Rhetorical Pummeling

Talk, talk and more talk from this side of the aisle and that. They say "resounding success" -- they say "cautionary success". What is it really? Who knows...they don't, we don't, I don't. We will truly have to wait and see. As always, hoping for the best.

Hooray!

Congratulations and best wishes to the Iraqi people! I am happy that Iraqis turned out in force to participate in the election in spite of the violence that was unleashed to dissuade them.

Now, comes the real work. The new government will most likely come under attack both verbally and literally from a variety of sources. Legitimacy will be the first obstacle and will probably rear it's head in the form of a self-disenfranchised Sunni minority. Then there are the continuing attacks by insurgents, which might increase or decrease depending on the aformentioned legitimacy issue. How fast, if at all, will the new goverment demand the pull-out of American troops? Will the Sunnis be invited to help shape the new constitution, which the newly elected assembly is tasked to write? Oh so many questions...I truly hope for the best, but with this administration, I am not counting on it.

Derision and Dobson

I know most of this has blown over, but I think the whole Dobson/SpongBob controversy will have lasting effects, much to the annoyance of the good Reverend. As Keith Olbermann accurately states: "Dobson came across as a nut job..."

What this does is give ammo to anyone who wants to shoot down Dobson or Focus on the Family whenever they want to make an issue of something in the future. He has made himself, and his group, an object of ridicule. If Dobson pompously struts around proclaiming that homosexuality is akin to pedophilia, all you have to do is say "SPONGEBOB, BOO!" Credibility and respect instantly vanish, not that there was much there in the first place.

A Dispensable Nation

Wow, this essay by Michael Lind is one of those rare expositions that take you out of the small sphere of your life and shows you the world en masse. Too often we will focus on and obsess over individual events or problems in the world and miss the bigger picture -- the veritable "...can't see the forest for the trees..." syndrome. Lind's piece shows you what is going on around us (America) in the world and either we don't notice or don't care, neither of which is good.

Voter Turnout

I find it interesting and ironic that in war-torn and violence-filled Iraq, officials are estimating a voter turnout nearly as high as in the peaceful USA. Kudos to the Iraqis if they meet expectations in the midst of such awful conditions.

Odd Headline

According to MSNBC via Reuters, "Gibson, Moore snubbed by Oscars". It seems being nominated for three academy awards (makeup, cinematography, score) is considered a snubbing for Gibson. Seems kind of odd to me. Meanwhile, Moore received no oscar nominations after pulling his movie from the documentary category. The oppressive, liberal hollywood attacks again.

It's also amusing that the Freepers, after bashing Gibson about his apparent "kinship" with Moore, are fuming that Gibson wasn't given the nod in more categories, particularly Best Director and Best Picture.