This place is crazy. Yesterday was a hundred and something degrees. I know that's standard for a lot of the country, but you guys can just shut it because that's fucking hot for Oregon. The land of "what's air conditioning?". We wear socks with our sandals 9 months out of the year for chrissakes.The only answer was a pool. Amy g. has a pool. And yesterday...I was in it. With a vodka-laced Slurpee. And in between lounging in the plastic deck chair (in the shallow end, of course) and telling small children to piss off...I got to thinking about the Iraq war. Yeah.
NPR had a report this morning stating that even Republicans are having second thoughts about our Commander and Chief's fantastical stratagems where that tragic pile of sand (once home to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon) is concerned. They seem to think (according to one conservative member of congress who's name I cannot recall) that the Iraqi government isn't doing its part to become truly independent. You know, they're relying too heavily on our troops and not keeping up with their end of the deal to train and control their own troops. What I'm not clear on is this "deal" thing. When was that made? As I recall...no one from Iraq ever actually asked us to liberate their country. There was never a "can you pop on by when you have a minute?" letter sent to Bush that I know of. So where do we get off being overly annoyed at THEM not being able to get their shit together in a timely manner while bombs go off in every direction? Hmmmm? I thought so.
THEN I get to work this morning and everything breaks. So I read a little of the New York Times. Headline: Surgeon General Sees 4-Year Term as Compromised
Some snippets for you:
The administration, Dr. Carmona (Ex Surgeon General) said, would not allow him to speak or issue reports about stem cells, emergency contraception, sex education, or prison, mental and global health issues. Top officials delayed for years and tried to “water down” a landmark report on secondhand smoke, he said.
Lovely.
Dr. Carmona said he was ordered to mention President Bush three times on every page of his speeches. He also said he was asked to make speeches to support Republican political candidates and to attend political briefings.
You know...just in case anyone forgot his name.
Emily Lawrimore, a White House spokeswoman, said the surgeon general “is the leading voice for the health of all Americans."
"It’s disappointing to us,” Ms. Lawrimore said, “if he failed to use this position to the fullest extent in advocating for policies he thought were in the best interests of the nation."
It's disappointing to ME that she didn't also include the fact that this man tortures and skins kittens for DNA testing and is trying to cure cancer by utilizing the healing power of the 'thought bubble'. The quack.
To be fair, the article goes on to pinpoint the issues that Bush Sr. and Clinton tried to suppress as well...but what the fuck?! Where do they get off controlling the dissemination of health-related informations? Suddenly I'm seeing a little red, if you get my not-so-veiled play-on word right there. Somebody get me a Slurpee!Fine...screw you all, I'll get one myself.
16 keep(s) me blogging:
Wear nothing but a white shroud and calm your mind with thoughts of gently gushing fountains. No one likes an angry red-faced woman.
As I recall...no one from Iraq ever actually asked us to liberate their country.
Some don't believe you have to be asked to liberate the oppressed, I am one of those peeps. You can't exactly wait for a caged dog to ask to be let out of its cage.
I do love your passion on the subject.
I watched 300 this morning and I can see how you relate it to the war in Iraq but you need to understand that this is loosely based on Greek history who, for the most part, gave us the little freedom we have to day.
This is AMERIKA, dammit. We get our OWN damn Slurpees here. We have foreigners crossing or borders illegally in the dark of night who come here to get our Slurpees. In Europe, everyone gets a free Slurpee whenever they want because they are Socialists. Only in AMERIKA do people EARN their Slurpees (except those who are too disabled, intoxicated or allergic to the ingredients of a Slurpee [TM]). USA USA USA!
I can't definitely empathize with you about the weather. I swear, some of my skin must have melted right off the other day.
goranas - well, i'm sure SOMEONE SOMEWHERE likes an angry red-faced woman. i just don't happen to know them.
Or - though that's a lovely little point you brought up...though America seems to apply it selectively...as in, wherever there's oil. However, you may or may not recall our ORIGINAL reason for invading Iraq had nothing to do with freeing the oppressed and everything to do with these mysterious Weapons of Mass Destruction that never seemed to turn up. curiouser and curiouser.
as for my passion...you should hear me talk about pickles!
AND as for 300...i do very much understand the significance of the grecian influence on our society. and i thank them heartily for it. but that movie was loosely based on ALOT of things, mainly a comic book/graphic novel thingy...so its historical credits take a back seat to pop culture and social references. and did you SEE those abdomens???
apterix - i couldn't have said it better myself. hi-larious.
thinker - and where does it GO when it melts off? does it just evaporate back into the air? is this the REAL circle of life??
you see, this is why i left the country. proud to be an american; not so proud to be associated w/ the american gov't.
I don't like this administration and their inept cronyism but more than I don't like them I wish they'd get something right for a change. Do something positive for the country - maybe get something right once in a while, or solve a problem or two, or at least not cause any more problems. That would be terrific, for the novelty factor alone. Is there anything in the past 6 years that they have not arsed up?
Anything?
Efficiency, Synergy, Cost Effective Best Practices…I’m so sick of words or slogans like these because externalities are ignored in the supply and demand curves. Reminds me of some debate I saw on TV between an environmental activist and a dude from one of em’ “Let’s create more Republicans by educating the youth on Free Market values and to keep the money inside” Foundations (yeah. think of the incest model). The latter dude’s real argument was that if we took measures to tread lighter on our environment, our economy would go down. Translation: if more people live longer, status quo as a consumption based society is unfavorable altered, and money making infrastructure is changed our profit maximization goals are taken away from those at the top of the ladder.
Oh and our gov't's fear is that if we don't corner the oil market by taking it from Iraq, Iran and Syria then China will get it. We already know that China can rock us militarily but to secure our "world power" we need to have more oil than them.
OH and I forgots...slurpees are not as wasteful as bottled water.
sam - i'll tell you one positive thing they've done...they've gotten more apathetic people to vote than ever before. teenagers, minorities, and self-absorbed workaholics suddenly give a shit about what's happening to this country. now maybe we can do something about it. but yeah, other than that they suck whale blubber.
ax - nope...and if you time it right...you can burn off those calories before lunch even!
oh, and macoosh - uh huh...yeah...that's the ONLY reason you moved to Ireland. yep. sure. today i'm super jealous of you. i'm getting the itchy feet something fierce.
I can't believe you actually drink slurpees, even with the vodka. Ok, I'd drink one with vodka if I could too.
sarah - that was the first slurpee i've had since 1998. and yes...vodka was essential. how was your birthday??
I sympathize about the heat. I hate it too, and that's with every cubic inch of indoor space comlpetely air-conditioned.
P.S. Real women drink Slurpees with *tequila*.
OOOOH COME VISIT!!! BRING THE COOKIES IN PERSON!!! WE CAN GO FOR A PINT OF THE BLACK STUFF TOGETHER!!!!
It's not the first time I've heard that the government keeps it's mouth shut about things that they don't want us to know about.
When I went to Australia, I was always ashamed to admit I was American and not Canadian, as everyone seemed to assume. But then, it was right about the time "Who Wants To Marry A Millionaire" came out. I was deeply ashamed of my people.
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