Rudolph Giuliani Makes Me Cry

I just finished reading Rudy Giuliani's version of "America's Next Foreign Policy" in the September/October edition of Foreign Affairs. My immediate reaction? I don't want that man to be President.

I understand that most politicians nowadays feel like you need to scare the public into voting for you, but it makes me sick. An election should be about choosing the best candidate, a campaign about showing why your candidate is the best. Never should the threat be made that failing to elect a candidate will result in disaster, whether that threat is veiled or not.

But, I am not that naive as to think that any political campaign will be that clean. What scares me even more, though, is that the policies being forwarded by Giuliani are taking fear-mongering to new levels. There isn't a Republican candidate on the slate that won't mention 9/11 in the first few lines of a speech, but Giuliani is the worst. Fear is his entire campaign. It is the basis for every policy he suggests.

"The United States must not rest until the al Qaeda network is destroyed and its leaders, from Osama bin Laden on down, are killed or captured." - Rudy Giuliani
"To kill the Americans and their allies -- civilians and military -- is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it..." - Osama bin Laden

Am I the only one who sees the similarities in tone and message? Now don't get me wrong, I despise terrorism in all of its forms as much as anyone. The problem that I am having is seeing the fundamental difference between the non-state terrorism that al Qaeda practices and the ultra-violent American policies that have perpetuated the "War on Terror." Fear is fear, whether it is defended by the state system or not. And using it as a political tool whether you have legitimately gained power or simply claim it, is wrong.

America is the most powerful nation on Earth, for now. But if we keep wasting our energy on fear and fighting, we will lose that status as surely as every great nation has fallen. Instead, it is imperative that we use our power properly. It is in our abilities to fight injustice, fear, poverty and oppression. But, in order to do that, we must refrain from practicing such methods. Anger can not convince us that what is wrong is right. Torture is wrong, vengeance is empty, victory is fleeting, and glory is nothing without honor. Why can't we fight fear with tolerance, hunger with food, brutality with justice? American culture has much to offer the world in the realms of understanding and cooperation.

But we must realize the values of goodwill and cooperation. We must acknowledge that the greater good of the nation is indelibly linked to the greater good of the world. Why can't we forget the word enemy? Why can't we organize and centralize our peaceful, humanitarian efforts as Mitt Romney suggested? Why can't we begin converting our overseas military bases into universities? Why can't we rededicate a small portion of the money reserved for maintaining old, antiquated military equipment to providing AIDS medicine for Africa. Friends are so much more valuable than enemies.

The world certainly does not need a paranoid superpower. And America doesn't need Giuliani.

Oh Happy Day

What a fantastic day to be a baseball fan.

A bit of background. I was born in northern Chicago. Every year that I played baseball in my town's park league, I was hoping to be on the Cubs. My first professional baseball game was above the ivy in Wrigley. I am a born Cubs fan.

Also when I was very young, I lived in Connecticut for a while, where I have my first memories of trading baseball cards and learning players' names. Which team was I learning there? The Boston Red Sox. As I moved back to the Midwest, I still had family in New England that helped me grow my interest in the Sox, especially my uncle. Finally, after graduating high school in hated Wisconsin (don't get me started on the Packers, football will have to be a different post), I moved back to New England and my membership in Red Sox nation became official. Plus, I have the distinct pleasure of living a couple miles from the Red Sox's AA team, the Portland Sea Dogs.

I am now proud to say that I am a full-fledged fan of both the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox. Now some of the uninformed might be concerned of a conflict of interests if the two teams play. Not to worry. You see, the Cubs are in the National League, while the Red Sox are in the American. So, the only opportunity for these two to play is in interleague play or the World Series. When it comes to interleague play, I root for the team that seems to need the wins the most (usually based on my perception of how they are doing in their division). In the World Series...ok let's face it, these are two teams who are historically averse to playing on that grandest of stages. But, if they were to both make it, I would have to root for the Cubs simply because the Red Sox won their last World Series in 2004, its been since 1908.

So, why am I so happy? Because last night, September 28, 2007, both the Red Sox and the Cubs won their respective divisions. For the Cubs, they clinched the NL Central for the first time since 2003. The Sox, who had already clinched the playoffs, won the AL East for the fist time in 12 years. Just as importantly, they ended the Fucking Yankees string of division titles at 9.

Every year, 8 of the 32 Major League Baseball teams makes the playoffs. I can't say how excited I am that I have a 1/4 chance of one of my teams making the World Series. Damn good odds if you're a baseball fan. And I am a baseball fan.

The Truth Behind Don't Ask, Don't Tell

'Gays Too Precious To Risk In Combat,' Says General

And the Winner Is...

Thank you to everyone who voted in my "Where Should I go for Eid" poll. Due to a surprising comeback in the bottom of the 9th, the winner is India. So from October 12 through October 20, I will be traveling to the subcontinent.

More specifically, a small group of my coworkers and I will be flying into Mumbai where we will sightsee and make our way northeast to our final destination, Delhi. Along the way we plan to stop in Udaipur, Jaipur, Ahmadabad, and Agra (where the Taj Mahal is) to name a couple places. We will be traveling mostly by train, but I am sure a good deal of hiking will also be involved.

I am very excited, and don't worry, I will take as many pictures as humanly possible. So thanks again if you contributed to this decision!

Happy Birthday!

Today my beloved girlfriend, Sophie, turns 23 years old!

Happy Birthday darling, I love you more each day.

Fasting

Today, for the first time this Ramadan, I am fasting. So far, the most annoying part of the experience here, as opposed to in the States, is that the sun rises WAY earlier. Eating a bowl of oatmeal at 4:20 am alone sucks. But, in a groggy state, I had to keep reminding myself that it was worth it.

Now, 9 hours later, the oatmeal is mostly gone. I'm having those irritating stomach pains that are supposed to remind you that your thoughts should be on God. Instead, I find myself thinking about lunch.

Of course, I haven't been doing myself any favors. I spent a while this morning looking up Bed & Breakfasts in Bar Harbor, Maine because I would like to take Sophie there for a weekend when I get back to the States. In the search, I found one very nice looking B&B called The Maples Inn. On top of decent prices, great location, and attractive rooms, they have had a couple of their breakfast items published in Gourmet. And yes, if you know me, you know the rest of the story. I looked up the recipes. I examined them, envisioned them, and evaluated what I might have done differently. And it made me hungry.

I have been doing a good job so far of staying focused away from food, but how can one ignore blueberry and cream cheese stuffed french toast or panna cotta with raspberry sauce? I guess I just have to be grateful that there are no pictures other than those my mind creates. (Which happen to be very vivid and laid out in the Gourmet style with lush colors and a tableset that accents the theme of the article, in this case, I'm guessing Summer in Maine.) By the way, has anyone noticed that a rather large number of my blog posts deal extensively with food? And I still am not sold on the idea of opening a diner? Yeah...

Anyways! The hunger strike for heaven continues today until 5:30ish when we will have the big Carnegie Mellon in Qatar iftar. It should be pretty fabulous. I, for one, am planning on camping out next to the shawarma stands. Yeah, that's right, we got shawarma stands for our iftar, how cool are we?! I'm excited. Food. And water.

Listening

Why is listening to what you are saying such a rare skill?

It seems to me that there is an inordinate number of quite intelligent people out there who simply don't take the time to listen to what is coming out of their mouths. I'm not going to claim perfection, or God forbid that I have never said something stupid. But I believe that I make a conscious effort to evaluate what I say and an attempt to screen it for blatantly offensive or idiotic comments. I simply don't see the point in offending someone and not even taking the time to notice when you do it.

Now some may stop me there and say, 'what is you truly don't know when you're offending someone?' Well, that's a different matter entirely. To simply lack the understanding is not the problem, it is the lack of an attempt to evaluate and find out.

But there is another level that I am talking about here. That is the person who speaks so blatantly offensively that all listeners are stunned by said person's inability to hear their own idiocy. This is not cultural misunderstanding or language deficits. It is kindly calling someone stupid for picking a different major in school or mentioning to an Italian friend that you are pretty sure that Italians are they laziest people. It is the act of insulting someone or something and not caring to notice. Is is wrong. And so easy to fix.

Please, just listen to what you are saying.