Jamo,
Yep on the farts stinking, but what with you being a moderator you do out-rank me.
They goals were dropped in the VERY short term (for political 'make things look better than they are' reasons), but they are supposed to be made up in the long term, and there really is no way that they will. They have about 50% left of their goal for the year, and they have 3 months left to do it in. Oh, and I never said it was just the war.
Good for you regarding your daughters. I think it is a good thing to have the latitude to make mistakes and learn.
I suspect that you are a rather tough person to shock, but you also managed to venture past your own backyard - that sort of thing often goes hand-in-hand. You also don't seem to be as stuck in black and white as many of your generation are. Thats going to help you relate to them (and others their age)on their terms.
I'm curious - what do your daughters think of the war in Iraq? Do you talk with them about it?
Steve