What could possibly go wrong with this idea?

With the four-month-old increase in American troops showing only modest success in curbing insurgent attacks, American commanders are turning to another strategy that they acknowledge is fraught with risk: arming Sunni Arab groups that have promised to fight militants linked with Al Qaeda who have been their allies in the past.
American commanders say they have successfully tested the strategy in Anbar Province west of Baghdad and have held talks with Sunni groups in at least four areas of central and north-central Iraq where the insurgency has been strong. In some cases, the American commanders say, the Sunni groups are suspected of involvement in past attacks on American troops or of having links to such groups. Some of these groups, they say, have been provided, usually through Iraqi military units allied with the Americans, with arms, ammunition, cash, fuel and supplies.

As I’ve said before, America will one day be fighting some of these same people we are supporting and training in Iraq today. Anyone remember the Mujahideen in Afghanistan?

An article in today’s Knoxville News-Sentinel discusses the Cherohala Challenge and the English Mountain Challenge.
I’ve ridden the Cherohala Challenge the past two years and am planning to do it again on June 16. It’s definitely a “challenge.” There’s a 20 mile stretch of climbing with very little rest for the weary. Moreover, the east slope of the Skyway has very little shade. The June sun during last year’s ride was extra hot; I thought I was going to melt.
Hmm, that’s right around the corner, isn’t it? Note to self: get in shape quickly!

This is interesting:

The popular online dating service eHarmony was sued on Thursday for refusing to offer its services to gays, lesbians and bisexuals.
A lawsuit alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of Linda Carlson, who was denied access to eHarmony because she is gay.
Lawyers bringing the action said they believed it was the first lawsuit of its kind against eHarmony, which has long rankled the gay community with its failure to offer a “men seeking men” or “women seeking women” option.
They were seeking to make it a class action lawsuit on behalf of gays and lesbians excluded from the dating service.

I’m not gay or lesbian, so I won’t be joining Ms. Carlson’s suit. But in a way, I feel her pain. You see, I too have been the victim of eHarmony discrimination.
Like every other TV viewer, I’ve been bombarded with advertising promising those who enter the eHarmony domain with a soul mate, the love of their life. Not being in possession of either, I decided to check it out. I registered under a fake name (don’t want the dating police coming after me) and proceeded to take the “Relationship Questionnaire” to discover what kind of social creature I am.
The Relationship Questionnaire was fairly extensive–several pages of questions regarding different dimensions of my personality. As is often the case with these kinds of tests, I didn’t fit its multiple choice mold very well. But I did the best I could, sometimes choosing the least bad answer.
Finally I reached the moment of truth–the feedback which would set me on the course toward relationship bliss. But alas, it wasn’t to be. Instead I felt the sharp pangs of rejection as I read that eHarmony was unable to match people or my personality type with anyone else.
Wow, who knew? It’s difficult to find a match for my personality? That’s the kind of problem which could prompt someone to seek help from a website . . . or something.
Sorry to hear of your problem, Ms. Carlson. But you don’t have to be gay or lesbian to excluded from the eHarmony community of happy relationships.

Saturday morning I drove to North Carolina to ride with a couple other Bike Forums members. Here’s the ride report I posted on the site (plus photos below):
The Southeast region Bike Forums ride began bright and early at 10 a.m. Saturday from the Pisgah Inn (near Asheville, NC). Well, it was supposed to begin then, but I arrived promptly at 10:40 a.m. Thankfully, BikeWNC and rm -rf were gracious enough to wait for me.
I went to the bathroom to change. It was a crisp, cold May morning at 5,000 feet–temperatures were in the 40s. So I reverted to winter wear: arm warmers, knee warmers, and full-finger gloves.
A few minutes making final preparations, and then we were off on the ride–a group of three riders spanning the cycling spectrum: BikeWNC, a local mountain goat; rm -rf, a flatlander from Northern Kentucky; and me, a nondescript rider from the hills of Tennessee.
After a few minutes coasting downhill on the Blue Ridge Parkway, we headed down the mountain on NC 276.
“The road is kind of rough at the top, but it gets better” BikeWNC warned. “Whatever you do, don’t cross the yellow line.” That’s always good advice.
The first three miles were a steep, curvy descent through the woods. I looked for the best line through the road bumps and tried to keep up.
Gradually, the slope eased up as we entered habited territory. Two large dogs welcomed us to civilization. BikeWNC and rm -rf responded to the barking with “howls” of their own; having met their match, the canines backed off.
The next ten miles were smooth sailing as we gradually lost elevation. We hit smoother pavement and BikeWNC and rm -rf took off, cruising at 20+ mph despite the headwind. I dialed up my wattage to keep pace. We rode through a mixed area–a nice golf course, some nice houses, some not-so-nice houses, and a healthy serving of junkyards.
We stopped at a gas station for a break. The temperature had warmed up several degrees, so we started shedding clothes. I stripped off my gloves and knee warmers.
Shortly after resuming the ride, we bid adieu to the high-speed traffic on NC 215 and turned onto the much quieter Lake Logan Road. We reached the low elevation point and slowly began climbing–first in a stretch of open countryside, then in the woods. BikeWNC told about his bid to become an Olympic kayaker.
To my surprise, we happened upon a body of water: Lake Logan. We stopped for pictures. BikeWNC told of the recreational center there.
Around mile 28 the climbing picked up. It held constant at 4-5% for a while. The road parallels a stream, though it we didn’t see it much due to the trees.
We barely encountered any traffic climbing Lake Logan Road. It was very quiet in the woods–with one notable exception. When we were about a third of the way up a high-ride pickup truck, complete with kids in the back, came roaring up the road. About 30 seconds later, it turned around and came roaring back for an encore performance. I wondered if this might turn into a developing situation, but fortunately that was the extent of the day’s redneck event.
We stopped were the road crosses the stream. It’s a very pretty spot: on the uphill side, the water cascades over a steep rock formation. On the other side, there’s a natural pool about 30 feet below. I declined the opportunity to go skinny dipping in 40 degree water. However, I did fill my water bottles with the cold water, courtesy of the nearby spring.
After the spring, we hit the first of two tougher climbing grades: a 7-8% mile-long stretch. Despite never previously having done that much climbing, rm -rf was undaunted by the mountains. He settled within his heart range and motored away. Although the elevation bothered him a bit, he never needed to stop and rest for long.
As we neared the top, the view opened up. At 5,000 feet, the leaves on the trees were still coming out. I was struck by the number of mountain balds in the area. We stopped to take pictures of a waterfall on the mountain side.
After a second short pitch we reached the Blue Ridge Parkway. We took a break at the overlook, enjoying the view. Visibility was over 50 miles. Before the ride, both rm -rf and BikeWNC had hidden provisions near the overlook. rm -rf discovered that a critter (or something) had taken his food, leaving only the water. Fortunately, wilderness-savvy BikeWNC had plenty of extra food in his non-bearproof container. We dined on fig newtons, bananas, and chocolate.
The views from the parkway were spectacular. We stopped at several more overlooks and BikeWNC pointed out highlights. Then we hit a multi-mile downhill run. I did my best to keep up. rm -rf noted that it was the longest downhill stretch he had ever done. He appeared to enjoy it.
We passed through a few tunnels. rm -rf was the only one equipped with a blinky light. Luckily, only one car approached us while we were in the darkness, and its driver saw us. So no one got run over. While we were in the second tunnel I observed that it was the longest tunnel I had ever ridden in. Fifteen seconds later, I commemorated the event by accidentally running off the road (no damage done).
The last few miles of the ride featured several short up and down stretches. Traffic was a bit heavier than before, but still not bad for a beautiful weekend day.
We got back to the inn after 4 p.m.
Ride length: 51.5 miles
Riding time: 3:41
After changing, we met again inside. The restaurant wasn’t serving, so BikeWNC and rm -rf got take-out meals. We sat on rocking chairs on the back porch talking cycling and enjoying the mountain panorama. A good time was had by all.

In the last Republican presidential debate Texas Rep. Ron Paul argued that terrorists who attack America are motivated, in part, by America’s Middle East policies:

“They attack us because we’ve been over there. We’ve been bombing Iraq for 10 years. … We’ve been in the Middle East,” Paul said in explaining his opposition to going to war in Iraq.

Paul’s comments have drawn scorn from the right-wing noise machine and some GOP leaders are trying to ban him from future debates.
Meanwhile, in her tribute to Jerry Falwell, Ann Coulter writes this:

Let me be the first to say: I ALWAYS agreed with the Rev. Falwell.
Actually, there was one small item I think Falwell got wrong regarding his statement after 9/11 that “the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians — who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle — the ACLU, People for the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say, ‘You helped this happen.'”
First of all, I disagreed with that statement because Falwell neglected to specifically include Teddy Kennedy and “the Reverend” Barry Lynn.
Second, Falwell later stressed that he blamed the terrorists most of all, but I think that clarification was unnecessary. The necessary clarification was to note that God was at least protecting America enough not to allow the terrorists to strike when a Democrat was in the White House.

When will the right wing outrage machine go after Ann Coulter because she blames Americans for 9/11? I’m not holding my breath.