Here is a little something from the Washington Post.
Consider Vice President Cheney's address before the Veterans of Foreign Wars on Aug. 26, 2002, one of the earliest major public arguments the administration made for war. The lead of the news stories was Cheney's claim that there was "no doubt" that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was prepared to use them. "The risks of inaction are far greater than the risk of action," Cheney declared.
But then there was the delightful promise of what American success in Iraq could achieve. "Extremists in the region would have to rethink their strategy of jihad," Cheney said. "Moderates throughout the region would take heart, and our ability to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process would be enhanced."
This is an amazing story and gives me tons of history I had no idea about. I find in it one person's positive response to a historical period so many modernist authors use to fragment and leave their characters unfinished or unknowable.
Settegast explains that Magdalenian culture (15000 -9000bc) was far more advanced than archeologists' theories allow. She treats the myths in two Platonic dialogues as fact in order to make part of her claims. The book is full of fascinating writing such as "The most difficult of all forms of intellectual activity is 'the art of handling the same bundle of data as before, but placing them in a new system of relations with one another by giving them a different framework.'" I am not well read in philosopy or archeology, but she writes clearly enough that it doesn't matter.
I am setting up this site for our to trip to China. Lately, I have been working on the flower farm and getting organized to go. Sunni and I are really excited, and I wake up often amazed how great it's going to be to have two children -- a dream come true.
