Hello:
Since I decided to take up writing this again, I usually slate out Saturday afternoon to work on it. (Back in the day, it was always Sunday night). All week, I think about what I'm going to write about, or if I know what I'm going to write about, exactly what I'm going to say. A lot of times, I really have no idea till I see the finished product myself.
This week, I knew I was going to write about the Paris attacks and the Syrian refugee crisis. The problem is figuring out what I'm going to write.
I've read all the posts on Facebook, all the memes, as many of the articles as I could. I've tried to catch the news reports. And all I can say is, I almost envy anyone who has a rock solid opinion one way or the other on this, because quite frankly, I'm torn.
But before I get into that, there is one thing I know for certain. A number of people commented that at the same time the attacks in Paris were going down, there were also attacks in Beirut and Baghdad, and noooobody was talking about that.
And it's not that I don't care about the people in those cities, but I do feel worse for the people in Paris. And I don't see what's wrong with that.
It's human nature to sympathize more with people you are more familiar with is it not? Think about where those victims in Paris were when the attacks happened. At a concert, at a soccer match, and at dinner.
I've never been to Paris, but I imagine it has many similarities to New York City. (I've read that the Grand Concourse in the Bronx was based on the Champs Elysees') The attack on the soccer match could have very easily been Met Life Stadium, the concert attack could have been Radio City or Carnegie Hall, And the attacks on the cafes? I can't help but feel like that could have been me or any of us on a typical Friday night out.
Beirut? I know it's a resort city and all, but I feel like $h-t like that has been going on there for years. I was just a little older than Timmy the day our Marines were killed there by a terrorist. It doesn't make it less tragic, but I'm sorry, I relate to the people in Paris more. Not sure that makes me a bad guy, but it is what it is.
The real issue I'm having is about these refugees from Syria, and the political firestorm this is causing. After September 11th, I know exactly where I would stand on something like this, and it was keeping them out. Some years back, I wrote that we should close our borders completely till we straightened out the issue of illegal immigration. I got roundly chided for that, and you know what? Rightly so.
Now as I said, I've seen so many people who are either screaming "Keep them out!" or "Let them in" and the requisite insults and name calling going back and forth.
I know in my heart the overwhelming majority of these people are coming here to get away from their war torn country, looking for nothing more than a safe place to live. They want to raise their kids in a place where they don't have to worry about bombs dropping and gunfire. Somewhere they don't have to scrounge for food and the other basic necessities of life. These are people who need our help.
On the other hand, there are plenty of our own citizens who have to beg for food, who can't make ends meet. Both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are trumpeting the plight of our homeless vets. Not to mention the fact that the State Department is admitting that it's pretty much impossible to fully vet all these people coming in. You think its beyond the realm of possibility that some ISIS members couldn't slip in that way?
But does that mean we toss the baby out with the bathwater and keep the whole lot of them out? What happened to "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor...?" That has to count for something too, doesn't it?
And where do we put everybody? Everyone whose screaming "Let them in!" Do you want them in your neighborhood? In your house?
I remember reading one time that one thing al-Qaeda always worried about was sending operatives to the US, and those would-be terrorists deciding that indoor plumbing, DirecTV and 24 hour drive thru was a better option than 72 virgins. Even if some of these refugees have bad intentions, doesn't mean once they start getting three hots a day, that they will follow through.
But if they do.......
So now would be a really good time for our elected leaders to come together for a resolution instead of acting like us Facebook morons and blurting out the party lines. Liberals like Mayor DeBlasio are rolling out the red carpet as much to piss off the GOP as much as to be compassionate. And the Paul Ryan's of the world are clearly trying to appease their God and Guns constituents by passing a bill to limit the number of refugees. (Which of course President Obama is vowing to veto)
Again, I wish I can sit here and tell you that I have a good answer for this problem, but I don't. All I can say is, if you think you have the answers, consider the other side of the coin.
If you say Keep them out, where is your heart. If you say let them all in, what will you say if something goes wrong?
NEWS ITEM: Charlie Sheen's HIV Positive
This week, Charlie Sheen came out and admitted that he has tested HIV Positive. Someone asked me, "Are you shocked about this?' And you know what, in a way, I was.
Because even though I know HIV and AIDS have not been cured, you don't hear about it as much anymore. I remember very clearly that afternoon that Magic Johnson announced he was HIV positive, and I thought I was watching a dead man walking. 24 years later, he owns the LA Dodgers, and is showing no signs of slowing down. The treatment of the disease has made leaps and bounds.
But Sheen's announcement was a not too subtle reminder that the disease still exists and it if you lead a lifestyle of un-relentless decadence, you run the risk of being infected.
The thing I can't understand is, even before this announcement, why would any woman want anything to do with this guy? I understand back in the Wall Street/Platoon days, Charlie Sheen was a stud. Hell, even when Two and a Half Men started, he still was in decent shape. But when he went postal on "2 & 1/2 Men" producer Chuck Lorrie, he fell hard. He looked awful, he smoked like a chimney, he bragged about banging prostitutes, was smacking his ex wife around and yet he still was surrounded by hot women. How any woman would touch this guy with a 10 foot pole is beyond me!
I don't wish the guy any ill will. But it's hard to feel sorry for the guy. There was a report this week that he spent $1.6 million on hookers (as opposed to $900,000 for child support.) There's a commercial on the radio for the New York Lottery featuring obnoxious people doing ridiculous things with their money (for example a diamond encrusted cellphone). The commercial ends with the line "You'd Make a Much Better Rich Person." Well, if I had $1.6 million lying around, I wouldn't be spending it on prostitutes. I'd be a much better rich person.
MUSIC: Saying goodbye to Adele's Hello?
When President Bush the First sent Navy SEALS into Panama to arrest Manuel Noriega, the Panamanian dictator holed himself up in the Vatican's Diplomatic Mission in Panama City. In order to get him out, the SEALS blasted music outside the mission, hoping to drive him to surrender. One of the songs they played over and over again was These Boots are Made for Walkin' by Nancy Sinatra, which I have to admit would have had me coming out with my hands up after a few spins.
Adele has the number one song in the country this week called Hello, and more than a few people have said that if they needed to be snuffed out of hiding, that would be the song that would do it. Radio stations like Z-100 and 92.3 tend to play the same songs over and over again, and Hello has been in heavy rotation.
I actually like that song, I think Adele has a great voice, and I find the piano and percussion to be very strong. But Drake's Hotline Bling, and Major Lazer's Lean On are two songs I could do without. The radio near my office plays that crap all the time. I never thought I'd be the guy saying "When I was younger we had real music" but some of this stuff is just awful.
The funny thing is, when I go to cardiac rehab it's the complete opposite. Since I'm the baby of the group, they usually put on oldies music. And I love a lot of the oldies, but a lot of it is pre British Invasion, so it doesn't really do anything for me. One night our exercise physiatrist put on an all 80's CD which drove my fellow rehabbers nuts. I of course was loving it, but hey, majority rules.
SPORTS:Rangers winning streak snapped.
The Rangers had their 9 game losing streak snapped on Thursday, and normally that in and of itself would cause me no great harm. The problem was how they lost and who they lost to.
They gave up a shorthanded goal with 1:06 left in the 3rd period, and they lost 2-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The last time the Rangers lost to the Lightning, I ended up in the hospital.
Speaking of which; I posted this video on FB on Friday, but ICYMI: Here is a video of Dr. Jason Freeman, the genius who fixed me up. If I'm thankful for anything on Thursday, it's Dr. Freeman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wa6dbYZDZ0&sns=fb
Happy Thanksgiving
Have a Great Week
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