My thoughts on life, relationships, and everything else!

Sunday, January 30, 2005

Why I think Condelezza Rice's outfit last sunday was a political DON'T!

Patent leather stiletto boots? Black pantyhose? Above the knee skirt? These are all cute items. But when out together on the secretary of state? This is a disaster. I'm not saying that someone in a political standing shouldn't dress stylish or trendy, but I think they should try to make it look very professional and put together, not mix it with un kept hair that looked like the normal plastic style she sports with a huge misplaced chunk, or an asymmetrical shirt under a jacket. What does all of this fashion critique have to do with her ability as secretary of state? More than you realize.

When I was studying to be a legal assistant, I had to apply at several law offices to try to get a job as a legal secretary. I went in a stuffy suit with overly modest shoes, plastically perfect blonde hair , and was told I look like lawyer Barbie. The best advice I ever got from a lawyer was this: your appearance, presence, and charisma are just as important as your education. Without those things you won't get very far. And its true! After that I went to interviews in fitted suits with trendier pieces like a mini or boot cut slacks, but I toned it down with conservative accessories and hair and instantly peoples opinions changed from legally blonde syndrome to ready for Law school. In the world of law and politics your initial impression is everything. Now back to Ms. Rice. Every time I see her, she seems to lack all of the things I mentioned. She either dresses way too corporate, or way too trendy, plus she seems to lack the emotion to her voice needed to really convey messages. Its amazing to me how things you wouldn't assume matter, really do.

Yet another Iraqi post...But this ones better

This one asks the big question: why are we all worried about Iraq, when we never even solved the problem in Afghanistan? Just because the fighting ended there, doesn't mean that its over, we never accomplished our goal there and we never will if we stop trying. Out of curiosity (and a long discussion with a friend who was in Iraq) I decided to get the DL on Osama bin laden, and I think he's behind a lot more than most people think. One thing people do automatically is assume that if he is guilty , his whole family is guilty, but although I wasn't able to find very much info on his family, they did supposedly disown him in 1991 and are not in close contact with him. The lack of info on a man with that much money is kinda odd, but you also cant judge a person, especially with out cold hard evidence. When it comes to bin laden though...The evidence is there. He started al-Qaida in Sudan, where there are several Muslim terrorist groups, including the Janjaweed, the group guilty of committing genocide against the people of darfur. Al Qaida also still owns many large businesses in Sudan. The thing I wonder is why haven't we caught him? Is Bush really close with bin laden?We spent all this time and effort to find Saddam, why not do the same for bin laden...Are we a nation of quitters? Do we give up because we don't succeed right away? NO!!!So I say we keep going til we are done!

another big debate concerning the war is why it started in the first place. Many say that the President just wanted to finish what his father started in the early 90's, while others claim it was over oil. The most common one I hear is to direct attention away from the problems in Afghanistan and September 11. I believe that President Bush did want to help the people in Iraq,and we have done a lot of good sofar, but we have a long ways to go, and are no closer to bin laden than when we started. The weapon of mass destruction thing is another theory. He went on a hunt for WMD's and found a whole lot of nothing. Even if there were any, you don't go up to someone, tell them "hey, in a month I'm gonna search you for WMD's " and expect to find something...They suspected it for years and did nothing about it, obviously there wasn't a need now.

But if there is one good thing I have to say about the war, its how it has helped the women and children of the country. The man will still be over them due to Muslim belief, but they finally have a chance at rights as people, not property. The women don't have to worry about being stolen away and raped or tortured, they have a chance at normal lives. No more beatings and the ability to leave the house.

The point of view that fascinates me the most is that of the people actually serving over there. The most common thing I hear is how it is their job and they are doing what they were trained to do. Most feel they are doing a lot of good for the people there and feel that Iraq is something that needed to be done, but we should have cleaned our plate before adding more. Most will tell you that the civilians there truly want the US there, and if you look at the voting percentage of those in areas without terrorist action, you can see how much has changed, But the terrorists are the ones who cause all of the problems. They just refuse to accept new ways and the loss of power. They don't want the Iraqi people to be free.

I still stick to my little pacifist preschool theory. What do we tell little kids when they get into a fight? You tell them they need to use their words, not weapons or fighting...And work things out like big people do.
why is it so hard for world leaders to grasp the concept when my pre tod class even understood that and they weren't even 2?

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

One war, millions of different stories

Isn't it weird how so many people can be involved in the same war and have so many different stories about it? My ex said it was horrid, while one of my friends said it wasn't that bad, and both were in the same area. I think a lot of it depends on how they feel about it.

most of the people who think it isn't too bad seem to be people who feel like the war was something we needed to do, and that democracy should be spread throughout the world, while most who are miserable think the terrorism needs to end, but feel like we have done enough, or that we are more trying to dominate the world than help it....I can see both sides.

as I listened to president Bush's speech this morning, I noticed one thing he seemed to bring up a lot (or atleast put a lot of emphasis on) was how we are trying to spread democracy and western values throughout the world. This is where I see the world domination thing come in, and it is where a lot of countries see it too. I believe fully that Saddam was a horrid dictator who was abusive and tortured his people, and that he needed to go, but to be honest, if the leader of a communist country, for example, went on the news and started saying that they were going to lead a mission to capture the American president because they felt he was not doing things right and hurting our country, and we were now going to be communist, I would freak out!! It doesn't justify how these people are handling things, but I do see where some of the people are uprising, and are probably mis informed. It's like the telephone game, after the info goes through a few people, it gets twisted. I just hope it all ends soon and that our people can come home :)

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Where fashion went wrong

After a short walk through wal- mart today I saw quite a few things that should have never happened when it comes to clothing, so in celebration of my new clothing business and Mary Kay cosmetics business, here is my personal list of things that never should have happened in the world of fashion!

1. Children's thong undies, or any type of sexy lingerie aimed at the 3-12 year olds
2. The lingerie as clothing trend in general when it comes to children, and adults should use it with caution
3. super lo rise jeans, or any thing else with the word "super " referring to the small size
4. anything that screams "divorced 40 something housewife" like tanning until orange, dressing like britney spears, and super bleached hair
5. cropped pants on the short legged
6. bandeau tops
7. swimsuit tops that can fall off!
8. donatella versace(atleast most of her creations)
9. Large, round sequins not used properly
10 toeless tights
11. Neon colors
12. micro anything (other than micro fiber)
13.dark lip liner
14. high waisted "mom jeans"
15. shoulder pads of any sort
16.real fur, there's something creepy about wearing something that was electricuted up the butt!
17. hair that looks like it hasnt been touched in years....purposefully (over plastic looking ranks up there too
18. ugg boots
19. beaded fringe(like leather and pony beads)
20. super skinniness! we were all built how God wanted us to be, and some of us were never meant to be a 2! :)

And btw, i do think those were my feet featured in a glamour ad in the don'ts for black flip flops and rolled flared jeans, but i had to run to the store in heel jeans and my feet hurt.....it will never happen again...I promise! :D

Tuesday, January 04, 2005

The tsunami crisis in Asia

I found this fairly interesting.

I agree with the atheist on one thing "Our response to this and other disasters, as compassionate human beings and regardless of our religious or non-religious beliefs, must be to provide whatever help we can."

What really worries me is how many aid organizations are no longer taking donations for the tsunami victims because they have adequate aid to help these people for now....But what about later? What happens to these poor people when the media coverage dies down and they start to rebuild, with no money to build with? Where are the people who lived on some of the coast lines going to live since their land has been destroyed to the point of uselessness? What happens to the children that are left orphaned, or the bodies of children that were killed cant be identified? This whole thing is so tragic, and yes we need to help these people now, but they are going to need help later too, so we need to keep them in our prayers and their struggle on our minds. We need to remember how fortunate we are and that we should help others who are going through hardships.