In other words, the United States has become, to a great extent, a bystander. Washington can make whatever guarantees it wants, but the calculus by all sides now is whether they can secure their interests with their own resources. At this point, the United States is growing less and less relevant to the outcome in Iraq, though it remains urgently interested in what that outcome will be.

If we had to guess, we would say that the political arrangement should work, more or less. But we don't have to guess. It is now nearly Memorial Day. The violence in Iraq will surge, but by July 4 there either will be clear signs that the Sunnis are controlling the insurgency -- or there won't. If they are controlling the insurgency, the United States will begin withdrawing troops in earnest. If they are not controlling the insurgency, the United States will begin withdrawing troops in earnest. Regardless of whether the deal holds, the U.S. war in Iraq is going to end: U.S. troops either will not be needed, or will not be useful.

• Saddam Hussein and his sons will no longer pose any threat to the region, and any ruling power in Baghdad will pose fare less of a threat to the region.
• The Syrians, forced to shift forces to confront the United States, lost control over Lebanon.
• Increased media interest in the region forced progress on the Palestinian issue.
• Ghadafi, fearing Libya would be next in line for "regime change", suddenly turned over its WMD program, along with considerable intelligence about weapons development by other nations and groups.

If we left now, the region is far better off than it was in 2001, and certainly 1991. Not perfect by any means, but then again, it never was.

In the end, it may turn out that Iraq was a flawed and unworkable entity, established by arbitrary post-World War I Britain and France, that like Cold War-era Yugoslavia, could only be held together by brute force. Or the three groups that make up Iraq will gradually come to the realization that was reached in Lebanon in recent years - co-existence is a reality, so it may as well be a peaceful and cooperative one.

Who knows? In any event, it is a decision that only the people of Iraq can make.

Ted Nugent ... Scott Ian ... Sebastian Bach ... in the same band?!?!?

Yes, a rock and roll line-up with the passion, imagination, frantic energy and raw power to end Western Civilization as we know it ... and maybe even save Rock music ... is coming together in a new supergroup known as Damnocracy.

The band lineup is five serious hard rock and roll veterans ... Sebastian Bach, Jason Bonham, Scott Ian, Ted Nugent and Evan Seinfeld who are now together collaborating on what has to be some great rock and roll. The world hasn't seen such a powerful and dangerous collection of minds since Generals Eisenhower, Bradley, Montgomery, and Patton were a'plotting in back in 1944.

If these guys don't kill each other first, I can't wait to see what they come up with.

Oh yeah, the gateway page flash animation, where they eliminate the enemies of rock music: boy bands, easy listening, and bubblegum pop, is a hoot. Go check them out!

Wayne Washington with The State, has an interesting article on the long, winding, and difficult path to the governor's mansion:

Get elected to statewide office. Avoid scandal. Use your new-found name recognition as a springboard to a successful run for governor of South Carolina.

That seems like a solid strategy. It might even explain the expensive scramble for so-called down-ballot offices like lieutenant governor, treasurer or superintendent of education.

But there’s only one problem with the strategy of using the offices as a platform to win the governorship: It doesn’t work, at least not anymore.

The Blogland of Earl Capps. Earl is from Summerville, a grown man in the construction business, and he writes about things like roadway construction safety (he's for it) and Judas Priest (he likes it). But read a little bit deeper, and you find a guy who not only talks about politics and government waste, he goes out and does some reporting. When Earl found a report about a push-poll aimed at Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, he wrote to two of Bauer's opponents to ask if they were behind the poll. One wrote back, the other didn't, and Earl put it out there for people to see. Good on you, Earl.

... but I wouldn't consider myself grown up, nor do my kids!

Due to a lot of ongoing obligations pressing down, the mental well has run a little dry around here. For those of you who tuned in, expecting something more thoughtful ... sorry.

In the absence of substantive thought and discussion, I thought I'd share today's lunch menu at the Capps household with ya'll:

- Grilled salmon,
- Very buttery corn,
- Sesame garlic rice.

Sounds yummy, doesn't it? That's because it is.

This is the kind of stuff they charge 12-19 bucks a plate for a lot less at those nice-but-painfully-prissy restaurants. My cost ... a lot less, and i get the benefit of having it my way.

Of course, i had to make a concession to my 7 year-old in the menu (she LOVES my salmon) by having chocolate milk to drink. But that's one the nice things about having a good meal at home - you can have it exactly the way you want it, and everyone is happy with what they get.

If that's got ya'll drooling, or kicking your husbands in the tail, demanding they learn to cook, feel free to speak up.

• He is unable to operate the weapon in full-auto mode,
• He is firing a weapon which is intended to be fired from a prone position standing up,
• The weapon jams and he is unable to clear it, and
• He hands the weapon, which has a large and rather obvious handle, to a fellow thug, who stupidly grabs the hot barrell (goes to show how little experience any of them have).