Most of my pictures from the weekend are on Kat’s computer. She’s editing/touching up our pictures from the charity event and will send them to me on a disc as soon as she’s done. In the meantime, here’s a photo I took Friday night, when we arrived around dusk at the lake. Kat spent a little time putting a couple of filters on it and, voila – here’s the result.
We make a good team, Kat and I, don’t we!
I drove down to Atlanta Thursday night to help a couple of friends with a charity event. Even though it was rather exhausting, I had a blast! It was great to see my LA friend Kat, and our Atlanta friend Jenn, neither of whom I hadn’t seen since last year’s boat show in Alabama.
Kat and I stayed up till the wee hours of Friday morning (4:30 to be exact) talking about deep things. And then spent the hour and a half drive up to Lake Oconee. We had a lot to say! 🙂
My friend Jenn and her dad started this boat ride charity event for children with the Brain Tumor Foundation, Make a Wish and Startlite Foundation several years ago. Her dad died last year and Jenn recruited Kat and this year Kat recruited me.
The event was held at a wonderful little lakeside resort and all the kids had a great time taking rides on the Chris Craft boats and eating hot dogs and hamburgers. Despite three boats breaking down at the same time, the event came off without a hitch. Kat and I spent the day taking tons pictures and printing some out for each of the kids to take home as a remembrance for the day of fun in their otherwise pain-filled young lives.
It was so amazing and humbling to talk with these kids and their parents about their ordeals. So much pain and so many hopes dashed by failed surgeries, relapses and cancers that just won’t go away. And yet these kids are so resilient, so filled with joy! And their parents are so grateful for anything that brings a little normalcy and fun into their child’s lives. I can’t tell you how many times I was thanked for the boat ride event, even though I had nothing to do with the planning of it.
I loved seeing the smiles and expressions of complete joy on the kids faces. Especially when they got to take the wheel of a boat and "drive" for a little bit. My heart is truly full. It was filled that day just watching the kids have fun.
It got me to wondering why I don’t do things like this more often, charity events for sick children who need a little joy in their lives. I’ve often thought of volunteering at Vandy’s Children’s Hospital – especially as a cuddler for the littlest infants – but I’ve never actually filled out the paperwork. I keep thinking that I don’t have time at this moment, so I’ll wait till I have a little more time. I realized this weekend that I won’t ever have time to volunteer if I don’t just make the time. What have I been waiting for?
I watched Part One of this two-part mini-series on ABC tonight. I have to say, I was blown away, both by the production values of this MOW (aka Movie of the Week) and of the information it provides.
It is excellently written, acted and produced. It could rival the best episodes of 24 in its suspense and realistic feel, though it did move rather slow in a few areas. But production aside, what it reveals of the events leading up to September 11, 2001 is insanely mind-bending.
Some of it it is already known, in the arrests of various Al Qaeda operatives on their way to, or shortly after, a terrorist attack. But at one point, we apparently had a clear and perfect opportunity to take out/arrest/kill Osama Bin Laden back in 1998, but was not approved at the last minute. Richard Clark, NSC for President Clinton and now an ABC adviser, defends the move saying that the CIA operatives there would have been cut down in the attempt and it would not have been successful.
I don’t believe him. And even if he is correct, wouldn’t it have been better to have tried back then, with the element of surprise on our side, than what has happened since? It seems to me that Clinton’s advisers and cabinet were more afraid of what their Boss and what the Congress would do to them if any Ops against Bin Laden and Al Qaeda than they were intent on protecting and defending the citizens of the US. And Clinton was far too busy defending himself because he couldn’t keep his paws of an intern to pay real attention to what was happening in the world, nonetheless in his own ranks.
It will be interesting to see what mistakes and missteps the Bush Administration made in the months and days leading up to September 11th. Because you know they made them. Ain’t nobody perfect in this world.
What I do admire about Bush is that once the attack happened, he came out and said what everyone in the Intelligence community knew since the early 1990s: we are at war with this guy. Bin Laden declared war on America, on Americans, on every single one of us unless we convert to Islam or until we are all dead. Every last one of us. He declared that back in the early 1990s. He made it known to the world. And September 11th was just one in a many attacks he’s made on us. But more importantly, Bush not only declared war, he backed it up with action. He was ruthless in his pursuit. That is, until Bin Laden took refuge in the mountains of an American ally, Pakistan, who still claims allegiance to us over Bin Laden/Taliban.
If Pakistan’s leaders really believe that, they must be completely out of touch with their own people, who are aiding and abetting Bin Laden and the Taliban even today. Personally, I think Pakistan’s leaders are playing both sides of the fence because they get benefits from being on America’s side but I think their hearts really belong to Bin Laden. That’s just my opinion.
Bush started so strong. He was kickin’ ass and takin’ names. But he seems so impotent now. What happened? What happened? I have to wonder if He got so frustrated with Pakistan that it caused him to turn and kick Saddam in the balls, which drug us into an unwinnable position in Iraq. And somewhere along the way he lost his way.
Back to "The Path of 9/11", I can see why many Clinton loyalists cried foul over this movie though. It doesn’t shine the best light on Clinton. But that’s really Clinton’s own fault, not the fault of the 9/11 Commission or the filmmakers. He sucked at foreign policy. Even Clinton fans have to admit that. He just sucked at it. I don’t know if he just didn’t care, or if he just completely lacked comprehension of it.
Failure doesn’t belong just to him, though. It seems clear that it didn’t just filtered down through his underlings, but it had percolated unchecked through the intelligence and law enforcement agencies for years; perhaps due to Reagan’s failing mental health or the elder Bush’s lack of trust or belief in Reagan’s policies. There was a gross lack of communication and trust between intelligence agencies and a whole lot of people who just didn’t see any of it coming till it was too large to stop.
Whatever you may think of Clinton or Bush, I think ABC actually made a very wise and valuable choice in producing this film. How many of us actually took the time, or would bother to take the time even now, to read the whole 9/11 Commission Report. But we’re all more than willing to watch a mini-series for a few hours, especially one that’s aired uninterrupted — as in without those stupid, pesky, annoying commercials. And perhaps some of us, like me, just might get curious enough to read the real thing and actually have a better understanding of the world we live in and events leading up to the attack that woke us up to the fact that we really are at war. Not because we declared it so, but because someone out there really does want us dead.
This is hilarious, given Wendy’s penchant for collecting INFP friends! heehee!!
Actually, I’m quite surprised by this… I think I’m actually an INFJ. But perhaps I’m mellowing in my old age, eh.
| You Are An INFP |
The Idealist You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world. Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships. It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close. But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop. You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist. |
| Your Career Personality: Independent, Flexible, and Ingenious |
 Your Ideal Careers: Astronaut |
I’m watching Hillary Clinton on Night-line, and I’m surprised that I’m sort of agreeing with her — at least on some points. Which is a total switch for me. Since I first saw her and Tipper "dancing" together on the stage at the 1992 Democratic Convention, I’ve not been a fan of hers. She just seemed so fake and so… I don’t know, pushy?
And I don’t think I can call myself a fan of hers even now. However, I do have to admit, she came off in this interview a lot more calm and sane and even sensible than she has in her "it’s all a right-wing conspiracy" days. No, I haven’t forgotten all the suspicious activity that has surrounded her and her husband throughout their governor years and White House years.
Yet, I cannot escape the fact that I did agree with her that the current administration has not capitalized on the opportunities of strong leadership they had after September 11th. Nor can I escape the feeling that she is right in calling for an overhaul of personnel in the defense/national security departments.
And I cannot escape that fact that as I sat here listening to her speak on definitions of leadership, on what needs to be done in Iraq and on why anyone would want to run for President of The United States (she left out a thirst for power and control) I could actually almost see her as President. If there is a viable woman candidate for the job, it would be her; and I could almost see myself voting for her.
And that is the most shocking thing of all. That I would even consider voting for Hillary is a far, far cry from where I was even a couple of years ago. Not just politically, but intellectually.
It took me until the last year to realize that I’m a lot like the character of Maggie Carpenter (played by Julia Roberts) in "Runaway Bride". Except, instead of not knowing what kind of eggs I like (over easy), I don’t know what I really think about politics or theology, or what I truly believe. I had some ideas, but in the family I grew up in, it didn’t seem to matter what I really thought. It was my older siblings and my dad who had the power. If I didn’t agree with them, I was made to feel stupid, brainless, unthinking. That would have been simple, except for the fact that my father was very conservative, my oldest sister is very liberal and my brother started liberal, but went very conservative over 20 years ago. I felt like a push me-pull you doll. I was damned which ever way I went. Dad’s death didn’t free me from the tug-o-war either. It made it more difficult because I couldn’t just ask him what he thought and decide to go with his conclusions.
Two years of counseling is finally paying off. I’m finally beginning to find my own political voice. And its a voice that is neither liberal or conservative. Yet at the same time is much more liberal than I thought I was. Truthfully, I fall somewhere in the middle. That "centrist" place that is so often condemned by both sides because they think we’re riding the fence. But we’re not. I’m not.
Look, was Saddam a bad man? Yeah, I strongly believe he was. But I knew even back in early 2003 when the build up began that this was going to be a long, protracted unwinnable war. It wasn’t hard to see, in my opinion. But then again, I was living in the region and had a feel for the mood and culture there.
But did we really need to take down Saddam? I don’t know. Right now I want to say, no we really didn’t. But what difference does that really make now? We are there. We’ve done the thing and we must now see it through. To just set an arbitrary date and pull out would be an egregious wrong to the people we’ve liberated from Saddam’s tyranny. Because, while Saddam is gone, there are far too many other tyrants desperate to take his place. And they will, as soon as we leave — or even while we’re still there.
And there in lies the biggest dilemma. We could be there forever. And that is just as wrong as just pulling up stakes and leaving. And this is where I saw Hillary tonight lining up with what I already believe and think. I could see her struggling with this very dilemma and coming to the same conclusions I am.
This is not fence-sitting, as the far-left or far-right would define me. To me, it is unwise to take a hard-line stance on anything, because life just isn’t black-and-white. Whether or not we "should" or "should not" do something depends on the situation at hand. Compassion should always temper the law but justice cannot always take a back seat to mercy and grace. Sometimes, often times, justice will walk hand-in-hand with grace — the "I forgive you" can still be (and usually is) followed by "but it is unwise for me to forget" and "you still have to pay the consequences of your actions".
I find that I more often than not, fall into this moderate category of thinking. Moderate on war, on economics and welfare and jobs, even (gasp) religion/Christianity in American politics. I think age has mellowed my hardliner tendencies — age, and finally finding my own voice, instead of relying on that of my father’s.
I get the sense that age has also mellowed Hillary. She seems to have moved away from her far-left leanings and moved closer to a more moderate view. But is this a real move, or just the ploy of a savvy politician? I still have trust issues where the Clintons are concerned.
The difference between Hillary and I, when it comes to Iraq, is that I am not convinced that the Bush administration lied about the WMDs. I have no problem believing he had them and that he sent them to Syria (or Iran or somewhere else) for "safe keeping". But perhaps they weren’t as advanced as our intelligence was led to believe. Who knows? But I’m pretty convinced that the Bush administration was (and still is) convinced their intel was good and that they acted in good faith on that intel. Hillary seems to think they lied then, and continue to lie now. I don’t think so.
What I see is an administration trapped in a web of bad decisions based on faulty or incomplete intel, with a big blind spot in their intel department. Sometimes you can fully, implicitly trust someone who just isn’t as in-the-know as they think they are.
I love the idea of a woman POTUS. I loved the show "Commander In Chief" because of this. I think it’s an incredibly intriguing idea, and one who’s time has come. I’ve often thought, depressingly at the time, that Hillary had the best chance of this at this point. But tonight, she may have won a voter. She was eloquent, well-spoken, intelligent and calm. Gone were the hysterics and theatrics that so marked what I saw of her during her husband’s presidency. And in their place I found a woman who shared my thinking on several issues.
But is she really trustworthy? Or is this just a very good performance by a studied, professional politician? This jury of one is still out on that one.
Okay — disclaimer here. I’m yelling in this post, but it’s not at you, my audience. For you
are all very intelligent, blog-wise people. I’m yelling here because to
yell about such things on someone ele’s blog would probably not be very
kind or acceptable. And it would undoubtably be way off-topic.
I read a blog on Voxtropolis today that discussed blog etiquette. Ooohhhhh, did it hit on a pet peeve of mine.
I’ve been noticing lately as I read various blogs that have touched on controversial topics or have become controversial in and of themselves, that a lot of people now commenting on these blogs seem to have a basic misunderstanding of what a blog really is, and what it is not.
Commenters are starting to often write about fairness of commenting or posting and such as if they are posting on a bulletin board not on a blog. There is a difference.
A bulletin board (BB) is a place where many people can come together and post their thoughts about a particular subject. It’s like a virtual coffee house where everyone is welcome to speak their mind and where etiquette and common courtesy dictate that all must be given fair chance to be heard — unless that person has resorted to name-calling or "flaming" the topic (using inflammatory words and such).
A blog, on the other hand, is no such public venue. It is one’s private little corner of the web. Kind of like someone standing in their front yard, or living room with the door open to visitors and guests and saying what they wish. Its a place where one can post whatever one’s heart desires. People can comment, if one allows, on the post, or even on the blog in particular (mostly is "proper" to keep comment to subject of the post, but whatever…).
However, the blogger get to choose what will and will not be tolerated in their own comments section. Commentors are, after all, in the blogger’s "house" so-to-speak. This space is the blogger’s, and that blogger gets to make the rules. If someone gets unruly or rude on my blog, I have every right to delete their comments, and to even ban them from ever commenting again. Nope, not fair. But then, this blog isn’t about fairness. It’s about me.
Bottom line, a blog is someone’s personal space. And they can run it as they see fit. They can delete your comment just because they don’t like your name, if they so choose, and it’s completely fair and okay for them to do so. And no, they do not have to hold themselves to the whatever fairness rules or posting etiquette you think they ought. Their blog may be on the Internet, but it is still in their name and (at least on Typepad) they are paying for it, so they get to call the shots. You don’t like it, don’t comment! And for that matter, don’t read it!
Okay…. I think I’ve gotten a little bit of that frustration out of my system. Now, on to other one.
I’ve been
blogging long before it was cool — and long before we had all these nifty programs allowing people to comment. Back then we called them on-line journals. A lot has changed since then, but some basic language still hangs on and it’s the confusion in blog terminology that really drvies me batty.
So listen up, people. Pay close attention. There will be a test on this every time you post or comment.
A Blog — is a particular place where one can record their thoughts, opinions and life on the Internet; A person may have many blogs, or may just have one. IT IS NOT AN INDIVIDUAL ENTRY! I want to just KILL MySpace every time I have to go copy and paste my entries on that stupid thing (I’m really about ready to drop it — sorry Wendy, but I hate MySpace). It’s little button to add a post says, "add a new blog". AAAUUUGGGHH. NO. I do NOT want another blog. I want to post to the blog I’ve got.
Post — an entry in your blog; there will be many posts in a blog but only one blog; you do NOT write a new blog about something, you write a new POST about something (please see tantrum thrown above)
Comment — this is NOT a post, but a comment; they are different; to refer to "what someone wrote in the post a couple of posts up" is not correct. It’s the "comment a few comments" up that is correct. Get it straight, people. I write the posts, you write the comments.
Again, I’m not yelling at you, my audience. Your
intelligence always astounds me (especially that you would want to read my blog of all things!). I just needed to vent. I think I’m done for now…..
Thank God it’s Friday.
Sorry for the silence here… I’m still alive — I haven’t died or gotten tied up and drug away by wild and nasty gnomes. Just haven’t had the energy to blog lately. Been pouring it into life, and other stuff.
Have you ever had so much to say, on so many topics, you don’t know where to begin or how to get it all out? That’s my problem lately. So much I’ve taken in and learned and experienced and now I just can’t figure out how to get it all on paper — or, rather, into my blog. It may ultimately take me many posts.
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve started a new "program" (Weight Watchers — woohoo watch my weight go up and down and up again!!), fulfilled a wish I’ve had for several years and contemplated deep things of God.
Okay, so it hasn’t been the most adventure-packed of times, but it was enough to keep my mind whirling like crazy and my body aching for sleep. And now it’s given me mental/writing constipation. Too much that wants to come out all at once. Its kind of like when you don’t think through the timing as you cook a big meal and every dish is ready and must be attended to at the very same moment. Maddening.
My sister came out last weekend and both of us attended a 4-day taping of Beth Moore’s new Bible study, due out next September (’07). It was awesome — if not a little overwhelming. Those of you who’ve participated in one of her studies knows she gives a lot of information and a lot of insight in each weekly 50-minute or so session. Try taking in 6 of those in 4 days. Yikes! My head was spinning. But such good stuff! And it was fun just to get to see Beth in person, which had been a longing of mine for several years, and to see how things go in a "real time" study with her, rather than just the polished finished product on tape. Good, good stuff. Nina and I stayed up late into the night/morning talking each night about what we’d learned
I’ve been on Weight Watchers now for a week and a half. It’s going okay I think. Its a little more complicated than I thought — with all the points counting and such. But I’m getting used to it. I didn’t lose but about a pound last week due to all the late evening activity and a visit to the Cheesecake Factory on Saturday (yummmm!). Hopefully, I’ll do better this week.
Through all this, God has been speaking and moving and teaching and challenging. My oh my. I’ve learned much as we talked together and wanted to duck and pretend I didn’t hear when the challenges came. Yet I didn’t. And we are now walking through some places that are familiar, yet new. Forgiveness, Grace, Love –even when combined with dislike, all familiar, yet new every time I walk through them.
Finally, here’s a passage I’d nearly forgotten till Beth reminded us Saturday morning. It brought me hope; hope that I’d forgotten was there. Hope for not just the future, but for Today.
"See, it is I who created the blacksmith
who fans the coals into flame
and forges a weapon fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc;"no weapon forged against you will prevail,
and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
and this is their vindication from me,"
declares the LORD. — Isaiah 54:16-17