Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head


* Some troops are beginning to question the mission. excerpt:

"Scaling back the military and political goals in Iraq’s Anbar province has hurt the morale of many U.S. soldiers stationed there, and some have begun to question openly not only their mission, but also the leaders who sent them to Iraq in the first place.

"It’s not just buck privates. Several sergeants - the backbone of the enlisted military - said they felt the same way.
...
"Sgt. 1st Class James Tilley was on patrol on the road outside Ramadi later that afternoon, sitting in his Humvee for an hour or two in one spot - sweating profusely in the 105-degree heat - before moving a few hundred yards down the road to another place.

"The patrol is designed to ward off insurgents from trying to put bombs in the road.

"'A lot of times, I look at this place and wonder what have we really done. ... When we first got here, we all wanted to change it and make it better, but now I don’t give a shit,' he said. 'What the hell am I here for?'

"Staff Sgt. A.J. Dean was on the same stretch of road a couple of nights later, and his tone was similar to Tilley’s.

"'I don’t have any idea of what we’re trying to do out here. I don’t know what the (goal) is, and I don’t think our commanders do either,' he said. 'I feel deceived personally. I don’t trust anything (Defense Secretary Donald) Rumsfeld says, and I think (Deputy Defense Secretary Paul) Wolfowitz is even dirtier.'

* An oldish looking Eddie Van Halen and his guitars.

* John Ashcroft and Tom Delay Pretty Much Suck Ass .