Afghanistan...

30,000 more troops to Afghanistan!   Why?   What's the objective or the criteria for success?   To contain/defeat the Taliban?   I don't know?   Withdrawal in 2011?   How many more lives?   I'm sick of war...have always been!   I think history tells us that damn near every war was fought because of religious differences or the control of land.   Is this one different?   Please...someone convince me that it is...cause right now...I ain't buyin' it!


Still not sure? Check out HBO's "Section 60".   Called "the saddest acre in America," Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery is a burial ground for U.S. military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, a place that epitomizes the honor of service and the cost of war.

I watched "Section 60" this weekend and wept!   And...I'm an Obama fan(atic)!!!

Thankful!

It's Thanksgiving Day in America.   If you're fortunate enough...it's a day of family, friends, food and fun!   I am indeed fortunate (and thankful) because that exactly how it turned out!

I'm just sayin'...to each...his (or her) own!

• According to the bible, the earth is only 6,000 years old!
  
• One third of Americans believe the bible is literally true!
  
• A Catholic bishop in Rhode Island has banned Patrick Kennedy from receiving Communion because of his support for abortion rights.
  
• Pope Benedict makes it easier for Anglicans to convert to Catholicism because of their discontent over the ordination of women priests and homosexual bishops.
  

I'm just sayin'...to each his (or her) own!

Artist, Uncle Linc, "works" the fabric!

Our lifelong friend...we're talking many decades here people...is having a one man show at the Central Library, in Atlanta Georgia starting December 3rd and running through January 29th.


If you're in the area check it out.   If not...check out Linc's website...and buy some art!   Linc's another one where you can say...I knew him when... And he's been on TV no less!   Check this out.

Why Prescious Matters: Fiction As Witness

You know I'm a big fan of Matthew Goodman author of  "Hold Love Strong"!   Well now, Matthew has been written up on the   Huffington Post's website.   This is an incredible accomplishment.   The article was written by Nina Sankvitch.   Nina has a more in-depth review on her website.




The Huffington Post article includes Matthew's "Hold Love Strong" in the same breath as the recently released movie "Precious"...thus the title of this entry!   I've said it once...I'll say it a thousand times...go buy this book.   Don't ask me to borrow my copy! That doesn't increase sales!   BUY and read the book!



You won't be disappointed...and when it hits the big screen...you'll be able to say...Wow!   I know this guy...or I know someone who knows this guy! Trust me....this is going to make it to the big screen!   It's just that "Precious" beat us him to the punch!

Friday the 13th!

Didn't see any black cats...nor did I break any mirrors.   It really turned out to be a "feel good" day!   Got a better grasp on some financial options and tied up some financial "loose strings".   I will sleep better tonight.

Veterans Day in America

I'm a veteran.   A lucky one.   Although I served (was drafted) during the height of the Vietnam War...I was not put in harms way...like my older brother.   My overseas assignment was to Geissen, Germany.

War?   War?   It's male testosterone on steroids.   There was an article in the New York Times a few weeks ago titled..."An Iwo Jima Relic Binds Generations".

It's the story of an American soldier, Frank Hobbs, now 85 years old,...who had never seen a dead person before.   Before Iwo Jima that is!   7,000 Americans died on Iwo Jima, 20,000 more were wounded, and more than 21,000 Japanese died.

Hobbs happened to stumble across the body of a dead Japanese solder.   He found an envelope on the dead soldier's body.   That envelope contained a child’s colorful drawing — of youngsters lined up for an air-raid drill with buckets and padded garb — and a photograph of a baby.


“It seemed to me it was a terrible waste for just that little island,” Mr. Hobbs said in an interview at his home in Chestnut Hill, Mass.   “I also realized how terrible war is, and how people die for really not a heck of a lot.”

Almost 64 years later...he met the baby in that Japanese photo.   And yes Mr. Hobbs...damn near all wars are a terrible waste...and people die for really not a heck of a lot!

The Wall

Twenty years ago today, it came down!   Like millions of others, I watched in excitement...overcome with emotion.



That excitement wasn't fueled by world politics nor did it have anything to do with then President Reagan demanding that Mikhail Gorbachev "Tear down this wall".

More than anything else, I was moved by seeing the hundreds of thousands of young folks (on live TV!)...their excitement and celebration of what the future could offer as they swung at the concrete and danced on its upper edges for all the world to see.   Then there was the stream of Trabants making their way through the wall to West Germany.   It was awesome.

At the time, my oldest daughter was 12 years old.   I'm sure she didn't fully understand the significance of this nor its place in history.   Ten years later, while at college in California, she just happened to meet a young man from the other side of that wall.

It's a long story...but on June 3rd of 2008, they became husband and wife.   That was another day I will never forget.   Many from that side of the wall, were invited...and attended to witness their union.   For many, it was their 1st trip to America!   It was his grandmother's first trip on an airplane!

On their wedding day...that wall never entered my radar screen.   It was the last thing on my mind!   Today I relive that moment and rejoice in the fact that it is gone...or at least a thing of the past.

OPKs...other people's kids

Trust me on this...it's ill advised (taboo) to provide your honest opinion on the behavior of your friend's children...even if asked by their parents!

Not that this has happened to me...but if it should...I need to remember to zip the lip!

Did You Vote Today?

If not...we're not speaking anymore!   Sure...perhaps this year doesn't have all the hubbub/excitement of last year's Presidential election (or for that matter any Presidential election)  BUT...it's not just about a President.

School Board?  Town Clerk?  Local propositions?  Mayor?  Equally as important as who is leading this country is...who/what will bring about positive change at the local level.