I never liked Mitt Romney
To me he embodies the stereotype of a slimy politician
He panders to conservatives' irrational passions without any attempt to conceal that he’s just regurgitating tired old slogans
It’s like those guys that are overly romantic and say what they think women want to hear
Like they’ve watched awful Matthew Mcconaughey movies and took notes
They think they’re cunning, but we see right through them

You think you’re cunning Mitt, but I see right through you

Nevertheless, I let him be
Even if he were to win the nomination (which it’s pretty much looking like he won’t) if Americans are as intelligent as I think they are, they will not vote Republican
And not just because they hate Bush, but because Republicans continue to demonstrate how out of touch with reality they are

But today, Mitt made a speech following his non-win in Florida and said something like this:

And to all of those who criticize President Bush, it is because of him that America has been safe for the past 6 years


Whoa whoa whoa
Safe?
Safe you say?

Forgetting the fact that the Middle East is in such a volatile state because President Brilliant, having a sketchy perception of the area and it’s people, decided to meddle in it
and unbeknownst to him these states do not take too kindly to a Western presence on their turf (yes even those that we have stable relations with)

It is because of Bush and his administration’s half-assed preparation for, invasion of, and current occupation of Iraq that our soldiers are still there
Still being shot at, still getting shrapnel lodged in their organs, still being sent back to their families in caskets

But o.k. I’m not really addressing Romney’s claim that America itself has been “safe” for the past 6 years because of President Bush
This assertion relies on 2 factors
What Romney defines as “safe”
And if Bush himself had a direct or indirect hand in keeping America “safe”

First of all, if anyone should be given credit for preventing terrorist attacks on U.S. soil it should be the intelligence community: the F.B.I. the C.I.A. A.T.F. the State Department, or even your local Circuit City employee (in order to find that humorous I advise you to google: “the Dukas of Cherry Hill”)

Second of all, America is far from safe
I can best elaborate with an excerpt from my paper “The War in Iraq’s Role in the Recruitment and Motivation of Terrorists”

Let’s intro a little bit:

The United States’ occupation of Iraq is a defining factor in fueling the spread of pervasive anti-U.S. sentiment and the radical ideology that is necessary to convert potential recruits. By acting as a catalyst for radicalization, Iraq has become a rallying cry for Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, and for the new generation of disaffected Muslims that these groups target to recruit for the cause.

Operation Iraqi Freedom represented a reach into the Arab world to remove a regime and replace it with the U.S. principles of democracy, pluralism and secularism. The aim being to drain the Arab world from the sources of radicalization that made September 11th possible. Instead, the effort to transform Iraq became itself a source of radicalization. For terrorists and their potential recruits, the invasion and occupation of Iraq is the personification of America’s aggressive imperialism. Terrorist groups, specifically Al-Qaeda, frame the war in Iraq as a battle between a morally vacant superpower seeking to advance its agenda, and the relentlessly persecuted, righteous community of Muslims. By promoting the perception of U.S. neocolonialist encroachment on Muslim lands, a sense of crisis is instilled in those receptive to the message. For Al-Qaeda, this crisis is driven by an American conspiracy to invade Muslim lands and oppress its people. Vengeance becomes a necessity, and alienated, disaffected individuals feel it is their duty to join the struggle. Iraq has become the locus of this struggle; a battlefield for jihad.

Just some proof in case you needed it:

In his testimony before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on “The Changing Face of Terror – A Post 9-11 Assessment”, Ambassador Henry Crumpton describes how violence is justified in the face of desperation. “When a lack of freedom destroys hope, individuals sometimes feel they are justified to lash out in rage and frustration at those they believe responsible for their plight” (Crumpton, 2006). The United States is the target of this rage.

Declassified Key Judgments on the National Intelligence Estimate “Trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States,” cites four factors that are fueling the spread of the jihadist movement.
(1) entrenched grievances, such as corruption, injustice, and fear of Western domination, leading to anger, humiliation, and a sense of powerlessness; (2) the Iraq ‘jihad’ (3) the slow pace of real and sustained economic, social and political reforms in many Muslim majority nations; and (4) pervasive anti-U.S. sentiment among most Muslims – all of which jihadists exploit.

Benjamin states that “a new generation of terrorists is emerging with few ties to Al-Qaeda but a world-view soaked in Osama bin Laden’s hatred of the West, and new areas of the globe are increasingly falling under the shadow of this growing threat” (Benjamin, 2006). Iraq is the catalyst for this increase in individuals subscribing to a globalized idea of a struggle. He states that “The events of the last few years have helped the jihadist movement sign up recruits” (Benjamin, 2006).
The report notes that “threats, plots, and cells linked to the Iraq conflict have been uncovered in several regions of the world. A system of clandestine support networks funneled foreign terrorists to Iraq from the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, South and Central Asia, and the Caucasus.”
Foreign recruiting efforts have been successful as foreign fighters are believed to number up to ten percent of the estimated 20,000 insurgents (Country Reports on Terrorism, 2005).
The efficiency of al-Qaeda’s recruiting propaganda is evidenced by the increase in terrorist attacks within Iraq. In 2005, terror incidents in Iraq accounted for a third of all global incidents and more than half of terror-related deaths worldwide (Country Reports on Terrorism, 2005). Militants with a jihadist outlook number more than 15,000 (Benjamin, 2006). In addition, the occupation of Iraq is not only attracting recruits but also breeding leaders. “Fighters with experience in Iraq are a potential source of leadership for jihadists….”

Here is the big picture people:

“There is a concern that Iraq will become an exporter of seasoned terrorists, weapons and shared tactics….” (Perl, 2006).

And to conclude how about this:

“We are indeed in a battle for hearts and minds, and we are not winning” (Benjamin, 2006).

Basically, all of that was to say:
We are not safe, we’re sitting ducks
And our enemy cannot be defined or identified, our enemy continues to grow larger, stronger, and more lethal, our enemy disseminates his message to all corners of the world and ultimately our enemy is driven by our presence in Iraq

Which only leaves one more question,
Who exactly is responsible for our troops’ presence in Iraq?

So suck it Romney.

Repeat after me: Please, Thank You, You're Welcome

I despise rudeness
Its basically one person’s way of expressing their arrogance.
In order for someone to completely disregard common human decency, they have to think that they are better than someone else .
An undeserved sense of superiority

I was in a bar when some dude spilled his beer all down my left side
Now, I understand that drunk people in tight, enclosed spaces tend to spill shit, but that shouldn't mean that they just can run around getting everyone wet and sticky (ha)
Anyway,
I really didn’t think something as easy as apologizing would be so hard for such a toolbox, but apparently it was
Seriously people, even if you don’t mean it: “my bad” and “excuse me” go a long ass way
but I didn’t hear any of that from this particular bastard
so I looked at him and said: (in a non confrontational way, I know that’s difficult, but it’s somewhere between offended and prepared) “you spilled your beer on me…apologize”
he looked at me and said “whatever”

that is not only as far away from “I’m sorry/my bad” as you can get
but it’s just plain rude
I grabbed his beer cup, spilled it on him and walked away
an eye for an eye I suppose

so the moral of the story is: just because most women today are feminists to some degree, fiercely independent and demand equality at work, does not mean men should throw chivalry out the window

most human males are hoping to one day fall in love, have babies with and probably end up divorcing their dream girl
you don’t know which one of us it could be, so treat us like we’re all your future baby mamas
I’m sure you all want your little sisters, or daughters, or mothers to end up with dudes that truly value them and treat them accordingly

I will concede that some of us can be a pain in the ass and some are just down right bitches
But give them a break, since middle school we’ve had to be prepared to bear your children (biologically speaking of course) that makes us moody from time to time

Anyway, we are running corporations, winning Olympic medals and basically kicking ass everywhere we go, but we are still women and we deserve the utmost respect

You should go above and beyond the call of duty because we deserve it
Holding the door open, paying for things from time to time, buying thoughtful gifts and apologizing when you are at fault does not mean we are reverting to caveman times

Whoever thinks chivalry is offensive is taking themselves much too seriously
It does not imply that women are any less capable of taking care of themselves
It simply means that you appreciate us, that you recognize that we deserve this level of respect because we make your life worth living

Think about it
What would your days be like without women? And by women I mean females that respect themselves first and foremost, females that live their own lives and form their own opinions without worrying about what a man will think of them, females that will never deign to fake an orgasm, females that can support their own damn selves and that (as much as I want Obama to win) will run this country however they see fit

Once again, what this all comes down to is respect for yourself
Because people that respect themselves, respect others
They know that they are not better than other human beings because all humans are pursing the same thing: purpose
Everyone is searching for meaning in their lives whether this comes from feeling happy, successful, balanced and at peace or simply stress-free, we are all joined in this quest
And as humans we recognize that everyone is flawed
And that is why no one is better than anyone else
That is why one person’s goals are not anymore noble than another’s
Because we share the same struggle, because we do not know everything there is to know and because we are all connected to each other

All I can do is look upon such people and hope they realize the error of their thinking, without being condescending
because pity is also based in arrogance
It is acknowledgement that your way of life is more worthy than that of another’s
and like I said before, arrogance is the basis for rudeness


This is not to say that women aren’t rude as well
There is this chick that I always seem to be in front of, and thus am charged with being the door opener and holder
Every time she walks right past me, with this unearned sense of entitlement surrounding her like a thick, self-important black cloud, without so much as cracking a fake smile
And every time I make sure to say “you’re welcome” but in tone that suggests: “you cunt”

As much as I want to slam the door in her face I must soldier on
What kind of person would I be if I gave up on all of you rude mofos?

What makes people think that:
1- they can expel every single illegal immigrant from the U.S.
2- sending these immigrants back to their home countries is beneficial to Americans
3- wanting to ship ‘em back is NOT racist


I don’t care who you are (Mike Huckabee) but even so much as considering a plan to deport millions of people is sheer stupidity.
It is not possible to do such a thing.
Even if you get through the short, brown illegal immigrant stereotype, there are still a buttload more that you would never guess are in this country illegally.
(I personally know all kinds of adorable children, really attractive ladies and super intelligent overachievers that are in this country illegally)


Aside from this, I’ve already written about how people who advocate this idea, are kidding themselves when they say they are not racist.
A truly tolerant person would see that these people are not here to rape and pillage, this person would observe the loving, close-knit family dynamic of Latino immigrants, and their (for the most part) Catholic values.
This person would recognize that if their ancestors had been so rudely deported when they arrived on U.S. soil, that they themselves would probably not be enjoying the privileged lifestyle that Americans have been blessed with.
Finally, this person, as a compassionate and just human being, he would not want to send these people back to their deteriorating, poverty-stricken home countries, anymore than they would want to go themselves.

I think all the non-racists should get together, and implement a plan that would actually be effective in reducing illegal immigration into the U.S. such as working to improve relations with, and more importantly, the economic situations in Mexico and Latin America. Maybe some of the billions of dollars that Israel is getting from us can go to countries that really need it, countries that are right in our backyard. (Yeah I take jabs at Israel a lot, what can I say i'm human)

But we will never make progress as long as you racists are in denial and continue lying to yourselves about your true intentions.


Immigrants carry the agriculture, construction, landscaping, and service industries on their backs. To send them away would leave vacancies that Americans are not going to fill.
Aside from mistreatment and exploitation, their hours and wages are absolutely miserable (that means no sick days or paid vacations- man you Americans love getting paid for doing nothing). While there are U.S. citizens that would work these shit jobs, there would definitely not be enough of them to replace the loss of immigrant labor.
In order to fill the jobs, employers will need to raise salaries and throw in some benefits.
Hey, that’s not so bad right?
Well guess who’s paying for it? You are.
The customer.
I know what you’re thinking: “pssh, over my dead body I’ll just cut the damn grass myself”
Cut away Joe Schmo, but like I said the agriculture, construction, landscaping and service industries DEPEND on immigrant labor.
You cannot go one day without enjoying the fruit of all of this labor (no pun intended)
You can snub your nose at janitors, bus boys, construction workers and fruit pickers but you cannot deny that these people are the backbone of society.
They make your life easier, and more importantly they make the way you live your life possible.
However offensive their existence is to you, our country needs them.
Not only as workers, but as small business owners and consumers.
Their purchasing power is insane, and some of them do pay taxes.

All of this may not convince you, but how about this simple fact: Latinos are the fastest growing minority in the U.S., far exceeding Blacks and Asians.
Illegal immigrants are shaping our country’s demographics. Their children and grandchildren will be a force in this country. They will be your neighbors, your friends, your coworkers and bosses, your congressmen and senators, your favorite movie star or musician, your star athletes, the valedictorians at your kid’s schools and most likely: your relatives.
Latinos are sexy people, I defy you Americans to not marry and have babies with these hot mofo’s.

So pretty much all I am saying is: we’re already here, you need us, so deal with it.

Really though, how hard is to coexist people? Come on now.

Quoted from the New York Times:

“The Iraqi Parliament passed a bill on Saturday to allow some former officials from Saddam Hussein's party to apply for government positions, in the first of the so-called political benchmark measures to pass after months of American pressure for progress.”

“The Bush administration had urged the Iraqi government to pass such a measure to help mend the deep rifts between Sunni Arabs who used to control the government under Mr. Hussein and the Shiites who now dominate politics here.”

They got it wrong in the wording. It’s more like:
“The Bush administration had urged the Iraqi government to pass such a measure in an effort to rectify its Stupidity (note that it’s written with a capital S) in the handling of post-invasion Iraq.”

The coverage of this “so-called political benchmark” makes it sound like we’re making progress when in reality Bush and his cronies are just reversing the hurried measures they took at the very beginning of this whole mess.

They set into action an exquisitely ill-advised occupation strategy that revolved around de-baathification. Like everything Bush does, it was thoroughly tactless and completely destructive.
Ba’ath party members that joined for survival weren’t taken into account, identification of rank was based on unreliable sources, and some members that had committed all forms of atrocities while under Saddam were appointed to senior positions in the interim government after the realization that everything was falling apart and some form of bureaucratic administration was desperately needed.

Meanwhile, the occupation authorities continued their idiocy and dissolved the military leaving large numbers of men with no means of supporting their families and understandably bitter.

The Baath party was mostly Sunni, although some Shia held low level positions. So they equated de-baathification with de-sunnification.
They were removed from power in one clean sweep; thus alienating a population that would had been critical to the rebuilding of Iraq. It made them defensive and distrustful of the occupation authorities.

We set free their dormant sectarian hatreds. We made distinctions between good and bad, those in power and those left to fend for themselves, along sectarian lines.

Jobless, alienated, distrustful, and pissed off Iraqis responded with the violence that our soldiers are still trying to quell.

This is not what I would consider progress.

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto as imminent as it was, truly shocked me

Attempts began as soon as she returned to Pakistan, but to me these were more scare tactics then real failed plots to end her life
As contentious as the situation was (violence from extremists, martial law, protest, public unrest) she was an agent of hope for stability and change; a true woman of the people
Her demise would not only be completely senseless but for lack of a better word: counterproductive and actually this is the better word: stupid

Who knows how effective she could have been with all of these conflicting dynamics within the country, but to think that she wasn’t even given a chance is truly disheartening

It’s shocking most of all because as much as the threat loomed, I didn’t think it would happen
That Pakistan, Musharaff, Us, God, Allah whoever would allow it to occur, knowing full well the repercussions of it would undoubtedly be tumultuous

We definitely need to reevaluate what exactly we think we’re accomplishing in the “global war on terror”
Pakistan has been receiving buttloads of money that is not resulting in any semblance of counterterrorism, instead using it to bolster its military, weapons and other efforts aimed at sticking it to India

Maybe it’s the root of our patterns of thinking that we need to reevaluate
As Americans we need there to be a bad guy as much as we need there to be a good guy
And when that bad guy isn’t really bad (maybe just a president driven by a need for security)
or the good guy doesn’t prevail (but is instead shot at close range) it shatters our belief system

Even so, we don’t really want the bad guy to be truly evil
So it’s even more troubling to think that Musharaff, while not actively plotting or endorsing her elimination, would even allow a margin for the possibility to exist
Let alone have infiltrations within those assigned to guard her

The question of his complicity is hard to deal with
Either we have to come to terms with the raw, uncompromising (and often underground) manner in which power is asserted by leaders and states that we consider critical to our needs and goals
Or we have to face the fact that despite our best efforts, and those of countries who claim they’re aligned with our efforts, there are people out there who make nonsense out of political maneuvers, who don’t have any need let alone regard for hope or change or pluralism, who will undertake cold, hard attacks on anyone that is not espousing their toxic ideology; focused and insatiable in their desire to bring about their own version of what the world should be

Either way, our first step should be admitting we lost control (if we ever had it) over a world that lacks clarity, over nations of people that lack classification and identity and over ourselves and our actions that continue to grow increasingly counterintuitive and more often then not dangerous for us
Using this admission as the basis for new ways of thinking, of defining who truly is bad versus the spectrum of those within the gray area and completely throwing out any concept of “good” (as volatile environments sometimes require a departure from conventional “goodness”)

What is conventional goodness anyway?
Our nation has the audacity to define what is good while bearing a dark history
we've strayed from our own perceptions of right and wrong to serve questionable interests, and as difficult as it may be to accept, have been the cause of our own troubles

"I don't follow politics"

I mean it’s not quite the same as saying: I don’t follow basketball.
One is disproportionately much more important than the other (sorry Lebron)

But anyway, what is that you aren’t quite following?
Do you mean, you don’t care to follow the inner-workings of a system that:
-collects sums of your money as taxes
-determines the quality of your child’s education
And
-maintains the infrastructure you depend on everyday
-is currently employing your friends and loved ones

I can see how people don’t find “politics” interesting.
Of course it all depends what you mean by politics.
It departs from it's literal meaning and encompasses everything from international relations and foreign policy, to municipalities.
But to most people it’s a suit circus.
An endless cycle of well-coifed men (and the occasional hard-ass lady), detached from the common man’s reality, waxing poetic about tax-cuts and health care and troop withdrawals, in order to secure more time in their fancy posts.
These men are in the business of distribution.
Battling it out over who gets what.

But in the midst of all of this, opportunities present themselves.
And throughout most of the hub bub, that common man dealing with his own version of reality (the much harder one) can step in at any time and determine the direction all of this nonsense goes in. Easily replacing anyone he deems ineffective (as was evident the last midterm elections when we overwhelmingly booted out the old, elitist majority)

To me, that is the genius of all of this.
Because you live in an area, and make that area your home, you have the power to choose who will maintain or improve your life.
While you may move in the future, these people will come and go at your whim.

I feel for you, man.
I guess it’d be like someone asking you what you think of Singapore.
You’d be wildly impartial simply because you do not know anything whatsoever about Singapore.
And there’s nothing wrong with that.

But there is something wrong with not knowing anything whatsoever about the people, groups, and legislation that directly affect the present and future of the country you call home.

No one says you have to be a politics junkie, but a little information never hurts.

It sounds extremely smug but I know I am destined for greatness.

Unfortunately, I am in a constant state of feeling torn.
It’s almost like this dead end that I know is there, and that I have to reach but the question of how is unnerving; looming over my head like a guillotine.

I am uncertain of which path to take, hoping that it will work itself out, or at least reveal itself on its own, because every action I take implies catastrophic consequences.
And I never know if I’ve chosen correctly.

Everything has sailed smoothly thus far.
But I can’t escape the feeling that I am approaching a crossroads,
and some time, very soon, I will have to unveil some kind of strategy; formulate a plan of attack.

It’s exhausting work.
For most of my existence I’ve managed to ignore it and instead immerse myself in corporal pleasures, under the pretext that it makes me happy.

This is perhaps where all of this “party girl” business fits in.
It offends me to be called a “party girl.”
I do not consider myself, by any stretch of the imagination, a Lindsay Lohan clone.
While she has done some things which can universally be classified as “mistakes” I feel like my actions have never been missteps.
Instead, they are pieces of a larger scheme; lessons to prepare me for what is to come.
Everything that normal people would label regretful, I identify as tests: growth.

Which means that I am not a “party girl.”
I am simply an adventurer, picking up little strands of wisdom from varied experiences,
A truth-seeker, lover and warrior if you will.

Even so, I learned in Catholic school that a couple saints used to be quite the big party people themselves
But none of that matters, it even makes them a better saint to have reformed in such a manner
Because maybe when you reach the pinnacle of your existence; the climax of your journey, everything prior to that moment either becomes irrelevant or (hopefully not) of critical importance

If it even is a moment,
maybe the culmination of your life’s journey is a decade, or two
Or maybe it’s your death.

But either way, I know it is not occurring now or anytime soon.
So I feel like right now I’m scrambling to sort everything out, to reach that point

It’s quite stressful dealing with this unexplainable pressure (that has been there since I could remember)

At least Jesus had a sense of some defined course of action.
Granted he knew the time and manner in which his death would occur, but this afforded him the ability to plan accordingly.
Which I view as somewhat of a luxury.
I’d imagine having knowledge of one’s own demise would make everything much more clear,
every decision much more deliberate.

I feel solidarity with the guy, considering we were both born to satisfy a very specific purpose (albeit his is of slightly greater significance, considering he is the son of god and all) but the difference is he knew what his was.
He was briefed on every detail.
To some extent I would like to be as well.
But for now I will just take a page out of Harold and Kumar go to White Castle:
“The universe tends to unfold as it should”