Today is Pearl harbor day and it would do us all well to remember what happened so long ago. We all think that the world was a simpler place back then. In some respects it was. But in the world of politics it was pretty much the same. Reading Upton Sinclair has opened my eyes to a lot of the political intrigue that existed in the early part of the last century. In some ways the Middle East has not advanced. Assassination was the political weapon of choice in that time and in the Middle east it still seems to be that way. God help Lebanon--certainly no one else will. the Persians are setting their site on a new empire, the Europeans hide from the inevitable, and American stumbles with corrupt, inept, and sometimes incredibly stupid politics and media.

911 should have been a wake-up call to our politicians and to our society. Alas, it was temporary and the ridiculous people who set our sights on Iraq have set us back over thirty years. Our military is to small to fight a real war. We Americans are not willing to sacrifice our children to stupid needless wars, but the time will come when we will pay for our short sightedness.

Back to Pearl harbor, I googled a satellite picture of Pearl Harbor. The water was so clear that you can see the Arizona. That is a sad reminder of what can happen when we let our guard down.