Friday, March 28, 2003

Another Friday.
1. What was your most memorable moment from the last week?
The emergency pet clinic telling me that they wouldn't be able to give me & Scraps the care that we deserve right then.

2. What one person touched your life this week?
Rodney calling up out of the blue after about 6 mos. of silence.

3. How have you helped someone this week?
Well, that's always a tough call now isn't it? I helped my mom just feel better. Since my dad died 8 years ago, sometimes she had some serious blue periods and needs some cheerleading. And i helped her take care of her horses and stuff - so that's always good. Took the dog to the vet - i'm sure that helped her, but i should have done it sooner. And everyday i help people make their reprographic dreams come true (cough, cough).

4. What one thing do you need to get done by this time next week?
Must get taxes done. Must.

5. What one thing will you do over the next seven days to make your world a better place?
i'm going to continue to practice non-attachement/patience because i believe that good will reproduces exponentially.




Thursday, March 27, 2003

Yikes, another week almost gone by, and me with so much to say, and no one really, to say it to.
Recently, the band project took an uplifting twist and now we're not gonna be a cover band anymore, and to that i say hurrah!
"Bowling for Columbine" won an Oscar, and Michael Moore did exactly as I expected. Could have been a bit more graceful, but the sentiment is appreciated. Anything less, and I would have been quick to call him a hypocrite. Because for someone like him, if he had taken that stage and not said anything, it would have gone against everything he's ever put on film or on paper. So, while I thought he was on the eloquence tip - what with talking about being filmakers who deal with reality, etc, and the regime in the White House not dealing with the rest of the world in a way that would indicate they have any sort of clue about reality, he devolved into a wimpy (in my opinion) "Shame on You" - i thought that choice of phrasing was lame, but at least he took the moment to voice his dissent.
And that, if anyone out there is reading this, is what the USA is all about. You can snivel all you want, but if you truly value your freedom then you sure as hell better excercise it. I'm sick of listening to people who don't even know the names of their state senator (not US congressman/woman, your STATE legislator, the person who really and truly can make things better or worse for you today...) tell me we should "back the president" back him? Back him into a corner and squash him like a bug before he gets us into so much trouble that there WILL be more attacks on our soil.
Today, a coworker who is intelligent, but definitely conservative, told me that ultimately he believes that this President and his minions are really trying to send a message to the rest of the world that goes something like this:
"Look, quit coming here looking for democracy and wealth. Go back to your own country and create your own democracy and wealth. If you don't create some democracy and wealth soon, then we're going to have to FORCE you to do that. For your own good. No, really, for your own good."
I shared my belief that I honestly do not feel that the United States of America was founded on that belief. We are where you come if you want democracy. No one ever said we were supposed to impose that belief on others. That's the point: those who want to live in a free, somewhat open market-representational democracy, you come here. The rest of you, go somewhere else. Life isn't fair, we can't make everyone happy and free, and they certainly aren't looking to make us happy or more successful.
Yes, yes, i know, plenty of other countries put limits on immigration - but see, that's why we're America dammit. We are different. Aren't we? Aren't we?
I was asked what i thought we should "do" about Iraq instead of invade. Well, at this point, i don't really see as there's much point in doing anything. We've spit in the water - there's no take backs. We put sanctions on a country that can't feed itself. We turned a population that worshiped us in Serbia completely against us by using sanctions incorrectly (correct use: South Africa) - so the only option I see, is to allow Iraquis who want to leave Iraq to come here - much as we did Iranians in the '70s. Of course, it'd be nice if we let more than just the richest of the population come. Do I worry about overloading social sevices? Not really - because here's the thing: to create change, you must take a diffinitive action. How about American companies willing to set up shop in Iraq get tax breaks or bennies like those who work with China do? China doesn't treat their people well. Ultimately, it's a not doing anything sort of action, but you have to respect that Iraq, and Baghdad is one of the oldest nations on earth.