Anthology
While continuing to search for the time and mental toughness to flesh out an idea about why the Right is having such difficulty with Iraq--in a nutshell, it's that success there depends on "nation-building," which is itself comprised of things conservatives either don't value at all or dismiss the government role in here at home--a couple links and short thoughts:

• My annual--for the last four years, at any rate--NFC East preview package is now live on nfl.com (though it's not yet linked from their main page--I guess that's a production decision). Propers to the editorial team there for putting a terrific headline ("The Great Wide Open") on the main piece. My only regret is that I bothered to make specific record/order of finish predictions--because I have no idea how to handicap the division, and I don't think anyone else does either.


• Today was the tenth anniversary of President Clinton's signing into law the measure that "ended welfare as we knew it." He writes about the milestone here; some of his former staffers, and various other smart folks, weigh in here. I wrote an assessment for the Joyce Foundation that's coming out in the next edition of their quarterly newsletter, which I think is to be released in September; at some point I'll probably post the "director's cut," or some facsimile thereof, here.


• Here's a fascinating and haunting exercise in alternative history: What if 9/11 Had Never Happened? I've never been a particularly big fan of Andrew Sullivan, but there's little question the dude can write.

Fightin' Phils back above .500, on the powers of Jamie Moyer and, um, Danny Sandoval? Tonight, all things seem possible.