About the only good things to come out of the latest military/political crisis concerning the United Nations Security Council are the anti-French jokes. Whether or not you support France’s stand on a war with Iraq, you have to enjoy the jokes. Here are a few of my favorites:

Q: What is the first thing the French Army teaches at basic training?

A: How to surrender in at least 10 languages.

Q: What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up?

A: The army.

Q: Why don’t they have fireworks at Euro Disney?

A: Because every time they shoot them off, the French try to surrender.

Q: How many Frenchmen does it take to defend Paris?

A: Nobody knows, it’s never been tried.

Anyone see the French military rifle on eBay? It’s never been shot and only dropped once.

Even if you’re a Francophile, these are just downright funny. Yes, France did fight with Americans to defeat the British in the American Revolution, and we shouldn’t forget that. But those wacky French have made a way of life out of being contrary to America. They seem to loath us because, face it, we can be pretty rowdy and pushy.

Despite the way France has been acting toward Americans, I still want to visit their country someday. Let’s hope this rift goes away and we can get back to just good-natured ribbing like we’ve always done not grow to have real problems between us. That would be a mistake for both countries.

State of the state

Gov. Ted Kulongoski keeps saying there aren’t two Oregons. He insists we are all one people. He’s right about us all having one wish of living in this incredible state and wanting the same basic things. But he’s wrong about there not being two Oregons. There definitely are and it’s because there are two fundamental thoughts on what our state is and where it should be going. I’m guessing this difference has always been here and it’s true in every state in the country.

Urban and rural interests are different on a lot of issues. That’s to be expected and in some ways it’s healthy.

It becomes a problem when one side gets a clear advantage over the other. When that happens, one side is marginalized and it causes a lot of animosity. We’ve had some animosity, but when compared to other states, Oregon is no worse or better.

There’s no denying that most of us living in rural areas enjoy trips to Portland and all the wonderful things it offers. At the same time, there’s no getting around what rural areas have to offer as well. What’s troubling is when one side’s way of life is threatened because of the actions from the other side, and that’s been a big problem in some parts of the state.

Let’s hope this divide doesn’t grow any larger.