Are we there yet?

I have written before about how I hate to hear the news of deaths in the Middle East due to the "war." But when I hear things like the following that I just heard on NPR, it really makes me sad.

A pair of insurgent attacks in Iraq's northern Nineveh province on Tuesday killed three U.S. soldiers and their interpreter, the military said.

Even though that was a spoken language interpreter, the job that he/she did and the job I do are the same...and I feel like a colleague, a peer, even a family member, has died rather than just one more nameless casualty of "war." I hear that word above all others, every time another interpreter is killed, loud and clear, above the numbers of soldiers or the name of the place where he or she was killed...I feel it, if that makes sense. I think about whether or not I would have the courage to do that job, were I a speaker of that language rather than American Sign Language and English.

Is it January yet? Are we to the point of finally talking about getting our brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, friends and colleagues out of this "war" and back home where they are safe?

Food for Thought...about Amurika

I actually fell asleep watching the State of the Union address by Dubya last night. I was asked this morning why I watched it at all...It was his last one ever, and I couldn't pass up one last time to hear his creative pronunciation...plus I wanted to see the crowd reactions. In between all the standing and applauding (without which that whole spectacle would only have taken a few minutes) there were some pretty choice candid shots of the audience.

For example, they kept swinging the camera around to Senator Clinton. What did they think she'd be doing? Mimicking him like a spoiled teenager? Sawing some logs like her husband during that video now making rounds? She was her usual polished self, listening attentively and standing to applaud when everyone else did.

One of the best candid shots came when in the speech Dubya talked about how we have to stay in Iraq and stay in Afghanistan and basically continue the war everywhere that we currently are. Just after he said:

These successes must continue. So we're adding 3,200 Marines to our forces in Afghanistan, where they will fight the terrorists and train the Afghan army and police.

Defeating the Taliban and al Qaeda is critical to our security, and I thank the Congress for supporting America's vital mission in Afghanistan.

the camera was on those that I presume, from their uniforms, to be the official representatives of the four branches of our military. The audience leapt to their feet...again...with thunderous applause...but those four men stayed in their seats. Maybe it was because they're military and just don't feel it appropriate to join in those kinds of outpourings of emotion...but to me it was very telling. I heard more about this plan on NPR while driving home from work...it seems that there are some in Congress who are wondering why it is that the United States continues to send our troops, specifically these 3,200 that Dubya mentions, into the most dangerous parts of this "war" while the other member nations of NATO send their people into the peaceful parts to rebuild schools and churches and lives. I think we've just seen our answer...once again, the United States charges ahead to take over the fight and be the bully...or savior, depending on your stance on the "war," I suppose...and our soldiers are sent into harm's way. And why? Dubya shared that with us as well...

But above all, know this: America will confront those who threaten our troops; we will stand by our allies; and we will defend our vital interests in the Persian Gulf.

Oh, right, oil. Not democracy. Oil. Isn't that our vital interest in the Persian Gulf?

Let freedom ring...

Pots and Kettles

So THAT'S what has been wrong all this time? Multitasking?

And just so we're all clear...

The new ticker at the bottom of my blog refers solely to how many days are left before Dubya leaves office. It is in no way connected to the conflict in the middle east or anything else of the sort. It is just a countdown until the blessed day known as Inauguration Day, 20 January, 2009. There, now we can move on...

Is anyone else bothered by this?

The war on terror we fight today is a generational struggle that will continue long after you and I have turned our duties over to others. That is why it is important to work together so our nation can see this great effort through.

-Dubya, State of the Union Address 2007

(edited to add that the bolded text is mine, not Dubya's.)

How Not to Use an Interpreter, by G.W. Bush

Yeah, I'm not his biggest fan, to say the least. But man...something I heard this morning on NPR out of Dubya's own mouth pushed a button that I am not afraid to admit I have. The following is a quote from the site linked in the title above, and it's what I heard Dubya say (to his Italian interpreter) this morning on NPR:

And two, what kind of signal does it send throughout the world if it's okay for a British company to manage the ports, but not a company that has been secure -- been cleared for security purposes from the Arab world? So I look forward to a good, consistent review. You don't need to interpret. That's a U.S. question.

Now then, kids, why do we need an interpreter? Because two people trying to communicate don't speak the same language. How often do I, as an interpreter hear that very same thing, "Don't interpret that" or "You don't have to interpret that?" Too often. What's wrong with that? It's arrogant, that's what. You are seen as taking advantage of the fact that the other person doesn't speak your language and using that fact to convey something you don't want them to know. You're telling the person that you don't value them enough to make sure they can understand what you're saying. In a press conference setting it isn't seen as much as a personal affront as it might have been had he said it during a normal conversation with Mr. Berlusconi, but it just proves to me that Mr. Bush doesn't really care as much about his fellow man as he says he does, something I kinda already knew.

For Dubya to tell the interpreter she didn't need to interpret and then continue to talk...well, as I've said before, I don't have to say anything to make our dear American President look bad...he does it so well on his own that he doesn't need my help.

Take this as a teachable moment, all of you who might use an interpreter in the future. Never ever ever utter those words to any interpreter worth their moral weight, and if you don't want the other person to know what you're saying either shut the (bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep) up or leave the room. Simple as that.