“Someone will say what is lost can never be saved, Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage.”
Billy Corgan - Smashing Pumpkins

They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Well right now that’s what’s going on in the middle east. Before I even get into that I have to mention how we’re not really hearing anything about N. Korea right now and that can’t equate that they’re not doing anything Lil’ Kim is to raw for that. Anyway, once again the shock-and-awe-bomb-you-til-you-say-uncle tactic is not really working. This happened in Kosovo in 1999. Seems like enemy forces read the news and understand that bigger countires with jets and things believe that they can win wars by just bombing you into nothing. Seems as though what happens instead is you end up killing more innocents and the targets just hide out and wait for you to man up and send in troops. This is a problem not only cause Israel makes money of off weapons cause they could say this stuff works, but the high number of innocent deaths not only cause people to back the one you bombed, but also provide groups like Hezbollah chances to help out those caught in the crossfire. I even saw a blogger from that region who basically said people who might not really agree with Hezbollah are backing them because they are providing some support during this time when Israel is just bombing them and the U.N. is just talking. To date Israel claims to have killed 300 Hezbollah fighters…meanwhile about 600 civilian deaths are confirmed, a large number of which are children. Not to mention that the “bad guys” in this situation are gaining more from it than anyone. This will only serve to consolidate them especially when so many innocent people are dying and seems like the rest of the world is discussing it over lunch. It’s kind of like a “see we have to look out for us type of situation” and Hezbollah is taking intiative. Not to mention they aren’t some rag-tag dissidents with guns. They know what they are doing. On top of that if Iran plays it’s cards right it can set itself up as the King of the South and take the religious implications of this beef to a whole other level. Meanwhile we are dancing in the street cause Fidel Castro might really be sick and we’re already planning for what Cuba will be like when he’s gone. Too bad our government is still ready to shun anyone named Castro. Bush said something the other day about how it’s up to God to deal with that situation. Sure are a lot of people suffering cause of one family and our government. So as the world turns, yo the same is the same…. These hardline stances may be getting new results, they may strengthen the ones they are intended to break. This is one case where getting a different result is crazy, perhaps there should be a different tactic.

“After being locked up, I realized we make it very difficult for a lot of these people to live a life of productivity after they make one mistake. There are definitely people who should be locked up, but we stack the deck against some of them in a way that makes it very simple for them to return to jail later.”
Morgan Spurlock

I’m not really a big T.V. watcher. There are some shows I like, but I can easily get involved in something and forget that they’re on. The guy who created the documentary Supersize Me has a show that I frickin’ love. 30 Days is show about walking in someone’s shoes. Basically a person on one side of an issue goes to stay with people on the otherside. On a few occasions the host has put himself in a certain situation. My favorite episode has to be when the host and his girlfriend lived on minimum wage for 30 Days. They showed that not only is it impossible to do without going into debt, but they also learned things that people outside of the hood may not know. Like when you live in a low income area you have to put deposits on things like the telephone and the Gas and Electric. Even better is the dilemma that comes up when Spurlock is injured and can’t get seen at the clinic without missing work. He goes to the hospital and ends up with a bill that’s close to $500 dollars. His girl friend get’s sick and her hospital bill is $300. The time missed from work and the illness only serve to leave them further in debt. Despite trying to scrimp and save by shopping at places like the Goodwill, the couple finds that they can get to even much less break it.

In the most recent episode a man (who immigrated legally from Cuba) that works with a border patrol militia goes to live with illegal immigrants from Mexico. Of course it’s very easy for him to write off their situaiton, especially since he was a legal immigrant (that’s a whole other post), but when he is sent to Mexico to stay with the families relatives he really has to question what he thinks. He is shown the “house” the family used to live in which is little more than 4 brick walls with some metal on top that I could tear down with 20 minutes and a sledge hammer. He is taken to the “well” where they got their water which looks like a stagnant puddle from a waste managment plant. Despite the fact that all 7 of them now live in a single bedroom apartment, this in itself is a large jump from where they came. In fact the brother lets on who he didn’t want to leave but when he could only make a few pesos a week he had to do something to care for his family so he went to America. This is a great show and as of yet I haven’t seen anything “cheesy” in regards to the person changing their thinking. As a matter of fact when you see the situations you think if this person can’t open their mind they don’t deserve to breathe. Good stuff, but if you send me to live with some Republicans I don’t think I’ll come back extolling the virtues of George Bush.