March 26, 2003
Coming up next
Thanks to Andrew for bringing this to my attention:
It looks like we have to make Iran safe for democracy, too. They're taking too long.
March 21, 2003
Drat
It's 9:47 PM on a Friday night and I'm still at work :-(March 17, 2003
War
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I've been reflecting recently on the perceived value of human life.
No one can be sure, but it appears inevitable now that the U.S. military, in my name, is going to kill thousands of Iraqi civilians: men, women, and children. Somehow, though, it's OK, because this is "war", and these things happen in war. But there's no escaping it: we're going to kill these men, women, and children not because of something they have done, but because of something their government might do in the future. Because of the mere possibility that innocent Americans might one day die at the hands of terrorists armed by Saddam Hussein, we have the certainty that innocent Iraqis will die at the hands of American soldiers today.
Many around the world will value these lost lives as much as we valued the lives of those lost in the attacks of September 11.
The other day I watched a young girl running around with her mother. Kids are adorable -- you can't help but smile. Then I imagined her and her mother torn to shreds by shrapnel. We rarely see the enemy in human terms.
A teenager's smiling face greets me from the cover of the latest Newsweek: "The Elizabeth Smart Rescue". Thousands celebrated in Salt Lake City with music and fireworks because one human being is not dead. Yet at the same time we can dismiss the lives of thousands with an almost subconscious rationalization.
It's amazing.
March 15, 2003
Am I Smart or Not?
This quiz could also be titled, "How well do you know Maureen's pet peeves?"
Wow! Go you!
How Smart Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
March 14, 2003
Oh Brother, wherefore art thou mad?
My brother hates me because he leant me a book, I never read it, and after asking me nicely to mail it back several times, I didn't. What can I say? I suck.
Take heart, though: I mailed your book tonight, Dan, and it should be there by Monday.
Holy Crap
I am not making this up: that city in Arizona that sounds like "two sahn" ? It's spelled t-u-c-s-o-n, and not t-u-s-c-o-n.
Did people know about this?
March 12, 2003
A Blog as Big as your Head
I eat too much Chipotle. It's so damned easy, though!
Perhaps if I buy an expensive Calphalon pan, I will feel obligated to use it.
March 11, 2003
March 2, 2003
Dumb and Dumber
This seems to indicate the level of the political discourse in our country. From the The New York Times Best Seller List.
1 STUPID WHITE MEN, by Michael Moore. (ReganBooks/HarperCollins, $24.95.) The man behind "Roger & Me" takes aim at Republicans and Democrats, corporate America and our "nation of idiots." (+)
...8 *USEFUL IDIOTS, by Mona Charen. (Regnery, $27.95.) The columnist and television commentator goes on the attack against liberals, who "got it wrong in the cold war and still blame America first." (+)
The Quiet David
Another solo movie outing (though I ran into some friends), this time to see The Quiet American, an adaptation of the Graham Green novel. I give it two thumbs up. Michael Caine and Brendan Fraser play dualing archaelogists in a race against time to save French Indochina from a Communist Mummy.