I'm so frustrated, I have to throw this post at you

So, the people who have run away from their responsibility in Wisconsin can hijack the entire political process, but still get to vote on committee via phone and fax?  Seriously?!  Apparently so.

http://blogs.investors.com/capitalhill/index.php/home/35-politicsinvesting/2472-wisconsin-democrats-phone-it-in-literally

I disagreed vehemently with the nationalization of health care (just for starters) that was rammed through this last congress, but I would have been disgusted if those I agreed with acted like little children and ran and hid because they couldn't get their way.  It would have been wrong and nothing less than the hijacking of the legitimate process of government.  And what is exactly what is happening in Wisconsin and Indiana.

In other news, New Math meets "Pay no attention to the massive mound of Red behind that curtain!" So you heard the president and his advisers say they balanced the budget did you?  Halving the deficit and adding no new debt?  Uh-huh.  Except for that little * at the end--namely that their own proposals have an increase in the debt from 13 to 26 TRILLION over the same 10 year period!  WHAT?  OH!  RIGHT! That's because they didn't count interest payments, which balloon from south of 200 billion to north of 800 BILLION in 10 years.  Because YOU can say YOUR finances are balanced if you ignore what you already have on your credit card, right?.  And if you try to point out the inconsistency, you are engaging in silly hypotheticals or not "respecting" other people--who apparently do not understand basic arithmetic.  The only thing that makes me smile even a little bit is the last three video links below.  Its nice to feel like SOMEBODY else gets it (although the chart Sessions flashes scares the socks of me.  But then, I always thought large red numbers were pretty scary.  Apparently, I just need to give them a hug!).

---- The numbers by Politifact - http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/feb/15/barack-obama/barack-obama-says-white-house-budget-would-not-add/
---- Yes, we add a minimum of 600 BILLION to the total debt EVERY YEAR in the coming decade - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMQwic-JdxQ
---- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says "Its unsustainable" - http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/02/17/geithner_admits_obligations_in_presidents_budget_unsustainable.html
---- :\ But it'll all be OK because its simple "math and economics" (& smoke & mirrors.  Everybody loves a good carnival!) - http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/02/17/rep_ryan_to_geithner_how_can_you_say_youre_not_adding_to_the_debt.html
---- :\ Budget director Jack Lew tells Jeff Sessions, "Can't we all just get along?" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTuzmyMwH7E&NR=1
---- :\ Jake Tapper (ABC News) "Are you speaking English?" http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/jake-tapper-questions-jay-carney-budget-12932183

PS - For anybody keeping score at home, I was almost as angry when President Bush & CO funded the wars outside of the normal budget.  And when they coughed up a TARP ball.  At some point, be honest with the fact that these are REAL $$ that some one, somewhere is REALLY going to have to pay for (aka, my children)!  PLEASE!

Inspiration from a man who has slept for the past 12 days

[NOTE: Originally written on February 8, 2011]

I have been watching things in Egypt unfold with a mix of hope, fear, and frustration.  Hope that in the end all will work out well, fear that it may not or that worse things may rise from the ashes, and frustration that in some way, however so tangential, I have a hand in the troubles these Egyptians are seeking to cast off because of some of the actions my government has taken over the past 30 years.

Then I hear about men like Wael Ghonim.  Wael Ghonim, a 30 year old Egyptian living in the United Arab Emirates who was instrumental in the internet tidal wave that preceded the events of the last few weeks.  Wael Ghonim, who took a leave of absence from his work (yes, under false pretense--he claimed it was a family emergency), absence from work as the Head of Marketing of Google Middle East and North Africa, to join a peaceful protest in the streets of his home country.  Wael Ghonim, who for 12 days was "disappeared" by his government, and who was released less than 48 hours ago.  I commend his story to you and encourage you to listen to it--more accurately read it as it is in Arabic with English subtitles.  I cannot imagine that you will not be moved.

It is men such as this--brimming with honesty, humility, determined action in the face of danger, and a commitment to peace even in the midst of turmoil--that give me hope that Egypt and the broader world itself can indeed one day be a better place.  And even if that may dream not be, that maybe, just maybe, I can be a better man myself.

http://egypt.alive.in/2011/02/07/dream-tv-interview-with-wael-ghonim-part-1-with-english-subtitles/
http://egypt.alive.in/2011/02/08/dream-tv-interview-with-wael-ghonim-part-2-with-english-subtitles/
http://egypt.alive.in/2011/02/08/dream-tv-interview-with-wael-ghonim-–-part-3-–-with-english-subtitles/
http://egypt.alive.in/2011/02/08/dream-tv-interview-with-wael-ghonim-–-part-4-–-with-english-subtitles/
http://egypt.alive.in/2011/02/08/dream-tv-interview-with-wael-ghonim-–-part-last-3-–-with-english-subtitles/

I did not like the 5th and final segment, as it seems to be a classic journo-cinematic emotional ploy (US media does not have a monopoly on this market it appears).  It would be completely embarrassing were it not for the fact that it was a selection was made by the interviewer, not Ghonim himself, and that it was completely unable to taint in any way the noble spirit portrayed by this man.

May we have the clarity to see the true greatness of the nation we possess in the liberties and freedoms she still affords.  May we have the courage to stand in defense of the same.  May we have the conviction to make the world a better place for every man, when and where we can.  And may we have the strength to point that world to the God who proved the value of every man by the price that he paid for us all.

"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."  2 Cor 9:15

Watching history unfold

The possibilities are tantalizing and fascinating.  A people rise up to shake off 30 years of rule by a single autocrat, a man swept to power by a militant Islamic attack that struck down his more open predecessor who had dared to make peace with the enemy.  Had I the power to change it, I would not.  Freedom is far too precious, though it often brings with it heavy costs.  Even if those who have been given it chose to use it for evil ends, it is better for them to have it.  Only freedom, true freedom, can serve as the antidote to repression--by government or religion.

For now we must wait.  And wonder.  Who will come next?  A true champion of secular democratic principle?  A hard-line theocracy in the mold of Iran?  Something in the middle?  Or another autocratic strong man?  What will the next days and years bring for Egypt's neighbors in the region?  Stability?  Peace?  Or war aggression and war? Only time will tell.

Until time does tell, one such as myself, so far outside the daily workings of Egyptian life, can only absorb the comments of the skeptics and the optimists (of both persuasion) and wonder where it all will end and what it will mean for me and mine.

But in that interum lies an intriguing concept--at times like these, I am witness to history.  I watch with the knowledge that so many words and deeds from days long past serve as the precedents to the very events that we are witnessing, only played out in past tense.  They have become history.  We are witness to history in  present, history becoming history, history in the making. 

I do not know where it will all end.  I hope and pray for the best, yet feel a tinge of uncertainty and doubt.  I believe it will likely be a precarious ride.  At best, it may be a wild one.  Either way, it will be fascinating.