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Now that the war in Iraq is over, I, along with many others, have moved on to other things.  Most recently I've been following the ongoing Bob Dylan and Merle Haggard concert which is making it's way across America.  This excites me because I am (1) A lifelong Bob Dylan fanatic; and (2) A lifelong Merle Haggard fanatic.

About that war.  We know the war is over for a number of reasons.  First of all, no one cares anymore except the families of those getting killed and maimed and going broke over there.  The press seems to have taken a pass.

Remember right after Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" how the big news was that we were still losing on average one soldier killed per day, day after day? That was big news.  Now, we lose on average more like 2-3 per day, month after month, but that is not newsworthy.  After all, we've only lost 1600 or so dead and 10,000 or so maimed, and that's not really that big a deal!

Why more than a couple of people get killed in car wrecks in New Jersey every day.  That's actually a small price to pay to spread freedom throughout the Middle East.

And freedom is spreading like wildfire, isn't it?  It's all over but the shouting.  Why, it's so obvious that the war is over that all of our Coalition of the Willing members are pulling out their troops.  It's OK to go home!  We won! 

About that Dylan/Haggard tour.  Merle Haggard is opening for Bob Dylan.  They never met until after the second show of this tour.  As a long time worshipper of both, I always wondered why Dylan never sang any of Haggard's songs.  He sang songs by everybody else. I always figured he was ticked off about 'Okie from Muskogee'.  Then a couple of months ago he sang 'Sing Me Back Home' and somehow this tour came about.

I personally think Dylan is the greatest everything, but I've been keeping an eye on old Merle.  Now as the reviews start to come in, more and more people are focusing on Hag.  From all accounts, he is putting on an outstanding show, and may be on the verge of upstaging Bob Dylan.  He is loose, joking, and kicking ass.  I saw him once in Reno twenty-five years ago, and he announced to the crowd that his music was geared toward two things: fightin' and fuckin'.  He seems to have that spirit again.

At the most recent show in Oakland he came out smoking with 20 straight minutes of Haggard kick-ass music before announcing to the crowd: "Hello, I'm Merle Haggard".  The crowd exploded in a standing ovation.

I'm lucky:  I've got tickets for the last show, at the small Beacon Theatre in New York City.

And the war is over!  Time to relax and enjoy life again.