What's a Budget To Do?

When is a budget not a budget? I would assert that a budget which does not deal with real numbers is not a budget. A proposal where there is no give and take, where no one will compromise, is an empty proposal. We are hearing the House Republicans -- most specifically the so-called tea party advocates -- claim that they were elected to cut government spending and shrink the size of government. We are seeing these representatives digging in. Are they in a foxhole as recently claimed by Speaker Boehner or are they digging their own graves and that of their movement as voters see their positions as injurious to the majority?

We have been faced with the childishness and churlishness of Eric Cantor -- he of the exaggerated Southern accent spoken with curled lip and sneer. Was this posturing, this intransigence to actual negotiations, a desired outcome of divided government? Did the voters vote for real change in 2008 and 2010? If so, just which change were they seeking? Was it the hope and change promised by a Barack Obama or was it the instantaneous paralysis promised by the Tea Party seeking to deflate government?

We live in an age of instant gratification, from scratch off lottery tickets to on line voting for various "idols", Americans have become accustomed to immediate results. The new Congress seems to be in disarray, with members voting for all sorts of "symbolic resolutions" but producing no actual legislation to improve the economy or produce jobs. They claim the monies donated to the stimulus were failures, while ignoring the rebound of the automotive industry and the infrastructure improvements across the country. Just recently (Friday, July 22), billions loaned to Chrysler were repaid to the taxpayers.

Could the stimulus have been more robust, could American businesses have stepped up more? Certainly, but should these efforts have been dismissed? Many newly elected representatives claim that "government regulations" have held back progress. For example recently trying to remove regulations about CFLs in light fixtures (which have shown to be more energy efficient). The Representatives also stopped using recyclable plastics in their dining room -- a further retreat from progress -- but surely necessary to preserve the financial stability of the country! By this time in her tenure as Speaker in 2009, the Nancy Pelosi led House had already passed significant legislation which was sent on to the Senate. Of course, that deliberative body bogged down many of these initiatives as self important committees debated further and Republicans filibustered almost everything. These steps toward gridlock in legislation almost killed health care and did stop initiatives such as the Dream Act and tax reform, foreshadowing the inability to legislate which is seen now.

As this is being written, Speaker Boehner has walked away from discussions with the White House. The debt limit ceiling, due to expire in less than two weeks, has not been raised. The middle class, which needs the promised protections under discussion, is being disregarded. Revenues which have supposedly been part of the Presidential bargaining position are again being dropped by the Republicans. Many ideas have been reported as on the table, from raising the age at which Medicare takes effect, dropping the current formulas for calculating Social Security COLAs, adding more unemployment benefits, dropping home mortgage deductions for mortgages over $500,000. The President has repeatedly spoken about taking away loopholes for oil companies and corporate jet owners. He indicated that millionaires should pay more than they currently pay. It was reportedly recently that the top 1% of earners in this country own 90% of all holdings in the US. The gaps between rich and poor are continuing to expand. Incomes have remained flat for the middle class since the1970s. As expenses increase -- prices for cars, homes, and a college education have jumped enormously during the last 40 years -- parents today do not expect that their children will have a higher earning potential than they had. Savings are much harder to come by. Interest rates are flat and the stock market gain is not a given, as many learned in 2008.

How does one fix this? The country needs more income, the government needs to spend more wisely, belts do need to be tightened. Paying off the trillions in debt we now have will not be addressed by a balanced budget amendment or votes about cuts and caps. The social safety nets still need to be protected. We need Social Security and Medicare to remain as viable options for our elderly and current seniors. Can we make small changes? Yes. Could we cut Defense spending? Yes. Should legislation be passed to keep the FAA solvent and small airports open? Of course. Can meaningful legislation be passed to get this country working again, to have a real budget, to relieve the debt ceiling issue? Yes, this can and should happen. This is not happening in a vacuum, it is happening in a real crisis. There is real unemployment. There is a real need for economic recovery. We need for responsible leaders to step up and lead. We need Speaker Boehner to manage his caucus by demonstrating leadership. We need Mitch McConnell to earn the money he is paid by the American taxpayer and not decide his number one job should be o keep the President as a one term leader, but rather to it should be to bring his members to the table to effect a compromise. The gang of six in the Senate thought they had a bargain the other day and great ebullience spread across the town. The so-called "Big Deal" is apparently no longer on the table and gone are the bargains made then. However, face to face discussions cannot work if Boehner is not empowered to accept any compromises and has to keep going back to his base. The President keeps finding a moving target on the table, more like quicksilver -- fast and difficult to pick up.

Democrats want to be able to support the President. He needs to protect their sacred cows, although he may tweak them in some fashion. Nancy Pelosi and Leader Reid need to be more at the table, VP Biden needs to stay involved. This should be the last time the President goes the extra mile. One cannot reach out to a closed fist or mind. I believe the debt ceiling will be raised although it may be at the last minute and deflate the value of America's finances internationally. This is tragic and should have been avoided. What do you think should be done? What cuts would you make?

What's a Fan To Do?

I am probably the last person to be called a sports fanatic -- but I do consider myself a fan. I grew up outside Boston and still consider myself a member of the "Red Sox nation." As a child I regularly traveled to Fenway Park to root for the "Sox". Subsequently I have spent many years cheering in vain, while waiting for the pennant to come to Boston. When the team finally won the World Series, I was thrilled. Did I follow every game and the weekly standings? Did I know the batting average of each hitter or the ERA of the starting pitchers? Nope! But were they still "my team" -- you bet!

This year has seen another Boston team end a long drought at the playoff and Stanley cup stakes as the Bruins beat Vancouver for their first win in a long time. Did I cheer for the former home team guys? Of course! Especially since our Capitals got knocked out in the second round!

Those who know me in my current Maryland neighborhood, know that I have cheered for many years for the Washington Redskins and have pennants from their now remote Super Bowl wins hanging in my family room. I have been embarrassed over the recent antics of some team members and the current owner as the team passed season after season with a losing record, even rarely beating the most disliked opponent of all -- the Dallas Cowboys. So when we did not make the playoffs and Dallas did not either. That was fine with me!

In basketball our Washington Wizards were again hopeless and hapless. No gazillionaires dominated their full court press. They have only once won the NBA championship and that was more than 30 years ago when they were known as the Bullets! But again this year the team press releases promised new heights for their draft picks and the roster of little known players. Their road record this year was among the worst in the league. Oh well, guess this helps their ranking for the draft, somehow. Have you heard? Pro basketball players and owners are also involved in salary disputes this year?

Against this back drop we have a lockout for the scheduled Fall Football Season of 2011. The billionaire owners and the millionaire players are fighting about who gets which amount of the revenues from the proceeds of the game, licensed sales and Media revenues. The fans who may usually look forward to a Sunday afternoon or Monday night battle among NFL teams might have to point their remote controls in a different direction this year. This fight between those who do not have to worry about a weekly paycheck might just find there is little empathy for their disagreement among Americans who have been struggling to keep their home values above water or hold onto their jobs. The median salary for a player on a team such as the Washington Redskins was almost a million dollars. Many players far exceeded that amount. The Social Security Administration currently lists the annual salary for the average US worker to be approximately $40,000 -- about two weeks pay for the median Redskin player. (I do know that the average player plays for a limited number of years and needs to get paid well for their prime years ... but they still do have earning power after they leave the game and can invest for their future years.) The 'Skins and others just might find their fan base disappearing when they finally get around to settling these petty disputes which have little value in the lives of most Americans. Maybe families will find a reason to play together rather than watch TV passively; they might investigate local cultural opportunities or even have conversations with each other. Maybe when the teams do start playing again not many fans will care about supporting overpaid “superstars” or pandering to the whims of rich bullies. Perhaps they will find that the vast revenues they are squabbling about are no longer options.

Enjoy the Fourth of July weekend. Celebrate the latest win for the American women's soccer team, they play for the love of the game! What might you do if Sunday afternoons do not offer football this fall? I just might find some books to read.

Draw down in Afghanistan?

I'll admit it -- a portion of me wanted President Obama to just look at this war, say good-bye, pull the funds, turn out the lights and close the door. We are spending billions of our scarce dollars a day in this far-off country. The cumulative costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has been reported to be at about one trillion dollars -- most of it spent before President Obama was elected. Remember under Bush, we lowered taxes and built tanks. We had our war without body armor in the field and with butter and guns at home. While the death of bin Laden has not immediately caused the demise of al Qaeda, it has certainly made it less virulent. The Taliban appears to be on the run from our drone attacks in Pakistan, despite the protection from some members of the Pakistan army and the blustering by the cabinet members. Although there is a summer offensive in Afghanistan, it appears to be concentrated in guerrilla activities such as car bombs, I.E.D.s, and suicide missions. The civilian death toll is rising from attacks in public places.

So it appears that there are many caveats in this discussion. I believe we need to bring our troops home and let the Afghanis start fixing their country with the blood, sweat and toil of their own people. Should we leave forces in place to lead humanitarian efforts? Perhaps, yes, if we could guarantee their safety. Others report that there will be an international competition for the mineral resources thought to be hidden under the mountains and valleys of this remote country. So we should probably not leave a financial or legal vacuum, which might allow others to enter and plunder the slight resources of this beautiful place. Frequent reports mention the incredible corruption in Afghanistan; discuss the mood swings of the mercurial President and the drug running of his family members and friends. The coalition Army reports training substantial numbers of police forces who will be slotted to take over the security of the country. It is said that there are over 300,000 in place now. What is not reported is the reality that many of them are illiterate. While they are fearless fighters and brave men, they are not ready to run the country in an organized manner.

Attempts to teach farmers to grow food crops instead of poppies have not been successful as the Taliban and the war lords were both maintaining the drug distribution lines. Opium and hashish bring in much more money than wheat crops, so the country cannot feed itself and has no real export economy. With no economic products and balances of trade, the presence of the war machinery provides the cash which keeps the country running. Recently, over $14 billion directed toward contracting costs has been thought to have been widely misused, partly due to the costs of doing business in this country. The elections held over the last year or so were widely found to be rigged and cronies of President Hamid Karzai eventually won out in most contested races. Only this week the Afghan Court declared that one-quarter of the officials elected in the last election were chosen fraudulently. Other reports mention the schools built by Americans or UN forces are being destroyed by the Taliban. Schools that taught girls were particularly targeted. An educated electorate is probably contrary to the aims of the Taliban. Reports last year also indicated that Karzai was supporting rollbacks of the limited freedoms recently granted to Afghani women. Many women returned to the burqa in an attempt to keep their freedom to move around in public. Reports from the United Nations last year on the disintegrating status of women (IRIN) have noted the following dismal facts:

• Every 30 minutes an Afghan woman dies in childbirth

• 87 % of Afghan women are illiterate

• Only 30% of girls have access to education today in Afghanistan

• 1 in every 3 Afghan women has experienced physical, psychological or sexual violence

• More than 1.25 million Afghani women are widowed and have no means of support

• The average life expectancy for women in Afghanistan is only 44 years

• Even today 70-80 % of women are forced into arranged marriages

• Close to 60% are forced into marriage before the legal age of 16

Many women around the world had supported the UN and American presence in Afghanistan because they believed that the medieval reign of the Taliban was being overturned and ending the war against women was part of the coalition effort. However, given the facts noted above, unless and until the power of the Taliban is thoroughly broken, and the support for women’s rights from the elected government is strong, an American pull out will allow a return to more repression against women. The Taliban, mostly driven from their territory now and hiding in the mountains or in the Pakistani territories, have given no hint that they are willing to change their goals or allow women greater freedom. Can we permit a situation which might return this backward group again to a state of powerful and reprehensible reign? Both Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former First Lady Laura Bush have advocated for protections for the women of Afghan and the need to ensure that these safeguards continue. Hopefully these prominent voices will help those mostly unseen women in Afghanistan.

So what should the United States do? Should the President have announced a draw down of more than 30,000 troops over the next year or so? (This reduction leaves more than 65,000 troops still on the ground and expected to be withdrawn gradually by 2014. Iraq has already drawn down and has a support mission with assigned troops due to leave in December.) More than 4500 troops have been killed in Iraq since 2003, in Afghanistan more than 1500 have died since 2001. The way I look at it, no one wants to be the last to die in this war. I do not believe that this country needs to fight a war in each generation. Frequently I travel in the community near Walter Reed Army Hospital. I see the young people on crutches or in wheelchairs, missing limbs or with the vacant looks of those with PTSD. One more injured soldier is also one more too many. Has the mission changed? Is it narrowing and becoming more limited? I would hope so.

Our country has suffered economically the last few years, but the war budgets keep increasing. It is time to turn about and move toward fixing the needs at home now. The cost of the war effort is taking money which is needed to repair cities and towns which have been so impacted by the downturn. The national conference of mayors, meeting this month in Baltimore, has called for a diversion of funds to be instead, used at home to repair our infrastructure instead of that in a country so far away. Some Democratic members of Congress have chided the President for this decision to decrease the military presence more slowly. But given the information presented above, I believe we need to have a gradual removal of troops, so consequently, but reluctantly. Because I cannot come up with a better idea, I support the President in this effort.

Let me know your thoughts -- pro or con -- as long as you tell me your name and email. What should the US do?

There is so much ugliness in the news recently, so many men behaving badly, so many governments around the world shooting and killing their own people that I decided to write about some of the more beautiful things in my world.

Right now, in Maryland we are in the lushness of a waning Spring, which was somewhat tentative this year. As I drive on the country roads in the upper parts of Montgomery County where I live, I can now enjoy the "tiger lilies" dotting the roadside. These perky orange lilies grow wild alongside the country roads where the rural atmosphere prevails.

You know, those narrow roads, sometimes classified rustic, where there is little or no shoulder and the tree canopy creates an umbrella across the roadways -- these are the kinds of roads I mean. I have heard that some want to trim the trees, reduce the canopy, flatten out the road edges -- but I say no, not now, not ever. This is part of the rural heritage the county has worked so hard to protect and preserve. If one looks closely, one can not the many shades of green, from the deep forest green of the evergreen trees, the spruce and the pine, to the fragile green of the younger trees and the mature green of the stately oak. Together, against a forest backdrop they create a wonderful palette of colors.

I see the yellow fields of wheat softly waving in the warm breezes, the low green leaves of soybeans and the newly planted corn growing straight and soon to be tall. Farms showcase sheep and bleating lambs, cows with nursing calves, graceful horses grazing or trotting across the grassy meadows come into my view as I drive along. Still I also see deer, fox and raccoons -- driven out of their natural forests, and now inhabiting my suburban village. I hear that the so-called protected lanes of the ICC have been breached by some unfortunately adventurous deer. We are not yet good neighbors to all of our wild, or even, domesticated creatures. (Although I do agree that we have far too many deer -- but that is a subject for another day.)

On Facebook I saw a cute video of some of Montgomery County Police attempting to catch an apparently domesticated goat which was playing in traffic near the MVA in Gaithersburg -- but it got away -- and I hope it found safer pasture somewhere! Kudos to our officers in blue for a good hearted effort!

Roses have been beautiful this year. As I walk among neighborhoods in and around my community, I see terrace and trellis trailing brightly colored roses. Daylilies with their yellow and variegated flowers compliment the roses. Butterfly bushes attract many types of multi-colored butterflies with their fragrant aromas. The gardens are at that interim and wonderful state, blooming but not yet needing weeding.

We have already seen temperatures over 100 degrees this season even before summer is officially here, but this week has been wonderful. Temperatures in the mid 70s, little or no humidity, and sunny skies welcomed us after some thunderstorms blew through over the last few days. However our longest daylight hours are around the corner of this week -- the fireflies will flicker and flitter through the evenings and the summer stars will loom larger. I am hopeful that we all can enjoy cooler, yet pleasant, evening strolls, enjoying natural vistas and fragrant scenes.

Let me hear what good news you might wish to share.

The Tradition of Memorial Day

I grew up as the daughter of a mother from the South who followed the tradition of "Decoration Day" (which she learned as a child) over the years even as she moved north to Massachusetts, where I grew up. Every year this would be the day when the graves of family members were cleaned of debris from the winter, trimmed up and flowers planted or baskets placed. Often, as relatives might have lived in several different areas, many towns were visited along a circuitous route. Along the way one might hear tales of Aunt Fanny or Uncle Johnny or other family stories. Several cemeteries had Veterans sections and this was where "Wally -- who received a Purple Heart after he was killed in World War ll, was buried. I heard the tale of how his mother was so devastated when her son was buried in a far off land (Italy), that she joined a group of Gold Star Mothers who successfully petitioned President Truman and the Military to bring the "boys" home to rest. Each service member had the same simple white tombstone provided. Over the years this veterans section of the cemetery sadly grew and grew. Some additions were from the deaths of those who had also served in the so-called "World Wars" and could call this their final resting place near comrades. Other from more wars or conflicts as Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War and now Iraq and Afghanistan brought the deaths of more and more of our young and able bodied Americans. I expect that today, in Massachusetts, my sister is following this tradition.

Traditions are too frequently disappearing in this hustle-bustle world. The family is too busy to power down and remember the slower paces of yesteryear. Society is too busy to stop and hear the voices from the past which have shaped our todays and will influence our tomorrows. We now often do not know our neighbor, so there is no village to stop by when one is ill or to bring food after a family member dies. Tragedies do seem to bring communities together and shared tragedies such as hurricanes or tornadoes do tend to create networks of caring others. Americans do continue the traditions of helping out and are quick to donate blood for those whom they will never know. They collect clothes or give money for the less fortunate whose homes have been destroyed by whatever disasters occurred. We are a generous people, willing to help. There are still groups heading to the Gulf of Mexico to work on rebuilding communities destroyed by Katrina, back in 2005. Volunteers rescued animals that lost owners and homes. The Gulf oil gusher brought many to the oily shores to rescue birds and sea turtles, so we, as a country do come together to help others frequently. I do hope we never lose this "can-do" spirit, this sense of pioneer trail blazing that has shown us the way west and into space. I do hope we send this tradition into the next generation, much as my mother celebrated her sense of generations evolving.

In a more than 25 year tradition, thousands of motorcycle riding veterans and others joined together as Rolling Thunder roared into Washington this weekend to commemorate Memorial Day and honor those who served this country, both living and deceased. My late brother, a Vietnam vet, always relished their annual tribute. (Memo to Sarah Palin -- the tradition is about service and sacrifice, not about wearing black and riding a Harley, but probably she'll never figure this out.) The Washington Post had an article about Vets who regularly wash the Wall on the Vietmam Veterans' Memorial as their way of remembering the fallen. Now that is a tradition we should all support.

Do you have a tradition you wish to share? Let us know by writing us here.

Should Every Day Be Earth Day?

The first Earth Day was observed more than forty years ago now. I question whether it has become a relic up on a shelf or -- as I believe -- it needs to be reviewed, renewed and revamped to now become more relevant. Millions of words have probably been spoken about its importance and probably millions more have been written over these years. The planet has been subjected to more damage from chemicals, wars, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis and nuclear disasters over this time period than probably over any comparable time period in its history. Scientists have debated, politicians have proclaimed and learned papers have been published on both sides of the so-called ‘global warming’ debate. This discussion about what is or is not happening, became caught in a semantic debate and is now notably called "climate change." Climate change has brought severities of drought and snowfall to various parts of our beleaguered world with records being broken for snow depth and drought lengths. Although there are those who point to the snow and scoff at global warming, these same areas may well see the pendulum swing to intense heat within the year. The current floods along the Mississippi and its tributaries resulted from record snowfalls in the Midwest. Forest fires in Texas are a result of months without rain. Australia has just emerged from years of severe drought, brought about in a large part by human actions.

In his book Collapse, Jared Diamond discussed the intersections of nature and man's actions which brought about disastrous changes, in some cases entire civilizations disappeared. Somehow, with tropical jungle deforestation persisting in large parts of the world such as Brazil and Indonesia, we are not learning the lessons of history.

As an example, the Washington, DC, Metro area saw both record snowfalls in 2010, as well as a record number of days above 90 degrees. This area may well be entering an era of unstable weather. Those who watched Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth" might remember his graphs showing how close we are to the point of no return -- the point where we cannot turn back the march against an unstable climate. Futurists have postulated that we will fight the next world wars, not about territory but instead about the need for arable water. This local article in the Washington Post discusses rising seas and the resultant current and future damage to coastal business, homes, and the leisure and employment industries.

Others will wage battles against diseases which can spread in a world without the waves of the heat/freeze cycle which now kills many bacteria and limits territories for many crop destroying insects. The crop and flower growth cycles are disrupted with damage from late rains and early heat. A recent article by the Center for American Progress discussed much the same information:

So what does it matter if the azaleas bloom earlier or the Cherry blossoms bloom for a shorter time? Do we really care if certain insect larva releases its young a few weeks sooner than before? Yes, we should care, because of related cycles in nature. A bird hatches its young and counts on a particular insect to be available for easy feeding for the nesting family. If that insect has already moved on to its next phase, the hatchlings may go hungry, and the uneaten insects may devastate a crop just planted by farmers. Habitat is being threatened by our global travel and trade. This area has seen the overgrowth of so called "stink-bugs," an Asian import working its way down the East Coast. This bug was thought to have originally arrived in Philadelphia among shipments from its native lands in Asia. It has no natural predators in America, hibernates, and was not killed by our recent mild winter. Last summer farmers reported crop destruction as these invaders ate their way through fruit orchards and other plants. While this is not a result of climate change, it vividly demonstrates what can happen when an unfamiliar predator enters the crop cycle at a critical time. Fire ants, large bees and invasive hornets are reportedly working their way north as the temperate/tropical barriers are blurring. Resistance to pesticides is growing among some pests. Long-term use of these poisons has been seen to be destructive to the soil and to populations. Are we moving ever closer to that Silent Spring predicted by Rachel Carson?

Farmers in India were encouraged to change ancient farming methods and use pesticides widely to increase their yield. However a different result came about - NPR had a story a while back called "the cancer train" which told about increased use of pesticides -- perhaps inappropriately -- which helped spark the green revolution in the countryside of India's rural villages. Concurrently it told of an increased rural incidence of cancers – especially among the young, which had been unknown outside urban centers. Some scientists have linked these occurrences as not due to chance. Others studied brain and nerve damage as these chemicals entered the water supply and seemed to adversely affect children.

We are told today the use of genetically modified seeds is safe and the wave of the future. Other scientists are saving seeds in seed banks should we ever need to rebuild our ability to grow natural crops. The answers to these questions may yet be found in some time and some day far away.

Yes, when I walk in the morning in my suburban world, I hear the woodpeckers tapping and see the robins, cardinals and sparrows all working to catch the unwary worms, so this part of my world has not changed. But I do believe that we all must be concerned about the more subtle and unseen changes that incrementally are making the world our children will face much more challenging than ours has been. I also know that we owe it to future generations to leave the world a better place than the one we found and I worry that we cannot meet this debt. Please let me know your thoughts in this area.

The End for bin Laden

Sunday evening I was stunned, as were many in the U.S., by the news announced by President Obama, that Osama bin Laden had been found and killed. It was even more surprising to learn that he had been living in a resort city in a million dollar fortified mansion under the shadow of the Pakistani Military Academy, just down the street from the local Police Station. Brave Special Forces Members of the SEALS in a daring night-time assault on bin Laden's compound accomplished this mission in less than 40 minutes without sustaining casualties. For many years we had been told that this mastermind of terror had been living as a primitive in caves in the tribal lands in the far north of the country. The U.S. gave the Pakistani government billions of dollars over the years to support the war on terror and locate the terror networks that bin Laden had established. Now it appears that he was being protected by some portions of the Pakistani military, possibly without the knowledge of the official government.

Many young people rushed into the streets to celebrate in front of the White House, Midshipmen at the Naval Academy in Annapolis cheered and patrons at a Major League Baseball game (watching their smart phones more than the game) burst into calls of "USA-USA!," as they stood together in celebration. Most poignantly of all -- families, friends and firefighters came to Ground Zero to commemorate. Closure, at last. A commentator mentioned that these young college students with an average age of 20 had been haunted by the attacks of September 11 for half of their young lives. It is their contemporaries who are fighting today in Afghanistan or were serving in Iraq. This country has been at war in either Iraq or Afghanistan since they were ten years old. The attacks on September 11 changed our collective national psyche. As a country, we lost our innocence, our sense of safety, invincibility and complacence in those terrorist attacks and, as a result, life is forever changed for all who follow.

Where does the U.S. go from here? We have closure on the so-called head of the terror organization, but loose organizations such as his can still be lethal as lone members could set out on individual quests for revenge. Should we as a country rejoice and dance in the streets? Should we instead quietly say thanks and move forward with our lives? Does even the death of a monster cause one to pause, and wish it should not have to be? Some have noted that this death coincided with the anniversary of the suicide of another monster: Adolf Hilter. Significance and coincidence are sometimes strange partners. What routes does one go down in order to achieve peace in this world generally and in the Middle East among Islamic nations specifically? Where does our government go in order to quell the Taliban in Afghanistan. Will we be able to open a dialogue now? This organization grounded in the 14th Century, hostile to the rights of women, against schools for girls, and a bastion against any advances of modernization, does not seem likely to change, nor to be a willing partner in negotiations for a cease-fire.

President Obama was correct in his decision that little good would result from publication of gruesome death photos of Bin Laden. His somber response that "we know he is dead, we have DNA evidence, we have the photos," demonstrates clearly that he is not supporting sensationalism, case closed. Additionally, his quiet requests to use this circumstance as a basis for a shared sense of purpose and American unity sent a message to both sides of the aisle in Congress. Unfortunately this has fallen on many deaf ears as those with divisive agendas move away from unity. The President's meeting with police and firefighters in New York City today reinforced the thanks of our country toward these brave survivors of that day. His meeting with family members of those killed at the Twin Towers demonstrated his "promises kept" mantra. All knew this would not bring back their loved-ones, but it did give many a type of closure.

Ruth Marcus, writing in the Washington Post discussed countering evil with good by planting a garden this week. She describes creating a new reality, setting an example and showing us a way into the future where nations can choose to plant gardens rather than support terrorists. She acknowledged the incongruity of a world which could produce an evil such as bin Laden and at the same time allow the splendor of a beautiful garden. Perhaps the choices are within each of us to choose to grow a garden or not.

Let me know your thoughts this week; are you planting a garden?