A couple of things...

Eight years ago – or so – we invaded Afghanistan for the stated purpose of capturing Osama Bin Laden and destroying his little gang of fanatics. It seems our reason for going there got away, is probably over next door in Pakistan. It seems to me our reason for being in Afghanistan no longer applies. I say we come on home.

Now, I do understand the concern about the Taliban, that they may gain the upper hand in Pakistan, getting access to their nuclear weapons stockpile in the process, or that if we leave Bin Laden will come back across the border, set up shop again, and start blowing people up in Dallas. I had a very reasonable, well educated woman explain all that to me in some detail at the grocery store yesterday. My answer was to maintain bases in the area – not combat – and if he sticks his head up, well, that’s what those little drones are for. They work. I don’t think the cost of staying in Afghanistan – the lives of our young men and women, the billions of dollars, are worth it.

The other thing…

I have satellite and that wonderful little box that records stuff, pauses, backs up, and all that. So, on Fridays, after we’ve gone to bed, it records Bill Maher’s show on HBO. I got around to watching last Friday’s episode Sunday. It was a special edition and instead of having a panel to discuss a range of issues, he had only two guests and spend 30 minutes with each one. One of his guests was Bill Moyers. If there is any way you can go back and watch that part of his show I strongly suggest you do so. Mr. Moyers spoke eloquently and in very easily understood terms about Afghanistan and health care. He made the point that health care for everyone is not a political issue, it’s a moral one. He asked what was moral or ethical about a system that decides who gets well – and sometimes, who dies – based on how much money they have? And I so agree with that. I don’t have an answer to the question of how to fix things – other than to point out that it would help is we were not spending billions of dollars a month in Iraq and Afghanistan – but there are many people smarter than I am who should be able to come up with something. Neither party in Congress is serving the best interest of the people at the moment.

So, until the next time…