Iraq boots out the Americans

http://www.economist.com/world/mideast-africa/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12650224

It’s amazing to me that we have a “withdrawal agreement” with Iraq, and it’s not been broadcast throughout the media. Of course, right now, we have the big three automakers asking for money from Congress. Nevertheless, this is pretty damn big news, in my humble opinion. Moreover, it is particularly amazing is that we’ve not had this announced via televised Presidential Announcement.

There was a quote in this article that struck me: “This is a big moment for America and Iraq, yet the Iraqi government was more regretful than jubilant, calling the deal the best it could achieve after more than a year of negotiations. The Bush administration, now in its last weeks in power, made several concessions.”

Is it me, or is it a far cry from the US being greeted as “liberators” that the above had to take place under those circumstances?

Those items are less of a concern, now that the Office of the President is being relieved of its most incompetent administration. What is more concerning, from my perspective, is the dichotomy between the Sunni and Shiite. This potential sectarian strife is not limited to Iraq, but the vacuum created by a US withdrawal, done poorly, has the potential to result in a civil war, all too easily funded by the Sunnis in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, etc… and the Shiites in Iran. I don’t know. I am hopeful and anxious to get our troops out of Iraq, but I certainly hope that the government in Iraq is well enough constructed that it can withstand those tensions.

Without the Presidential Campaign, It’s Tough to Write

My friend Martha today was curious as to why I hadn’t posted anything as of late. It’s interesting why I haven’t. I had to think about it a bit. Realizing that I’ve not had anything viciously political on which to write, I’ve been left with little to write.
Is that the case? Am I not doing anything? Of course not; truthfully, I’ve been quite busy being a new homeowner, and with a vacation back to Illinois starting Friday afternoon, I’ve not had a lot of interesting stuff to write.

In short, while I would be self-conscious about writing about just me, writing about the minutia of what I am right now doing is just not that interesting.

However, I can write about the following: Here in Boise, I have a dear friend, Betty. Betty is noteworthy because of what a great friend she is. Betty and I met at our church about a year ago. Betty is also known as “GiGi” to her great-grandkids. Betty knows me well, and a few Sundays ago, asked me what had me fidgety. I explained that I was in the process of moving, was going to try to meet up with a friend for coffee, and I had to clean a bunch at my old place.
From there, Betty insisted on helping me move my kitchen supplies. What a dear friend! Betty came over to my place, and was an absolute help! For Betty to just come over and keep me company; that would have been enough, but she packed so much of my flatware, silverware and dishes! Because I had bought brunch a few Sundays before hand, Betty insisted that Sunday of doing the same! I know. I know. I was having the hardest time accepting, and not stealing the check; however, I know better than to mess with my friend Betty. Betty is not to be messed with, so I relented!

This past Sunday, without having any signs of being fidgety, again, Betty insisted on helping me clean. I already had the majority of my cleaning done, and just a little bit to move out. Nevertheless, Betty came by and helped! As I am leaving a few days from today, I wanted to see Betty prior to leaving for Thanksgiving, so I could take her something nice.

Last week, after the first Sunday, I took Betty some potted begonias; provided that, I was going to bring her something else. As I went over to Betty’s to say “goodbye” prior Thanksgiving, I dropped by my PO Box. There I was, at the post office, and I saw in my PO Box an envelop with Betty’s return address. There I was, about to take this dear friend a gift for helping me more than she already had, and I was receiving such a lovely card.

From there, I went over to Betty’s, and she had made a nice dinner for us. I seldom, if ever, eat prior my evening runs. In this case, I was more than happy to dine with this dear friend, and the gesture itself was ever so generous and wonderful. Betty is truly a great and dear friend, and I am fortunate to have her as a friend.

It’s such a wonderful thing, friendship. I was concluding a conference call I organized with some engineering students at the University of Illinois yesterday and Village Hope, the charity with which I am working to put irrigation in Sierra Leone, and I noted that what we were doing was far from being zero-sum. That’s the amazing component with great friends and family, all wonderful people; it is quite far from zero-sum. Great family and friends are instances of “win-win” – truly great things.

The Palin Industrial Complex Redux

Following the election, aside from Obama, the person we are hearing the most of is Sarah Palin. You and I both know it. Governor Palin is receiving more press than George Bush, Dick Cheney, John McCain or Joe Biden all put together.

What can I say? You heard it here first! http://mattyjohnson.blogspot.com/2008/10/britney-industrial-complexis-it-now.html

I am telling you – there will be a massive offer for Sarah Palin to be featured in all of these various ways. When a scandal hits her due to Trooper-gate, we’ll not have heard more on one subject from Greta or Nancy since that little girl in Florida went missing. Like it or not, you can thank the GOP for sticking us with Caribou Barbie. The upside? Well, Saturday Night Live is once again funny, and we get Tina Fey in costume. We always need to see the sunny side up, I suppose.

As I wrote that, I just thought about how my normal five mile Tuesday night run is different than it used to be from Boise’s North End—surreal…

Out of Pocket

Hey Readers, I hope you are doing well. Apologies for the delay in posting, I have been in the process of moving to my new home. I was reticent to write about the process of moving into a home I bought—what, without pictures, but it’s what I’ve been up to. Please know that the pictures are forthcoming. I have not yet had a chance to take too many pictures, largely because I am in the process of settling in.

Alas, were it not for our families, most specifically our Mothers or Sisters, and imminent visits—you’ll note I am speaking from a bachelor’s perspective, we would not settle in to things as quickly as we should. What’s amazing about home ownership, as most of you know, is that it takes us back to the Problem of Universals.

In short, there is an idea of how one’s home should be, but that idea of a home in stateful perfection, while conceivable, is something that can never quite be obtained. I suppose that could fall back to one of the first rules of economics, which is to say, “Human wants are insatiable.” Of course, the second rule to accompany that is “resources are limited or finite.”

Right now, I couldn’t be happier with my home, and I don’t have too much in the way of projects. I have a few minor projects, like correcting a tree’s growth, from slightly meandering to perfectly vertical, and doing some caulking in a few little spots prior to winter. None of these things are terribly intimidating, nor am I too hurried in dealing with them. Of course, the counterbalance to completing these two minor tasks is cleaning up my old apartment, and completing the last of my move.

My move is done, with the exception of the cards and drawings hung on my refrigerator—those things and my cleaning supplies at my old place. Other than that, moving those remaining items and cleaning up after a year’s worth of living, then I’ll be free and clear. Of course, then I’ll start on the aforementioned projects, and whatever other little ones I have outside. At the same time, I have pictures, which still need to be hung or framed, and I have friends for whom to cook. Indeed, I am little homeowner/homemaker Matty, and I am having a ball.

If this is the first you are hearing about my move to buy a house and move into it. It’s been to long since we’ve spoken or corresponded. I am sorry for that. Sometimes I feel quite disconnected from many friends back in the Midwest or elsewhere. I do have guest bedrooms, so please plan a visit to Boise. I look forward to seeing you sometime soon.

I hope you are all doing well.

The Wall Street Journal's Opinion Page has always been Right Wing - The Deconstruction of a Disgraceful Plea

A dear friend forwarded me the below editorial yesterday, and as one would expect, I vehemently disagreed with Mr. Shapiro’s position. I am prone to deconstruct the essay, which one can find by clicking on the picture.

For Mr. Shapiro’s first point, the San Francisco sewage plant, it was a proposition in San Francisco. One could find that a city permitting a gay pride parade or another commemoration classless. Perhaps the citizens voting for that “classless and disrespectful” measure learned something from those dismissing exculpatory evidence during Whitewater? In this instance, they had a sense of humor about what to name something that removes waste. I enjoy how Mr. Shapiro uses the phrase, “many Americans,” lest we not forget this is a democracy. Our first questions should be about where and who descended our politics to this level in the first place, something over which we should all stop to think. President-elect Obama cited those immature in their dissent from persons’ political positions in his speech. How did we arrive at this level of immaturity?

“Mr. Bush has endured relentless attacks from the left while facing abandonment from the right.” Relentless attacks from the left? Yes, well I suppose when one has been at the helm of a ship driving into an iceberg, perhaps they deserve dissension. I don’t have the time or space for concision to lay out all of the ways this President and his administration have governed so poorly, but putting us into a war under false pretenses might be a one-off that one could mention.

Particularly, I enjoy the non sequitur used with the following passage:
“During his 2004 victory speech, the president reached out to voters who supported his opponent, John Kerry, and said, "Today, I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support, and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust." Those bipartisan efforts have been met with crushing resistance from both political parties.”
I am beginning to detect a theme from this essay. He uses simply the words of the man, not his actions to support his point. In this case, Mr. Shapiro uses the President’s words subsequent an election, and speaks as though his administration “worked to earn our support,” or “did all it could to deserve our trust.” What evidence does Mr. Shapiro provide to support that President Bush has done these things, and has been mistreated otherwise? He provides no supporting evidence.

Mr. Shapiro in his next paragraphs mentions a litany of political failures by the Bush administration; however, he does nothing but highlight areas where Bush has miserably failed. Reading this is laughable, and is being published in a paper purchased by the same individuals who own Fox News. I can continue to write over this, but would ask that you look at any one of these qualitative propositions, and tell me where I am wrong. This essay is perhaps the ultimate in the Right’s insults to our intelligence.

Mr. Shapiro, One reaps what they sow...



The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace
What must our enemies be thinking?
By JEFFREY SCOTT SHAPIRO
WSJ—November 5, 2008

Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage plant after George W. Bush. The proposition is only one example of the classless disrespect many Americans have shown the president.
According to recent Gallup polls, the president's average approval rating is below 30% -- down from his 90% approval in the wake of 9/11. Mr. Bush has endured relentless attacks from the left while facing abandonment from the right.
This is the price Mr. Bush is paying for trying to work with both Democrats and Republicans. During his 2004 victory speech, the president reached out to voters who supported his opponent, John Kerry, and said, "Today, I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support, and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust."
Those bipartisan efforts have been met with crushing resistance from both political parties.
The president's original Supreme Court choice of Harriet Miers alarmed Republicans, while his final nomination of Samuel Alito angered Democrats. His solutions to reform the immigration system alienated traditional conservatives, while his refusal to retreat in Iraq has enraged liberals who have unrealistic expectations about the challenges we face there.
It seems that no matter what Mr. Bush does, he is blamed for everything. He remains despised by the left while continuously disappointing the right.
Yet it should seem obvious that many of our country's current problems either existed long before Mr. Bush ever came to office, or are beyond his control. Perhaps if Americans stopped being so divisive, and congressional leaders came together to work with the president on some of these problems, he would actually have had a fighting chance of solving them.
Like the president said in his 2004 victory speech, "We have one country, one Constitution and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."
To be sure, Mr. Bush is not completely alone. His low approval ratings put him in the good company of former Democratic President Harry S. Truman, whose own approval rating sank to 22% shortly before he left office. Despite Mr. Truman's low numbers, a 2005 Wall Street Journal poll found that he was ranked the seventh most popular president in history.
Just as Americans have gained perspective on how challenging Truman's presidency was in the wake of World War II, our country will recognize the hardship President Bush faced these past eight years -- and how extraordinary it was that he accomplished what he did in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time.
Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has not gone unnoticed by our enemies. It has shown to the world how disloyal we can be when our president needed loyalty -- a shameful display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after Mr. Bush has left the White House.

Words not Meeting their Requirements

Admittedly, I was largely reticent to even begin writing about last night, 4-November’s events. While I could talk or write about it endlessly, I’ll try and keep my words to a minimum. I don’t think I have the time or concision to keep my thoughts on yesterday’s events well enough edited to keep my audience reading.

I’m sitting down today refreshed; refreshed, because my confidence in this country is still in tact. A friend and I emailed yesterday, and we were both nervous about the day’s events. Of course, we had hope, but the consequences of the contrary were too frightful to rest easily.

I digress. I was going to keep this somewhat concise; largely, because I didn’t think I could put together something worthy of our new direction.

First, as McCain had mentioned in his gracious concession speech, what an historic achievement for this country and our integrity for equal protection and equal rights, for all people. I watched young women and men in Spellman College, in Atlanta, dancing and tearful at their hopes and dreams finally coming to reality. In addition, to all of that, to see Oprah and Jesse Jackson in Grant Park, also with tears of joy and solace in their eyes, was simply majestic. Quite clearly, I cannot begin to imagine what the election of an African-American President must feel like to a race of people who have dealt with oppression, in some fashion, since our continent was settled; nevertheless, I have to imagine it was quite reconciling, a final triumph over Jim Crowe.

Secondly, as I was watching the shots from Spellman and Chicago’s Grant Park, I saw a camera shot of young white men and women, jumping around and dancing; also, as though they were in a frat house. I suppose that goes back to something I wrote about some time ago; quite simply, Obama is meta-racial—some refer to it as post-racial, but since I called it “meta-racial” I am sticking with it for consistency’s sake.

Of course, speaking to what a diverse group of young men and women were dancing about, all at the same time as a largely African-American group were dancing down in Atlanta, it was not only change in the face of the races of those that hold the White House. No, right now, our country has finally decided to overwhelmingly depart from the politics of this administration and the politics of the boomer generation’s “liberal vs. conservative.”

When Obama spoke last night, he gracefully mentioned those who will immaturely mock the efforts to progress this country, moving it back from these horrible eight years of Republican Rule. We have so much work to do, and it is going to be difficult; however, we are in the process of correcting things, only to make them better for us and our children. Even having to get up from a comfortable night of sleep this morning, I was comforted by the fact that I can now look at the outcome of this election with satisfaction about its outcome. It’s been time for too long now, and we can rejoice that someone intelligent and right headed is heading back to the White House.

A Wonderful Letter - Please Read

I Didn't Vote For Obama Today
November 4, 2008, 9:37AM

I have a confession to make.

I did not vote for Barack Obama today.

I've openly supported Obama since March. But I didn't vote for him today.

I wanted to vote for Ronald Woods. He was my algebra teacher at Clark Junior High in East St. Louis, IL. He died 15 years ago when his truck skidded head-first into a utility pole. He spent many a day teaching us many things besides the Pythagorean Theorem. He taught us about Medgar Evers, Ralph Abernathy, John Lewis and many other civil rights figures who get lost in the shadow cast by Martin Luther King, Jr.

But I didn't vote for Mr. Woods.

I wanted to vote for Willie Mae Cross.
She owned and operated Crossroads Preparatory Academy for almost 30 years, educating and empowering thousands of kids before her death in 2003. I was her first student. She gave me my first job, teaching chess and math concepts to kids in grades K-4 in her summer program. She was always there for advice, cheer and consolation. Ms. Cross, in her own way, taught me more about walking in faith than anyone else I ever knew.But I didn't vote for Ms. Cross.

I wanted to vote for Arthur Mells Jackson, Sr. and Jr. Jackson Senior was a Latin professor. He has a gifted school named for him in my hometown. Jackson Junior was the pre-eminent physician in my hometown for over 30 years. He has a heliport named for him at a hospital in my hometown. They were my great-grandfather and great-uncle, respectively.But I didn't vote for Prof. Jackson or Dr. Jackson.

I wanted to vote for A.B. Palmer. She was a leading civil rights figure in Shreveport, Louisiana, where my mother grew up and where I still have dozens of family members. She was a strong-willed woman who earned the grudging respect of the town's leaders because she never, ever backed down from anyone and always gave better than she got. She lived to the ripe old age of 99, and has a community center named for her in Shreveport.But I didn't vote for Mrs. Palmer.

I wanted to vote for these people, who did not live to see a day where a Black man would appear on their ballots on a crisp November morning.

In the end, though, I realized that I could not vote for them any more than I could vote for Obama himself.

So who did I vote for?

No one.

I didn't vote. Not for President, anyway.

Oh, I went to the voting booth. I signed, was given my stub, and was walked over to a voting machine. I cast votes for statewide races and a state referendum on water and sewer improvements.

I stood there, and I thought about all of these people, who influenced my life so greatly. But I didn't vote for who would be the 44th President of the United States.

When my ballot was complete, except for the top line, I finally decided who I was going to vote for - and then decided to let him vote for me. I reached down, picked him up, and told him to find Obama's name on the screen and touch it.

And so it came to pass that Alexander Reed, age 5, read the voting screen, found the right candidate, touched his name, and actually cast a vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Oh, the vote will be recorded as mine. But I didn't cast it.

Then again, the person who actually pressed the Obama box and the red "vote" button was the person I was really voting for all along. It made the months of donating, phonebanking, canvassing, door hanger distributing, sign posting, blogging, arguing and persuading so much sweeter.

So, no, I didn't vote for Barack Obama.

I voted for a boy who now has every reason to believe he, too, can grow up to be anything he wants...even President.

SPAM from McCain the Morning of an Election?

I woke up in the middle of the night last night, and had a hard time falling back to sleep. As such, I got up from my bed, and went to check email. I know, this is starting out like an exciting post...

Anyway, as I was looking at my email, I found a damned bit of SPAM from John McCain! Let's line this out together:

1. I hate spam, which makes me dislike those who sent it to me


2. I've not received any spam from Obama


3. Like so many others in this country, I've already voted


4. I don't think a whole lot of McCain's decision making capabilities, predicated on the fact he picked Sarah Palin as his running mate...


5. I can only assume he bought my email address from the same people that sold it to the Viagra, Enhancement, Meet Local Women, cheap Rolex's, or Pharmaceuticals folks that spam me...

Here's the spam, sans graphics...

My Friend,
From the time I entered the Naval Academy at age seventeen I have been privileged and honored to serve my country.
Throughout my years of service, I've been faced with challenges where I could have taken the easy way out and given up. But I'm an American and I never give up. Instead, I choose to show courage and stand up and fight for the country I love. Today, I am asking you to stand with me and to fight for our country's future.
Our country faces enormous challenges and our next president must be ready to lead on day one. My lifetime of experience has prepared me to lead our great nation. I'm prepared to bring solutions to our economic challenges, bring our troops home in victory and improve our nation's healthcare system.
Time and time again, my country has saved my life and I owe her more than she has ever owed me. I have chosen to show my gratitude through a life of service to our country and tomorrow, you will have a choice before you.
I humbly ask you to make the choice that will allow me to serve my country a little while longer by casting your vote to elect me as your next President of the United States.
Finally, I ask that you never forget that much has been sacrificed to protect our right to vote. We must never forget those Americans who, with their courage, with their sacrifice, and with their lives, have protected our freedom. It is my great hope that you will exercise your right to vote as an American tomorrow.
I thank you for your kind support, your dedication to our cause, and most importantly I thank you for your vote.

With sincere appreciation,

John McCain

You lost me there Senator...