OMGOMGOMGOMG!!!

*SQUEEEEEEEE*

Yes, that's right. *SQUEEEEEEEE*

I know that this stuff is all written in pudding, but...

We are under 48 hours.

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!

I can't go back to sleep. I just can't.

Some people just piss me off.

Especially people who have lied, and lied and lied and lied and are still getting away with it.

Jittering the day away...

My Texas History class was cancelled this morning, and I swear, if I didn't like my US History teacher so much and I didn't want to miss the last day of class, I'd say "Fuggadabowdit!" and head home to clean and sew. However, since I do like my prof and this is the last day of class...

I'm sitting here killing time. And wishing that it were next week already. C'mon next week!

So, la la la la la la la la la.

Now back to your regularly scheduled internest experience.

Heh.

Red vs. Blue Internet Primer.

So tired..

But I'm 99% done with another skirt. The only left to do is stitch the casing for the elastic. OMG is hemming that sucker by serger about six billion times easier than by hand and it's a kind of lettuced edge. I can't wait to get this thing done.

I so need to clean up the apartment. Guess what I'll be doing all day Friday?

Hey John!

Order is in and they'll ship tomorrow. Three-day shipping, so it should be here by the time you're home. Love you.

Amazing.

I'm sitting here with tears running down my face. Thanks, Rai.

Flying.

God, I understand.

Sewing on a Saturday night!

It is teh done! It's not the best job hemming, but I've never hemmed anything this scalloped before, so I think that in the next one, I'll be doing a rolled hem on my mother's serger before actually putting the panels together. It may not work as well as I want it to, but I would rather poke my eyes out with a fork than try and roll that hem by hand again.

Although this picture probably makes very little sense to most of you, that's the scrap-catcher on the serger. Basically, because the serger cuts and binds the seam in one step, you often have pieces of fabric that get cut off, and they'll end up on the floor if you don't have a bag, and that can be a pain the butt.

My last bag was the same blue polyester/whatever the heck it was that came with the serger (about 15 years ago) and had developed many rips. Those rips had been rather hastily mended using clear packing tape about three years ago. I figured that since I had some time and some spare fabric that I'd have a go at making a replacement bag. I'm rather pleased with the result.

You can see a bit of the Sewing Palace behind the serger, although I really really need to take some good pictures when Iv'e got the place all spif for John's leave.

A bit further away from the skirt. The striped fabric that you see hanging next to it is the next skirt. I have that one, a khaki linen and a heavy black fabric that I'll use for church, mostly. That one's going to have the most flare and drape, but I had best not fall in a river wearing it.

If you want an idea...

Read this from Michael Yon's Frontline Forum:

May 30, 2006

The Haditha Killings

By Jeffrey Barnett

1st Lieutenant - USMC

I don’t know what happened in Haditha. I wasn’t there, and my knowledge is limited to the news articles I have read. However, the Marine Corps prides itself on holding its members to the highest standards of accountability. If the allegations are substantiated, I am sure the Marine Corps will pursue appropriate legal and administrative action against those responsible. While I cannot speak intelligently on the Haditha incident, I do think I can comment on possible causes of these types of tragic events: a frustration most can’t understand. I don’t condone any use of force outside our directed rules of engagement and escalation of force procedures. However, I can understand why violations of the ROE happen, however unjustified they may be.

Read the whole thing and then...think about it.

At least the Gestapo was somewhat efficient...

TSA "Terrorist" Turns Out To Be A Homeward-Bound Marine

by ANN Senior Correspondent Kevin R.C. "Hognose" O'Brien

The Transportation Security Administration bagged a terrorist in Los Angeles International Airport Tuesday, or so they thought. Daniel Brown's name came up on their no-fly watchlist, so they dragged him into interrogation and grilled him, despite the protestations of Brown and his fellow travelers, who swore they could vouch for him.

More here: Inept TSA employees strike again!

Hat tip to LJ user agtiger.

H/T to 0_2opine_o from LJ-

This is perhaps one of the best cartoons I've seen. Thanks, Nana.

From Cox and Forkum. You should go check them out.

Skirt making....

Taking over brain...

Must make more skirts...

Seriously, I picked up some more fabric to make more skirts, but these will be good for not only dancing, but going out in public, too. :-)

In fact, the linen and sari-type fabric are washing now. The other silky prints will be washing shortly. Then...the cutting shall begin!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Um. 'Scuse me.

Looky what I made!

This is the skirt I started tonight. I've got eight panels sewn together, and the waistband finished, but the instructions say to let the skirt hang for the two to three days, and then hem, I guess. I have no idea. The lighter panels are actually the backside of the fabric. I screwed up cutting one section and just ran with it.

Here's a detail of the bottom of the skirt. It's a bit hard to see, but the bottom hem is deeply scalloped by the way the pieces are cut. It's going to be a PITA to hem, but I think it's going to be lovely.

Tuna fish cans...

Work well as pattern weights. I've never used pattern weights while cutting a pattern, and I must say...I like it!

Us and them...

You hear it all the time.

"This isn't about 'us' and them'."

But sometimes, it is. Sometimes, it's about who you are and what and why you do what you do, and why you're different from the other people. There are differences between us and them. There are cultural diffences, political differences and theological differences between everyone, and I think denying it and wishing it will go away isn't practical.

We are different. Those of us who have seen the elephant, and walked away from it, we are different from those who haven't.

Those who have served honorably in combat, and I do mean honorably, we are different. We're a step apart most of the time, a step away, and a step ahead. Most of the time, we look at the world with a different perspective that makes us angrier than your average civilian. We do things that your average civilian will never, ever understand.

For our brothers and sisters who have fallen, we understand that this is indeed war, and that it is our job to bleed and die for this nation. We still get angry though. We still cry over the friends who will forever be 19 or 21, who will never see their children grow up or wish on the first star of the evening. We know that they are the reason the line holds, not some smarmy politician or slick Hollywood actor. We hold the line because of the men and women here with us, the ones who we laugh with, joke with, tell "No shit, there I was" stories with and turn to when one of us is lost.

So, knowing that, we are different and to me, that is almost an "us and them" situation.

Criminals are treated with harsh words and humiliation and the world is in an immediate uproar. Soldiers and marines and any military personnel are pointed at, "They're the animals, they're worse than the men they're assigned to guard." We are different.

Two of my brothers were slaughtered like animals, and their bodies desecrated by the butchers who walk on two legs, and the hue and cry is muted, and we are told that we've brought this on ourselves by our treatment of detainees and prisoners. People rub their hands in glee and salivate over the spin they can put on this to embarass and humiliate the administration. We just mourn, and are angry. We still do our jobs, we still hold the line, and two more step up for the fallen. We are again different.

I've searched and searched and searched and I'm finding few denouncements of the murder of our soldiers. I'm finding few celebrities, who will stand up and condemn US soldiers, have stood up and said that they condemn the men who did this, condemn the men who would stand by and watch this happen, condemn the men who would encourage this in their organization. I'm not seeing very much from the anti-war groups who were quick to throw virulent rhetoric around when it was the US ignoring human rights and tormenting people.

Somehow, all these groups are silent on the men who strap bombs to themselves and target children, women, hospitals. These groups are silent on this, but turn your attention to Gitmo or AG, and you'll hear them, in choruses of sneering condescension. They point to the fact that we're supposed to wear the white hat, to stand up for truth and liberty, and that we're better than our opponents who torture and kill civilians as a matter of course.

Yes, we are. We are different, and we are better than that. Such a tiny fraction of the military is involved in these allegations and instances of torture, but it would seem as though we are all standing around the desert trading receipes on the best way to torture Jamal the Suspected Terrorist, or our favorite "Pin the crime on a local haji" game. Is it any wonder that we close ranks against the harpies that celebrate our tragedies as one more bit of "proof" that the government, including its soldiers, are corrupt and venal.

Is it any wonder that we will hide and cover and mislead about anything we do? We know, without a doubt, that we are tried, convicted and condemned by the media and the much public before our crimes have been investigated.

I began to understand yesterday exactly how different I am. I understand now, that despite the talk about "heroes," and "supporting the troops," we are still not quite real people. We're mythic figures, some tragic, some heroic, some fading into the background of history.

We'reheld to Herculean standards, to support the weight of the world's expectations, and when we fall, we are villified for it. Still, we stand again, ignore the pain and the anguish of what this war is costing us, and we shoulder the burden again. We look to one side and then the other and see the line holding, and we realize that we are indeed different.

To absent comrades!

My husband has a post up about the memorial service for two soldiers in his brigade that were killed by an IED.

We should thank God that such men lived.

New quilt block

New quilt block I put together. It's actually a nametag for the quilt guild I belong to, but it's a bit bigger than the pattern they give you. I wanted to be able to see most of the shoes, so I went bigger. It's my nametag, I can do what I want. I have to applique some teardrop-shaped wings at each corner, and then, I guess turn it and finish it. :-)

This morning...

I told John that it had been at least a week since I'd felt totally useless.

Yeah. Whatever.

And WE'RE the bad guys? (Profanity)

You know what? Our soldiers are left on the streets, mutilated and booby-trapped and I don't hear shit out there. I don't hear the outrage from the people who are all sorts of pissed off about our treatment of detainees and terrorists.

Fuck you. My brothers-in-arms were left on a street in a God-forsaken country, their bodies so badly mutilated that they could not be visually identified.

Fuck you. We tiptoe around that fucking country so we don't offend anyone's sensibilities, and now, when our Marines are being condemned before the investigation is even over, there's not a fucking peep out of the people who are screaming the loudest about how horrible we are.

Fuck you.

Okay...forget it.

I was going to wax philosophical about the long post earlier regarding men and lack of church attendence, but I really do think it's systemic of a larger problem. Before I launch into this:

I am NOT, in any way shape of form, suggesting we roll back time to the 1950s, when being anything but white-middle class got you ostracized. I am not suggesting we end women suffrage, or revert to the laws that made us chattel. I am not advocating a return to older days when bigotry and violence was the way to make your point. I am using HUGE honkin' stereotypes, and I don't mean to insult women who can work on cars, men who can shop or anyone who falls in between.

Got it? Good.

Now, that being said...

Why is it that men who act like...men, get so slammed?

Women want men to be absolute superheroes. Women expect men to be slightly hairier versions of their girlfriends. Women want men who are, basically, denying how their brain works.

Before you get your back up, I'm not dismissing men who have developed sensitivity and compassion. Those are incredibly important traits, and they help with this little thing called mercy, something that Jesus was all about.

I actually do believe that biology plays a huge part in how we react to things, and men and women have different chemical reactions in the brain.

Women, being society-oriented, tend to react to stresses with an empathetic bent; we commiserate and validate your feelings, and let you know you're not alone. We form support groups where you can talk about your feelings, and get lots of petting and stroking and tsking. That's a good thing, but it's definately a female way to handle problems and stresses.

If your cat has died recently, your girlfriends will gather around you, and remind you that the kitty died happy and loved, and that for a little cat, maybe that's not such a bad way to go. I know, because I did this recently.

If your car isn't working, women will gather around and bitch that Fords (except for Mustangs) really do suck and your dealership obviously suckered you.

If you can't find those killer black pumps that were on sale last week, your sisters-in-shopping will tell you where there's an ever better deal on some killer Jimmy Choos, and you really didn't want those cheap-assed Bandolinos anyway.

Men, they want to fix whatever it is that's wrong. They want to make it better so that the woman isn't upset any more. In the old days, that meant going out and smashing the person, object or situation until it wasn't moving any more. Then hitting it again, and maybe again, just to show how bad-assed you really are, and then go brag about it to your friends. Nowadays, there are assault and battery laws, property laws and "how to behave like a civilized person in public" laws, and they're a good thing.

If your cat dies, the man in your life is liable to think "Oh SHIT!" and wonder if getting a new kitten will help alleviate the pain. He might also point out that you no longer have to clean the litterbox or pay for vaccinations. This usually isn't very comforting, but it is practical.

If your car dies, many times, the man in your life will try and diagnose it over the phone. He might throw out random terms like "distributor cap," or "starter solenoid," or maybe even "alternator." If he fancies himself a shade-tree mechanic, he may offer to come over and work on it, or give you the name of a buddy of his who's a great mechanic.

If you complain about the fabu black shoes that were on sale last week, but you can't find now, the man in your life will look at you like you are crazy. End of story. Well, actually, he might ask you what, exactly, is wrong with the other 18 pairs of black shoes in your closet? Quick tip: Don't try and enlighten them as to the differences in toes, straps, heels, back or materials. You will simply get another "You're crazy. You know that right?" look.

I have a perfect example. Before I left for Iraq, I bought my wedding dress. I bought it so that I wouldn't have to stress over the dress thing when we got here. Yeah, well, a week before the wedding, I go in to have the dress altered, in that I needed it bustled up so I didn't trip on the train. Because I'd spent so much time in body armor, I had gotten a great deal wider in the back and the shoulders, and lost weight in the hips. Needless to say, it didn't fit, they didn't know if they could alter it enough, and I freaked the fark out.

So, I go back to the hotel room. I have obviously been bawling, and my sweetest husband asks WTF? I got about three breaths into the explanation, and lost my mind. The only words that were understandable were "I got FAT!" My darling husband spent about five minutes petting his distraught bride, and then suggested that we go back to the shop and get another dress. No fuss, no muss, just a practical solution. Needless to say, it worked, and I ended up with a dress I love.

I happen to like the fact that my husband is a man. He's not violent, but he's got no problem considering the use of force when I'm threatened. He's willing to get grumpy when he feels he needs to, and he's all about taking care of me, regardless of whether or not I can take care of myself. He is the spiritual head of our household, and I'm good with that.

He's not afraid of being a man, with all the good and bad that might imply, and I LIKE that. I like him, and his, in this society, lack of PC psuedo-compassion that allows other men from other societies to walk all over him, and by extension me.

I like being the softer one in this relationship. As John mentioned earlier, I think my inner feminist is on life-support.

Well, here we are again....

I'm getting ready to start my studying, after I take a hot shower anyway. I've got a test on Texas History tomorrow, and I had a US History test today. I'm not feeling confident about the Texas History at all, but we shall see what we shall see.

I think I'm going to head downtown tonight, and check out the local belly-dance studio. They have a beginners class from 1815-1915, and I think I'll see what it's like. I really want to check out the personality of the instructors, since I didn't like the halau here at all. (Halau=Hula dance studio)

Oh! Good news. My federal tuition assistance came in. :-) Yay me.

Now, on to the Fall semester.

More on this later...

But I thought this was interesting. I'll end up interspersing my comments throughout, but it'll have to wait until after I get out of class.

From the Washington Post:

Empty Pews: Where Did All The Men Go?
Gender Gap Threatens Churches' Future

By Kristen Campbell and Adelle M. Banks
Religion News Service
Saturday, June 10, 2006; B09

Men don't need pirates in the pews. Then again, the presence of such swashbucklers might not be the worst thing to happen to a Sunday morning.

I'm not sure that we need to be buckling swashes in the nave, but I'm all for pirates!

So goes the thinking of David Murrow, author of "Why Men Hate Going to Church."

"We don't have to have hand-to-hand combat during the worship service to get men there," Murrow said. "We just have to start speaking [their language], use the metaphors they understand and create an environment that feels masculine to them."

I'm down with that, I guess. But what exactly is an environment that "feels masculine?"

Today's churches, Murrow argued, just aren't cutting it.

"My background is in marketing and advertising, and one day I was sitting in church, and all of a sudden it dawned on me that the target audience of almost everything about church culture was a 50- to 55-year-old woman," said Murrow, a Presbyterian elder who's now a member of a nondenominational congregation in Anchorage.

Personally, I'd have to agree. A lot of the church stuff I see advertised around here is so watered down as to be almost meaningless.

The gender gap is not a distinctly American one but it is a Christian one, according to Murrow. The theology and practices of Judaism, Buddhism and Islam offer "uniquely masculine" experiences for men, he said.

"Every Muslim man knows that he is locked in a great battle between good and evil, and although that was a prevalent teaching in Christianity until about 100 years ago, today it's primarily about having a relationship with a man who loves you unconditionally," Murrow said.

That's got to be hard for some men to accept. I understand that men do need to know that God loves them beyond space and time, but I'm getting the idea that most men need more.

"And if that's the punch line of the Gospel, then you're going to have a lot more women than men taking you up on your offer because women are interested in a personal relationship with a man who loves you unconditionally. Men, generally, are not."

Hmmm.

Concern about the perceived femininization of Christianity-- and the subsequent backlash-- is nothing new.

In the middle of the 19th century, two-thirds of church members in New England were women, said Bret E. Carroll, professor of history at California State University, Stanislaus. Portrayals of Jesus around that time depicted a doe-eyed savior with long, flowing hair and white robes.

Then, around the 1870s and 1880s, came a growing emphasis on making religion attractive to men. The movement known as "muscular Christianity" extolled manliness and had its heyday from 1880 to 1920, according to Clifford Putney, author of the book "Muscular Christianity."

Around the same time, fraternal orders grew exponentially among the urban middle classes, according to an online article by Mark C. Carnes, author of "Secret Ritual and Manhood in Victorian America." Not only did the groups provide men with opportunities to cultivate business connections, Carnes writes, but they appealed to some who "found satisfaction in the exotic rituals, which provided a religious experience antithetical to liberal Protestantism and a masculine 'family' vastly different from the one in which most members had been raised."

I do think that men need to be around other men, to express things that might not be understood by a lot of women.

Fast forward to the late 20th century, when Promise Keepers experienced enormous-- if somewhat fleeting-- popularity. Determining the lasting influence of this or any other movement in men's spiritual lives proves difficult.

But the Rev. Chip Hale, pastor of Spanish Fort United Methodist Church in Spanish Fort, Ala., said he believes "real strides" have been made with Promise Keepers and other men's movements. Mission trips and hurricane relief work have also helped to make faith become real for some.

"These guys have really come out because it's something they can do," Hale said. "They feel like they've made a contribution. . . . I think men like to do things that they feel comfortable doing."

Yet come Sunday morning, "we're going to sing love songs to Jesus and there's going to be fresh flowers on the altar and quilted banners on the walls," Murrow said.

Interesting, no?

Men aren't the only ones alienated by such an environment. According to Murrow, young people aren't that keen on it either. Both groups are challenge-oriented and appreciate risk, adventure, variety, pleasure and reward-- values some churches "ignore or vilify," according to Murrow.

Murrow said "it would look like the rapture" if women didn't come to the typical church one Sunday.

Again, interesting and true I think.

"The whole thing would grind to a halt," said Murrow, who said he wrote the book for laywomen in particular. "They're the ones who are suffering most from this gender gap. A lot of women feel overworked and underappreciated in our churches today because they are carrying the load."

At Jerusalem Baptist Church at 2600 P St. NW in Georgetown, more women than men show up even when the church holds a men's event.

"I have never known us to have more men than women," said the church's pastor, the Rev. R. Clinton Washington, who estimates about 80 percent of his church members are women. "I don't know any church that does."

Women in the historic black congregation say they pray for the husbands and young men who don't join them in the pews, but they don't allow the statistics to stifle their faith.

"It doesn't bother me," said Jean Lucas, a longtime member, gathered with other women in the back of the church after a recent two-hour service. "Women run the church. They have to. . . . We don't have any men."

Churches have to help men and women use their gifts, not just fit them into old religious molds, Murrow said.

"There has to be some stretching and risk or you're not going to get men, and I think you're not going to get the upcoming generation of women either," he said. "We're ripping women off by making the church so much about nurturing and caring and relationships, and they're missing that component that they need."

© 2006 The Washington Post Company

Well, not as pithy as I'd like to be tonight, but close enough. I'll try and expand a bit more when I don't have Texas History on the brain.

EDIT: My darling husband posted this link the in the comments. Frederica is a pretty good read any day, but this is particularly good at expounding on the subject.

Finally!

Got the grade back on my Texas History test. I got an 89%. Foo. I am not happy, since it's one flippin' point away from an A.

Oh well. I have been informed that my husband will still sleep with me if I have a "B" in that class.

Oh Emm Gee!!!

You have to go see this!

It's great! If the artist will allow me to print it out, that sucker is so getting framed and put up at the desk area.

Live FEARLESS!

Went to church...

This morning, after changing the layout of the blog. I still want the text box wider so you don't have to scroll so far down, but I like the colors.

I went to St. Sophia's this morning, and it was nice. The chanting is all in Greek though, and they use different tones, so I kind of miss being abot to sing. Their choir is good enough, although I have discovered that I really dislike organ music.

Since I have to work tonight, I had to leave a bit early. I'd have liked to stay for coffee, but I wanted to get home and get a shower before tonight. Mother's Day was insane at Saltgrass but I hope tonight won't be so bad. I also hope that we get some freakin' information on the rankings! Sheesh.

And you can all blame Consul At Arms for the linkfest. He taught me how to do the link thingy (yes, that's a technical term) and now, hee hee hee. I'm addicted.

BTW, my husband is going to be home on leave next month. If you're in the area and would like to be invited to the housewarming party as well as getting to meet us, lemme know. :-) The party should/might/may be on the 15 of July. We'll see. Families will be in attendence, so I expect you all to be good. If you can't be good, be good at it.

Okay, off to shower and get moving for the afternoon. If you're a father, happy Father's Day! I'll be making my phone calls and the like tomorrow, since I'm working this afternoon.

Say a little prayer for me that tonight is better than Mother's Day was for me, please?

How I spent my Saturday night...

So, now you all know what my feet look like. I decided that I needed a bit more of a summer color on my nails and so, it was time for a pedicure! After soaking my tootsies in water almost too hot to stand, I smoothed them with a rough pumice stone and a home-made sugar scrub. Then, I put them back in to parboil soak, and slathered my Gold Bond super-duper lotion on them, then pushed back the cuticles and polished those puppies.

In case you're wondering, yes I really am lame enough that I stay home on Saturday nights and study whilst polishing my toenails, and then blog about it.

I'm suffering from "summer feet" and would like to have them all nice and pretty when John gets home. They're not pretty enough to be foot-model material, but they are mine and I'm rather fond of them.

(In case you're wondering, to me "summer feet" are the dry, cracked feet you get from wearing shoes with open backs or no shoes at all. It's hard on your skin and your feet get really really dry.)

Why are you all looking at me like that?

My head hurts...

Rather literally. I've had a headache for the past two days, and despite a nice long nap, it's not gotten much better. I actually fell asleep on the phone with a friend and he was sweet enough to listen to me snooze for a few minutes before waking me up to hang up. Thanks, pussycat.

On the studying front...oy vey. Ouch. My head still hurts, and I have three quizzes to take this weekend. Ah well. I'm sure that I'll do fine. :-)

Okay...

I'm trying to form a rebuttal to a post on LJ, and here's what I've got so far.

The italicized sections are what I'm responding to. Let me know what you think or what I've got wrong. I'm about to head to bed, and I'm wanting to re-read this later to make sure that I'm not freaking out.

*********************

I said this over four years ago and I'll say it again. If we want to "win" the "war on terror", we start recruiting the same way the Taliban and Al-Quaida did in the beginning. And how was that? We feed people. We educate people. We promise them brighter futures. We keep the lights on. We keep the malls and the roadways safe. We focus on, spend our money on, use our energies on building a region with opportunity and hope, in the context of respect for Muslim traditions and institutions.

I think, and I may be wrong, that you're confusting Hammas with both the Taliban and al-Quaida. From wikipedia:

"Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة‎ ​, transliterated: al-Qā‘idah; "the foundation" or "the base") is an international Sunni Islamic fundamentalist paramilitary organization and campaign comprising independent and collaborative cells that all profess the same cause of reducing outside influence upon Islamic affairs. Al-Qaeda itself is classified by the United States, European Union, United Nations, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and various other nations, as an international terrorist organization. Although al-Qaeda is philosophically heterogeneous in context of Sunni Islam, most prominent members of the movement are considered to have Salafi beliefs.

Sources differ on the origin of the name. Robin Cook, the late British member of Parliament and former foreign secretary, wrote in 2005 that "Al-Qaida, literally 'the database', was originally the computer file of the thousands of mujahideen who were recruited and trained with help from the CIA to defeat the Russians." [1] Supporting this, Dr. Saad Al-Fagih, a surgeon at Peshawar (where the recruiting happened) explained that creation of the computer database (Al-Qaeda) was necessary to fix problems associated with a lack of documentation about the fighters who were recruited. [2] Some others have said that the name means simply the base as well as claiming that the organization chose its own name.[3][4]

The origins of al-Qaeda can be traced to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, when a cadre of non-Afghani, Arab Muslim fighters joined the largely United States and Pakistan-funded Afghan mujāhidīn anti-Russian resistance movement (a guerrilla war against Soviet occupation forces and the Soviet-backed Afghan government). Osama bin Laden, a member of a prominent Saudi Arabian business family, led an informal grouping which became a leading fundraiser and recruitment agency for the Afghan cause in Muslim countries; it channelled Islamic fighters to the conflict, distributed money and provided logistical skills and resources to both fighting forces and Afghan refugees."

When we offer Muslim children education in a school paid for by the US, we do not indoctrinate the children in the ideals of Western democracy. We teach. Five times a day, the children will do obeisance as their religion commands. The history of the great acheivements of the people of the Middle East will be front and center. And so will one of the greatest of those acheivements....Algebra.

Um. How do you expect them to accept the idea of a bicameral legislature when you're not going to teach them the ideas of Western democracy from the cradle? The ONLY reason we seem to think that our government should function the way it does is because we're indoctrinated, from babyhood, that this is the way it should be. The idea of a representative government is democracy, plain and simple, and it's NOT a normal system of government in the ME. The normal form of government is dictated by who has the biggest stick, and when you have the biggest stick, you get to beat up on the last guy who had the biggest stick, because he beat you up. It just goes around and around and around and around.

We want the people to see "US soldier" and think "home builder" not "killer of innocents".

Right. When I left, they saw us as "morons" and "suckers." They saw us as too stupid to actually read the contracts we signed with the local contractors, and too damn scared to enforce them. I watched an Iraqi contractor try and tell one of the CA NCOs that the contract the former CA NCO signed wasn't really the right one. He was just pissed because SFC Rauschuber wouldn't pay him the second half of the monies owed on the contract until the generator performed in 50 C weather, just like the contract SPECIFIED.

They think we STUPID, hon. Not misguided, not duplicitous, just dumber than dirt and too damned stupid to realize that.

All people accused of terrorism by the US need to be tried under US law if they are captured or brought to US jurisdiction. No more "Abu-Ghraib", and no new Haditha. Give the men in Guantanamo some dignity and a trial. Stop with the empty war mongering rhetoric.

Okay.

Does this mean the troops will leave immediately? Absolutely not. What did your mama tell you about when you spilled ice cream on the floor? You clean your own mess, young lady! Why aren't more US dollars being poured into finding work for the 30% of Iraqi citizens who are unemployed, with the absolutely tremendous amount of building going on there? We've been there for three years. The time for "they're not educated enough to work on our road crews" is over.

No, they're not too uneducated. They might have to work alongside a Sunni or a Shia, or someone whose grandfather threw at rock at someone else's grandfather who then threw a rock at someone else. What seems like ancient history to us is last week to them. Tribal societies do not forgive or forget and they're still very very very tribal.

You also haven't ever actually tried to get an Iraqi to get something done on a timetable. It's always tomorrow, inshallah. You cannot expect an Iraqi to get to a meeting on time, you cannot expect them to meet a deadline and if you do, you're not respecting the culture.

Here where I live, homeless guys get jobs rehabbing homes and building streets and driving trucks and doing cleanup. Are you saying that the average addicted, ex con, often chronically ill homeless guy is more competent than a young, strong Iraqi man who got his education under Saddam Hussein?

No, but his work ethic is, even when atrophied by drugs and illness, at least something that we recognize. He does at least understand the concept of showing up to work at a specified time, and staying for the specified amount of time. He understands that if his job is to produce 65 widgets in one day, then he needs to make 65 widgets. There is no "I'll make the widgets if it is God's will that I make the widgets. If it is God's will that I wander off to the coffee shop, I will do that instead."

Why does Halliburton get all the money? Pay local labor good wages to rebuild, and you'd be amazed how quickly sectarian violence and anti-US sentiment would begin to fade.

You do realize that 99% of the labor used to rebuild Iraqi shit IS Iraqi, right? The contracts are for local Iraqi companies, the work is with local Iraqis hired in the local neighborhoods and the equipment, when possible, is Iraqi. As for why Haliburton gets the money? If you're talking about the dining halls and what not on the camps and FOBs, it's because they understand the idea of health codes and the ideas of working with standards that Iraq hasn't ever adopted. You don't want to know what their slaughtering grounds looked like or what the local butcher shops looked like. And no, it wasn't becuase of the lack of power or the lack of supplies. It's because that's the way it's always been. Again, read the bit above about deadlines and timetables and trying to get something done in a reasonably quick fashion. It's also because we've learned the hard way that if you let Iraqis have unrestricted access to the camps and the FOBs, they take that information back to their little terrorist buddies and then, they get to kill us more quickly and more easily.

We'll also mention that 99% of the folx watching shit get blown up again are Iraqi too. They might not be the ones blowing the new power plants up, but they're certainly not doing *ANYTHING* to stop it.

How bout this? Conceptualize Iraq as a confederation of (at least) three states, one primarily Kurdish, one primarily Sunni, and one primarily Shiite. Travel is unrestricted or minimally restricted between the states. All three states are expected to provide support for the oil fields which (by geography) will necessarily be located in only one of the three states. Support means personnel, security, infrastructure, etc. In exchange, the oil revenue is proportionally divided among the populations of the three states by a federal body with a bicameral legislature that cuts the gordian knot of fair representation in a similar way as the US founding fathers did.

But we're not supposed to indoctrinate the culture into Western democracy? How do you think this is going to work otherwise?

A certain percentage of that oil revenue is earmarked for education and social infrastructure. Another percentage is earmarked for developing and marketing alternative energy resources (if you need to ask why, you haven't stuck a dipstick in the oil fields lately). The rest of the oil revenue is discretionary. Sunnis police Sunnis, Shiites police Shiites, Kurds police Kurds. And holy sites revered by any of the three sects are maintained by those aforementioned oil fields.

This will NEVER work. Each of them will be sure that they should get more money, and they'll just wander down to the local opposition headquarters and kill the other guys. We were still tyring to convince the journalists that the way to put their competition out of business was to be better than they were, not to kill them. I'm not kidding or being hyperbolic here. I listened to my CO try to tell the journalists that free speech was part of a free society, and they had to counter stories they didn't like with other stories, NOT by blowing up the other newspaper officers or the printers.

And on the homefront? Victory gardens. Actual sacrifices. Government sponsered trade ins of SUVs for fuel efficient cars.

I like my truck thank you, and I'll pay for the extra gas I use. When they make a truck that gets better gas mileage, but will still let me haul my camping stuff and a horse trailer, I'm there. Until then, it's a free country, and that includes people making choices I don't agree with. If my parents have to accept the fact that gay marriage isn't going to be the downfall of western society as we know it, then I'm pretty that my SUV won't be either.

Meatless and wheatless and sweetless days. And for what? To ensure long term peace while balancing the budget and contributing to the outcome. Americans are not engaged in this war, and they're not engaged because it's an Effing stupid war. That could change, if our government had a little sense and forethought.

It's funny, but it's only sense and forethought when the government is doing what we think it ought to be doing. Otherwise, it's waste and horror. And that's on both sides of the political aisle.

Couple of things....(NOOKIE)

I am thrilled! If you have to ask why the date 6 July 06 makes me *squeee* you will be beaten and you will not enjoy it, no matter how much of a freak you are.

So, he should be here around 10 July. *SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!*

Nookie, baby! Hot smokin' nookie, bay-bee! Hanging from the chandeliers nookie! Nookie like there has never been nookie before. I swear to God, going without nookie with your husband for this long does something strange to your brain. It really does. Well, then again, with my brain, how do you tell? It's not like I'm ever normal.

So, now I reallly have to get on the straightening and the arranging and the like, just so I can have the place looking spiff for a housewarming party. :-D OMG. *squee*

Now, second thing. If you own a sword, and that sword is wickedly sharp, be careful when taking it out of the box. Otherwise, the box may tip over and the sword may skitter across the top of you hand, leaving you with two nice little sword bites. Also, when your husband asks you if you cleaned the blood off the blade, he isn't being rude, he just forgets that you are not an ordinary woman and in his heart, he knows that you saw to the blade before you cleaned the blood off your hand or the carpet.

Whooooooo!

I am currently sitting on the couch watching Firefly and surfing the internet on my new wireless connection. :-)

I actually installed the 2Wire gateway. Now we get to see if it sticks. I could end up disconnected for some God un-known reason.

Let's hope not, huh?

More stupidity!

Evidently, having an opinion on Islam, and publishing true facts about it, gets you sued.

Interesting, no?

Yeah, and you people think Christians are bad! Sheesh.

Now, I have to go to school.

John, I need you to call me when you can, or gmail chat me. I love you.

This is unreal.

Michael Yon has had a photograph stolen. This one, as a matter of fact.

You can read about it here: http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/dishonor.htm

What's been done about it is here: http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/

Go to the website, and contact the publishers. Tell them you think it's disgraceful and that you will refuse to buy any of the magazines they publish, and then...don't buy them.

Yon is one of the best war chroniclers out there and he, and the Soldier and the little girl in the picture deserve better. We all do.

Now, go.

*snicker*

This is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long, long time.

Oh my.

The Internet is For Porn!

Or there's always the WoW version:

More Porn!

w00t!

I got a 95% on my US History exam. I knew I felt pretty good about that one!

Now...let's see how Texas History went, shall we?

Huh.

'Narnia represents everything that is most hateful about religion'

Children won't get the Christian subtext, but unbelievers should keep a sickbag handy during Disney's new epic, writes Polly Toynbee

Monday December 5, 2005
The Guardian

Aslan the lion shakes his mighty mane and roars out across Narnia and eternity. Christ is risen! However, not many British children these days will get the message. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe opens this week to take up the mantle left by The Lord of the Rings. CS Lewis's seven children's books, The Chronicles of Narnia, will be with us now and for many Christmases to come. Only Harry Potter has outsold these well-loved books' 85 million copies.

Article continues
How suitable that one fantasy saga should follow on from the other, despite the immense difference between the writings and magic worlds of these two old Oxford dons. It was JRR Tolkien who converted CS Lewis to Christianity during one long all-night walk that ended in dawn and revelation. Narnia is a strange blend of magic, myth and Christianity, some of it brilliantly fantastical and richly imaginative, some (the clunking allegory) toe-curlingly, cringingly awful.

This new Disney film is a remarkably faithful rendition of the book - faithful in both senses. It is beautiful to look at and wonderfully acted. The four English children and their world are all authentically CS Lewis olde England. But from its opening scenes of the bombing of their Finchley home in the blitz and the tear-jerking evacuation from their mother in a (spotlessly clean) steam train, there is an emotional undertow to this film that tugs on the heart-strings from the first frames. By the end, it feels profoundly manipulative, as Disney usually does. But then, that is also deeply faithful to the book's own arm-twisting emotional call to believers.

Disney is deliberately promoting this film to the religious - it has appointed Outreach, an evangelical publisher, to promote the Christian message behind the movie in British churches. The Christian radio station Premier is urging churches to hold services on the theme of The Gospel According to Narnia. Even the Methodists have written a special Narnia-themed service. And a Kent parish is giving away £10,000 worth of film tickets to single-parent families. (Are the children of single mothers in special need of the word?)

US born-agains are using the movie. The Mission America Coalition is "inviting church leaders around the country to consider the fantastic ministry opportunity presented by the release of this film". The president's brother, Jeb Bush, the governor of Florida, is organising a scheme for every child in his state to read the book. Walden Media, co-producer of the movie, offers a "17-week Narnia Bible study for children". The owner of Walden Media is both a big Republican donor and a donor to the Florida governor's book promotion - a neat synergy of politics, religion and product placement. It has aroused protests from Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which complains that "a governmental endorsement of the book's religious message is in violation of the First Amendment to the US Constitution".

Disney may come to regret this alliance with Christians, at least on this side of the Atlantic. For all the enthusiasm of the churches, Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ bombed in Britain and warehouses are stuffed with unsold DVDs of that stomach-churner. There are too few practising Christians in the empty pews of this most secular nation to pack cinemas. So there has been a queasy ambivalence about how to sell the Narnia film here. Its director, Andrew Adamson (of Shrek fame), says the movie's Christian themes are "open to the audience to interpret". One soundtrack album of the film has been released with religious music, the other with secular pop.

Most British children will be utterly clueless about any message beyond the age-old mythic battle between good and evil. Most of the fairy story works as well as any Norse saga, pagan legend or modern fantasy, so only the minority who are familiar with Christian iconography will see Jesus in the lion. After all, 43% of people in Britain in a recent poll couldn't say what Easter celebrated. Among the young - apart from those in faith schools - that number must be considerably higher. Ask art galleries: they now have to write the story of every religious painting on the label as people no longer know what "agony in the garden", "deposition", "transfiguration" or "ascension" mean. This may be regrettable cultural ignorance, but it means Aslan will stay just a lion to most movie-goers.

All the same, children may puzzle over the lion and ask embarrassing questions. For non-CS Lewis aficionados, here is a recap. The four children enter Narnia through a wardrobe and find themselves in a land frozen into "always winter, never Christmas" by the white witch, (played with elemental force by Tilda Swinton). Unhappy middle child Edmund, resentful of being bossed about by his older brother, broods with meanness and misery. The devil, in the shape of the witch, tempts him: for the price of several chunks of turkish delight, rather than 30 pieces of silver, Edmund betrays his siblings and their Narnian friends.

The sins of this "son of Adam" can only be redeemed by the supreme sacrifice of Aslan. This Christ-lion willingly lays down his life, submitting himself to be bound, thrashed and humiliated by the white witch, allowing his golden mane to be cut and himself to be slaughtered on the sacrificial stone table: it cracks in sympathetic agony and his body goes missing. The two girls lay down their heads and weep, Magdalene and Mary-like. Be warned, the film lingers long and lovingly over all this.

But so far, so good. The story makes sense. The lion exchanging his life for Edmund's is the sort of thing Arthurian legends are made of. Parfait knights and heroes in prisoner-of-war camps do it all the time. But what's this? After a long, dark night of the soul and women's weeping, the lion is suddenly alive again. Why? How?, my children used to ask. Well, it is hard to say why. It does not make any more sense in CS Lewis's tale than in the gospels. Ah, Aslan explains, it is the "deep magic", where pure sacrifice alone vanquishes death.

Of all the elements of Christianity, the most repugnant is the notion of the Christ who took our sins upon himself and sacrificed his body in agony to save our souls. Did we ask him to? Poor child Edmund, to blame for everything, must bear the full weight of a guilt only Christians know how to inflict, with a twisted knife to the heart. Every one of those thorns, the nuns used to tell my mother, is hammered into Jesus's holy head every day that you don't eat your greens or say your prayers when you are told. So the resurrected Aslan gives Edmund a long, life-changing talking-to high up on the rocks out of our earshot. When the poor boy comes back down with the sacred lion's breath upon him he is transformed unrecognisably into a Stepford brother, well and truly purged.

Tolkien hated Narnia: the two dons may have shared the same love of unquestioning feudal power, with worlds of obedient plebs and inferior folk eager to bend at the knee to any passing superior white persons - even children; both their fantasy worlds and their Christianity assumes that rigid hierarchy of power - lord of lords, king of kings, prince of peace to be worshipped and adored. But Tolkien disliked Lewis's bully-pulpit.

Over the years, others have had uneasy doubts about the Narnian brand of Christianity. Christ should surely be no lion (let alone with the orotund voice of Liam Neeson). He was the lamb, representing the meek of the earth, weak, poor and refusing to fight. Philip Pullman - he of the marvellously secular trilogy His Dark Materials - has called Narnia "one of the most ugly, poisonous things I have ever read".

Why? Because here in Narnia is the perfect Republican, muscular Christianity for America - that warped, distorted neo-fascist strain that thinks might is proof of right. I once heard the famous preacher Norman Vincent Peale in New York expound a sermon that reassured his wealthy congregation that they were made rich by God because they deserved it. The godly will reap earthly reward because God is on the side of the strong. This appears to be CS Lewis's view, too. In the battle at the end of the film, visually a great epic treat, the child crusaders are crowned kings and queens for no particular reason. Intellectually, the poor do not inherit Lewis's earth.

Does any of this matter? Not really. Most children will never notice. But adults who wince at the worst elements of Christian belief may need a sickbag handy for the most religiose scenes. The Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw gives the film five stars and says, "There is no need for anyone to get into a PC huff about its Christian allegory." Well, here's my huff.

Lewis said he hoped the book would soften-up religious reflexes and "make it easier for children to accept Christianity when they met it later in life". Holiness drenches the Chronicles. When, in the book, the children first hear someone say, mysteriously, "Aslan is on the move", he writes: "Now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don't understand but in the dream it feels as if it had enormous meaning ..." So Lewis weaves his dreams to invade children's minds with Christian iconography that is part fairytale wonder and joy - but heavily laden with guilt, blame, sacrifice and a suffering that is dark with emotional sadism.

Children are supposed to fall in love with the hypnotic Aslan, though he is not a character: he is pure, raw, awesome power. He is an emblem for everything an atheist objects to in religion. His divine presence is a way to avoid humans taking responsibility for everything here and now on earth, where no one is watching, no one is guiding, no one is judging and there is no other place yet to come. Without an Aslan, there is no one here but ourselves to suffer for our sins, no one to redeem us but ourselves: we are obliged to settle our own disputes and do what we can. We need no holy guide books, only a very human moral compass. Everyone needs ghosts, spirits, marvels and poetic imaginings, but we can do well without an Aslan.

· The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is released on Thursday

I'll get around to screaming about this is a bit. Gotta run to school.

They're up!

The drapes are up. They're not pressed/steamed and they're not totally fluffed, but they up!

Yay! I think we have the fanciest sewing room drapes in the world. They'll make stunning living room drapes at some point! In case you can't see them that well, the top is a chocolate black courderoy and the bottom is a bronze/black taffeta.

I'm in love!

AGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

OMG, I think I broke my brain. That test was...oh dear. I am sure I passed, but her tests are...harder than I thought they would be. At least now I understand the type of information that she's looking for, and the type of essays she wants. That will help in the next test, and I'll be able to better study.

Looking forward to the US history test, sort of. I need to review two articles and then look over my notes, but I'm much more confident in this one.

My brain hurts. Ouchie.

On the nice side, I did get approached by some guys from one of the local campus ministry groups. They invited me to a discussion about The DaVinci Code, and I'm thinking that I might actually go. They're evangelical Protestants of one denomination or another, I'm sure, but they asked to pray for John and I'm grateful for that.

They seemed nice enough and I'd love to see who they've brought in to talk about the DVC. Not sure what side they're going to come down on, but still...interesting stuff.

If you are so inclined...

Do me a favor and say a little prayer for me tomorrow, at about 1000, my time. I've got my first Texas history test then, and after than, my first US history test.

Yoikes. I'm ready, I think, but I'm still worried.

Thanks, y'all.

Have mercy on me, O God.

Tomorrow is Pentecost, and tonight is a special Vespers.

Please pray for me, a sinner. I am fallen and I am struggling to get up and keep going.

Grrrr.

I am in a bad mood tonight. Just cranky and creaky and generally blah. I just can't seem to shake this funk.

One of the reasons that I really don't talk to too many folx about depression is because I hate the platitudes.

Honestly, I know that people mean well, but it's kind of hard to understand what it's like in here, when you're standing at the edge of the Pit and the only thing you want to do is fall in. Right now, I'm teetering right on the edge. I haven't fallen in, thank you GOD, but there are some days when it gets closer than others, and today just seemed to turn into one of those.

It's hard to explain how tired I am, all the time. How tired I am when I wake up, how tired I am when I get in the truck to go to school, how tired I am when I get home, and how tired I am when I do homework. I yawn all the time, and I've fallen asleep over my books more than once this weekend.

It's hard to explain that while I know, intellectually, that this too shall pass, it's harder to convince the heart and the little monkey that lives in the back of my head.

It's hard to explain how much I loathe waking up in a bed that's half-empty, and how much I miss being able to share the small parts of being married. Yeah, I know...just wait until he gets home right? Whatever. I will never forget how much this sucks. Never. BTW, if you are somewhere near your significant other, and you haven't told them how grateful you are to have them in your life, and how much you value their friendship and their love, get up and do it. Now. I'll wait. I'm serious. Get away from the computer, and go tell them. Really, go. While you're at it, have some smokin' hot nookie for me.

And yes, I know, it could be worse. We could all be on fire and that would suck.

I'll get around to the kittens and butterflies in a few minutes, okay? Until then, lemme 'lone. Until it's all rainbows and freakin' sunshine, I'm hurting and the happy-isms aren't doing much.

I've been told that I need to refocus. Okay, so what do you suggest? I'm in school, and I'm working. I'm trying to get to church and I'm trying to find some type of gaming activity so I can kill things that don't actually bleed and that won't get me heavily medicated. What else should I do? Even as fast as I read, these classes are kicking my ass, so volunteering at the local soup kitchen isn't quite gonna work.

I know that I've got a great marriage! I know it. I'm lucky in that I don't ever worry about John cheating on me, or sending me a "Dear Jen" letter or anything else. I know I've got it good. How do you think I get through every day? I thank God every day for the gift that is my husband and my marriage. I usually spend large chunks of my day trying to make sure that I tell my husband how much he means to me, and how much I value his presence in my life. I remind myself every single freakin' day that we 're lucky to have as much contact as we have, and that wives and girlfriends in WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam had it a lot worse. They went for months without knowing, waiting for letters that might be a month or more old, and never really knowing if their loved ones were alive or dead. I do have it easier than they did, and I know it. However, that doesn't negate too much of the pain some days. There are times when I just want to scream and throw things because this isn't fair, and yes, I know. Fair's a place you take your pig.

Okay, I'm going to go sleep now and wake up in a better mood. If not, I'll just hit myself in the forehead for a while. Gah. I have to study more tomorrow. Head is going to explode.

For John...

Have you looked in their eyes, John? Do you think the poodles want to get tarted up?

Think of the poodles, John!

You have got to be kidding me...

Okay, sometimes I think people are just plain ole crazy.

This may sound like a tangent, but it's not. I know that everyone and their brother has seen the billboards on the side of the road with a picture, a one-word value, and a the request to "pass it on." If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can find it here: Pass It On.

I don't know about you, but I've got no problem with these billboards. They're not preachy, they're not in-your-face religious, and they actually promote something other than booze, places to drink booze, places to watch girls take their clothes off while you drink booze, or other forms of entertainment.

They promote things like vision, unity, strenth, perseverence, and courage. What's wrong with those things? Well, nothing, unless you happen to be The Portland Alliance. The Portland Alliance supposedly roots for the little guy, something I've got no beef with. From their website: "

The Portland Alliance is the city's oldest alternative progressive newspaper. The Alliance reports on the issues ignored or distorted by the corporate-dominated mainstream press, asking the hard questions you won't hear on the evening news or read in your daily newspaper.

The Alliance was founded in 1981 as part of an effort to bring Oregon's progressives together in one coalition to oppose the growing power of conservative forces in this state. While that coalition did not take root, the newspaper created to give that coalition voice did. Shifting to a more local focus, The Portland Alliance has been providing a voice eversince for environmentalists, trade unionists, social justice activists, and others who are usually shut out by the mainstream press.

Over the years the Alliance has broken stories missed by the mainstream press. In the 1990s we produced an award-winning series about health care and the homeless. In 2000, our coverage of Portland Police Chief Mark Kroeker's ties with homophobic Christian groups made national news and placed the controversial police chief under greater public scrutiny. That same year, we ran an exclusive report on the health risks facing the poor, Native Americans and other people of color who rely on fish from the polluted Willamette River - a story reported several months later in the pages of The Oregonian.

Honestly, I think that's great. That means that some folx in the fourth estate are still doing what they're supposed to do, which is bring about social change by telling the public what's out there. They're not supposed to interpret the events for people, but I'll save that for another rant. So, considering these guys root for the little guy, you'd think that an ad campaign feating Ghandi, Mother Teresa, and a rabbi and priest sitting down to play checkers would be right up their alley, huh? Well, it might be, except for one minor problem.

The man who's financing this ad campaign happens to be a Christian and a conservative.

From the Denver Post:

Anschutz is known as a devout Christian and political conservative. One of his political heroes is William Wilberforce, an evangelical Christian and member of Parliament who, in the early 1800s, challenged the British government to abolish the slave trade.

Anschutz, notoriously publicity shy, nonetheless provided a promotional blurb on the back cover of a biography about Wilberforce published in 2002.

Anschutz also has been one of the biggest contributors to the Republican Party, including the presidential campaign of George W. Bush in 2000.

Yet, no aspect of the "Pass It On" campaign mentions politics. A few messages include religious figures. One poster features a portrait of Mother Teresa and the script: "Reaching beyond yourself. Compassion. Pass It On." A billboard features the last Indian nationalist leader Mohandas Gandhi, with the text: "What makes Gandhi Gandhi. Soul." A TV commercial shows a rabbi, a Christian clergyman and a Muslim cleric happily playing checkers.

I know, I know, I know. Promoting those horrible things, like showing someone famous who overcame dyslexia (Whoopi Goldberg) or reminding people that sometimes doing what's right is hard (Tienamen Square) is just so evil and it needs to be exposed. So, the Portland Alliance sets out to do just that!

Pissed off about "Pass It On."

Since there are some things that I want to point attention to, I'll quote some of the article here.

"While some of the individual ads express positive messages with which few would argue (Mother Teresa and the phrase, "Reaching beyond yourself"), others are transparently pro-war (emergency workers raising the American flag in the rubble of the World Trade Center and the words, "No setback will set us back"). Though the Foundation's campaign was planned before the attacks on the East Coast on Sept. 11, it was "expanded upon" afterwards, according to the OAAA. The new additions are easily identifiable. "anonymous [sic] activist research nerd" characterized "Pass it on" as a "vague, nonsensical propaganda campaign;" but perhaps some people are falling for it. Others have taken to billboard liberation-style culture-jamming and have edited signs to send an anti-capitalist message instead.

How exactly, and someone spell this out for me in small words and diagrams because I'm obviously a stupid conservative, is the phrase "No setback will set us back" pro-war propaganda? I can see if it had said something like "Now, we'll go and kick their asses," but it doesn't. It just, in my mind, shows a testament to the human spirit and the American determination to keep going.

And how in God's holy name is it a "vague, nonsensical propaganda campaign? I mean, seriously.

And it could get worse. After Anschutz sold his railroad holdings, he retained the right to lay digital lines along the tracks; Qwest's new division, Qwest Digital Media, teamed up with Twentieth Century Fox, owned by the British right winger, Rupert Murdoch, to show digital screenings of Fox's "Titan A.E." last year. Put these two developments together and you get what Box Office Online speculates will be a nationwide digital delivery network. If the Foundation's "Pass it on" campaign is any indication of the content Anschutz plans to produce, then we're in for a lot more slick propaganda spread far and wide. When production, distribution and point-of-sale are under the control of one person or corporation like this, what you have is a vertical monopoly. Standard Oil was busted up at the turn of the last century for structuring itself in this way, but with Anschutz's highly-placed friends, such a challenge seems doubtful in the near future. Eventually, all monopolies crash under their own weight, but they often do a lot of damage in the meantime.

Why mention Standard Oil? Carnigie's US Steel is a better example of a vertical monopoly. Standard Oil was more of a horizontal monopoly.

By contrast, the collaborative investigation process that occurred on Portland Indymedia during the uncovering of this story points to the power of a truly democratic medium. The open publishing newswire on the Portland Indymedia website allows anyone to publish their own articles and photos almost instantly, without a meddlesome editorial approval process intervening. In the case of this story, not only did the participants become the media, they also did a better job, collectively, than corporate outlets like the Houston Chronicle and USA Today, which wrote about the "Pass it on" campaign but ignored the Anschutz connection.

Hmmm. A bit of shameless self-promotion? Don't break your arm patting yourselves on the back, guys. Why not present the other side of this story? Why not ask folx if the ads have had a positive effect on them? Why not point out that Anschutz has not asked for any donations, hasn't had his name put on the billboards, and in fact, isn't interested in the publicity?

Oh that's right. Because anyone who might be conservative and trying to do something positive is obviously Up To Something, and God forbid they be trying to promote values that should stretch across party lines. Since he's not doing it the way this rag thinks he should be, what he's doing isn't worth looking at.

What was that quote? Good done in the name of evil is still good, and evil done in the name of good is still evil.


And you wonder why I don't want to go anywhere NEAR "journalism"?

Blogger hates me.

I'm convinced. I've had to around Robin Hood's barn to get the create post page to load, and even now, I'm not sure that the thing will update. Ah well, this is why we have cut and paste, and I save entries on word.

In refernce to my last post: The evil cabana boy position has been filled. I am looking forward to many years of dedicated evil service from my evil cabana boy, and suggest he learn some monster foot rubbing skillz. Also, by agreeing to be my evil cabana boy, he's agreed to all sorts of nookie-ish things. Heh.

Applications for a supplimentary not-so-evil cabana boy may be taken in the future, but I doubt it.

Okay, I started this blog entry yesterday, but never got a chance to post it, so here goes:

You know, some of the stuff that I thought would bug me when I came back to college actually is, although I got a great compliment today. One of the psychology profs is looking for study subjects, and since it looks like I'm not gonna be working this semester, I though I'd volunteer. Ten bucks is 10 bucks, after all. However, most of the studies want subjects who are between 18-25, and I asked about studies with older participants. The prof looked at me. "You're over 25?" I guess I really don't look 31. Just ignore that portrait in the attic.

Taking notes on the computer is actually a lot easier than I thought it would be and it's improving my typing skills like crazy. I still tend to switch letters around, and I don't know if that's just fat-fingering stuff, or if it's because my brains have been scrambled and my brain moves faster than my fingers. If I'm thinking faster than I'm typing, I tend to put words together, and it's a bit of a pain in the butt. So far, I've put brain and fingers together, since I was writing about them, and had to go back and correct them.

Like I said, I actually like the US history prof, since he's just really in to the subject and seems to actually enjoy teaching. Okay, off to take notes!

Back dring the break. I wish that more teachers were like this guy. He makes it interesting and manages to make it accessable.

Okay, this is sort of a musing that started with John's blog, and my gradual change over the post few years.

One of the guys I read on LJ was talking about South Korean culture. Men can smoke, but women are looked down if they do. Men can drink, to the point that they're drunk in public, but it's disgraceful if a woman does the exact same thing. Things that I expect as a common courtesy, such as my door being opened, or proceeding through a door before John would embarass a South Korean woman, probably because it shows them a deference their society deems them unworthy of. Tom finished up this post by expressing his happiness that the culture is so conservative.

I happened to object, since I don't think that's a conservative society. It's a sexist society in my opinion, because women are held to a higher standard than men are, the the consequences if they fail to live up to that standard are probably much harsher than they would be for a man. In Korea, businessmen who have had a bad day can go visit a hooker. What do you want to bet that a Korean woman would be a pariah if she did that and it were found out? It's pretty much overlooked in Korean society, as it is in (from what I can tell) every Asian society. Men get away with bloody murder and women are stifled by rules that expect a much higher, more disciplined life.

Tom likes to blame the destruction on the nuclear family on the feminist movement, because feminist agitated for brith control and the ability to obtain a divorce more easily. His opinion is that it breaks up the home. How do you see this? Men have been able to get divorces at the drop of a hat, but now that women can, suddenly it's end of western civilization? I'm just not seeing it.

Birth control means that a woman can control the number of children she has, allowing her to take control of her health. So, now, instead of having child after child after child, the woman can suddenly decide that maybe having nine or 10 or 11 children is...well...too hard on her body. Pregnancy is hard on a woman's body. Yes, it's a huge part of what we are designed to do, but it's not easy on our bodies. It takes a huge amount of resources, and having multiple children very close together can just wear a body out. Also, if a woman isn't raising children for forty years, she can do something like get more education.

I happen to like the feminist movement, since it did nice things like overturn marital rape laws. I'm all in favor of that because I don't happen to believe that if I get married I give up control over my own body BY LAW. Fine, you want to get into an esoteric, private, non-legally-binding contract dealing with dominant/submissive sex or which position you have sex in, or any of your other relationships, that's your business.

Personally, I don't care if you and your lover/wife/husband/guy-you-see-seven-and-a-half-times-a-year decide that you're going to have sex in monkey suits on the top of the local ice cream stand, and you write a contract about it, but if you decide you don't want to wear the monkey suit one day, no one should be able to force you to.

I have no clue where I'm going with this, excpept to say that people have been screaming about the end of western civilization as we know it for umptyfratz years now. I'm not sure that the feminist movement is going to usher it in any faster.

There was something else...oh now I remember.

I happen to love the movie "The American President." I realize that it's a movie and I don't agree with some of the stuff the characters do, but the speech at the end kicks ass, mostly. I'll pick on the parts of the movie I don't like in a minute. I happen to like most of what he says, as I am against a flag-burning amendment, and I happen to think that the ACLU has their hearts in the right place, even if they do make me nuts with their second amendment inaction. I do happen to think that the president should be able to be articulate, and should be a strong presence. I don't particularly think our current chief executive is either of those, but that's as far as I'm going.

Now, to the parts of the movie that drive me a bit bonkers.

"For some reason, people do not relate guns to gun-related crime." Actually, most people are too stupid to realize that you can't equate legally owned guns to gun-related crime, for the most part. Criminals aren't the ones who are purchasing those guns that are used in your nifty surveys and figure games. If you take away my .45, Joe Thuggy down the street will still have his, and he will still hold up the local Stop-N-Rob, and then what?

These arguements and such always sound so much better when I'm thinking of them in my head. Gah.

After a conversation with my brother...

(And it seems appropriate for the date.) I've decided something. Evidently, as a white, middle-class Christian, I am the ultimate evil. As I am the ultimate evil, there are some changes I want, and I want them now.

First- I want some evil underlings. You know, lackeys to fetch my evil drinks. Evil cabana boys, the kind that will steal the little paper umbrellas from other people's pina coladas and move their bookmarks. I want somebody to wash the evil undergarments, and handle all the evil ironing. They can put a red sock into a white load, as long as it's not mine, and then giggle all the way home. I want an evil chef, who will make lots of evil food with things like butter, and white wine and real cream. Oh yeah, and an evil personal trainer. (That won't take much work to find. PTs are sadistic by nature.)

Second- If I am the ultimate evil, why isn't the clothing budget better? I mean, really. C'mon. I'm the ultimate evil and I shop at Old Navy. Shouldn't I be shopping at some higher-class evil corporation, like Nordstroms? I mean, who really expects the ultimate evil to dress in pink cotton t-shirts? Shouldn't I be wearing high-end black leather, and maybe some evil diamonds. I'm worth it. (We'll skip the fact that I'd probably be dressed in pink leather, since it's easier to hide out in polite society if you don't look like an emo goth.)

Third- Can we talk about the accomodations? Don't get me wrong, I adore our little apartment, you know, the one I share with the evil spouse, but I'm thinking I need a bigger evil domain, one with lots of servants I can opress, and tons of chances to flout my evil-ness in the face of the less fortunate. I need one that uses up lots and lots of electricity, so I can contribute to the destruction of the environment.

Fourth- We need to do something about my car. The ultimate evil should be driving something fast and sleek. I'm thinking a Ferrari, or maybe a Lotus. You know, something that the opressed masses I walk on could never afford. If nothing else, could I at least get an evil body shop so they can fix the dent in my tailgate? I'm not asking for much, just someone who'll charge me $100 an hour for labor and then snicker at me behind my back. I've found them at the corner garage before. And since I'm the ultimate evil, the tree that jumped behind me is going to die a long, slow rotting death.

So, when can I expect this all to be taken care of?

Second day of class...

Well, nuts. It's looking like I either ordered the wrong book for my history class, or that it's just taking freakin' forever to ship. Nope, I just checked, and I screwed up. I should go get the silly book right now so I can catch up on reading. I have over 50 pages of reading to do tonight, and I'm getting a bit antsy. I really want my freakin' books to get here. Hmmm. What to do, what to do.

In other thoughts, I'm tired and cranky. I really like my US History professor, but the Texas history prof is starting to annoy me. She got into the spiel on how tolerant Islam was in the 700s, while the moors occupied the Iberian Peninsula. Agh. Not going to scream or run out of the class. I'm not I'm not I'm not.

There were so many other things I wanted to babble about, but as usual, they've all run away from my head.

Look! It's stupid ex-boyfriend tricks!

Why does he insist on giving me details I don't care about? He's been calling and checking up on the storage unit, and since the letter hasn't gotten there yet, he's freaked. Okay, so I just checked the USPS website and the letter was delivered this morning. I'm assuming everything's okay, since Joan (the manager) hasn't called me.

In other news: I cooked.

I'll wait while you pick yourselves up off the ground. I was telling Dad A that it was a good thing he taught his son(s) to cook, or John and I'd starve to death. That's not true, since I'm a pretty danged good cook, but John enjoys most of the time, where I only enjoy it when I get to noodle around in the kitchen with no real expectation of an edible result. That makes me rather unreliable when it comes to actually feeding myself or others. Our kids are probably going to learn to cook out of self-defense, or some perverse need to take care of their mother.

But I digress.

I made a BLT-wrap this afternoon, with a romaine salad and tonight, I made wannabe beef stroganoff. I didn't use any flour to thicken the sauce, and the beef was ground, but it was good! I love sour cream. Used to hate it, now I love it love it love it! I wasn't sure what I was going to make, since I'm really trying to get back to the low-carb thing. So it was lean ground beef, mushrooms, garlic, some Italian cheese that I gave up on trying to spell, garlic, cream and more garlic along with a generoud dollop of Daisy sour cream. Mmmmmm. Pair that with some nummy low-carb noodles and I was in hog heaven. I had a small plate, and I think I know what I'm having for dinner tomorrow night.

(We've got a PT test and weigh-in next drill and I am only 10 lbs. away from actually not having to be taped. That would so rock.)

It looks like my classes are going to be doable. Hard, but do-able. I've started my reading for tonight, but I'm a little upset because the history book I need for my US History class hasn't gotten here yet. If it's not here in tomorrow's mail, I'm gonna have to break down and get it from the bookstore. I don't want to do that, since it's $72 (used), but I need to start the reading.

My Texas History teacher is a bit cranky, but I think she'll be okay. I actually like my US History teacher. He's funny and animated, and willing to admit that we weren't the only ones to whack on NA people, that they tended to whack on each other a fair bit, too, using tech that we supplied. I rather like his lecture style, although I'm not sure that I'm thrilled with the amount of quizes and such that we'll have to do on the internet. Yeah, I'm complaing about having to be online. You can quit staring at me now.

Gah. I want to curl up and sleep, not think about running in an hour. Do I want to run at night, or in the morning? I guess it's going to depend on John's call schedule from now on. I'm in class when he usually gets a chance to call, so I'm not sure how we're going to do this.

The *squee* heard 'round the world.

My DSL modem just arrived. The service will be up on Thursday.

Excuse me while I *squeeeeee*!

Note to self:

If you are so hungry that you are feeling like you're going to throw up, eat something fer th' love of Pete! Yes, you're busy, but falling on your face isn't going to help you get homework done, or go run.

No love,
Your blood sugar

I know this is going to piss *someone* off, but...

I don't much care. I've listened to the buzz about "diseases" and the buzz about the things we can or can't do anything about, and I'm not sure I buy it all.

I am the adult child of an alchoholic. If you look at my paternal bloodline, you can probably see booze dripping off the DNA for a while back. That being said, and knowing that I've had a few too many drinks in my lifetime, I don't buy that alcoholism is a disease. Sorry. The minute that you tell me it's a disease I have no control over, you make me a victim, and I'm here to say "fuck you!"

I am not a victim. I have control over what I choose to put in my mouth, whether it's chocolate or chocolate-flavored cordial. I choose to open the second or third or nineteenth bottle of MGD, or to not open them. It's my choice, and sometimes, it's been a hard one. There have been nights that I look at the bottle of Belvedere vodka sitting on the top of my fridge, and think that the bottom of it is something I want to see, but I don't. I want my marriage and my job and my school more. Those are my choices. I don't get to choose cancer, or choose diabetes, or choose hepatitis. I just don't. I can choose my reaction to alchohol, but if you tell me that my genes predispose me to being a drunk, then you've just told me that you've decided that I'll be a victim.

You can take the philosophy, and get bent with it.

Yes, I know...some people can't control themselves when it comes to booze. That's a problem with self-control, not a medical issue. Sorry. I'm a bitch when it comes to this, and I know it.

And I'm sure that someone will make the comparison between depression and alcoholism. Bring it on. Just don't expect me to agree with you.

Where to start?

Today hasn't been bad, at all. It's been a little yawn-y, but not too bad. We had the TA-50 inspection, which my darling husband called in the middle of, and then proceeded to tweak me all the way through, since I didn't have half of my stuff. ;-) Ah well.

He's gonna pay when I get him home on leave, that's all I have to say. He says that he's going to make me do a layout before I get to have the nookie, but I doubt it. I'm gonna lay him out, lemme tell you.

So, again, the topic of the day was a bitchfest. I'm not saying that folx don't have a right to bitch, but geez...Anxiety Boy is filling the new folx with the horrors that were the deployment. I mentioned to one of them that she might want to take what he said with a grain of salt, since AB would complain if you cut his throat with a brand-new knife. Nothing is ever good enough, nothing is ever right enough. Nothing that anyone does is ever enough for him, and he'll tell everyone about it. Yeah, he had some bad experiences in Iraq, but he doesn't help himself.

On a side note-Why is it that psychics and clairvoyants always wear black, and funky jewelry? I mean, at least this one is wearing blue jeans with the black jacket, but still...Sheesh. Try some color! Maybe a nice paisley? That might help drive out teh demons.

I'm thinking about ordering Chinese food tonight, or maybe going to a Chinese buffet. I'm hungry, although I don't know why. Maybe I'll order some pizza in. I had meant to bring my sewing machine, but I didn't manage to get it packed in time. Spent some time chatting with some friends on AIM last night, so I think it was time well-spent.

The mental health folx came by today, and I'm sure that she'll be giving me a call, since I answered "yes" on just about every question about depression, but we'll see.

John and I talked a bit today, and we discovered yet another things we have in common. Being lonely isn't anything new to either of us. I've spent my life lonely, in one way or another, and this is just an extension of it. It's normal, even if it's not my favorite thing. I just don't have that much in common with most other women my age. I don't have kids, yet, and my experiences over the past 18 months make it hard to relate to a lot of folx. I enjoy hobbies that aren't exactly common in women my age, since most quilters are a bit older, in their 40-50s, so it's hard to really talk to other 30-something women about things I find fun.

Oh well. I have John and he'll be home soon. He's the one that I want to hang out with anyway. :-) I do have fun, so that you don't think I'm totally miserable, but I can't wait for him to come home. It'll be fun to have someone to game with, and to natter with endlessly about esoteric costuming.