We didn’t “win” in Iraq.

Despite claims that America won in Iraq, we’re likely to still see reports
 like this one from April 24, 2010:
“A wave of bombings targeting Shiites, a market in Baghdad
 and a neighborhood in Anbar province killed at least 61
people and wounded more than 100 others Friday, police said.
The strikes conjured memories of the bloodshed that once engulfed
 both the capital city and the vast province every day.”
(“At least 61 dead in Iraq bombings,” CNN Wire Staff, CNN.com, April 24, 2010:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/04/23/iraq.violence/?hpt=T2)

True solutions come from putting aside ideology

Though often dismissed as a “liberal,” I have never voted Democrat,
 praised Kerry’s service, or anything similar.
Indeed, it is not my aim to have Democrats in power.
What is my aim?
Am I a Republican?
No!
True solutions come from putting aside ideology.
Ultimately, my aim is to have no one person, political party or entity “in power.”
In my view, way too much effort is wasted on formal “politics,” with only marginal
 attention focused on actual issues — many which are caused or fed by “the system” itself anyway. 
The dangers of focusing on power-wrangling are obvious.
In the event of a true national disaster, recovery efforts would
 require more than marginal effort.
And, due to the possible scope of a disaster, solutions
(and planning) should not simply be up to military planners, politicians and cops.
As much as possible, we should generalize the public safety functions of human society.
Would that be dangerous?  Not really. 
Existing authorities are no less corruptible and incompetent than
 anyone else would be with the same level of training.
Why hasn’t society totally collapsed under its
 own systemic corruption?
We’ve been pretty lucky so far, but not without hard work from humanitarian activists. 
 That’s not just radical anarchist literature, a conspiracy
 website or an overzealous Wikipedian talking.
No, it’s implied by the historical record.
Luck, hard work and the power of logic can indeed overcome ideology. 
Unfortunately, many continue to overlook bare facts as Republicans continue to blame
and judge the Democrats, and vice versa.

A simple, general observation about the Hurricane Katrina disaster

On one hand there was sympathy coupled with outrage over the inept response,
and calls for relief and understanding of the grief endured.
Others, however, blamed the residents of New Orleans, mocked them for their
hesitancy or inability to flee and, often enough, emphasized commercial
 opportunities available now that land and housing could be taken from those
 who had either fled or perished.
Generally speaking, the latter are absolving themselves from any possible blame, 
assuming Katrina was only a natural disaster and nothing more.
However, the real disaster was essentially manmade; caused by the poorly designed levee system and the slow response.
Nonetheless, the differences in attitude are significant, even vast,
and should not be ignored.
Check it out for yourself and see where you stand.