Kudos to Rolling Stone

Now the Drudge Report, among other conservative websites, are having a field day with this Rolling Stone cover--set to hit stores today. As usual, in their simpleton, knee-jerk manner, they are questioning the credibility of Sean Wilentz's assessment of this presidency. I know I've often wondered if he could be worse than Ronnie, and other bloggers have made the case that he's bad, but he's not as bad as others. I disagree. Given the world events that have occurred while he's been in office, events that have been provoked in many ways by US foreign policy decisions (see PNAC), the course this president is one is a predictable one.


In late March Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog From Iraq was short listed for the Samuel Johnson Non-Fiction Award. For those unfamiliar with this book, I suggest you drop everything, run to your nearest bookstore (or go online and order), and read, read, read. Better yet, you can find everything online at:
www.riverbendblog.blogspot.com
I wasn't aware of the blog's existence back in 2003 when the US launched the illegal war against Iraq. Still, reading the book 3 years into the occupation, makes me realize how badly things have gone wrong. We are lucky to have a first hand account of what it's like to live in the middle of chaos, to live in the midst of unrelenting bombing, raids, abduction, rape, and fear. Because the blogger uses the pseudonym "Riverbend", writes in English, and has computer access, albeit intermittently, many critics have accused her of being a fraud. It reminds me of the controversy surrounding I, Rigoberta Menchu that surfaced a few years ago when a scholar decided that Menchu fabricated some of the deaths of her family members in Guatemala. By quibbling over a few details, or a few words, these detractors miss the larger point of war, paramilitary death squads, and illegal, unjust occupation. But, I suppose that is their ultimate aim: to serve as apologists for US imperial aggression. Many of the death squads in Guatemala were trained in Ft. Benning at the School of Americas (er, should I say the western hemisphere institute for security and cooperation), and well, we all know about the debacle in Iraq.

I was having dinner with some friends a few weeks ago when someone posed this question: what is the best thing that can come out of this war in Iraq? Minutes ticked by before the answer: the US is finally being revealed as an imperialist, occupying country. Of course, many folks around the world already knew this, but maybe, just maybe, more US citizens are beginning to see through the fog of jingoism, yellow ribbons, and magnetic flags to see the horror of US foreign policy. I was pleased, but disappointed to see 4 generals call for Rumsfeld's resignation couple weeks ago. Why disappointed? It's a little too late. We needed these voices prior to the invasion. And, Rummy isn't the only enemy. It's Bush and Cheney pulling the strings. It's Bush that authorized the leak in the Plame case. Where are the indictments? Where are the criminal charges? Where are the calls for resignation?

Code Pink has recently released a 20 page report about the situation of Iraqi women during the occupation. The report is grim:



Not surprisingly, Iraqi women fared much, much better under Saddam. How's that for liberation, US-style?

Christian Values

this past week i have received two emails detailing homophobia on college campuses.

incident #1: a student at the university of cumberlands was expelled from school after administrators discovered he was gay through a "my space" website. according to an article printed in the lexington herald, the school defends its decision because the student "promotes sexual behavior not consistent with Christian principles".

incident #2: A federal lawsuit has been filed against Georgia Tech on behalf of religious students who feel their constitutional right to free speech has been threatened by the "gay tolerant" policies of Georgia Tech. Here's more:

The lawsuit alleges that the school policy discriminates against
Christian and Jewish students by barring them from speaking out against
homosexuality and other issues.

Ruth Malhotra, a conservative Christian, one of the students represented
by the ADF, said she has had her free speech "stifled, hindered and
threatened". The other student, Orit Sklar is president of Hillel, the
Jewish student group. The lawsuit is also being supported by the campus
Republican club.

Nice, huh? See what happens to basic human rights when you live in a right-wing, militarized, anti-immigrant, war-mongering police state? I'm not sure I can last until 2008.

Half Empty

I live for the weekends these days. A bit of wine, good music, tasty food, and smart conversation are all I really need for a good weekend. By Monday, however, all those good vibes quickly disappear, and I feel like this wine glass--half-empty, shot, beat, kicked, you name it. I don't want this entry to turn into one of those cliche "I-hate-Mondays" rants, but I'm seriously already zapped before the week has begun. Last week was a bear. I had a conference to attend, 8 days to think about whether or not the "spots" on my mammogram were simply "spots" or bad, evil, eating-me-alive spots, papers to read, grade, read, grade, read, etc. It was a bear. Because I'm simply too tired to write normal paragraphs this evening, I'll just give a list of things that I've been up to since my last post about dogs.

1. Mammography: a torture machine. Waiting over an hour for a doctor to read your results in a waiting room with 6 other women wearing the same flowered robes watching Martha Stewart: even more torturous. Being the only one left out of the original gang of six in my robe watching reruns of Seinfeld? Terrifying. And, finally being told that I need an ultrasound to clarify whether "spots" are liquid or soft? Well, anyone that is remotely acquainted with me, can already guess how I took that news. Cried like a baby--in my car of course, since I had another hour to kill before the little breast that could be crushed no more was once again put under the spotlight. I feel thankful for the thoroughness of the doctors, and will continue my yearly check-ups, but there's nothing like that phone call telling you of "spots" that can quickly turn any good day (or 8 for that matter) into a paranoid, fretful, stew of worry and dread.

2. The Conference: this occurred the Saturday before #1, so I was caught up in the stew of worry and dread, but bound and determined to read my paper, and continue to forge ahead with professional duties. I, unlike many of my friends, loathe conferences. I love the cities and the sight-seeing, but somehow I don't really enjoy the conferences themselves. This time was no different. However, I did get to spend some qaulity time with my former diss advisor and her husband--and learn about their trip to Venezuela. The Bolivarian Revolution is pretty damned fascinating. More on that later . . .

3. Walking: Smith Jones has J and I walking all over this village. I've been up one street and down another, into one subdivision and out the other, up one major hill, in two different town parks. Rest. Sleep. Pant. Drool. Do it all over again! Having a dog sure beats a Y membership . . . I guess.

Those are the major personal things that have me at half-mast this Monday evening. I'm just spent from a week of worrying, writing, and walking.