I can’t honestly believe that anyone thinks there can be a successful election process in Iraq just two weeks from now. Some facts about the election process: There are more than 120 recognized parties who are eligible to run no more than 275 candidates each. The people are voting in 275 members to the general assembly. Yes, you read that right, voters are expected to pick two-hundred and seventy-five people off a list of somewhere between 20,000-30,000 names. There is no formal registration process; in fact, eligible voters are being culled solely from a decade-old list of people, which was drafted under Saddam’s regime. In the past weeks, there have been multiple attempts on the lives of candidates and election officials.
I understand that democratic elections have been held under less-than-ideal circumstances before, post-revolutionary war for one… but this Iraq situation seems ridiculous. As a voter, I have a hard enough time educating myself on the 30 names on my ballot… can you imagine trying to sort 30,000 people? How would you even go about preparing to vote intelligently? You wouldn’t. You’d vote down party, religious, or social lines. Can you imagine how daunting it would be to stare down at a ballot filled with tens of thousands of names? I wonder how many pages the thing is. It seems like a farce to me… an elaborate charade. I guess it has to happen sooner than later though, because the of ousting of a government to install another just isn’t “cool” anymore. Would that we could return to the days of “sponsored” governments and US backed coups… y’know, maybe roll the USS Nashville up into the Gulf everything goes smooth. Where’s Teddy when you need him?
I think I know why they call it getting “tight.” After a couple $30 shots of tequila, the skin on your face actually feels tight… stretched, or something. I didn’t mean for tonight to end up like this, I had scheduled a meeting for 6am tomorrow. Luckily, the guy I scheduled the 6am meeting with is crashing in my spare room… a victim of the same tequila and beer cocktail that brought me down.
I’m going to bed. Goodnight.
Also written on this day...
- my dad the bootlegger - 2021
- weeknights 6pm - 2021
- a green thief - 2011
- some hangup, huh? - 2009
- youthwise - 2008
- how can that stuff not be interesting? - 2004