--- Oh, for the love

--- Oh, for the love of Allah! (yeah, I know I’ve used this one
before. It fits, so sue me.)
“America is responsible for all deaths in Iraq. It is responsible
for the emergence of gangs and thieves because the absence of
leadership like Saddam's was filled with chaos and anarchy," said
Palestinian taxi driver Dib el-Malek in Gaza.

Read the entire story here.
Ok, so let’s notice that this guy thinks the culprits are “gangs
and thieves,” as opposed to Saddam loyalists or perhaps Al-Qaeda
fighters who have slipped in to kill American soldiers and innocent
Iraqi civilians. Sigh. There is such a thing as laying the blame where
it lies. The responsibility for these tragic deaths most assuredly does
not lie at the feet of America.
You know, I’ve been having a hard damn time with my father since
9/11. Since he’s semi-retired, he’s got a lot of time to read and
he’s very interested in all things political. It’s fair to say that
he’s a right-winger---an extreme right winger: he’s met and
supported Pat Buchanan’s failed runs for President in the past. And
Dad’s argument lately has been that I’m deluding myself when I say
that Islam is a religion of peace. He thinks I’m wrong: he says it
preaches violence and has all sorts of lovely proof to back it
up---mainly from writers who publish their stuff on NewsMax and World
News Daily. My argument is that Islam is a religion of peace; but it’s
hardly an organized religion of the sort he’s used to. As a result of
that unorganized status, it’s very simple for the teachers of that
religion to use it toward their own ends. Our dispute is about the
message: he thinks it’s violent, beginning to end; I say it depends
upon who’s teaching the message. I’ve never wanted to think that
Dad has a point. It’s always been comfortable for me, who actually
knows Muslims, to say that they don’t all believe in violence as a
means to an end, but you know what, when I read stories like this one,
I have to admit maybe he’s on to something. I know the majority of
Muslims are peaceful; they want nothing to do with the violence that is
carried out in their God’s name. But why on earth are they silent
about this kind of crap? Why don’t they speak out righteously every
time some hothead spouts off in such a fashion? Why do we only hear
that Islam is a religion of peace when something major happens, like
9/11? Islam is under attack. I don’t care what anyone says: this war
against terror is in part a religious war. No one wants to say it and
that’s fine. I can understand where diplomacy needs to be used wisely
in such a circumstance, but unless moderate Muslims come out and defend
the work the U.S. is doing in Iraq, and speak out loudly, we are doomed
to a further radicalization of positions. People will start to believe
that all Muslims are radicals; that they all want the U.S. to burn in
hell for its righteous acts of colonialization and world domination. In
other words, the stereotypes will become the truth. And for my Muslim
friends, that’s honestly the last thing I want to happen. It’s the
last thing I want for America, as well. We are a country that was
founded on the principle of religious tolerance. I don’t want my
country to become the complete antithesis of that principle. --- P.
Diddy or Puff Daddy---or whatever the hell his nickname is nowadays---is in trouble once
again, but it’s reportedly for having sweatshop laborers making the
sweatshirts he markets. $0.24 a sweatshirt? Mandatory pregnancy tests?
Sheesh. More on this later---when I’ve had time to do some research.
I need to go and look up some stats for Honduran incomes before I write
anything else on this. And we all know with my math skills, this could
take some time, so maybe I’ll get something up on this one by the end
of the week; maybe I won’t. The level of suspense involved with this
should make you feel like a toddler in the midst of toilet training:
you’ll be squirming in your seat.
--- And that’s it for today. Sorry for the short blog, but hey, I do
have things to do around here. Also, the husband is out of the house
for the day and I have things I would like to get done and while he’s
gone, it’s sublimely quiet around here. And
I can talk to myself while I plot out a scene for the manuscript with
impunity. The husband thinks I’m nuts when I talk to myself and likes
to make fun of me. I think it’s the way I work best and results in
the most productivity. Today I shall be researching the best way for a
military police to kidnap someone. This is not something I can do while
he’s around, because if I’m muttering to myself about this, he’ll
insert his two cents, it will be better than anything I’ve got up my
sleeve (I’ve mentioned before about his brilliance) and I just
don’t need it. I’m off to research about guns. I need a good weapon
for use in Sudan by a certain, well-funded group of people. I think I
might have what I need in a Heckler and Koch model, but I need more
research to confirm. If I’m not here tomorrow, it means that the FBI
had a packet sniffer attached to my DSL line and subsequently arrested
me under the Patriot Act. I should be held down at the lockup at the
federal courthouse: the bail might be steep, so bring lots of money.
That is, providing they arraign me.