One thing I've always liked about forums -- and now blogs -- is that it is such a great medium for sharing your thoughts. They don't even have to be great thoughts.
Some of my favorite blogs are more about conversation starters. You know: like that person at the party that always has something to say and not in an annoying way. We all do it - have those brief daydreamy moments while on hold or waiting for something to download or driving to work. We just don't all do something about it.
I've devoted the occasional minute here and there thinking about...
- ...Muhammad Ali. He's such an iconic figure that respect and admiration for him crossed generational gaps. I'm not a fan of boxing but even I remember the awe that my grandfather and father and uncle demonstrated whenever the sport -- and Ali in particular -- came up at holiday gab fests. I, however, was thinking about Ali as a Muslim. A Sunni Muslim to be exact and I've also decided to use him as my example whenever I get into one of those pro-war discussions where my opponent is advocating a Middle Eastern parking lot scenario as the best solution because "practitioners of Islam are taught that war is the only answer" -- (paraphrased but accurate sentiment-wise).
I recalled rather vividly that Ali refused to go to war in Vietnam. I remembered that he cited his religion as the reason.
So my very short answer whenever someone brings up the inherent evils of Islam is going to be: Muhammad Ali.
- ...universal health care. Not in the usual way, though. I've been wondering what the plan is for the hundreds of thousands/millions of people that work for insurers and ancillary service organizations to be able to pay for their homes, etc when they don't have a job anymore. That's a lot of people to be without a field of work any more...
- ...pizza. Going to try Donato's multi-grain crust pizza for lunch today for the first time. I've missed pizza while on this diet and fitness regimen and I'm looking forward to seeing if there is a healthier alternative finally that will be less of a cheat and have the benefit of tasting good!
- ..."government" bailouts for the mortgage crisis. Since the sub-prime market started tanking I wondered why none of these oh-so-brilliant-I-earn_300_million-a-year CEOs couldn't mandate partial loan forgiveness and underwriting. Yeah, yeah -- I know it's complicated and the loan aren't held by the banks that issued terms but c'mon -- they've got a payment history. They know the point at which the mortgage became unsustainable for the buyer. Why not re-write the loan with a fixed repayment rate? Yup, they would still be forced to write-down part of the original repayment value but surely a partial loss is better than a total loss??? Unless, that is, you can depend upon the American taxpayer to come along and bailout your sorry butts.
Yes, there are other issues but if the best bet is to get the loans repaid and to keep people housed then there has to be a better way that doesn't involve the American taxpayer to such a large extent.
- ...foreign travel. It's been many, many years since I've traveled farther than Aruba, Canada or Mexico. This year business travel is taking me to Israel and Brussels. I have to say I'm looking forward to it even though it is work and I won't have tons of free time for site-seeing, etc. What I'm looking forward to the most is having the opportunity to "feel" what current sentiment on the street toward America is like right now. I spent months in Germany in the mid-80s when anti-American sentiment was high and that was a life-long, perspective-changing experience. Do they really hate Bush? Do they like Clinton, Obama, McCain? Why? Who do they prefer? Cool stuff.
- ...my kids. I feel sorry for them. I have a great relationship with both of my parents (even thought my father and I can go at it pretty hard about immigration issues) and one thing most of their conversation about raising us have in common was "knowing we could do anything" or "the sky was the limit" or "enjoying the fruits of striving to reach your full potential." They were optimistic.
I'm not so optimistic. I don't think my son and daughter will ever get a sense of the optimism that used to be America at its finest. What will their lives be like? Will they and their grandchildren have enough food, clean water, good air to breathe? Will they have the freedom and opportunity to pursue their dreams? Will there be a draft? Will my epileptic and developmentally challenged daughter have the access to services that she needs to thrive? Tough to be a mom.