Further evidence of religious insensitivity

Col. Dana J.H. Pittard, the commander of the force, said his troops were aware that a "single shot in Najaf" by U.S. soldiers could outrage Iraq’s powerful Shiite majority. "Look at this as the Shiite Vatican," Pittard said before the deployment.

"I once went to an easter service at the church frequented by my girl's family -- or at least the ones in CA. They showed a movie. And there was rock music. It pretty much confirmed everything I'd ever been led to believe about Protestants."--jholloway, in princeofcairo's LJ.

Good housekeeping

Weeks of postponement are over; my self-eval is in. My boos finally asked "Where is it?" and I sent it to her an hour later. (I'm so externally motivated it's pathetic.) All this time, I've been wrestling with the proper balance of politeness and pointedness in my criticisms. Then, last week, monshu pointed out that the historical failures to address my complaints shows that "no one reads these anyway". If no one reads 'em, why sweat wording? So, for example, in answer to the question "Comment on training", I wrote "Training is non-existent." Neutral, factual--who can accuse me of being bitter and confrontational?

The huge bank of forsythia on the way to one of the local lunch spots has been severely pruned. Usually, it's a solid mass of bright yellow by now, but, when I saw it today, it had a limping, scraggly appearance. Two shrubs don't seem to have made it at all. How disappointing! I'd love to stroll through Graceland for my forsythia fix, but I shan't have any time this weekend.

A couple weeks ago at a workplace gathering, I happened upon a fellow daddy-fancier. A week later, he invited me out to lunch in hopes of catching a cutie he had spotted during his previous trip to a bagelry. Unfortunately, we were delayed so we still don't know if he's a regular there or not. Today, I saw a fairly humpy workman waiting by the elevator so I rushed back to my desk and sent him a heads-up. If we can figure out where he's working, we might take a stroll past together. It's like the high-school experience I never had!

Movin' on now...no, really.

Why did I struggle to formulate a reply to Mr Seat-Warmer when James Lileks had already done it?

I am struck once again by the incomparable hold VIETNAM has over some people. They don’t seem to realize how the use of this inapt example demonstrates their inability to grasp the nature of new and different conflicts. When I was in college, El Salvador was Vietnam. When I was in Washington, Kuwait was Vietnam. Afghanistan was briefly Vietnam when we hadn’t won the war after a week. It’s Warholian: in the future, all conflicts will be Vietnam for 15 minutes.

Vietnam was an anomaly. Vietnam was perhaps the least typical war we’ve ever fought, but somehow it’s become the Gold Standard for wars – because, one suspects, it became inextricably bound up with Nixon, that black hole of human perfidy, and it coincided with the golden glory years of so many old boomers who now clog the arteries of the media and academe. A gross overgeneralization, I know. But it’s a fatal conceit. If you’re always fighting the last war you’ll lose the next one. Even worse: Vietnam was several wars ago.

Every time I discuss the current conflict with a boomer, I know they're going to bring up Vietnam. It's utterly predictable and inevitable. It was so refreshing to hear the naysayers in Afghanistan bring up the British invasion for a change. At last! A germane comparison instead of the same old hammer being brought out again to pound yet another pointy thing that looks strikingly like a nail if you happened to be in college in the late 60's or early 70's.