Per Kos, Governor Richardson is the only “major” (Democratic) presidential candidate calling for American troops to withdraw completely out of Iraq.
(He actually calls for this to happen within a year, which is easier for him to say because that’s before the election.)
This is a nice goal, but I don’t think it’s a good strategy now. The risks of that country melting down are too great for the U.S. to completely abandon it.
At the same time, following President Bush’s “plan” of an indefinite status quo is unworkable; a waste of American life and treasure with no end in sight.
The way out, it seems, lies somewhere in between. A reasonable plan involves the following:
(1) A drastic downscaling of the American presence. Iraqis have to take charge of their own security. Yesterday. It’s their country; they’ve got to work their problems out. It’s become obvious that the issues plaguing Iraq will continue to simmer just below the surface as long as the U.S. military continues babysitting the country. Moreover, we cannot afford to maintain this a failed nation building-via-military-force policy. Ultimately, 150,000 American troops are not going to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, no matter how hard they try. The solution has to come from the Iraqi people.
(2) Maintenance of a safety net. That said, in the near-term America must maintain a force there in case the bottom drops out. I’m not a military strategist, so I don’t know exactly how many would be needed. I assume at a minimum we’ll need something like 30,000 troops there for the next three years to dose fires. This doesn’t need to be a highly visible force, subject to danger, but it probably needs to be there to ensure stability.

I ride my bike on Cherokee Boulevard fairly often. For those unfamiliar with the area, it’s a 2.6 mile divided road that goes through a residential area and along the Tennessee River. It’s one of the more popular spots in Knoxville for cyclists, joggers, and walkers. There’s a park bordering the water.
I like riding there because: (1) the traffic is relatively safer (slower paced with room for vehicles to pass), and (2) it has a mixture of hills and flats. Did I mention the female joggers? I typically do several out-and-backs.
Yesterday I took my camera along and took a few pictures of what was left of the spring blossoms. I should have done this last week, as the weekend freeze really took a toll on the colors. But here’s what was left.
Click on the picture to see the album.

I’m using an old computer that had 256 MB RAM. Rightly or wrongly, I decided that adding more RAM might help speed some tasks up. I got on eBay and ordered a 512 MB stick of Kingston. It arrived today, and I just installed it.
It took me two attempts to get the machine running. The first time started it the computer simply sat there beeping. Apparently, I didn’t have the memory sticks securely latched in their slots. I tried again and it now works.
Conclusions:
(1) Too early to tell how it affects system speed. I haven’t done memory intensive tasks yet.
(2) Whoever designed inside the computer box sure didn’t allow very much room for your hands when installing more memory.
(3) It sure does get dusty inside a computer if you don’t clean it for a few years.

This weekend, after the our service, I dropped by a reception for an in-coming associate pastor and his wife. I don’t recall meeting either of them before.
Both of them were greeting people at a receiving line. As I reached her (first), I extended my hand and prepared to introduce myself.
“You’re Brian, right?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said. more than a little surprised.
“Didn’t you major in business or long-term health care?” she followed up.
“No, but I did take a few classes from that department.”
“My roommate was in a class with you.”
“Oh, who was that?”
“Lisa ___.”
“Sorry, I don’t recall her.”
[Bear in mind that I graduated from college over ten years ago.]
Then I greeted the pastor.
“Hi Brian.”
“Hi,” I laughed
“I believe I talked to your dad earlier.”
I wondered how he knew me. Apparently, he was a freshman in college the year I graduated.
Either these people have a freakish memory, or there’s an FBI file out on me. Anyway, the contrast highlights how bad I am when I meet people. Here’s me trying to get to know someone:
“Yeah, I know you told me what your name was five minutes ago, but can you repeat it?”
Yes, it’s that bad.
Funny how human memory works.

On Tuesday I did my second annual spring ride up the Cherohala Skyway. I rode from Tellico Plains, TN, (900 feet) up to Santeetlah overlook, NC, (5,390 ft) and back.
It was a great day to be out riding. The bank sign said it was 79F when I started. That’s a bit too warm for the first few miles of climbing, but it felt pretty good above 3,000 ft. Since it was an April weekday, there was hardly any traffic to content with. I largely had the road to myself.
The ride starts with an easy and scenic five-mile stretch along the Tellico River. Then the climb gets nasty. I estimate that 20-22 of the next 25 miles is uphill, much of it at 5%+.
It’s because it’s early in the season (I haven’t done much climbing), I’m out of shape, or what, but I thought about mailing it in several times the during the last ten miles. Time also became an issue–I wanted to get back to see the Lady Vols play in the NCAA championship.
Anyway, I tapped into my determination reservoir and made it to the top in 2:30. It was cloudy up there, but fortunately it wasn’t too windy; otherwise I might of gotten cold. Interestingly, the major annoyance turned out to be insects. I didn’t expect them at that elevation in early April, but they were all over as soon as I stopped.
I had a quick energy snack and headed back west. Fortunately, it’s almost all downhill, because my legs started cramping. There’s four or five notable uphill stretches on the descent, and a couple times I thought I might have to stop because my muscles were acting up.
But I had just enough to work through it. I rolled back into Tellico Plains at 7:30 p.m., completing another great day on the bike.
Ride statistics
–Distance: 61.3 miles
–Riding time: 3:57:30
–Average speed: 15.4 mph
–Fastest speed: 42 mph