Why are we Still in Afghanistan?

This October will mark the 10th anniversary of the start of the US-led war in Afghanistan.

During the debate for the Afghan troop "surge" in 2008(?), I kept hearing rhetoric about "winning the war in Afghanistan". It begs the question because no one has bothered to define it, not W's administration, nor Obama's, nor the Pentagon.

Does it mean crushing the operational capacity of al Queda? If so, we're losing pitifully if the White House's own statements is any account. The Pakistan-Afghanistan border region has the great no-man's land. Furthermore the Pakistani government is becoming more assertive in protecting its own borders from US operations.

Does it mean putting in place a functioning democracy as we know it in the West? That sure isn't it. Afghanistan is still tribally led & (arguably) has reverted back to a narco state. On top of that, international elections observers declared the latest elections held back in 2009(?) to be so flawed as to be invalid, a result of which Kharzi simply ignored.

Does it mean catching bin Laden or his #2, Mullah Omar? If so, they're still very much alive according to the countless video & audiotapes they release.

Does it mean installing a government that will ask us to leave? That sure sure hasn't happened & if the public statements by "President" Kharzi is any indication, he ain't going to. Furthermore Vice-President Biden has publicly stated that unless the Afghanis ask us the leave, US troops will be there until 2014.

We the taxpayers aren't questioning why we're still spending the money on (now) 3 wars YET think nothing of cutting our own salaries, cutting money to fund our educational system, eliminating helping the poor, eliminating the social contracts the government has made w/ the American people since the Great Depression. There's something wrong with this picture.

Do we not owe it to the GI's we're putting in harms to be asking these questions?


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This is Ally & Nicki, enjoying some inpromptu giggle time.



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Dear Smart Phone Users

Dear Smart Phone Users,

Just because some of us do not answer your texts 10 seconds after they're sent, please do not use profanity or calling us names because you THINK we're ignoring you. That's like the surest way for me to start ignoring to until you're able to calm down & act like an adult.

Some of us have mundane things to do, like shower or get our laundry or *gasp* pack for a trip. There's also the fact that many of us live in dead zones (like much of the Adirondacks). Many workplaces also have policies where its a violation if you use any sort of electronic devices that does not directly pertain to your job duties.

Most importantly, my phone has 12 buttons. Don't believe me? Below is a picture:



I do not have the patience to type out a novel length text in response yours, nor would I have the inclination to do so even if I could. My phone is old, the battery is crappy, but it serves MY needs.

Got all that?

Thanks for understanding.


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This is Jenna & her fiance Jeremy enjoying one of their moments.



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No Gas Day Silliness

In this age of mass media, the Internet (as well as social networking sites) can be a breeding ground of activism. We've seen this with the Iraq War protests as well as the activism w/n Tea Party wing of the Republican party. We've also recently seen where members used sites like Facebook & Twitter to organize opposition groups, bringing down the corrupt regimes in Egypt & Tunisia.

The internet can also be a venue for mass stupidity. Case in point, this "No Gas Day". It promotes "sending a message" to the greedy oil companies by not buying gas on SINGLE day.

I have to ask, how does it "send (that) message" when people will just buy gas the day before or the day after? You're also not buying your gas directly from the oil companies, you're buying it from the middle man local gas station owner simply trying to put food on his table. Additionally, profit tallies are measured on a weekly, monthly, & quarterly basis. A one-day boycott WILL NOT effect the overall profit numbers any more than a freak winter snowstorm would.

Actual change requires grunt work.

Pissed off about the gas prices (or simply wish to care more about the environment)? There are a million things you could do & w/ the search capabilities of the internet, probably a gazillion more.

Carpooling, use public transportation, ride your bicycle, actually walking are just a few things that immediately come to mind.

It also can mean writing your elected representatives (or newspaper) urging them to support Green Energy policies. It also means ending the sweet-heart tax breaks that our government gives to the oil companies. Considering companies like Exxon-Mobil made $7.5 billion in the 3rd Quarter of 2010 alone, I don't think they'll be going to the poor house anytime soon.

This "Not Buying Gas Day" is as retarded as a devout, long-time Vegan giving up meat for Lent. They don't already eat meat, so its not like its going to be missed.

Real change means doing something for the long haul & means getting your hands dirty. Not some touchy-feely delusional "I did something" when it means absolutely zilch.

Edit: MOFYC linked to a Christian Science Monitor article listing "10 suggestions in How You can Lower Gas Consumption".


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This here is my friend Melissa from school. Something tells me we're going to have a grand ol' photo-adventure when she comes up later this week.



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NY Redistricting Reform

I wish I could say that the hypocrisy w/n the NY State's legislature surprises me but it doesn't. The latest case in point, redistricting.

The Senate Democrats ran & won on a reform platform that included redistricting reform in 2008 but never got around to it. Senate Republican, then in the minority, in a rush to embarrass the opposition signed Ed Koch's NY Uprising pledge that addresses this very issue.

My how Fortuna is fickle!

W/ the 2010 elections, their positions are reversed. Senate Republicans are the ones stalling on redistricting reform & the Senate Democrats are the ones rushing to embarrass the opposition.

This would almost be comical if the consequences weren't so important to our democracy.


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This is Nicole, doing a helluva balancing act wearing heels. We were shooting in a place we probably shouldn't have been but thankfully went off w/o a hitch.



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Teachers - What I Know

I've been busy lately so I haven't had much of an opportunity to follow the events in Wisconsin. The Governor out there in the guise of "fiscal restraint" is attempting to (what?) decertify the statewide teacher's union.

The Democratic minority w/o the votes to defeat the governor's legislation have used the "quorum" rule to stall & hopefully beat said legislation by literally leaving the state of Wisconsin. Considering I myself decried the buffoonery of my own state legislature using the lack of quorum tactic back in 2009, I'm not sure how I feel about it.

That being said here's what I DO know.

The Wisconsin teachers were not the ones that got the state into the fiscal mess. Nor did anyone point a gun to the administration's head when they blessed off the current contract not more than 2 years ago.

Here's what I also know. Teaching is not your typical 9-5 job.

1. When you're home veggin in front of the TV, they're home correcting papers.

2. Know that Winter Vacation you take w/ your kids, guess what those teachers are reading their student written essays in the frantic hope to get them done before the vacation ends.

3. Know that unruly employee you can fire because they're disrupting production, guess what, not teachers.

4. Try dealing w/ an unsupportive administration or parents who CONDONE cheating (like buying essays) because their child in their zeal to remain competitive is unable to manage their own time.

5. For many of these children, teachers become the defacto parents or at the very least one of the only positive role models they know.

6. They don't get paid for writing their lesson plans late at night.

7. Try dealing w/ statewide requirements & deadlines that fail to take into account the local situation (like the brutal blizzards we've had this winter)

8. Unlike the private sector where a person w/ a Masters degree can easily command $60K+ starting out, teachers consider themselves lucky if they can get even $23K/year.

If anyone in the private sector had to put up w/ this garbage, we the public would applaud them for standing up for themselves. Yet for some reason time & again, teachers are the target of a public hit job. We want them to be the best but when it comes to actual worth, we pay & treat them like crap.

Its part of this do-as-I-say culture, not do-as-I-do culture.


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This is Cristen, taken back in 2008.



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Pedo Priest Conviction

I originally had a blog discussing the US's historically promoting self-determination directed at our adversaries, only to turn its back on those people if they fell within the territories of our allies. But unfortunately, it was going no where. It didn't help either that events in Egypt got ahead of me...not that I'm complaining. :o)

Last week, Gary Mercure formally a pastor w/n my local church St Mary's of Glens Falls was convicted on three counts of forcible child rape and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child younger than 14.

I say good riddance.

I used to practice regularly but the divide of what they were preaching versus what they were doing was hypocritical. It didn't help that the masses bored me to tears & the sermons simply weren't speaking to me.

The Church spends so much time worrying about what two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own home (in a secular realm no less!) yet are unable or unwilling to protect their own flock from predators w/n their own ranks.

It sure doesn't sound like they're remotely close to being the Good Shepherd that Christ preached about.


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This is Georgia shortly before he feet froze while participating in my ongoing Abandonment project. Don't blame me, I told her to dress warm. ;o)



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Egypt Riots

I swear to freakin' hell! If I hear one more person theorize that the Egyptian riots are being instigated by Islamic Jihadists, I think I'm going to bang my head against a brick wall.

Not every uprising in that part of the world means that outside forces are to blame.

Tunisia politically blew up because one guy lit himself on fire because the government refused him to give him a license to sell his fruit & make a living. Iranians in 2009 were pissed off because they believed Ahmadinejad rigged his own reelection. Yet its supposedly true here. Why?

Actually that last was a rhetorical question. The $1.5 billion of US aid (much of it military) has everything to do w/ it.

When our government is inept & corrupt & not paying attention to the needs of their citizens &/or not doing something fast enough, we in the US can vote them out of office. Egyptians do not have even that choice.

Freedom of Assembly & Speech as well as Habeas Corpus (a person's right to contest their unlawful detention) have no meaning there. Free elections (as defined by the UN) is a completely foreign concept to the current Egyptian regime. Human Rights, especially considering the newly appointed Vice President ran that country's rendition program, you can forget about it.

I'm sorry but the Egyptian people have every right to be pissed & demand change.


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This here is Rika. She was gracious enough to indulge me in what has been described as my Superman Fetish. :)



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