Today marks the autumnal equinox, which means that the lengths of daylight and, er, nightlite are equal. This equality is in stark contrast to the uneven balance of power between the United States and Iraq. Still, one has to admire the Americans tenacity in the face of overwhelming odds.

As far as the weather is concerned, one can detect the subtle crisp scent of fall in the chill air. In fact, the high temperature was only 45 (that's 113 Fahrenheit for you lowscoring on the math portion of the SATs Americans).