldiers subsist on in the field. He recommends the chicken, since they are best to "rat-fuck." That's the Army term for combing through the MRE contents and picking out the best items. The chicken MREs have both M&Ms and pumpkin bread. Some hour into our conversation, he lets on that in civilian life, he is an attorney with a fairly powerful job in Washington D.C. He volunteered for the gig in Iraq. "Nobody at the State Department would take it. Too dangerous. I thought it was the best way to serve my country." He rides around in the back of armored Humvee and gets shot at sometimes.

Need a taxi?

I flew over the Red (i.e., not safe) Zone of Baghdad yesterday in a Blackhawk helicopter. It's a sprawling, ugly city. But what I saw below was the epitome of normalcy. Taxis were trolling for passengers. Lots of cars and pick-up trucks were on the roads. Washing was strung out on lines in the backyard to dry. Shops were open. Men were out sweeping the streets. Sure, the electricity only works a few hours a day. Sewerage is a problem in some parts of the city. Many doctors have fled to Jordan and Syria and the hospitals are barely functioning. It's a mess out there. But these Iraqis are resilient people. It was clear from the air that life goes on.

What's a Rhodes Scholar like you doing in a place like this?

I went for a run the other day with the commanding general of the U.S. Army in Iraq, David H. Petraeus, and some of his senior staff. Gen. Petraeus has a Ph.D. from Princeton. His legal advisor, Col. Mark Martins also was along on the run. Col. Martins is a Rhodes Scholar with a Harvard Law Degree. Petraeus's aide-de-camp ran too. He has a Duke MBA. They are all very fast. More to the point, these are also impressive human beings of superior intellect who share an unfaltering commitment to serve their country. What was John Kerry thinking?

Well, there is the Geneva Convention, for our side anyway.

We're in a shower trailer at the transit camp at Striker in Baghdad. I'm drying off after my shower. There's one other soldier in the trailer, a 19-year-old kid from Alabama. He's shaving what little facial hair he has. I ask him where he's been. He's down from one of the smaller FOBs (forward operating bases) up north. "I'm an MP. I guard the captured enemy. We had 61 of those fuckers at our FOB. My unit is tasked with looking after them. We give them three square meals a day and they get a Koran. They get A/C too but we make them sleep on the floor. My buddies and I talk a lot. If we was (sic) captured by them, we'd be dead. And we'd of wasted these guys too if they'd let us. I would have fuckin' killed every one of those fuckers. But that's not how we do things in the U.S. Army."

The next generation IEDs

IEDs have gotten much press coverage back in the U.S. But the term on everybody's lips here is EFPs. These are "explosively formed projectiles" that spew copper that is so extremely hot that these devices can penetrate armored vehicles. True or not, soldiers believe, and tell horrific stories about, EFPs that have gone right through Humvees, Bradleys, Strykers, even tanks. The widespread belief here is that are coming in from Iran. It's unclear to me that the Army has found an answer for them yet. Another sign of a vicious enemy that is quick to adapt in the field.

Shot once, in the back of the head

He was 19 when they came to get him at his apartment in one of the poorer districts of Baghdad. They took him out into the street, made him kneel on the ground, then shot him in the back of the head. His crime? He worked as a janitor at the U.S. Embassy complex in the International Zone. He was, in the eyes of the insurgents, cooperating with the infidels. That's why he was murdered. I'm not sure what the best path is to a secure, democratic society in Iraq. But of this I'm certain: If the U.S. pulls out in the near future, it would be a death sentence to all the brave Iraqis who are currently working side-by-side with the Coalition Forces to build a better Iraq. I wonder if Harry Reid really wants those deaths on his hands.

Shoot that generator!

According to the "psy-ops" people here-those who debrief captured enemy-the goal of the mortars and rockets which get lobbed regularly onto the military bases here is not to hit the dining facilities, where dozens could be killed (we eat in clusters). No, they captured enemy say they want to knock out the generators, in effect killing our A/C units and ability to cook, wash, etc. That way, they think, we'll be as miserable as they are. It's hitting 115-120 degrees here pretty regularly.

Scrub those hands!

I cannot get over how clean these soldiers are. They are required to scrub their hands thoroughly before every meal. They do so willingly, as well as every time they are finished using the latrine. Not the cursory clean you see back home in public restrooms. From high-ranking officers to the lowliest of enlisted men and women, they scrub hard and well for 10-15 seconds. My daughter's kindergarten teacher would be proud.

You get a line and I'll get a pole, honey

Baghdad is hot, sticky and barren. Everybody has a sniffly nose from the constant sand and dust. There is no wildlife, save the occasional wild dog or-in the desert--camels. But Saddam had dug out several artificial lakes and canals near Camp Liberty in Baghdad. Hundreds of troops here must cross a small footbridge over a canal three times a day on their way to the dining facility. There are many fish (carp, I'm told) and a few eels and turtles in the water. Soldiers will often take a piece of bread after supper, stop on the bridge and feed the fish. It's a tiny connection to some sense of humanity in the craziness of this prolonged war.

Pssst. Wanna' great deal on a Harley?

Just outside the d-fac (dining facility) at Camp Liberty next to the Baghdad airport, there are posters advertising Harley Davidson motorcycles for sale. For $14,791, you can buy a "Night Rod" Harley. Shipping is included. Soldiers orders books off Amazon.com; one soldier said a book got to him in Iraq four days after placing the order. At the PX (post exchange), you can buy darn near anything. A 21" flat screen TV from JVC goes for $159. There's a fairly decent selection of Rosh Hashanah cards too-far better than at my CVS in Nashville.

A hard case

He's the platoon's master sergeant, an enlisted solider, with 22 hard years in the U.S. Army. He is crusty, old school, by-the-book and could care less what you think of him. He's having trouble adjusting to the new Army, including his boss, a female lieutenant. He despises the media-thinks we tend to be lazy, left-wing scumbags who only write negative stories about the Army. He's been away from his wife and daughter a lot the past two decades. He doesn't complain.

Clearly, he doesn't care for me, yet another media guy passing through Iraq for a few weeks and sounding off like an expert. In two days, he's barely acknowledged my existence, except to chew me out for possibly violating "opsecs"-meaning doing something which runs counter to operational security that could put his troops at risk.

A few of his soldiers are trying to convince me to hop on a convoy run with them through the "red" (i.e., unsafe, unsecured) zone outside Baghdad on Friday to drop off a generator. I'm chewing it over.

The first sergeant suddenly chimes in. "Don't do it. We have to go. You don't. Life is too precious, son." I didn't even know he was listening. Or cared.

From Booz Allen to Saddam's palace

I'm making conversation with the 1-star general's "XO"-a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy who sits outside the general's office and runs the show. We are in one of Saddam's former palaces; there are gold-inlaid bidets in the bathroom. I'm early for my appointment with the brigadier general; his executive officer is graciously filling the blank airtime. He's got a bum knee, and can't run, which is frustrating him. It finally comes out that he is a reservist who graduated from the Darden, the business school at the University of Virginia, a few years back. Since then, he's been humping it for Booz Allen Hamilton; he's a management consultant in the firm's Washington D.C. office. He volunteered for duty in Iraq. He is working 80- and 90-hour weeks. This decision will set back his path to partnership at Booz. He believes service to his country in time of need is more important.

Those naughty, rule-breaking Jews

In an effort to be sensitive to the local Muslims-only some of whom are trying to kill us-all U.S. military bases here forbid porn and alcohol. They take the ban seriously. Not so the Jews. I showed up at 1830 last night for Shabbat services in a mini-chapel over at Camp Victory. The Army had flown in a baby-faced reservist rabbi-the ever-smiling Rabbi Mark Sachs-from Pittsburgh. The nine of us in Rabbi Sach's Baghdad "congregation" that night sat in desk chairs that we had arranged in a semi-circle around our preacher. M-16s and M-4s lined the back wall. Those in attendance included a top executive with Kellogg, Brown & Root (the contractor that performs many non-military services here), three enlisted guys, and one female (a commander in the U.S. Navy). Afterwards, someone went into the backroom and came out a case of kosher red wine. I guess Jewish customs trump Muslim ones. Our final prayer was in celebration of the United States of America. I couldn't take notes (the rabbi was orthodox and they have some sort of prohibition about using writing instruments on the Sabbath). But there was a line in there where we all prayed for the president of the U.S. It's the first time I've ever heard a rabbi say a single nice word about President Bush.

Are we playing laser tag, or trying to kill terrorists?

Before riding a convoy through the Red Zone, the convoy commander gathers everybody-including a visiting journalist-around to go over the mission. We congregate around the hood of an armored Humvee in the 115-degree heat. All but two of the soldiers are smoking or dipping. The sergeant spends a fair amount of time on the rules for "escalation of force." That means how the soldiers can respond if they sense trouble. If a vehicle approaches, they must first issue voice and hand commands, indicating the vehicle should stop. If that doesn't work, they can "lase" the vehicle, that is, shine a green laser light on the vehicle. If that doesn't work, they may shoot non-lethal rounds. If that doesn't work, they may try to disable the vehicle. Finally, if all else fails, they can, in his words, "shoot the motherfuckers." It's clear that some of the enlisted guys think these multiple cautions are ridiculous. They believe that these rules are driven by risk-averse officers high up the chain of command who are fearful of bad press if something goes wrong. I agree. The enemy isn't playing by these rules or worried about getting hammered in The Washington Post.

How much does the U.S. taxpayer shell out per fact found?

I was at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad the same day as Sen. Joe Biden. I actually preceded him by about 45 minutes in the TV studio where he gave his obligatory, "I'm here in Baghdad and." press conference. The soldiers despise this sort of grandstanding and with good reason. Politicians (on both sides of the aisle) spend a lot of taxpayer money coming to Iraq-typically for 24-to-48 hours-on these so-called fact-finding missions. They stay in the Green Zone, do a photo-op, a meet-and-greet with a few soldiers from their home district and needlessly tie up a lot of personnel here. It's hard to fathom how they could learn anything of value. But they're awful good at then calling a news conference and saying, "Well, I was in Iraq last week, and I can tell you that, blah, blah, blah." They use these trips not to fact-find, but to try to give legitimacy to their own views. Sen. Biden, with his superficial anti-war rhetoric, is one of the worst. Well, I did hear about one Congressman from Washington State who actually changed his mind after one of these visits. He went from anti-war to pro-war. I wish somebody at the U.S. Embassy could remember his name. A true rarity: A politician with an open mind who is trying to educate himself.

The Olympian

I met a major this morning in Baghdad who was on the U.S. shooting team at the Olympics after college. He was three points off the bronze. After some prying from a visiting journalist, he finally acknowledged that if three of his 9s had been 10s, he'd have been on the metal stand. It's clear that he doesn't think much about it now. Like everybody else over here, he's trying to accomplish the mission. He sits in a swivel chair at a desk. He was a world-class athlete not long ago, but unlike Michael Vick, et alia, doesn't have an ounce of self-promotion about him. He's devoted his life to serving his country.

How many Poles does it take to design a military uniform?

Every soldier in the U.S. Army in Iraq must be in uniform at all times, except in the privacy of his/her hooch. The standard uniform is high desert boots, long pants, undershirt, and long shirt. In the brutal summer heat, that's a lot of clothing. Throw in a Kevlar helmet, armored vest, 40 pounds of equipment and a M-16. They get awfully hot. Not so the Polish soldiers. They have a uniform which is, essentially, shorts and a t-shirt. These Poles are much envied, for their uniform anyway.

Tiger Woods had better watch out.

I had dinner last night with a retired U.S. Army colonel. He is now a consultant for CBS Radio, doing on-air commentary. The colonel had spent the previous afternoon hitting golf balls at a range some outfit had built at Victory Base Complex, next to the Baghdad airport. Who'd a thunk?

Hey, wanna' make $67,000, tax-free?

She was a waitress back home in Texas without a high school diploma. She heard about well-paying jobs in Iraq from a friend. She went to the KBR (Kellogg, Brown & Root) website and filled out an application. Now she has a cushy job helping out at the fitness center at one of the U.S. Army bases outside Baghdad. KBR pays her $67,000, tax-free. She hands out towels to soldiers who stop in to pump some iron and relieve stress. These are the same soldiers who are going over the wire daily, putting themselves in harm's way. Most of these enlisted men and women make less than $25,000. The mainstream media seems obsessed with the fact that KBR was a subsidiary of Halliburton, which Dick Cheney used to run. That connection is, of course, irrelevant to KBR winning contracts in Iraq. The media would do better to focus on the huge pay disparities between the skilled soldiers, who put their lives at risk, and the unskilled contractors, who largely stay safely on the bases.

Are you crying?

He's spent the last 15 months in an elite U.S. military unit in Iraq, although I've promised him I won't identify him or the unit by name. It's around 3 a.m. and he's sitting alone at a picnic table at a military base eating a Big Mac. I can't sleep either and join him with my 6-inch meatball sub from Subway. Yes, outlets for these fast-food restaurants are open all night on some bases here. After telling me he doesn't trust anybody in the media, we make small talk. Finally, he has this to say, "I had a broken bone in my lower leg, but I hid it from the doctors so I could ship out with my unit. It hurt like hell. I couldn't run without pain. But I wasn't going to let my buddies down. They are my family now. We've been threw a lot of shit together. Some of them aren't coming home." This is followed by a long silence when it's clear he's trying not to cry. "That's it. These are the best people I know, but it's all gone to shit here." My guess is he was 20 years old, tops.

Update: Thanks for the links from Liz Garrigan, Luke Froeb and A.C. Kleinheider.

• Donate to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
• Attend the Gathering of Eagles in Washington March 17 in order

  [t]o stand silent guard over our nation's memorials, in honor of our fallen, and in solidarity with our armed forces in harm's way today.

• Send a care package.
• Next time you vote, vote for someone commited to victory in the War on Terror.