cliburn's blog

When I was in Mrs. Riner's junior English class at MacArthur high school, we were required to read a short story titled "The Radio." The premise was simple. A couple in the 1930s were given a special radio that allowed them to hear all their neighbors' conversations. At first they were elated, but, ultimately, they were haunted by the miracle of their ability. They could hear all the horrors of society that usually go unnoticed or are covered up and sterilized . . . and they couldn't turn it off. They couldn't change the channel. It took seven years, but I eventually went back to that story in my head and felt their horror.  Read More »

Monday, October 16, 2006

Tears in Baghdad.

Within minutes of arriving at the Traffic Police station, I heard the familiar voice yell my name; it was Ali. I walked over to him calmly, shook his hand, and simply said, "Pictures." "Achmed!?!" he asked excitedly. "Yes." As I turned around to go retrieve the pictures, I heard Ali behind me telling one of my comrades in his broken English that I had pictures of Achmed for him; he was very excited and I felt good.  Read More »

Monday, June 05, 2006

"Every day of my presidency, I think of this war."

While eating lunch today at Camp Shield's chow hall, I saw a clip of President Bush sticking his finger in the air and proclaiming, rather defiantly, "Every day of my presidency, I think of this war." Well, I would hope so, Mr. President, since you are the commander in chief and started the damn thing in the first place. That is akin to my company commander saying, "Every day of my command, I think of my company!" Well, no shit; it's your job. Most people have to deal with the messes they make; it's called life. You don't get a pat on the back and applauded for trying to fix the very problem you caused. It's expected. That is what really irks me; it seems that our Executive Branch feels like they should be commended for doing things that they are supposed to do in the first place. I don't expect praise for simply being on time to the motor pool every morning, and our president shouldn't expect praise for thinking about the very military that he heads. He should think about the war everyday, especially when soldiers are being injured and killed everyday of his presidency. It should be his number one issue, and he should not waste time with divisive, petty social issues with such a large outcry for answers in Iraq . . . which leads me to my next complaint.  Read More »

Friday, August 11, 2006
The world is more evil today than it ever has been . . . or is it?

Hezbollah and Israel are dangerously close to triggering WWIII. The war in Iraq has led otherwise normal people to do and see terrible things, including beheadings. Gays and lesbians are campaigning for the right to marry (gasp!) Music and pop culture are more vulgar than ever. Serial killers have been on the loose in Arizona. Terrorists threaten to kill Americans everyday. Everyday, it seems, some new, ghastly story emerges in the news.  Read More »

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Lunch with Tom.

I learned a long time ago that no one is as good or as bad as they seem, and I have remembered that ever since. Just as the "perfect girl" rarely turns out to be perfect, and the complete jerk rarely turns out to be a heartless prick, politicians are rarely overwhelmingly unlikeable. So, I knew going into this luncheon that, although I disagree with Senator Coburn's social policies, I was probably going to eat with a generally likeable human being, and that is what I did.  Read More »

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Fuzzy Math and the Definition of Murder

Author's Note: I had already typed this up once and was very happy with the resulting piece, but, just as I was about to copy it in case I somehow lost it, my browser froze and I did lose it. So, forgive me if this isn't all it could be, but I quite upset at the moment and just want to get this done.

There are some things in life that can be argued at length, but, at their core, remain very much non-debatable. I believe that murder is one of these such topics. Murder is murder.  Read More »

Monday, October 02, 2006

Rest in Peace, Achmed.
Current mood: melancholy

Rest in Peace, Achmed.
I spent my weekend hoping against hope that Achmed would be okay. I had hoped that our money was enough to get him the treatment he needed, that he received it in time, that he had not succombed to infection, and that he was in as little pain as humanly possible. Within minutes of arriving at the police station, I saw Ali and knew that I would have some type of news. As I approached him, he indicated that Achmed was dead by pretending to bury something in the dirt and saying "Achmed" while pointing to the ground. Achmed died Saturday.  Read More »

Thursday, September 28, 2006

It never ends.

Last week Ali was telling me something about Achmed with solemn seriousness, and I took it to mean that Achmed had somehow been injured in an IED blast, but I wasn't sure. With the language barrier, it is difficult to understand what is being said all the time, even with the seemingly obvious body language. One time, I thought that Achmed was telling me Ali had been hurt in a blast, but it turned out he was saying that Ali was working on his home, so it could have been anything.  Read More »