Billmon points out how claims of progress in Iraq, based on status of the constitutional process, are likely exaggerated.
In retrospect, that great T.V. moment when they rolled out the so-called draft constitution for parliamentary approval was pretty meaningless. And if they reserve the right to continue amending the document as they go along, what are voters really approving on Saturday?

There’s a reason that some people end up in jail rather than becoming rocket scientists:

A man armed with a bow and arrow who commandeered a Union Pacific freight train stopped in Montclair on Sunday night was shot and wounded by police, authorities said.
Juventino Vallejo-Camerena, 43, of Pomona climbed onto one of the train’s two locomotives about 10:45 p.m. and threatened the two crew members with a bow and arrow, Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said.
The engineer and conductor fled the train, which was stopped at a signal, and cut off fuel to the engine with an emergency button outside the cab. They were not harmed, Davis said.
Alone in the cab, Vallejo-Camerena refused to drop his bow and arrow after Montclair police officers ordered him to do so, said Capt. Keith Jones, spokesman for the department.
He nocked and pointed the arrow at officers on the scene, near Monte Vista Avenue in western San Bernardino County, and threatened to take over the train, Jones said. Police then shot Vallejo-Camerena in the wrist and upper arm, according to a Montclair Police report.

Studies, I think, would indicate that freight trains are lousy getaway vehicles.

Heh.

I don’t think anyone will be confusing Judge Roy Moore with Shakespeare.

This weekend the phone and Internets access was down for more than 24 hours (fortunately, cable TV still worked). I didn’t miss the phone much, but it reminded me how many things I’ve gotten used to reading or doing online. For instance, I thought about looking up a potential route for cycling and realized–the horror–that I’d have to find a paper map if I wanted to check out the roads. So much for that idea.
This morning I learned–to my surprise–that the outage was caused by a plane crash occurring over in Cookeville. After reading that the pilot died in the crash, the “hardship” I endured during the episode doesn’t seem so bad.