Thanks JK

There are three days until the release of the final Harry Potter book- "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". I wanted to take a moment to applaud Ms. Rowling--

She's written six very entertaining and engaging books. She's created another world, as true and legitimate as Narnia or Middle Earth and with as much or more detail. She's engaged readers of every age, race, gender and background. And she's been able to continue to entice us through it all. Think of how truly difficult it must be to write not just one or two good books, but six. None of the books have sucked or been boring. No character has stopped being interesting. No one seems to mention this consistency much, but to me that's one of her greatest achievements.

Now in the wee hours of Friday night/Saturday morning, millions will be stampeding to grab the final piece. Again, no one has suggested it won't be good (I hope we know how spoiled we are by the quality of her story-telling) but instead the world is absorbed by Harry's fate, Snape's allegiance and the final chapter which promises to give the fate of all her major characters. I'll be dressing up as Tonks (see pic) and heading to my local bookstore. I know that makes me a terrible geek but I don't care. JK has earned my allegiance (and the loss of dignity) and I don't want to miss the last brush with this wonderful literary world.

The Good Fight

I'm not a very political person. I follow the news and investigate my options before I vote (and I do vote, in nearly every election) but I don't go out and campaign for anyone, or read a candidates blog or even donate to either party. I am a registered Democrat, because I'm more socially liberal, however I'm in favor of the death penalty and a government that doesn't regulate my personal life, which are more Republican attributes. I voted for Bush in 2000. I voted Libertarian in 2004 because I was not a fan of either candidate.

Why am I saying all this? Because I don't want anyone to misunderstand my motivation when I start bashing President Bush in the next paragraph. I voted for him. I'm unbiased by the "evil, liberal" media. But I have reached a level of such disgust that... well, I'm blogging about it.

I didn't understand why we were going to Iraq, but I had faith in my president. I figured that we had to have some legitimate reason to go over there and fight the good fight, and I know I wasn't the only one following along for the same reasons. Five years later, no one can possibly think this has been a successful invasion.
As far as I can tell, Sadaam was no more evil than Iranian President Ahmadinejad; Iraq no more dangerous that North Korea. On the contrary, both those seem to be potentially more serious issues than Iraq ever was. Unfortunately, these are issues we can no longer hope to properly threaten or fight thanks to our depleted and damaged military.

Despite this frustration, I've actually been brought to a boiling point by our problem at home. Our president refuses to answer questions posed by the Senate, and now is even refusing to allow his staff to testify. Harriet Miers, Alberto Gonzales, Dick Chaney- these are just the higher profile members of the Bush White House who continually spit in the face of our country. Rather than owning up to mistakes, justifying decisions or being honest and transparent with the workings of the White House, these people continually hide, lie and scheme.

It disgusts me, and what's more I can't help but think how furious the founding fathers would be. They took pride in creating a system of checks and balances, a system Bush is now mocking. I don't think 2008 can come fast enough and though I don't yet know who I'll vote for, you can believe that my greatest concern will rest in finding someone who starts by respecting the government he or she wants to represent.