The Stinkeye

Freedom & terror tied!

SOTU addresses are glimpses into the politics of America, and more Americans should take time out to watch - or throw things at the TV like I do when W has the podium. I think the reason most people don't take the time is the same reason W is back in office, but maybe this will make it more interesting for you.  Below is a graphic from the NY Times illustrating the number of mentions certain phrases received in the past SOTU addresses, including last night's speech. A clear shift is evident and Bush's focus is amazingly on foreign vs. domestic affairs. You would think that given our problem with health insurance and social security he'd be a leader, but in reality, that hasn't really been possible except where the military is concerned. This doesn't leave much hope for his plan to make us less dependent on oil.  

Be careful what you wish for...

If you're older than 5, you may have noticed that life is never black & white.  There are always choices that create other decisions - and even more exciting, many other unintended results.  As you know W doesn't really put much weight in this theory - everything in his presidency has been black or white, right or wrong.  I guess he feels the American people just can't take the nuance, so he doesn't pay us that respect.

President Bush's crusade to spread little Americas across the ME has taken a turn many expected, but one that the administration hoped to contain.  In a democracy you can't control the way people vote - that's the whole point.  In recent Palestinian elections, Hamas was won a majority and looks to be the face of the two-state solution moving forward.  You might think this is great, but you'll have to remember the US has a strict policy of not negotiating with terrorists or terror groups (the US has listed Hamas on the terrorist list) and the sole purpose of Hamas is to destroy Israel.

I haven't heard much yet from the Israeli side, but these unintended results have definitely made future negotiations a bit messier, and it's going to test the black/white administration's skill at finding common ground.  I would hope the media lets this happen and doesn't just try to pick apart the situation we're now in because as the world continues to get smaller, the whole US government has to get more daft and dealing with a much more interconnected world.

Why are we there?

OK.  I just lost my whole freaking post - and of course it was brilliant.  In the meantime while I find some time to rewrite it, check this out.  It's the only thing you need to understand what the hell is going on out there.

The Green State?

I know all you avid readers have missed me while I've been gone, so for that, I apologize.  The reason for my absence may be due to the off-year elections that just took place in a place called Seattle.  There were a couple interesting issues worth getting out to the polls to express yourself: the 5th vote on building a monorail for the west side of Seattle, and a ban on indoor smoking.  If you're like me, you would imagine Seattle would be one of the most green cities in the country.  In reality, that city is about three hours south (Portland, OR).

Seattle is a city surrounded by hills which makes a light rail system similar to other cities around the country more difficult to build.  So, in hopes of alleviating some of the traffic coming from the west side of Seattle, the monorail project was developed to connect this part of the city to downtown and other areas south of there.  A novel idea and a step in the right direction for sure, but that's where everything falls apart.  The management of tax money has been abominable, there was only a faint plan to connect other parts of the city to the system, and they were collecting tax from many around the city that would never benefit from its completion.

So, for the 5th time the voters were asked to "approve" the building of the monorail - albeit a shorter line due to a lack of funding and poor planning.  The voters said yes the first 4 times, but on the fifth time said I'll take my car, thanks.  I don't blame people for voting against it, and I hope another group will be willing to take up the daunting task of bringing good mass transit to Seattle.

As for the smoking ban, can you believe NYC passed the law before a green, lefty city like Seattle.  Don't get me started.  I'm just happy it finally happened.  The only problem is a small detail in the law that restricts smoking 25 feet from the front door or windows of a building as well. Why the fuck can't people just leave well enough alone?!?  How the hell is this going to be enforced?  Getting smoke out of the buildings is key, but adding other clauses like this one really leaves a bad taste in people's mouths, and make politicians look stupid.  I wonder if was added in hopes to get people not vote against it.  Luckily, it didn't work.