Yes, there was an earthquake in California today that hit 6.5 on the Richter scale (only a 3.2 on the Andy Richter scale).  We didn't feel anything though.  It was north and west of us here.  Thanks for those who expressed concern, and a pox on those of you who didn't!

”My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.”

These are the opening words from our President in his speech addressing the nation at the outset of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  If you read the entire speech, you will see that more is said about Saddam's despicable treatment of his own people than about his production of WMDs or the imminent threat to the United States.  In other words, liberating the Iraqi people has been a major part of the justification for war since the beginning.  It was not added on after the fact.  Why have we been so focused on the WMD portion of the justification?  Because that makes a more sensational news story, and that's what the media (both liberal and conservative) have talked more about.  Part of the problem of having so many political pundits on both sides, is that we hear from them every single day, and if we are not careful we start to put their words into the mouths of the people they are talking about.

So, if we can agree that the justification for war had at least two points: 1) freeing the Iraqi people and 2) defending the world from grave danger, then we have to ask ourselves if both points have to be necessary for the war to be justified.  There seems to be no debate about whether or not the Iraqi people have been liberated from an oppressive and criminal regime, so let's chalk up one legitimate reason.  Is that reason enough?  Well, I'm not enough of a history scholar to go back and find precedent for this, but I do remember that even in the midst of the Iraq debate, there was an issue in Liberia.  In Liberia, there was no threat of WMD or danger to America to muddle the issue.  Instead, it was just a clear cut case of a brutal dictator abusing his people.  In this case, the UN had no problem stepping in to help.  In fact, the U.S. administration was catching a lot of flack for not sending in our troops, which we eventually did when our demand for exile of the country's leader was met.  I realize that this just brushes the surface, but it does seem to suggest that liberating an oppressed people, by itself, is justification enough for military intervention.

As for the second justification for war, the grave danger to the world, that remains to be seen.  I think it is still too early to tell whether or not Saddam had WMDs.  It will take a long time to sweep all of Iraq with a metal detector.  So, I don't know if they have them.  I do know that he had them in '91 when he killed thousands of his own people with his own weapons.  I do know that he paid the families of people who killed themselves if they took an Israeli or American with them.  I do know that he wanted Americans dead.  I do know that I am glad that he has been captured, and that the Iraqis are free.  I hope that we have the patience to see this through.  I pray that our leaders will make wise choices, and they will do what is right, regardless of political pressure.

As I mentioned before, I got a new digital camera.  Now, this is going to come in really handy on Christmas and other holidays and vacations.  But I want to use it for more than just that.  It's got tons of cool features and should lead to some pretty good photographs.  The problem is, that I pretty much stay at home most of the time, and thus my picture taking opportunities are limited.  So, while I will try to become more proactive in my camera use, if you have any ideas for things that I can take pictures of, please let me know.  Things you want to see, or maybe things that would show off a particular feature of the camera (in case you are looking at buying a digital camera yourself).

The other day, I heard an interview with Ewan McGregor, whose latest film project is Big Fish, to which I'm really looking forward.  Ewan was talking about the fact that he and a buddy are going to ride motorcycles around the world, basically from London to New York the long way round.  They will be going through Siberia, China, and Malaysia, and to prepare, they are going through Hostile Environment Training.  Apparently, this is training that journalists and others who are preparing to work in hostile territories endure.  Sounds to me like a perfect addition to my spy training wishlist!

If the war against Iraq was an 'illegal war', as the UN, French, Germans, and Russians claim, shouldn't they be clamoring for Saddam's return to power in Iraq, instead of being 'delighted' that he's been captured and will stand trial?

It wasn't tuesday, and it wasn't Clinton's apartment, but it sure was Dr. Pepper Tacos.   Connie picked up some really good flank steak, better than what we got from the strike-ridden Ralph's in our neighborhood.  We were about three hours behind in our marinating time, so she had the butcher run it through the meat tenderizer.  The Reata Grill Blend (from the Cowboy Cocktails book) was a little bit truer to the recipe, as we did a fair amount of substituting at our place a couple weeks ago.  This time around, the meat was cooked right, on a real grill, instead of on the Foreman.  I don't know if it was the difference of ingredients in the rub, or the difference of the cooking on a grill, but that meat was SPICY.  I had to go to the refrigerator during my first taco and get a glass of milk.  My mouth still hurts.  In spite of that, the meat was perfectly cooked and awesome.  The green drinks that the group is sporting is a Cuban concoction called a Mojito (light rum, powdered sugar, mint leaves, creme de menthe, and a sugar-rimmed glass).  While refreshing, they were no match for the spiciness of that meat.  Word of advice...pico de gallo powder is not chile powder.  For those wondering about the new person in the picture, that's Tiffany, Tawny's sister.  For those wondering where I am, I'm behind my brand new digital camera! I'll tell more about that in its own post.

Jamie and I watched Far From Heaven tonight.  It wasn't a terrible movie, but I must admit that I was surprised that it garnered a best actress role for Julianne Moore and even more surprised that Todd Haynes was nominated for Best Original Screenplay.  My favorite part of the movie was the art direction, actually, followed by the cinematography, for which it deserved its nomination.  Of the actors, I thought Dennis Haysbert had the most powerful performance, but maybe that's because of the 24 connection.  I thought the writing was heavy-handed and “wretched“, and the writer's agenda was hardly subtle.  Apart from that, I'd still recommend it to those interested, just don't go into it with any Oscar-worthy expectations.

Jamie and I received the first two discs of the second season of 24 on Thursday, and we're already about to finish them up!  We've never actually watched it on TV, because we missed the beginning of last season.  When it came out on DVD, we ordered them on Netflix, and we were hooked.  I really don't think that I'd be as big a fan just by watching it on TV, because of the commercials and the having to wait each week for the next episode.  Anyway, I rate it as about 5783 Conans.  Man, I need to come up with my own rating system.

Well, tonight we mixed up Taco Tuesday a bit and prepared the Dr. Pepper taco recipe that you can find in the Cowboy Cocktails book that we use all so often.  So, all day today, we had a couple of flank steaks marinating in a bath of Dr. Pepper, cinnamon, and garlic.  We don't have an outdoor grill, so we had to go with the Foreman grill.  It did a decent job, but left things a little too pink in the middle for our tastes, so Jamie finished them off just a little bit in the microwave.  Granted, a grill would have been better, but I was pretty impressed with how tender and juicy these turned out.  To wash down these tacos, we had a little concoction also from Cowboy Cocktails called a Dr. Pepper Moo.  Officially, it's just Dr. Pepper and half-and-half as it is in the “unleaded“ section of the book, but it doesn't hurt to add a splash of vanilla vodka, wink wink.

I'm going to write today what I intended to write last Sunday from the Siebers' residence, because the fact that I was at their house on a Sunday underscored the key point underlying the point that I was planning on making.  In other words, I was at their house and not at church.  I miss having a church like ubc.  This is a lament, not a whine, I promise.  I grew up going to church, albeit not always willingly.  Oftentimes, I wouldn't want to go, and my mom would force me to go, so I'd put on shorts to rebel.  She would tell me that I couldn't go to church in shorts.  I agreed with her, and suggested that I stay home.  So, she reluctantly let me wear shorts, and I gained some kind of victory there.  It's funny that I did this, because when I look back, I loved going to church as a kid.  I got to see all my friends and play in the gym and win at Bible drill.  By the time we got into the eighth grade, Mark and I and others were already starting to emerge as leaders among our church peers, and I was certainly super-involved.  Then came college, and I needed a break from church.  This break lasted until the second semester of my sophomore year, when I started going to ubc.  Over the years, I got pretty involved there, too.  I loved to get there early (most mornings) and to stay late.  Now, here's the key, I made my non-church plans around my church plans.  I wouldn't go out of town for the weekend, unless I could be back by Sunday morning.  I once drove non-stop by myself from Florida to make it back just in time for church (I almost died that morning by sleeping at the wheel).  And this is what I miss...Having something in a church that I am committed to enough to put it ahead of other things, not just out of obligation, but because I look forward to it.

Well, we went to Bel Air Presbyterian last night, and we really liked it.  Granted, it was different from their normal service, but I got a good initial vibe, which has me rooting for the church the next time we go.  Here's hoping...