“What happens in Afghanistan stays in Afghanistan”

Being one with a moderate political stance, I like to keep my political opinions, if any, limited. But this is something else. Reading “The Kill Team” from the Rolling Stone magazine, (http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-kill-team-20110327?page=3), it is sad to picture the depths to which these soldiers sunk.

It reminds me of an episode of CSI:Miami where the perps hunted humans as game-hard to believe and harder to watch. “The soldiers were bored and shellshocked and angry” (pg. 4)- wow enough reason to hunt down ppl as if they were animals?! Is that is the reason needed to do that to a fellow human being?

And talk about lack of accountability. At every step of the way, it seemed superiors just shrugged it off- no one taking into account the stressful conditions of war. I don’t even really know where to end or begin on this topic. Execution of an unarmed man. Inhumane, despicable doesn’t even begin to cover what happened.

Check Gender: Male…Female…Neither?!

Well, because it’s important for everyone to be politically correct these days (i.e., make the most ambiguous status there is), now, no one even has to declare a gender! What is so hard about deciding which one you are? And what’s WRONG with it? I came across this on a form for Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
Having gone to a very liberal school, I consider myself to be open-minded even before I went there. And I don’t subscribe to the traditional gender roles and don’t see why I can’t do some of the same things as my male counterparts. One thing I did in Gambia that got me glances was take guitar lessons from a friend of mine. Just the instrument I wanted to learn was something unusual and especially for [gasp] a female. Another friend (that I had thought was progressive) told me he took it as a joke that I was doing this and if I had to learn an instrument, why not the piano? And oh, the glances I got carrying it around…

I digress. I see the argument that having to choose male or female is very restricting as its and either/or choice and one does not want to subscribe to prescribed societal labels. Yes, I don’t like being told I have to cook and clean the house because of the parts I was born with but having some of these labels help us to know the basics of members of our society.

Hey, if you choose to not self-identity at all, who am I to tell you different? You can label yourself as a hybrid leprechaun and cheetah if you want but the rest of us (not speaking for everyone else outside this grp wither) would at least like to know if we should address you as a he, a she, or something else you chose…
PS- another possible title for this piece was: he…she…it?!

All-time fave song!

Here is my all-time fave song from the timeless Beres Hammond! If Only I Knew from 1985. I love his smooooth voice and the lyrics he brings to the table. He was actually in The Gambia in 2007 but I missed it :-(. one day soon...