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July 30, 2004
People who love Marines
Aw...the Marine Corps Moms posted a photo and descriptions of themselves. What pretty ladies! They also have a terrific blog. Most of the links are related in some way to the military or to Iraq, and they're really informative—in other words, not just for other USMC moms.
They're attending a Marine Parents Convention this weekend—if I had heard about it before, I might have tried to join them. Well, instead I'll be driving down to enjoy a relaxing visit with a friend in Virginia. Blogging (as such) will recommence on Monday.
Posted by Carla at 10:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Michael Moore is a vile pig
I—unfortunately—just caught a bit of Michael Moore on with Jay Leno. Leno, who made some good jokes back on the eve of the war, disgusted me with his fawning. He mentioned that there were some parts in the film that, "you're just like, 'well, that doesn't seem quite right,' but it starts dialogue!"
Moore responds, saying, "yeah, the American public wants intelligent entertainment [I think]."
Might I remind you that, just a few posts below, I pointed out that Moore called Americans "the dumbest people on the planet"? Now that they're seeing his movie in record numbers—and he's getting rich—I guess it might be smart to stoke those stupid Americans' egos, huh Mike?
Ok, I'm done. As long as he doesn't do anything (else) truly egregious, I'm done with him.
Update 8/3/04:
Don at Anger Management identifies the fallacy that Leno extolled above: the Worship of Mental Meandering.
Posted by Carla at 12:25 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Ukraine plans troop withdrawal
Darn, the Ukrainians are leaving. Apparently, it's because of increased violence in Iraq.
Well, I have a pretty high opinion of Ukrainian soldiers; Alex got to know some of them personally, and like them a lot. And as of July 13, they had the fifth largest number of troops in Iraq, at 1,700. So, I think it's a shame that they're leaving.
This also further proves that "increased violence" can cause the withdrawal of troops by European countries, bolstering the terrorists' sense of efficacy, no doubt. They're hurting themselves, too.
Posted by Carla at 12:15 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 29, 2004
From a different angle
To get more to the substance of the article I referred to in the post below, Blackfive writes about his personal experience with Doctors Without Borders:
The SF Soldiers devised a way to have the Kurdish mothers help with the medical care of their children. The DWB doctors did not want to show the Kurdish women how to care for the sick because they had been threatened by the fathers. In Kurdish culture, the husband/father must teach the wife/mother how to do everything. No one else is allowed to teach her - if you tried, you would probably get shot or stabbed. And the DWB doctors would rather let the children die than address the problem of having the mothers learn to prevent and stop Cholera.
Posted by Carla at 05:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Mo' media, mo' problems
Charles at lgf points out Reuters' sloppy journalism:
...concluding [the article] with this blatant editorializing, calling on unnamed “commentators” and “political analysts” who always seem to back up the al-Reuters editorial slant:"Many commentators question the wisdom of pushing ahead with the vote with stability so fragile, but political analysts say the U.S. administration needs a foreign policy success story ahead of President Bush’s re-election bid in November."
Indeed, who are these "commentators" and "political analysts"? It's all well and good to ask people of this ilk to comment on an incident, but their input should be phrased in the form of,
John Doe of XYZ institute commented, "direct quote."
My college newspaper's guidelines on the subject were very clear, and we were held to this standard. Why isn't a huge, ostensibly well-respected organization doing the same?
Posted by Carla at 04:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Helping out
There's a great website called Books For Soldiers that allows soldiers (and sailors, airmen, and Marines) to post requests for books, magazines, or even just letters. It provides specific points of contact to get around the fact that the "Any Soldier" program was disbanded.
I picked up about nine books at Goodwill the other day--Grisham, Koontz, even Dickens--for just 25 cents each. I'll be stuffing them in light bubble envelopes filled with other small goodies, and sending them off to those in Iraq and Afghanistan for whom getting mail is the highlight of their day.
You know, just trying to lead by example.
Posted by Carla at 10:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
You do your thing, I'll do mine
A description of the goings-on outside the DNC in today's Best of the Web:
The Agony of the FeetThe next day, the pantomime Gongsters are gone from Copley Square. In their place are shoes--thousands and thousands of shoes. Multitudes of boots are arranged carefully on the lawn, with a sign explaining, "These 907 pairs of boots represent the U.S. soldiers killed in the Iraq war." Then there's a sloppy pile of shoes with another sign: "These 1,000 pairs of shoes represent a small fraction of the estimated 16,000 Iraqis killed in the war."
There are no million shoes for Saddam Hussein's Iraqi, Iranian and Kuwaiti victims; only his American victims seem to matter, and only those Iraqis killed in connection with a U.S. military intervention. Come to think of it, there also are no 3,000 pairs of shoes for those who died at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon--even though the group sponsoring this display styles itself Sept. 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows.
We approach a middle-aged man of ample girth, who seems to be in charge. "How many shoes do you have for Saddam Hussein's victims?" we ask.
He stands silent, facing us. He seems to be staring us down, but we have no way of knowing for sure, as he's wearing sunglasses, even though the day is overcast. Finally, after perhaps 15 seconds, he breaks the silence:
"Shame on you," he says.
He explains that his group has simply chosen--arbitrarily, if we understand him correctly--to highlight the U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians killed in the liberation. He offers an analogy: "There are books that are written about one thing, there are books that are written about other things."
We persist: Saddam's victims don't count unless they're American?
"Somebody else is dealing with that."
We point to the shoes representing the fallen soldiers: "Yeah, these guys are dealing with that."
Whereupon he says: "It saddens me deeply to see the anger in your face." And we suppose he has a point. We are ticked off at just that moment. There's something especially despicable about those who exploit the memories of American soldiers to further the false claim that they died for an unjust cause.
(Via Marine Corps Moms.
Posted by Carla at 10:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 28, 2004
Other points about the interview
My brother asked: Why didn't O'Reilly just pin Moore down? "So, you don't understand the difference between a mistake and a lie?"
In his commentary after the interview, O'Reilly did remark that no matter how much evidence you put in front of a Bush-hater, you will never get them to admit that he did not lie.
Posted by Carla at 01:46 AM | Comments (0)
July 27, 2004
The new and improved! obligatory Michael Moore post: part 3
I can't believe how incredibly boring the Michael Moore interview on the O'Reilly Factor was tonight. I was hoping for some real fireworks. I often don't agree with O'Reilly, and some of his challenges to his interviewees are trivial and petty, but I was hoping for something of substance tonight. O'Reilly brought up the requisite "Bush wasn't lying about WMDs, he just had bad information," and suggested the Moore apologize for calling Bush a liar, but of course Moore didn't.
Moore's requirement for agreeing to the interview was that he had to be able to ask O'Reilly questions, too. He reiterated one of the greatest fallacies he perpetuated in his film, asking O'Reilly,
"Would you send your children to fight in Fallujah?"
O'Reilly responded, completely appropriately, by saying that he wouldn't speak for "children," but would give his own life to fight in Iraq. Bravo, O'Reilly.
But Moore kept going, insisting that Bush had sent people's children to fight in Iraq. This is but a continuation of the "point" he "made" in his movie, when he went to Congressmen asking them to sign their kids up for military service.
But, as they will tell you, the men and women who serve in the military are most assuredly not children. Moreover, their parents did not enlist them in the military—they volunteered (many times, I'm sure, against their parents' wishes).
It's easy enough to believe that Moore has so completely bought into the Left's concept of groupthink that he can't imagine anyone having the desire to protect their country, at the direction of whoever is Commander in Chief. The truth is that no parent signs his son up for war, the son—and this is why the military has a minimum age requirement—is considered an independent, adult individual, capable of making decisions for himself. In Fahrenheit 9/11, when Moore approaches senators and representatives asking them to enlist their children in the military, the Congressmen (if, indeed, they had any children of age), were appropriately bewildered; they could no more conceive of signing their adult children up for med school or mechanic training—because that is the son or daughter's decision to make, not the parents'.
I think Moore is entirely aware of this. I think his motivation for framing his requests in the film, and his question to O'Reilly, is much more sinister. Moore is attempting emotional manipulation of the worst kind, trying to evoke the image of unsuspecting children who know no better than to blindly follow the orders of an authority figure. Rather than resorting to the Vietnam-era stereotype of soldiers as babykillers—which, Moore realizes, would turn opinion against him—he instead paints a picture of innocents being marched to their deaths by a lying liar. This, Moore realizes, will gain him points with parents who do have sons and daughters in the military—like the sobbing woman in his movie.
This is what is wrong with Moore, and what is wrong with his so-called "documentary." Rather than using reason, rather than examining the facts and arriving at logical conclusions, he preys on the emotions of his audience, whether it is evoking sympathy for those who have suffered the deaths of their loved ones, or whether it is inciting the rage that is the knee-jerk reaction of Bush-hating leftists.*
It's insulting, really. Of course, it's probably just a manifestation of Moore's opinions of Americans, whom he once called "the dumbest people on the planet."
Moore figures that he can get away with duping (by glossing over or outright lying about the facts, plus employing emotional manipulation) the people who are making him rich,** hoping that they won't ever realize that he, in fact, is the liar.
*Not all leftists are Bush-haters, or have knee-jerk reactions—the people I'm referring to here are limited specifically to those who despise Bush in a reactionary way.
**I, of course, went to see the movie, and I paid for the ticket to the right movie and everything. The reason I did this was in part because a friend convinced me that I could do more opining against the film than by withholding my measly $7. Furthermore, though I'm aware that there are free copies on the internet, I did not avail myself of one because, even though Moore apparently said that he was happy to have an audience viewing bootlegged versions, there is a whole production company that put up a lot of money to finance the film, and I'm sure they would not agree with Moore's invitation to view pirated copies of the film. Stealing, even from someone you hate, is wrong.
Posted by Carla at 10:05 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 26, 2004
The obligatory Michael Moore post: part 2
Army Spc. Joe Roche descibes how Farenheit 9/11, now making the rounds overseas, is having a "devastating" effect on troop morale:
Some of these soldiers are darn right ashamed tonight to be American soldiers, to have been apart of this whole mission in Iraq, and are angry over all that Moore has presented in his film.We know this is all based on Moore's lies and deceptions. But we, I'm afraid, are a minority. Right now, just days away from what should be a proud and happy return from 15 months of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom, your U.S. soldiers are coming back ashamed and hurt because of Moore's work.
I can't describe how angry this makes me. I saw the damned movie in order to blog about it, decided that it wasn't worth my time especially considering the wide variety of rebuttal and critiques available on the 'net, but now I'm going back towards blogging about it. For now, I'll say that I never had a high opinion of Moore, and after I saw the film, I can only describe him as despicable. The film was overwhelming deceitful and manipulative, and I'm ashamed that someone as anti-American as Moore took advantage of the freedoms afforded by this country in order to smear its good name.
Spc. Roche, however, took a proactive approach and distributed copies of the Independence Instittute's rebuttal of the movie widely among U.S. troops in Kuwait. Hoo-ah!
Posted by Carla at 03:29 PM | Comments (0)
Coconut chicken and rice
I'm finally getting to the food blogging I mentioned on Friday. I went to have dinner with a friend in Philly, and we each made a recipe that we had enjoyed in the past. She made these absolutely delicious lime cilantro sweet potatoes (sweet potatoes aren't in season and are hard to find, so she used yams instead). I made this coconut chicken recipe; we realized when we were serving ourselves that having rice and sweet potatoes side by side is a little heavy on the carb-loading, but we're both pretty anti-Atkins, and we had a simple mixed green salad on the side.
Here is the chicken and rice as I plated it from the leftovers the next day:
There's not much contrast among the main ingredients of the recipe, so I garnished with fresh cilantro, heavily toasted (ok, burned) coconut, and a dusting of cayenne (beware, cayenne is the spicy kind!). This recipe is from Real Simple magazine's article on making food for potlucks, so I halved the original eight-serving recipe. I really like this recipe as is; the only change I made this time was to subsitute chicken tenders for the chicken breasts in an attempt to shorten cooking time, but even so the pan had to go back into the oven (minus the chicken) to finish cooking the rice.
One of the most successful dinner party meals I ever made included this chicken. The menu was:
Appetizer: Jalapeno pickled shrimp
Main course: Coconut chicken and rice and mango tomato salad
Dessert: Double chocolate torte with orange glaze and tropical fruit salad with lime syrup
The recipe for the coconut chicken follows.
8 boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp cayenne
zest and juice from two limes
3 cups uncooked basmati rice
2 cups chicken stock (I usually use broth)
1 14-oz can coconut milk
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut
Heat oven to 325 F. Spray 13-by-9-inch baking dish with Pam, or similar. Wash chicken breasts and pat dry; sprinkle with garlic, cayenne, and lime zest, and set aside. Pour rice into baking dish. Combine stock or broth, coconut milk, lime juice, cilantro, and salt and pour onto rice. Arrange chicken on top. Cover with foil and bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and rice is tender.
Remove foil, sprinkle flaked coconut on top, and bake 5 minutes more, until coconut is lightly browned.
Posted by Carla at 02:49 PM | Comments (1)
July 23, 2004
Blog surfing
While I'm normally pretty obsessive about checking out my top daily blogs, whenever Alex is out of touch for an extended period of time (like right now), my blog surfing goes up even more, with a heavy leaning toward military-related blogs. Though there may be some advantages to not being strongly connected to the military community (namely, that a semblance of normality is preserved in my daily life), it can also be pretty lonely. I have great real-life friends, but little desire to allow complaining to drag down any conversation with them. So, reading military blogs and books gives me a sense of being connected to Alex and what his life is like.
On of my newest favorites is My War--Fear and Loathing in Iraq, written by a soldier stationed in Iraq for the last ten months.
[Update: CBFTW has a great post called Mail Call, and the comments there make it even better--a fascinating, and civil, discussion of females in the military. Read it, it's awesome.]
Another, that I've been reading for quite a while (hence his place in my sidebar), is Sgt. Hook, who is currently deployed to Afghanistan.
How these two brave men find the energy to do the amount and quality of blogging that they put out escapes me. I'm unemployed (but searching!), and I don't always even have the energy to link. But they're like lifelines for me; even when I'm able to talk to Alex, he basically can't tell me anything about what he's doing, so I go elsewhere to get even the tiniest glimpse of what that life is like.
There are lots more out there, and at some point I'll get around to listing more of them. At the moment, however, I have to run to the grocery store to assemble a delicious dish for dinner and a movie with my best friend. Stay tuned for food blogging!
Update: Alex called this morning! There's a big smile on my face.
Posted by Carla at 01:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 22, 2004
Southwestern tofu wrap
I'm not a vegetarian, but I have been eating less and less meat and poultry, mostly because I'm following Dr. Fuhrman's "Eat to Live" plan. Also, I'm really enjoying the lack of extra preparation that meat requires. I'll probably make more complex meals when Alex gets back, but cooking for one just isn't that much fun.
I did a search on Epicurious for "vegetarian," and it came up with this recipe. I've never really prepared or eaten tofu except incidentally, but I love lime and southwestern flavors, so I thought I'd try this.
This is the sandwich as it looked today when I made it for lunch, with leftovers from last night. Obviously, this is a whole-wheat pita, not a tortilla, but toasted up it was plenty yummy. A few other changes I made: I didn't have fresh cilantro (which would have been delish), so I used dried; I added a good pinch of cayenne pepper and extra lime; today I added chopped tomatoes to the mix, plus half a shallot. There are many potential variations on this easy, light dish, many of which are suggested in the reviews on the website. This will definitely become a standard for me, because it's so easy to throw together, and has got everything you could want: lots of flavor, protein, veggies, whole grains, and portability. I love eating food that tastes good and yet is so, virtuously healthy.
A tofu tip for the wary: draining well and crumbling up the tofu (which, I've discovered, I even like cold and plain) is vital. It doesn't make it feel like meat, but it takes away any trace of slick sliminess that tofu might otherwise have.
Posted by Carla at 03:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
"Discrimination" and economics
Thomas Sowell on The Grand Fallacy: Equating Male-Female Differences in Salary with Discrimination:
People without the slightest knowledge of economics or the slightest experience running a business will boldly assert that women are paid only 75 percent -- or some other percent -- of what men make for doing exactly the same work.Think about it. If an employer could hire four women for the price of hiring three men, why would he ever hire men at all?
Posted by Carla at 01:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Philly events
How much do I want to go to these?
August 6th: For the Common Defense: Tommy Franks on War in the 21st Century
September 11th: Toby Keith at the Tweeter Center
Anybody want to go? Anyone?
...Bueller?
Posted by Carla at 11:39 AM | Comments (2)
From the blogosphere, to my doorstep
The news is out here, here, here, here, here, and elsewhere.
There are some Marines from this unit who aren't in Iraq right now. If they want to throw a party for these thieves, I'll host.
Posted by Carla at 09:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Objectivity and the media
A couple of weeks ago, I pointed out how two different news outlets had two opposite headlines about the same story. That started a short conversation about media bias, but it got me thinking. In particular, I wanted to respond to this part of Lillie's comment:
What sort of objectivity are they trying to reach, exactly? If it's stories consisting of well-supported facts that avoid actual editorializing within the story, that's certainly an attainable goal, but if it's wholly unbiased coverage -- which seems to me the obvious defintition of "objective" -- then it seems that newspapers don't truly strive for that at all -- see headline example above. I know my political bias affects my headline writing [...] The professor said Europeans would laugh at the notion that any newspaper could be neutral, because they recognize (as we should) that reporters and editors are people, and people are never neutral.
I've never studied the European media, but I know a thing or two about American media. In the United States, the reference to the media as the "fourth branch of government" reflects its importance in the political life of the nation. The very first amendment to the Constitution--#1 in the Bill of Rights--stipulates that "Congress shall make no law [...] abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." The Framers knew from personal experience that only a free press can expose the missteps of a government; they realized that it could be powerful enough to ensure the proper behavior of a good government. In their endeavor to design the first government in history that would be truly accountable and at the mercy of its citizens, the Framers understood that a free press would be essential. It would be the means by which citizens would gain knowledge of exactly what their government was doing; it would act as the citizens' private investigators. And, of course, it would allow for the dissemination of political opinion.
In recognizing the power of the press, the Framers took it for granted that the news media would be charged with reporting the facts. Government would take a "hands off" approach to media in order to ensure that journalistic reporting would not be tainted. The media, accepting their role as the unelected fourth branch--the "watchdogs"--would be relied upon to present the facts.
Nowadays, the myriad media sources range from the serious to the inane to the completely ludicrous, and most Americans are able to distinguish amongst the categories. No one goes to the National Enquirer to learn the facts of a particular day's events. There are, however, a number of outlets within the "serious" category, from which most people acquire knowledge about the government's doings, as well as, obviously, news about all sorts of events unrelated to government. Almost all of these outlets publish ostensibly fact-based stories in addition to opinion pieces, and it is obvious where each institution draws its line.
In the end, Americans depend on these news sources to report the facts, sans editorializing, in those pieces that are presented as pure truth. Clearly, a particular organization may wish to publish only editorial pieces, but then, it is obligated to make clear the nature of its mission. Such resources are not the problem. The problem arises when institutions such as the New York Times, highly respected and long venerated for their timeliness and accuracy, fail to ensure that their professedly fact-based reporting is just that, and not a compilation of facts framed by the journalist's opinion.
Objectivity and lack of bias are qualities honest journalists should strive for. And yes, truly honest people can put aside their political views for the cause of just-the-facts reporting. This is not the easiest of tasks, but it is not the hardest. It also does not mean that journalism should be colorless.
It does mean recognizing that a headline saying that the 9/11 panel "Finds No Iraq-al Qaeda Tie," when that very same article reports that Saddam and al Qaeda were in contact (though Saddam did not help to plan the 9/11 attacks, specifically) is a blatant misrepresentation.
(Unfortunately, that article is now archived, but article included the report's mention of "evidence of repeated contacts between Iraq and Al Qaeda in the 90's"--clearly not "no tie.")
[I want to get this up and out there. More to come.]
Posted by Carla at 12:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 21, 2004
"Ma, the world is coming to an end"
Two depressing stories of the day (both via lgf):
1. UPenn law school is cancelling a Criminal Law Theory Seminar to put American students to work drafting an oppressive "constitution."
2. The San Fransisco Board of Supervisors has agreed to allow a vote on whether non-citizens should be allowed to participate in local school board elections. [The Kansas City Star link requires registration, here's the link to the lgf story, with excerpt.]
In 1996, some Frisco residents attempted to allow non-citizens to vote in all municipal elections, though it was struck down. I think this initiative is indicative that they'll try this again:
Supporters of the new ballot measure said they are confident that this time, with the narrow focus on local school board elections, the proposal will stand up to a legal challenge."It's important because it integrates residents of the city who are disenfranchised in the decision-making process in schools," said Carlo Petroni, a founder of Movimiento de los derechos des inmigrantes...
A "yes" outcome in this school-board case would set a precedent for further measures to be passed. Why is this a problem? Because--and I can't stress this enough--the purpose of government is to act in the interests and at the behest of its citizens, not the citizens of any other nation. This very basic premise is the one that insures that a government is properly subservient to its citizens; the violation of this premise is at the root of many domestic and foreign policy problems today. If an individual wishes to affect U.S. government, he must prove his loyalty to to this country by obtaining citizenship. Otherwise, we could end up with members of al Qaeda effecting policy change.
Of course, this particular case wouldn't be so much of a problem if the government got out of the education business, as it should.
Posted by Carla at 10:20 PM | Comments (0)
July 20, 2004
More good news from Iraq
Arthur Chrenkoff has put together a comprehensive overview of good news coming from Iraq, published in both Opinion Journal and his blog:
The good news is much underreported and not always easy to find, but clearly it's out there. Taken together with the usual Iraq coverage, it paints a much more balanced and, dare I say it, nuanced picture of a country, which is still waking up from a three-decade-long nightmare and trying against many odds to become normal.In many ways, it now falls to the political blogs to do the work one would expect from the mainstream media--to provide a fair and balanced picture of situation in Iraq. It's the blogs that dig up the information, disseminate it, and bring to everyone's attention the more outrageous examples of media bias or carelessness with facts.
Posted by Carla at 09:23 PM | Comments (0)
3 books I'm currently reading, plus the next 2 in the queue
Ack! I missed an opportunity to make a Monday list. Well, here it is, a day late:
1. Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand.
This is my second time through, and while I loved it the first time through, I get it so much more this time.
2. The Kinder, Gentler Military: How Political Correctness Affects Our Ability to Win Wars, Stephanie Gutmann.
Provocative and fascinating.
3. Absolutely American: Four Years at West Point, David Lipsky.
I picked this up because I became fascinated with the USMA last fall when I attended a conference there. While the individual sections are well written, I don't like the overall structure of the book; it's very choppy. I find myself skipping ahead just to find the conclusion of a particular story. But it's worth it just to get an idea of daily cadet life. Damn, are they impressive.
These two have been on my list forever:
4. Militant Islam Reaches America, Daniel Pipes.
5. Why America Slept, Gerald Posner.
NB: Though I'm linking to sites where these books can be purchased, I'm not getting any money for it (too bad!). I just thought it might be nice to be able to see them--and to be able to judge them by their covers.
Posted by Carla at 06:04 PM | Comments (1)
July 17, 2004
People are nice
Sarah posted a sweet story that reminded me of something that happened to me.
Alex and I share a "family plan" for our cell phones, and his phone has international capabilities. So, while he's been away, I've had access to and have been taking care of the account. He can't use his phone in Iraq, but when he was in Kuwait for a few weeks, he was able to use it, to the tune of $1.49 a minute. From his first deployment, I was prepared for a hefty bill for that month--or so I thought. But that month, I opened the statement and saw a charge for $840. I also noticed that the bill was marked "Easy Pay," meaning that the amount would be deducted from his account automatically. I hadn't realized that he had set it up this way (he forgot to tell me) so I called up the company, explaining that I wanted to know when it was changed to Easy Pay. When they told me that Alex had changed it, I felt embarrassed and compelled to explain that the reason I didn't know that was that he was deployed overseas.
Anyway, I knew I could pay the charges, but it would make that month's budget a little tight, so I also asked if it would be possible to split the amount over two billing cycles, something I've heard can be done--I also knew that Alex had VIP status from his massive charges in the past. I explained that Alex was using his phone from Kuwait for that month, but I knew that after that he would not be able to use it, so the high balance was a one-time thing. Anyway, the very kind customer service representative wasn't sure, so he put me on hold while checking with his supervisor. After a moment, he returned to say that though he couldn't technically do what I had asked, he and his supervisor had figured out a loophole, where they could temporarily credit the account for $420. The credit would be cancelled the next month, and I would pay the rest then. He also made clear that this was the only time they would be able to do this. I was grateful and thanked him, and we got off the phone.
A few minutes later, my cell phone rang. It was Jonathan, the rep I had just been speaking to. I thought for sure that he was going to say there was a problem--but I was completely wrong.
"I'm just calling to let you know that I spoke to my supervisor, and we decided that we would make that credit a permanent one, so you don't have to pay it back. The only amount you'll be charged for is the $420."
"Oh my gosh, thank you!" I could barely speak, and asked in the politest (and steadiest) voice I could muster, "may I ask why?"
"Well, because Alexander is serving overseas, we just wanted to do this...and, I'll be deploying out there in a few weeks, myself."
I was in tears. "Which--would you--can I ask, which branch?"
"National Guard."
"Well--good luck!" I croaked. "And...thank you, again."
"You're very welcome, ma'am. Good night."
I'll never forget that--probably the kindest thing a stranger has ever done for me.
Posted by Carla at 10:30 AM | Comments (1)
July 16, 2004
Update
My heart just hasn't been in blogging this week, though I wish it had been. I'll be going to New York this weekend for family and other social events, so hopefully that will recharge me enough to be back in full swing next week. See you then.
Posted by Carla at 03:14 PM | Comments (0)
July 13, 2004
Coming attractions, etc.
I've got about four post topics in the hopper, but prior social engagements and real life prevent me from finishing them yet. Hopefully I'll get one up by tomorrow afternoon.
In the meantime, go read Sars's funny and thoughtful rant on The Go-Carb Diet.
Or, for something completely different, try Andrew Bernstein on The Injustice of Insider Trading Laws:
In a free society a company belongs to its owners--the shareholders--not to the government. The owners have the moral, and must have the legal, right to decide if corporate executives--their employees--will be permitted to trade on or disseminate "inside," i.e., proprietary information. Indeed, the owners have the moral right to decide if corporate executives will even be permitted to own stock in the company.
Posted by Carla at 04:15 PM | Comments (0)
July 12, 2004
Gifts from a sweetheart
These are the flowers Alex sent me today:
...and so are these:
That's my nightstand, cleared of anything extraneous. If I can't see my love's face when I wake up in the morning, at least I can see the beauty he has given to me.
Posted by Carla at 11:58 PM | Comments (0)
Pet peeves
In no particular order:
1. "Abbreviated" or otherwise altered cusses. In written language (particularly on the net), I hate it when people write things like f*ck, he11, and sh-t. @$$ is particularly bad. I mean, it's not like everyone can't tell what you're saying; if you don't want to write the word, use one of the many colorful expressions, the toned-down "heck" or "shoot." The exception, of course, is direct quotes, in which the language shouldn't be changed. [expletive] is useful in this case, or even the amusing [bleep]. Just stop with the cutesy forms.
2. The new kind of TV-show advertising, in which an obnoxious piece of text pops up over the picture of whatever show is currently playing. That is, while the actually show is on, the network is also advertising! I realize that networks need to make money, but it's enough that you can't watch any channel without seeing the same two commercials for the upcoming special of the week at every break.
3. Lack of a final serial comma, i.e., "apples, bananas and pears" rather than "apples, bananas, and pears." I realize that it's AP style--I had to fight my instinct on that one for two years while working at my college newspaper--but seriously, it's ridiculous. The final comma serves a clear and important purpose: It shows that the last two items should not be grouped together. And you know what? Strunk and White* agree with me, so there.
4. Neither of my TV remotes has a "last" button. In other words, if I want to go back and forth between two channels, I have to punch it in each time, and I'm a big surfer. Yeah, and I'm that lazy.
5. Low-carb/Atkins-friendly everything.
*No, this is not a product placement.
Posted by Carla at 11:21 PM | Comments (2)
Cleaning out the attic
Our current apartment is half of the top floor of a house; as such, we have full access to the attic on our side, which has been a blessing because Alex is such a packrat. Unfortunately, he's also not the neatest person, either (strange, considering his Marine traing, but I guess he only applies it to things that matter--the man can spend two hours polishing his boots, but is hard pressed to pitch out the numerous Coke cans that accumulate around the house). In any case, when he moved into this apartment (a few weeks after I did), he took four years' worth of stuff straight up to the attic. All last summer I would say, "as soon as it gets cool out" (the attic, obviously, is very stuffy in the heat), "we're going to spend a few days up there just throwing stuff out."
As you can imagine, that never happened. And to make it worse, when he was preparing for deployment, Alex had to go up there to find gear he needed--and by "find" I mean "dump everything out of its box and leave it there on the floor."
Well, I'll be moving soon (well, "we" will be, but I'll be doing the moving, of course), and the attic has got to get straightened out well in advance. I started going up there when the weather was still cool, but second semester of my senior year turned out not to leave much time for organizing someone else's stuff, and the attic remained pretty much a mess. Since school ended, the weather has been mostly unbearably hot--until today. It's been raining and cool since I woke up, so I knew that could only mean one thing: up to the attic I went.
What's the point of this tale, you might ask? Well, most of the stuff up there is Alex's, and as such, is either mystifying (in content or possible reason as to why he kept it), electronics-related (of no interest to me), or, more interesting than my own stuff would be. The last category is why I'm writing this. It's a small one, but included:
letters he's kept from our three years together (two years of long-distance + one six-month deployment under our belts = quite a bit of letter-writing on my part)--they bring back memories of exactly how I was feeling at a given moment;his "little black book" from before we were together, obviously (mentioned once before, I believe, but I'd never seen it--and don't worry, it's quite tame);
and various Marine Corps memorabilia, including a chart on which he had once sighted his weapon, tips for uniform inspections (with diagrams), and instruction booklets on shooting positions.
The most interesting item I found was actually not Alex's. It looked like any number of similar green pocket-sized "Memoranda" books I had seen Alex use (several of which I had already come across). I'm not sure quite what the deal is with these books; I know that Alex carried his in the pocket of his utilities while at the shop, recording numbers and other bits of information pertaining to his work as an electrician. I had also seen these books for sale at almost any PX or 7-day store we visited when I stayed on base with him, so they're common, I guess--I'm just not sure if they're required. Regardless, Alex (like many others, I assume) also used his to doodle in or as an impromptu address book/diary, and these tidbits make the little books mysterious glimpses into someone else's thoughts.
I opened the book up and saw immediately that it was not Alex's; the owner's name was written in bold on the first page, with his rank--I conjectured he had been a Lance Corporal (abbreviated Lcpl) when he started using the book, then was promoted to Corporal (Cpl). At first I thought perhaps this Cpl. had passed the book on to Alex because it contained information he would need in the shop, but a quick look-through revealed no change in hand-writing--and furthermore, slightly personal writings that I imagine one would not want others to read. So how had Alex come into possession of it? The owner's name was not familiar to me, but as I leafed through, I found a listing of names, including Alex's, with a rank one below that at which he was when I met him, and three below where he is now. This list of names is not at all uncommon--going through Alex's papers, I've come across at least two dozen similar lists, in his handwriting, or typed up in official charts.
Anyway, this Marine had never been Alex's roommate; the only thing I can imagine is that Alex either mistook the book for his own, or there was a larger mix-up. In any case, it was in my attic, and given that I do not know the Marine, I decided to look through the book (while I'm a reformed packrat, I have a fondness for "found" objects).
Lists of numbers don't interest me, of course, but something of the Marine's personality came out through his lists of the seven deadly sins, the wonders of the world, and most intriguing, "Things to Do After USMC." And here it is, exactly as written:
-Garbage Man
-Fire Man
-Teacher/College/Football
-Air Force
-Culinary School
-Janitor (you are highly qualified)
-Not Re-Up is key to any of these options ever coming true, and not knocking any women up.
* * *
[I believe it goes without saying, but just in case: I post this with the best intentions. In addition to my "crush" on Marines as a breed, I have a deep and abiding respect for them, and indeed, all members of the military. Therefore, this is not meant to poke fun or be mean-spirited in any way.]
Posted by Carla at 06:44 PM | Comments (2)
July 11, 2004
The Constitution Center, part 2
Today, I thought of detail about the Constitution Center that I didn't include in yesterday's post.
The Center is organized in a circle; in the center is the theater where the initial presentation takes place; the walk-through exhibit goes around the theater, on the second floor. Close to the end of the walk-through section, there is a small board on the wall; a desk sits below with a few pads of post-it notes and those miniature-golf mini pencils. The board asks, "Is there too much government, just enough, or not enough?" and encourages visitors to post their responses. Visitors before us had posted a number of different responses, over half of which were variants of "too much" (e.g., "too much bureacracy" and "one useless bureaucrat is one too many").
I was surprised by this percentage, even as I wrote my own response ("too much!"). But, having been a poli sci major, and having taken a statistics class, I pointed this out to my friend and asked if she thought it was just because people who would answer "too much" would be more likely to answer this question. People who like the status quo, I thought, wouldn't feel the need to express themselves as strongly as those who don't, and people who desire more government usually see it as wanting different kinds of government--different programs--and not "more."
My friend said she thought it was the case that people who think there's too much government are the kind of people who are more likely to visit the a center devoted to the Constitution.
She's right, I think. Given that, what does it mean that the people who are invested in learning about and promoting the Constitution--the most important document in U.S. law--are also those who believe that there is too much of a government presence in our lives?
Actually, I know what I think it means. Unfortunately, I have nothing but anecdotal evidence to support it, and there are many ways of refuting my hypothesis. (One way, off the top of my head, would be to cite the track records of Supreme Court justices who are identified as "textualists," "originalists," or "strict constructionists"--for example, Antonin Scalia--who claim that their intepretations of the Constitution adhere most closely to the words/true meaning of the document, yet support prayer in public schools.)
In any case, it got me thinking...just one of the many research projects/books I'd like to pursue/write some day.
Posted by Carla at 05:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 10, 2004
The U.S. Constitution and American achievement
I visited Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center with a friend today. The Center is a government-funded institution
dedicated to increasing public understanding of, and appreciation for, the Constitution, its history, and its contemporary relevance, through an interactive, interpretive facility within Independence National Historical Park and a program of national outreach, so that We the People may better secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.
I have a great deal of respect for the Constitution, as well as admiration for the men who created it. The development and applications of the U.S. Constitution fascinate me—constitutional law has been one of my favorite subjects since high school—so I was really looking forward to seeing what kind of experience the Center would offer.
The building that houses the Center is a modern design, and was just completed in 2003. While the design is not quite as awe-inspiring as I might wish a monument to the Constitution would be, it is still aesthetically pleasing, with lots of glass and, on the outside, an inscription of the preamble in large, recognizable script. While the bulk of the Center is taken up by illustrations of exactly how each section of the Constitution came to be, the entrance into the main exhibit is what I wish to meditate on here.
The experience begins with a 17-minute presentation, with an "actor" (really just a woman narrating) in addition to multi-media effects: video, still images, lighting, and sound effects. This takes place in a round theater at the very core of the Center; the seating slopes up steeply from the middle, where the narrator stands. Images and video are displayed on the circular floor, on large screens around the perimeter of the theater, and for one segment, on a 5-sided screen that unrolls from the ceiling.
I was surprised at how moved I was by this presentation. The narrator was rather affected in her tone and body language, but having a live presenter did make it more engaging. Many of the images were artistically manipulated to blend actors with historic paintings or text with text. While the narration leaned toward the politically correct, it did not entirely shy away from controversial issues, either. In the discussion of the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments were displayed in excerpt on the aforementioned perimeter-spanning screen; I was happy to see that the 2nd amendment’s excerpt was "…the right of the people to keep and bear Arms…"
Towards the end, the presentation showed image after video after image of the accomplishments of American citizens: Martin Luther King, Jr., Albert Einstein, the take-off of a space shuttle, servicemen at war, Thomas Edison—I can’t remember them all, but this was the part that moved me the most, that brought up that lump in my throat, familiar from other moments of patriotic awe.
This is what America is about. Over two centuries of achievement, big and small, facilitated by the principles of freedom laid down in the Constitution. Innovation and accomplishment, progress and success. It can’t be stressed enough that without the foundations constructed by the Founders, the United States could not have become what it is today—the happiest, healthiest, wealthiest nation in the world. And most importantly, the freest.
The United States still has a lot of work to do. There is far too much government intervention in its citizens’ lives, exhibited by the countless taxes and regulations that Americans face every day. But that does not change the fact that, as Ayn Rand said, "the United States of America is the greatest, the noblest, and, in its original founding principles, the only moral country in the history of the world."
Posted by Carla at 08:03 PM | Comments (0)
July 09, 2004
Finding the good news
I've linked to Tim at CPT Patti before, but I'd like to put in a real plug for him. He's one of the best sources I've found for compilations of the best news coming out of Iraq, the signs of progress. Today alone he points to stories about the growing confidence of normal Iraqis, the opening of the first bond market in Iraq, and two sisters who are now part of Iraq's new police force.
In addition, he keeps tabs on the 1AD (the Army unit his wife is deployed in) and other military matters, American politics, and media bias. He's a great resource, go take a look.
Posted by Carla at 03:22 PM | Comments (0)
July 07, 2004
What?!
What is going on over at Bunker Mulligan? I never really communicated with Bunker, but I read his blog almost every day!
Where are you, sir?
Update
Bunker's back. Phew!
Posted by Carla at 10:53 PM | Comments (3)
The American dream
This story (from the NY Times!) reminds us that, elsewhere, the United States is seen as the pinnacle of freedom, a place where hard work allows one to live the good life: For Bantu Refugees, Hard-Won American Dreams.
"In Somalia, I dreamed of the United States, even though I didn't know anything about it," Mr. Edow said, speaking through a translator like the other Bantu adults interviewed. America represents opportunity, Bantu refugees say [...]Mr. Edow and Ms. Idle are part of a continuing resettlement of 13,000 Bantu people from Somalia, descendants of people kidnapped from southern Africa by Arab slave traders two centuries ago. As part of one of the most ambitious relocations of political refugees by the United States in recent history, the Bantu couple arrived in Tucson in May 2003 from a Kenyan camp. They were uneducated, unemployed and unfamiliar with basic facts of American life like electrical appliances and indoor plumbing.
Now Mr. Edow and Ms. Idle drive themselves to work in their own car, a Ford Escort they bought in September. They shop at 99-cent stores. They pay the $635 rent for their three-bedroom apartment. The children, a 15-year-old and two 8-year-olds, are in school, earning good grades and, like other Bantu children, school officials say, outperforming the general student population. Mr. Edow is saving money to buy a house.
"Every month I pay rent," he said, sitting in his kitchen with a bare foot propped on his seat, a cellphone in his hand and a videotape of "Shrek" entertaining his children in the next room. "It's good to own a house. It belongs to you."
Mr. Edow, who could not read numbers a year ago, knows what a down payment is. In May, he applied for a green card, celebrating his application with a red, white and blue cake.
Posted by Carla at 09:18 AM | Comments (0)
Iraq's WMD capabilities
I've seen this on a bunch of blogs already, but I think it bears repeating:
U.S. Removes Iraqi Nuclear and Radiological Materials
...the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Defense (DOD) have completed a joint operation to secure and remove from Iraq radiological and nuclear materials that could potentially be used in a radiological dispersal device or diverted to support a nuclear weapons program."This operation was a major achievement for the Bush Administration's goal to keep potentially dangerous nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists," Secretary Abraham said. "It also puts this material out of reach for countries that may seek to develop their own nuclear weapons."
Twenty experts from DOE's national laboratory complex packaged 1.77 metric tons of low-enriched uranium and roughly 1000 highly radioactive sources from the former Iraq nuclear research facility.
Posted by Carla at 08:55 AM | Comments (0)
July 06, 2004
Tone
In yesterday's posts, I struck a delicate balance of preaching and complaining, I think.
One of the things I struggle with in writing this blog is the tone I use--and more broadly, my style. Here, I write pretty much the way I talk (I think!), with some good old-fashioned academic paper techniques thrown in. Some of my favorite Internet writers/bloggers write the way they talk--or at least, the way I imagine them talking.
Sarah ("Sars") at Tomato Nation often uses a very conversational style, and it's extremely entertaining. She's the kind of writer who makes you think (as you might think of someone you'd meet in real life): "I wish I had those mannerisms!"
Tim at CPT Patti doesn't write extended commentary, usually, but when he does, it's exactly the way I imagine him speaking. The effect is an overwhelming feeling that he is a person who is only capable of sincerity, an internet writer who puts on no airs, but is consistently genuine.
Sarah at trying to grok, I think, changes modes depending on her subject and the extent of her commentary, and approach that works, and which I've pretty much adopted, and will continue to use.
What it comes down to, I suppose, is that this blog (like so many others) will be an exercise in writing for its author. In this space, I'd like to experiment with different formats. So far, all I've had time/energy for has been the most casual groupings of links, but in the future, I'd like to try my hand at op-ed style pieces.
Finally, I know that I entertain myself, but I also know that I've never been particularly funny (that role has been filled admirably by my sister and brother), and I'm not a good story-teller. So, if you like something, or you don't think something works, feel free to drop me a line in the comments or by email. Outside input is one of the reasons I started this blog!
PS--This blog will not indulge in many flights of fancy about the process of writing (though, I must admit, it does fascinate me). I promise!
Posted by Carla at 11:17 AM | Comments (0)
July 05, 2004
The obligatory Michael Moore post: Part 1
I haven't seen Fahrenheit 911 yet, though I plan to see it at some point.
However, I did start reading this article by Dave Kopel, and I feel that it's important enough to post the link even before I can comment on it, for the perusal of those who may have seen (and perhaps were swayed by) Moore's film: Fifty-nine Deceits in Fahrenheit 911.
[In case those who saw and liked the movie are tired of reading conservative railing against Moore, I'd like to say that I think Kopel writes assertively, but not offensively (in both senses of the word).]
Posted by Carla at 10:54 PM | Comments (0)
CapMag series: Ever Wonder...?
Thomas Sowell is one of my favorite writers at CapMag and beyond. In the past few days, CapMag has published a series of essays, which so far are fantastic. They are, with excerpts:
Have scenes of government-sponsored carnage and lethal mob violence in countries like Rwanda or in the Balkans ever made you wonder why such horrifying scenes are not found on the streets of America? [...]Those who are constantly looking for the "root causes" of poverty, of crime, and of other national and international problems act as if prosperity and law-abiding behavior were so natural that it is their absence that has to be explained. But a casual glance around the world today, or back through history, would dispel any notion that good things just happen naturally, much less inevitably. [...]
Once we realize that America is an exception, we might even have a sense of gratitude for having been born here, even if gratitude has become un-cool in many quarters.
Ever Wonder Why Some People Hate America?"
What is there about America that sets off such venom -- among Americans, of all people? One answer might be to look at the kinds of countries praised, defended, or "understood" by the intelligentsia. [...]It did not make a dent on intellectuals that people were fleeing the countries they praised, often at the risk of their lives, to try to reach the countries they were condemning -- especially the United States of America.
Ever Wonder Why People Who Hate America Live in America?
Most of the people who come here, legally or illegally, undoubtedly do so just to better themselves, as immigrants have done for centuries. But people who crossed an ocean to get here came here to become Americans, not to remain foreigners, much less to become America haters.The difference today is that organized activists and a multicultural ideology that has become dogma among educators and the media combine to keep foreigners foreign in language, culture and allegiance.
Posted by Carla at 10:14 PM | Comments (0)
5 things I'd like to have a man around to take care of
I decree: Monday shall be the day of lists.
1. Replace some lightbulbs. I realize that replacing light bulbs is a particularly easy chore, but both of the bulbs in my hallway have blown, now, and with all the other stuff I have to take care of, this is one thing that I'd just like someone to do.
2. Take care of the car. There are now three problems with the car (though I do love it so). I have an appointment to take it in for servicing tomorrow, but again--it would be nice to have someone else do it.
3. Fix the toilet. The toilet is not broken yet, but it is on the verge of breaking, I am sure of it. I can do very simple repairs, but I'm bad at diagnosing plumbing problems.
4. Take out the air conditioner. For weeks, I delayed putting my A/C in the window, because it was up in the attic and I didn't think I could carry it down myself. Well, the weather got bad enough that I bit the bullet and managed it, and I was pretty proud of myself. It worked for about 24 hours, then I heard a big crack, I turned it off, and it won't go on now. Now I just want someone to take it out of my window, because it's not doing any good there.
5. Seriously, enough is enough. I have fleas--again! Exactly one year ago, we got fleas, and now they're back...thanks to the neighbor's damned cat hanging out in my attic. So, please, Mr. Man, block off the cat's secret passageway, and get the bugs out!
Yes, I'm aware that this plays into gender stereotypes. First, I don't care much about such stereotypes, and second, I'd just like to have someone to help me out--I'm just tired of taking care of a household for two all by my lonesome.
[And, I took care of the fleas myself, but the cat can still get in...]
Posted by Carla at 09:48 PM | Comments (2)
July 04, 2004
Let Freedom Ring
From Cox and Forkum Editorial Cartoons
Posted by Carla at 04:15 PM | Comments (0)
July 03, 2004
3
Today's our three-year anniversary. We met on Memorial Day, started dating on July 3rd; somehow it's appropriate, having our relationship framed by national holidays.
Anyway, I'll be spending the holiday weekend with my mother, touring the Brandywine Valley. Back to blogging on Monday.
Happy Birthday, America.
Posted by Carla at 12:12 AM | Comments (1)
July 02, 2004
"I am Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq."
The BBC's Arab affairs analyst, Magdi Abdelhadi, says this is the first time an Arab ruler has appeared before a judge to face charges related to abuse of power and the brutal oppression of his own people.
Score one for rule-of-law.
Posted by Carla at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)
July 01, 2004
Hitting home
My writing skills are woefully inadequate when it comes to writing about subjects like this.
The story I posted about a few days ago is on the front page of the Delco Times today (some of you know what that is; for the rest, it's just the local paper).
Here's the main story; the other three are about the Marines who were killed.
The Philadelphia Inquirer also has a brief story about it. [registration required]
These were Alex's guys--but I didn't know them. I drove past the unit headquarters this evening; the colors weren't up (the staff is gone for the day), but there are memorial wreaths and bouquets on the front lawn. Anyone who knows me knows I don't believe in heaven, but I still think this part of the Marines' Hymn is evocative and poignant:
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven’s scenes;
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines.
Posted by Carla at 06:52 PM | Comments (0)