I don't know why I started doing this in the first place.  Nobody ever reads this stuff anyway.  I thought it might be a way to leave some evidence of myself for my grand kids.  I was going to be all nice and easy and try to be a little funny as well.

But, just now I read another news flash about more soldiers getting killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan - and I have changed my mind.

I have never been hard nosed about either major political party.  The first time I voted, it was for John Kennedy.  When Lyndon Johnson ran against Barry Goldwater, I supported Goldwater much to the chagrin of my father who was a yellow dog democrat if ever there was one.  After all, it was the Republicans who started the war against the South.  And.. God help me, I voted for Jimmy Carter.  How could a good ole boy from Georgia turn out the way he did.  Anyway, the point is, I have always had an open mind when it came to presidential politics even though those close to me probably think I am some kind of rock ribbed Republican conservative.  Well, I am not.  I currently lean in that direction because of the state of affairs our country is in.  And I don't know whether we will find our way out of this mess or not.

In my youth, I can remember my mother saying - "you children just don't know what hard times really are".
And she was right.  She and my father lived through the depression - buried one baby and raised three and at least I (the youngest) never knew hunger or want of real necessity.  And, ever since I have been an adult, my standard of living has always gone up.  Lately the curve has turned down but with any luck at all, I will die before the money runs out.

Which brings me back to Afghanistan.  When those guys bombed the Trade Center and the Pentagon  on 9/11, I was all for extracting revenge in a major way.  I just lumped all that together, Afghanistan , Iraq, lets just do it.

But, after that report today, I am ready to call it quits.  Those ...assholes don't deserve anything better than they already have.  I am sorry for the kids and the women but I am afraid the menfolk are just not worth the effort.  But when I say quits, I mean get out of every where - Germany, Japan, Korea, Taiwan - everywhere!  That sounds really odd for a guy like me who has lived and worked all over the world saying such a parochial thing,  but I have about had it with our soldiers standing in harm's way for everyone else.  Just look at the crap that went on in Libya - a place that I have spent a lot of time in - The European members of NATO couldn't have accomplished beans without the technical, command and logistical assistance of the USA.  The whole of Europe, probably couldn't repulse an invasion of.... New Zealand!  All these countries need to pull their own load and we need to tend to our own knitting.

But, if somebody... anybody ... tries to come at us again, we need to unload on the country that spawned the attack with everything... I mean intercontinental missiles.  The whole shebang and let the stuff fall where it may.  If those idiots are looking for Armageddon, let's get at it and get it over with.

Well.  That felt good.  Perhaps I will feel different tomorrow.