Wannabe

I don't believe the attempted bombing of the Northwest Airlines flight was part of a Al Quaeda plot. Al Quaeda plots tend to be sophisticated, well-organized plots that involve simultaneous attacks. Here was a bumbling, lone bomber, who really only managed to harm himself. Al Quaeda usually works in pairs or more, to increase the chance of success, and decrease the likelihood of someone having cold feet.

o rly

My nomination for the most overused word of 2009: "really?" As in, "really? Really?"

15 minutes..

It's rare that we see the precise moment when someone's fifteen minutes of fame ends. Today, we witnessed that event when a judge ordered Jon Gosselin to stop making public appearances.

Deadlines

The critics immediately pounced on Obama's proclamation that a draw-down of troops will being in 2011. My contention is, these critics are all wrong. It seems to me time lines serve a useful purpose - it gives urgency to the purpose and it focuses the mission. During the pre-production phase of the projects I worked on, we always list these broad, expansive features. However, when the deadline draws near, we decide what features are essential to the product, and we cut the non-essential items. Although comparing war to business isn't a perfect analogy, it does show the qualities and usefulness of deadlines. Another point is, do we really think these terrorists and insurgents are going to stop fighting just because there's a deadline, and they can "wait it out?" It seems preposterous to me that the enemy will wait it out while our troops are pounding them with bombs and bullets. Plus, the Taliban wants the government to be destabilized - if they basically wait it out for 18 months, doesn't that give stability to the government, allowing them to grow stronger? That would be the last thing the insurgents wanted.

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe

I'll give Tiger Woods his privacy, but if the reports are true, isn't there rich irony in Tiger being attacked by his wife with golf clubs?