Just a quick note to let you all know that Haven's doing great. She was over 9 lbs. 2 1/2 weeks ago and we've stopped obsessively weighing her. She's now officially entered the extremely cute phase. I posted some recent videos of her here: http://alexwise.vox.com/havens-haven/
Long-awaited rantings to follow...
I'm pleased to report that our little peanut has upgraded to Brazil-nut size - Haven's now weighing in at a whopping 7 1/2 lbs.! Sorry for the lack of writing. I promise more ramblings soon.
Our little girl marked her first month on this planet yesterday by breaking through the 6 lb. barrier!
For baby photos and videos, go here: http://alexwise.vox.com/havens-haven/
I'm very pleased to report that the newest Wise, Haven, has been home with us for five days now - she's packing on the pounds while reaching new levels of development and interactivity on a daily basis. Rather than bringing her into the doctor's office every week for a weigh-in, I went to a headshop and bought a digital scale over the weekend (she put on 70 grams yesterday). I figure the scale might also come in handy if Haven someday decides to set up a little medicinal marijuana club here in San Francisco! Check out Haven's little haven here: http://alexwise.vox.com/havens-haven/
Before the barrage of baby coverage begins, read this:
The Great Iraq Swindle
Anyone following the Mike Vick dog-fighting case has surely heard the catch-phrase, "America is a country of second chances," trotted out in reference to Vick's post-incarceration future. I think it's time that this addage be hoisted into the pantheon of jingoistic cliches alongside American classics like "the Greatest Country in the World" and "the Land of Opportunity." With the U.S. being one of the more religious-minded countries in the industrialized world (40 percent of the nation claims to worship on the weekends, as opposed to 7% in the U.K.) it does not seem far-fetched that Americans would embrace the concept of redemption.
At least that's what we're going to keep telling ourselves, apparently.
Vick may indeed get his second chance but if you happen to be in the job market and happen to be a convicted felon (but have never been featured on the cover of a Madden '04 or have had a Nike shoe named after you), you might not consider forgiveness to be such a truly American trait. Try checking the "Yes" box next time you're filling out a job application that asks if you've ever been convicted of a felony and see how far you get in the interview process.
Glenn Greenwald has an excellent post discussing the The rigid pro-war ideology of the foreign policy community which I recommend everyone read. In it, Greenwald discusses "how little disagreement there is in mainstream political discourse concerning the basic questions governing America's actions in the world." It is indeed a sad state of affairs when taking a critical stance in regard to American foreign policy and its attempts at world hegemony is considered the exclusive terrain of the far left and "Hate America" crowd.
It didn't seem so great at the time but one of the advantages of going to grad school during the Clinton years was that my teachers were mostly right-leaning and I was able to get a glimpse into the mindset of the people currently leading our country. While at the Fletcher School of International Law & Diplomacy, I took a class at the Kennedy School taught by Robert Blackwill (Robert Blackwill in Wikipedia) and Philip Zelikow (Zelikow's Wikipedia profile) - both very bright, very serious GOP heavyweights closely allied with the Rice camp within the Bush Administration. Blackwill and Zelikow closely followed (and perhaps devised) this nine-step methodology for decision-making and conflict resolution:
1. Core National Values -> 2. National Interest -> 3. Objectives -> 4. Threat Assessment -> 5. Strategy -> 6. Design -> 7. Implementation -> 8. Maintenance -> 9. Review.
This nice and neat little formula for a crafting an American world would seem harmless enough if it weren't the template currently be plugged in for Iraq. To get a better idea how Zelikow, the Executive Director of the 9/11 Commission, thinks, check out his interview for this Frontline piece on the Iraq War titled, Endgame (PBS Zelikow interview). In Endgame, he is credited with promulagating the current strategy of "clear, hold and build." As teachers, both Zelikow and Blackwill came across as anything but wingnuts - they relish applying their methodology to solve the puzzles of nation-building and international conflict.
But the main flaw with this methodology is the same shortcoming that has led the Bush idealogues (and conservative Democrats) to create this Iraqi quagmire. The first two steps of the Blackwill/Zelikow methodology, "core national values" and "national interest" operate under the assumption that America is an entirely benevolent actor and that our national interests differ from the rest of the world's. It would be one thing to plug in this methodology if you were a VP of Strategy at a mid-sized company trying to work your way up the corporate ladder, but trying to be the gatekeeper for America's core national values and national interests is quite another.
As evidenced by our actions in countries from Africa to Central America to the Middle East, America has often failed to live up to its self-proclaimed "good guy" status. The way the political dialogue takes place in this country, on the floors of both congressional houses and on the Sunday morning nonsense-fests, an outsider might imagine that the rivalry was simply between two teams with differing loyalties. But supporting the US is not like rooting for the Twins or the Cowboys - millions of lives are at stake. Modern warfare is not what we read about in history books. Consider this: in WWI, there were 10 military deaths for every 1 civilian. By WWII, that ratio had evened out. Since Korea, 85% of all war-related deaths have been civilian ones. This should not be about X's and O's anymore. But, unfortunately, to these people, it is.
Zelikow and Blackwill, who fell in love with this nine-step methodology in the 1980's and in the midst of the Cold War, insist on applying an outdated theory to a changing landscape. All the US can be if it continues to build policy based on our "core values," "interests," and "threat assessments" is a bully. As the sole superpower, America holds long-term interests that are in fact identical to global interests. Sure, American economic domination may best help the short-term political aims of America's leaders and their advisors. But in the long-run, this strategy will haunt us in the form of an uninhabitable earth and ever-increasing violence. Neo-cons all agree that the threat of global extremism is the most critical issue we face today. But the best way to fight terrorism is to act in ways that will eliminate environmental degradation and lessen the number of disempowered impoverished, angry people around the world.
Being able to engage in a discussion about these things should not be considered as subversive thinking or subject one to the label of being an "America hater." This is about having a long-term view of our impact on the world and the world's impact on us.
