i have the most incredibly beautiful, wonderfully brilliant children. they are so loving, and they are not afraid to be themselves. i don’t know how i got so lucky.

Suzie posted a link to this video on a message board she frequents, without comment other than that it is very difficult to watch. Here are some of the responses.

Wendy, whose icon proclaims that she is a “posting addict” and who appears to be using a professionally taken sepia toned glamour shot of herself as her icon, says:
“Do they have a video of Saddam’s destruction on his own country, his own people? Maybe a video showing the Cultural genocide of the Kurds?
_________________
Wendy,
Mommy to Riley, Tristan, and Caleb”

BabyFactoryInTn pipes up and shows that she does not understand how to read for comprehension:
“Shouldn’t it be ‘Mohammed loves me this I know, for the Koran tells me so.’ The choice of music was completely inappropriate & disrespectful. Where is the footage of the US Soldiers giving these kids medical care & saving their lives? Or the photos of the terrorists causing this suffering? I have to agree with the previous poster, terrorism is nothing new to Iraq. MILLIONS were killed because Saddam’s regime. At least we are trying to give them a decent life.
_________________
Lisa 38, Eric 44, Holly 17, Ashley 15, Adam 9, Ethan 4 & Isaak 1.”

Nytewind, a Proud Army Mother, has this to say:
“As anti-bush, anti-war Proud Army Mom. What this video isn’t telling you is that these injuries are caused by IED’s and dissedent terrorist gunfire, that the medical care you see being given is because of the U.S our dr’s, our supplies and our money.

This video is anti-war propaganda, that is totally and completely misleading.
_________________
Angelia”

Wendy is back for another stirring post:
“You say it’s not up for debate, but this video was made with one view, and one view only. That we should not be there, and Americans/Bush are the ones killing these people out of our own ignorance and arrogance. By far, this not a fair representation of what’s taking place in Iraq.
I think we should all take a moment and remember what Saddam did to his own people. That would be fair.
You simply cannot put a liberal video up, without expecting a debate to occur.
_________________
Wendy,
Mommy to Riley, Tristan, and Caleb”

Domestic_Goddess is the first person to display even a shred of humanity by acknowledging the horror depicted in the clip by saying this:
“That was very sad.Everything has a bias and I agree that this likely doesn’t show the whole picture but everything has a bias - that’s reality. Anyway TFS - I agree, it’s important to watch these things. Maybe someone can share a video or show a link about the other side of the coin since nothing is usually neutral.
_________________
Amanda & Murray
Loving parents to
Alannah (5)
Joel (2.5)
Erin (1)”

97~Mommy~03 drags out this old propaganda chestnut:
“What’s really sad is those kids don’t know any different. That is the life they know since the time they were born.”

Strange_Cat doesn’t want to upset anyone with a link, but still says the following:
“Want to see something even sadder? Do a search on the use of chemical weapons on the Kurds in Halabja and you’ll see images that will make you cry. I won’t even post a link because it’s just too upsetting.”

Here is my reply to these posts, and to everyone who still thinks that this ecclesiocratic, corrupt government is only doing “God’s” work:

Are you folks actually suggesting that our weaponry kills no one but “terrorists?” Surely you’re not saying anything so outrageously obtuse, ignorant, and dangerously naive, right?

Those are Saddam’s weapons! Our doctors are helping them! Yeah, uh-huh. And our missiles are actually just high-velocity pinatas carrying presents for all the Iraqi children. Those rifles you see? Why, they’re shooting daisies! We sent in doctors and medicine and cotton candy and teddy bears! Not soldiers and tanks and bombs and bullets!

We’re nothing but angels of mercy, and these savages - this is all they know! et cetera - just don’t know how to accept our incredible Western benevolence. Oh well, we’ll just go ahead and take this oil that they’re too violent and unimportant to care about, okay? Get it out of their hair? Maybe someday people will finally realize that the best way to save someone is to utterly obliterate his home, his family, and everything he’s ever known. I mean, as long as you send a box of Band-Aids it’s okay, right?

I mean really, is it that you wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if you accepted the reality of what our government has done in our names? Murder. Pillage. Destroy. Children, men, women, the elderly, the enemy, the enemy’s neighbor, someone walking down the same street as the enemy, our own fellow countrymen, et cetera. Well guess what: that’s the truth. And it was all for money.

Of course Saddamn was a brutal tyrant - but hello? There is GENOCIDE going on in parts of Africa! Why haven’t we cooked up an operation, given it a stupid, chest-thumping, gruntingly “patriotic” name that the NASCAR, Git-R-Done voter base will love (how about Operation Avenge Earnhardt), and swooped in there with our incredible crush of fire- and manpower? Because until they get something we want, like oil, we don’t care. Period.

I got a new tattoo! It’s on my inner left forearm, and it says “freedom” in Hebrew. Moondog’s apprentice Pixie gave it to me, and I think she did a great job. I think I’ll see if she wants to add some color to it, maybe some flames or something…

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Dreams

Which Stevie Nicks Song Are You?
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I’ve been accepted to Iowa Lakes. It was a gruelling process. This is sarcasm.

Aaanyway, I might start in the summer, but I have to wait ’til April to apply for financial aid! Oh snap! So it will be a cliffhanger - will I actually be able to go to school? Stay tuned! I’m planning on transferring to a four-year institution to get a bachelor’s in English. So, uh…yeah.

Hey, I want to make a wedding cake!

Now I can’t stop eating tzatziki sauce on pita bread with feta cheese. I made gyros last night (a long process which involved, among other things, straining plain yogurt for a few hours in a tea towel to more closely resemble Greek yogurt), and in addition to the leftovers we gave Suzie, I have tzatziki sauce to spare. And holy. Crap. Is. It. Good. And do I love feta? Yes, yes I do. Damn you Greeks! I love your food!

The deluding passions are inexhaustible.
I vow to extinguish them all.
Sentient being are numberless.
I vow to save them all.
The truth is impossible to expound.
I vow to expound it.
The way of the Buddha is unattainable.
I vow to attain it.

Ow, I stubbed my toe just now! What a rip-off to my big toe, who was looking forward to a relaxing evening at home.

Does anyone know where I can get ground lamb? I have this great gyro recipe and all the ingredients to go with it - except lamb, which is, y’know, sorta central to the whole operation. So where can I get some? Pipe up!

Oh yeah, I’ll be posting the yarn dyeing pictures soon.