Search Results for: So, Where to Now, America

So, Where to Now, America?

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The Middle East Showed Me a Window into America That I Did Not Wish to Look Through.

Some years ago, I had the opportunity to travel throughout most of Israel, and with a bit of deliberate violation of the strictures of my passport, some areas of Lebanon under Hezbollah control.

I was with an international group of military officers, not a US group, and so I travelled pretty much a different path than most American tourists.

I went through the myriad of checkpoints, wandered through Arab neighborhoods, spoke at length with Israelis and Palestinians.

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Adventures of Americans Abroad

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We Visited Several Countries Last Month. What Did We Find?

Our First International Trip During This Administration

And so our latest international adventure we mentioned a few weeks ago has concluded. Six countries (Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Scotland, and Iceland) over a couple of weeks, and I promised to share with you what it was like being an American abroad these days, and to let you know how a few travel technology items worked out.

Facing The Politics

As noted earlier, we were a bit apprehensive about travelling just now – likely not the best time to be an American travelling almost anywhere.

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What Is It Like To Be An American Overseas Now?

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I’ll Let You Know Shortly

By the time you read this, we will be several days into a trip into 6 different countries. To say it is an interesting time to be a traveling American is likely an understatement for the ages.

We have friends who have been traveling since the election last November. Most tell us they get sympathetic exchanges more than anything else, but not always. After all, as a nation, we made this choice twice. You can get a pass on the first one – the second time is a responsibility one has to accept as a nation.

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Cities With Personality

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I Really Like A Lot Of Places

Traveling America

I have had the good fortune over the years of seeing a lot of America firsthand and up close.

Where we currently live is our 26th relocation, so we have lived in many places. We have taken two cross country drives, each about a month long, over the years, exploring the out of the way and the well-known parts of this country. I also had several years of business travel domestically that ranged from Alaska to Florida and about every state in between. I think we have missed only 1-2 states so far.

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Two “Teams” To Get America Right

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One for Action, One for Resources. Both to Help America

Shades of 1992

Anyone remember 1992? A small state governor named Bill Clinton surprised a lot of people that year. Having won a bruising primaries battle, he became the Democratic Presidential nominee, and he won. A lot of factors were at work in that election, but one cornerstone was that Clinton set himself up as a “New Democrat,” focusing on centrist politics connected with Democratic values, inclusiveness, and good governance. The theme scratched an itch in America and the man won.

He was surely helped by the fact that George Bush was not that great a campaigner and Ross Perot picked up a lot of votes.

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A Special Edition for Agents of Reason

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The news is filled everyday with thousands more firings of government employees. The process clearly has zero connections to efficiency or effectiveness. There is no analysis underlying any of this – just a race to see how many people they can fire before sanity reasserts itself. Today a federal judge said all this was illegal and directed these people be brought back to work. Time will tell what happens next.

But in the meantime, let’s take a moment and look beyond a failed process, beyond the impact on government and our country. Let’s look at one person’s story about what it is like to be caught in this meat grinder disguised as policy.

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“I Love America”

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That Phrase Can Mean Two Very Different Things

A Phrase That Caught My Eye

The Atlantic, long standing, in my view, as America’s best publication, recently did an edition focused on Black history in America. It was riveting and thought provoking on many levels, but one phrase in particular kept my brain whirling for quite a long time:

One can tell a great deal about a country by what it chooses to remember: by what graces the walls of its museums, by what monuments are venerated, and by what parts of its history are embraced.

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Lessons Learned from a Once in 1000 Years Disaster

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We Know What Works In Such Situations

Hurricane Helene in the Mountains

We in the Great Smoky Mountains have all experienced (and many still are very much experiencing) a unique disaster. The force of one of the largest hurricanes to hit the US in many decades coming inland and up through the Appalachian Mountains. The mountains are full of steep terrain, deep valleys, and large trees. When that environment meets a hurricane, the damage is almost beyond comprehension, over a very large area. Some communities no longer exist, others took various levels of damage, just about everywhere took some damage..

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A Season of Change

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Fall is Here And It Is Not Only the Weather That Is Changing. Just Ask Trump

Ah, Fall

This is, by far, my favorite season. It is one reason we moved to live in the mountains. My only complaint is that it is too short a season. The slight crispness of the air, the spectacular foliage, followed by a time to admire the architecture and beauty of bare trees. It is a reminder that time marches on and more change is coming.

This year, that promise of change, both good and bad, in in the air of human endeavors.

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A Baker’s Dozen – 13 Reasons Why You Might Vote for Trump & Vance

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A Sarcastic Posting on Voting for the Orange One

About This Posting

No one who is a regular reader of this blog would be fooled into expecting to find an endorsement for the most famous felon in America to again soil the Oval Office. This posting is in the spirit of a Borowitz column, in the spirit of fun.

That there are still people out there who actually think Trump is a good idea is both baffling and sad. I hope many of them seek out the professional help they need. If anything in this posting encourages you to vote for Trump,

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