The Election

I've probably been listening to too much NPR lately, cause it seems like I hear at least two hours a day of crap about the presidential election. Yep, crap.
From what I hear on NPR and read in other sources, people are basing their decision of which candidate to support on a variety of things. One gentleman said he is a “single-issue voter”. The IBEW is supporting Bill Richardson because of his favorable position on unions. One listener on NPR said that he didn't support Giuliani because he seems to always want the last word, while another said he was disappointed in Romney because in the last debate, he was not as eloquent at times. I remember another person commenting that they supported a certain candidate because he is smarter than Clinton.
It's amazing how rarely someone says “I support so and so because I feel their stance on the issues is correct.” Isn't that what is really important? Yes, it's important that a president is able to keep his mouth shut. Yet, it is important for a president to be able to speak well enough to express his thoughts. Yes, it is important for a candidate to be intelligent. But isn't it much more important for a president to have the correct political viewpoints?
As Americans, we have the responsibility to at least have a slight understanding of, at the very least, the roots of our country, the constitution, and what the true intentions of our founding fathers were. If we don't have this knowledge, how can we possibly make an informed decision when voting? We tend to know just enough to be harmful, like the kid who goes out and picks a fight after his first week of karate classes.
We need to understand what is good for us and what is bad for us, as a country. We need to understand that the government works for us, not the other way around. We need to understand that the federal government's money is actually our money; when they give money away, or waste money, they are wasting OUR money. Nothing coming from the government is free. Good intentions in no way define wisdom.
When we understand these things, and begin to look past ourselves, we will begin to see the candidates, and voting, in a new light. We will begin to vote for what is truly best for our country, not just for what best serves our own selfish interests. We will eventually have candidates who respect the citizen more than money.
I have heard it said that empires are lost due to poor economics, rather than invading armies. However, I would say that a democracy is lost due to the lack of interest and lack of knowledge of the people.

I'm proud to be a ... landscaper?

I realized something funny today. I'm proud of my job as a landscaper. What makes this funny is that I was not and am not proud of what I did in the army. I don't mean that I didn't do a good job; I did a very decent job, but I rarely took pride in it, and the pride I did have was only so that I could get a pat on the back, if only from myself. The only job that I may ever have that people respect, I'm not proud of.
Does this seem sad to you? Well, it does to me, too.
Before you start passing judgement on me, though, let me explain my position. It's very simple: My government is extremely screwed up. We are not taking our foreign relations in the right direction. As an example, in the 80's, during the Iran/Iraq war, the U.S. was providing weapons to Iraq, because we hoped they would prevail. At the same time, Israel was proving weapons to Iran, because they Israel felt Iraq was a greater threat. Where did Israel get these weapons to hand over to Iran? The got them from the U.S. So, by us intervening in the war, instead of Iran and Iraq fighting with sticks and stones, Iran and Iraq were fighting with bombs, and chemical and biological weapons. Oh, and these chemical weapons that were provided to Iraq are the same ones that were used on the Kurds.
Let's look at some of what's happening now. We are arming Iraq again. We are talking about war with Iran. We are considering arming the Kurds. Bush just said that NOW is the time for Palestenian/ Israeli peace talks, as if tomorrow wasn't! We, through our operations in Iraq and our dealings with prisoners in GITMO, are driving a bigger wedge between our country and the Middle East.
So, you tell me, as a soldier, what do I have to be proud of? I'm not fighting for your freedom. It's your job to do that by getting your butt to the polls. I'm not fighting to free the Iraqi people. Freedom can only be won from within. I'm not fighting to make America a safer place. The threat can only be reduced by treating people with kindness; the golden rule. I'm not even fighting to spread American values; they can only be spread BY American values! You tell me: WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOR!?!?! I certainly don't know!!
As a landscaper, though, I know exactly what I am fighting for: I'm fighting for freedom! Fighting by supporting capitalism, by earning my boss as much as I possibly can, so he, in return, will provide me with a decent wage, and invest back into his business, so that, in time, another person will be able to earn a decent wage. I'm fighting to make America a safer place, by treating men of all races and backgrounds with respect and kindness, showing them that all Americans don't hate. I'm fighting to spread knowledge, by trying to light a fire in everyone I meet.
I'm fighting to make my world a better place, and that's why I'm proud to be a landscaper.

Keep Your Enemies Closer

http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/arming_iraq.php
I checked out a lot of the references, and this seems pretty credible.
Damn hard to believe. Not that hard to believe that our government did it, but hard to believe that they could be so stupid, or naive.

And, now that I think about it, some of the weapons that were provided to Iraq were probably used in the crimes for which Hussein was hanged, which probably means that the people who gave Iraq the weapons should have some responsibility as well.

A little humorous is the fact that we supplied military assistance to Iraq pretty much right up to the point that they invaded Kuwait. Sure was nice of us. I wonder how many lives were lost because of this? Some people sure have a lot of blood on their hands.

Going to LA

I'm actually a little scared about coming to LA this weekend. I believe there was a congressional report saying that there would likely be a terrorist attack in the U.S. by the end of the year, and I think they mentioned Western U.S as a possible target. Thanksgiving is awfully close to the end of the year, and, if I were a terrorist, I'd be pretty tempted to hit it on a holiday.
Apparently, there is a chance that Pakistan may not have their nukes guarded effectively (or maybe that's just our government's cant on the issue, hoping to get Pakistan to reveal some information to us about their nuke program).
Musharraf's not an idiot. Foolish, maybe, possibly power hungry, but not an idiot. So, what would he do, given this hypothetical scenario: Taliban gained possesion of a Pakistani nuke? He'd probably declare an emergency, and martial law; he'd do whatever he possibly could to track down the weapon or those who did it.
I guess the question I'd like answered is, what is our government's motivation for wanting to assisst Pakistan guard their weapons? Is it simply an intel tactic, or is there a real danger of a nuke falling into the wrong hands?
Whatever the motivation, the 1984ish fear control tactic seems to be working, at least for me. I'm actually scared to travel in my own country.