Journal Entries
Gotta Check This Out
Posted Sep 12, 2006
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14687895/#060911b
The text of Keith Olbermann's commentary regarding 9/11 and Bush Administration double-speak. This stuff is right up there with the great speeches of our time.
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Latest reply: Sep 12, 2006
Earning Freedom
Posted Sep 2, 2006
Ah, the revolting topic of America's occupation of Iraq. I wish we'd never gone there. But, we are there. So:
If we stay too long, we risk being accused of setting up a puppet government. At least those not happy with whatever government evolves there will accuse it of being a puppet government. Maybe justly, too.
If we get out too soon, we risk being accused of letting the wrong people take over. At least by those not happy with whoever ends up in power there. Maybe justly, too.
It is a no-win mire. It seems that invasion rarely leaves the native people happy, whatever evolves there after. Accusations and fears fester, and nothing ever really goes away. Real resolution comes when people decide their own fate (sometimes). The American Civil War does not keep flaring up, maybe because by the end of it "we" were so spent that we were really willing to accept what came after as an alternative to fighting. We WANTED it to end.
Can you really GIVE freedom to someone else, or is there some process to earn one's freedom--even if another does not deprive you of yours? Are you really free if you don't use your freedom? What benefit do rights and responsibilities give, if not used? The world is certainly a better place if you live in conditions where others do not deprive you of your freedoms, but is that the same as enjoying your freedom? Participation is the difference.
American veterans of the European front of World War II enjoyed the gratitude of the civilian survivors in France and Italy. But America was not the invader. American troops helped the people oust invaders, whereas in Iraq, we are the occupying and invading force. What the people there have lost was largely due to our invasion (electricity, water, sanitation, hospitals, etc.). In World War II, we weren't so directly responsible for ruining what the people had. We were part of getting the ruiners out so the people could regain what they had. The people had a unified identity they wished to continue to have. Do the Iraqis? In Europe, the populations of the occupied lands (largely)joined our troops in repelling a common enemy. By and large, it seems that Iraqis (largely) don't want us there.
Given a magic wand, I'd like to restore at least what the Iraqis had before we arrived uninvited. And get out of the way to let them decide for themselves what to do next. In the real world, I don't know how we might restore their assets without messing up the "ever after" part of their lives (self-determination). I am sorry for that, because either way, the Iraqis come out missing something no one should lack (if they want it, and are willing to earn it). How can we give the Iraqis their freedom, when it is not and never was ours to give?
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, they say. For us, I'm afraid it will be capped with asphalt from Iraqi wells and the bones of far too many (American and Iraqi) dead. And for all that, the road will go where the U.S. decides it will go, and that road may not go where the Iraqis want to go.
I hear the current Presidential administration (I'm tempted to use a lowercase p here, because it seems below the dignity of the office) state that critisizing its policies in Iraq is equal to treating our troops with no respect. The picture this brings to my mind is not what the administration hopes, I'm sure. In my picture, the president is a bank robber. The American (and World) public are the police confronting him. The robber has a child (the armed forces) in his arms and is protecting himself with this hostage. This is hardly the kind of action a man opposing terrorism should take.
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Latest reply: Sep 2, 2006
The Constitution is still Constitutional!
Posted Aug 19, 2006
Mind you, W still thinks it does not apply to him. I do wish the judge had been able to rule that the actions of the Bush administration were also criminal.
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Latest reply: Aug 19, 2006
It's no longer a crisis when you can laugh.
Posted Jul 23, 2006
So today I remembered one of the really funny things that happened while I was sorting through the mountain of stuff that was my late husband's.
He had this really heavy 1970s hard side briefcase. Always did. I had no idea what was in it, and it was locked. Six months after he died, my parents suggested that there may be important papers in it, and that I should take it to a locksmith to have it opened. I had been looking for the key for about two months at this point. So the next day, I took it to a locksmith. My father has done business at this shop since the late 1970s, so they know us. The gal behind the counter could not open it, and they would have to special order a blank if I wanted a key made for it. I could, however, leave the case for the locksmith to work on since she could not open it.
I left it with my name, address and phone number. I also left a note on it, explaining that there may even be a loaded handgun in it for all I knew. I wanted them to be cautious. My husband managed jewelry stores for a number of years including the era this briefcase was made. He carried at least one .44 revolver during that time. And the case was HEAVY. I did not want someone getting hurt in the process of opening the darn thing.
The next day, the locksmith called. Got it open, no problem. I was tired, so just said I'd be down in about ten minutes. I arrived, waited my turn, and asked how much I owed them. He told me. Then it occurred to me to ask if there was anything dangerous in there. The guy gave me an odd look and said no. He brought the case over. I re-iterated that my husband passed away and I had no idea what might be in there; and that I was glad it wasn't a loaded gun.
Now, I was thinking that I was glad it wasn't anything dangerous. I KNEW it couldn't be drugs, my husband just wasn't that kind of guy in any way, shape or form. I thought it might be his coin collection from when he was a kid, or something like that; if it wasn't important papers. But the look on this guy's face was really odd. So I asked, what WAS in it?
He seemed confused. This made me think it was something like paperwork from one of the many foreign places my husband lived in as an Air Force "brat." Like in a foreign language. Or some really old stuff passed down from the ancestors, and the guy wasn't sure what it was. Or more locked cases. Or rocks. Or the family Bible from the Gutenburg press, for all I knew--that made sense, since I almost NEVER saw him READ anything, he certainly wouldn't have occasion to open the case.
The locksmith turned the case toward me. Still looking, well, shaken. So I opened it. It was full of "magazines." The adult kind. I laughed, hard, for at least three minutes before it occurred to me that someone who worked there might have been offended by them. I made a sincere but ineffective effort to sober up, and stated that I hoped no one there had been upset by them.
I was standing in a very small shop, in grimy clothes and hot and sweaty. I had been working on the outside of the house that day. My hair was a mess, my clothes were dirty and I even had dirty spots just under my knees from kneeling while I worked. And I was laughing hysterically at something that might have upset or embarassed anyone else in my position. They probably thought I was off my rocker.
Imagine my relief when the guy started to smile and said "no, in fact we kind of enjoyed them." I answered that that was good, and that I never would have guessed that a case that nice and always locked had THAT in it. Because we NEVER had kids over, and he knew I would not have objected. It just seemed silly. REALLY silly.
Turns out, the guy that owns the building was there collecting rent. He runs an adult store. Said if I want to sell them, stop by.
I knew I'd be heading down to take some of my husband's things to my late husband's family in a month or so. I considered locking the case back up and putting it in with the other things. I could explain that I'd never seen what was in it, and that I thought it might be my his coin collection--but I couldn't find the key. Let his mother (who obviously thinks her son was perfect) take it to a locksmith to have it opened. But I didn't. Bwah ha ha ha ha ha. But I didn't.
Naturally, I found the key about a week later. I was clearing the many bookshelves in the family room. They were all packed full of movies, about 3000 of them, at least. Tucked in a small void and wrapped in a tissue were the key for the case and one that fit a two-drawer file cabinet; the file cabinet was full of "adult" movies. I thought it probably had our tax records. Silly me...
I could just picture my husband watching the locksmith shop and laughing, telling someone: "Look! She took it to a LOCKSMITH!!!"
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Latest reply: Jul 23, 2006
The past year
Posted Jul 7, 2006
Time to consider my last year and my accomplishments.
I sold my house, and avoided forclosure (if a bit narrowly). Got a very good price for it, too. Did almost all the work myself, so increased my net gain AND feel empowered. I have the proceeds invested in a safe place, but haven't found the perfect place to buy yet. Well, there is one place I really loved, but it is in the wrong place; location, location, location.
I found a new job with far less interaction with people who have problems, and more respect, but less money. The hours are good--I work very early so have most of the day to goof off. Less responsibility, the work comes more naturally to me, I like the people I work with, it is close enough to bicycle to and from, and I'm not CHAINED to a telephone--YAY!
I got rid of a lot of stuff of my late husband's that I never liked anyway. I stashed almost everything I own in a storage unit. I decided I don't really want much of that either, so it will be much easier to divest myself of it, too. I kind of need to just walk away from my "old" life to make a fresh start. I wanted to get away from the very real upheaval and disappointments from my old life, and enjoy a new, less burdonsome life of my own making. This change has presented it's own upheavals, too, but overall it is a good change.
I went to my late husband's favorite spot on the coast and spread my half of his ashes--in peace and quiet.
I tried to find new homes for my beloved kitties, but could not. They were "put to sleep" on my last trip from the home I sold. That was disappointing, but overall I think it was the right thing to do.
My new town is a more quiet, safer, friendlier place that moves at a slower pace. The floods last winter did not hamper my daily business much. I'm volunteering for some charities. The parks are beautiful, the roads are well-maintained, and cars stop to let pedestrians cross the street before stepping off the curb, even. The neighbors are really nice. No loud parties, no threats, no finding out after the fact that someone helped themselves to stuff in sheds. No near misses involving fast cars and people. The houses are well-maintained, and people are respectful. Rush hour still means that you get through every light without waiting for it to change a second time. The library is one of the best in the country--I don't need to rent movies, just put them on reserve at the library.
I'm helping some friends make improvements to their houses, that's always fun. My garden is really beautiful, and the grapes will be super this year--if the racoons don't get them all again. I see deer on morning and evening walks--a bus I was riding had to stop and wait for three to move out of the street one morning. The hiking is great, and there is always a choice of activities with the University nearby. I'm an hour from the beach, and maybe two from snow any time of the year.
I've made some terrific upgrades to my computer--all that remains of the original are the floppy drive, motherboard and processor, case, speakers, and printer. Plus, at my new job, I get complimentary software and can get bonus hardware, too.
The people I live and spend time with actually agree with me on matters of aesthetics and opinion; my late husband did not like anything I liked, aesthetically. The people here are well-read and involved with the community.
The house I'm living in has a nice patio overlooking a private, park-like back yard with creek frontage (backage?). There is a great farmer's market twice a week, and lots of local businesses (no Wal-Mart). Everything is in bicycling distance. The house still has the original architecture, and we're spiffing it up really well. There is a gas fireplace for cold winter days. It is always quiet, and one of my friends has a REALLY great CD collection. The resturaunts are really great. The fireworks display on the 4th of July is good. There are always great bands playing.
It's been a great year.
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Latest reply: Jul 7, 2006
ouiskiandzoda
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