Center for a New American Security

This has nothing to do with counterinsurgency, but it's a great piece of sports and political journalism:

For people who don't spend much time in Washington, all this can be confusing. What's the difference between hanging out and networking? Isn't a cigar sometimes just a cigar? Washington doesn't really make sense until you understand that a moment almost always exists on two levels. There is the moment itself, not unlike a moment anywhere else in the world. Then there is its political shadow, which is far more significant.

Update: Hahaha. The Onion explains as well.

Thanks to all of you who have passed along Malcolm Gladwell's fun article on basketball and insurgents.

Barack Obama must be trying to win the State of Tennessee in 2012. Because there is no surer way to the hearts of Lady Vol fans than to beat UConn.

I will be away from my computer most of the day, back in the wilds of Virginia hanging out with Dave Dilegge and trying to understand Marines.

In the meantime, here is a round-up of the best reporting on yesterday's blockbuster budget:

The Washington Post (One, Two)

The New York Times (One)

The Wall Street Journal (One, Two)

And finally, it's not enough that Nate Fick walks around the office better-looking and cooler than the rest of us. He also had to go and win the CNAS NCAA Tournament office pool. Your humble blogger was third out of 16. Honest to goodness, the only reason any of us put up with Nate is because he married well. Otherwise he would be insufferable. (Nate was introduced at a CNAS event with the following line -- and I am not making this up: "And this is Nate Fick ... who is better looking than the guy who played him on TV.") At least give us plebeians the office pool, Fick!

After the first round of games, Abu Muqawama is tied for fifth (out of sixteen) in the CNAS office pool. I will provide constant updates on this pressing matter of national security as the situation develops. At the moment, Brian Burton -- John Nagl's sometime amanuensis -- is a god of bracketology.

(That, of course, is John Brown.  Holding a rifle and the National Championship trophy.  I am unaware at this time if the original painting, in the Kansas state capitol, was similarly altered.)

As you all know, Charlie is over the moon about her Jayhawks winning the NCAA championship. In case you haven't noticed, Kansas women take their basketball really seriously. You should see how fired up Charlie gets as she sits in the stands, cheering on the menfolk. We in Tennessee would love it if our women were like that, but well, they have other ideas.

Update: Abu Muqawama's basketball-coaching mother sent him this priceless report from the local newspaper on Candace Parker. She dreams of coaching players like this:

"After she missed a shot underneath the basket early in the second half, Parker demanded the ball back from point guard Shannon Bobbitt. Bobbitt relented, and Parker sank a shot while being fouled. 'And one! Get off me! And I got fouled the first time!' she screamed as teammates surrounded her."

Classic.

My how Charlie loves winning. Overtime victory! A 3 point shot that we'll get to watch on every "One Shining Moment" montage for the next 10 years! ROCK CHALK!

Thus concludes the basketball trash-talking. We now return you to our regular Red Sox fandom.


Update: Charlie finished 77th out of 6000 in the WaPo pool. ( For you math nerds that's the 99th percentile.) Sufficed to say, she kicked AM's ass.

That was the most painful 20 point win Charlie's ever seen. Leave it to KU to nearly blow a 28 point lead (when Roy said he'd left a piece of himself in Kansas, we didn't know it'd have such a lasting effect).

On to the finals! Death to Memphis!

It's a Thursday in March, and that means basketball! As mentioned previously, AM has suspended trash-talking on account of having his ass handed to him in the first two rounds (that's what happens when you pick all the top seeds and there are TWO 12-13 match-ups in the second round). But Charlie, and her dad, took it on the chin for putting K-State and Pitt through to the Sweet 16; and Tennessee seems to have mysteriously survived.

So despite Charlie's significant lead in points, at the beginning of Rd 3, we all have about the same number of active teams...though Davidson's amazing upset (17 points down!) of the miserable Hoyas has deprived AM of a key Final Four pick. Charlie and her Dad still have 4 of 4, but he has foolishly picked Stanford over Texas in tomorrow night's match-up. It ain't over yet!

Vols and Traitorous Tarheels play tonight; Hawks play tomorrow (which Charlie will miss because of some ridiculous event known as "Mess Night"). Can she be fined for checking scores on her cell phone?

We now return you to your regularly scheduled assault on the Mahdi Army....