More Troops
Well, what would we have expected? My nephew is shipping out to Kuwait today, and from there it's on to Baghdad. He expects to be on the base most of the time, and only there for eight months. That might be true, but I'm skeptical of any expectations where this war is concerned.
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So Bush got all the recommendations he could find, apparently whether he wanted them or not. True to form, he threw out anything that didn't match what he wanted to hear and has decided to escalate the conflict. I can't say I have any better ideas about what to do, but I didn't start the thing so I'm off the hook.
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There are some optimists in my family who believe this "surge" is for the purpose of getting in there, securing Baghdad, and then gettin' the hell out. I don't believe that for a minute. Things will probably be as they are (or worse) until the next president at the very least, and probably for long after that, with a permanent US presence. Who are we kidding? Lastly, would everyone please stop saying that the Dems don't have a plan? There are plenty of plans that would possibly work as well as escalation, but is this administration going to do anything but what Bush wants? Get real.

Automatic Drawing

This little piece of artwork from about ten years ago has a curious story behind it. It was a sketch to illustrate one of my songs, the idea being a homeless angel, in case it's not clear. Now, when I do such a thing I start with the face, working from nose outward. My wife at the time was watching me draw and exclaimed, "That's Arley!" And so it was.
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The curious aspect (besides the fact that I had no one in mind as I sketched) was that Arley had recently died! He wasn't even an aquaintance of mine, only a friend of a not very close friend. Arley was an ex-con who wrote poetry about prison life and my friend used to accompany him on upright bass while he read. They performed here and there around town.
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But Arley passed on, and I did a random sketch of a face and he emerged... I could not have done a more accurate charictature if I tried, but there it is. There have been a few occasions when I've felt like a conduit from another dimension, which other artsy-fartsy types like me have reported as well. It always leaves you thinking something along the lines of, "Hmmm... how about that?"