The White Washing of the war in Iraq

I was listening to AFN Radio the other day, and had the opportunity to listen to two very different reports on the war in Iraq. The first was a re-broadcast of Morning Edition by National Public Radio.

NPR reported three car bombs exploding in Iraq killing over 40 civilians, wounding over 80 people. The program then took a stations break, which allowed AFN to give a news brief. Their story started, "The big news coming out of Iraq..." The big news turned out to be the destruction of a weapons stockpile that the US forces had discovered. There was no mention of over 120 people being killed or wounded by three car bombs.

The story did surface a day and a half later after it was run in the news paper: Stars and Stripes. But that was later, when its absence would have been noticed.

Where is the reality? As a member of the public I believe that we have a right to know the reality of war. That means the good and the bad. Almost everybody seems to be going for the ratings. One station will only mention the deaths of US servicemembers and coalition forces. Another will down play those deaths and talk about the Iraqi casualties without mentioning that those same deaths were not caused by the US.

Does anyone remember the riots after the initial Not Guilty verdict in the trial of the police officers that beat Rodney King? I was watching the news when they showed a peaceful crowd. The news caster stated, "Nothing's happing here." And then they switched to a demonstration that was turning into a riot. The lesson that I learned from that was that the news is made, it is not the reporting of the facts.

Once we as a people start ignoring the totality of the facts, and only listen to what is told to us; once we stop using our brains and our own analysis, and blindly believe the half-truths that are spoon fed to us, that way lies madness. Use your brain. Question the facts. Decide for yourself. Give your own Honest opinion. Only then will the voice of the people be heard.

When you have Stuff

For once the Army delivered. They were absolutely correct when they said that it would take 90 days for our household goods to arrive in Germany from Hawaii. On Day 90 our stuff was delivered to our house. Boxes and boxes of stuff arrived. Sure, I am happy that most of our things made it here safely. However, I did not find in myself any sense of joy that our things were here.

I believe that I have learned not to value the material. I have my family. I have most of my health. A roof over my head and food in my stomach. I truly do not need much more. True, I love books. I also really like my PS2. But the truth in the matter is that I can get by with the library. So what do I value?

Conversation adds spice to life. Knowledge feeds the mind. Experience brings richness to being. If you have that, what more do you need?

Saying a prayer before a meal

Growing up, it was common practice for a prayer of thanks to be said at a meal. Whether it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner a prayer was always said thanking God for the meal we were about to receive. At some point this practice, like many things, faded away. My immediate family stopped saying prayers at mealtime, and I did not notice.

Tonight this was brought back to me with a simple gesture. I had reached out my right hand to hold my wife's left hand. At the same time, my four-year-old son had reached out his left hand to hold my wife's right hand. My wife was reaching for both of our hands. For a brief moment we were all connected. I realized that this was a normal practice, something we often did before meals.

While we are thankful for our circumstances and the food before us we do not give thanks at the table. However, tonight I realized that we do give thanks: For each other. How often do people take their family for granted? The ones that we "Love" are usually the ones to whom we give little thought. Here though, I find that we give thanks for each other. For this I am glad.

Freecell Stats Update

It's Monday again. Here you go folks.

1 August 2005

Total 90%
Won 299
Lost 35

Streaks
Wins 28
Losses 2
Current 3 Wins