Here's a link to the article. Hilarious to say the least.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20051124/bs_prweb/prweb314382_1

By Alicia Mundy Seattle Times Washington bureau

WASHINGTON — It was after 11 p.m. on Friday when Rep. Norm Dicks finally left the Capitol, fresh from the heated House debate on the Iraq war. He was demoralized and angry.
[...]
Dicks now says it was all a mistake — his vote, the invasion, and the way the United States is waging the war.
[...]
"The insurgency has gotten worse and worse," he said. "That's where Murtha's rationale is pretty strong — we're talking a lot of casualties with no success in sight. The American people obviously know that this war is a mistake."

Dicks, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, says he's particularly angry about the intelligence that supported going to war.

Without the threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), he said, he would "absolutely not" have voted for the war.

Michael Kinsley writes in today's issue of the Washington Post:

[...]
The longer the war goes on, the more Americans, "allies" and Iraqis will die. That is not a slam-dunk argument for ending this foreign entanglement. But it is worth keeping in mind while you try to decide whether American credibility or Iraqi prosperity or Middle East stability can justify the cost in blood and treasure. And don't forget to factor in the likelihood that the war will actually produce these fine things.

The last man or woman to die in any war almost surely dies in vain: The outcome has been determined, if not certified. And he or she might die happier thinking that death came in a noble cause that will not be abandoned. But if it is not a noble cause, he or she might prefer not to die at all. Stifling criticism that might shorten the war is no favor to American soldiers. They can live without that kind of "respect."

Mash-ups in the Middle

11 minute video compilation, done by JD Lasica, about copyright, fair use, political speech, and creative expression. Great examples of various creative pieces.

Our Media, The Global Home for Grassroots Media

"I'm in with the in crowd,
I go where the in crowd goes
I'm in with the in crowd
And I know what the in crowd knows ..."

About 50 faces looked up to regard his performance, and 49 of those faces were looking blank. But he made me smile.

In this case, not medical emergency, kitchen. Of course it was a holiday and in the evening, when I would least want to page a maintenance staff person for help. But, dirty water from the kitchen sink was now coming up from my bathtub drain. When my upstairs neighbor ran her shower, my bath began ominously filling.

He came, he worked, he conquered. Outside, inside, then upstairs. Fortunately this time it was a clogged pipe that could be unclogged. Our whole building doesn't have to be pulled down. Yet.

Our savior said that last Thanksgiving was busy also. Four ovens blew out, fuses popped, a good time was had by all.

Principles of Conflict Resolution

5. Accept Responsibility

Every conflict has many sides and there is enough responsibility for everyone. Attempting to place blame only creates resentment and anger that heightens any existing conflict. In order to resolve a conflict we must accept our share of the responsibility and eliminate the concept of blame.

6. Use Direct Communication

Say what we mean and mean what we say. Avoid hiding the ball by talking around a problem. The best way to accomplish this is to use "I-Messages". With an "I-Message" we express our own wants, needs or concerns to the listener. "I-Messages" are clear and non-threatening way of telling others what we want and how we feel. A "you-message" blames or criticizes the listener. It suggests that she or he is at fault.

Time to celebrate the Holidays? NO! Celebrate Gender Smash!

GENDER SMASH is a spoken word, open mic, music, juggling, silly human tricks, singing, drag performance time and space. Come perform with trans boys who wear their hearts on their sleeves, first time drag queens, queer youth with something to say,singing princess riot grrls, butches murmuring love poems, 2 spirit folxs gearing up for Homo-a-gogo, gendaqueers and their guitars, MtF's hoola hooping and YOU!!!

Only at the Olympian do you call a hundred or so people hanging out together "anti-social":

In the summer of 2004, merchants, bus riders and shoppers had to work their way through a hundred or so people gathered on the sidewalk and grass at the transit center. Complaints of rowdy behavior and drug dealing were common.

In an effort to reduce the number of complaints, transit officials piped in classical music, added a security guard and installed a security camera. Rosie’s Place, a center for homeless teens, gave youngsters a different location to hang out.