President Obama has announced that troop drawdown in Afghanistan will be faster than previously envisioned. The New York Times reports, Asserting that the country that served as a base for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks no longer represented a terrorist threat to the United States, Mr. Obama declared that the “tide of war is receding.”…
DetailsYesterday was the Wellington Marathon, which I finished in 2:57 (seen at left), about a 6:46/mile pace. I took the photo because the course was almost 1/4 mile too long (as the official results show me finishing in 2:59). That happens from time to time with races…you just sort of shrug it off knowing what…
DetailsI came across a neat paragraph in Time magazine while waiting for my allergy shot the other day, and just had to address it in this column. The “American Dream” is, in many ways, what the people of the US value and as an extension of that thought, what we fight for. At left are…
DetailsTomorrow morning, I’ll be standing at or near the start line of my first real race since…last September 18th, I think. Nine months. That’s an eternity to a runner that’s accustomed to racing 8-10 times per year for the past 5 years. Of course, this is a race that I won’t completely burn out for.…
DetailsMy academic advisor at Victoria University, Dr. Rob Ayson, recently posted an opinion on the Lowy Interpreter blog regarding multilateralism’s place in today’s international political environment. One quote: “This is my problem: so many of the attacks on multilateralism are aimed at an almost mythically universal form which involves the maximum number of participants and…
DetailsThings have been a little spotty this past week, but I did manage 60 miles in 6 days of training. I took a few days to recover by running easy from the dual challenge of my 20 miler last Saturday and Grace’s birth. But, I feel pretty good and am taking today off after a…
DetailsStephen Walt, a professor at Harvard, an author, and a frequent blogger at Foreign Policy, is great to read. I don’t agree with all of his analysis (its a hard realism that I don’t necessarily ascribe to), but he finds that sweet spot between wonk and common man that makes for great reading. His most…
DetailsThe way the Army “pencils in” strategy? Produced by the Hertiage Foundation, a conservative think tank, but still interesting to note ~ the remarkable increase in entitlement spending compared with a corresponding decrease in defense spending. One huge point to note is that nobody has ever proven that X% of either category is “correct.” So,…
DetailsMy wife Rachel and I became parents a few days ago (although, one could argue that happened roughly 9 months ago, but it became much more real this past weekend). At left is a picture of our newborn daughter, Grace Victoria Cavanaugh. She was born at 1:36am on Sunday, June 5th in Wellington, New Zealand.…
DetailsThis is a unique entry, one that I’m going to keep short, but for good reason. At left is a picture of my newborn daughter, Grace Victoria Cavanaugh. She was born at 1:36am on Sunday, June 5th in Wellington, New Zealand. She was 7 pounds, 2.5 ounces at birth, and you can see she had…
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