SATURDAY through WEDNESDAY, January 29 through February 2, 2005

• Let me simplify things for myself: READ THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. It's the best collection of news and articles that you can find on a week-day basis.  The most recent example is yesterday's edition, which has several articles on the Social Security debate getting under way...and from commentators on all sides of the issue.  You can't ask for anything more.
• National and international travel: bad and getting worse.  For a sample, see my friend Morgan McGinley's article in The Day on Sunday ("The Woes Of Travel", Sunday, Jan. 30, 2005, Perspective, pB1).  I thought that what was supposed to happen with "de-regulation" of the airlines was "survival of the fittest", with the weak going bankrupt...and not being subsidized to come out.  But we seem to have taken up the same game plan as that of Japan, where the weakest industries have been propped up - to the detriment of the whole Japanese economy - over the last decade. (The most recent example is their efforts on behalf of their weakest auto maker, Mitsubishi.  It might be good or necessary social policy...but it's lousy business: a race to the bottom.  And now we hear that the administration plans to remove the subsidy for Amtrak.  Within the above context, WHY?
• When is that great deliberative body, the Congess of the United States, going to debate something substantive...like the definition of "torture", its applicability to "terrorists", and the relevance and applicability of the Geneva Conventions of War to the entire question?  And what about the death penalty?  In the absence of such debate and resolution on a national level, we have the spectacle of sometimes arrogant judicial legislation.  That is not what our democracy is about.
• President George W. Bush: much more than the Democrats bargained for, and more than the Republicans had a right to expect.  Hang on tight; we're in for a good ride, this time in the right direction. (See WSJ today, Opinion, pA14).

FRIDAY, January 28, 2005

• New London, Ct.  "...a gritty place...a town with a heart"; "the town too tough to die"; "can't kill it with a stick"; "one of the garden spots of the world"; "a hip little city"....All of these comments are true, as we who came here as pioneers in 1963 will gladly attest.  A city with three colleges within its boundaries; with the Garde Arts Center and the Eastern Connecticut Symphony - as good as it gets; with enough and varied eating places to challenge any gourmand; with a top-notch medical community; with politics as "local" and entertaining as anywhere in the country; with a 40 year commitment to taking care of its own...elderly, poor, minorities - and many of those of surrounding communities; and a two hour drive from both Boston and New York City.  The somewhat more up-scale communities around us are never described with such spirit and affection...a deep sense of community.  A good place to live.
• I can't resist another comment on Senator Kennedy.  I've heard it said that he pops off like that because he now has nothing to lose; nothing, that is, except his mind.  (See also today's article by Charles Krauthammer in The Day, Commentary, pA9: "Senate Democrats May Pay A Heavy Price For Their Attacks On Rice".)
• The "Oscars" and The Passion of The Christ".  Reminds me of Groucho Marx's famous comment:"I would never join a club that would have me."  That film is in a class by itself.
• Anytime you need crank case full of chuckles, tune into The Tappet Brothers, Click and Clack, Saturdays on National Public Radio.  They are ably assisted by a staff including their statistician Marge Inavera and their researcher Erasmus B. Dragon.

MONDAY through THURSDAY, January 24 through 27, 2005

• The terrible losses of American soldiers continue.  There is never a good loss; but it is less when the mission is right.  What is really a loss is the targeted denegration by Democratic Senators of Dr. Rice, for the specific purpose of doing only that.  Not a way to help their country, but rather mean-spirited self-indulgence by the world's worst losers.  And now comes Senator Kennedy, one of the worst of them, who today...two days before the Iraq election...erupts in a demand for us to pull out through an announced specific timetable.  This man has arrived beyond the embodiment of the Democratic Party symbol.  His cognitive abilities now have to be called into question.
• Meanwhile, King Fahd , Crown Prince Abdullah and the highest Muslim cleric in Saudi Arabia have this week all condemned terrorism and the terrorists as being part of a usurpation and bastardization of the great religion of Islam.  And Charles Krauthammer reports successes rarely printed in the liberal press ("Great Project Of Bush Administration Is Strengthening", The Day, Saturday, Jan. 22, 2005, Commentary, pA7).  With all this going on, including the sacrifices of Americans on behalf of a free Iraq, we can only hope that the Iraqi people will finally pick up their own sword and shield in their own interests...first of all by voting in great numbers on January 30.  It will be about time.

SUNDAY, January 23, 2005

Today's news provides fertile ground for comment...or maybe it's just the Blizzard of 2005.

• On special Armed Forces commandos assigned to protect the President this week, and on "Posse Comitatus", I was relieved to read that the 1887 law is not totally precluding cooperation between State, local and Federal forces from protecting this country from terrorism.  It also might not be a bad idea to bridge the gun rights issue by considering establishing "well-regulated militias" and restricting the AK-47 type weapons to them...instead of allowing them in the hands of just anyone.  I will also repeat for emphasis: what this country, and its young people, need is a fair and comprehensive Draft.
• Now we have an Uncle Sam Diet.  It looks a lot like the Mediterranean diet that we have been touting recently (see www.medidietresources.com) , except for its stress on calorie-counting and its having placed meat in the same food group with fish and poultry, undoubtedly a political accommodation.  Together with new requirements to remove trans fats (partially hydrogenated vegetable oils) from commercial foodstuffs, it is certainly a step in the right direction.
• Liberty, and President Bush's Inaugural Address.   Here come all the nay-sayers trying to negate or at least dilute the message - including the President's father.  No vision, no guts, no glory.  Let the man articulate his own vision.  That's what leaders are for.
• Evolution and Intelligent Design.  Can anyone who has lived more than a few years, or who has seen the findings and implications of the Hubble telescope deny at least as valid a theory as that of an "Intelligent Design and Designer?  In addition, both theories are compatible.  So, why not refer to it in our schools?  Or is this another example of academic intolerance for which some of our best institutions of higher learning have become notorious?  The most recent flap over the comments of Harvard President Lawrence Summers come to mind (see "Sex Ed At Harvard", by Charles Murray, NYTimes, today, Wk - Op-Ed, p17).  Not surprisingly, today's NYTimes editorial is on the wrong side of this issue also ("The Crafty Attacks on Evolution", Wk - Editorials and Letters, p16).
• Former Connecticut Governor Rowland may have caught a big break today (see "No Laws Broken In CRRA-Enron Deal", The Day today, Section D5).  Judge Carroll found "in his report that Rowland had no role in the deal before it was approved by the CRRA board."  Could it be that John Rowland was guilty of only gross stupidity and that he may avoid actual jail time?
• The Pope has reportedly once again condemned the use of condoms, despite the pandemic of AIDS.  God forgive me if I'm wrong but, Your Holiness...that just does not compute.
• Here's a non-sequitur: "Ross Keeps Himself At Center Stage" (The Day today, pA1,6).  NOT.  It is everybody else, and the press, who are doing that.  Let the man pay for his crimes and die in peace.  Requiescat in Pacem.

SATURDAY, January 22, 2005

• Anyone wishing to get better insight into the morass that is the Middle East is well advised to read Thomas Friedman's NYTimes articles regularly, and to read his book on the subject: "Longitudes and Attitudes", Farrar-Straus-Giroux, New York, 2002).  His most recent offering (The Day, January 19, 2005, Commentary, pA7) is of a piece with the rest, supporting the coming Iraqi elections as a way for these Muslims to have more control over their future.  "People with the responsibility and opportunity to run their own lives focus on their own lives - not on us.  More of that would be a very good thing."
• Abortion...the Slavery issue of the 20th and 21st century.  Today we remember the disaster that was Roe v. Wade, a judicial abuse of power that was based not on Law, not on Medicine, and certainly not on Morality.  And all these years later we still have the pro-abortion fanatics totally ignoring the Medicine and the Morality by ignoring the existence of the fetus as a concern at all.  The latest iterations of this arrogance are the "Plan B" pill (abortion) and a straight-faced proposal involving "creating a new type of biological entity that can produce stem cells but would not rise to the moral status of a human embryo" (American Medical News, Jan. 3-10, 2005, Professional Issues, p10).  The Nazi regime already did that; they were called "Untermenschen."

MONDAY through FRIDAY, January 17 through 21, 2005

Sorry about the interruption.  But I still have been "on the beat".

• The President's Second Inaugural Address.  Conditioning the survival of our own liberty and security to the "success of liberty in other lands", and then notifying those other lands that our relationship with them will be predicated on how they embrace this human right for their own peoples, is as transforming as that of President Lincoln with the Emancipation Proclamation...not his plan in his first administration but what assured his greatness.  As was true of Lincoln, Jefferson and Jackson in their presidencies, all of whom took vital actions not then generally accepted to be within their presidential powers, George Bush dares to push the envelope for the benefit of this country.  That's leadership.
• Meanwhile, look up "perseveration" in a medical dictionary.  This from Stedman's Medical Dictionary: "the constant repetition of a meaningless word or phrase; in Clinical Psychology, the uncontrollable repetition of a previously appropriate or correct response, even though the repeated response has since become inappropriate or incorrect."  That reminds me of the constant Democratic carping going on, especially regarding our pre-emptive attack on Iraq.  Beware.  It is a sign of mental illness.

SUNDAY, January 16, 2005

• Adoption.  The case of the five year old boy in Florida is another example of judges and some legislators having forgotten a basic goal in family law: the best interests of the child.   Of course, adoptions should require the agreement of biologic mother and putative father.  But they should be supported by prompt and enforceable termination of parental rights, for the benefit of the child and of the adopting parents.  As sensible as this seems, many states make a mockery of this procedure.  Arizona is an example of how to do it right.  Connecticut is not.  And, obviously, Florida can use some work too.
• Specialist Charles Graner, Jr.  As is true with "civil disobedience", a military person is in no way obliged to comply with an illegal order, as long as he is prepared to face prosecution for such action.  "I was only following orders" was not good in Nurenberg; it's still not a defense.
• Anyone interested in New London, Ct. would do well to read today's The Day.  A poll of our citizens gives comforting support to the concept of this as "one of the garden spots of the world."  But keep that a secret.  We don't want our life style spoiled...by anyone but ourselves, of course.  That's my current reaction to the revival of a periodic proposal that we go to a "strong Mayor" form of government.  In a city where Democrats have dominated the scene for decades, that sounds to like the return of machine politics.  Why not simply try having the City Manager be responsive to a City Council that actually tasks him and requires results on a meeting -by -meeting basis?  It worked when I served on the Council, with Frank Driscoll as City Manager, 1975-1977.
• Pope Pius XII.  "Italian paper says Hitler planned to have Pius Xll kidnapped...cited the head of the SS in German-occupied Rome, saying that Hitler considered Pius a 'friend of the Jews'". (The Day, today, pA2).  The history of the Pope, the Catholic Church and WW II can be reviewed in detail in a monograph published by my wife, Therese, in the mid-1980's, and re-produced on this web-site (Poland and the Catholic Church During the Nazi Domination).

FRIDAY through SATURDAY, January 14 through 15, 2005

• National Public Radio continues to be worth listening to, despite the perpetual liberal bias that its hosts highlight, through guests and commentary.  One of the best of these is the Dianne Rheam Show, weekdays at 10 AM on 89.9FM in our area.  As liberal as the rest, she always includes guests who give at least a modicum of conservative outlook.  For example, yesterday, Tony Blakely (of the Washington Post?), commenting on the strident liberal push toward secularization of our society (ie. "freedom from religion"), defined these types as "secular fundamentalists", as much a religion as any other.  How does that grab you ultra-liberals?
• Iraq.  Now it is being called a "training ground for terrorists", and supposedly our fault.  What nonsense.  The terrorists came first...remember?  And it will be better to have them "training" under our close observation (as soon as we place enough forces there), where their graduation ceremony will be their funeral.  Regarding troop strength, one apparent apologist for the current wrong-headed policy (read "Secretary Rumsfeld") makes the right diagnosis, but timidly fails to proceed to the logical treatment (see "A Few More Good Men", by Edward N. Luttwak, WSJ yestereday, Opinion pA8).
• More on Public Education.  Read "No Teacher Left Behind", by Terry M. Moe, WSJ Thursday, Jan. 13, 2005, Opinion pA12).   It is about the teachers' unions,  the most powerful, counterproductive and corrosive unions in this country today.   Another example of the whole being a great deal less than the sum of its parts.
• Genetic testing.  Beware.  There are no adequate privacy controls for this information, which in the wrong hands could ruin permanently one's insurability and employability.  And now comes an article in the WSJ (again) entitled "DNA-Disease Links Aren't Always As Real As They First Appear" (by Sharon Begley, yesterday, Marketplace, pB1).  "Geneticists have been embarrassed at how many claims of gene-disease links fail to 'replicate.'  That is, after the initial claim there is either a deafening silence, with no follow-up studies confirming the association, or an outright refutation."  Then there is the personal devastation that may eliminate hope, always a terrible wrong.  So, Beware!

MONDAY through THURSDAY, January 10 through 13, 2005

• The independent report on CBS and Dan Rather.  The story really begins at least with Bernard Goldberg's book entitled "Bias" (Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2002)...and really with the biblical injunction: "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall".  And I sure don't believe the finding that "the report was not politically motivated by CBS executives".
• Stories keep popping up regarding some schools in the country, and their efforts to make the country free from religion and even free from patriotism.  Schools are a strange place to find the descendants of Savonarola and the Nazi book burners.
• Iraq.  L. Paul Bremer III, the "regent" over that country for many months after the war,  defends his decision to disband the Iraqi Army ("The Right Call", WSJ, yesterday, Opinion, pA10).  Now who is going to defend the pitifully inadequate effort to establish security there?
• "Incredibly stupid".  The British have a way with words; these are the words one commentator used to describe Prince Harry's most recent effort to be his own man (boy?).  Can you imagine if William Shakespeare were writing today and had the House of Windsor as fodder for his cannon?
• And more about Stupid.  Polio is on the rise again in Africa (and AIDs continues to ravage the continent), because Muslim clerics preach against vaccination as another kind of Western plot.  Lord, save those people from themselves.
• The NIH yesterday embraced the Mediterranean Diet without mentioning the term, although they still threw a bone to the cattle industry by lumping beef with fish and poultry in the new food pyramid.  Regarding our own efforts in that direction, as noted earlier in this section, you can soon see a "work in progress" at www.medidietresources.com.
• The Death Penalty.  More debate...and more ambivalence.  This important issue is on the front burner in Connecticut with the scheduled execution of serial killer Michael Ross.  See "Clergy...and Poll", The Day today, Region, pC1).  I heard today a verbatim response by Ross to the question regarding whether, if life without parole were offered to him now, he would accept it.  His answer was "Yes.  To do otherwise would be suicide; and that's not what I'm about".  And yet, anti-capital punishment people are trying to have him declared incompetent for refusing to challenge the death sentence any longer.  It would appear that another issue is in play here: the constitutionally established right of individual self-determination in matters of life and death, excluding suicide.  I also continue to be somewhat ambivalent, although I continue to support the right of organized society to protect itself by means including the ultimate penalty - so long as the actual execution in no way involves the participation of the Medical Profession.   That's the best I can do...for now.

SUNDAY, January 9, 2005

• The new Bush #1 - Clinton Team.  This could be a unique task force for President Bush #2...if it is not overused.  Perhaps they can seek a Western approach to the morass called Africa, reeling under despots and demagoguery, militant (or self-serving) Islam, AIDS, Malaria, and latter - day slavery.  One approach might involve an "Adopt A Nation" plan by the Western powers, something less than benign or economic colonialism, but more than heartless neglect.  Such a light would at least be "worth the candle".
• The Patriot Act, and the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004.  See "The Patriot Act Just Got A Whole Lot Worse", by former Judge Andrew P. Napolitano, in The Day today, Perspective, pC1.  Perhaps now would be the time for our legislative representatives to READ THE ACTS, and make necessary changes.
• The New London City Council.  Every day, in every way, I continue to be under-whelmed.  How good citizens can often lose stature, rather than gaining it, after being elected to a public body - especially at the local level where "politics" really should not matter - is a discouraging but necessary study in the soft under-belly of democracy.
• Medical Malpractice Reform.  This will not be popular with some of my medical colleagues; but it is certainly consistent with everything I have been stating and writing for about 25 years (much of it to be found on this web-site).  See the Editorial in today's, NYTimes, entitled "Malpractice Mythology" (Wk p12).
• Finally, a heart-warming article in today's The Day about an ex-patriot wannabe to France who changed her mind after getting a taste of it ("Ex-Patriot Dreams: Waking To Realize There's No Place Like Home", by Peg Moran, Perspective, pC1). Perhaps she also realized what General Patton expressed decades earlier: "I'd rather have a German tank in front of me than a French tank behind me".

SATURDAY, January 8, 2005

Three more recurring stories that warrant comment:

• Social Security.  The administration needs to be more forthcoming with details of its recommendations for revision.  One recent report, allowing "4 1/2%" of a worker's payroll taxes to be invested through a private account turns out to be 4 1/2% OF THE 6 1/2 % CONTRIBUTION currently going into the Social Security Fund.  That looks like 2/3 of the worker's annual contribution subject to stock market activity.  If so, that's too much of a crap shoot.  Will someone please clarify?   Also, will current and future payouts to current recipients of Social Security be reduced under any proposals under consideration?  Social Security must be revised, especially by ceasing its use as a piggy bank for the general fund.  But Republicans and President Bush would be well advised to be totally up-front with the American people on this issue...or they may find themselves in the political desert for 40 years, in spite of the Democrats best efforts.
• Michael Jackson.  What's going on here?  All the delay and intrigue is starting to bring to mind the injustices of the day-care cases in Massachusetts two decades ago; and the problems of "prosecutorial misconduct" that frequently raise their ugly head.  Michael Jackson is innocent until proven guilty...and it's starting to look like he may be  innocent altogether.  After all this, he should at least get his day in court...not like O.J.Simpson, whose judge's confused conduct of his trial forever precluded a clear finding of guilt or innocence in that case.   (And in any case where prosecutorial misconduct is found that leads to a false conviction, the prosecutor(s) at fault should be sentenced to serve the same term).
• The Army, and the forces in Iraq.  Now Secretary Rumsfeld recently used the term "bleak" to describe the situation.  I am reminded of another term, learned in German class, to describe this picture: "Dicke Kopf".

FRIDAY, January 7, 2005

• The interrogation of Alberto Gonzales yesterday proceeded as expected: "a tale as told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing".  Alright, I'll admit to a little hyperbole here...but not much.  The Democrats seem to care little about the facts surrounding the issues of terrorism, "torture" and interrogation techniques.  Their goal is to make Judge Gonzales damaged goods for any future nomination proceeding.  Two articles in yesterday's WSJ (Opinion, pA16) do address the facts: 1) "Too Nice For Our Own Good", by Heather Mac Donald; and 2) the editorial "Torture Showdown".  As expressed in the editorial: "By all means let's have a debate over interrogating terrorists".
• The Army, again.  Now the arm-chair generals in the Pentagon want a waiver from Secretary Rumsfeld to ignore the two year limitation on call-up of National Guard members and to retain or re-call them essentially indefinitely.  Where is the "full faith and credit" of the Federal Government now?  We all have a great stake in the direction of this "new Army", which is putting band-aids on cancer.  And these are also our friends and neighbors   Any fair-minded person should now recognize the good sense that a fair draft makes...for the Army and for any inductees.  Talk it up.  "This is the time for all good men (and women) to come to the aid of their country."

MONDAY through THURSDAY, January 3 through 6, 2005

A number of issues to be addressed today, as always demonstrating involvement and, hopefully, common sense.

• Afganistan.  Our government is trying to decide what to do with the current massive crop of opium ready for harvesting.  What's to decide?  Pre-emptive destruction, with reasonable compensation for the growers - but not for the intermediate criminal elements - is the way to go...finally.  That has always been what should be done with the coca harvests in the Caribbean.  And it should be effected without prior knowledge of the State Department, so that they can have "plausable deniability".  That is how to use power for good.
• The current flap over Attorney-General nominee Alberto Gonzalez is all about damaging this good man in anticipation of a probable U.S.S.C. nomination.  His critics know or should know that the issues about terrorism and the need for information over two years ago were different from the present climate.  Furthermore, certain crimes...like any terrorism, or like trafficking in child slavery...should be dealt with through Summary Justice and not according to either Hoyle or Geneva.  Whether in these contexts or in relation to the death penalty, society has an inherent right of self-defense.
• Pledge vs. actually Give.  We should know which countries have pledged and not given in the past.  Current comments from the U.N., without more, float the suggestion that America has been one of the welshing nations.  I want to know.
• "The Army We Need".  This editorial in the NYTimes on Sunday, Jan. 2 (Wk p8), together with today's report from the commanding general of the Army Reserves ("a broken force") should raise this issue to a critical level within the Bush administration.  With or without the agreement of Secretary Rumsfeld and some of the Army brass (comfortable in their present assignments), this country needs a substantial expansion of our military, especially the Army...and we need a fair draft to accomplish this.  Perhaps President Bush should recall that the best general Abraham Lincoln had during the Civil War was...Abraham Lincoln.
• Eminent Domain, in New London, Ct., in the nation, and in the U.S. Supreme Court: right cause; wrong case.
• Flexible health spending accounts, discussed recently in this section, were just dealt another blow: "Treasury Secretary John Snow rejected a request by the Senate Finance Committee's chairman to modify a heavily criticized rule that forces participants to lose any money left in their accouhts at the end of the year" (WSJ yesterday, Personal Journal, pD1).  And he had the gall to try to justify that position by an alleged concern over the effect of such action on increasingly popular HSA's...but still obstructed by the health insurance industry and their operatives. The fix is in.  You should contact your legislators on this one.
• Good, Evil, Tragedy and God.  Those of little Faith are particularly shaken by events like the recent disaster in the Indian Ocean.  The rest of us remember that the greatest gifts God bestowed upon us are free will, the intelligence to use it, and a means of salvation despite its mis-use.   Whether relating to tsunamis, asteroids, global warming, Saddam Hussein, or how we treat our neighbor, we have choices.  And all those choices have consequences.  Personally, I can live with that...and with the rock-solid knowledge that God loves me.

SUNDAY, January 2, 2005

• As predicted earlier this week in this section, the terrible aftermath of the tsunami in the South Asia countries...which will be with us for years...has great potential for a silver lining.  Not only can the poor people of these nations be nudged toward 21st century life and opportunity with the massive influx of aid; but the Western world has a unique opportunity to demonstrate to the Muslim world that we all really believe in the same God, and that we act accordingly.  Our actions in the coming months and years can undermine the world of terrorism, festering and growing in all these countries, more effectively than can the entire military might of the U.S. and all its allies.  Meanwhile, on the ground, why are the leaders of the affected nations waiting for massive epidemics to kill thousands more of their citizens?  The dead should not be buried in shallow graves after days in the sun and humidity. For the safety of the living, they should be burned promptly.  Any traditional nuances and practices regarding dealing with the dead must fall before the belief common to all religions: that the soul leaves the body at the time of death.  Let's do the right thing here!
• After denigrating the initial response of the Bush administration to the great tragedy, a measured response that continues to be measured according to new information, the "usual suspects" now decry the supposed lack of funds in the Federal budget to get the job done.  Never in such liberal commentaries is mentioned the effects of GROWTH.  Lest we forget: the payoff of Federal deficits and the development of surpluses in the 1990's was due almost entirely to GROWTH...the most productive decade in American business history as we experienced the Second Industrial Revolution.  That is how it will all get done: through growth and increased productivity. As was expressed decades ago, "THE BUSINESS OF AMERICA IS BUSINESS".
• Today's article by George Will (The Day, Perspective, pC6) accurately addresses the proper approach to two perennial issues facing America: abortion and the death penalty.  A hint: limited Federal and Judicial power, si; expanded Federal and usurping Judicial power, no.
• Meanwhile, an article by Osborn Elliott entitled "Red Nation/Blue Nation" (The Day, today, Perspective, pC1) performs a public service by giving the lie to the impression that this country is deeply divided by geographic areas.  Yes, we are divided regarding some things.  But our color is more like purple as we hold our breath straining to come to terms...with our families and neighbors, and sometimes with ourselves .
• Iraq.  More carnage by terroists and criminals.  When is our side going to effect some retribution?  "Vengance Is Mine", sayeth the Lord; "I Shall Repay".  But can't we get a little down-payment now?  It would seem like merely Justice.

SATURDAY, January 1, 2005

• Everyone has his choice for the Number One Story of 2004.  Mine is The Discovery of Obesity.  We have finally made a national diagnosis...that was staring us in the face.  Now on to treatment.  Watch for more on the offerings of Mediterranean Diet Enterprises, Inc., including via our work in progress: www.medidietresources.com.
• If you want another opinion about the most important stories of 2004, see The Day today, pA5.  That includes the Day Editorial, sub-titled "A Few Basic Ideas That Could Improve Your Life" (Opinion, pA6).  One idea particularly caught my attention: "Dine occasionally with older people".  Morgan, does that mean that we're going to get out to lunch together soon?
• More on Iraq.  Throughout the last year, I have been critical of the poor efforts made by the Iraqi people themselves in their own behalf in their quest for democracy and freedom.  That is still somewhat true.  But, lest we Americans get to feeling too superior in that regard, consider what it took us to get where we are today: the American Revolution and the War of 1812, in both cases where we had to deal with "Loyalists"; the Civil War and the turmoil leading up to it; 100 years of Jim Crow and KKK...after the Emancipation Proclamation; 50 years of suppressing the Indians; our brief foray into colonialism.   We certainly have been making up for all that throughout the world throughout the 20th century.  So, whatever the sub-plots and added motivations we may have for being in Iraq, our efforts there now should be regarded as of a piece with our better natures so prominently displayed since 1914.  Stay the course.  2005 will be better.