Pen-Elayne on the Web

On the Edge of Overload

We're still not over the colds that we must have picked up during house-hunting last week. Between sneezes, we realize this home-buying thing has all sorts of hidden costs that we hadn't counted on, mostly associated with state and city mortgage taxes - so we're considering putting the whole thing on hold for awhile and continuing to rent, either here or in SI. But neither of us is 100%, I have a week before my boss returns to get his files in order, and between my monthly cycle and last week's whirlwind sojourns my mental and emotional and physical energy is severely depleted. It was in this frame of mind I read Stuart Moore's wonderful essay My City in Ruins, pleased that a greater percentage of readers agreed with him than chose to attack him (as stated earlier, that particular board can get a bit hairy at times) and that I was able to plug my blogroll as a good place where people can go to find links to a number of very erudite and well-researched opinions on current events. And it was in this frame of mind that I heard about the new bin Laden tape. Again, I'm heartened by the reaction I've heard so far (mostly from the TV news channels, I haven't taken the blogosphere temperature on this just yet) from the folks who believe that not only does this not prove a long-time link between the religious wacko fundamentalist bin Laden and the secularist wacko dictator Hussein, but that this turn of events almost assuredly only happened because of the actions our government has taken. Once again, the "enemy of my enemy" stategy that does the exact opposite of fighting terrorism by inflaming more people to lash out together in hatred, even if they formerly wanted nothing to do with each other. You can practically hear the Muslim separatist leader holding his nose whilst observing that "Under these circumstances, there will be no harm if the interests of Muslims converge with the interests of the socialists in the fight against the crusaders, despite our belief in the infidelity of socialists." (If it were said in English you just know he'd be sneeringly drawing out that sibilant in "socialists"...) I wasn't really nervous when we went to CIAgent Orange, but now I am. The fundies we still haven't rooted out (because God forbid we treat their crimes against humanity as crimes, as matters for international law enforcement and subtle espionage rather than blunt bombs) are gathering forces they've heretofore not been able to reach. I could use some reassurance here. A knowledgeable NYC-based mortgage broker would be helpful as well, but for now I'll settle for the reassurance.