Bling Bling in the ATL

Walked out of the GRE today. First section went well; essays were fine, did a little bit worse on the second one but OK. Took my little break, was even in a good mood, feeling adrenalized, concentrated, etc., making little jokes to myself about how convenient it is that Georgia State has their testing center and counseling service bundled in the same building. Ate an apple, used the facilities, went back in.

Started the math section. My math scores have been relatively crappy, and I'm fairly convinced that I haven't been doing myself justice because I've forgotten how to be a good test taker. On the practice drills, I haven't been taking a full half hour to answer everything, yet I'm still making 3-4 stupid mistakes on the easy questions. Like, misreading the question. So, assuming time was on my side, my strategy for today was to proceed carefully, making sure I got every question correct in the beginning even if it meant rechecking and being anal.

Followed my strategy pretty well. Too well. 15 of 28 questions in, I realize I've taken 20 of 30 minutes. I got up to question 21 and the test ended. 7 whole unanswered questions.

Quit Test! Feels extreme, but the obvious move. Click the button, drive to work, here I am, $115 poorer.

went to the wilco concert last night with PoolPaul and co. Nice kids, real nice kids. Rode the MARTA, checked out Century grounds, gorgeous. Its an older amphitheatre (for some reason that word reminds me of armpit) decorated in 30's orientalist style. Largely resembles the really nice malls in Saudi, except there was no decorative Qu'ran worked into the detailing.

Anyhow, Wilco's got it down - really all about the way he says things, I think. He did a little Kerry stuff and basically his message was that people have a right to say things and reasons to be upset. He knew he was in Atlanta but seemed quite pleased that the crowd was pro-Kerry. Got a couple of Bush fans riled up and someone ran up and gave him the finger, but he handled it with aplomb.

Had a dream last night that I had slept until afternoon, and ran into my friend who was laughing about the news, quite shocked that I had not heard the mornings events. I switched the telly on and learned that in the morning, Bush had taken a joyride in a fighter jet. Presuming he was under attack, he shot a muslim dignitary. Then he flew over the ocean to the middle east where the man was from, and exchanged fire with the army there, then to North Korea and exchanged fire with some fighter jets there. At that point, a few hours later, we were embroiled in a war, lots of belligerent posturing and preparations. An NPR journalist had been fired for saying that Bush's actions were irresponsible and stupid.

Anyways, I think I am going to FL tomorrow morning, just need to make contact with some folks down there first.

Wish me luck!

- Ms. Bling

• George W. Bush is at 47% and John Kerry is at 46% in the weighted national popular vote.
• Bush leads outside the margin of error in 17 states with 133 electoral votes.
• Kerry leads outside the margin of error in 10 states with 132 electoral votes.
• Bush has any lead in 29 states with 253 electoral votes.
• Kerry has any lead in 20 states with 270 electoral votes.
• Bush and Kerry are tied in Wisconsin and West Virginia.
• Bush needs to defend small leads in 5 states - Colorado, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Ohio.
• Kerry needs to defend small leads in 5 states - Maine, Florida, Minnesota, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.
• Among men nationwide, 51% say they would vote for Bush and 42% say they would vote for Kerry.
• Among women nationwide, 42% say they would vote for Bush and 50% say they would vote for Kerry.
  
  Yes!

I read about him in French. Usually the arguments are elegant, replete with historical evidence, quotes, etc. And its funny to see folks around the world flat-out not buying it.

Bush-Annan, deux visions du monde s'affrontent devant l'ONU

LE MONDE 22.09.04 14h13

Devant l'Assemblée générale des Nations unies, le président américain a réaffirmé, mardi 21 septembre, la légitimité de la guerre d'Irak et persisté dans sa volonté de remodeler le "Moyen-Orient élargi". Le secrétaire général a dénoncé un état de droit "mis en péril".
New York (Nations unies) de notre correspondante
On Tues Sept 21, before the UN general assembly, the American president reiterated his case regarding the legitimacy of the Iraq war, and his wish to remodel the Middle East. Kofi denounced the state of human rights (?) today as wrought with peril.

En temps normal, a commenté un dignitaire africain, "un discours comme celui-là, on l'aurait vraiment applaudi". Tous les mots y étaient : liberté, démocratie, dignité, sécurité, et même "ensemble", un terme que le président George Bush a employé à la fin de son discours, juste avant de citer des extraits de la Charte des Nations unies. "Chacun de nous, agissant seul, est limité dans ses réalisations, a-t-il dit. Ensemble, nous pouvons accomplir beaucoup plus."
An African dignitary commented that normally, "we would have genuinely applauded a speech like this one." All the words were there.. liberty... democracy... dignity... security... even togetherness, which Bush cited just at the end of his speech, before quoting the UN charter. "Each one of us, acting alone, has limited horizons,' he said. 'Together, we can accomplish so much more.'

Mais, dans la salle de l'Assemblée générale, les applaudissements ont surtout été protocolaires. Bien qu'il ait annoncé la création d'un fonds international pour la démocratie, dans lequel les Etats-Unis allaient incessamment verser une première contribution ; bien qu'il ait mis en garde Israël contre "l'humiliation quotidienne" des Palestiniens, une référence qui a été remarquée dans une enceinte où Yasser Arafat venait encore il y a quatre ans ; bien qu'il ait eu des mots sans ambiguïté sur le Darfour, George Bush n'a manifestement pas réparé, mardi 21 septembre, à l'ONU, les dégâts causés par l'intervention américano-britannique de mars 2003 en Irak.
But, all the applause was perfunctory. Lots of good ideas coming from Bush - he mentioned an international fund for democracy, in which the US had made the first contribution, that he denounced Israelis daily (?) humiliation of the Palestinians, even was unambigious regarding the situation in Sudan. BUT, but no answer to the overwhelming question, which is: Why'd you invade Iraq?

... a lot of historical stuff about what Bush said at each UN speech in the past 18 months, how its all a lot of pseudo-Wilsonian crap, how he hasn't responded to Kofi's recent statement that the invasion of Iraq was 'illegal'...

Mais si ses auditeurs ont apprécié les mots, ils ne pouvaient guère les dissocier de l'action des dix-huit derniers mois. "Il nous donne des leçons mais il ne les applique pas", a dit un ambassadeur africain.
But if the listeners appreciated the ideas in the speech, they couldn't forget the events of the past 18 months. "He gives us lessons and doesn't apply them," said one African Ambassador.

Pendant le déjeuner, M. Bush et M. Annan ont échangé des toasts aimables. Selon leurs entourages, ils n'ont pas d'animosité l'un pour l'autre. Mais le moins que l'on puisse dire est qu'ils n'ont pas la même vision. A l'appel de M. Bush à "agrandir le cercle des nations démocratiques", a répondu celui de M. Annan aux Etats membres de mettre leurs paroles en œuvre.
During the (?) Bush and Kofi exchanged friendly words. According to their entorages, Kofi and W get along just fine. But, when Bush starts blathering on about how he's added to the circle of democratic nations, Kofi tells him to put his money where his mouth is.

... lots of other stuff about the UN and Kofis views about the state of human rights today.

In other news, motto of the day: When you come to a fork in the road, take it. (Yogi Berra). Lifes too confusing right now, too many little details. I'm just gonna do stuff. Cats are still cute, weather is still crisp and sunny and lovely, car still runs.. not a whole lot else to report!

Oh. I reviewed the polls for real today, and ... folks... its not looking good for Kerry. You can quibble about Zogby vs. Gallup, etc..., but... its not looking good. August was a bad month, and Labor days a kindof important deadline. Maybe the debates will change minds, who knows.

So I was raised UU. Unitarian Universalist. UU is ideally the religion you convert to when you are sick of your own religion... but my family has been UU, I think, for a generation or two. My grandparents were socialist on my paternal side, so it makes sense. My grandparents on my maternal side were Christians of some sort - I'm not even sure which denomination, some weird missionary sort that dies out in the West, surviving only in far flung colonies. I've been a few times in Samoa. Most sit on mats on the floor, people wear white (especially on white sunday, whatever that is) and all the hymns are set to sailor tunes like 'found a peanut, found a peanut...'

The UU church I went to on Sunday was beautiful - looked like a Mies or Frank Lloyd Wright design, all pale wood and symmetry and walls of light. The chapel was arranged in a circle of raised seats, with the pulpit at the base, and everyone looking down. Nice. I was really happy at first.. the familiar smell, the familiar hymn book, lighting the chalice.. all those stupid rituals I squirmed through as a kid before they sent me off to Sunday school where I could learn about dreamcatchers and sex ed and cocaine addiction and make menorahs and write letters to the Ayatollah Khomini.

My little reverie was updated when the minister opened his mouth and started talking about 'Following your bliss.' It was some sort of admonition about balancing the need to earn a living and achieve a certain social status, and to do what makes you happy. It was entirely wrong minded as far as I'm concerned. The minister focused on following your hearts desire, and talked almost exclusively about the individual, about making decisions by turning inward, as if anyone has trouble doing that nowadays. The ultimate goal in life: to be happy. As if that were ever enough, as if you could find happiness by simply setting your compass and beelining for it. Goddamn hippies.

Then they sang some songs, one of which was 'We are the church the welcomes everyone, everyone, everyone.' Ugh. We are the church founded on identity politics. We are the church that fixes ethical dilemmas by walking away. We are the church of no community, no history, no struggles greater than ennui. If only they'd sung it to the tune of 'found a peanut,' I might have gotten something out of the whole experience.

The UU church is great as an example of civil society. But its a shitty religion if you ask me.

In other news...

I think I'm on the verge of being in a real relationship for the first time in a year, and I've forgotten how much that can suck at times. Maybe I'll escape at the last moment, we'll see.
Cruised the blogosphere today, following the next blog link for an hour. Weird, weird, weird what people write. Weird what I write too. Other than that.. works OK. Cats are OK. Weather is OK. My car is stuck in the lot, I have no cash so I have to wait till the toll collector goes home to take it. Life goes on.

Got more e-mail from John today. Johns doin' alright, he's been thinking a lot about stuff. Stuff like Iraq. He wrote me this really long letter, really very quite long letter. I liked it, and it had some important information, but he didn't really get started on the good stuff until Paragraph 8. Then he kinda hit home a little bit, threw in some good evidence and facts which I read - surprised he didn't bullet point them though, would have made the letter less long.

Anyways, I keep skimming John's letter over, and theres some good information in there, in the middle, in the end, in the middle of the end, some good stuff in the beginning of the middle of the end too.

Johns a good guy, he's gonna make a good, careful, well-reasoned, boring president. I don't intend to listen to any of his State of the Union addresses because I figure they'll be... boring.

Dear Miss Bling in the ATL,

This election is about choices. The most important choices a president makes are about protecting America at home and around the world. A president's first obligation is to make America safer, stronger and truer to our ideals.

Three years ago, the events of September 11 reminded every American of that obligation. That day brought to our shores the defining struggle of our times: the struggle between freedom and radical fundamentalism. And it made clear that our most important task is to fight and to win the war on terrorism.

In fighting the war on terrorism, my principles are straight forward. The terrorists are beyond reason. We must destroy them. As president, I will do whatever it takes, as long as it takes, to defeat our enemies. But billions of people around the world yearning for a better life are open to America's ideals. We must reach them.

To win, America must be strong. And America must be smart. The greatest threat we face is the possibility Al Qaeda or other terrorists will get their hands on a nuclear weapon.

To prevent that from happening, we must call on the totality of America's strength -- strong alliances, to help us stop the world's most lethal weapons from falling into the most dangerous hands. A powerful military, transformed to meet the new threats of terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction. And all of America's power -- our diplomacy, our intelligence system, our economic power, the appeal of our values -- each of which is critical to making America more secure and preventing a new generation of terrorists from emerging.

National security is a central issue in this campaign. We owe it to the American people to have a real debate about the choices President Bush has made and the choices I would make to fight and win the war on terror.

That means we must have a great honest national debate on Iraq. The president claims it is the centerpiece of his war on terror. In fact, Iraq was a profound diversion from that war and the battle against our greatest enemy, Osama bin Laden and the terrorists. Invading Iraq has created a crisis of historic proportions and, if we do not change course, there is the prospect of a war with no end in sight.

This month, we passed a cruel milestone: more than 1,000 Americans lost in Iraq. Their sacrifice reminds us that Iraq remains, overwhelmingly, an American burden. Nearly 90 percent of the troops -- and nearly 90 percent of the casualties -- are American. Despite the president's claims, this is not a grand coalition.

Our troops have served with extraordinary bravery, skill and resolve. Their service humbles all of us. When I speak to them when I look into the eyes of their families, I know this: we owe them the truth about what we have asked them to do and what is still to be done.

In June, the president declared, "The Iraqi people have their country back." Just last week, he told us: "This country is headed toward democracy. Freedom is on the march."

But the administration's own official intelligence estimate, given to the president last July, tells a very different story.

According to press reports, the intelligence estimate totally contradicts what the president is saying to the American people.

So do the facts on the ground.

Security is deteriorating, for us and for the Iraqis.

42 Americans died in Iraq in June -- the month before the handover. But 54 died in July -- 66 in August and already 54 halfway through September.

And more than 1,100 Americans were wounded in August -- more than in any other month since the invasion.

We are fighting a growing insurgency in an ever widening war-zone. In March, insurgents attacked our forces 700 times. In August, they attacked 2,700 times -- a 400% increase.

Falluja, Ramadi, Samarra, even parts of Baghdad -- are now "no go zones" -- breeding grounds for terrorists who are free to plot and launch attacks against our soldiers. The radical Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, who is accused of complicity in the murder of Americans, holds more sway in the suburbs of Baghdad.

Violence against Iraqis from bombings to kidnappings to intimidation is on the rise.

Basic living conditions are also deteriorating.

Residents of Baghdad are suffering electricity blackouts lasting up to 14 hours a day.

Raw sewage fills the streets, rising above the hubcaps of our Humvees. Children wade through garbage on their way to school.

Unemployment is over 50 percent. Insurgents are able to find plenty of people willing to take $150 for tossing grenades at passing U.S. convoys.

Yes, there has been some progress, thanks to the extraordinary efforts of our soldiers and civilians in Iraq. Schools, shops and hospitals have been opened. In parts of Iraq, normalcy actually prevails.

But most Iraqis have lost faith in our ability to deliver meaningful improvements to their lives. So they're sitting on the fence instead of siding with us against the insurgents.

That is the truth -- the truth that the commander in chief owes to our troops and the American people.

It is never easy to discuss what has gone wrong while our troops are in constant danger. But it's essential if we want to correct our course and do what's right for our troops instead of repeating the same mistakes over and over again.

I know this dilemma first-hand. After serving in war, I returned home to offer my own personal voice of dissent. I did so because I believed strongly that we owed it those risking their lives to speak truth to power. We still do.

Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator who deserves his own special place in hell. But that was not, in itself, a reason to go to war. The satisfaction we take in his downfall does not hide this fact: we have traded a dictator for a chaos that has left America less secure.

The president has said that he "miscalculated" in Iraq and that it was a "catastrophic success." In fact, the president has made a series of catastrophic decisions from the beginning in Iraq. At every fork in the road, he has taken the wrong turn and led us in the wrong direction.

The first and most fundamental mistake was the president's failure to tell the truth to the American people.

He failed to tell the truth about the rationale for going to war. And he failed to tell the truth about the burden this war would impose on our soldiers and our citizens.

By one count, the president offered 23 different rationales for this war. If his purpose was to confuse and mislead the American people, he succeeded.

His two main rationales -- weapons of mass destruction and the Al Qaeda/September 11 connection -- have been proved false by the president's own weapons inspectors and by the 9/11 Commission. Just last week, Secretary of State Powell acknowledged the facts. Only Vice President Cheney still insists that the earth is flat.

The president also failed to level with the American people about what it would take to prevail in Iraq.

He didn't tell us that well over 100,000 troops would be needed, for years, not months. He didn't tell us that he wouldn't take the time to assemble a broad and strong coalition of allies. He didn't tell us that the cost would exceed $200 billion. He didn't tell us that even after paying such a heavy price, success was far from assured.

And America will pay an even heavier price for the president's lack of candor.

At home, the American people are less likely to trust this administration if it needs to summon their support to meet real and pressing threats to our security.

Abroad, other countries will be reluctant to follow America when we seek to rally them against a common menace -- as they are today. Our credibility in the world has plummeted.

In the dark days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy sent former Secretary of State Dean Acheson to Europe to build support. Acheson explained the situation to French President de Gaulle. Then he offered to show him highly classified satellite photos, as proof. De Gaulle waved the photos away, saying: "The word of the president of the United States is good enough for me."

How many world leaders have that same trust in America's president, today?

This president's failure to tell the truth to us before the war has been exceeded by fundamental errors of judgment during and after the war.

The president now admits to "miscalculations" in Iraq.

That is one of the greatest understatements in recent American history. His were not the equivalent of accounting errors. They were colossal failures of judgment -- and judgment is what we look for in a president.

This is all the more stunning because we're not talking about 20/20 hindsight. Before the war, before he chose to go to war, bi-partisan Congressional hearings... major outside studies... and even some in the administration itself... predicted virtually every problem we now face in Iraq.

This president was in denial. He hitched his wagon to the ideologues who surround him, filtering out those who disagreed, including leaders of his own party and the uniformed military. The result is a long litany of misjudgments with terrible consequences.

The administration told us we'd be greeted as liberators. They were wrong.

They told us not to worry about looting or the sorry state of Iraq's infrastructure. They were wrong.

They told us we had enough troops to provide security and stability, defeat the insurgents, guard the borders and secure the arms depots. They were wrong.

They told us we could rely on exiles like Ahmed Chalabi to build political legitimacy. They were wrong.

They told us we would quickly restore an Iraqi civil service to run the country and a police force and army to secure it. They were wrong.

In Iraq, this administration has consistently over-promised and under-performed. This policy has been plagued by a lack of planning, an absence of candor, arrogance and outright incompetence. And the president has held no one accountable, including himself.

In fact, the only officials who lost their jobs over Iraq were the ones who told the truth.

General Shinseki said it would take several hundred thousand troops to secure Iraq. He was retired. Economic adviser Larry Lindsey said that Iraq would cost as much as $200 billion. He was fired. After the successful entry into Baghdad, George Bush was offered help from the UN -- and he rejected it. He even prohibited any nation from participating in reconstruction efforts that wasn't part of the original coalition -- pushing reluctant countries even farther away. As we continue to fight this war almost alone, it is hard to estimate how costly that arrogant decision was. Can anyone seriously say this president has handled Iraq in a way that makes us stronger in the war on terrorism?

By any measure, the answer is no. Nuclear dangers have mounted across the globe. The international terrorist club has expanded. Radicalism in the Middle East is on the rise. We have divided our friends and united our enemies. And our standing in the world is at an all time low.

Think about it for a minute. Consider where we were... and where we are. After the events of September 11, we had an opportunity to bring our country and the world together in the struggle against the terrorists. On September 12, headlines in newspapers abroad declared "we are all Americans now." But through his policy in Iraq, the president squandered that moment and rather than isolating the terrorists, left America isolated from the world.

We now know that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction and posed no imminent threat to our security. It had not, as the vice president claimed, "reconstituted nuclear weapons."

The president's policy in Iraq took our attention and resources away from other, more serious threats to America.

Threats like North Korea, which actually has weapons of mass destruction, including a nuclear arsenal, and is building more under this president's watch -- the emerging nuclear danger from Iran -- the tons and kilotons of unsecured chemical and nuclear weapons in Russia -- and the increasing instability in Afghanistan.

Today, warlords again control much of that country, the Taliban is regrouping, opium production is at an all time high and the Al Qaeda leadership still plots and plans, not only there but in 60 other nations. Instead of using U.S. forces, we relied on the warlords to capture Osama bin Laden when he was cornered in the mountains. He slipped away. We then diverted our focus and forces from the hunt for those responsible for September 11 in order invade Iraq.

We know Iraq played no part in September 11 and had no operational ties to Al Qaeda.

The president's policy in Iraq precipitated the very problem he said he was trying to prevent. Secretary of State Powell admits that Iraq was not a magnet for international terrorists before the war. Now it is, and they are operating against our troops. Iraq is becoming a sanctuary for a new generation of terrorists who someday could hit the United States.

We know that while Iraq was a source of friction, it was not previously a source of serious disagreement with our allies in Europe and countries in the Muslim world.

The president's policy in Iraq divided our oldest alliance and sent our standing in the Muslim world into free fall. Three years after 9/11, even in many moderate Muslim countries like Jordan, Morocco, and Turkey, Osama bin Laden is more popular than the United States of America.

Let me put it plainly: The president's policy in Iraq has not strengthened our national security. It has weakened it.

Two years ago, Congress was right to give the president the authority to use force to hold Saddam Hussein accountable. This president, any president would have needed the threat of force to act effectively. This president misused that authority.

The power entrusted to the president gave him a strong hand to play in the international community. The idea was simple. We would get the weapons inspectors back in to verify whether or not Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. And we would convince the world to speak with one voice to Saddam: disarm or be disarmed.

A month before the war, President Bush told the nation: "If we have to act, we will take every precaution that is possible. We will plan carefully. We will act with the full power of the United States military. We will act with allies at our side and we will prevail." He said that military action wasn't "unavoidable."

Instead, the president rushed to war without letting the weapons inspectors finish their work. He went without a broad and deep coalition of allies. He acted without making sure our troops had enough body armor. And he plunged ahead without understanding or preparing for the consequences of the post-war. None of which I would have done.

Yet today, President Bush tells us that he would do everything all over again, the same way. How can he possibly be serious? Is he really saying that if we knew there were no imminent threat, no weapons of mass destruction, no ties to Al Qaeda, the United States should have invaded Iraq? My answer is no -- because a commander in chief's first responsibility is to make a wise and responsible decision to keep America safe.

Now the president, in looking for a new reason, tries to hang his hat on the "capability" to acquire weapons. But that was not the reason given to the nation; it was not the reason Congress voted on; it's not a reason, it's an excuse. Thirty-five to forty countries have greater capability to build a nuclear bomb than Iraq did in 2003. Is President Bush saying we should invade them?

I would have concentrated our power and resources on defeating global terrorism and capturing or killing Osama bin Laden. I would have tightened the noose and continued to pressure and isolate Saddam Hussein -- who was weak and getting weaker -- so that he would pose no threat to the region or America.

The president's insistence that he would do the same thing all over again in Iraq is a clear warning for the future. And it makes the choice in this election clear: more of the same with President Bush or a new direction that makes our troops and America safer. It is time, at long last, to ask the questions and insist on the answers from the commander in chief about his serious misjudgments and what they tell us about his administration and the president himself. If George W. Bush is re-elected, he will cling to the same failed policies in Iraq -- and he will repeat, somewhere else, the same reckless mistakes that have made America less secure than we can or should be.

In Iraq, we have a mess on our hands. But we cannot throw up our hands. We cannot afford to see Iraq become a permanent source of terror that will endanger America's security for years to come.

All across this country people ask me what we should do now. Every step of the way, from the time I first spoke about this in the Senate, I have set out specific recommendations about how we should and should not proceed. But over and over, when this administration has been presented with a reasonable alternative, they have rejected it and gone their own way. This is stubborn incompetence.

Five months ago, in Fulton, Missouri, I said that the president was close to his last chance to get it right. Every day, this president makes it more difficult to deal with Iraq -- harder than it was five months ago, harder than it was a year ago. It is time to recognize what is -- and what is not -- happening in Iraq today. And we must act with urgency.

Just this weekend, a leading Republican, Chuck Hagel, said we're "in deep trouble in Iraq ... it doesn't add up ... to a pretty picture [and] ... we're going to have to look at a recalibration of our policy." Republican leaders like Dick Lugar and John McCain have offered similar assessments.

We need to turn the page and make a fresh start in Iraq.

First, the president has to get the promised international support so our men and women in uniform don't have to go it alone. It is late; the president must respond by moving this week to gain and regain international support.

Last spring, after too many months of resistance and delay, the president finally went back to the U.N. which passed Resolution 1546. It was the right thing to do -- but it was late.

That resolution calls on U.N. members to help in Iraq by providing troops, trainers for Iraq's security forces, a special brigade to protect the U.N. mission, more financial assistance, and real debt relief.

Three months later, not a single country has answered that call. And the president acts as if it doesn't matter.

And of the $13 billion previously pledged to Iraq by other countries, only $1.2 billion has been delivered.

The president should convene a summit meeting of the world's major powers and Iraq's neighbors, this week, in New York, where many leaders will attend the U.N. General Assembly. He should insist that they make good on that U.N. resolution. He should offer potential troop contributors specific, but critical roles, in training Iraqi security personnel and securing Iraq's borders. He should give other countries a stake in Iraq's future by encouraging them to help develop Iraq's oil resources and by letting them bid on contracts instead of locking them out of the reconstruction process.

This will be difficult. I and others have repeatedly recommended this from the very beginning. Delay has made only made it harder. After insulting allies and shredding alliances, this president may not have the trust and confidence to bring others to our side in Iraq. But we cannot hope to succeed unless we rebuild and lead strong alliances so that other nations share the burden with us. That is the only way to succeed.

Second, the president must get serious about training Iraqi security forces.

Last February, Secretary Rumsfeld claimed that more than 210,000 Iraqis were in uniform. Two weeks ago, he admitted that claim was exaggerated by more than 50 percent. Iraq, he said, now has 95,000 trained security forces.

But guess what? Neither number bears any relationship to the truth. For example, just 5,000 Iraqi soldiers have been fully trained, by the administration's own minimal standards. And of the 35,000 police now in uniform, not one has completed a 24-week field-training program. Is it any wonder that Iraqi security forces can't stop the insurgency or provide basic law and order?

The president should urgently expand the security forces training program inside and outside Iraq. He should strengthen the vetting of recruits, double classroom training time, and require follow-on field training. He should recruit thousands of qualified trainers from our allies, especially those who have no troops in Iraq. He should press our NATO allies to open training centers in their countries. And he should stop misleading the American people with phony, inflated numbers.

Third, the president must carry out a reconstruction plan that finally brings tangible benefits to the Iraqi people.

Last week, the administration admitted that its plan was a failure when it asked Congress for permission to radically revise spending priorities in Iraq. It took 17 months for them to understand that security is a priority, 17 months to figure out that boosting oil production is critical, 17 months to conclude that an Iraqi with a job is less likely to shoot at our soldiers.

One year ago, the administration asked for and received $18 billion to help the Iraqis and relieve the conditions that contribute to the insurgency. Today, less than a $1 billion of those funds have actually been spent. I said at the time that we had to rethink our policies and set standards of accountability. Now we're paying the price.

Now, the president should look at the whole reconstruction package, draw up a list of high visibility, quick impact projects, and cut through the red tape. He should use more Iraqi contractors and workers, instead of big corporations like Halliburton. He should stop paying companies under investigation for fraud or corruption. And he should fire the civilians in the Pentagon responsible for mismanaging the reconstruction effort.

Fourth, the president must take immediate, urgent, essential steps to guarantee the promised elections can be held next year.

Credible elections are key to producing an Iraqi government that enjoys the support of the Iraqi people and an assembly to write a Constitution that yields a viable power sharing arrangement.

Because Iraqis have no experience holding free and fair elections, the president agreed six months ago that the U.N. must play a central role. Yet today, just four months before Iraqis are supposed to go to the polls, the U.N. Secretary General and administration officials themselves say the elections are in grave doubt. Because the security situation is so bad and because not a single country has offered troops to protect the U.N. elections mission, the U.N. has less than 25 percent of the staff it needs in Iraq to get the job done.

The president should recruit troops from our friends and allies for a U.N. protection force. This won't be easy. But even countries that refused to put boots on the ground in Iraq should still help protect the U.N. We should also intensify the training of Iraqis to manage and guard the polling places that need to be opened. Otherwise, U.S forces would end up bearing those burdens alone.

If the president would move in this direction, if he would bring in more help from other countries to provide resources and forces, train the Iraqis to provide their own security, develop a reconstruction plan that brings real benefits to the Iraqi people, and take the steps necessary to hold credible elections next year -- we could begin to withdraw U.S. forces starting next summer and realistically aim to bring all our troops home within the next four years.

This is what has to be done. This is what I would do as president today. But we cannot afford to wait until January. President Bush owes it to the American people to tell the truth and put Iraq on the right track. Even more, he owes it to our troops and their families, whose sacrifice is a testament to the best of America.

The principles that should guide American policy in Iraq now and in the future are clear: We must make Iraq the world's responsibility, because the world has a stake in the outcome and others should share the burden. We must effectively train Iraqis, because they should be responsible for their own security. We must move forward with reconstruction, because that's essential to stop the spread of terror. And we must help Iraqis achieve a viable government, because it's up to them to run their own country. That's the right way to get the job done and bring our troops home.

On May 1 of last year, President Bush stood in front of a now infamous banner that read "Mission Accomplished." He declared to the American people: "In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed." In fact, the worst part of the war was just beginning, with the greatest number of American casualties still to come. The president misled, miscalculated, and mismanaged every aspect of this undertaking and he has made the achievement of our objective -- a stable Iraq, secure within its borders, with a representative government, harder to achieve.

In Iraq, this administration's record is filled with bad predictions, inaccurate cost estimates, deceptive statements and errors of judgment of historic proportions.

At every critical juncture in Iraq, and in the war on terrorism, the president has made the wrong choice. I have a plan to make America stronger.

The president often says that in a post 9/11 world, we can't hesitate to act. I agree. But we should not act just for the sake of acting. I believe we have to act wisely and responsibly.

George Bush has no strategy for Iraq. I do.

George Bush has not told the truth to the American people about why we went to war and how the war is going. I have and I will continue to do so.

I believe the invasion of Iraq has made us less secure and weaker in the war against terrorism. I have a plan to fight a smarter, more effective war on terror -- and make us safer.

Today, because of George Bush's policy in Iraq, the world is a more dangerous place for America and Americans.

If you share my conviction that we can not go on as we are that we can make America stronger and safer than it is then November 2 is your chance to speak and to be heard. It is not a question of staying the course, but of changing the course.

I'm convinced that with the right leadership, we can create a fresh start and move more effectively to accomplish our goals. Our troops have served with extraordinary courage and commitment. For their sake, and America's sake, we must get this right. We must do everything in our power to complete the mission and make America stronger at home and respected again in the world.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

- John F. Kerry

My favorite pimp lair: A dorm room in Liverpool. The boy in question had 2 twin beds on the floor with lounge pillows, and a long table inbetween which was about 5 inches above the bed. At the end of the room: Mario Karts. Music: David Holmes, ColdKrushCuts, Stone Roses 2nd coming, Bentley Rhythm Ace. On the table was a years supply of Loaded magazines, red wine, other substances & their requisite accessories, Silk Cuts, Marlboros, Cadbury chocolates, Jim Bean, and other snacks. Periodically, the boy (an excellent room accessory in his own right) would get up and make tea and toast, or pour a bubble bath.

I missed a weeks worth of flights to Boston to hang out in that pimp pad.

Not sure what the girl equivalent is - I imagine it involves all the comforts of femininity that boys don't get to put in their own rooms. So... lace? Organza and tulle? Breasts? Most boys I know already have the high thread count sheets and the feather pillows and they keep the place reasonably clean. Theres not a whole lot they don't already got.

I don't think I've ever had a boy make himself at home in my bedroom though. I'm always the type to wander into the kitchen, open the fridge, pour myself a beverage, then plop down on the couch and play with whatevers on the coffee table. Most boys in my house seem to ... stand a lot, look around, point out one or two things they find... interesting, stay for a few hours, then leave. I like it a lot though. I spent an hour or two this AM, Jack curled up in the crook of my arm, watching the sheer curtains ripple in the breeze from the fan. Resembles water over a sand bar as the tide is coming in.

In other news... work, work, work. GRE to schedule. Cats to spay. And the boy? Its fightin' time, kids. Looks like in the weapon of choice in this particular relationship is: SILENCE. May the best man win.

I think I'm in a bad mood. Ivan is gone, leaving clear skies and cool weather. I'm at work, making up time lost studying for the GRE last week. Which, by the way was cancelled due to severe weather conditions. So - I have more time to study, the weathers good.. why the bad mood?

I miss having a partner in crime. Someone to talk with about stupid inane shit, do projects with, do nothing with, take trips with.

I've got a few ideas for getting out the vote on election day. The most feasible one is calling up every club in ATL, and asking them if they'd be willing to stamp hands with the word VOTE on Halloween weekend, and if so, whether they want a VOTE stamp. I've looked at the demographics and the polls and it'll help. Three people could do it in a week for $300.

But I have no partner in crime to make it fun and worth my time.

Bummer.

I've lost my bloggers delight again. Which is too bad, because I'm taking the GRE on Friday and my weak point is the writing. My strategy so far is to pretend I am writing the essay for a Bush supporter... that way I will be very logical and traditional/rhetoric/stupid. I looked at some sample essay topics and they just make me pissed off. Like...

--> Seniority (years of service) should not be the basis of employee compensation. Employees should be promoted and given raises solely on the basis of their work performance and merit. That is a better way to encourage high productivity.

--> The desire of corporations to maximize profits creates conflict with the general welfare of the nation at large.

I've had a look at some guidebooks in the book store, but I haven't studied or done practice tests. I think teaching SAT Math will get me through that section.

Incidentally, its the 20(?) year anniversary of Rappers Delight. Learned that from NPR, which brings me too... Friendster . That little social network app is coming back into play in my life. NPRs doing another show on it, and on social network theory/tech applications. And as of quit recently, the boy is on Friendster, so theres a bit of upheaval in my piddling little network... new blood. I'm tweaking my profile, and not sure what I should put for my relationship status.

I wonder what Friendsters backend looks like... what software they used. I think they changed it recently, they only show you your closest connection to someone, which eliminates the fun of seeing how all your friends are randomly connected to each other through people who are not you.

I wish I could say that I thought it up myself.

William Flynn, a forensic document specialist with 35 years of experience in police crime labs and private practice, said the CBS documents raise suspicions because of their use of proportional spacing techniques. Documents generated by the kind of typewriters that were widely used in 1972 space letters evenly across the page, so that an "i" uses as much space as an "m." In the CBS documents, by contrast, each letter uses a different amount of space.

While IBM had introduced an electric typewriter that used proportional spacing by the early 1970s, it was not widely used in government. In addition, Flynn said, the CBS documents appear to use proportional spacing both across and down the page, a relatively recent innovation. Other anomalies in the documents include the use of the superscripted letters "th" in phrases such as 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Bush's unit.

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9/11, 2001, I'd just come back from London and was staying with my cousin in Greenpoint, looking for an apartment and a job. I woke up around 8:30, went out looking for breakfast, was going to get on the L for manhattan to drop off resumes and follow up with folks. As I looked for a bagel shop, I noticed a weird cloud. It was on the ground, but the sky was otherwise clear blue.

At the bagel shop I got a coffee in an old fashioned plastic cup with a handle and a little saucer base attached to the bottom. The bagels were excellent, and I ordered another. Everyone was speaking polish, and I was watching the old polish geezers flirt with the young trashy waitresses. I started listening to the radio, and they were talking about the towers falling. I listened for a while, then figured it was some sort of war of the worlds thing. I turned to the guy next to me and asked if the report was real, or if it was a joke. He looked at me like I was an asshole and told me it was real. I laughed, said youre kidding, thats crazy, paid and left in a hurry.

For a while, I was kind of hysterically laughing. I called my parents and left messages, laughing, excited, and telling them I was OK, and I called my boyfriend M in London and told him to turn on the TV. He tried to get me to tell him why, and I just told him to turn on the TV. He asked me what was so big that it could be on TV here in North London, and then he turned it on, and we hung up. I went and bought a little camera and some postcards of the skyline and M called back and told me that much as he hated Americans, he felt badly about what was happening. I stayed in greenpoint, going outside, then running back and watching the TV, then going outside, back and forth. I wrote a postcard to my best friend A, who _really_ hates Americans (she spent the day toasting her friends) telling her not to laugh too hard. I stamped it but I never sent it, still got it somewhere.

Around 11 I followed the cloud down to the Williamsburg bridge, I had this idea of going to Manhattan and taking photos. Folks were standing outside on the street with TVs set up on their cars, in crowds, crying. the Williamsburg crowd were sitting on the riverfront near the warehouses.. there were some Japanese kids with a little yip yip dog and a boy with a 'Hunter S Thomas for President' t-shirt.

Down by the bridge, people streaming dusty and shocked off the bridge. Crowds of people looking for buses that wouldn't come, trying to make phone calls. A group of hasidic jews were standing at the base with gallons of water, offering people glasses and a place to sit. Its the only constructive action I saw all day. I took photos, and had strange conversations with people. I picked up some apartment advertisements. I couldn't get over the bridge, I thought to walk to Brooklyn heights, but it was a long walk and instead I wandered back to the river and watched the emergency vehicles flash down FDR drive. I took photos of the aircraft in the sky, and watched little silver fish school by the bank. I felt connected. My tie to the city was real. New York, like any city, like any society, disciplines and demands and deadens, and our investment in it feels more like a need than a choice or a want, but watching the city and its physical infrastructure unravel I felt the intangible city of human connections revealed. Around 4 or 5 I went back to my cousins house. His fiance had been working the fashion convention downtown, and she said that they wouldn't let anyone leave, and were annoyed by the interruption. She and my cousin had a small fight - I think they were too shocked to console each other yet.

I'd hated Guiliani; he saved the day. He saw death and destruction, and yet he ran the city and grieved with us and for us. I'd hated Bush and I still did and I still do. He was the false sympathy of a coward, and smug inside. Bush quoted that Tupac/Bible line about the valley of death, and I thought about the Hasidic jews I'd seen handing out water and Guliani urging tolerance. The 'America Under Attack' logo on the corner of the news screen seemed prematurly polished, but an accurate omen of the branding campaign that was to come. It seemed strange to me that the newscasters spoke of the towers as symbols, and the destruction of the symbol as what was real. Instantly, then methodically, the event would be coopted.

I stayed in Brooklyn for a week, til I found an apartment. For that week we grieved publicly and felt guilty for not doing enough. When I saw a policeman, I looked him in the eye and gave him silent strength and empathy. When a firetruck, or a dump truck rode by us at a restaurant, many of us looked and waved even though there was not much response. The 'lost' shrines at street corners were anti-tombs. Obituaries masked as lists of characteristics to identify loved ones; grief so deep it could not admit permanent loss. I didn't want to leave at the end of the week, but when I got on the Bonanza, I felt such a guilty relief and imagined the other passengers felt the same. It was like walking up the steps to the airplane leaving Saudi - freedom and lightness building with each step, and the urge to scream when I reached the top. As soon as I stepped off the bus in Providence the ground felt more solid underneath my foot and I started crying hysterically. I couldn't walk, and some boys going to a club started consoling me. I was babbling about the towers and they were arguing about whether I was crazy or not. It all seems pretty silly now.

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In other news, um, not a lot going on. I've gotta run to a conference in Lake Lanier where me and my partner in crime are going to harrass a bunch of government regulators.

The boy dropped his phone in the soup (I have a funny mental picture of this) so if he gets my email we may do din din tonight. Also hoping Umbrella is feeling fun tonight.. I need to go out and drink, or something. Had a long conversation with him last night about being boring, feeling bored, having nothing to do. Its hard when you're isolating yourself, you go home after working for 12 hours, and you realize you have no TV, no internet, no DVD player, and NPR has turned into classical music. Nothing to do but call up a friend and talk about being bored.

Uncovering
During this phase the individual becomes aware of the emotional pain that has resulted from a deep, unjust injury. Characteristic feelings of anger or even hatred may be present. As these negative emotions are confronted and the injury is honestly understood, individuals may experience considerable emotional distress. Deciding on the appropriate amount of energy to process this pain and still function effectively is an important consideration during this phase. However, as the anger and other negative emotions are brought out into the open healing can begin to occur.

Decision Phase
The individual now realizes that to continue to focus on the injury and the injurer may cause more unnecessary suffering. The individual begins to understand that a change must occur to go ahead in the healing process. The individual may then experience a " heart conversion" or, in other words, a life change in a positive direction. The individual entertains the idea of forgiveness as a healing strategy. The individual, then, commits to forgiving the injurer who has caused him/her such pain. Complete forgiveness is not yet realized but the injured individual has decided to explore forgiveness and to take initial steps in the direction of full forgiveness. An important first step at this point is to forego any thoughts, feelings or intentions of revenge toward the injurer.

Work Phase
Here the forgiving individual begins the active work of forgiving the injurer. This phase may include new ways of thinking about the injurer. The injured individual may strive to understand the injurer's childhood or put the injurious event in context by understanding the pressures the injurer was under at the time of the offense. This new way of thinking is undertaken not to excuse the injurer of his/her responsibility for the offense, but rather to better understand him/her and to see the injurer as a member of the human community. Often, this new understanding may be accompanied by a willingness to experience empathy and compassion toward the offender. The work phase also includes the heart of forgiveness which is the acceptance of the pain that resulted from the actions of the injurer. This must not be confused with any sense of deserving the pain but rather a bearing of pain that has been unjustly given. As the individual bears the pain, he/she chooses not to pass it on to others,including the injurer. This is often where the challenge of a "quest for the good" is most evident. Indeed, the individual may now become ready to begin to offer goodwill toward the injurer in the form of merciful restraint, generosity, and moral love. This may or may not include a reconciliation. The goodwill may be offered while at the same time taking into consideration current issues of trust and safety in the relationship between the individual and the injurer.

Outcome/Deepening Phase
In this phase the forgiving individual begins to realize that he/she is gaining emotional relief from the process of forgiving his/her injurer. The forgiving individual may find meaning in the suffering that he/she has faced. The emotional relief and new found meaning may lead to increased compassion for self and others. The individual may discover a new purpose in life and an active concern for his/her community. Thus, the forgiver discovers the paradox of forgiveness: as we give to others the gifts of mercy, generosity, and moral love, we ourselves are healed.

1. What it is:

• Moral: It is a response to an injustice (a moral wrong).It is a turning to the "good" in the face of this wrongdoing.
• Goodwill: Merciful restraint from pursuing resentment or revenge.Generosity or offering good things such as: attention, time, remembrances on holidays.
• Moral Love: or contributing to the betterment of the other.
• Paradoxical: It is the foregoing of resentment or revenge when the wrongdoer's actions deserve it and giving the gifts of mercy, generosity and love when the wrongdoer does not deserve them. As we give the gift of forgiveness we ourselves are healed.
• Beyond duty: A freely chosen gift (rather than a grim obligation).The overcoming of wrongdoing with good.

2. What it is not:

• Forgetting/DenialTime passing/ignoring the effects of the wrongdoing.
• Condoning: Nothing that bad happened. It was only this one time. It won't happen again.
• Excusing: The person did this because.....it wasn't really their responsibility.
• Condemning: She/he deserves to know they have wronged me."Forgiving" with a sense of moral superiority.
• Seeking Justice or Compensation: Forgiveness is not a quid pro quo deal--it doesn't demand compensation first.

3. Important Distinction:

• Forgiveness: One person's moral response to another's injustice
• Reconciliation: Two parties coming together in mutual respect

Campaign Snapshot, 9/9:

Electoral Votes: Kerry, 273 Bush, 222

As the race nears the November 2 finishing line, money and manpower will increasingly focus on three large swing states

• Florida, (dead heat)
• Pennsylvania (Kerry, 3 points)
• Ohio (Bush by 11 points)

Popular Vote:

• Newsweek Bush + 11
• Time Bush +9
• Gallup, CNN and USA Today Bush, +1

Smaller Swing States:

• Kerry holds but losing ground in: North Carolina Tennessee Virginia
• Kerry consolidating ground in: Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico Washington

OK. Kerry is down 7-11 points depending on your poll. Questions about Kerry's record, the campaign's focus on Iraq, and fears about terrorism are bad territory for Kerry.

My worries if Bush wins:

1. Flat Tax.
   I think Bush will try to implement a flat tax in a 2nd term. Why?
   - Bush recently indicated that he would be interested in a flat tax.
   - A year or 2 ago, Bush complemented Putin on implementing a %13 flat tax rate in Russia
   - Bremer stuck a %15 flat tax in Iraq's constitution.
   
   Why am I anti? Because income disparity is up (this from looking at the income and poverty data on census.gov) health care coverage is down (again, census.gov) and take a peek at Bush's 2005 cuts to see what sort of things the government will no longer do.
   
2. Privatize Social Security
   Well, to be honest, Social Security is pretty much dead already. The tax cut was not intended to effect the economy, it was a way to force the govt to privatize social security by spending all the money in the 'trust fund'. If only they'd given it back to the people who filled the trust fund, I'd mind less...
   So now Bush is starting to make speeches about privatizing social security - talking about $1000 tax refunds to give people the 'opportunity' to 'own a piece of your health care.' etc. Nevermind that $1000 won't remove your wisdom teeth these days.

Basically, the Bush plan is to increase income disparity, cut government services that enable any household making less than 6 digits a year afford health care, education and college... its a goddamn recipe for disaster.

The fight has begun to shift the dialogue to Bush's own service record and his economic record - the DNC, Washington Post, NYTimes have begun to do this, and there are several books and movies coming out about Bush's past. The debates are coming up, too - but Bush did well in the 2000 debates.

I haven't found out much about the swing states yet. Not sure which states are still considered potential swingers. Obviously I can't do much anywhere except for in FL... I'm just wondering which county is best to register voters in, etc.

My favorite campaign slogan: 'Don't change horses mid-apocalypse.'

In other news, I saw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid last night. Whats the big deal? Two gay bank robbers try to out-queen each other with clever comebacks for two hours, share a woman and a horse, then commit double suicide abandoned and alone in Bolivia. Maybe it was something special in 1967.

GRE is just coming right up and it just keeps on coming and coming and getting closer and closer, like a Hummer with a big Billionnaires for Bush sticker speeding up Ponce de Leon. I kind of look at it from the curb like a practiced jaywalker and wonder whether I should pull the Bostonian - cross one lane, stand on the double line, cross the other lane, and how much do I really want to leave the Local and go to the Clairmont anyhow?

Anyways. I guess I should take 2 days off of work and all, and get some goddamned GRE books. And maybe rein in the social life for the next 10 days just to be safe.

In other news... the boy came back from Burning Womyn. Trust issues to the curb, its nice to have his dusty ass back in town. Spent saturday with his downstairs neighbor, we'll call him CIA. My skitzofrenic cousins stood me up for dinner, (I guess there was a fender bender at Publix followed by a road-rage inspired altercation?) so I invited CIA and Co. over to munch on my nice ginger-mango-salmon dinner. Afterwards we cruised around in his SUV, (we weren't dress code and anyways noone had cash for a cover) and I sat and giggled my ass off while they holla'd at the 'hos' and accused each other of looking for boo-material (ice cold, ice cold) and bitched about george bush. At the end of the night it got really precious... talking about whether they'd ever been licked THERE and whether they'd ever done THAT and...

Always fun to be a fly on the wall on a boys night out and listen to their ridiculous ideas about women. They were shocked when I told them they yes, sometimes a girl does go out at night to get laid, and she's not always the one in the backless pink number with the matching stilletos. And their primary qualifications for boo-material were: intelligent, beautiful, strong, and organized. Organized? Why organized? Funny how they had no clue who the cool girls were. They were just trying and trying and trying for some sort of recognition, a number, a smile, ANYTHING, and (that I saw) happened to talk to 2 worthwhile girls the whole night. And they didn't even recognize which girls were cool/quality/real people and which were not.

Alright. I'm gonna do some work or go get a drink, one or the other.

is not just a river in Egypt. It also runs through Ethiopia! It is also known in parts as 'de Blue Nile.' Here is a picture of the Nile River in Cairo:

What does this have to do with anything? Nothing, nothing, I just thought you might be interested.

Was I supposed to be somewhere at noon today?

In other news, I got up at 7AM this morning! And I didn't dilly-dally all morning, was in by 9! I didn't do the terminator, but I sure did feel like a baddass emotionless cyborg. Almost makes up for not leaving the house til 9PM last night. Aww yeah.

Zell Miller is a traitor. A backstabber. A McCarthyite who thinks 'Wobblies' is a bad word.