Quick links for a Sunday

Busy day today so just a couple quick link for your enjoyment.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has an op-ed regarding progress in Iraq in the Washington Post this morning.

Fortunately, history is not made up of daily headlines, blogs on Web sites or the latest sensational attack. History is a bigger picture, and it takes some time and perspective to measure accurately.

Consider that in three years Iraq has gone from enduring a brutal dictatorship to electing a provisional government to ratifying a new constitution written by Iraqis to electing a permanent government last December. In each of these elections, the number of voters participating has increased significantly -- from 8.5 million in the January 2005 election to nearly 12 million in the December election -- in defiance of terrorists' threats and attacks.

Jack Kelly of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette has an article looking at the attack in North Carolina a couple weeks ago and the fear of labeling it what it was - domestic terrorism.

The NCAA Basketball tournament is half way through the second round and my prediction sheet is trash. The were six Big Ten schools in the tournament and Ohio State is the only one left. If Ohio State doesn't win today there won't be a Big Ten school in the Sweet 16 for the first time in 20 years.

Spring training gets serious this week as players return from the WBC and teams start making their final roster cuts. Opening night is two weeks from today!