The Colonel's Forum

It's been in the 90s here for a few weeks now and I'm pretty much done with the heat. All the landscaping we did seemed like a good idea until now we have to water it several times a week so it doesn't all die from the heat. Went to Ikea a few weeks back and picked up a new rail-light system for the kitchen. Ikea is a great store. We even had dinner there - Swedish meatballs with potatoes and lingonberry sauce, of course. At $4.99/plate, we may be dining there more often. Ella went to her 2nd Buffet concert of the summer this weekend. Drove to Chicago with 3 girlfriends to see it. Kris and I went to the Horseshoe casino in southern Indiana last night and cleaned up at the craps table. It was Kris' first time playing craps, and it was great little road trip. Boston and Styx are in concert there tonight. Can't say I'm missing much there. Last week, for the 2nd time in my life, I missed a flight. I checked in on time, but the security line at San Jose air...

This is arguably one of the most important news stories in recent memory and I doubt it will get the press coverage it deserves. It's not the kind of catchy McNews that CNN can easily dilute into a 30 second spot. It requires an understanding of how our government works and how we've handled "police actions" and "armed conflicts." A bipartisan committee led by Jim Baker and Warren Christopher has concluded that we don't have an effective policy that specifies how the President and Congress need to work together when the President determines that we need to engage in an armed conflict somewhere . History buffs will recall that the last time Congress declared war was June 5, 1942, when we declared war against Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania. Since then we have had a lot of cases where the President just sent troops to go fight somewhere: Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm (Iraq I), Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), Iraqi Freedom (Iraq II), Panama, Grenada, Kos...

I know it seems a bit silly for a 30 year old to be talking about growing old, but I am, and I've been reminded of this be several recent events. First, I attended the 30th birthday of a good friend here in Lexington, which reminded me that I've already celebrated my 30th. Second, we're making plans for Mardi Gras next year where we will celebrate another friend's 30th and for a cruise that will take place during Ella's 30th. Tonight I was watching Cream perform "In a White Room" during a 2005 concert at the Royal Albert hall and I was thinking "why are all the rockers that I like so old?" It looked like some kind of geriatric hoe-down on stage. Neil Young, Willie Nelson, BB King, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan - these guys are all older than dirt. I was waiting for Clapton to ask "where's my apple sauce?" I offered my cousin some grape Nehi and Everclear today for the anniversary of her 29th birthday (I won't say which anniversary)...