I thought as my hand healed more time would come free. Not so. I had to make up for lost time, and I had to prepare to teach a new class. Sigh. Maybe the situation will relax soon.
I hope to get back to work here at the site after the holidays.
Items on my 'watch list' (much less sinister than a government watch list):
- Pakistan- with the assassination of Bhutto that nation looks to be in a very precarious position. There is no democracy when opposition candidates are killed.
- Our own election- Iowa votes this week. Will Edwards stay alive with a win? Does Guliani even matter any more? If Romney and Clinton are willing to be this mean this early in the election process, just how mean will they be willing to be when it comes down to the wire? Those are two nasty politicians.
- Relative calm in Iraq- does that matter, or are the terrorists simply keeping their powder dry waiting for our withdrawl?
- The media- is our excessive focus on Brittney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, the (departed) Anna Nicole Smith, etc., a passing fancy or a depressing trend that is gaining strength? How can any self-respecting journalism organization devote 1 minute of news coverage to the topics above while American troops are at war? (Maybe that's the issue- are there any self-respecting journalism organizations???)
- Faith and politics in the upcoming election- will anyone truly exercise their faith through their politics, or will we get more of the same- exploiting faith (and the faithful) through politics? Does any candidate- all of whom profess to being a Christian of some sort- have the courage and moral compass to clearly state that they will not accept torture as a method of interrogation?
- The environment- how long will Americans continue to whine about the price of oil but do NOTHING about it? Supply is dwindling. Demand is growing. Prices will continue to rise.
Those are some issues for me.
For now, I'm enjoying the holidays, and hope you are doing the same.
Peace!
gp
