Bryan D. Brown

It look like the recent redesign of the website has yielded some good things. Vists have doubled since I uploaded the new site. I’m not sure why - it’s kind of strange. I have no delusions about the increase being for any other reason than pure accident. My stats are still very modest compared to other areas of the web. I will say it is nice to know that some folks are stopping by here - even if it isn’t on purpose. By the way, that’s about as much humility as you’ll get out of me on any given day.

It should be noted that I’m not the only Bryan D. Brown who turns up in a Google search. There’s another Bryan D. Brown - who happens to be a General in the Air Force. Sometimes life is too damn funny.

The People’s Coalition and the Veterans for Peace held a march last Saturday down Santa Barbara’s State Street to mark the three-year anniversary of the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I’ll spare folks the usual anti-war diatribe - it’s fairly obvious this whole thing is a disaster. 2300 soldiers killed, 17,000 wounded, $248 billion, etc, etc. I don’t know which it is - that Bush doesn’t listen, or doesn’t care. Probably a little bit of both.

My problem with the war isn’t just the human and financial cost. I’m not dismissing those - they are significant. It is also the overall distraction that it brings to everything else that could be focused on. The Isla Vista community center, for example: if you want to end war, then you build things like community centers. Building one may not end this war, but could very well prevent one down the line. Local movements that change your immediate community can have impacts nationally. Maybe not directly, but those kids who use that center, who’s parents use that center, are going to remember how it improved their lives. They will end up being the leaders for tomorrow - and one would hope that they remember the services that are provided by community centers would be more of a focus than bombing the hell out of the Middle East.

I don’t want to sound like I’m being critical of the People’s Coalition or the Veterans for Peace (and not just because I don’t want to end up on the couch tonight). They do pretty amazing work.

Largely, I’m frustrated with the Democrats who continue to disappoint. I’m frustrated with people in I.V. who claim to be “progressive”, and yet, will complain about removing an eucalyptus tree to make room for a community center. I’m frustrated with people who claim to be “progressive”, and yet, who make it harder and harder to provide those services to those who need it most. Frankly, it’s not even that ambitious of a project. It would just be easier if some of these folks would see we need to that we need to move beyond the 1970’s. I have yet to hear a reasoned argument as to why we do not need a community center. Then again, Isla Vista politics and reason are often mutually exclusive.

And then I think about the $248 billion for that damned war, and what I mere fraction of that could do for Isla Vista. It’s like fighting a two front battle - from the Right who don’t want people to have services, and the self-proclaimed “Left”, who wouldn’t cut down a non-native tree to save a poor family. It’s enough to make you go bald.

So there’s a nice, mentally-scattered monologue for you, but frankly, I could rant about this all day long. It’s easy to be frustrated beyond comprehension with these issues. The folks who can actually stomach it - well, I’m not sure I want to be them, either.

Better mood tomorrow? We shall see.