Farewell to a Giant

(I wrote this when he was very sick last year in my post below "It's time to let Mandiba Go" and I stand by every word today.  This giant of a man has now flown into eternity and with grace, humility and tremendous gratitude we bid him farewell).

I was in South Africa.  I saw the affection, the well deserved reverance and admiration that educated people, taxi drivers and  the common folk feel for their beloved  Mandiba.  They should use that same love and devotion by letting him go now.  I think his time on this earth is done and he's been called home.  He's earned his rest and  his laurels, this man of the century who changed the world and left it a better place.  Don't keep him alive with machines, don't try to hold onto him.  He wouldn't want that.  He was too heroic, too courageous.  Perhaps the cycle of his life is done and he needs our permission to fly into eternity and immortality.  His was a long, extraordinary life.  We had him for ninety four years.  He saw the fruits of his labor and I'm sure he dies a fulfilled, contented man.  With all the respect and admiration I've always felt for him, I pray for him to go peacefully to his Maker.  It's time.  He's not afraid and we shouldn't either.  He served his purpose on this earth and he has earned his rest.  Mandiba is tired, and I shamelessly appropriated the nickname too because I love him.  I was in Capetown.  I saw the prison where he emerged after so many years, the way way he sustained himself.  He was a man with a mission and that mission has been fulfilled.  Let him go now with love, with gratitude.  Mandiba would want it this way.

A Desire for Infamy

This young, intelligent and innocent looking whistleblower could turn out to be one of our most treacherous enemies to date.  Why?  The damage he's already done and seems to be intent on doing, hasn't even been evaluated yet.  The fact remains that he's a traitor, the enemy within; a disgruntled individual who took it upon himself to betray his country.  The ones who idealized him and think of him as a hero, only see the fact that  he gave up a big salary and a comfortable lifestyle in paradise to become a fugitive of justice.  They are wrong.  We live in an explosive world full of fanatics and terrorists who want to hurt us, and if Mr. Obama was overly zealous, he has good reason.  The fact remains that if I'm not doing anything wrong and I'm not breaking any laws, then I don't care if he reads my emails or listens to my phone calls.  It's ironic that he found out rather quickly once he came to power that Mr. Bush had a powerful reason for doing what he did.  Mr. Bush reacted with elegance and stoicism to his attacks by refusing to say a word against him or the office and for that he has earned my everlasting respect.  Mr. Obama stepped into his shoes and was confronted by the harsh reality of the kind of world we're really living in.  Now he's been sold out by a Judas who's disguising  himself as a "self sacrificing, concerned citizen."  What were Snowden's motivations?  He couldn't have possibly thought he'd get away with it indefinitely.  He'll be caught and dealt with and I hope he gets life in prison so he can have plenty of time to think of his infamy - and other misguided souls who admire him and look up to  him can learn a lesson.  He should go to Cuba, that's really where he belongs.  If he thought we were impinging on his liberties here, why not give Cuba or Venezuela a try?  Maybe he'd love the lifestyle there a whole lot more.  From a psychological point of view, I think this man is self destructive, there's really no other explanation.  Trying to do the country harm, he's ruined his own life single handedly but the country will survive, same as it always does.  It's not a perfect country and we've got plenty of problems here, but it's the best we got.  And the America, he was so intent on harming, will continue being a beacon of  hope throughout the world.  Mr. Snowdden, when all it's said and done, will just be another infamous character we'd rather never see or hear from again.

On the brink - Is America finally ready to do the right thing?

Immigration reform seems to be on the brink of happening now, and illegal immigrants who have lived under fear of deportatiion for decades can finally come out of the shadows and stand up and be counted.  America should do this, not because Republicans got a beating in the elections, but because it's the right thing to do.  Millions of illegal immigrants have come here in search of a better life.  They have endured abuse, discrimination and loneliness, because no matter what, they were still better off here than in their own countries.  They have left families, ties and countries in search of the American Dream.  For this they have paid a hefty emotional price, living like furtive pariahs most of the time, and afraid, always afraid that any infraction, however small, can get them deported making their sacrifice null and void.  They have sacrificed for their families, for their souls, for the thing most humans treasure above all else, freedom, freedom from want, freedom from brutal poverty, freedom from hopelessness.  America is still the sort of country where one can dream, one can achieve, once can overcome.  Let's not disappointment them now, it would be too crushing, too cruel.  Others, unable to pay the price have gone back voluntarily after living here many years.  They too should be included, for they were as desperate as the ones who got deported, but they lacked  vision and fortitude.  They thought they would be condemned never to see their families again.  They didn't think America was capable of greateness anymore when it came to them.  They were afraid they would always be marginalized, unable to vote, to have an input in the country they had come to love, and always pressing their noses against the glass, never really belonging.  Let's do the right thing for them too.  Let's show them they were wrong, that we do recognize their sacrifice, their contribution to this great country of ours.

MEMOIRS SHOWCASE - Beyond The snows Of The Andes 'A Memoir'; By Beatrice Brusic - memoirs only library

MEMOIRS SHOWCASE - Beyond The snows Of The Andes 'A Memoir'; By Beatrice Brusic - memoirs only library

Trouble in Paradise - The Today Show Debacle

NBC is desperately trying to breathe new life into the today show but it's not working and the reason is that the ghost of Ann Curry hovers over Matt Lauer like a death knell.  Let's face it, the viewers are turned off with Matt Lauer and every time they switch from ABC (the top morning show now), they see Matt Lauer and remember how shabbily the network treated Ann Curry at the insistence of then Top Banana Matt Lauer.  I've already stated previously that as a serious journalist, she didn't belong there, she couldn't switch from fluff to serious issues as effortlessly as the previous anchors, especially Katie Couric; but they should have tried to help her and allowed her to finish her contract - that public firing (no matter how much money they gave her) was mortifying to the viewers who rallied behind her and they got even by deserting the Today Show in droves.  I predicted they would do that then and I predict they will stay away till the network puts a new face in there, a face that's not tainted by scandal.  Matt Lauer is excellent and he enjoyed a good run but nobody is irreplaceable and he's become damaged goods.  It's true he had no chemistry with Ann Curry, it's true they were losing viewers, but blaming Ann Curry for everything wasn't fair.  They self destructed by firing her so ignonimously and they're self destructing by keeping Matt Lauer there long after he's outlived his purpose.