6/02/2004
A POW thank-you letter to his captor
This story reprinted from the LA Times is worth checking out. I wonder how many thank-you letters the Abu Ghraib guards will get from their former Iraqi prisoners. This made me look at the debate over the meaning of Abu Ghraib from a different perspective.

Suppose, just suppose, that the argument we're having in this country isn't about Iraq, specifically. What if it's really about what we want America to mean to the world? On one side, security means projecting invincibility, "pre-emptive strikes," and assorted post hoc moral justifications. The people who subscribe to that view are running the show right now. On the other side, security means creating stable relationships with other countries, negotiating rather than dictating, and internal reflection.

As 9/11 dramatically showed, we cannot be physically invincible. Fortress America won't protect us; hate finds a way. The so-called Bush doctrine of pre-emptive military action has only fueled that hatred. And it doesn't take a philosopher to realize that bombing civilians, intentionally or not, only diminishes the moral defensibility of a cause. Maybe the peace-as-security folks are right. Perhaps we achieve security not by being America the Strong, but by striving to be America the Good. Propaganda and misinformation won't solve Iraq's intractable "hearts and minds" problem. For them to trust us, they have to believe that our intentions are noble, and our approach respectful. They must be able to say, after our German POW, that "[y]ou may imagine that we have an open heart for evry kindness we receive during our time as POW, and that former emnemie people which show that position and beheaving you did will be noticed as the only way for the future of a new rebuilding of the common life all over the world."
 
# by Chris @ 5:52 AM
5/30/2004
Eau de rat
Hee-hee. I've figured out what I'm going to do for the ACLU kids at camp on Tuesday. Everybody's getting a variety pack of incense. They're all hippies anyway, so they'll appreciate it. And when the AC sputters and dies in August, and a rodent dies in the wall next to their desks, they'll really appreciate it.
 
# by Chris @ 8:08 PM
Aren't we spooky?


The whole profile photo, with my girlfriend Stacey. We applied a fresco effect to the original color image in Photoshop. I hope they never find the body of the other guy who got the "fresco effect."
 
# by Chris @ 2:59 PM
Farewell, Stanley


I'm a bit late on this, but my car is no longer for sale. Stanley, pictured above, was sold for $100 dollars to a very nice guy who proceeded to make it pass inspection and run like a much better-maintained car. When he showed up a few days after the sale to get a receipt, I almost regretted getting rid of it. No word on exactly what Stacey bought with the $100, which she got for taking the initiative to sell Stanley after two years of immobility. (The car, that is, not Stacey)
 
# by Chris @ 2:51 PM
Done and done
At least, I think so. I've enabled comments, added site feeds, and listed the blog with a bunch of search engines. Now all I need to do is start writing about interesting stuff again.
 
# by Chris @ 1:43 PM
Vinnie Lecavalier shouldn't fight
At least not Jarome Iginla. Maybe some guy like me. You know, can't skate, knuckles of silly putty, weak stomach. But never, ever Jarome Iginla. On the other hand, maybe I should be encouraging Vinnie. After all, the Flames aren't complaining. And who the hell else is there to cheer for?
 
# by Chris @ 12:59 PM