brainstorming

Iraqis Give Terrorists "The Finger"

(Not that finger, silly.)

I fell asleep last night just as the polls opened in Iraq, so I anxiously turned on the news at 6:30 this morning, with an hour and a half left until polls closed.

What an awesome thing to witness the joy of the Iraqi people given a voice in their own government.  They know that they risk their lives by voting and carry the marks on their ink stained fingers, then proudly display those ink stained fingers to the world.  Take that terrorists.  I honestly don't know if I would be so brave. Today the people of Iraq spoke for themselves with their votes and their blogs:

Iraqi Humanity says, "This is how we proved to terrorists that we will elect even if we die."

Life in Baghdad simply states, "I did."

Neurotic Iraqi Wife calls it "The Mark of my Freedom."

Hammorabi calls it Festival of Birth of New Iraq!

The Mesopotamiam bows in respect and awe to the voters in Suicide Bombers V. Suicide Voters.

Sun of Iraq says, "We will crush the terrorists.  The democracy will win."

Baghdad Dweller weighs in with, "Say it loud and clear: I am a Sunni, I am an Iraqi and I voted."  Don't miss this shot at Al-Zarqawi.

Democracy In Iraq changed the blog name from (Is Coming) to (Is Here!) and is honored to report casting his ballot.

More reporting at Friends of Democracy and don't miss this set of photos.

Congratulations to all the people of Iraq.  God Bless you for your courage and thank you for sharing your story with the world.

Update: Changed title of post and added first line.  (I was stirring stuff on the stove and it just came to me, OK?)

Voters Guide to the Iraqi Elections

Where would you turn for a voters guide to the Iraqi elections?  Chrenkoff has the run down.

And don't miss the thoughts on voting from this Iraqi citizen at What If?:

Mr. Ron, I have lived many years in Iraq. I can remember before there was a Saddam Hussein in Iraq. I have never been free to vote here, Mr. Ron. Iraqis don't know about voting. If I don't get killed going to vote or at the voting place, my vote may not even count anyway. So what have we gained? But I will tell you something, Mr. Ron; they will have to kill me to keep me from voting.

Save that quote for the next person that tells you we have no business being in Iraq.

Tsunami Relief Reminder

Just a reinder that today, Jan. 12 is Captain's Quarter World Relief day for tsunami donations.  You can donate here.

The total is up to $33,200.83 right now.  Thanks to everyone who's participated.

Bono and Bill Gates on Poverty

It may sound like strange bedfellows, but it's actually not surprising to see Bono and Bill Gates teaming up to make a pitch to attack world poverty, (via Real Clear Politics.)

They put forth their plan to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals that all UN members have pledged to meet by 2015, which include eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, gender equality, reducing child mortality rates, combatting AIDs, all goals that I'm sure we can agree on.

The Times Online offers a critical view of some of these proposals.

It seems to me that the best path probably lies in a combination of solutions.  Aid is required, but the distribution method must be sound.  It does no good to throw money or to prop up corrupt governments.  I'm not convinced the IFF is the vehicle to expedite more aid.

Debt cancellation should be considered on a nation by nation basis.

The U.S. and the G-8 have endorsed the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise.

Certainly we all share the goal of eradicating poverty.  As the saying goes, the devils in the details. 

Tsunami Donations

My Christmas view looked like this.  For the first time in my life we spent Christmas with an ocean view.

Thankfully, it was the gulf of Mexico, not an ocean view in Asia.

Our hotel had free wireless internet.  On Christmas, one of the last things I did before going to bed was to click on Drudge.  I saw the warning there.  Massive earthquake.  Tsunami warning.

I had the ocean outside my balcony.  I had internet.  I had Drudge.  Thankfully there was no tsunami outside my hotel.

Around the world from me they had the ocean.  Yet apparently if anyone there had the internet and checked Drudge, the word didn't get out the way it needed to and the tsunami brought death and destruction.

We live under the illusion that we can control the events around us.  But once again reality slaps us in the face to remind us how fragile life is, how small each of us is in comparison to the earth or the universe. Every breath we take is a miracle.  Whether we are rich or poor, fat or thin, football or soccer fan, dare I say it....conservative or liberal, today is another day we have to cherish and love those around us.  Let's not waste the time we have here. 

Let us live and love well. 
Let us remember those who mourn and comfort them. 
Let us have mercy with each other. 
Give us a spirit of forgiveness.
Let us be thankful.

If you want to help the victims of the tsunami, Captain Ed has proposed Jan. 12 as World Relief Day, suggesting a donation of that day's take home pay to World Vision.   They are an organization I trust.  The following is from a World Vision e-mail I received after the disaster:

Thankfully, World Vision had staff and infrastructure in place in six of the hardest-hit countries and was able to respond immediately with emergency food, water, shelter and other aid to survivors.

And from their tsunami page:

Your gift today will rush food and Family Survival Kits to Asian countries affected by the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami, and provide other relief as needed.

Each kit provides things like blankets, tarps for temporary shelter, water purification tablets and cooking supplies. We will also provide other critically needed relief response, such as food or medicine, where needs arise.

If you're not comfortable with the whole internet credit card thing, you can also call World Vision at:  888-56-CHILD.

You Have WHO on Your Team?

It's one thing to give your all to raise money for the troops and the people of Iraq, but the competition has degenerated from ruthless to sheer desperation when you allow paedophiles for kim jong-il to join your team.

Ewwwwwwwwwww!

I consider, John, his lovely wife Beth, Army of One, and Teresa all friends of Brainstorming, making this latest development all the more disturbing.  What could drive them to join forces with such evil?

You CAN support Spirit of America without endorsing the North Korean dictator or criminal acts against children.  Join the Northern Alliance efforts by donating to Spirit of America here, and maintain your principles at the same time.

Friends of Iraq Blogger Challenge

If you're like me, you're amazed and thankful for our awesome all voluntary military and the sacrifices they and their families are making to keep the terrorists on the run, and liberate millions at the same time.

Here's a great way you can help them.

The blogosphere has gotten together to raise funds for Spirit of America.  To give you an idea of their mission:

Spirit of America helps Americans serving in Iraq and Afghanistan assist people in need. We fulfill requests from American personnel for goods that improve the lives of local people and thus help advance freedom and peace.

We have provided school and medical supplies, sewing machines, hand tools, water barrels, clothing, soccer gear and toys in response to needs identified by American personnel. We contributed equipment to Iraqi-owned television stations to establish a better alternative to Al Jazeera. We helped Iraqi men whose arms were amputated by Saddam Hussein get a new start on life.

We provide timely and effective assistance where it is needed most on the front lines. The Wall Street Journal says, “Spirit of America’s organizational insight is to deploy the best practices of the modern U.S. economy - efficiency and speed - around the margins of the Iraq war effort.” The Journal adds, “Spirit of America and the Marines are a coalition of the can-do.”

Brainstorming has joined the Northern Alliance of Blogs team.  So far the group leads the donations for group blogs with $7,135.00, but the competition is ruthless. The total amount raised by all participants at the time of this writing is $38,390.

The huge majority of Americans support our troops.  We're all sporting those magnetic ribbons on the family auto.  Here's an easy way for all of us to put our money where our mouths are.  Not only do we help get our troops what they are asking for, we also get to help the people of Iraq.  You can't beat that combination.

Are you having a hard time coming up with a Christmas list for yourself?  Maybe we can ask friends and family to donate to Spirit of America instead of buying something for us this year.  If the idea appeals to you, donations will be accepted at this link through Dec. 15.

Can You Name This Country?

Name this country:

An inventor works on a car powered by solar energy.
Overstock is working on buying products there.
Trade has skyrocketed.
3.5 million people have returned home.
87% of those polled intend to vote in national elections.
Two thirds of those polled support the U.S.

Did you guess all this good news was from..........

Escape is not an Option

Sometimes we just want the world to go away. Well, at least I do. That's my strategy when it all becomes too much for me. I pretend the rest of you no longer exist. Poof!

Lucky for you I don't have magic powers to make you all disappear. On a bad day....................

Well, you get my drift. Nothing personal. Really. It's just an escape mentality. Like in the video game Final Fantasy. One of the options when you face an opponent is FLEE. Hmmm. Where is that FLEE option in life? Give me an ESCAPE key.......somebody......anybody?

Not that you and I are at war with each other. But, the world can make us weary. I can't do anything about Abu Ghraib. I can't take back the pictures. I can't stop the stupid congress from posturing on the tube every day, giving our enemies fodder for the fight.

So many idiots. So little power personally to reign them in.

That's a discussion I had with the Girl recently. Did we talk about it here? (Would you remember if we had?) It's one of the hardest lessons to learn in life.

YOU CAN'T CHANGE PEOPLE. YOU ONLY HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE YOURSELF.

You can love people. You can be a role model. You can support them. These things may well contribute to them deciding to change on their own. But, only they can make the decision to change. You and I don't get to vote. It can drive you nuts because we can always see everyone else's faults and the solution so much clearer than we can see our own.

But I digress. Didn't mean to take that path at all. Did you enjoy the diversion?

Escape. That's where we started.

I'm avoiding the images of Nick Berg, being brutally beheaded by the animal Zarqawi. Mancow jumped into my hiding place this morning to tell me that it took five cuts for them to decapitate him. I didn't want to know that.

The truth is I can't hide, as much as I might like to think I can avoid the ugly realities. We have an enemy who longs to kill us, who worships death, an enemy I can't begin to relate to. This will be a long fight. Failure is not an option. Can you imagine the world we would leave to our children if we lose the war with the radical Islamists? Its. Unthinkable.

In this I do have some power at least. I can support President Bush, whom I believe has the vision to defeat this evil. I can support his re-election, because I believe John Kerry has no vision, other than himself on the throne of power. He's been delighting in the fantasy for years apparently, telling those he met in Vietnam that he was the future JFK..........well he's become JF'nK as we now know.

He is not the man for the job. Again....Unthinkable.

So I crawl back out of my shell. Time to move on. Get to the business at hand.

Someone else decided to escape to a place where they know what we're fighting for. Rummy went to Baghdad. What a relief it must be after sitting in front of congress. I can imagine him muttering under his breath, "Thank God our men and women here know the truth, understand what this war is about, know that failure is not an option. We'll get through this crisis and be better for it because the huge majority of our forces "get it." I'm so glad I came and looked them in the eye."

He's not running away from the stupid polls and even more stupid politicians. He's running to a place where people know the truth about this war, where they live and breath it.

Because he knows escape is not an option.

London Calling

I've added a photo album of London. It's amazing what you can see in one night. Once this post goes into the archives, you can access it on the right sidebar.

How is everyone? I'm fine. Back to work. Catch you later.