Too many people

I've decided that all my feelings of doom can be traced by to those 1970s-era predictions of overpopulation. It's not something you hear about much today. To the contrary, we're told the planet can hold a few billion more. I'm not buying it. I think we've surpassed our comfort level. And why do citizens of rich countries need to reproduce at all? There are millions -- if not billions -- of poorer people dying to get in. Some would argue that massive immigration will change our national character. Yeah, well, so what? Time alone will change our national character. And that's why we have a living Constitution. We're not bound by creed or borders or cultures. We're everything. And, as Americans, we hold certain truths to be self-evident, as our "founding fathers" put it. So, that said, any chance we can get the golbal population down by a couple billion in the next couple centuries? Please? My birthday is coming up in a couple months, and that's at the top of my list. Along with a new bottle of Chanel Pour Monsieur; I'm almost out.

More bad news

I'm so glad this little corner of the virtual expanse goes relatively unseen, I imagine, as I find I just want to vent more. The Virginia Tech insanity Monday, followed by news of the slain Peace Corps volunteer, is making me sick. But that's just on top of all the bombings in Iraq, which lead me to conclude that abandoment is best. I used to think we had a responsibility to clean up our mess. I don't really much care anymore. Sure, I think GW Bush should be impeached, but I've also come to think that the barbarism sewn (and controlled) by Saddam Hussein is beyond anyone's control. Some fear that if the U.S. pulls out, the Sunnis will be persecuted. Well, they're pretty active in blowing up U.S. troops and trying to make the Shia look incapable of governing by killing off Shia by the thousands, so I'm not so sympathetic. The other fear is that the Shia will ally themselves with Iran, creating an even more annoying Iran. But that's really a foregone conclusion, I would think. Perhaps if we leave now, we'll at least have an opportunity to play all these forces against one another -- from the Saudis who say they may send in troops to defend Sunnis if the U.S. leaves, to the anti-Saudi Iranians whose foreign policy seems to center around doing whatever they can to hurt America, rather than looking out for their more direct interests -- while we try to figure out how to live without oil. If the Middle East falls into a Shia-Sunni war, at least all countries involved will want us to buy their oil. And they should undercut each other's prices if they're in conflict.
Sadly, my views come from a fairly left point of view. I don't want to sacrifice anything to give Iraq democracy. If the Iraqi Shia couldn't get it on their own -- or at least start the fight themselves -- do they even deserve it? The argument that the moderates suffer most doesn't do much for me, either. I would hope they could get themselves out of the conflict zone, but there are limits to U.S. power. Limits far more restricting than any the neocons imagined. I'm certain every American would risk death to maintain our constitutional sovereignty, but we Americans know that there is no enemy at the gates putting that liberty at risk. Osama may hate our freedoms, but unless he runs for office here, there's not a whole lot he can do about it. If we don't fear him and his bombs, he's a paper tiger. We are still flying and traveling abroad. We've not abandoned our cities for free of sitting too close to the next 'ground zero.'
But though Osama has nothing, still there is this feeling far beyond anything he and his criminal ilk have wrought, that things are just falling apart, that misery and ignorance and danger are increasing. Will it be global warming-induced food shortages? Ethanol-induced food shortages? Growing extremism? Fear, all by itself? Nuclear meltdown in North Korea? A Canary Island-spawned tsunami wiping out the East Coast? What's next? Why now does there seem to be a limitless list of apocalyptic scenarios. And as if these scenarios weren't bad enough, there are seas of childlike adults who seem to welcome whatever may herald "the end times," or whatever apocalypse a person's specific faith has to offer.
I remain, by nature, an optimist. But these are damned depressing times.

Poor Pelosi

I'm seeing that Speaker Pelosi is taking more shit for going to Syria. I have no idea which congressional Republicans went over at roughly the same time, as they don't seem to be taking any heat. While numbly eliptcal-ing an hour away at the gym, there was an ad on CNN from the Republican Jewish Coalition blasting her trip. So it was OK for the Bush administration to use buddy-up with the Syrians to use their jails for the so-called was on terror, but her attempts at dialogue are counter-productive. The ad was particularly annoying in light of her press conference yesterday with Rep. Tom Lantos -- my hands-down favorite legislator -- a Holocaust survivor, who had no problem answering a question whether he'd go to Iran for dialogue. He said he'd get on plane immediately. I almost cried a little, worrying about his advanced age and what Congress will lose when he retires. We all know Ahmadinejad is a nutjob. But it's a nutty world, and we've got to talk to everybody if we want to operate in it. Smiling and shaking hands with people you despise is part of diplomacy. It costs you nothing, and may gain you plenty. And I hope Lantos and Pelosi spend lots more time together. I want as much of his wisdom as possible to rub on off this powerful woman, a Bal-mer girl (like my mom), whom I applaud for offereing a refreshingly sophisticated face to American diplomacy. Certainly it's better than John Bolton's criticism of Britain for sending letters to Iran regarding their detained troops, rather than, I presume, invading; or, worse yet, his apparent salivating at the prospect of them asking us to invade on their behalf. Where does this short-sightedness come from??

Pessimistic mood

While not in a bad mood, I'm having a difficult time finding any good news today. Just like Helen Reddy. The government is full of jerks. The Middle East is full of jerks. Everybody is full of drama. In the past week, three people in my little world have had to go to the hospital. I'm aware of two current break-ups. Several people who are looking for jobs. And near-record lows for this time of year in D.C. It's all very disheartening. This would be a great time for someone to invent an inexhaustible source of clean energy, or perhaps for aliens to say hello. Just something to get out of this malaise, for which I blame GW Bush and Osama bin Landen in nearly equal amounts.

sea legs

Following my partner's surprise 40th birthday hoo-ha, it's good to be back on land. The surprise centered around a 4-day cruise on the Celebrity Century: Thursday in Miami, Friday in Key West, Saturday in Cozumel, Sunday at sea, Monday back in Miami. Though we've cruised before (heh...), I'm still struck by the odd "sea legs" phenomenon. For days now, I'm still occasionally struck by the feeling that I'm rocking a tiny bit. It's not an uncomfortable sensation, just curious.
Regardless, the trip was great thanks to Celebrity, the Coconut Cove Guesthouse in Fort Lauderdale, and, most of all, all of those who were on-hand to mark Fernando's birthday. Beyond those who were present, I'm thankful to so many people for keeping the months-long preparations under their hats.
As an added bonus, I'm adding one photo from the trip. It's a photo of my mother and me taken by her pal, Harriet, in the Century's martini bar on the formal night. When I look at this photo, all I can think about is how I wish her genes had been more assertive than my father's. She's 75 years old and looks fantastic. She doesn't even dye her hair, while my temple grays are beginning to bust out at 37. I'm actually the age she was when she had me, but not aging nearly as well. But with her devotion to moderation, I suppose she's earned it. My appetites, on the other hand, tend toward excess.