Compassion, Love and Peace

This is going to be my last political posting for a while....  the news just keeps getting more disgusting, appalling, and hopeless each day.  We, humanity, seem to be degenerating at a great rate at this point in time.
   I am still reeling from the attacks made by all the groups that poured in to Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend for the "Unite the Right" gathering.  We are having a march in Denver, tomorrow, to celebrate the life of Heather D Heyer, the paralegal killed last Saturday by a professed Nazi supporter.  This is too little, too late, but we will honor the memory of a young woman who was protesting hatred by marching quietly on a street with her friends.
   There has been an outbreak of attacks against innocent people this week.  First, Thursday evening, the van attack on Las Ramblas in Barcelona, Spain - that left 14 dead and over 100 injured.  Then the attack in Camblis, a two hour drive south of Barcelona. (Camblis was where some of the planning for the 9-11 attacks took place.) There was also an explosion there the night before the attack at Las Ramblas, and police now believe that the people involved in the Barcelona attack had been planning to bomb several places before "something went wrong" at their manufacturing site, and they decided a vehicular attack was in order.  The driver of the van at Las Ramblas is still at large and being sought throughout Europe.
   Then there was the knife attack in the market square of Turku, Finland the following day.  An 18-year-old man from Morocco attacked several women with a knife, killing two. He reportedly targeted eight women, one of which was pushing a baby carriage.  Two men tried to intervene, and both of them were stabbed, as well; one of whom was so severely cut that he may lose his arm.  The suspect was shot in the leg, arrested and taken to the hospital.  Four other men have been arrested with suspected ties to the attacker.
    This morning, a man in the Siberian town of Surgut, in Russia, stabbed at least eight people, seriously wounding two of them. The Russian police fired shots at the man and killed him.  They are investigating the incident.
   Friday night:  In Kissimmee, Florida, two officers responded to a call and were apparently ambushed.  One officer is dead, the other in serious condition.  A man has been arrested.
     In Jacksonville, Florida, two officers responded to a call about a man considering suicide.  He greeted them with shots from a high-powered rifle, shooting one policeman in both hands, and the other in the stomach.  The man was killed by the officers.
     In Fayette County, Pennsylvania, two officers approached a man to serve a warrant.  The man reached into his backpack, pulled out a gun and shot both officers. The officers shot and killed that man, also.
      Too much death and destruction for me, folks....   I know this happens every day in our country, and around the world.  But I want PEACE  for all.
      Then there is the ousting of Steve Bannon from the White House - he's going back to Breibart News to spew more hatred and ignorance.
      The world needs help - compassion, love, and peace need to rule this place.

Reflections on 9/11

September 11th is America's tremendous bug-a-boo day.  Fifteen years ago, the nation realized that it really was not as secure and tranquil as we believed it to be.  I was seated with my husband in a courtroom in Manassas, Prince William County, Virginia, when the news first broke.  We were witnesses in an accident case.  We gave our testimony, and within 30 minutes, the courthouse closed.  We went home and watched the seemingly crazy news reports for several days.  I had to scramble to find a way to work, four days later, because I normally took the subway at the Pentagon - but no trains could stop there.  The stories, videos, and photographs were shocking.  I was very lucky that I was in court, and not at work on that day.
   Fifteen years later, I live 2,000 miles to the west of the east coast madness. I did not know anyone who lost their life in the multiple tragedies that occurred on that day - but I have a lot of friends and acquaintances who did lose family members.  I still grieve with them and for them.  I believe that all of those who lost their lives - innocent victims and first responders - should always be remembered with love, sadness and dignity.  I remember my feelings of horror and disbelief on that day, and in the first few weeks that followed.  America has never felt safe since then.  It feels safe to me, but not to the majority of our citizens.
  At the age of 60, I now wonder whether I feel safe because I have lived for this amount of time; if I feel safe because I am, primarily, a historian; or if I feel safe because I am (I think/hope) a pragmatist. As I look at things happening in the Middle East, and the rising tide of jihad in Islam, I feel as if I'm looking at the time period before the Crusades in the eleventh century.  Are we going to have a "Holy War" -  Christian versus Muslim, again?  But what about all the other great religions of the world, and their followers?  I do not want to see the world at war in my life time - over religion, over food and water, over natural resources, over any belief system.  I don't believe that religion can rule the world, nor do I believe in a dictatorship, either.
  It is a sad thing that the United Nations are neither united, nor representative of all the people on our planet.  We, the people of the world, of all nations, of all colors, of all creeds and beliefs, need to unite and be heard and moderate a way to mutual understanding and trust.  Otherwise, our world and it's knowledge will be lost....

A Few Stray Thoughts...

Thoughts

The fine drizzle of yesterday morning cleared and we had bright sunshine in the afternoon.  A light rain is currently falling, but the weather folks say it will, again, clear by noon, and be sunny.  But then a cold front is coming in, and we are expecting a rain and snow mix around midnight - we'll see if the weather gurus are correct....   - The kits let me sleep until 7:45 this morning, and, after caring for them, I started for the bakery and a fresh bagel for breakfast.  I ran into a neighbor at the building door; she was wearing a T-shirt, a sweatshirt, and a hoodie sweatshirt over all, jeans and boots, I was wearing a T-shirt, jeans and sneakers.  Meredith informed me that I needed to go back and get a coat or jacket because it was "freezing out there!"  I went on out and opened my umbrella as I stepped out the door - it was a trifle chilly (45 degrees), but it was nowhere near freezing. I felt chilled, but not cold, on the walk to and from the store - of course, I had the brolly, while she was getting rained on...
  I didn't go to the bank or the library yesterday - I just lounged with the kits and did a little bit of research - so I'll need to go to both places today.  A big "Thank you" is owed to Hillbillygator for suggesting a new series of mysteries and two other books by different authors - I'll try to get them today, and/or will request them.  I owe you!
   So, yesterday, today and tomorrow are first anniversary of the three worst days of flooding from the "Thousand Year Rain" that Colorado experienced.  The newspapers, magazines, and local news stations are giving remembrance stories and then-and-now stories a flogging.  And, of course, today is September 11th, so there is also the usual out-pouring of grief and patriotism on this day.  Last night, the President talked about ridding the world of ISIL/ISIS with the assistance of other countries.  I honestly don't know how I feel.  A huge number of people were impacted strongly, and are not yet recovered, from last year's flooding.  The world will never be the same again, and hasn't been, since the destruction of the World Trade Towers and the crashed hijacked jets in 2001.  Now it seems that our nation will be at war again in the Middle East....   I know that the President said air raids only, with no US soldier setting foot in the affected countries - but, to me, air strikes equal war.
   I am in no way a complete and total pacifist.  I also know that I don't have all the information and (hopefully) facts, that the President and his advisers have.  But I feel despair that killing and maiming people seem to be the only way that human beings can make any kind of statement.
   Most folks would truly be appalled if I set out exactly what I believe and don't believe in the religion arena.  I believe in a Live And Let Live society - I am happy for you to believe in whatever you wish, as long as you don't try to make me believe as you do.  Why is one person's belief better than another's?  I realize that religion and resources are the only reasons that we human beings resort to war.  It's a very sad thing.  None of us is God, or anywhere near God-like.

   Why can't we just live peaceably together, and allow each person their own belief?
 

Merry Christmas!

   Merry Christmas! - God Jul! - Feliz Navidad!
It's 7 degrees outside, humidity is at 86%, and there's about four inches of snow on the ground. It started to snow about 6 last night - if you were looking west, toward the mountains, you could see the snow, looking like mist, begin up on the mountain tops, and slowly creep down to the level of Boulder. It was beautiful. Other than my three trips over to spend time with, and feed and medicate, Sasquatch and Tugger, I plan on being home with Lovey and Nedi. I had thought I'd have a car to use, but they left me the stick shift, which I can't drive... So I'm travelling by bus and foot today and tomorrow. At least I'll have the Audi beginning Thursday (an 8 minute drive is preferable to a 45 to 90 minute bus ride, with connections and walks at both ends, when it's this chilly outside).
  I hope this day brings you laughter and love, the companionship of family members and others that you hold dear, and the feelings of peace and tranquility when you can finally collapse in your bed at the end of the day. I wish you the best of everything in life today and always!