Well, hmm.

I'm bummed. Usually I stay away from politics and the general bummer that seems to be world events today, but after the sequence of bombings in Iraq yesterday I just feel the need to say something.

I've been against the invasion of Iraq since the beginning but realized that once they committed U.S. troops to the ground there wasn't much left to do besides hope that as few people as possible died and that the whole mess would be over quickly. I knew that in a realistic view neither of my internal requests were really reasonable but, hey, I'm hopeful when it comes to matters like these because I have to be. Otherwise all of this would be too depressing to even contemplate.

After yesterday's bombings I'm beginning to realize just what a complete cluster-fuck the whole situation has become. Here we have Arabs bombing mostly Arabs on the first day of Ramadan. The people doing this bombing are both a) sick fucks and b) completely irrational.

Now I can't blame groups like The Red Cross from withdrawing from this situation should they choose to do so. While on one level I agree with Colin Powell when he says such and action by The Red Cross would be a victory for the terrorists I at the same time can't imagine why any civilian would want to stay in the middle of such extreme danger.

Granted, people who join international aid groups are aware that at some point they will probably be stationed in a hostile environment but for the most part I think this awareness is coupled with the belief that they are safer than most since the majority of people rightly view such aid groups as neutral and will leave them to do their work.

Obviously this is not the case in Iraq.

So what do we do? What does the U.S. do? I honestly haven't the faintest. We can't just pull out since something just as evil as Saddam Hussein will surely step into the void. At the same time our continued presence there seems to be fomenting an even worse kind of mass hatred for the U.S. and the Western world in general that even Saddam couldn't cultivate amongst the Iraqi people.

All I can think of is that it's time to hand more actual power over to the Iraqis while increasing our monetary aid to the country. While we're doing that why don't we take some of these plum rebuilding contracts from overly fattened American companies and put them in the hands of Iraqi companies in an effort to both stimulate their economy and increase trust in Western motivations.

I really don't believe President Bush invaded Iraq with any evil or imperialistic motivations. I may not like the man's politics or most of his beliefs but I do believe he does what he thinks is right. However in this case, like many others decisions and their resulting actions throughout his presidency (the environment anyone?), I hope and pray that some solution appears to dig us out of the hole he's put us in yet again.

One way to, at least temporarily, chase away the blues.

TONIGHT

It's time for
The Sweet Alice
Pre-Halloween
Rot-N-Roll
Bash
with free booze and food
and killer tunes
from your favorite dead rock stars
all night long!

Old school rock and/or roll attitude
mixed with only the finest music
from yesterday, today and tomorrow
with a special emphasis
on selections from performers
who have skipped their mortal coil.

Free PBR from 8pm-9pm
HOSTED BAR AND PIZZA from 9pm-10pm
Stunning musical selections from 9pm until 2am

Dressing up as
yer fave dead rock star
is encouraged!

Ten56
1056 N Damen
Chicago, IL
773.227.4906

The Chicago RedEye says: "The teeny tables and scant booths don't leave a whole lot of room for sitting, but the crowd (hipsters from all over the city) is mainly music fans who are more comfortable on their feet anyway. Stop in on Tuesday nights, when the DJ plays the best retro-rock this side of Detroit Rock City...."