Where My Meandering Mind Is Going

This blog is going places. What those places are, or where they are, will differ almost daily, with the only concession to organization being my interests. I'm not a musician, so don't look for much commentary on that subject, nor do I consider myself an artist in a true aesthetic sense, so there is likely to be no commentary there.

Please note the escape words in those phrases, though.

As I read about the contemporary scene, my mind meanders through the 70+ years I've hung around on this globe. Sometimes the comparisons are odious, sometimes they are riotous.

You'll read the Meandering Mind thoughts on a variety of subjects, ranging from local politics and politicians and political commentators to national and international politicians and commentators. Somewhere in there, you'll also find comments on writing and reading and the value of both, now, in the future and in the past. My interests extend to digital photography, so you may see some photos, often of classic cars and motorcycles, none of which are mine.

Along the way, we may touch on surgery and geography, and surgeons and police, and actors and cartoonists, and action and light, and about anything else that impinges on my areas of interests, or shows signs of increasing those areas of interests. I may comment often on language, largely because I've been a professional writer for more than 40 years now, and am distressed by the deterioration of the English language around the world. My political bent is very close to centrist, though probably somewhat to the left. If that distresses you, pass on by, whether you are a hard cord right winger or nutcase left winger. I don't like what Eric Hoffer classed as "True Believers," nor am I impressed with people who follow a party line too closely, regardless of party.

This started with an email to a friend a few days ago. Rich has been after me to post such letters for a wider audience to read, so this is my response:

I read that Al Quaeda claims Obama is not welcome in Egypt.

The effrontery of these international thugs is incredible. Only a few are Egyptian, and they share a religion with no one, though claiming to be Muslim. Their statement came at about the same time another group of Muslims beheaded a British citizen, evidently for the crime of being non-Muslim.

In all of this, the putative Muslim world demands that Obama present to them all their desires, political and otherwise. Given that he's not an idiot like George W., he appears willing to make some major changes, but we'd best hope that he's also ready to politely tell them to stick it where the sun don't shine for a good part of their demands. Sure, there's a need for a Palestinian state. That might, given 500 years, quiet some of the hatred that flares every time a Palestinian views a Jew. At the same time, I can see absolutely no convincing evidence that Israel owes the Palestinians a state. Hell, every time Israel gives up a portion of its land, land won with blood, they get further defamed by Palestinians and all other Arabs. There is no sensible path for the Palestinians to a Christmas stocking filled with wonders, and there shouldn't be. This is a job that needs the entire Middle East's participation; Israel should not be the only supplier of concessions.

Certainly, Israel flares up easily when the Palestinian groups such as Hamas create problems, usually by firing rockets to kill Israeli citizens. The cure there is simple: stop sending the damned rockets! Instead, the world goes through the animated idiocy of Israel offering peace to Palestinians who can't control their own people enough to stop them from killing, or trying to kill, Israelis. Then the Arab world screams when Israel retaliates. Incredible.

So the beat goes on as Obama visits. He wants to mend fences, which is a great idea. The Muslims demand it all be done their way. They've dealt with "My Way Or The Highway" Bush and his entourage too long, possibly. Whatever the basis, the Arab/Muslim way or no go is not a great idea. We have to expect that Obama is not going to give away the store to make the sale. He'll get berated by the far right here as if he did no matter what happens. If the crises of the Middle East aren't cured before New Year's Day 2010, I expect Obama will be excoriated by those now running the Republican Party--Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney.

I'm very curious about how all this is going to turn out, how his speech will be reviewed here and accepted there, as well as here.

There are entire days, though, when I wish we lived in less interesting times.

This was written two days ago, so we now have the opportunity to see how many of my wishes Obama met.