WAR third day, the ground troops advance towards Basra, a key port city on the Persian Gulf. Late word has it that the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force has bypassed this city and proceeded up the Tigris River in order to secure a bridge or two. Methinks, Basra will be left to the British to secure.

3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) continues unopposed on it trek to Baghdad, and tonight is actually using headlights! We own the skies over Iraq, so why not? The much ballyhooed awe and wonder (is that right) air campaign started tonight all over Iraq. I fail to understand why rational men would continue to back a losing hand in the guise of Saddam Hussain. He is going down, there is no other plausible outcome What do the men backing him hope to gain by resisting; to coin a phrase from the Borg: “resistance is futile.”

And it is finally sinking in, that this endeavor we are undertaking is for real! The protestors will bout in force again today; their re-appearance today forced me to alter my plans, since I have school tonight. They are set to begin at 5:00pm in front of the Federal Building here in downtown Chicago. It just so happens that the federal building is on the very street I need to turn down to get to school. Ordinarily, I hit Bally’s before class, which puts me in the city at around 5:15, so you see, I could risk getting stuck tonight on the Congress, and then have to go way out of my way! I hate that!

So here I am at 4:30, typing this entry, enjoying the most delectable Teriyaki Chicken from China Express across the street from the school. I am famished, having had soup and crackers at 11:30am! I have this same dish every Friday, my treat to myself! By the end of a long hard week, it hits the spot!

Back to the WAR, the unstoppable, fast advancing WAR. It is interesting how all of these retired generals and admirals come out of the wood work whenever a war starts. How do the networks find them? Do they volunteer themselves as experts; they are all over the airways! Not that I mind all that much, I appreciate the informed commentary.

Much ado about nothing has been made of the President’s going to Camp David over the weekend. Lord knows I can’t stand the man, but I think even he deserves to get away from it all. Hell, I would hat for the stress to drive him to start tipping the bottle again; we do not need that. Slithering Dick Cheney is back whispering word of encouragement into Bush’s crinkled ear. Cheney reminds me of Worm-tongue of Lord of The Rings, The Two Towers fame. The only thin he is missing is the black robes!

Sec. of State Powel has been sadly muted since the start of the WAR, but then again there is little for him to do except insist that the provisional governor of Iraq come from the state department when the volcano that is the U.S. military ceases to erupt. Small chance that happenstance will come to pass, but a Bard can hope…

Like everyone else, I am waiting for the other shoe to drop, and the terrorist attacks to start. That is perhaps the scariest portion of this whole morass, waiting and wondering when and where the first terrorist attack will fall. Of course I hope that it never does, but wishing will not make it so…God help us when it does!