Morning thoughts

Good morning! When I woke up this morning the sun was just rising, painting the sky a gentle shade of pink. Now, I've seen winter sunrises before, but it never ceases to surprise me when I look outside and see a clear, blue, sky during the winter. I grew up in Michigan remember. Gray skies ALL THE TIME! Not here though. I love my adopted state.

Check this out. A VA state delegate (like a state representative) accidentally discharges a gun in his office. The bullet is stopped by the kevlar vest hanging on his door. The governor (Democrat) calls for review of the policy allowing guns to be carried IN THE STATE CAPITOL BUILDING. Everyone else seems to think the incident isn't such a big deal. Did I mention I love my adopted state?

So Hamas won a majority of seats in the Palestinian election. Far more than anyone expected. Far more seats than exit polls indicated they would win. Now what? Well, the international consensus seems to be that no one really wants to deal with a terrorist organization as a government. But Hamas appears to be the legitimately elected majority government - and possesses something that is somewhat a rarity in parliamentary-style democracies, an individual, simple, majority of seats. They don't NEED any other party to align with them in order to form a government, but they are making overtures to Fatah, the primary (newly) minority party.

I know what I would do. From what I've read, Hamas seems to have won the victory it did because the PEOPLE (that cornerstone of any democracy) wanted a change from the perceived slow economic and political. Hamas has done a good job dealing with individual charity cases, supporting individuals - this plus their hardline stance vis a vis Israel has given them "street cred". Yet all main donor nations appear poised to cut off all aid to a Palestine governed by a terrorist organization. In essence, though Hamas is the majority party, the rest of the world may force them to form a coalition government. If I were in charge of Hamas, and from the limited amount of time I have put into this, I think I would attempt to form a government that consisted largely of Fatah in terms of foreign relations/policy. At the same time I would put my party, Hamas, in charge of domestic policy (what the people voted for). Don't know if this would work, don't know if other nations would buy it, but I would try it.

Do I think my idea will be tried? Ehh... not really. I mostly expect Hamas to say "get lost, we won and we'll run the government, to anti-paradise with the consequences".

That's enough for now, I really do have school work to be doing!