white feathered contrail
splits a blue hemisphere
reminding me that
there is life outside
mine
scraping against
the dry underbelly
of perception
there is...
something

outsife my knowing
sliding along
the blue face of...
something

so far away
through thin cold air
untouchable
but within reach

That one lady...

Sometimes, I just can’t understand what is going through peoples minds. I like to think that people are basically good, and that we all operate on more or less the save wave-length, but then something happens to make me wonder. Someone will do something to utterly alien to my way of thinking (yes, that’s more than a little egocentric) that I really wonder what the hell is going through their minds.

Take for instance yesterday. We were at the children’s expo at the Overture center. We are down in the little stage area on the first floor about to watch a teacher of my daughters sing songs about art. The place is crawling with kids, the ration is at least 4 kids to every adult. My wife and I tell our daughter to go find a seat, and we stand at the back of the room along the wall. Partly because we don’t want to take a seat that a kid could use, partly because our daughter doesn’t need someone right next to her anymore, but mostly because we weren’t really anticipating the show, and wanted to be as far from the noise as possible.

So here’s our view of the room



Now see that lady sitting in the first row of chairs, farthest to the right? And see that laminated handicap sign lying on the ground? Let me tell you how those pieces of the picture ended up where they are.

The two handicap signs were on the two chairs on the farthest right. The Lady comes in with her two kids, and without shame, without pausing, moves the two signs to one seat. Thus opening two seats for her kids. The rest of the row was full. So she stood off to the side. Before the show started, the kids were getting antsy, and one of her kids started squirming around, and finally knocked the signs off the seat altogether.

Again, without pausing, without even looking around to see if anyone would notice, she just sat down in the now “un-handicapped” seat.

What the hell? I mean seriously, what is going through a persons mind at that point? On some level she must be justifying it.

Does she think “oh, handicap people only need one seat. And I’ve got two kids, so we’ll just use one of the seats, and I’ll stand over here,” and then when her kid moves the sign “oh, I guess that isn’t reserved for the handicap, I must have been mistaken earlier. That chair is obviously open for anyone, and conveniently near my children. I shouldn’t let it go to waste”

Honestly, if you are reading this, and you think you know why she did what she did (beyond the obvious “she wanted to sit there.”) please tell me.

Remember

"Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know
tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land! So I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!"

-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, April 3rd 1968, in Memphis, his last sermon.

How do you remember something that you weren't even alive for? You read about it, you imagine it, you let it rattle around in your thick skull for a little bit. But how do you really remember it?

How does a generation ever escape the mistakes of its predecessors? How will we ever learn the lessons of those that failed before us?

Our memory is short, and sometimes I fear that every hard fought victory is forgotten as the victors grow old and and their children gather pride and contempt for anything they have not discovered themselves.

We try, and we try, and we fail.

Yet there are some things that we cannot afford to forget

Privately Purchased Body Armor Banned

This story caught my attention. I try really hard not to just take what I hear at face value, but to go out and do a little research of my own too. And this is a case where I'm glad that I did. There are two sides to this story. And either the Liberal voices that I usually trust don't know the whole story, or they aren't telling it. Of course the neo-con sources that I grudgingly check aren't even acknowledging that it exists. I think that this article gives both sides. Still, if this is a topic that concerns you, you should do some research on this latest development.

In short, the more affordable Body Armor isn't as safe. And from what I found the military has made improvements in supplying troops with body armor. However, this is a problem that the military needs to take some responsibility for creating. There were legitimate shortages earlier on, and those shortages are why family and friends looked to find a way to buy the body armor on their own. And if there are companies selling body armor at a lesser price, naturally people will choose the cheaper armor over none at all.

In the end it's one of the issues that I'm a bit reserved about. It seems to me to be a complicated mess.

Army Bans the Use of Privately Purchased Body Armor

Many soldiers in Iraq bought protective gear they said the military wasn't providing. But the top brass says it may be inadequate.

From the Associated Press
March 31, 2006
WASHINGTON — Soldiers will no longer be allowed to wear body armor that was not issued by the military, Army officials said Thursday.

The order was prompted by concern that soldiers or their families were buying inadequate or untested armor from private companies, including the Dragon Skin gear made by Fresno-based Pinnacle Armor Inc., the Army officials said.

"We're very concerned that people are spending their hard-earned money on something that doesn't provide the level of protection that the Army requires people to wear. So they're, frankly, wasting their money on substandard stuff," said Col. Thomas Spoehr, director of materiel for the Army.

Murray Neal, chief executive of Pinnacle, said he hadn't seen the directive.
"We know of no reason the Army may have to justify this action," Neal said. "On the surface, this looks to be another of many attempts by the Army to cover up the billions of dollars spent on ineffective body armor systems which they continue to try quick fixes on to no avail."
Nathaniel R. Helms, editor of the Soldiers for the Truth online magazine DefenseWatch, said he already had received a number of e-mails from soldiers complaining about the policy.
"Outrageously we've seen that [soldiers] haven't been getting what they need in terms of equipment and body armor," said Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), who wrote legislation to provide reimbursement to troops for equipment purchases. "That's totally unacceptable, and why this directive by the Pentagon needs to be scrutinized in much greater detail."

Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said, "I don't think the Army is wrong by doing this, because the Army has to ensure some level of quality."
But, Rieckhoff said, the military is partially to blame for the problem because it took too long to get soldiers the armor they needed. "This is the monster they made," he said.

Early in the Iraq war, soldiers and their families were spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars on protective gear that they said the military was not providing.

In January, an unreleased Pentagon study found that side armor could have saved dozens of U.S. lives in Iraq, prompting the Army and Marine Corps to order ceramic body armor plates to be shipped to troops this year.

The Army ban covers all commercial armor. It refers specifically to Pinnacle's armor.
"In its current state of development, Dragon Skin's capabilities do not meet Army requirements," the Army order says, and it "has not been certified to protect against several small-arms threats that the military is encountering in Iraq and Afghanistan."

The Marine Corps has not issued a similar directive, but Marines are "encouraged to wear Marine Corps-issued body armor since this armor has been tested to meet fleet standards," spokesman Bruce Scott said.

Military officials have acknowledged that some troops — often National Guardsmen or reservists — went to war with lesser-quality protective gear than other soldiers.

But now, Spoehr said, "we can categorically say that whatever you're going to buy isn't as good as what you're going to get" from the military.

A forward....

I hate forwards. And I don't send them on to other people when I get them. But some are decent enough that I don't want to just delete them and never see them again. And since no one reads this anyway, it's safe to post them here, right?

What You Need To Believe To Be A Republican:

Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney and Rumsfeld did business with him, and a bad guy when Bush couldn't find Bin Laden.

Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals, Arabs, and Hillary Clinton.

Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.

A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle and antagonize our long-time allies, then demand their cooperation and money.

Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing health care to all Americans is socialism; HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.

Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's and Dick Cheney's driving records are none of our business.

Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.

Supporting "Executive Privilege" is imperative for every Republican ever born, who will be born or who might be born (in perpetuity).

What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.

There's nothing wrong with supporting drunken hunters who shoot their friends and blaming the friends for looking too much like quail.

Let's not get stuck with more Republicans in '06 and '08: Friends don't let friends vote Republican!

This article strikes me as important. It feels like a corner is being turned, and I don't think it's a good road we're taking. By all means, read the full article yourself, but here a couple things that I pulled out.

1) " U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice conceded Friday that the United States probably has made thousands of 'tactical errors' in Iraq and elsewhere".

I've never heard that sort of admission before. Is that a new stance? I'm more than a little curious now to see if that statement is ever repeated in the U.S.

2) "...but said it will be judged by its larger aims of peace and democracy in the Middle East."

Is this the "you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet" argument? I thought that speech was reserved for idealogical villians.

3) "Rice replied that leaders would be "brain-dead" if they did not absorb the lessons of their times."

That doesn't even really need comment, does it?

4) "But when you look back in history, what will be judged will be, did you make the right strategic decisions."

Something about that statement just gives me the shivers. Partly that it's the break some eggs to make an omelet thing again. But on a bigger scale, the notion that you can't be judged by your peers but only by the long lense of history is disturbing. It can be used to justify just about anything. It's a mindset adopted by some of the worst individuals that the human cesspool has ever birthed.

5) "She said she remains firmly convinced that it was the right strategic decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq three years ago, and that it required an invasion to do it. Saddam 'wasn't going anywhere without military intervention,' she said."

Really? I looked back over some of the speeches from that time, and I know that the speeches that we the public received are different than the ones given on the senate floors, or behind closed doors, but I couldn't find anything about going into Iraq to remove Suddam. I found references to the notion that an invasion was NOT inevitable as long as Suddam cooperated with inspectors. I found the "we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud" quote at least twice.

6) "'People have the right to protest. That's what democracy is all about,' Rice told reporters at a British aerospace plant. 'I would say to those who wish to protest, by all means.'."

As long as we don't do it too loudly, and as long as it we keep it within the "free speech zones", nowhere near a political rally, and not within view of the current administration. And I think Denise Grier would find that comment interesting (go ahead and google her)


Anti-war demonstrations greet Rice during visit to Britain

Anne Gearan
Canadian Press
Friday, March 31, 2006

BLACKBURN, England (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice conceded Friday that the United States probably has made thousands of "tactical errors" in Iraq and elsewhere, but said it will be judged by its larger aims of peace and democracy in the Middle East.

The U.S. diplomat met loud anti-war protests in the streets and skeptical questions about U.S. involvement in Iraq at a foreign policy salon Friday, including one about whether Washington had learned from its "mistakes over the past three years."

Rice replied that leaders would be "brain-dead" if they did not absorb the lessons of their times.

"I know we've made tactical errors, thousands of them I'm sure," Rice told an audience gathered by the British foreign policy think tank Chatham House. "But when you look back in history, what will be judged will be, did you make the right strategic decisions."

She said she remains firmly convinced that it was the right strategic decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq three years ago, and that it required an invasion to do it.

Saddam "wasn't going anywhere without military intervention," she said.

Demonstrators organized marches to call America's top diplomat a war criminal and human-rights abuser as she joined British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on a tour of his adopted northern England working-class home.

Rice said she was not surprised by the depth of opposition in Britain, President Bush's strongest ally in Iraq, to the war and other American policies.

"I've seen it in every city I've visited in the United States," Rice said earlier Friday. "People have strong views."

"People have the right to protest. That's what democracy is all about," Rice told reporters at a British aerospace plant. "I would say to those who wish to protest, by all means."

Rice also said the United States was ready to send humanitarian assistance to Iran following deadly earthquakes there on Friday, but she made it clear there would be no accompanying U.S. diplomatic overture to Tehran.

Straw, Rice's host for her two-day visit, said Britain would send a condolence letter to the Tehran government.

The United States has no diplomatic relations with Iran.

At a high school visited by Rice and Straw, about 200 protesters stood across the street with banners and signs, chanting "Condoleezza Rice, Go Home!" One demonstrator held a yellow hand-lettered sign that read, How Many Lives Per Gallon?

Rice toured a high-school math class and visited Ewood Park, the home stadium of Straw's favoured soccer team, Blackburn Rovers.

About 50 of Pleckgate School's students "skived off" their classes Friday to protest Rice's visit, said student Jabbar Khan, 16, who shook Rice's hand as she entered.

The protests awaiting Rice on Friday were the reverse of the warm reception she received last fall when Straw accompanied her on a down-home tour of her native Alabama. Then, elderly white women lined up to shake the hand of a black native daughter made good, football fans cheered and the tantalizing possibility of a run for president - something she discounts - surrounded Rice.

"It's one thing to say this is a cultural visit, but others see it as a council of war," said Carmel Brown, an anti-war protester in Liverpool.

Rice's planned visit to a mosque in Blackburn was cancelled Thursday after anti-war protesters planned to heckle her during prayer time, a mosque leader said. A prominent poet and actress pulled out of planned appearances at a Liverpool Philharmonic concert Rice was attending Friday in protest of U.S. policies.

Straw's Blackburn district has the country's third highest Muslim population. Rice also is to meet Muslim leaders and the town's mayor, Ugandan immigrant Yusuf Jan-Virmani, on Saturday.

Straw's visit to Alabama was intended to show a different side of America to a visiting foreign leader and friend. Many people he met in Alabama, and a few who introduced him at events, had never heard of the British diplomat.

Rice is far better known, as the two days of protests planned over U.S. policies in Iraq, Iran and the war on terrorism attest.

Opponents of the Iraq war set up a website, condiwatch.co.uk, that listed times and locations for marches and gatherings. Protesters planned to distribute T-shirts that read, "Fab Four, Not War," in reference to Liverpool's most famous export, The Beatles.


The Canadian Press 2006
Copyright 2006 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.

Get on Herb

Both Sarah and I have written to Herb Kohl.

He needs to feel some pressure right now.

Here's Sarah's letter,

Dear Senator Kohl,

I wanted to let you know that I am disappointed that you are not backing Senator Feingold on his call to censure President Bush. I have voted for you in the past, but I don't feel that I can again unless I fell that you are representing the people on this matter. It seems obvious that the President broke a law, and he should be held responsible. I am not talking about an impeachment or an attempt to take him out of office, simply the censure that Senator Feingold called for.

It seems fair, and from all I have heard from my fellow Wisconsinites, it is what the people want. Please stand behind Senator Feingold and the people of Wisconsin and this country. I would be happy to continue to give you my vote if I feel that you are listening to your constituents. Thank you for your time and consideration,

Sarah

Here's mine

Dear Senator Kohl,

As a constituent I would ask that you please support the call to censure President Bush. I find it disturbing that on this issue the opinion of the public can be so overwhelmingly in favor of censure, and yet you have not represented this desire fairly.

In the past I have felt that your voting record has not matched the general desires of your constituency.

For me, this is the deal breaker. If the people of Wisconsin are sending a clear message that they want to see the President Censured, and yet you do not back this move, I will not be able to vote for you in the coming elections.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Christopher

You can write him online at http://kohl.senate.gov/