Well, I was going to write a lighthearted, self indulgent blog when the weather began to unravel. Sirens went off, but they were only for severe storms, not tornadoes. Still, the house was shaking from the thunder and the lightening was lighting up the sky much too often for comfort. I finally gave up and went upstairs where I could watch non-stop radar loops on the tube from under the covers.
That's the thing about living on the tundra also known as Minnesota: the weather is frickin' relentless. We rarely catch a break. Either it's dry, frigid -20°F or it's +95°F with a dew point over 70°...which means you walk outside and your bone straight hair frizzes into a perfectly natural Afro and any article of clothing is suddenly sticking to your body. And then it just stays like that. Doesn't snow, doesn't rain. It just stays extreme. It can be too cold to snow....and too hot to rain. No matter what the season, Xcel Energy has its hand deep in your pocket. You're either shelling out to keep the house above 60°F in the winter or below 80°F in the summer. You know how that works: heads they win, tails you lose.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...the elections are over in Egypt and gone is the lighthearted blog.
 |
| Alexandria - before the election |
As I predicted over a year ago, the Muslim Brotherhood now has a president elect. However, before you get too excited, right before the election, the military junta running the country removed the military and the defense minister from presidential oversight and authority, at the same time Maj. Gen. Mamdouh Shahin told the populace, "Trust the armed forces. We don't want power."
They don't want power the same way I don't want a Ba-Tampte half-sour pickle when I get home from work.
What choice did the citizens of Egypt have anyway? An old Murbarak crony versus a member of the Muslim Brotherhood? Is that what they wanted back in Tahrir Square? Seems to me lots of folks thought they were having some kind of Arab spring that would catapult them into the 21st century. But the delicate shell of freedom being formed has already been hoisted up as some kind of political piñata just waiting to be smashed.
Early reports are pretty much guaranteeing that there won't be much change. The junta that is asking for the trust of the Egyptian people are the same guys that declared parliament unconstitutional the week before elections, thereby insuring there would be immediate unrest. They're also not turning over that power they don't want to the new president. So what's he president of, exactly? And now that the Brotherhood is holding the top spot and a significant majority of the seats in the now unconstitutional parliament, anybody wanna bet on how long before women are required to wear headscarves and their jobs are "reassigned" to "better qualified" men?
To date, the world has yet to see an Islamist government where freedom trumps power. While there is definitely progress in places like Jordan, it's only by the grace of a King and Queen who think outside the box on almost everything...and pay the price at home for that thinking. And even in Tahrir Square a year and a half ago, while freedom was being proclaimed and a government was being toppled, women without headscarves were attacked physically. Remember Lara Logan? That, folks, was a warning shot.
I truly wish the Egyptians fighting for a place in the 21st century great good luck and good fortune. Nothing could be better than to hear that they’ve put in place a government that is for the people and by the people. At this time, however, it doesn’t look real good for the pitcher.
And on that happy note, the weather warnings have just started up again. Time to shut down and watch the radar from the safety of my bed!
The Wifely Person Tip o’ the Week
Whether the stone hits the pitcher, or the pitcher hits the stone,
It’s going to be bad for the pitcher.
Don Quixote to Sancho Panza
Don Quixote
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
The Egyptians have come out of the darkness and into the night.
ReplyDelete