it ain't saddam's fault, washington's inability to reform, and the pleasant worker...

bush apparently believes the sectarian problems in iraq are a result of saddam hussein being a nutjob and ruling the way he did. such a statement should be exhibit A for why history needs to be taught properly, and not just american history. if we are going to be obsessed with globalization (and don't get me started on the idiocy of the country with world hegemony obsessing over globalization...it always ends badly...but then, we don't study history, we only memorize when columbus showed up...so how would our leaders figure it out?) we might as well at least educate ourselves on the histories of the people we are going to exploit and eventually allow to pass us. i will never understand why it is so difficult for westerners to understand that these feuds (or whatever you want to call them, feud may be a little weak) are much older than whatever tyrant ruled last. a lot of these countries have fallen into civil war simply because the people within them never wanted to be united in the first place...eastern europe, the middle east, asia, africa, south america...it happens everywhere. european colonization and imperialism forced artificial borders on communities that had no need for them. now, decades and centuries later, those communities are finally able to assert themselves again because european and american interests no longer dictate they be supressed with as much vigor as they were. saddam didn't cause the problems in iraq...the west caused iraq to be made up of groups that had problems with each other.

abramoff got sentenced, but not for his corruption case, for his fraud case. expect his corruption case to mean he spends no more time in prison than the almost 6 years he got for the fraud...afterall, he's snitching. (side note - i wonder if snitching on authority figures is seen as a bad thing in prison...and in a white collar resort prison, will he still have to look out for the shank?). the senate went after lobbying reform in the midst of this. only not really lobbying reform, more like a token in name only effort that won't really change a thing. congress never will effectively address the problem that lobbyists present because it has too much at stake. if the culture of washington were to be reformed, too many of these folks would have to go get real jobs after they messed up the country while in office...and really, nobody wants to work when you can just peddle your influence on the hill. washington can't fix itself...people need to get involved again.

this morning i stopped by the convenience store on the corner to grab a drink and some of grandma's cookies (man i love those sugar-laden beauties). the woman behind the counter seems to be in there every time i go in, and she always seems to have a smile and kind word for me. it is amazing the difference that can make in your day. everyone knows of at least one person with a job like that that still goes out of their way to be pleasant and make you feel welcome. they go above and beyond in a job that most of us would rather starve than do...so to them...thanks.

stupidity, i call it freedom...