There's Usually More To The Story

I couldn't help but be drawn to a headline on my computer screen this morning. It seems that a Guantanamo Bay detainee we released to the Saudis for "terrorist rehab" in 2007, and subsequently set free by them, turns out to be a leader of Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch. Hmm... how surprising. I'm having a difficult time understanding why so many people refuse to accept the notion that there is a group of other people out there who's sole goal in life is to kill westerners, particularly Americans. I realize that our brains have all kinds of protective mechanisms to keep us from "hearing" things we don't like, but come on, we've seen how just a few with sinister intentions can inflict major damage on innocent people. I can be quite cynical sometimes, but this is one case where I believe our government has been protecting us more than we realize. Only time will tell. Our government and our allies did not just walk the streets of the world and randomly choose people to send to Gitmo. I'm not opposed to closing the place, but let's be thorough and not lose sight of the reason we originally detained those particular people.

And we should give our presidents a break
because they have more facts than they are able to share with us. You may think that everything is transparent and that what you hear on the news is simply true and accurate, especially if you see video images. But if you were to be honest about "the news" you would realize that each of us chooses to listen to, read, or watch news sources that tend to support our core beliefs. If one leans a little to the left perhaps it's CNN or NPR, if to the right, perhaps Fox. The problem I have with all news is that someone, somewhere has chosen what he or she thinks we ought to hear. It's not easy to discern the weeds from the wheat, and that's why it's easier to listen only to the side of the argument we want to hear...which, of course, may not be the truth. It's also why I've tried to teach my children that they should be more compassionate towards whomever happens to hold the position of President of the United States. The holder of that particular office probably has more information thrown at him than any other leader in the world. It's no wonder that anyone who has ever held the office has aged so quickly. President O'bama already looks older. He's probably already dealt with major issues we won't know about for many years, if ever. And that's exactly how it was for Presidents George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton before him, and on and on. These guys are constantly unduly criticized for decisions they make that we don't like, decisions made with information we likely will never have... and it's why the compassion I refer to includes withholding judgment on the actions of our immediate past President, because there's always more to the story...

Weather
overcast and around 20 this morning. The air felt a little like spring...but no January thaw in the forecast. I'd like more snow.

Fourth day on reduced caffeine
and I'm updating this post around 2:20 p.m. I'm dragging and I think cutting back to one cup of coffee a day has a role in this. Since Tuesday, I've gotten by with one 12 ounce cup of coffee in the morning and two 8 ounce cups of green tea (made from one teabag) in the afternoon. Things had been okay, not great, just okay since making the change, but right now I'm really tired. Feeling tired is my natural state of being, but this is heavy tired. I'm on my second cup of tea... we'll see.