Lots to talk about today. Hope I can remember it all. But first, a rant, because I just got a disturbing email.

It was about this thing that some University in Massachusetts is trying to organize. They want teenagers to come speak in contrast to the whole ‘Axis of Evil’ thing; “in particular, about Iraq.” I’m sorry to all you people from Iraq out there, but I think that’s just plain crap. I don’t think all people from Iraq are bad, I just think your government needs to be ousted. This email was particularly disturbing because just earlier this evening my brother told me about an article he read today that he says, “was the most depressing thing I’ve ever read.” And how coincidental, it was about Iraq. But what in particular about Iraq? Genocide. Saddam Hussein has been testing things and bombing things and releasing things, killing his own people. Whole villages. Women, children, husbands, fathers, mothers, wives. Completely unsuspecting, law abiding people. I don’t know all the details from the article, but believe it or not, I remember the Gulf War. I remember watching the news with all the information about Saddam and how Old Papey Bush would purposefully mispronounce his name. I remember in particular driving through my old neighborhood after being picked up from kindergarten, asking my mom if Dad would have to go to war. I didn’t quite know at that time what my father did in the Air Force, but all I knew was he worked at the Pentagon, and according to movies and television, that’s where work was dangerous. And then there were the rumors on the news. Military men getting pulled from their desk jobs to go fight the Man in Iraq. I was scared. In my little kindergarten head I thought my daddy had to fly his F4 to Iraq and get killed, all because of this man named Saddam. And now some crazy people in Massachusetts are trying to say that he doesn’t belong in the ‘Axis of Evil’? I’m sorry, that phrase may sound funny, but it fits. Saddam has had his fun, he’s caused enough trouble, I say it’s about time he meets the consequences of his actions. I think those consequences should come knocking on his door, leaving just enough time for him to open the door, say hello, and then have the crap bombed out of him. I’m sorry, but peace isn’t the answer here. We can’t hand Mr. Hussein a daisy and hope that he’ll see the pain in that crying indian’s eye and suddenly see the horror of his actions. Don’t you think he’s been handed bouquets of flowers for decades already? Has he responded to those? No. There’s a time for diplomacy. There’s a time for peace talks. But in some cases, those don’t work. Then it’s time for a serious spanking. He’s already recovered from the last spanking, and clearly he hasn’t had an appropriate attitude adjustment. It’s time for time-out. For a very very long time. An infinitely long time. And anyone who disagrees with me is more than welcome to go to that village that was recently whiped out and see the destruction that comes from a corrupt leader. You’re welcome to read the accounts of the American soldiers who were captured and tortured by Iraqi soldiers. I say we have a duty to the millions of lives threatened every day just by them living inside their own borders. We don’t need to push American values, or even our way of life. We just need to protect theirs before Saddam takes whatever is left away from them.

Rant over. Until I get the link to that article from Kevin.

Now for the news of the day. Happiest first – My toe is done!!! Yay! I’m going to pick it up tomorrow. (That sounds really freaky, so if you don’t know what’s going on, here’s a recap – I’m getting a prosthetic toe because I had my left big toe amputated. There, recap over.) It was supposed to be done next week, but I got a call from the toe guy today and he said he thought I’d like to have it by Easter Sunday. 🙂 Cute of him, I think, and I’m really happy about it. I can’t wait to see it tomorrow. 🙂

And the next bit of news coincides with that. The toe guy was on ABC Primetime Thursday with that Charlie Gibson dude. Cool, huh? It was amazing to watch. All those pictures in his photo album of past patients came to life as they interviewed several of the people who’ve had prosthetics made for them. That toe guy is really a miracle. One of the most amazing was this woman who’s from Pakistan. Her husband suspected her of simply looking at another man – he was fully clothed, she just looked at him – so her husband hung her upside down by her ankles, cut off her nose, her ears, half her tongue, and gouged out her eyes. He cut her down, leaving her on the floor for dead – and she was six months pregnant!! Her brother found her and sent her to the United States, where a team of doctors worked on her. She looked just like a mummy, it was so sad. This whole team of doctors and Mr. Barron (the toe guy) donated their time, not charging the woman a cent, and they completely reconstructed her face out of prosthesis. She looked exactly like she did before. Even though she still can’t see, her children aren’t frightened by her, and she can walk the streets without all manner of discomforts. The man’s amazing. I’ll be sure to take pictures of my new toe. 🙂 It looks so real.

Other news of the day. I got the files I needed off my hard drive, which was another miracle, albeit not as spectacular as toe guy. But, literally right after I got all the files I needed my hard drive completely fried. We couldn’t even really reformat it. Apparantly a whole chunk of it is just fused. I’m not sure on the details as my brother didn’t have much time to explain it. Either way, I’ve still got to go buy a new hard drive. Oh goodie. I think I want to buy a bigger one this time, just cause. 🙂

Other than that, hmm… I think I’m leaving something out, but that’s all I can remember right now. And besides, I need to quit thinking about this Iraq thing because it’s really getting me worked up and I know I’ll be laying awake for hours just coming up with other things to write, keeping me awake until I’m supposed to wake up to go get my toe. Phew. Good night. And don’t email me about this Iraq thing unless you agree with me. My sleep patterns can’t take it, sorry. And besides, I really don’t want to upset you with the really long, progressively ruder email I’ll be preparing all night while I can’t sleep. hehehe.