I was out of town last weekend and missed it, but here’s a brief report and a few pictures from the Neighborhood Bike Ride. Looks like over 300 people had fun pedaling about Knoxville.
It was a great morning for riding. I had a ride of my own from a cabin at an undisclosed location near Pigeon Forge to Townsend and back–a forty-one mile round trip. It was my first time riding in Wears Valley. It’s a nice route–a relatively flat road crossing the valley between two foothill ridges bordering Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The only drawback is that there’s no shoulder and the weekend-leaf-color-changing traffic was a bit of an issue. Fortunately, most drivers were traveling at a leisurely pace and no one tried to run me off the road. I’d like to do it again when there are less vehicles to contend with.

Approximately two million Americans served in World War I. These are the original Veteran’s Day vets. Although no one knows the exact number, the VA estimates that only between 30 and 50 of them are still alive.
More interesting information from the link:

Estimated number of war-era veterans, including those outside of war zones, in civilian life as of September 30, 2005:
World War I: fewer than 50.
World War II: 3.526 million.
Korean War: 3.257 million.
Vietnam War: 8.055 million.
Desert Shield/Storm (theater only): 615,000.
Iraq/Afghanistan (theater only): 433,000.

And:

Other wars and the ages of their last veterans the year they died: the War of 1812, 105, 1905; the Indian Wars, 101, 1973; the Mexican War, 98, 1929; the Civil War, 112, 1958; and the Spanish-American War, 106, 1992.

These old vets have sure witnessed a lot of changes during their lifetimes.

I see our leader is commemorating the service of veterans by stumping for the flag-burning amendment and his war in Iraq.
The fact that Bush is still trying to convince America this war is justified two and a half years after it started pretty much tells you all you need to know regarding whether it or not it was warranted.

I received a brochure in the mail from Harold Ford, Jr. for Tennessee, which includes “A new Covenant with Tennesseans.” I found the first point a bit curious:

Pass a constitutional amendment to balance the budget and simplify our tax code so deficits and taxes will come down, investments in education, new jobs and technologies will go up and Tennesseans can start working and earning more.

A balanced budget constitutional amendment? I haven’t heard much about that one in the last few years. While I believe balancing the budge is a good policy, I’ve long viewed a constitutional amendment as a dubious proposition. And as a political matter, is there really a grassroots movement clamoring for such an amendment? Is this going to drive people to the polls? I haven’t been hearing it.
Seems an odd choice to me as the first point to make in a “covenant” with voters.

I’m not going to pretend I know much about politics in Great Britain. Nor am I offering an opinion on the merits of the plan which the House of Commons voted down.
But to the extent this indicates an ending of the era where legislators grant the executive a blank check of governmental power anytime he shouts “terror!”, I think it’s a welcome sign.
In a similar vein, Congress appears to be poised to rescind some of the federal surveillance and search powers it authorized under the USA Patriot Act in 2001.
Good.