A few items worth sharing

The following items are some that I felt worth sharing. I hope you enjoy them.

We will win: The ghastly murders of American civilians in Iraq aren't a sign of terrorist strength, but of weakness. Islamic extremists know they are losing the war. Civil society is beginning to emerge in Iraq. Roads are being built, utilities are functioning better and better. The turnover of authority on June 30 will curtail the fanatics' ability to maneuver, as Iraqis effectively take over internal policing and recognize that they can take control of their destiny. No wonder the fundamentalist fascists are worried. They believe that if they commit horrific atrocities against us, our allies and Iraqis who want a modern, democratic society, we and our allies will tire of the effort and turn tail. Look at Vietnam, they chant to themselves, look at Madrid.

We must prepare ourselves for a bloody year. Terrorists will make every effort to pull off Madrid-like atrocities in the United States as our elections near. The forces of good, however, when combined with consistency and determination have always triumphed. This war will be no exception.

Food fight: Religion, money, politics and sex. Add "diets," which, in the minds of some Americans is a subject as intense and sensitive. Certain vegetarians, for instance, see red (meat?) over the surging popularity of the low-carb, fat-and meat-rich Atkins diet. One such individual caused a stir by leaking the medical examiner's report after Dr. Atkins died from head injuries sustained in a fall. (The leaker, also a physician, should have his medical license revoked for violating doctor-patient confidentiality.)

The revelations purported to show that Dr. Atkins was fat and that his eat-meat-and-be-thin-and-happy approach to losing weight was a sham. Certain nutritionists still harrumph, despite studies to the contrary, that the Atkins diet will hurt your health and that even if you do lose weight, you'll put it right back on. Naturally, bakers and pasta makers also want to make mincemeat of low-carb eating.

No need to take such food fights seriously. All effective diets share one principle: Eat less. No matter whether you count carbs, calories, Weight Watchers points or something else, you should end up taking in less than you did before. I tried the Atkins approach a while ago. Despite the hot-heavenliness of gorging guilt-free on all the bacon and eggs and (bunless) cheeseburgers I ever desired, I found, to my astonishment, that I wasn't eating as much as I had before.

Another basic, ironclad rule of dieting: If you revert to your bad, old eating habits, you'll fast put back painfully lost pounds. So the cliches are right, even if we ignore 'em: exercise, eat moderately, eat balanced meals, drink plenty of liquids, and when you binge -- as we all do on occasion -- make sure to cut back on the morrow.

-- Steve Forbes

Generation warfare: If we continue to fund Medicare out of taxes, there will be very little money left for the defense of our nation. Medicare will quickly consume more and more of all the income taxes collected. According to the trustees of Medicare, by 2019, 24 percent of all income tax revenues will be needed for the program. By 2042, 51 percent of all income tax revenue will have to go to Medicare.

We're setting ourselves up for generation warfare. Today's 20-somethings will rebel at paying huge tax increases to cover the parents of strangers. We'll need to placate them with unlimited, tax-deductible private retirement savings accounts.

Yes, it's scary stuff -- enough to make you open an IRA in the next two weeks. And this message is aimed not just at those who are approaching retirement, but at you 20- and 30-year-olds. It's a reality check. You certainly won't realize anything from these government programs you're paying into unless there are radical changes. -- Terry Savage, Chicago Sun-Times

What goes around comes around: The new skyscrapers and new cars being built in China have created such a heavy demand for steel that 400 laid-off workers in northern Minnesota have been put back to work to mine iron ore. And China's Higher Corp., which makes major appliances, including flat-screen TVs, wine cellars, air conditioners and the like, has built a $40 million facility in Camden, S.C., for manufacturing, sales offices, R&D labs, even restaurants.

We worry about exporting jobs to China, but if trade with China were to shut down, a growing number of Americans would lose jobs here. World trade is not only a two-way street; like the world, it's round, and what goes around comes around.

-- Charles Osgood, The Osgood File, CBS Radio

The average person thinks he isn't.

-- The Rev. Larry Lorenzoni

Egotism: The art of seeing in yourself what others cannot see.

-- George Higgins

Gary Rust is chairman of Rust Communications.