Elphaba

Hi PC, In my opinion it was lost the moment it was conceived. The planners, tthe neocon like Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush, etc., never took the time to understand the culture in Iraq; I don't believe they even cared. I recall an administration official (don't remember the name) being interviewed a year into the war, and when he was asked if he knew the difference between Sunni and Shia, he did not. I've alslo read numerous stories by Iraqis who tried to work with the Americans after Saddam was defeated. They tried desperately to get the Americans to listen to them so they could explain how America's actions would be perceived, accepted and rejected by the Iraqi people because of Islam. The American's arrogance of those early days of the war is astonishing. (I am not talking about the troops. I am talking about the top people such as Bremer. He is the perfect example of my illustration.) This is just my opinion, but I believe, as Americans, the administration assumed life in Iraq was similar. We live in our houses, go to our schools, go to the chapel down the street, and then come home again. So it made sense that the Iraqis did the same, going to the mosque when their religion required it. No one took the time to discover that the street, the homes, the people and the Mosque were Islam. I'm not sure any American decision makers even address that issue today. So what do you see America's military capable of that is "less than total conquest"? I'm not saying there aren't answers to the question. I just feel it was doomed from the beginning and that it is far too late for extensive, significant progress to occurr. I'd love for someone to prove me wrong. Rather, I see it as the longer we are there, the more it forments such rage and hatred, the suicide bombers will seem like ants crawling around the earth as if at a picnic. I do know there is a backlash against Al Qaeda in some of the Iraqi cities. Whether it is muscular enough to bring real change, real peace, I believe is still up in the air. But it does harken back to your statement that this is the only way the terrorists will be defeated, and I agree with you. Perhaps we are seeing the seeds of it today. Woldn't that be wonderful?! I agree. And this will just enrage the extremist Muslims more, which I"ve already explained a million times on another thread. Lest you think I think I support their rage, I do not. I think their fanaticism is extremely dangerous to all of us. Just look at the way they treat their women--it's barbaric. I just think there's a better way to deal with it, which I think you agreed to as well. I agree with you. But a clarification is in order. When I spoke of an element of the far left, I wasn't referring to the media per se. The is a group of radical leftists, just like there is a radical right. These are the people I believe are not as concerned about the daily death count. I'll admit, a part of me understands this. I have fought with my family and friends since the beginning of this war, saying there was no reason to start it and no way we could "win," whatever that is. So, yes, I would like to feel vindicated by at least one person agreeing with me. Rather, they're Bush's stubborn 27 percent, so I have to let that one go. But there are groups of the radical left who enjoy the fact that Bush was so incredibley and tragically wrong, the death count takes a minor position, and as proud as I am of my liberalism, I find this appalling. I think, basically, we seem to agree about the main issues. That's a first for me here! Elphie

If it's a pizza, I like it. So I think I am compatible with all (Not!) I wonder what's wrong? Elphie

Yes. Yes they are. Elphie

That was fabulous! I loved it. I have a question, though. Did anyone else notice how the "Zoftig" women didn't really let go and move? From personal experience, I suspect this is not because they are heavier; rather, I believe it is a learned response from the way society reviles heavy people, which then becomes internalized. It's very difficult to overcome it in just a few days, which is the amount of time I assume these women had to prepare. I noticed they didn't want to extend their legs as far as the music would have let them, and they didn't want to life their arms as high as might be expected. They seemed fairly robotic, and just didn't seem to move the way the music called for. I have been thin, medium weight and am now obese. Psychologically, my ability to let my body move expressively has decreased as it has grown larger. Now, if I'm in public, people look through me as if I am invisible. It is obvious that people want me out of their line of site, and so I oblige as much as possible, moving as little as needed, and no more. When I was thin, I never experienced the dismissiveness a heavy person does, not only from other people, but also from within. So, to expressively move my obese body the way I used to would bring open-mouthed stares of shock and disgust, both inward and outward. When I was thin, I would dance the night away. I was on a cruise once and was dancing with a guy who called me the "Energizer Bunny." I was lithe, expressive, expansive, and alive! When I have tried to move that way as an obese person, my psyche takes over and and practically paralyzes me. Because I am obese, I do not allow myself to dance as it is too repulsive and disgusting. I am NOT saying this is society's fault, or that anyone else "should be" doing anything differently. That is not the gist of my post. Rather, it is a personal observation about myself, and after having watched the video, I wonder if other heavy people feel the same. Elphie

When I was 13 I went to a sleepover where all of the girls held me down while one of them continuously hit me with her knuckle on my chest bone (don't know the official name). My best friend sat there and watched her do it while I sobbed. Later on her brothers joined in, and you can use your imagination from there. I don't think the risk of abuse is higher than it was in days gone by. I just think it is openly talked about now. When abuse happened prior to the '80s, or thereabout, you just kept it to yourself. I am a parent who is not good at letting go of the worrying. I'm working on that. Just the day before yesterday my son, who is 28, wrote me an e-mail that I had to back off and quit worrying about him so much. If I had young children again, I could not let them spend the night elsewhere. I would be wide awake all night thinking the worst. Elphaba

I LOVED my IIsi. It was my BABY!! It was my first computer in my publishing business. Oh wait. I'm talking about a MAC IIsi. Anyway, I performed magic on that computer. Later, I upgraded to a Quadra. Once I had to go back to my IIsi for an emergency, and I wanted to take a power saw to it it was so flippin' slow!!! I miss my MACs. They made work so much fun. Elphie

What's the difference between singing online and writing posts online, as far as "get a life" is concerned? It seems to me we both have gotten a life, of sorts, on LDSTALK! Elphie

I'm not lusting! I'm too old! I'm just . . . looking. hehehe Elphie Waltzing Polar Bears This isnt very "funny," but I thought it was cute. Elphie Yikes!! Elphie

Mmmmm...I decided to do a full reply rather than a fast reply, cos the guy in the picture is so yummy!!! Hey! He's left wing too? Even better!!! Hi Pushka! I agree! I see a cross between Colin Farrell and Ryan Gosling....sigh. Hey, lady, we're too old to be drooling over these . . . luscious. . .gorgeous . . .ah, I better shut up! Elphie

I couldn't agree more with your synopsis. I think it is the one and only strategy that will ever work against Islamic terrorism. I have said so plainly in another thread, that only the Muslims will be able to stop the terrorists. There is not a thing America can do about it. For every “terrorist” we shoot, ten more come in to take his place. The problem I see is that the moderate Muslims are not speaking up and are not crying out against terrorism. They stay fairly silent, and there’s a reason for that. In order to understand this silence, you have to understand the culture of Islam (which I don’t completely, but have studied as much as I can.) While the moderate Muslims do not condone terrorism, they also do not condone America sending its soldiers into a Muslim city, walking on Muslim streets, and killing Muslim people. As long as America continues this policy, there will never be the “cushion” the moderate Muslims need to assert their influence on their fellow Muslims to prevent them from spiraling down into a life of more terrorism. America needs to understand that, in Islam, the street, the house, the politican, the mosque, the people, the water, the holy men, the children, are all one religious entity--they all are "Islam." This is why there is such rage against the US where it does exist in Iraq. While American soldiers, admirablly, honor the sanctity of the mosque, they don't realize that their walking down the street carrying a gun is just as offensive--they might as well be carrying that gun into the mosque. America needs to get out of Iraq, dialogue with the moderate Muslisms, and let them do their work. So much damage has already been done I can't imagine any progress for years, but thinking a military strategy will work is insane. As we have already seen, it only exacerbates the rage and hatred these people already have for us and for each other. I disagree, to a point. I think they are just telling the news as it unveils itself. It’s not the journalist’s fault that Iraq has already descended into insanity. It’s not the journalist’s fault the death tolls rises daily. It’s not their fault both the soldiers and the Iraqi citizens are so traumatized. It's not their fault that it’s difficult to come up with new words to say the same thing day after day after day. I do agree, however, that there is an element of the far left that does seem to revel in the president’s failure. I find this despicable. I would kneel to the ground before President Bush and kiss his ring if it would stop the death and horror of this war. The pictures I’ve seen haunt me every night, and I defy anyone to look at them and celebrate anything. Elphaba

For me, the Golden Rule is the most profound description of how we should treat one another. It seems trite because it is short and to the point. But if it was truly practiced by all human beings, it would be a wondrous thing.You described it well when you wrote: Sounds like the Golden Rule to me. Elphie

I was surfing the web and came upon this delight article, written in 1982, about a writer's first months using a computer. Here's an excerpt: What was so exciting? Merely the elimination of all drudgery, except for the fundamental drudgery of figuring out what to say, from the business of writing. The process works this way. When I sit down to write a letter or start the first draft of an article, I simply type on the keyboard and the words appear on the screen. For six months, I found it awkward to compose first drafts on the computer. Now I can hardly do it any other way. It is faster to type this way than with a normal typewriter, because you don't need to stop at the end of the line for a carriage return (the computer automatically "wraps" the words onto the next line when you reach the right-hand margin), and you never come to the end of the page, because the material on the screen keeps sliding up to make room for each new line. It is also more satisfying to the soul, because each maimed and misconceived passage can be made to vanish instantly, by the word or by the paragraph, leaving a pristine green field on which to make the next attempt. My computer has a 48K memory. Since each K represents 1,024 bytes of information—each byte representing one character or digit—the machine can manipulate more than 49,000 items of information at a time. In practice, after allowing for the space that The Electric Pencil's programming instructions occupy in the computer's memory, the machine can handle documents 6,500 to 7,500 words long, or a little longer than this article. I break anything longer into chunks or chapters and work with them one at a time. When I've finished with such a chunk, I press another series of buttons and store what I have written on my disk drive. This is a cigar-box-shaped unit that sits next to my computer, connected through a shocking-pink ribbon cable containing thirty-four separate strands. Inside the drive is the floppy disk, which is essentially magnetic recording tape pressed into the shape of a small record and then enclosed in a square cardboard envelope, 5 1/4 inches on each side. The system transfers data from the computer to the disk, or vice versa, at about 1,000 words per second, so it is no nuisance to pause after each fifteen or twenty minutes of writing to store what I've just done. Each of the disks in my system can hold about 100K of information, or more than twice as much as a full load from the computer memory. If one disk is full, I pull it out and snap another in. ----------------------------------- Isn't that a hoot! So, I thought it would be fun to tell our own first experiences with the new "computer," at least for those of us old enough to remember when they were a brand new invention! Mine was on a IBM PC, two disc drives, and the program was Lotus 123. I caught on very quick, except I wasn't exactly sure how I was supposed to apply Lotus. I had never heard the word "spreadsheet," and was not an accountant. So it was just a fun new calculator to me! My first word processor was one HUGE computer, no disk drives, where you had to insert every single command the document required. For example, if I needed to change the font, I had to know the command by heart, and place it in the text. The only thing it did on its own was wrap sentences, and man, I thought that was so cool! (We're talking 1980!) So, anyone care to share their own story of the dawn of the computer age? Elphie

You are a queen, Yed! I don't know of anyone else I've ever talked to that impresses me as much as you. You are one of the most amazing human beings I've ever known. Book and CD are on their way. Elphie

Hi John,You speak of the "War on Terror. "Terror" isn’t a country, and you can’t literally make war on a rhetorical device. So, would you please explain to me how we would know we have “won” the “War on Terror”? Exactly what things would have to happen for us to declare victory? The press and the left don't want us to win what, exactly? Thanks, Elphie

Post deleted. I didn't realize I was in 'Gospel Discussion" Sorry, Elphie

Since blonde jokes are the in thing...... Once upon a time a girl, who happened to be blonde, decided to take a trip to San Diego, She was puttin' along on the freeway just fine until she saw a freeway directional sign above her. It said "<--San Diego Left, so she turned around and went home. Elphie

I suspect "fems" and "libs" will take it seriously, as we are always open to understanding the dynamics of human nature that causes behavior that is oppressive to women.For example, the article said: If it is indeed both, then feminists want to know that. Understanding the deep, psychological reasons men are motivated to sexually harrass women in the workplace gives both the men and the women the insight to create tools to prevent that behavior. You actually provide the perfect example when you write: Because you DO love your wife, you will control your behavior. That seems very reasonable, and responsbile, to me. I don't know one feminist who isn't interested in truth, even if that means we have to rethink old beliefs, and use new data to better address feminist issues, such as sexual harrassment. I also believe the better men and women understand our "hardwiring," the better we can accept each other's POV, especially when it comes to sexual issues. I read "Men are from Venus, Women are from Mars," seven years ago. As I recall, it had the same kind of information and I found it very enlightening. Thanks for the article Fiannan. Elphie

Oh, I assumed you knew this, Yed. I just know a lot of people have seen it and assume it's RW's., and if any one read that here, I just wanted to clarify. That's all. You didn't present it as if RW's had written it. Especially the so-called Iraqi Parliament that planned on goiing on summer vacation while our troops are over there figthting for that parliament! Sheesh. Elphie

Okay, I have to brag as well. This is my 21-year-old baby! Eat your heart out boys! :) And, no, we look nothing alike. She got her looks from her grandmother. And this is the cat I kick every chance I get. Do you blame me, lazy little splat! Elphie P.S. She'd kill me if she knew i posted these here. Yikes!

Robin Williams did write this quote, and I think it's a hoot. Elphaba