Blogs from Baghdad

The Iraqis have voted. For most it was a great day. In other parts of Iraq, few people tried to vote. There was violence and as of this posting about 36 were killed. In addition to listening to the news, I have found it interesting to log on to some of the blog sites from Iraqis. Just like in the good old USA, there are a variety of opinions.

One of them was proud and triumphant. This blogger clearly sees this as the beginning of freedom and independence for the Iraqi people. It is exciting to read what he posted, including the lines, "We could smell pride in the atmosphere this morning; everyone we saw was holding up his blue tipped finger with broad smiles on the faces while walking out of the center. I couldn't think of a scene more beautiful than that."

One of them thinks that all of the emphasis on elections is a little misplaced. A Family in Baghdad .

There are others as well:

The Iraqi Letter to America has a very different viewpoint than most of us get of things. It shows the fear that a lot of Iraqis live with. He makes a really good point - that the people who have demanded that the elections take place are not the same people who are facing danger by going to the polls. He makes a strong case for how much is being demanded of Iraqi citizens:

Imagine that it is known that there were bombs on a number of the planes leaving JFK airport on a certain day. What should the authorities do? What would you do? Ask the people to go about their business, make a stand against terrorism, show courage and board those planes – telling them not to be intimidated by terrorists? The show must go on? Would that be a responsible thing to do? Later, when the worst comes to the worst… blame the terrorists for the unfortunate loss of life… and call it a day? Wouldn’t that be reckless and irresponsible? Yet, this is what we have.

Let us have a look at those different people urging the Iraqi people to go out and vote.

1. The US administration’s representatives in Iraq, the US army and the Interim government running the country from heavily defended fortresses… and cannot even protect those fortresses. Yet, they hope to protect more than 6000 polling stations across the country… where people are to go, to vote.

2. These people in charge do not venture out of their fortresses unless heavily armored and covered by a blanket of security. Yet they ask unarmed men and women to go out and expose themselves to danger.

3. Candidates who are not prepared to go out and take a risk and campaign for themselves. Some do not even have the courage to have their names published and be known. Secret candidates! Yet, they want Iraqis to take the risk and vote for them.

4. Many American super-patriots who are still shivering with anger or fear of attacks carried out on three buildings in their country more than three years ago. Yet, they ask Iraqi housewives (eg Rose) not to be frightened or intimidated by terrorists… in a country that is going through multitudes of 9/11’s regularly.

5. A country that is wisely taking measure after measure to protect its frightened citizens and ensure their safety through stringent finger print and eye retina scans for visitors… is so eager to expose Iraqis to grave danger.

6. President Bush who did not return to his seat of government immediately after those attacks, fearing for his safety. Yet, he asks Iraqis to show courage.

7. The UN Secretary General, who withdrew his entire staff from Iraq following one attack. Now he is asking Iraqis to vote in a dangerous situation and telling them that the UN will do everything to help them.

Reckless and irresponsible!

Isn’t it enough for Iraqis to live under the constant
threat of random violence, just going about their shattered lives? Governments should be less reckless and more responsible than that! People should be more caring for fellow human beings.

President Bush has called the election a success. The long and the short of it is that a lot of people voted in the places where it was fairly safe to do so. People did not vote in the dangerous parts of Iraq. Iraqis should be proud of the courage and determination they showed in going to the polls today.

The hard part, governing a nation and writing a consitution, still lie ahead. Let us hope that the Iraqi people can use the momentum and spirit of unity they showed in going to the polls today to carry them through that difficult task.

And maybe, someday soon, the American troops can come home!

Read the caption, it gets better...

Wow! This picture of Cheney at the ceremony marking the 60th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in Poland is real. I found it first on Al Franken's web site but the accomponying story can be found in the Washington Post.

Quoth the Washington Post:

At yesterday's gathering of world leaders in southern Poland to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the United States was represented by Vice President Cheney. The ceremony at the Nazi death camp was outdoors, so those in attendance, such as French President Jacques Chirac and Russian President Vladimir Putin, were wearing dark, formal overcoats and dress shoes or boots. Because it was cold and snowing, they were also wearing gentlemen's hats. In short, they were dressed for the inclement weather as well as the sobriety and dignity of the event.
The vice president, however, was dressed in the kind of attire one typically wears to operate a snow blower.

Call on the Senate to Reject Alberto Gonzales

I am really thinking that the most important thing the U.S. Congress can do in the next couple of weeks is to reject the nomination of Alberto Gonzalez to become U.S. Attorney General.

Gonzales was involved with the infamous 2002 torture memo which tried to find legal loopholes for the CIA to conduct abusive interrogations on prisoners detained at Guantanamo Bay (and eventually elsewhere). Even though he has a wonderful rags-to-riches story, and it would be a wonderful thing to have a Hispanic/Latino American in a position of power, his involvement in the torture memos should disqualify him from even being considered for the position.

After the scandal at Abu Ghraib, the deaths of almost 20 prisoners in U.S. custody, and the mockery our policy has made of the rule of law, it is time for the Congress to step in and reel in this President and his abuse of Executive Powers.

I've got a lot more to say on the subject, but not more time to write. Check out a recent piece in the NY Times by Frank Rich on the lack of coverage this story has been getting on American T.V. Does anyone have comments on this subject? Let me know.....

Inaugural Humor

I found a list of late night comic jokes about the inaugural. I figure I'll post these since I'm kind of brain dead. Man, oh man. You could feel the stress radiating off of all the students this week. Everyone with finals, papers, etc. I'm glad the WTP State Competition was last week.

Ok, some late night humor:

Late-Night Jokes About Bush's Second Inauguration
"Historians say the most commonly used phrase at inaugurations is 'My fellow citizens.' However, the most commonly used phrase at President Bush's inauguration is expected to be 'My fellow United Statesers.'" --Conan O'Brien

"President Bush is being criticized because his inaugural celebration cost $40 million. When asked about it, the president said, 'Sorry, but my daughters insisted on an open bar.'" –Conan O'Brien

"Some people are criticizing President Bush for spending $40 million on his inauguration, but hey, give the guy a break, he's excited. After all, this is the first time he's really been elected." –Jay Leno

"In preparation for his inauguration, President Bush was shown an original copy of the Constitution. When he saw the Constitution, Bush said, 'Oh, it's that thing from School House Rock.'" --Conan O'Brien

"Bush says being re-elected, he doesn't have the same pressure as the first time. He said he wants to enjoy himself in the Oval Office this time. Not as much as Clinton enjoyed himself." --Jay Leno

"Washington D.C. is on high alert for this week's inaugural event for President Bush. Anti-aircraft missals have been deployed near the capitol. F-16's are patrolling around the clock, and every bartender in town is on strict orders -- do not serve the Bush twins." --Craig Ferguson

"Traditionally the president's inaugural committee pays for these expenses; this time around it's stiffing the District of Columbia with a 12 million dollar security bill -- just their way of saying 'thank you' to the community that went nine-to-one for the president's opponent." --Jon Stewart, on security expenses for Bush's inauguration

"One week from tonight President Bush will be sworn in, once again, as president of the United States. This will mark only the second time in four years that he's had his hand on a book." --Jay Leno

"President Bush has been working on his inauguration, not the actual speech but the word inaugural." --Jay Leno

"Preparations are in high gear for the Bush inauguration and it's really beginning to look bad now for John Kerry. But everybody at the White House is very excited about the inauguration. Early today the Bush twins picked the designated driver." --David Letterman

"Various anti-Bush groups plan to protest his inauguration by lining the streets and turning their backs to his motorcade. You know it's not going to work though because he's going to get out to see what they're all looking at." --Amy Poehler

The Loyal Opposition

The proper role for those of us who did not vote for Bush is to both recognize that he IS the president, but to also stand up for what we believe in and make our causes heard. I believe fully that most of the causes championed by progressives will seem like "no-brainers" a couple of decades from now.

George Bush gave an important inaugural address, and perhaps an historic one. Time will tell. What does his stated committment to freedom around the world mean? To use some phrases that Martin Luther King was fond of, will we lead with "physical force" or "soul force"? Are we going to use our immense wealth and technology to better the condition of people around the world, or just blow stuff up until we get our way? Time will tell....

In case you are feeling like you've heard a lot of talk from Bush and the right this week, I've got a few suggestions that may balance things out a bit for you:

Tim Russert noted on MSNBC that many questions remain about the vision of liberty for the world that Bush outlined in his speech. This is especially true of how the rest of the world is looking at it. "The European press is very, very nervous this morning, because they believe it’s an indication the president believes he was right in Iraq. They are concerned we’re going to see the Iraq model imitated around the world."

The Christian Science Monitor pointed out that most of the rest of the world isn't thrilled with the prospect of four more years of Bush and believe he will make the world more dangerous. From their site:

In a new BBC World Service Poll of 22,000 people living in Africa, Latin America, North America, Asia, and Europe, 58 percent of those surveyed said they believed US President George Bush will have a "negative impact on [global] peace and security."

Only 26 percent of those surveyed believed Mr. Bush was a positive force. The situation in Iraq was a key factor in many people's opinion of the US. The Guardian reports that the survey also indicates that, for the first time, the dislike of Mr. Bush is translating into a dislike of Americans in general.

The poll also showed how differently those in other countries and US citizens look at the global security situation.

Howard Zinn is always worth reading and he sounded a call to action. No more need to justify our luke-warm support for Kerry; now we get to actually articulate the things that we stand for. Editor of The Nation, Katrina Van Heuvel, has outlined a progressive agenda that is being enacted in states across the the nation. It counters some of what Bush called for in his Inaugural Address.

Also, John Nichols from the Nation had his answer to Bush posted yesterday afternoon, and he found a lot of hypocrisy in the "Bush Doctrine".

Finally, a voice from the political right: William Safire, a conservative republican writes a lot of interesting columns. It is too bad that he is retiring soon. Since he was once a speech writer for Nixon, his comments were well worth noting.

Oh, no! A bad poem by me!

Bush is going to be inaugurated (again!) this week.

I really think I've had enough to deal with in recent weeks without having to see his smug face looking out over his pre-screened group of adoring minions. But,

There he will be...

First, with his hand on the bible, taking the oath of office.
Then, turning to the cameras...

He will start to speak.
And he'll speak and he'll speak and he'll speak.

He will say things misleading.
He will say things deceiving.
He will say things in language thats mangled and garbled and full of cheerleading
For causes I hate, for issues contrived,
For people whose wealth simply can't be denied!
He will speak of his judgment, he will speak of his faith.
He will speak of the work that is yet to be done.
He will speak with a chuckle and a spark in his eye,
and when its all finished the news will be spun!

By Fox and by others who don't question why,
a man invades countries with out reason or fear
of the damage he'll do or the burden we'll bear
in lives that are lost and a mission unclear.

His legal advisors have written of torture
and come to conclusions repulsive, "You see
when we do it, we must. And it's right
because none can question our morals or might."

His words will then fly in the face of the facts
and all of the progress our world once had made
at working together as brothers and sisters
toward a greater resect for each other and our world.

Then the crowds will start cheering and the flags begin waving,
He's done it again, and will do it again.

While I sit in my anger and grief and despair
and I wonder "Where is the justice?" "Where?"

State Competition Blues

If you are not a part of my current "We the People" class of seniors, it might be hard to understand all of this. We are not happy people right now, because we felt the pain of disappointment in an unusually strong way. I think that many looking from the outside in will wonder if we were "sore losers" or "whiners". I don't think my students are any of those things. They are twenty wonderful people who joined me for a wild ride this year in quest of, well, something more than "Honorable Mention".

The 2005 Washington State "We the People" Competition is now history. This year, Mt. Rainier went into the competition with a very strong class and very high expectations. We had every reason to believe that we were in the hunt for coming out near, if not on top, this year. I really believed that for the first time in a decade, someone besides Tahoma High School would represent the State of Washington at Nationals in Washington, D.C. Perhaps this is why it hurt so much to come away with nothing more than an "Honorable Mention".

After the awards ceremony, my students were shocked, disappointed and experienced a really deep sense of loss. I think that it hit some of us (I include myself) so hard that we seemed to be experiencing the five stages of grief that accompany great trauma or loss.

Why? We really did not have any reason to hang our heads.

We had a great year; we had a lot of fun and my students learned a lot. Without taking anything away from my previous WTP classes, they became the most prepared and made the finest presentations of any group I have ever taken to the WTP State Competition.

I am very proud of my class this year. They did an awesome job at State, but the competition was tough. Once again, Tahoma High School finished first. Gig Harbor second. Evergreen High (from near Vancouver, WA) came in third. We were left in the nebulous category of "Honorable Mention". We haven't received our scored yet, and don't know how close we were to placing in the top three.

I felt bad for all of them because they could not come away with a more tangible reward for all of their efforts and achievements. We talked on the bus on the way home, and had some group counseling in class on Friday. I think that a lot of the class is working its way toward the state of "acceptance". For the first time ever, my class talked about wanting to send Tahoma H.S. a good luck card!

The simple fact is that we do have a lot to celebrate, and a lot to look back on with pride. We learned a lot, and not all of it was about the U.S. Constitution. We learned about teamwork and supporting one another. We learned that we love working with one another, and a lot of us wish that the semester could keep going. We do have a couple of weeks left, and we will find a time and a place to celebrate our year.

What's Goin' On?

I am very deeply into prepping my class for the "We the People" State competition. I know they are going to do MRHS proud. My class and I have been getting into the high stress & anxiety mode that seems to happen every year before competition. On top of all of this I'm now worried about snow. But as John Lennon once said, "You know it's gonna be, all right."

I've barely kept up with the news lately, BUT I HAVE A COUPLE OF THINGS TO RECOMMEND TO MY WE THE PEOPLE CLASS! The U.S. is heavily involved in the court martial trial of the guy they are saying is the ring leader of the Abu Ghraib torture ring. The details are sickening and it remains hard for me to believe that this was just a "bunch of bad apples" that went nuts on some prisoners. Juxtaposed with the details of the 2002 torture memo associated with our Attorney General nominee, Alberto Gonzalez, it is kind of hard to think anything else. I just read a great editorial that points out that all of this, including more bad news from Guantanamo Bay makes the future of human rights in the United States look pretty bad. He does a great job of detailing the growth of due process rights from the time of the Magna Carta to the present.

ANOTHER ARTICLE MY WE THE PEOPLE CLASS SHOULD READ is on federalism. A Stanford Law professor wrote a piece called "The New Blue Federalism" and he makes a convincing case that liberals don't talk about the benefits of federalism enough, but that government at the state and local level is a great "labratory for democracy" and social progress. Not all of the answers have to come in the form of federal laws. (Liberals have had most of their big successes there since the New Deal.) Anyway it is a good read.

Sorry I haven't included any conservative writers this time around, but, well, ah, I've been too busy to read material from "Red America". (HEY! Maybe if we keep this "red" symbolism going we can somehow transfer the symbolism of communism to it and paint the Republicans as neo-commies! Just a thought for the partisan left....)

Help Kelly help the Tsunami victims

If anything good can come of this tragedy, it is all of the compassion and generosity that people of the United States and the world have shown to the victims of the tsunami in South Asia. If we keep this up, the world may come to understand that there is a lot of goodness in the people of America. So, here is a message from Kelly Hansen:

Hey guys..
The more I read about the tsunami disaster, the worse it gets. I am so overwhelmed with sorrow and grief for the lives lost. Can you really believe it? As our lives here seem so relatively uneffected, on the other side of the globe HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of HUMAN BEINGS are gone. dead. generations wiped out.

On top of all of this.. orphan children are being kidnapped and sold into prostitution. It's atrocious. I get so sick to my stomach. I don't care how horrible you are, no one should EVER do that. EVER. I can only imagine, being a mother, dying in a natural disaster like that, and having my BABY GIRL taken, beaten, starved, abused, and then commited to a life of prostitution. I'm furious at those bastards.

In an effort to help.. I'm making bracelets..and donations of 5 bucks (suggested) would be great, if you'd like one. i'll have them at school friday or monday.. and at the swim meet friday night. get one.. make a difference. PLEASE.. help me help others.
Thank You
Kelly

"The Audacity of Hope"

Senator Barak Obama - Rising Star of the Democratic Party. Check him out in the latest edition of Newsweek. Go there to read the article or scroll down, find the "Free Video" and click "launch" to hear his great speech to the Democratic Convention in July. It will inspire you!

Republican Rule

The new Congress will be sworn in next week. There is a lot of speculation and anticipation about what the New Year will bring. George Bush won the presidential election with enough popular support to claim that he has a good amount of “political capital” that he intends to spend.

Bush has put Social Security Reform at the top of his agenda. Will Bush get what he wants? The Democrats have a lot of ownership over the issue. After all, it was one of the signature pieces of FDR’s New Deal. They are highly skeptical of the direction Bush wants to take. Bush wants to allow younger voters to start putting some of their FICA payments into private investment accounts. Will his fellow Republicans give him what he wants? Maybe not so easily. Many in Congress see Bush’s second term as a chance to win back some power for the legislative branch that has been watching a tremendous increase in the power of the executive branch in recent years.

The Christian Science Monitor recently said that he will be "walking a high-wire" as he tries to balance the increasingly unpopular military involvement in Iraq with his domestic agenda, but he may succeed.

Also, there are new senators that are ready to mix things up. Several Republicans have moved from the House to the Senate and are ready to push their conservative views. NPR did an interesting story about Republican John Thune, who beat Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle in November's election. It is an interesting look at this new conservative face and what is coming up in this Congressional session.

Meanwhile, Democrats will try to make themselves heard on important issues as well. There will be lots of attention on new Illinois Senator Barack Obama. His speech at the Dem. National Convention gave lots of people hope for the future. I read a good Newsweek article about him last night. Check him out.

Has Bush Embarassed America Again?

Americans have reached deep into their wallets to make private donations to aid the victims of the tsunami disaster in Asia. However the American government offerred very little initially. The initial amount offerred was $7 million dollars. Bush waited three full days to make a public comment. (He was on vacation at his ranch in Texas.) A high ranking U.N. official said that he was tired of wealthy nations being so "stingy" with their help to needy nations.

Many have said this is our opportunity to win back a lot of good will in the world. Opinions of the U.S. Government around the world are quite low these days, and we know have an opportunity to show that America cares about the rest of the world and the well-being of people in need. However, our government's response (unlike individuals who have been donating in record numbers) has been slow at best.

The amount of aid our government pledged was increased to $35 million, but a lot of criticism remained. (See the Chritian Science Monitor for a sampling of opinions.) Ralph Nader wrote a scathing review of our inaction and the New York Times opinion page came down hard on the Bush administration.

On Friday, Secretary of State Colin Powell announced that our government was increasing our share to $350 million, but this came after days of public criticism.

So, here is my question. Has Bush embarassed America again? Has his response reinforced the stereotype of us as materialistic, greedy, and uncaring? Or do you think this is much ado about nothing?

Since we are the world's wealthiest and most powerful nation; since we consume 25% of the world's energy resources; since we enjoy cheap consumer goods thanks to cheap labor in other nations; do we have an obligation to help more than other nations?