Proposition: Should the U.S. Take Afghanistan?

The choice between leaving Afghanistan and staying as a military occupation is not a good one. I believe we can do neither.

I propose the following: We take Afghanistan. Maybe, just maybe, fifty years down the line, Afghani's might become one of our states, with voting power.

Corporate Hands Are Bloody

Consider Bob Herbert's op-ed in The New York Times, July 31, 2010, entitled "A Sin And A Shame." http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/31/opinion/31herbert.html

Water Works, I Hope

"Upon this rock," Jesus said, "I will build my church." I think it goes something like that.

Rock: hard, building block, trustworthy. A symbol for reliable groundedness.

I, on the other hand, have often identified with the tree, especially the oak, which is grounded; it's claws gripping the thin layer of soil we call home. I even wrote a poem about the tree, entitled "The Waiting Place."

These identifying symbols (rock and oak) may be toxic to a healthy lifestyle, according to 50 Cent and Robert Greene, in their joint-venture book, "The 50th Law."

Quoting, page 101-102: "As part of this new concept, you are replacing the old stalwart symbols of power -- the rock, the oak tree, etc. -- with that of water, the element that has the greatest potential force in all of nature. Water can adapt to whatever comes its way, moving around or over any obstacle. It wears away rock over time. This form of power does not mean you simply give in to what life brings you and drift. It means that you channel the flow of events in your direction, letting this add to the force of your actions and giving you powerful momentum."

Water.

"The 50th Law," according to 50 Cent and Robert Greene, is "Fear Nothing."

Does water fear anything? I don't think so.

But I don't think I can be that flexible. Fluidity is not my strongest attribute.

My wife tells me you have to bend in this life in order to thrive/survive.

Rocks don't bend. However, oaks bend -- a little. Honestly, I'd rather be an oak than water. I don't know that I can be as flexible as water.

The authors claim that if you are an oak or a rock, you open yourself up to sorrow, pain, which is the result of being unmovable. Rocks and oaks do not duck and weave very well.

So.....right now, I'm thinking about water. I'm thinking about what it might be like to be water. I'm 60, an old dogwood. New tricks are not my forte. But I'm thinking. Thinking about H20.

If you hear a splash, it may be me. If I hear a splash, I'll say a little prayer.

4th Taking On Deeper Meaning

"This is the Price of Freedom," it says, driving by, on the way to the grocery store to stock up for the picnic. I pause at the light (it already turned green), disoriented, caught between conflicting worlds: celebration and anger.

"The End Of Men"

The most recent cover of The Atlantic magazine ((July/August issue) displays the title "The End of Men: How Women Are Taking Control -- Of Everything." I know this because I watched C-Span's Washington Journal this morning, wherein the author of this Atlantic piece, Hanna Rosin, was interviewed regarding this phenomena. http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2010/06/25/WJE/A/34676/Hanna+Rosin+The+Atlantic+Contributing+Editor.aspx

I'm particularly interested in this because of my recent attendance (and findings) at my grandson's 8th grade graduation and my youngest daughter's college graduation.

My findings: Women are fully engaged. Men are not.

During my grandson's graduation, young ladies, one after another, went to the stage and received honoraries, from perfect attendance to advancements in science and math. They created their class year book, with no male participation. They participated in state competitions and returned victorious. Males sat silently in their seats while young lady after young lady marched to the stage and were met with hugs and well-wishes.

During my youngest daughter's graduation from college, I noticed that the majority of graduates were women. Their supporters in the audience were other women, who shouted and screamed when their friends accepted their diplomas.

There's a certain vitality in women today that cannot be found with men, generally speaking.

However, I have one problem with today's interview of Hanna Rosin by C-Span. She claimed that the only two occupations that are dominated by men today are janitors and computers. She failed to mention that American law enforcement is 80 percent male.

Down through the ages (now is no different) safety and security have been mankind's fundamental, physiological needs. We must feel safe in order to prosper. Men have always prided themselves as being the protector of women and children.

Women have been abhorently slow to accept the legal principle of The Public Duty Doctrine: Government and its agents (law enforcement and district attorneys) have no legal duty to protect; they cannot be held liable for failing to protect because there was no legal duty to protect in the first place. And, worst yet, they have no legal duty to disclose that they have no legal duty to protect.

This problem puts women in jeopardy. Their prosperity in the workplace, and as single mothers at home, is a house of cards. A woman's future must be based on this new reality (that government has no legal duty to protect), and, absent a male presence, they must find new ways of protecting themselves in a strange new world.

Educationally speaking, friends can be toxic?

At this very moment, your child's teacher may be attempting to break up close friendships that your child has formed, all in an effort to limit bullying.

Preventing bullying by limiting close friendships, I believe, is a leap. I can see how friendships can develop into clics and, therefore, excluding others (a form of bullying) can create problems. But, this is still a reach.

Consider the linked NY Times articlehttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/fashion/17BFF.html