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.

Angelina's Choice

Angelina Jolie made a courageous, desperate choice to prolong her life and women all over the world admire her for it.  My beloved mother died of breast cancer at 36 so I took the test not knowing what I would do if it came back positive for the gene.  Luckily in my case it didn't.  Mom didn't have the gene but she got breast cancer anyway due to stress and other causes.  That set my mind at ease and I was able to breathe a big sign of relief.  It took courage for me to do the test knowing that if I was found to be positive for the gene, my peace of mind would  be permanently destroyed.  Would I have done what Angelina did?  I really don't know.  I took the test not knowing and only certain that I had to find out no matter what.  I hate mutilation of any kind, you see?  And I still view this barbaric operation as mutilation.  Angelina also has to undergo a complete hysterectomy now as well, to make sure she doesn't get ovarian cancer like her mother.  She seems to be at peace with her choice and we all wish her a long and happy life.   Yet cancer is such a capricious and insidious disease, she might have never gotten cancer to begin with, even with her 85% risk.  I had a friend who had no cancer in the family at all and shortly about boasting to me about it, she developed a very aggressive type of breast cancer.  She doesn't have the gene, her children don't have the gene, and yet she got it anyway.  I know that Angelina's choice is going to send thousands if  not millions of women to the surgeons all over the world, but I've read that cancer could still grow in the wall of the chest, so one has to be fatalistic about this dreadful disease and not get too crazy.  That said, I still admire her enormously for her bravery in confronting this issue head on and for her willingness to share it with us.  That couldn't have been easy for such a beautiful woman, who is also one of our greatest sex symbols.  Yet she has proven time and time again, that she's also a woman of substance.  I hope she saves many lives with her choice and I  hope she lives a long life.  I've always admired her as an actress and as a person, but perhaps never more than now.

BLOOD BROTHERS AND MONSTERS. MAY THEY BURN IN HELL.

Adios Sarita

What can we say about Sara Montiel?  That she was a marvelous singer and dancer?  That she exuded sensuality and beauty?  That she was the Elizabeth Taylor of Europe?  Well, she was that and much  more.  I grew up loving her and loving her movies.  Yet her life was more dramatic and sensational than any of them.  And that voice of hers, sultry, smoky and slow, made us dream, made us want to grow up quickly and experience all those marvelous feelings she conveyed so well on the screen.  I know she made movies in America but her impact was a lot greater in Europe and South America.  I think most baby boomers who grew up with her are in mourning at the recent news of her death.  Yet she may have died physically but she certainly belongs to the short list of immortals of the world.  Who can forget that glamorous beauty that made us dream when we were adolescents?  Who can forget "El Ultimo Cuple," "La Violetera" "Carmen La De Ronda" and so many others?  Her movies were great and what made them great was her presence, that dramatic, smouldering presence, with a voice and beauty to match it.  She was intense and passionate and it showed in everything she did.  "Reach for the Stars," she seemed to be telling us with every gesture, every movement of her hands.  "And don't be afraid to love, to suffer, to live intensely."  We did but never as intensely as she did.  My favorite image of her is the gorgeous flower girl singing right into the blue, blue eyes of Ralph Vallone in "La Violetera."  Another is that of the passionate, melancholic beauty in the red dress singing "Mi Hombre" a song that she owned as completely as Barbara Streisand did with "People."  So farewell and thanks for making us dream, for waking us up to life Sarita, we shall not forget you.