This controversy has gone on too long. Augusta National and the Boy Scouts of America have been on the liberal hit list for some time now. I'm happy that both have successfully resisted the challenges to their charters. Forcing Augusta National to admit a woman--my bet is, a rich white Republican woman if this finally happens--is not an interesting discussion. Forcing to let women attend school is, or leave home without wearing a black sack in blazing temperatures, or being subject to divorce by her husband at a whim--is. I bet that private clubs exist in Arab countries of all stripes. Why aren't NCoWO activists there? Why aren't these women who are wound up about a country club, of all things, more concerned about people dying every day?

Oh, that would require more than just pieces on Today and in the NYT to get a buzz going. It requires real work on the ground in a hostile foreign land.

And there's no chance for graft; no opportunity for Jesse Jackson and his pack of hyenas to get their taste. I agree that it's unfair to single out Tiger Woods to boycott the Masters--he has a chance to make history as the first to win three consecutive championships. Why should he sacrifice a once in a lifetime opportunity to make such a silly gesture?

If the sorry state of the UN's search tool and web design in general is any indication, the fact that Iraq is in "material breach" of the latest resolution on inspections won't lead to UN-sanctioned action before 2003. However, just three days after agreeing to the UN resolution in an 8 page screed that reveals much about the diseased minds who authored it, Iraq has fired on coalition aircraft patroling the no-fly zone.

All of the ills that Iraq suffers would have ended had it adhered to the conditions set forth in the previous resolutions over the past eleven (11) years. The US and its allies have been attacked for causing suffering to the Iraqi people. The private reactions of the Iraqi citizenry reveal those accusations to be the lies that they are.

If Saddam keeps thumbing his nose at the world, his apologists and the UN won't be able to stop the onset of a short, violent war that will once again decimate Saddam's forces. This time, we trust, the cleanup will be complete.

It took another great post by James Lileks to rouse me from my blogcoma. Another fine summary of Mondale's disconnection with anything relevant to the 21st century.

Just as it seemed that the Internet profiteers in the 90s were destroying the thing, the bloggers have created another great use for the wonderful set of tools that comprise it. Instant, unvarnished, analysis and reporting--sometimes with an agenda, but woe to those who try to manipulate the truth in this space! Mondale's sad lack of understanding of the net stands in stark contrast to that of his opponent. I hope that Minnesota's voters are a little brighter.

As for Tacoma, and Washington, we'll see. I don't see any upsets in the races for the House here; no Senate seats are contested this cycle. Self-imposition of taxes are, however, for dubious transportation improvements.