In this timeline, [Mother Jones] assembled the history of the Iraq War to create a resource we hope will help resolve open questions of the Bush era. What did our leaders know and when did they know it? And, perhaps just as important, what red flags did we miss, and how could we have missed them? This is the second installment of the timeline, with a focus on how the war was lost in the first 100 days.
New Jersey’s highest court issued a mixed ruling on gay marriage. It decided that homosexual couples are entitled to the same rights as heterosexual ones, but it avoided a conservative backlash (for now) by giving the state legislature time to ponder whether this constitutes “marriageâ€. Other news at the Economist.
….While there is no reported intelligence for Iraqi insurgents trying to sway the current election, the CIA did conclude that Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda tried to manipulate the 2004 elections with the release of a videotaped message. But the intelligence indicated that terrorists were trying to help Bush win re-election — not aid his opponents. Media Matters, citing Ron Suskind’s One Percent Doctrine, notes that CIA analysts concluded that bin Laden’s message in the days before the Nov. 2004 contest “was clearly designed to assist the President’s reelection.” Read it all.
so, i have to admit that several months back (it may be closer to a year at this point) i signed with eharmony during a promotion in which they were offering discounted membership costs. maybe i did it because i’m jewish and i couldn’t pass up the deal. maybe i did it because i was going through the occasional bout of relationship longing (despiration?). i don’t know why i did it, and while the service did pick out a couple of girls for me, all of them were on the mainland and i didn’t see the point. when the promotion was over, i terminated my membership, though eharmony continues to keep my ‘file’ open in case i ever rejoin.
as a result, of course, i now get regular emails from the asking me to rejoin and emails informing me of the most current promotion. i’ve resisted reenrolling because i figure if they found any more girls, they’d all be on the mainland and i’d be out $50 bucks.
recently though, i’ve been thinking about giving another go. again, maybe it’s the jew in me, but when their regular membership fee is $40(approx.) a month and they’re offering me a three month membership for $50, i have to admit i have to force myself not to sign up again. the question is why? is it the money that i worry about? or is it something else?
since the internet became the place to find everything from wives to drugs to recipies for bombs, people have been heckled for using internet dating services. yes, i’ve been one of the hecklers, but i clearly have been among those heckled as well. and i’ve been trying to figure out why internet dating services are so looked down upon. is it because there is the notion that only losers who can’t get a date on their own turn to those services? i’m sure that may be the case, but more and more ‘average’ people have been using these various services to find mr. or mrs. right. and i’m not sure that there’s anything wrong with it. my mom met my step-dad at a jewish singles group, which as far as i’m concerned is the 80s equivalent to JDate.
i feel like at this point the only reason i haven’t reenrolled is because i’m fairly confident any girls directed my way would have mainland addresses. hawaii is a small place with a small dating pool. and the older i get, the harder i feel it is (will be) to find someone. so why shouldn’t i give it a try? i mean, despite their locations, some of the girls ‘matched’ to me seemed to have at least some potential (i gathered from their profiles/pictures). i still don’t plan on staying here forever (though one never really knows), so wouldn’t it make at least a bit of sense to give it a shot again, even if the pool of choices is on the mainland?
really, what i guess i’m looking for is a reasoned, sound argument for not ponying up another $50 for the promotional enrollment. to be perfectly honest, i can’t think of a single one other than at the end of three months i’ll be $50 poorer and in the same predicament. despite that, however, i figure that’s not much to lose for just trying.
the last few weeks have seen a strange realization. i’ve been counciling one or two friends regarding some aspects of their lives and issues relating to relationships. under normal circumstances this wouldn’t be anything strange, except that these are people i used to turn to for help and advice regarding my life.
since finishing my time with dr. welch, i’ve been growing a different view of my life and of the world, one that gives me more confidence and less stress. now, i’m giving the same or similar words of advice to these friends that they used to give me. to be honest, it’s a bit strange and unsettling. when did i become the voice of reason? when did i become such a stable pillar of advice? don’t get me wrong, i’m not complaining. in fact, i think its great that i can be a help to these people that were such a big help to me during the most difficult and confusing times in my life. it just never occurred to me that this might happen. i call it a side effect of being healthy.
i said the same thing when i first realized what it felt like to be happy. i mean really happy. it just kinda hit me one day. ‘oh, this is what it feels like.’ of course, i always wanted to be happy and kinda figured that one day i would be, but when it actually happened, i was surprised and, to be honest, a little freaked out. now the same is true about this most recent development. it never occured to me that i’d be doling out advice on topics that i once sought council myself.
this is not to say that i am perfect or 100% healthy. i still have my laundry list of issues relating to the social realm and to relationships. and i’m not sure, given the necessity, that’d i’d be able to follow my own advice, but i just don’t worry nearly as much as i used to and i think that’s the best part of all.