This is the great challenge of our time, the storm in which we fly. History is once again witnessing a great clash. This is not a clash of civilizations. The civilization of Islam, with its humane traditions of learning and tolerance, has no place for this violent sect of killers and aspiring tyrants. This is not a clash of religions. The faith of Islam teaches moral responsibility that enobles men and women, and forbids the shedding of innocent blood. Instead, this is a clash of political visions. In the terrorists' vision of the world, the Middle East must fall under the rule of radical governments, moderate Arab states must be overthrown, nonbelievers must be expelled from Muslim lands, and the harshest practice of extremist rule must be universally enforced. In this vision, books are burned, terrorists are sheltered, women are whipped, and children are schooled in hatred and murder and suicide. Our vision is completely different. We believe that every person has a right to think and pray and live in obedience to God and conscience, not in frightened submission to despots. (Applause.) We believe that societies find their greatness by encouraging the creative gifts of their people, not in controlling their lives and feeding their resentments. And we have confidence that people share this vision of dignity and freedom in every culture because liberty is not the invention of Western culture, liberty is the deepest need and hope of all humanity.--- Bush's Air Force Academy speech.

Don (remember him?) slipped past G&V and they're back in 6th, 150 caches behind us. It's now 1800 the first week of September. That's what happens if you miss a day, the other person gains a month. It's not a competition!

We got started early, about 8. I'd hoped we would, but thought it'd be closer to 8:30, while Rich was shooting for 7:30. We drove a few miles south to a golf course and found our first cache of the day. Then we went to the Eugene Airport looking for the travel bug depot. This took quite a bit of time while Hal made up its mind, but eventually Rich plunged into the brush (which was thorny everywhere else) and came up with it. There was one TB in it, which we took.

Then we drove through Eugene and toward Roseburg. We went off on a back road (involved backtracking about two miles) and found one called "Pushing Up Daisies". This seemed rather disrespectful till we found the cache, which I wanted, since it was a dinosaur pushing something. Then, in the outskirts, there was a congratulatory cache for a local cacher. Further south, in Riddle, we found one near a McDonald's.

Last October we were travelling this way but it was rainy, so we decided to skip this next one, called "I Hate I-5 (Top Of The World)." It's right off the freeway and up a hill, about 50 feet, (steep.) Rich started up one way and it was scree and he surfed back down. I put my camera around my neck so both hands would be free, and pretty well crawled up. At the top I turned to take a picture of the freeway, then walked a couple more steps and collapsed into a ball of pain. My back spasmed... or maybe I pinced a disk or something. Anyway, Rich asked what was the matter and I moaned the answer at him, so he asked again about 2 minutes later. I located the cache from my sitting position and was able, then, to get up. It was a bit dicy getting down, since I was afraid I would do it again, and all day my muscles were tensed up, in memory/fear, but fortunately it passed.

We went on to the California welcome center/rest area (just a tish over two days in Oregon!), where we found two more. Then there was another rest area cache, then a virtual in another area, and then we were in Redding. We hadn't had any trouble finding the Redding TB depot before, but this time it seemed like it was in a different place and we had a hard time getting it. There's a Cannonball Racer there, but we aren't getting into Nevada any time soon, so we didn't take it. We did take another bug. Then, at last, we went looking for one that we were completely incapable of finding last October... it was easy. And we noted a familiar name, and were cheered, nearly home.

We saw a pillar of smoke when we were about 20 miles out of Woodland, and we thought it was well off to the right. Then maybe it was closer to the highway on the left. No, we're going to drive right through it. Then we saw that we would drive right next to it. It was a controlled burn. Pretty exciting. It sure got hot in the car as we went past!

We got home before 8, after picking up 10 caches (we're at 1194!) The dog was happy to see us, and he even had eaten a little.

It was 97(!) here today, glad we missed that!

A Crusade Against Christianity.Argh. As Lileks says, "Who, in 2004, can look at world where some madmen want to shove a crescent down our throats and decide that the most important thing they�re going to do is take the crosses off the city seal?"

Ray Bradbury on Michael Moore.

Ah, the NYT again:

The president's remarks appeared to try to strike a balance between frightening Americans and offering himself as the only choice to lead the nation out of danger and to shore up his credentials as commander in chief in an election year when polls show support for the Iraq war and his presidency declining.

Either that, or a sincere attempt to inform Americans about real threats facing them, and to do the graduates and their parents the dignity of acknowledging the danger he is responsible for sending them into. I watched the speech, and the Times fails to mention the standing ovation Bush received when he said, referring to the Bush Doctrine of preemptive war against terrorism, that he intended to take the fight to the enemy. The Times describes Bush's speech as "interrupted intermittently by applause, most of it modest" and this is true. The applause was modest, except when it was enthusiastic.

On Tenet.

Glorp: "In case you wonder if Europe is truly screwed: the Spanish Prime Minister Jos� Zapatero has awarded medals - Cross of Military Merit - to his Defence Minister and three generals, not for anything as mundane as bravery or distinguished service, but... wait for it... for withdrawing Spanish troops from Iraq!"

Jayson on the death of the Democratic Party.