Oh What a List!!

Well, its Jan. 2, 2008. This makes us another year older. But not necessarily another year better.

Sometimes, I ask myself, "What's wrong with this world?"

We live in a seemingly unending era of controversy. The war rages on in Iraq; we hint at possible war with Iran; the hubris between North Korea and our nation seemed to settle, but now a deadline dealing with increased nuclear activity hasn't been met; the dollar is rapidly dwindling in value on the world market; the economic dilemma in the USA is complicated by an unheralded increase in foreclosures and a decline in the housing market; an entirely new set of "clowns" are attempting to run for president; global warming (and yes it does exist, some people just like having their head buried in the sand) continues to threaten our existence but the most serious contributor to that problem (USA) has a leader who has his head buried in the sand. Need I go on?

I don't like to make this sound like gloom and doom. There have been many other times when a litany of items showed up on a list like this and the American people overcame, persevered, moved on and prospered. But, I guess I worry when we seemingly have no apparent concern for the future. Sometimes I feel like we act like that gambler who believes just one more roll of the dice will solve all of his problems.

Where do we go from here? I honestly don't know. As I look over that list I begin to wonder how can these problems be solved.

Well, to start with, we are in Iraq and I see no easy way out. I supported the military push to rid the world of Saddam, but the growth of military action in that country has been shocking. And, despite the Bush White House ideal of leaving Iraq with a democracy brings me to a state of uncontrollable laughter. If, when we do leave, that country's "democracy" doesn't collapse 15 minutes after the last soldier is out, then it surely will fall exactly one minute later.

Dealing with people like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is like dealing with an uncontrollable baby with a bad case of the "terrible twos." There is absolutely no way to reason with a person that is so out of touch with his own surroundings as to believe homosexuality doesn't exist in Iran. He is a nut case that brings a new perspective to "the blind leading the blind."

North Korea isn't going away anytime soon. The people of North Korea are desperately in need of energy sources and nuclear power is the obvious answer. Still, with a leader like Kim Jong-Il in the driver's seat, don't look for that nation to ever fully abandon its desire for nuclear weapons.

What has led to the decline of the dollar? I wish I had an answer but economics wasn't my strong suit in college. I have heard many economic leaders criticize Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, but I am not certain of the merit of that criticism. However, I do remember just a few years ago going to Canada and turning over $200 US and getting $300 Canadian. Those numbers have virtually reversed making our dollar significantly less valuable. The strong economy that we boast about has some obvious weaknesses.

The housing market is especially frightening on the home front. More and more people are losing their homes because they can't pay the mortgage payment after the "balloon" interest kicks in an ups their house payment by hundreds of dollars. That puts them on the foreclosure track and it puts another house on the already flooded market. One problem, as I see it, is the desire to have massive houses. True, we all like our individual space, but the word "mansion" is a word seldom used in our vocabulary anymore since homes have become so large. And, of course, the larger homes cost more money than many people can afford.

And please, somebody tell me who these people are that are running for president. More importantly, tell me what leadership qualities they have. I sometimes wonder if we have elected a worthy president since the era of John Kennedy. And the present list of potential candidates doesn't change my mind.

Finally, enjoy the cold spell. To those that believe global warming doesn't exist because its snowing right now and its cold I simply say "get your head out of the sand." Watch the icecaps melt and slip into the ocean water; notice, that despite cold stretches of winter, the average temperature of the earth is climbing; watch pollution pour out of plants and our car exhaust systems and ask yourself how long we can continue to mistreat our earth. Even if you don't want to believe in global warming, whatever happened to the old saying, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Oh well. Its Jan. 2, 2008. Have a Happy New Year!!!