Peace Rally in Austin, Texas January 27, 2007

As some of you may know, I have been a proponent of the war in Iraq since the beginning. However, like many who chose to lend their support to the President, I feel that I have been deceived. First, it was the failure to adequately negotiate with the United Nations to form a true coalition of the willing. Then, it was the failure to assemble an adequate military force to execute the war. Third, it was the failure to establish a post-war plan. Fourth, it was a failure to find any significant stockpiles of WMDs. Next, it was a failure to properly oversee the methods of interrogation, ie. Abu Ghraib. Sixth, it was a failure to educate members of the government and military superiors of the complexities of Iraqi internal strife (this was actually one of the first failures but it became apparent when neither of the heads of the committee overseeing intelligence could answer the question of whether al Qeada was Sunni or Shi'a). Seventh, and most sickening, at some point we decided to scrap the Geneva convention resolutions. Shall I continue? The Bush administration has violated so many of the things that once gave us a moral authority that I can no longer keep track.

Believe it or not, I am still optimistic that the troop surge may help with the violence in Baghdad, but I'm losing my resolve. I have been steadfast in my defense of the war, but I'm becoming anxious and confused. I am coming to grips with the idea that American soldiers will never convert the Iraqis to a peaceful existence. But, I am not comfortable with simply removing those troops from Iraq and leaving the country to the fanatical vultures who will swoop in and fill the void. I do not know what to do or who to believe. In my heart, I know that the American soldiers are representing us well in Iraq, but my mind tells me that the people of Iraq are so warped by religious fanaticism and hatred for the west that America cannot help them reach freedom. They do not want it badly enough. If you asked me what we should do, I would say we should stay, but I cannot say what our role should be. Bush has screwed up such a great opportunity that we may be forced to withdraw. What then?

So, that being said, I recently attended a peace rally in Austin. I had the idea that I would ask a few people questions about the war and perhaps their comments would help me find my own version of peace with this issue. I recorded this video at the rally and made this little mini-doc.
Enjoy!

Currently Reading

So, I'm currently reading From Baghdad with Love by Lt. Col. Jay Kopelman with Melinda Roth. I received this book as a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law and I'm really enjoying it. It is a story about a stray puppy named Lava that lives with members of the First Battalion, Third Marines during their tour in Iraq. It is easy to read compared to the last two books that I have read so I look forward to a few days of pleasant reading.

The last book that I completed was 1984 by George Orwell. I chose to read this book because it came up in a recent discussion and I wanted to revisit the subject addressed in the anti-Utopian novel. No doubt, I could write pages of commentary on the parallels between the world described by Orwell and modern times, but it would be a heavy subject to post here. I would like to recommend to everyone that you read this novel and think critically about where our society is headed.

I will include one of my own ideas, though. The grossest and most disturbing point made in the book is the dehumanization of mankind by the government. This is not my biggest fear. I do not fear the government because democracy protects us, to some extent, from government-backed oppression. My biggest fear is mentioned in the Afterword of 1984 which was composed by Erich Fromm. My biggest fear is corporate dehumanization. What I mean by corporate dehumanization is the power that corporations have over our freedom to think and the chance that this will lead to a loss of humanity for the sake of corporate domination. Fromm describes it using the example of a person who works for a big company that claims that its product is better than all its competitors' products. This person does not concern himself with determining whether it is a true fact that the product is the best, rather he concerns himself with convincing us, the customers, that his company's product is the best. This type of thinking is called "mobile truth." And, I can see its ugly head appearing today in the large corporate media upon which we depend for our daily news. No one disputes that Fox, CNN and NBC are competing against each other for viewers/readers. And, no one disputes that these news organizations target the content of their news dispatches to specific demographics while maintaining that they are "fair and balanced" or "the most trusted source for news." It is clear that O'Reilly, Hannity and Colmes, Olberman, etc. are exercising "mobile truth-telling" and all the while the consumers, you and I, are at a loss for the true truth. My fear is that truth will be lost in the battle for the "trust" of the consumer. The battle for trust will lead us to instilling "faith" in our news sources. And, faith will lead us to war...war in America, to determine who possesses the truth. There is hope, however. The embodiment of hope, to me, comes in the form of modern information sharing technologies, specifically, internet web sites like YouTube and the entire blogosphere of which you are partaking by reading my blog. As long as individuals have the ability to share information, we will all have access to the truth.
Cheers!

Recently completed:
1984
by Eric Blair (George Orwell)
The Naked and the Dead
by Norman Mailer
My War: Killing Time in Iraq
by Colby Buzzell
No God but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam
by Reza Azlan
Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War
by Anthony Shadid
The Places in Between
by Rory Stewart

A great idea...

Ice Storm

Well, it wasn't too long ago that I said that Austin rarely gets any really cold weather. I guess I'll have to eat those words. We got enough snow and ice to shut down the city for a couple of days. It doesn't take much. Here's some video of our little ice storm.

Pernell - Fanny Pack!

This video was made by our wedding videographer, Pernell Disney. When we met him at the wedding, we knew that he was a nice guy, but we had no idea that he was so funny and creative. If you don't know it, the song is a remake of Justin Timberlake's song Sexy Back. Enjoy!!!

Martin Luther King, Jr. - I have a dream speech

Have you ever listened to the "Dream" speech in it's entirety? If not, please click the link below and listen carefully. It is powerful.

Currently Reading

Finally, I completed reading The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer. It may not be a compliment to say that reading this novel was hard work, but I think that it can be understood by anyone who has taken the time to read every word on the 720 pages of this novel. While reading this book about soldiers battling the Japanese in WWII, at times, I felt like I was right there in the the thick of it with them. As the soldiers willed themselves up Mount Anaka, as they struggled to march through the jungles of the island of Anopopei, as they fought with one another to find their place among the platoon's heirarchy, I felt that I, too, endured all of their battles. Mailer says in his introduction to the fiftieth edition of this novel that the reader should find hope upon completion of this work. I mostly felt relief. Now, though, I find that I continually revisit the situations in the novel and feel a sense of appreciation for the lessons learned. I think that the stories in this novel will forever be with me.

Remaining in the time period of the Naked and the Dead, I am now reading Eric Blair's (George Orwell) 1984. Both novels were written in the mid to late forties and I am curious to see if I can recognize any parallels. I did not plan it this way, but I look forward to studying 1984 in the context of Mailer's book and comparing this to the current political atmosphere. Although I've read this book previously, I'm sure that my perspective has changed since I was in ninth grade.

Recently completed:
The Naked and the Dead
by Norman Mailer
My War: Killing Time in Iraq
by Colby Buzzell
No God but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam
by Reza Azlan
Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War
by Anthony Shadid
The Places in Between
by Rory Stewart

Wideawake - Jammin Java, Vienna, Virginia

This is video that I recorded at the Wideawake show on July 21, 2006. I had to seriously think about whether I wanted to attend this concert the night before my wedding, but I just knew that if I had gone back to my hotel room after the rehearsal dinner, I would have tossed and turned in bed thinking about the next day. After seeing WA, I slept like a baby. What a great week we had!!!

Glenn's Birthday Party

This has been a long time comin'. Here are the pictures from Glenn's 30th Birthday party. It took place before Christmas, but it took a while for the pics to make it to the internet. It's hard for me to comprehend that people our age can still party like this, but, hey, you only live once!!!



To see all of the pictures, click here.

Christmas and New Year's Eve 2007

A Very Puggy Christmas!

Cara and I had another great Christmas. Details coming soon...


Cara and I had another great Christmas. Details coming soon...


Cara and I had another great Christmas. Details coming soon...