"That [withdrawl], of course, is an objective. And that will be decided by future presidents and future governments of Iraq."
-G.W. Bush, 21 March 2006
Today George Bush finally admitted that he has no withdrawl plan and that our troops will be something for "future presidents and future governments of Iraq" to deal with. Not that this comes as a surprise to any of you, but I wanted you to be aware so that this one doesn't fall through the cracks like the rest of this administration's lies and deceit.
This year you will all be faced with congressional elections in your area. Please pay attention to these elections. Bush is only empowered because the majority of the government, essentially, plays for his team. WE MUST PUT A MORE RESPONSIBLE MAJORITY IN POWER! Don't pay too close attention to the empty words spouted by both sides. Pay attention to what that person has been doing for the past 6 years. If you have ANY questions about a person running in your district, please write me and I will put together whatever research on them I can. You all have your own concerns, your own personal values, and your own desires for who you would like to see lead our country so the best thing I can do for my country at this point is help my family and friends make their own informed decisions. Please, I beg you, vote and know who you are voting for.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Sunday, March 19, 2006
We have to do something soon...
I found this story today. I'm not crazy, guys... this is really happening. My children's children will still be dealing with the consequnces of all of this... I'm trying to change things for them...
By NEDRA PICK
Associated Press
President Bush marked the anniversary of the
Iraq war Sunday by touting the efforts to build democracy there and avoiding any mention of the daily violence that rages three years after he ordered an invasion.
The president didn't utter the word "war."
"We are implementing a strategy that will lead to victory in Iraq," the president assured a public that is increasingly skeptical that he has a plan to end the fighting after the deaths of more than 2,300 U.S. troops.
Administration officials repeated the mantra that progress continues toward building a unified Iraqi government and nation.
"Now is the time for resolve, not retreat," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld wrote in a column for The Washington Post. "Turning our backs on postwar Iraq today would be the modern equivalent of handing postwar Germany back to the Nazis."
Yet there were acknowledgments from the top commander of U.S. forces in Iraq that the situation is fragile and that he did not predict the strength of the insurgency.
"I did not think it would be as robust as it has been," Gen. George W. Casey said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "And it's something that, obviously, with my time here on the ground, my thinking on that has gained much greater clarity and insight."
Bush did not mention the insurgent attacks, the car bombs or the mounting Iraqi deaths in a two-minute statement to reporters outside the White House after returning from a weekend at Camp David. Avoiding the word "war," he called the day "the third anniversary of the beginning of the liberation of Iraq."
The president only indirectly referred to the violence when he said he spent the morning reflecting on the sacrifices made by U.S. troops. Bush said he spoke by phone earlier in the day with the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, and had received a positive report.
The White House is trying to remind the disapproving public of Bush's vision for Iraq with a public relations blitz. The president plans to give a series of speeches on Iraq, beginning Monday in Cleveland.
More than three-fourths of the public thinks it's likely that Iraq is headed toward civil war, according to an AP-Ipsos poll taken in early March.
And two-thirds of Americans say the U.S. is losing ground in preventing civil war in Iraq, according to a Pew Research Center poll taken in the same period. That's up from 48 percent in January.
On Sunday, Vice President
Dick Cheney did not express any regret for predicting in the days before the invasion that U.S. troops would be greeted as liberators or his assessment 10 months ago that the insurgency was in its "last throes." On the contrary, he said the optimistic statements "were basically accurate, reflect reality."
Like Bush, Cheney touted the political progress in Iraq, pointing out that the Iraqis have met the political deadlines set for them and predicting they will form a unified government "shortly."
In an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation," Cheney flatly rejected a statement made earlier Sunday by Iraq's former interim prime minister that the increasing attacks killing dozens each day across his country can only be described as a civil war. "If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is," Ayad Allawi told the British Broadcasting Corp.
Instead, Cheney described the violence as the actions of terrorists who have "reached a stage of desperation."
"What we've seen is a serious effort by them to foment a civil war," Cheney said. "But I don't think they've been successful."
Cheney blamed the negative perception on news coverage of the daily violence instead of the progress being made toward democracy.
"There is a constant sort of perception, if you will, that's created because what's newsworthy is the car bomb in Baghdad," the vice president said. "It's not all the work that went on that day in 15 other provinces."
White House critics bemoaned the fact that the third anniversary of fighting ever came to pass and accused the Bush administration of incompetence.
"By any measure, in my view, we're worse off in Iraq today than we were a year ago," Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., said on CNN's "Late Edition." He cited increased deaths and violence, incomplete government services and a long path to building a consensus government.
Rumsfeld urged Americans to continue supporting the fight and said he believes history will show that the terrorists were defeated. Meanwhile, his detractors issued another round of criticism and calls for his resignation.
In a New York Times column, retired Gen. Paul D. Eaton, who was in charge of training the Iraqi military from 2003-2004, called the defense secretary "incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically, and is far more responsible for what has happened to our important mission in Iraq. Mr. Rumsfeld must step down."
Nearly three years ago Bush announced the end to major combat in Iraq.
Last week, U.S. forces launched Operation Swarmer, described by the
Pentagon as the biggest air assault since April 2003. However, Casey said Sunday that he wouldn't categorize Swarmer as a major combat operation, noting that other operations had used far more troops.
"It was an operation to go out into an almost uninhabited area," Casey said. "I think, frankly, it got a little bit more hype than it really deserved because of the use of the helicopters to get the Iraqi and the coalition forces there."
By NEDRA PICK
Associated Press
President Bush marked the anniversary of the
Iraq war Sunday by touting the efforts to build democracy there and avoiding any mention of the daily violence that rages three years after he ordered an invasion.
The president didn't utter the word "war."
"We are implementing a strategy that will lead to victory in Iraq," the president assured a public that is increasingly skeptical that he has a plan to end the fighting after the deaths of more than 2,300 U.S. troops.
Administration officials repeated the mantra that progress continues toward building a unified Iraqi government and nation.
"Now is the time for resolve, not retreat," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld wrote in a column for The Washington Post. "Turning our backs on postwar Iraq today would be the modern equivalent of handing postwar Germany back to the Nazis."
Yet there were acknowledgments from the top commander of U.S. forces in Iraq that the situation is fragile and that he did not predict the strength of the insurgency.
"I did not think it would be as robust as it has been," Gen. George W. Casey said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "And it's something that, obviously, with my time here on the ground, my thinking on that has gained much greater clarity and insight."
Bush did not mention the insurgent attacks, the car bombs or the mounting Iraqi deaths in a two-minute statement to reporters outside the White House after returning from a weekend at Camp David. Avoiding the word "war," he called the day "the third anniversary of the beginning of the liberation of Iraq."
The president only indirectly referred to the violence when he said he spent the morning reflecting on the sacrifices made by U.S. troops. Bush said he spoke by phone earlier in the day with the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, and had received a positive report.
The White House is trying to remind the disapproving public of Bush's vision for Iraq with a public relations blitz. The president plans to give a series of speeches on Iraq, beginning Monday in Cleveland.
More than three-fourths of the public thinks it's likely that Iraq is headed toward civil war, according to an AP-Ipsos poll taken in early March.
And two-thirds of Americans say the U.S. is losing ground in preventing civil war in Iraq, according to a Pew Research Center poll taken in the same period. That's up from 48 percent in January.
On Sunday, Vice President
Dick Cheney did not express any regret for predicting in the days before the invasion that U.S. troops would be greeted as liberators or his assessment 10 months ago that the insurgency was in its "last throes." On the contrary, he said the optimistic statements "were basically accurate, reflect reality."
Like Bush, Cheney touted the political progress in Iraq, pointing out that the Iraqis have met the political deadlines set for them and predicting they will form a unified government "shortly."
In an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation," Cheney flatly rejected a statement made earlier Sunday by Iraq's former interim prime minister that the increasing attacks killing dozens each day across his country can only be described as a civil war. "If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is," Ayad Allawi told the British Broadcasting Corp.
Instead, Cheney described the violence as the actions of terrorists who have "reached a stage of desperation."
"What we've seen is a serious effort by them to foment a civil war," Cheney said. "But I don't think they've been successful."
Cheney blamed the negative perception on news coverage of the daily violence instead of the progress being made toward democracy.
"There is a constant sort of perception, if you will, that's created because what's newsworthy is the car bomb in Baghdad," the vice president said. "It's not all the work that went on that day in 15 other provinces."
White House critics bemoaned the fact that the third anniversary of fighting ever came to pass and accused the Bush administration of incompetence.
"By any measure, in my view, we're worse off in Iraq today than we were a year ago," Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., said on CNN's "Late Edition." He cited increased deaths and violence, incomplete government services and a long path to building a consensus government.
Rumsfeld urged Americans to continue supporting the fight and said he believes history will show that the terrorists were defeated. Meanwhile, his detractors issued another round of criticism and calls for his resignation.
In a New York Times column, retired Gen. Paul D. Eaton, who was in charge of training the Iraqi military from 2003-2004, called the defense secretary "incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically, and is far more responsible for what has happened to our important mission in Iraq. Mr. Rumsfeld must step down."
Nearly three years ago Bush announced the end to major combat in Iraq.
Last week, U.S. forces launched Operation Swarmer, described by the
Pentagon as the biggest air assault since April 2003. However, Casey said Sunday that he wouldn't categorize Swarmer as a major combat operation, noting that other operations had used far more troops.
"It was an operation to go out into an almost uninhabited area," Casey said. "I think, frankly, it got a little bit more hype than it really deserved because of the use of the helicopters to get the Iraqi and the coalition forces there."
Birthday wishes...
I recently submitted an abstract for a paper that may actually be accepted for publication. Here is a copy if you're interested. I'm going to have to make that into a 10 to 20 page paper as soon as the semester is over. So, to write this paper, I'm going to have to get ahold of more resources... enter my birthday wish. I could really use a copy of the illustrated script to write the paper. It can be found here on Amazon. There is also a book called Alchemy of Mirrormask that would be useful, but not as useful as the script. If someone does get this for me, please don't have Amazon send it straight to me... I'd get nabbed for $10 or $15 worth of customs charges if it came straight from Amazon... happens to Thomas all the time.
Cheers...
Cheers...
A New Hope...
Morning everyone... I had a decent weekend and am trying to get myself in gear to get some work done. The upside of being burnt out is that I haven't really been to school for the past three weekends... the downside... well, I'll get back to you on that after grades are posted. Went out for St. Pat's on Friday with all of the architecture folk. I've saved enough food money by eating cheap and getting groceries at the food bank that I had an extra $20 to go out on. Turns out that's enough if you haven't slept in a couple of days or eaten more than a bagel that day. Good times. Yesterday I splurged a few more bucks and went to see a movie... in a theater! It's been months since I've been to a movie. I went to see V for Vendetta and I highly recommend that you see it. It's a fantastic movie! As for today, I figure once I get the rest of the dishes done (I've at least done something productive this morning), some laundry put away and my apartment cleaned up I'll head to school to do some work.
As for my new hope, I am reading this morning that the world-over, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in cities across the globe to voice their objection to America's flagrant disregard for human rights, civil rights, and what is generally referred to as common decency. It actually moved me that our government has inspired the world to come together as one... albeit against us. As frightening a thought a it may be, every major cultural change in human civilization has happened by way of conflict and our country just may provide that conflict - that enemy - which changes things for the better this time. It takes something bad to make people want to change to good. It's hard to think of our country as the "bad guys," but if you ask someone outside of the great plains, we are.
I was walking down the street the other day thinking about the day World War II ended and the pictures I've seen of the celebrations that took place. I was saddened that we will never get to celebrate the end of this "war" because it's not real and will never end as long as the government continues to tells us it is real. I want to celebrate the end of a war. I want to take to the streets with thousands of other people overjoyed that the senseless killing has ended. We will never get that opportunity, I'm afraid, because we're not really at war. "Terrorism" has existed since long before modernity and always will. "Terrorism," before the White House got ahold of the term, has been a term used by larger forces to describe smaller forces' guerilla actions against them. It's a political term... that's all. It's nothing new guys. We are not at war, we are in a fight... that we started. I'm not saying there aren't people out there who want to hurt Americans. I'm not saying that there aren't people killing my brothers overseas. I'm saying that your government has spent trillions of dollars... let's do that again, but in bold print... trillions of dollars to create a conflict. The only chance I have of taking to the streets will be when this fascist US regime is overthrown. Problem is, I'm afraid the rest of the celebrants will be inside watching TV and I'll be out there alone. Mark my words, I will dance in the streets if this evil is removed from power. I will yell and shout and scream in joy the same way they did when WWII ended... I'll be looking for you.
As for my new hope, I am reading this morning that the world-over, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in cities across the globe to voice their objection to America's flagrant disregard for human rights, civil rights, and what is generally referred to as common decency. It actually moved me that our government has inspired the world to come together as one... albeit against us. As frightening a thought a it may be, every major cultural change in human civilization has happened by way of conflict and our country just may provide that conflict - that enemy - which changes things for the better this time. It takes something bad to make people want to change to good. It's hard to think of our country as the "bad guys," but if you ask someone outside of the great plains, we are.
I was walking down the street the other day thinking about the day World War II ended and the pictures I've seen of the celebrations that took place. I was saddened that we will never get to celebrate the end of this "war" because it's not real and will never end as long as the government continues to tells us it is real. I want to celebrate the end of a war. I want to take to the streets with thousands of other people overjoyed that the senseless killing has ended. We will never get that opportunity, I'm afraid, because we're not really at war. "Terrorism" has existed since long before modernity and always will. "Terrorism," before the White House got ahold of the term, has been a term used by larger forces to describe smaller forces' guerilla actions against them. It's a political term... that's all. It's nothing new guys. We are not at war, we are in a fight... that we started. I'm not saying there aren't people out there who want to hurt Americans. I'm not saying that there aren't people killing my brothers overseas. I'm saying that your government has spent trillions of dollars... let's do that again, but in bold print... trillions of dollars to create a conflict. The only chance I have of taking to the streets will be when this fascist US regime is overthrown. Problem is, I'm afraid the rest of the celebrants will be inside watching TV and I'll be out there alone. Mark my words, I will dance in the streets if this evil is removed from power. I will yell and shout and scream in joy the same way they did when WWII ended... I'll be looking for you.
Friday, March 17, 2006
My latest works of boredom...
I've been at school alot lately... brain gets kinda mushy so you need to excercise it sometimes. This week I painted a painting to put in an art auction. It's called 03/03/06 - Today I found Jesus in my paint pan. It really is a paint pan with black ink spot. The other is a mannequin head we've been working on in studio for awhile. It has a note that used to say "So Lonely, So Bored" but now has "Architecture is Great!" scratched over the old note in marker. The note's held on by two glue-filled syringes and a masonry nail. I don't know exactly how the balloon ended up in his eye but so it goes. We're having open house for high school kiddies later today so I slipped it into the show amongst all the other of this school's "finest." Heh heh... Wonder how long it'll stay? Anyway, it's been another long week... long weekend to come. I have mid-project reviews today and have alot of drawing to do before then so I'm off to finish that. Until next time...
03/03/06 - Today I Found Jesus in My Paint Pan
w e l c o m e
t o
a r c h i t e c t u r e
03/03/06 - Today I Found Jesus in My Paint Pan
w e l c o m e
t o
a r c h i t e c t u r e
Monday, March 13, 2006
Got my letter!
Well, it turns out I'll be getting a full ride to school next year plus a couple hundred a month for books or whatever! I was amongst the top 20 applicants (almost all came from Carleton... I'm one of a couple from outside of Carleton who were offered jobs) out of about 150 and am being offered admission with a full-time teaching assistant position and a $3500 for-the-heck-of-it scholarship. So I worked out funds for April and funds for next year... if I can get through this summer I just may be set! Ok, I'm running late for class... gotta run.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
...but I feel much better now!
I was right... today, a.k.a. tomorrow, is different. I am starting to feel the strain of burnout... I think being stuck in one place without a break is getting to me. When I used to get to this point, I'd hop in my car and drive to see family. Now when I get to this point... well... I sit in my same chair a different way and just keep on working. I can't wait until I have money to travel... I need to get out of this place for a few days! Anyway, I'm alright and going to school to write a paper. Wish me luck... and thanks for the words of encouragement, Mom... I love you.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Burnout blues...
Some days I wish I were the type of man who can quit. Oh well, tomorrow will be different...
Monday, March 06, 2006
Sometimes you need say no more...
I talk about going to [Bush's] inaguration and standing there crying when he took the oath because I was so afraid he would 'wreck the economy' and 'muck up the drinking water.' I mean, the failure of my pessimistic imagination at that moment boggles my mind.
-Sarah Vowell, Journalist, to The Daily Show's John Stewart
-Sarah Vowell, Journalist, to The Daily Show's John Stewart
Thursday, March 02, 2006
No I shall not starve!
I did it! I applied for and received a bursary to cover my expenses for the month of April! Oh my god I can't tell you how relieved I was to get that letter today. I was nervous because I submitted an application for this same bursary a few weeks ago and it was denied. My request wasn't nearly as elegant before though... didn't put the same thought and effort (and desperation) into it that I did this one. So, now I just need to find a job. I met an architect at a wine and cheese I snuck into the other night and we talked for a bit. He told me to send him a portfolio, but that really means nothing in this profession. So I spent my day tweaking my resume and getting my portfolio straight online and sent him everything tonight. Again, here's to hope...
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