I have really decided that the White House needs better PR. Or more over, needs someone to stop certain people from saying and doing things that make them and in turn the country they represent look like smug, conceited, over-bearing bigots. I hate to be the one to point fingers but could someone please put a leash on Rumsfeld. It's bad enough that he says things like "Calibrate Me" to senior American Military personnel. That in and of itself seems a bit too smug and superior to be verbally flinging at the Joint Chiefs chairman, General Richard Myers. On top of that, we are getting a bit of a split opinion from Washington about some bum advice that he and other in the cabinet have been giving to the president.

Now, perception within the country is one thing. But when we have Chretien, our leading neighbor to the north, refuse to make a trek to the White House on account of war, we may have gone too far. Canada may been seen as the quiet, even-tempered brother of the US in many ways. They have put up with a lot of our crap over the years. It can't be easy to be our neighbor. Nonetheless, they have pretty much stood behind us in a non-aggressive way. To have their Prime Minister refuse to come down to DC to receive accolades is a big, old slap in the face. This should be a sign to somebody. Canada isn't going to just be silently agreeable about this war.

Well, of course, not having Canada on our side is not the end of the world. It's not like they are going to retaliate. Oh, right, there are those other people that we will have to pay attention to, because we are distroying their part of the world. That's right, the Arab nations are not looking at this war as Iraq's problem. In fact, a few of their leading representatives have been so bold as to let us know on more than one occassion that we may be looking at a potential jihad. Has anyone mentioned to the powers that be that calling it "Operation: Iraqi Freedom" doesn't really coincide with bombing the bejeezus out of the country. Nor does continually aligning the events of 9/11 with Iraq. This just makes us look like we are putting all Arab nations, friend or foe, in the same pot and calling them evil. Do I need to get into the whole axis of evil thing?
posted by Marney at 3:41 PM

 
I actually heard a news caster say, "For the first time in this war..." this morning on the news. Am I totally crazy or is this war only a week old? Isn't most of everything that is going on for the first time in this war? Maybe I am being petty. Ok, so I am being petty.

Well, on a lighter subject, there are only 2 days left before there is no longer any smoking allowed in New York City places of business. The ban on smoking at the workplace laws go into effect on Sunday. That means that all bars and restaurants will have to be smoke free (with very few exceptions). To make matters even better, the state passed a law yesterday superceding the City law by taking away those exceptions in July. There will be no smoking in any workplace in the state. Sorry smokers, I am a fan of keeping my lungs in tact.
posted by Marney at 11:33 AM

 
I heard on the news that the credentials of Al Jazeera have been revoked from the New York Stock Exchange. I have to admit, I really agree with the news network that they have been singled out. I understand the need for security right now. That is a given. I don't see how anyone could possibly see this move as anything but panic and backlash toward the Arab news network. It sounds to me as though we are picking bigger fights and alienating more people than we first thought. Clearly, the "2-front" war is really broken down into the Iraqi front and the home front.

As a reminder, this is a war about breaking international laws and protecting "the world" from weapons of mass distruction in the hands of people that can't be trusted. What does this have to do with new credentials at the New York Stock Exchange? Does anyone have an answer to that one?
posted by Marney at 11:06 AM

 
So I have decided to keep my political and social commentary to a dedicated blog. that way I can get all worked up over here and then relax with much more soothing topics elsewhere.

Where do I begin? I have made a few tirades and rants about the conflict in the Middle East on my other blog. I won't be redundant by reiterating those points. Be warned, I plan on being vocal about my opinions on stuff. I welcome comments of all types. Nothing like a good argument to stir up the blood.
posted by Marney at 11:08 AM