Democracy promotion, half-baked

In today's NYT online;

"After Sept. 11, 2001, Mr. Bush and his aides decided that autocratic
regimes, particularly in the Middle East, fostered hopelessness that
led to the attacks on the United States."

Thus in part the justification for Pres. Bush's democracy agenda.
While the above surely contributes to the conditions that open a path
to extremism, the Bush administration failed to recognize an important
second component of US comportment in the world, one that was
essential to keep the administration's pronouncements about the value
of democracy from sounding hypocritical. The Bush gang failed to
realize that as a superpower and symbol of democratic structure, we
carried a heightened obligation to define and hold, indeed exemplify,
the moral high ground. Every foreign policy initiative that fails to
pass muster undercuts our ability to sell this way of life, and in the eyes of people around the world, lowers
democracy into the same pit as those autocratic regimes we cite as
stimulants to the cause of extremism.

How I Spent my Saturday

200 km (125 mile) bicycle ride yesterday. First of the San Francisco Randonneurs brevet series in preparation for a long ride this summer. Golden Gate Bridge to the Pt Reyes lighthouse and back. The day prior it rained all day, with more promised for Saturday, but we were largely spared. The was even some sun on the beach N of the lighthouse.



The hardest miles for me were between 40 and 70, in Pt Reyes park. Hills have been my strong suit in past years, but I've done so little hill riding in the last six months that they really sapped me this time. I stopped for a wonderful bowl of chicken, wild rice, and vegetable soup (cream!) at the Busy Bee Bakery in Inverness Park. That helped start my recovery, and a tailwind from miles 83-100 also helped. Around 5 or six hours into the ride my internal "furnace" was finally lit. As long as I fed in easily digestible food at regular intervals (for instance, 125 calories of vanilla GU gel every 45 minutes) my legs stayed strong.

The light on the SF skyline and the bridge were beautiful at just before 5pm when I returned. We live in a wonderful part of the world. A few more details of the ride here.

Highlight of today's sunday paper

Best article of the morning.