Fits and starts

The plumber just arrived, two hours late, which is why I didn't post earlier, and I have to give up this room so he can access to the pipes, so just a couple of quick links for the moment.

Glenn remarks on the irony of so many warhawks who blithely called for bombing Iran into glass ashtrays at the slightest excuse, now becoming huge cheerleaders for the Iranian People's revolt. Apparently they square their cognitive dissonance with the fantasy that the bombings they called for were "surgical strikes," as if merely evoking such a clean sounding word for a dirty tactic would somehow magically prevent any deaths of innocent civilians.

On a different note, I'm not so irritated as some seem to be by the big embrace of the "be green in solidarity" meme. It's not that I don't understand how silly it is to think that somehow it makes a difference to the Iranians, or helps to win the revolution, but symbolism doesn't hurt unless it's used as an excuse to avoid taking real action down the line.

This is a feel good story about the Gitmo detainees who were released. It's not hard for me to imagine what this feels like.

"After almost eight years of captivity, each step of Khelil Mamut's freedom is a little overwhelming.

The ocean, which he could hear only on windy days when the waves crashed beyond Guantanamo's razor wire rimmed fence, is now something he can wade into. People call him by his name, not 278, his internee serial number.

Then there was the horse he saw while walking one of the island trails on Thursday, the day he and three other Chinese citizens of the Muslim Uighur minority arrived in Bermuda. The animal made him stop suddenly, just to stare.

It reminds me of what it felt like when I was finally free of my abusive first husband. The wonderment of freedom to make your own choices without fear is hard to describe, but there's nothing else like it.

And finally for all you James Joyce geeks, Happy Bloomsday.

[More posts daily at The Detroit News]