make sucky products instead of stuff I really like? But anyway, I wrote a nasty letter to Bolthouse and forwarded it to the store where I used to buy it. This was a couple weeks ago and I never heard back.

What an idiot. Thanks for posting this.

We couldn't afford a honeymoon right after our wedding so we waited until our first anniversary. We got lucky because Iberia Airlines was starting non-stop service from Chicago to Madrid so to celebrate, r/t fares were $259! We decided to go to Madrid, Paris and Barcelona. My husband had never been to Europe before but I had been to Paris and was really excited to see it again. We were to arrive there the morning of our anniversary. The whole trip was really amazing and outstanding, but our first day in Paris was beyond words.

We arrived early in the morning on October 18. Our hotel was on a little market street near the Eiffel Tower. We could've taken a couple different routes but I figured it would be most impressive to walk up the stairs from the Metro and see the tower as our first sight in Paris. I was definitely right. The sun was just coming up and it had rained the night before, so everything was bathed in golden light and glistening. The Eiffel Tower looked freshly scrubbed and absolutely magical. My husband was speechless.

It only got better from there. We walked down the Rue Cler towards our hotel and it was like something out of a movie or a fairy tale. The cobblestones were still wet from the night before, the buildings and shops were as charming as can be, and the trees were every shade of red, orange and yellow. People bustled around purchasing flowers, loaves of bread, cheese, fruit and roasted chickens for their big Sunday meal. The sun made it just warm enough to be comfortable, but the air was crisp and cool as it can only be on a perfect autumn day. Shopkeepers were chatting with locals, children and dogs were frolicking at their feet, and everyone just seemed happy to be alive on such a beautiful day.

When we arrived at our hotel, my parents had somehow figured out how to send us an anniversary card and it was waiting for us at the front desk. Our room wasn't ready (it was still quite early), but the kind lady stashed our luggage and we set out to take in more of the sights. We walked around in a daze, feeling like we needed to pinch ourselves. Everywhere we turned it seemed we ended up gasping with delight at something. Both of us were really overwhelmed by it. Even now I start to well up with joy remembering that experience.

We stopped at a street vendor to pick up a picnic lunch of fruit, little quiches, and sandwiches and the lovely people there made sure to warm up the quiches and wrap them so they'd be the perfect temperature when we found a place to sit. We ended up on the steps of some beautiful old church, where a sweet elderly woman smiled and wished us "Bon Appetit!" as we bit into the best quiche I have ever tasted in my entire life. I wish we had written down where that street vendor was, the quiche was that good.

Anyway, the whole day was like that. Everyone was so kind to us, and welcoming. I spoke a tiny bit of French (at least enough to say hello, please, thank you, etc.), and everyone was so patient with me as I stumbled my way through ordering pastries and whatnot.

Later that night, before going to bed, we walked over to the Eiffel Tower again and sat in the park taking it all in. There weren't any tourists there at that hour, just Parisians out walking their dogs and doing the things that city-dwellers all over the world do. Yet many of them stopped to let us pet their dogs, had a friendly "bonjour" for us, or just a smile. We must've been grinning like idiots I suppose, but who wouldn't be after what I have to say is the closest I've ever come to having a perfect day?

...that just happens to be low fat, high in nutrition and diabetic friendly. I made it tonight and it rocks.

If anyone is interested, here's the recipe...


4 large apples of your choice
juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup brown rice syrup (available at health food stores or Whole Foods/Wild Oats, etc. and doesn't spike blood sugar)
1/4 cup soy flour (low carb and high protein, great for diabetics)
1/4 cup flax meal (both the flax meal and soy flour are fairly widely available, Bob's Red Mill is the brand I see most often)
1/2 oats (super nutritious)
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped (along with flax meal, an excellent source of Omega-3 fatty acids)
pinch of kosher salt

Core and slice the apples (I leave the skin on for added nutrition) and toss them with the lemon juice, the lemon zest, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 2 tbls of soy flour and 1/4 cup of brown rice syrup. Place them in a med/lg baking dish (I use a 9"x7" 11 cup rectangular pyrex dish).

In a medium bowl mix the oats, flax meal, walnuts, salt, and the remaining soy flour, cinnamon and brown rice syrup. The flax meal replaces butter so there is no need to add any additional fat to the topping.

Drop small blobs of the topping on the apples until it's pretty evenly distributed and bake in a 375 degree oven for about 40 minutes or so. I loosely place foil over the dish for the first 20 minutes so the topping doesn't get too brown before the filling cooks completely.

A serving (1/8th of the whole dish) is 189 calories, 4.5 g fat and 33 carbs but is packed with flavor, nutrients, protein, good fats and complex carbs.

And I certainly didn't want to insult anyone, so I changed the artwork when you asked me. But the more I thought about it the more I came to realize that it's just another one of those quirks of the English language that needs context. So to me both ways are correct.

My point was that this argument has become more like the work of the Grammar Police than a matter of framing, especially when the title of the thread sounds like an admonishment and the post is complete with a smiley paddling another smiley.

I'm sorry, I just don't personally agree that insisting on the phrase "election fraud" qualifies as "framing" because I believe most people who care about the issue of stolen elections understand who is doing the stealing. Even folks who have told me I am nuts for believing that the 2000 and 2004 elections were stolen seem to understand that I'm not talking about my 75-yr-old neighbor sneaking in extra votes for Bush. They all know I believe BushCo committed the fraud, even if they think I'm a loon.

As far as I'm concerned, both phrases are correct, along with "election theft," "stolen election," "felony," "high crimes" and a number of other names. A stolen election by any name smells just as foul. Call it what you will, but I'm more concerned about stopping it than framing it.

No, not real naked pictures. The book, by Jon Stewart. With four INCREDIBLY ADORABLE pictures of him on the front cover. I've only read the acknowledgments so far and I'm already laughing.

OOOOOh I love that man!

Tell me something awesome that happened to you when you were 36. I turn 36 at 12:04 a.m. tomorrow (hence my screen name) and I need a reason to look forward to my birthday. Right now I am not. I feel stuck in the same place I was last year, and the year before. I figure it might help to hear happy memories from you kind folks.

I don't usually receive many replies to my threads, so please, for my birthday, indulge me just this once! Thank you in advance!

I haven't sent this yet. Want to hear what you all think...




Try Doing This...

a.Try driving around as a Gringo in Mexico with no liability insurance..and have an accident.

THAT WOULD BE IRRESPONSIBLE. BUT THAT DOESN'T JUSTIFY BIGOTRY.


B.Enter Mexico illegally. Never mind immigration quotas, visas, international law, or any of that nonsense.

A LOT OF COUNTRIES HAVE IMMIGRATION PROBLEMS. BECAUSE THE U.S. IS ONE OF THE MOST AFFLUENT COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD, THE PROBLEM IS GOING TO BE MAGNIFIED HERE. AND BECAUSE MEXICO PHYSICALLY BORDERS THE U.S., IT'S ONLY NATURAL THAT MORE MEXICANS WOULD BE TRYING TO COME HERE. WHILE THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED, IT DOESN'T MEAN WE SHOULD SCAPEGOAT MEXICANS OR ANY OTHER RACE.


C.Once there, demand that the local government provide free medical care for you and your entire family.

ACTUALLY, YOU CAN GET SOME FREE MEDICAL CARE IN OTHER COUNTRIES. NOT EVERYWHERE, AND MAYBE NOT COMPREHENSIVE, BUT IT IS POSSIBLE. BESIDES, DOES THE AUTHOR REALLY MEAN TO SUGGEST THAT A SICK OR INJURED CHILD SHOULD BE LEFT TO DIE BECAUSE HIS OR HER PARENTS CAME HERE ILLEGALLY AND CAN'T AFFORD INSURANCE? WOULD HE OR SHE HONESTLY BE ABLE TO WALK AWAY AND NOT HELP SOMEONE IN THAT SITUATION? I KNOW I COULDN'T LEAVE SOMEONE TO DIE, IT WOULDN'T MATTER WHAT THEIR IMMIGRATION STATUS WAS.


d. Demand bilingual nurses and doctors.

LOTS OF COUNTRIES DO HAVE MULTILINGUAL HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. AMERICA IS SUPPOSED TO BE MELTING POT, SO WOULDN'T IT STAND TO REASON THAT AMERICA SHOULD OFFER THIS SERVICE?


e. Demand free bilingual local government forms, bulletins, etc.

OTHER COUNTRIES PROVIDE A LOT MORE THAN BILINGUAL FORMS. READ THE FORMS IN MANY, MANY OTHER COUNTRIES. YOU'LL SEE UPWARDS OF 8 OR 10 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES ON SOME THINGS.


f.Procreate abundantly. Deflect any criticism of this allegedly irresponsible reproductive behavior with, "It is a cultural United States thing. You would not understand, pal."

STEREOTYPING DOES NOT SOLVE ANYTHING, IT ONLY ALLOWS PEOPLE TO JUSTIFY THEIR BIGOTRY AND IS INTELLECTUALLY LAZY. "IRRESPONSIBLE REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR" DOES NOT EXIST IN ONLY ONE ETHNIC GROUP.


g.Keep your American identity strong. Fly Old Glory from your rooftop, or, proudly display it in your front window or on your car bumper.

PLENTY OF AMERICANS DO JUST THAT WHEN TRAVELING OR LIVING ABROAD. OR IS IT ONLY OKAY FOR AMERICANS TO DO THAT?


h. Speak only English at home and in public and insist that your children do likewise.

MORE STEREOTYPING AND COMPLETELY GOES AGAINST ANY ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE I'VE COME ACROSS. I'VE LIVED IN ETHNIC NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE CITY AND THE CHILDREN WERE, ALMOST WITHOUT EXCEPTION, BILINGUAL. HOW MANY BORN AND BRED AMERICANS CAN SAY THEY KNOW MORE THAN ONE LANGUAGE?


i. Insist that all products' labels, owner's manuals, instructions, etc., be written in English as well as Spanish.

PRETTY MUCH THE SAME ARGUMENT AS "E" TO WHICH I HAVE THE IDENTICAL RESPONSE.


j. Demand classes on American culture in the Mexican school system.

WHEN I HAVE CHILDREN I WANT THEM TO LEARN ABOUT AS MANY OTHER CULTURES AS POSSIBLE. WE LIVE IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY AND WE SHARE A RELATIVELY SMALL PLANET. PRETENDING THE REST OF THE WORLD DOESN'T EXIST IS NOT ONLY IGNORANT, IT'S DANGEROUS. IGNORANCE BREEDS FEAR, FEAR BREEDS HATRED, HATRED BREEDS VIOLENCE AND SUFFERING.


k. Demand a local Mexican driver license. This will afford other legal rights and will go far to legitimize your unauthorized, illegal presence in Mexico.

THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED. BUT, BY CONSTANTLY REFERRING TO MEXICANS ONLY, THE AUTHOR MAKES THIS POINT MUCH MORE ABOUT HIS OR HER OWN BIGOTRY THAN ABOUT SOLVING A COMPLICATED PROBLEM.


L. Insist that local Mexican law enforcement teach English to all its officers.

PRETTY MUCH THE SAME ARGUMENT AS "D" TO WHICH I HAVE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME RESPONSE--WITH ONE SMALL NOTE. I NOTICED THAT THE AUTHOR LIKES TO USE THE WORD "DEMAND" A LOT. AS IF THERE ARE THESE ROVING BANDS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS BEATING UP ANYONE WHO DOESN'T SPEAK SPANISH. I THINK THE REALITY IS THAT BUSINESSES AND SERVICE AGENCIES HAVE FOUND IT'S MUCH EASIER TO DO THEIR JOBS, MUCH EASIER TO HELP PEOPLE, AND MUCH EASIER TO AVOID MISTAKES IF THEY HAVE MULTILINGUAL STAFF MEMBERS AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS. I THINK IT'S MORE A MATTER OF RESPONDING TO A NEED THAN GIVING IN TO A DEMAND. BUT THE WORD "DEMAND" IS MUCH MORE MENACING AND MAKES IT EASIER TO RESPOND NEGATIVELY TO THOSE DOING THE "DEMANDING" I THINK.


Good luck! Because it will never happen. It will not happen in Mexico or any other country in the world... except right here in the United States...Land of the naive! If you agree, pass it on. If you don't, go ahead and try the above in Mexico or Iran, or just about any other country in the world, for that matter.

OKAY, LET'S SUPPOSE FOR A MOMENT THAT AMERICA *IS* THE ONLY COUNTRY "NAIVE" ENOUGH TO DO ALL OF THE ABOVE (A COMPLETELY FALSE PREMISE, IN MY OPINION). DOESN'T AMERICA HAVE THE REPUTATION OF BEING THE BEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD? DOESN'T THAT TITLE IMPLY THAT AMERICA CAN AND DOES (AND *SHOULD*) DO MORE TO HELP PEOPLE THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY? MAYBE YOU CAN'T GET ALL THOSE SERVICES IN IRAN OR MEXICO, BUT IF THOSE COUNTRIES ARE SO AWFUL WHY DOES THE AUTHOR WANT AMERICA TO BE ON PAR WITH THEM? IF OTHER COUNTRIES AREN'T "PLAYING FAIR" IN THE EYES OF THE AUTHOR, DOESN'T IT DIMINISH AMERICA TO STOOP TO THEIR LEVEL? I CERTAINLY DON'T SEE HOW IT SOLVES ANYTHING.


Words of Wisdom: "Support the country you live in...or live in the country you support"

TO ME, SUPPORTING AND LOVING AMERICA MEANS EMBRACING ALL THE CULTURES THAT MAKE UP THIS MELTING POT, EVEN WHEN IT'S NOT CONVENIENT. THERE ARE INDEED A LOT OF PROBLEMS IN THIS COUNTRY, AND IMMIGRATION IS AN ESPECIALLY STICKY ONE. BUT WE'LL NEVER COME TO A SOLUTION IF WE SCAPEGOAT AND BLAME BASED ON STEREOTYPES AND FEAR.

AS THE GRANDDAUGHTER OF IMMIGRANTS, THESE WORDS MEAN MORE TO ME THAN "Support the country you live in...or live in the country you support":
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

BUT I GUESS I'M JUST NAIVE.

I see where this is going folks, and I am frankly terrified. It's sounding an awful lot like the demonization of the Jews in Germany to me.

Incidently, I got this from my father-in-law, a man who immigrated from the Philippines just 35 years ago. I feel I've got to respond to this.



"Try Doing This...

a.. Try driving around as a Gringo in Mexico with no liability
insurance..and have an accident.

B.. Enter Mexico illegally. Never mind immigration quotas, visas, international law, or any of that nonsense.

C.. Once there, demand that the local government provide free medical care for you and your entire family.

d.. Demand bilingual nurses and doctors.

e.. Demand free bilingual local government forms, bulletins, etc.

f.. Procreate abundantly. Deflect any criticism of this allegedly irresponsible reproductive behavior with, "It is a cultural United States thing. You would not understand, pal."

g. Keep your American identity strong. Fly Old Glory from your
rooftop, or, proudly display it in your front window or on your car bumper.

h.. Speak only English at home and in public and insist that your children do likewise.

i.. Insist that all products' labels, owner's manuals, instructions, etc., be written in English as well as Spanish.

j.. Demand classes on American culture in the Mexican school system.

k.. Demand a local Mexican driver license. This will afford other legal rights and will go far to legitimize your unauthorized, illegal presence in Mexico.

L.. Insist that local Mexican law enforcement teach English to all its officers.

Good luck! Because it will never happen. It will not happen in Mexico or any other country in the world... except right here in the United States...Land of the naive!

If you agree, pass it on. If you don't, go ahead and try the above in Mexico or Iran, or just about any other country in the world, for that matter.

Words of Wisdom: "Support the country you live in...or live in the country you support""

It doesn't specifically address flight 93 but I think it fits into the discussion...

Paul Wolfowitz on the Pentagon attack:

Q: Do you remember then the impact of the plane into the Pentagon? Or had you first heard stories about New York? What was --

Wolfowitz: We were having a meeting in my office. Someone said a plane had hit the World Trade Center. Then we turned on the television and we started seeing the shots of the second plane hitting, and this is the way I remember it. It's a little fuzzy.

Q: Right.

Wolfowitz: There didn't seem to be much to do about it immediately and we went on with whatever the meeting was. Then the whole building shook. I have to confess my first reaction was an earthquake. I didn't put the two things together in my mind. Rumsfeld did instantly.

http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/200...

Does it seem weird to anyone else that the top officials in our government would be finding out about the WTC by turning on the television? I mean, how long did it take for the first plane to go off course after take-off from Logan? Wouldn't ANYONE have alerted the authorities in that time? Then, how long was it between the first strike and the second? The Pentagon?

According to a timeline, flight #11 lost contact at 8:14am and was officially called "hijacked" at 8:25. Impact with the first tower was at 8:46. Flight #175 lost contact at 8:41 and impacted the second tower at 9:02. Flight #77 impacted the Pentagon at 9:37am. So from 8:14 - 9:37 am our highest members of government were THAT CLUELESS?! They found out by turning on the t.v. like everyone else? Damn, I think the President found out about Pearl Harbor faster than that, and there were no such things as television, computers and cell phones.

Even if you don't believe that it was some kind of conspiracy, you have to be wondering why anyone would choose to vote for such an inept administration. Any way you look it at, it doesn't speak well of BushCo. That's why I never understood why BushCo gets high marks from so many (even some liberals) for his leadership after 9/11.


P.S. Keep in mind I wrote this some time ago. Most people (and definitely all liberals) loathe Bush by now. But at the time, I felt very alone in my loathing of Bush because many people were singing his praises.

1996:
Ten Years ago, it was early 1996. Take this survey, post the results, and see how many things have changed since then. 10 years ago.....

1) How old were you then?
26

2) What grade were you in?
Okay, clearly this survey is for teenagers. Uh, I was two years out of grad school.

3) Where did you go to school?
University of Illinois for my BFA, Columbia College for my Masters

4) Where did you work?
Uh, I hate thinking about this, but I worked at the Maya Romanoff Corporation. Only interior designers even know the name Maya Romanoff, but I know the person. And he is one effed-up dude.

5) Where did you live?
I lived in Chicago, as always. But at the time I lived in the Lakeview neighborhood.

6) How was your hair styled?
I had a fairly short bob with bangs.

7) Did you wear braces?
Not in 1996

8) Did you wear contacts
Not in 1996

9) Did you wear glasses?
Oh yeah.

10) Who was your best friend?
My friend Amie, same as today.

11) Who was your boyfriend/girlfriend?
The man who is now my husband.

12) Who was your celebrity crush?
Neil Finn, same as today.

13) Who was your regular-person crush?
No one.

14) Were you a virgin?
Thankfully, no.

15) How many piercing's did you have?
2

16) How many tattoos did you have?
0

17) What was your favorite band/singer?
Crowded House/Neil Finn

18) Had you smoked a cigarette yet?
Yep, just one, never had one since.

19) Had you gotten drunk or high yet?
Sure, both. Although not very often.

20) Had you driven yet?
Sure, but I didn't have a car at the time.

21) If so which car?
I sometimes drove my boyfriend's Accord.

22) Which of your pets were still alive?
I had my cats Frank and Beans at the time. Now I have only Frank.

23) Looking back, are you where you thought you would be in 1996?
No, sadly. I thought for sure I would be living on the west coast by now. I've wanted to live there for what seems like forever. But I'm still living in Chicago. Blah. I am a graphic designer now, which was what I wanted at the time.

My parents both grew up during the Depression. My uncles fought in WWII and my father joined the Navy in 1945 but never left the States.

I remember hearing the stories of WWII from my parents. They told me how horrible and evil Hitler was, and how he was responsible for the deaths of millions of people who didn't fit his ideal. I asked how it was possible for one man to do that, and my parents told me that he had convinced a lot of people he was right. They told me he used fear to manipulate people. I remember asking over and over again how the German people allowed this to happen, why they didn't rise up and remove Hitler from power if he was so awful. They talked about the different reasons, but for a long time I felt like the German people were nearly as much to blame as Hitler himself.

But now look at America. We sit here and allow BushCo to perpetrate all kinds of crimes against humanity. How many thousands of people are dead around the world because of BushCo? Will it matter more when it reaches into the millions? Is that when we'll stop him?

Lest you think I'm pointing fingers, I'll admit that I'm just as guilty as anyone else. I rant on DU, I write letters, I design t-shirts, I demonstrate. But what good am I doing? I just don't know anymore.

I'm just feeling so despondant these days; like I've reached my breaking point and can't even cry anymore. And I'm feeling like I have a greater understanding of what the average joe citizen felt in Germany; like nothing they could do would make any difference. That the war machine will keep on rolling until it uses up the whole world.

I was wondering if any of my lovely fellow DUers have moved from the U.S. to Canada recently. If so, would you be willing to share your wisdom with me?

I live in Chicago and my husband is exploring the possibility of a move to Vancouver due to a possible job opportunity. This is a huge deal to me because I've wanted to move west for years and years but he's been afraid. He's a very careful person and feared giving up his good job here for the unknown somewhere else. I personally hate my job so I'd give it up in heartbeat but that's another story. Anyway, I've been open to many areas from northern California, to Portland, to Seattle. After a visit to Vancouver, BC about 8 months ago, I immediately added that lovely city to my list. In a way it's perfect because it is close enough to several of my family members living in the Seattle area to see them more often than I do now, but not so close that they'll be popping over every day.

Anyway, the other day a job possibility came my husband's way and I believe he can get it if he feels sufficiently motivated and excited by the idea. If I can gather a bunch of information, I might be able to convince him to take this leap, which would be a dream come true for me. I grew up in the Chicago area and have lived in the city proper for 14 years. Chicago is a lovely place, but I'm ready for a change. Help me help him!

So any Americans living in Canada who have some advice for me? I would really appreciate it. Thank you so much in advance!

bad it would get.

http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/041...

<snip>
The storm hit Breton Sound with the fury of a nuclear warhead, pushing a deadly storm surge into Lake Pontchartrain. The water crept to the top of the massive berm that holds back the lake and then spilled over. Nearly 80 percent of New Orleans lies below sea level—more than eight feet below in places—so the water poured in. A liquid brown wall washed over the brick ranch homes of Gentilly, over the clapboard houses of the Ninth Ward, over the white-columned porches of the Garden District, until it raced through the bars and strip joints on Bourbon Street like the pale rider of the Apocalypse. As it reached 25 feet (eight meters) over parts of the city, people climbed onto roofs to escape it.

Thousands drowned in the murky brew that was soon contaminated by sewage and industrial waste. Thousands more who survived the flood later perished from dehydration and disease as they waited to be rescued. It took two months to pump the city dry, and by then the Big Easy was buried under a blanket of putrid sediment, a million people were homeless, and 50,000 were dead. It was the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States.


-----------


Reading those paragraphs above, it comes as quite a shock to realize that the article is almost a year old.


FUCK YOU BUSHCO AND CLINTON TOO AND ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS THE GALL TO CLAIM THERE WAS NO WAY TO KNOW HOW BAD IT WAS GOING TO BE. FUCK ALL Y'ALL.

http://www.alternet.org/rights/23576 /

<snip>

MOAZZAM BEGG: Yes. It was three years of my life, so it is very difficult to condense into a few minutes. But, I can try to highlight the most profound parts of my incarceration including being held by the Americans in Kandahar, in Bagram, and ultimately in Guantanamo for 2 years. During my time there, I witnessed things that I would have never perceived the United States would be capable of. With my own eyes, I witnessed the killing of at least two detainees by military police with their own hands.

.......

DEEPA FERNANDES: What was the worst thing that happened to you while you were in Guantanamo?

MOAZZAM BEGG: In Guantanamo, it was being held in solitary confinement for such a long time without recourse to justice or family or contact with anyone. In Bagram, it was being beaten and hog-tied as I said and witnessing the death of other people and seeing children in custody.

.......

DEEPA FERNANDES: Who were the people you were locked up with? Are they terrorists? Are they enemy combatants against the United States?

MOAZZAM BEGG: Statements are being made that these people were captured on a battlefield. I wasn't captured on a battlefield or anywhere near a battlefield. Neither were all these people or the majority of the people being held there. There weren't too many engagements by the US ground forces; most of them were Northern Alliance forces Normally, the tribunals or Article 5 hearing according to the Geneva Convention is supposed to take place to determine if a man is an enemy combatant or prisoner of war or a non-combatant or civilian. None of these took place because there was not battlefield where it was done.

In the words of many interrogators I came across, and one in particular who said, and I quote, "I know that there is nobody being held here in Guantanamo Bay that has committed an act of belligerence against the United States, because if we did have somebody like that we would have processed them through our courts, punished them, and locked them up for a very long time."

I had finally identified my feelings about the election and started writing this last night. Many of you were so kind to respond, so I apologize if I seem to be recycling a bit. I rewrote it today and just wanted to share with those that might be interested:

I don't know about you all, but high school was a nightmare for me. I was a lower-middle-class kid living in a rich town, and I was that fatal combination of smart, awkward and not "fashionably" dressed (partially because I couldn't afford it, partially because I was a punk-rock girl and didn't want to look like everyone else). I was constantly horrified by how awful many of the popular people were in my high school. They were mean and self-centered, they ridiculed and excluded anyone who didn't look/act/think exactly like them, and they were incredibly, shockingly ignorant. Yet THEY were the popular ones. They always had lots of friends around them and went to all the dances and parties.

Needless to say I couldn't wait to go to college, where I met so many amazing people and made many lifelong friends, including my husband. Sure the popular kids were there too, but they didn't have any power over the rest of us anymore. We saw them for what they were: smug, scared, shallow, sad, immature, starving for attention, self-absorbed and spoiled. Some of them matured and became really cool people, and some remain mired in their ignorance to this day.

Well, I just realized that the last four years have been like being in high school. Except now the ignorant, mean, selfish popular kids are running the country instead of the school and, instead of making the dorks miserable, they're making our entire planet miserable. Instead of spreading rumors and shoving freshmen in the halls, they're spreading horrible lies through the media and killing innocent people by the thousand.

And yesterday? Yesterday was like walking into my high school graduation ceremony only to find out that I have repeat the last four long, horrible years all over again.

So today I decided that I will stand up for the dorks, the band-geeks, the honor students, the wallflowers, the chess club, the drama club, the artists, the loners, the stoners, the outcasts, the underdogs, the weaklings, the chubby kids, the too-short guys, the too-tall girls, the kid with head-gear, the kid with the stutter, the kid in the wheelchair. It's time to take back the school. Whatever it takes, revenge of the nerds will prevail. And it MUST prevail soon. For me it starts today.

Who's with me?