Ted's Soapbox 2.0

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Today is my birthday. Yippie, big deal. I didn’t go into work last night, I had another bad headache. I go see the doctor Monday, maybe I need a head transplant or something. I just know I am sick of them.

I waited most of the day for the pond guy, but he never showed up. The maids showed up at around noon and were gone at 3. The did a good job again.

Today I will try to catch up on laundry again. Most of the stuff I did for Shane the other night is back on his floor, where it will stay until hell freezes over if I have my way.

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THE EGG McMUFFIN

A Southern California McDonald’s restaurants official says Egg McMuffin inventor Herb Peterson has died in Santa Barbara at age 89.

Peterson came up with idea for the signature McDonald’s breakfast item in 1972.

He began his career with McDonald’s as vice president of the company’s advertising firm, D’Arcy Advertising, in Chicago. He wrote McDonald’s first national advertising slogan, “Where Quality Starts Fresh Every Day,” and eventually became a franchisee.

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THE STRAIN OF WAR

Behind the Pentagon’s closed doors, U.S. military leaders told President Bush they are worried about the Iraq war’s mounting strain on troops and their families. But they indicated they’d go along with a brief halt in pulling out troops this summer.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff did say senior commanders in Iraq should make more frequent assessments of security conditions, an idea that appeared aimed at increasing pressure for more rapid troop reductions.

The chiefs’ concern is that U.S. forces are being worn thin, compromising the Pentagon’s ability to handle crises elsewhere in the world.

Wednesday’s 90-minute Pentagon session, held in a secure conference room known as “the Tank,” was arranged by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to provide Bush an additional set of military views as he prepares to decide how to proceed in Iraq once his troop buildup, which began in 2007, runs its course by July.

“Armed with all that, the president must now decide the way ahead in Iraq,” said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell. The discussion covered not only Iraq but Afghanistan, where violence has spiked, and broader military matters, said Morrell, who briefed reporters without giving details of the discussion. Some specifics were provided by defense officials, commenting on condition of anonymity in order to speak more freely.

The Joint Chiefs are particularly concerned about Afghanistan and an increasingly active Taliban insurgency.

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“The federal government and the state government must not fear programs who change lives, but must welcome those faith-based programs for the embetterment of mankind.”

—George W. Bush, Stockton, Calif., Aug. 23, 2002

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299 Days Left
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Number of Operations Iraq Freedom and Enduring
Freedom casualties as confirmed by U.S. Central
Command: 4467

More than just a number