Start the week

1. The Iraq War epitaph:

"I am not sure how many of the knuckleheads there are,"

Lt. Gen. William Wallace, realizing in the field that the Rumsfeld-Franks invasion plan had failed to anticipate the one bit of Saddam's defence that actually worked, the dispersion of fighters away from the direct route to Baghdad from the south. Read the rest of this excellent New York Times article which has lots more such details.

2. Powerline's "Deacon" explains what he sees encouraging about high school debating competitions in suburban Washington:

In judging debates during the past eight years, I have noticed a significant change in "sourcing." In my day, we relied on major newspapers, news magazines, and college professors. Nowadays, the first two types of sources have been joined by websites, while the third source (professors) has virtually been replaced by think tanks. And the most quoted think tank is the Heritage Foundation.

He then goes on to praise Edwin Feulner, president of the Heritage Foundation, who has a new book out. Get your Ed Feulner background research at Roger Ailes (not the bald repulsive one).