more opinion

So they signed the draft constitution...without Sunni support. Not the best way to kick off your democracy!

The President said, "We hope that this constitution will be accepted by all Iraqis and it will be for everybody. We are optimistic," he said. How can it be for everybody if it leaves out the Sunnis?

my opinion

Okay, this is long, but this is making me mad, so I had to write it. First and foremost, let me say that this is not a slam against the military, and I think at the very beginning of this, we were right to go over there. I don’t think we were given the right reasons, but Hussein needed to be taken out of power. And I also feel that we need to finish what we started and shouldn’t be pulling out any time soon. So that said…

I am getting disgusted over all the talk of the new Iraqi constitution. Why does this anger me? Because the Iraqi’s don’t NEED a constitution yet. Has anyone else noticed all the violence?? Has anyone noticed how they talk about the constitution and then launch into how many people have been killed that day? A piece of paper will solve NOTHING. You can write as many laws as you want to, but that is not what they need right now. Don’t get me wrong, eventually, they will need a sound constitution, but now they need security. They need to be assured that they aren’t going to get killed when they step outside. This is what angers me about the whole nation-building thing. We are missing some link here. We go into a country, stabilize it and the hold elections as soon as possible. WHY? This is NOT democratic! They had elections BEFORE we were there, doesn’t mean anything. I’m not calling the Iraqi’s ignorant, but did they know what they were voting for? I get frustrated with Americans who get so excited about having elections. Elections mean absolutely nothing without the ideals behind them. They voted before we were there too. Of course, they were riddled with corruption, but an election nonetheless. But we tend to think, "okay, we've conquered the country, now...have an election, and *poof* they're democratic!" While that is one of the components of democracy, democracy is founded on more than elections and leaders. Democracy is founded on ideals before institutions.

They’ve never tasted freedom as we know it. It’s like keeping someone trapped behind bars their whole life and then letting them go. They have freedom, right? But they certainly need more than that. A lifetime of tyrannical rule can’t be obliterated by signing a constitution. I was completely floored when I read a statement today in an article by the BBC regarding the Shiia/Sunni fighting – “it is not clear what lies behind the violence.” Are you KIDDING me??? That’s absurd! Gee, why would the Sunnis and Shi’ites be fighting? They’re free, aren’t they? They have lived under oppression for so long, and no one wants to relinquish power. They don’t see themselves as a whole, so why should their government act as one? They have so many centrifugal forces working against them. They need security first and foremost.
“President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, said on Wednesday that Iraq's stability could only be ensured if consensus were reached.”
No one is worried about the leaders agreeing, they aren’t the ones blowing stuff up. Even if consensus among the leaders is reached, that will mean nothing to the people out there blowing things up. Anyone find it ironic that as they’re signing their new constitution to bring calm and stability, we’re sending over 1500 more troops?

I find this whole situation a little like Africa’s colonial experience (shout-out to ML). Hang with me here…When the colonizers pulled out of Africa, what did they leave? They left skeleton governments run by a small group of educated (mostly western educated) elite. The rulers were largely puppet rulers who did what their colonial powers told them to. But then, when they gained independence, unless you were colonized by the French, who tended to stay involved, they patted you on the head and gave you a “good luck to ya laddie” as they hightailed it out. So now what? What happens when we leave? What happens when the US isn’t looking over their shoulder or providing security?

Things always tend to get a little mixed up when another power comes in and tries to push their way of life and thinking on the indigenous culture. Although I don't think we are "pushing" our way onto the Iraqis, I do see a few parallels. Iraq has been ruled by tyrants and people have equated authoritarianism as the norm and have come to see political activity as a means of self-advancement and interest. Think about it, why would someone want to climb the political ladder in a State such as Iraq? To represent the people, or for power and control? So we (referring to all militaries represented in Iraq) come in and push for democracy. Yet our democracy, as a necessity, is coming from gunpoint, in terms of keeping order and security. Don't get me wrong, Iraq needs order and sense of security first and foremost before anything can get done. People in Iraq have to believe they have a tomorrow to save and work for. Going back to Africa’s colonial experience, who did governments represent? It represented only a fraction of the population as the peasant masses were largely unreachable. There was such a great disparity of wealth between the upper and lower class, and any type of a middle class was nonexistent. So what was government to the masses? They equated government with corruption and self-service. If you were with the government, it was to get ahead, not to represent the people. "We will call on people to say no to this constitution. This constitution was written by the powerful people, not by the people." said Kamal Hamdoun, a Sunni leader in Iraq.

As far as what they’ve lined up for their constitution (I read it today), I’m all for federalism. You are dealing with three very distinct ethnic groups and after centuries of fighting, they aren’t going to come together and hold hands now. So yes, I think federalism is the best thing for Iraq. But federation or not, they still need to have a reason for being and enough centripetal forces to bring them together. I read today that the Sunnis are protesting loudly, and rightfully so, yet the Shia are saying they won’t compromise anymore. Way to kick off your democracy! The Sunni’s SHOULD be worried about federalism and how it will work, because they’re the minority and have no reason to believe that the Kurds and Shi’ites will be fair in their dealings. But right now, I’m pretty sure these people aren’t worried about when the next election is, or what form of social security they’re going to have. They want to walk around without being shot.

strings

I have joined the orchestra at my church, so that's pretty fun stuff. Well, my brother (who conducts) TOLD me I was joining, and I didn't argue. We had our first practice last week, and we have it again tonight. I play violin, although I don't own one, so I have to borrow one from the church. Our orchestra isn't really big. Last week we had three violins including me, a clarinet, bassoon, two flutes, two trombones, a trumpet, two french horns and then my brother who conducted and played piano. We're supposed to get more people though.

I get there last week and my brother has a violin sitting out for me, but one of the other violinists asks if I want "a real one." Um...as opposed to? I say sure and he tells me I can use his other one. I go get it and find out that it's one of those violins that doesn't have the fine tuning pegs, just the big ones. No big deal. Those aren't my favorite, because it's harder to adjust slight differences, but no biggie. I go to tune it and it's HORRIBLY out of tune. I finally get my A in tune and try to tune the others off of it, but the E peg won't stick. It took a large amount of effort to get to actually move, but once it did, it wouldn't stick. In high school, you know how my orchestra teacher would've solved that? She had us unstring it, and rub chalkboard chalk on the peg. Oh the horribleness of it all! NOT good for an instrument, but um...at least it stuck. Anyways, I'm battling with my E peg, which will stick fine about a whole note above and below where I wanted it. I finally gave up and went back to the other violin, which DID have the fine tuning pegs.

The auditorium was pretty humid though, so once again, my strings kept slipping in and out of tune. We had to tune after every break pretty much. It was fun though, I haven't played in a long time, but it's amazing what you remember. My brain still knows what notes to play and my fingers remember where it's at on the strings. Good stuff!

The music we're playing is stuff that my brother wrote/arranged and if I may brag, sounds VERY good.

El fin.

new stuff

So I started my new job. I have to answer phones all the time, which is not my favorite thing in the world. I really have to watch myself when it rings though, because out of habit, I want to answer, "hi, what can I get for you?" And lately, I've been regressing to my summer job back in 2001 at a mortgage company, and keep wanting to say "1st Fidelity Mortgage..." It's weird. Latent memories I suppose.

Last week, I actually DID answer, "Hi what can I get for you?" I was on one line and got a call on the other, so I was a little flustered to get line one off the phone, that by the time I did, I answered without thinking, so it came out as, "Hi! What can I get for you...here...at...(mumble name)." It was really lame and the guy laughed. Ah well, if I succeeded in amusing someone, point for me.

I LOATHE entirely the music they play in the lobby. The main secretary is gone this week (good timing, she left three days after I got there) and I have to sit at her desk in case people come in. They have music playing out by the elevators and it recycles itself every half an hour, so I hear the same music ALL DAY LONG. I can tune out most of it, but for some reason, because someone, somewhere hates me, my mind picks up this one song and I tune in to the end of it and it is DRIVING ME CRAZY! I can't take it anymore!

Fun stuff-Some guy came in for an interview and he was TOTALLY sucking up to me! I was impressed, because he fully understood that if you want "in," you have to be on the secretary's good side (right SADDU?). He knew that was the ticket through the door. I was thoroughly amused.

That's all I got.

"Aw, it's just a little lion!"

(**Extra points to whoever can guess where my title's from)
This has to be just about the most awesome article I've read in a long time. I'm all for it! I say let 'em roam free and see what happens. Whenever I go to the zoo, I've always thought they should let all the fences down for about 30 minutes and let the animals just go at it. Shake things up a bit. Beats watching them sleep, or never finding them at all. I'm convinced that at the KC Zoo, they have pens for animals that they really don't have.

Question regarding article: What happens in winter?

Surging Latinos

So I guess they wouldn't be called minorities anymore. This article brings me joy on so many different levels. On one, I can relate to it from my high school days. For those of you who don't know, I went to a ghetto school in downtown KC. When I say "ghetto" I'm not just saying that. It's not like Raytown or Independence or anything. The black/white ratio was about 70/30, 80/20. So clearly, I was the minority. Every once in awhile, they had to take a 'minority count', which we all found obnoxious. I remember being in calculus (yes, I actually took calc, and somewhat survived) and our teacher asking all the minorites to raise their hands. I immediatly put my hand up as well as the other saltines in the class. She found it amusing and then made us put our hands down. Dude, we were being serious. We really WERE the minorities! So from that standpoint, it annoys me that we have to have "Minority counts" and track the movement of different minority groups like they are a herd of caribou.

Secondly, we put a whole lot of emphasis on being diverse and coming together, yet we perpetuate our racial distinctness by making it a big deal and tracking it. I do realize that racism still exists (I actually experienced this more when I moved to Maryville than growing up in KC) and for some people--maybe a lot, it's a big deal. And no, I'm not one of those people who "don't see color" or wonder why we "can't all just get along" because that's obnoxious. Of course we see color. That's not the issue. In school, I didn't go around counting how many whites were in my class, it was just how it was and no one really made an issue about it. It was when we had to raise our hands to distinguish each other by color that we really saw the ratio.

"Public policy analysts said these states and the country as a whole need to bring minority education and professional achievement to the levels of whites. Otherwise, these areas risk becoming poorer and less competitive. "

Ouch! Wow, we whites sure must've set the bar high. I like how they change to "anglos" later.

The article makes me angry, and also hungry.

Cracker, anyone?

Something fun

Two princes, a car, and a hamburger

I finally sucked it up and took my car in to get "repaired" on Saturday. I had taken it in twice before and of course, as soon as my car enters the lot, it stops whatever it was doing wrong. The problem was that my engine would rev up on its own. I could be sitting at a stopsign, and it would lurch forward, or the engine would race like crazy. I got a few looks from people who probably thought I was showing off in my 'wagon. Yeah.... I took it in and they had it run for about half and hour...never did it once. They hooked it up to the computer and it turned out fine, which kinda irks me. Obviously, there's something wrong with it, but the computer says no, so it must be right. What happened to the people who could listen to the car and 'know' that something was wrong with it, and then know where to look and how to fix it? Even from driving it, I could sense that there was something wrong with it just because I knew the normal sounds and the feel of it. But anyways, the computer declared my car at 100%, so I get in to leave and guess what...it revs up. Nice. They told me they would order an idle switch, which they thought was the problem.

Two days later, I go in to get it replaced. Idle switch? Hm...Not sure what you're talking about...I don't think they ordered it. So he ordered it again, and told me he'd give me a call. Well, the days turned to weeks, and no call. My car kept getting worse and worse, so I took it in yesterday (also needed an oil change) and they said, "oh yeah, we sent the part back, we didn't think you needed it. We'll have to reorder it and then call you." I told them, how about I just come in tomorrow and we skip the calling thing. They went ahead and changed the oil, and as he turned it on to pull it out of the garage, I think he tricked my car into thinking we were leaving, and it revved up. YES! Victory! He quickly got the computer and hooked it up. Bingo! He found the problem. It was a coolant temp thing that fluctuated from about 45 degrees to over 200 degrees, which caused the engine to rev to compensate. So now my car works.

I spent about 3 hours in the shop, although it wasn't half bad because they have a nice leather couch and I had the fan blowing on me. So I made myself at home. They had an older lady working, answering phones and stuff. She got a call and told one of the mechanics that it was either "a lockout, or they need a jump. I'm not sure which." She said, "It's just over in Mary (not sure of this spelling. Merry? Mary? I think Mary. Never really paid attention) Mart. It's an '02 silver Ford." The mechanic- "What kind of car?" Lady - "some Ford thing. It's silver." ("A red one") The mechanic and I exchanged an amused look. Mechanic - "So it's a lockout or a jump?" Lady - "Oh I don't know, I wasn't paying attention, I was reading about Prince Harry." Awesome! Later I found out what she was talking about because she gave me a "People" magazine which had a story on the two princes and their respective love interests. It went on to compare the two girls, very much a good girl vs. bad girl type of thing, and then assessed whether the late Princess Di would have approved and which girl was more like her. AH, such pressing issues in our world today. Didn't something else happen in London recently? Hmm..not sure.

The other fun conversation was regarding food from my PREVIOUS employer, McD's. The lady made a lunch run for everyone. I was deep in thought reading about what celebrity is sporting the new "black head band" look but was pulled out of my fashion reverie by the words, "where do you want me to go? McDonalds?" McD's it was, which brought a slight smile to my face. The guy working on my car got a salad, which in my head I immediatly thought, "what kind? Caesar, cobb, or ranch?" "Caeser" he then said, answering my unspoken question. Ah, you're one of those guys, I thought, the ones we have to prompt.* Chicken? Dressing? were my next thoughts. "Um, if they ask, I want grilled chicken ('Of course they'll ask', I thought defensively, and then, 'good choice', I thought, 'less chance of being parked because you have to wait for it to cook. I wonder how many we have to keep up with the new sandwiches? I wonder who's on grill today?' I then wondered if he'd tasted the new grilled chicken)." "That it?" replied the lady? "NO!" I wanted to shout. Dressing? What about your dressing?! "OH, what dressing?" asked the lady, to my relief. "Um...ranch if they have it. " Of course we do, I chaffed. I then mentally typed in his order and calculated the cost. "$4.68 with tax, a drink could throw it off though." I missed the other orders but when they returned, I got to hear the conversation regarding the Big Mac (value meal, or sandwich, I thought. $4.18 meal, $2.68 sandwich). The lady asked, "did you get a Big Mac? I don't think this is it! Was this what you ordered? This has double meat on it." (Of course it does, that's the whole point of a Big Mac!) "Double meat? I think it does. Well, I know the double cheeseburger has double meat on it (ding ding! We have a winner! Good call) but I don't know about the Big Mac." (This is McD's; we don't put extra meat on just for giggles) I really had to bite my tongue to keep from speaking up and reassuring him that yes, the Big Mac has two pieces of meat on it. "No, no I think this is right. I'm pretty sure." I sighed a sigh of relief.

*Prompters:

OT - Hi, what can I get for you today?
Promptee - Um, I'd like a happy meal
OT - *sigh* What kind? Hamburger, nuggets, or cheeseburger?
P - Nuggets.
OT - What to drink?
P - Diet
OT - Coke or Dr. Pepper
P - Coke
OT - Any sauce for your nuggets?
P - BBQ
---silence---
OT - Is that everything?
P - No.
---silence---
P - a salad
OT - Caesar, cobb, or ranch?
P - ranch
OT - Grilled or crispy chicken?
P - Grilled
OT - What type of dressing?
P - Ranch
---silence---
OT - ...is that...all?
P - Uh huh. (spoken so quietly it sounds like, "umhuhnonaoyeshtaih")
---silence---
OT - Was that all?
P - YES! (now spoken rather loudly and irritably)

Notice, they know exactly what they want, so it's not a matter of "um, I don't know, let me think." No! They know!