My most recent blog opened up a debate in my own family regarding the genesis of the Iraqi War and our personal desires for appropriate outcomes.  The debate inspired me to write a letter to the President of the US, which I have copied to our own representatives and the leaders of both houses of Congress.  I apologize for the length, but I do want to share it here.

I have recently revisited a quiet, green parcel of land just outside of Cambridge, England where 3,812 American souls are laid to rest.  Another 5,127 names adorn the white stone wall that serves as the entrance gate to this majestic place.  The land was donated in perpetuity by Cambridge University and a grateful nation – grateful for the ultimate sacrifice that these servicemen and women made in pursuit of freedom.  It is the only American military cemetery in the British Isles and represents a fraction of the men and women who gave their lives in World War II.

From the comfort of our New England homes the story of a young Somali woman independently arriving in Europe as a teenager, disobeying her family and disavowing her religion is hard to appreciate.  The journey of Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a remarkable one and touches on many themes of relevance to our protected world here in New Hampshire, despite the geographic and cultural distance.  Her book, Infidel, relates her life story through childhood in Africa and the Middle East to her embrace of Western culture and democracy.  It is a difficult road, rich with revelation, disappointment and, ultimately, the strong conviction that the secular world in which we live is worth fighting and dying for.

What do the Salem Witchcraft Trials, Joseph McCarthy and the 110^th Congress have in common?  They were or are in search of demons.  In Salem, 19 men and women (presumably guilty of nothing more than being weird) were hanged.  Under the scrutiny of the Tydings Committee, many a Washington career was ruined by Joseph McCarthy.  It remains to be seen what will come of the various committees now scurrying around Washington digging up dirt with respect to the dismissal of federal prosecutors.

By circumstance of my business travels, I find myself in Durham, NC this morning.  The airwaves and newspaper headlines are ripe today with the dismissal of all charges against the three Duke Lacrosse players accused of sexual assault and rape.  I have seen the consequences and devastating results of misguided prosecution in other cases and the accused are never the same.  These young men have lost a year of their lives; and will find it difficult to travel through life without this being the defining episode of their lives.  How did this happen?

In the summer of 1971, I was driving to my job as an air-hammer operator on an urban renewal project in New London, CT.  As was typical, I was listening to Don Imus on the radio and the current hit tunes of the time.  At least I think it was 1971; long enough ago to get some memories confused and combined.  However, the content of what I heard has stayed with me since that date.  I remember distinctly the joke that he told and the racist overtones that were anything but subtle.

All too often we hear critics of our foreign policy suggest that it is our own heavy-handed tactics that incite our enemies or potential enemies to action against us.  If it were not for our meddling, or in some cases, our presence, life would be grand.  Our adversaries would be happy as clams and go about their work-a-day lives without so much as a thought for the Great Satan.  More importantly, they would not be incited to attack us or our interests “if we simply left them alone”.

It’s April 1 and it is time to get out the bike and begin the season-long training; and this is no April Fool’s joke.  My road bike has been properly tuned and greased and is finally ready.  I don’t take it out in the winter – too much sand, too much wind, too lazy.  No more couch potato, time to get rid of the winter blubber.

Yesterday, Senator Hillary Clinton came to New Hampshire to speak on education.  According to the Concord Monitor and the Union Leader, she was very engaging and explored a number of specifics on how to “fix” our educational system.  She was, of course, singing to the choir – the NEA.  Her primary points apparently were that we need to pay our teachers more and the Bush initiatives were failures.  She went on to indicate that we need more funding for a variety of programs and that the central curriculum ought to be “richer” and not designed simply to succeed on tests.  More money, Bush is wrong and the Central Government will decide the curriculum.  Yikes.

In the 2006 election cycle, the electorate made a very clear choice.  Reflecting on frustration with the results in Iraq, wasteful government spending and conflicts of interest, voters pulled the Democratic lever.  The Democratic Party for its part played the cards well.  Railing against the Iraq War and siding with the majority, Democrats promised to chart a new course – this would not be “stay the course”.  A fresh wind was ready to blow.