While in my 20’s I had the misfortune of being involved in a U.N. Peacekeeping mission that cost several hundred lives of Marines and soldiers. Since then I’ve learned not to trust the organizations.

In fact, many U.S. Marines I know refused to wear the U.N. blue or its badge. A lot of us were threatened with severe disciplinary measures including the possibility of court-martial because of our refusal.

At least we weren’t made to wear the fiber-glass U.N. blue piss-pots when in the field. And while I still have my patch, I did try to keep the badge I was issued thinking that it would one less ‘flashing’ some other poor-assed Jarhead would be forced to wear.

And when I say ‘learned,’ I mean I studied the flow chart of the United Nations, watching it grow into a monstrous bureaucratic giant that couldn’t “wipes its ass with both hands if it had too.”

Now this — which is jus’ being reported: In June Saudi Arabia was elected as the new head of the Consultative Group of the United Nations Human Rights Council. What a crock of bull-shit.

Why?

The Asian Arab nation has been consistently criticized for its human rights record. In addition to state-sanctioned beheadings, Saudi Arabia arbitrarily arrests, tries, and convicts peaceful dissidents; permits floggings and limb amputations as punishments for many crimes; and uses anti-terror regulations to criminalize most forms of criticism of the government.

In addition to this, Saudi Arabia bans women from getting driver’s licenses; dictates that women wear loose-fitting clothing and cover their heads in public; requires women to get ‘male permission’ to work or travel; and uses capital punishment (beheading) for people who “blaspheme” Islam.

I feel it necessary to mention the ‘beheading,’ twice – because if anything screams ‘humane,’ it’s the loss of one’s head to a heavy sword in public.

In fact, Saudi Arabia has one of the “worst of the worst” in the world when it comes its to human rights records, alongside nations like North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and Somalia. And yet, that ‘Mutha of a Brother’ in the White House says nothing and it leaves me sick to think this is the sort of leadership we’ve fallen for in the U.S.

I might be spending what could be my final day of this year sitting in our backyard under the shade of our Aspen tree. The nights are growing colder and the days shorter, announcing winter is on its way.

Nostalgia always fills my heart when I know the season is about to pass. I’m not speaking of a date on the calendar, rather the turning of the leaves, the geese in their v-shaped formations winging southward and the winds which have changed their direction.

Even the dogs show the telltale approach of summer’s end and the amplified shortness of autumn’s day, as they spread out at my feet, enjoying what is left of the sunshine. It isn’t hard to notice how quickly their fur is beginning to fill-in, projection from the onslaught of heavy snows and freezing temperatures.

To soon the trees and the grass and the flowers in our garden shall find their winter’s sleep along with the wild beasts and I’ll wonder – why can’t I simply hibernate, too?

Since childhood, I have sought fame, to be known and publicly recognized for my talents. Yet as I’ve slipped beyond the midway point of my life’s expectancy, I’ve learn that I’ve had it all wrong.

I should have sought riches, which are far more than money or material things and do not fade away with time. While some cash is nice to have, it is family and all the memories incorporated with that I now find most important.

From the handshake of one’s father, to the kiss on the cheek from your mother, to the clap on the back of a brother, nothing in life sustains the inner self like those cherished memories. To seeing a baby sister for the first time to holding another baby sister for the first time, the shortness of life adds to these easily and often overlooked events.

Once shared, not even times passing can dissolve the reflection locked into one’s mind. Yes, mental defect can cause the reflective ability of the mind to fail – but it cannot erase what has already happened, only in the end of time shall that be accomplished.

Yes, I write as if I were a dead man-walking, as in the end of all, we are: dead in the body, but not in our soul or the spirit which binds the two. Those belong to the Author of our lives and time immemorial.

So, let me seek the riches and not the fame. I’m already well-known beyond this earthly plain as you are too, now let’s store up riches for heaven’s sake.

Much of my life can be boiled down to one-liners; some humorous, others serious. All in all, this is a sad state of being.

First and foremost is: “Only the mediocre are always at their best.” It’s an apt description of me as I’ve always been a ‘mediocre man.’

For years I’ve never really had to try. Much of my life’s activities have come naturally to me and I’ve never once tried to be best at whatever has come my way.

Second is, “Luck is the residue of piss-poor planning.” I’ve been fortunate enough not to have to create a list of steps to get from one point in life to the next and thus, I’ve openly contributed to my meritocracy.

Lastly – “When you stop to think, don’t forget to start again.” For me this has to do with resting on my laurels, something that is a real danger to the person who thinks of themselves with high regard.

In my final analysis, there is very little in my life that I can say, “I did because I…” Rather, everything that I’ve done worth noting has been done because something ‘happened’ to force me in one direction or another.

Maybe I’m alone in this, perhaps I am not. No one I know is admitting to anything.

In the 1989 movie, “Raider’s of the Last Crusade,” the bad guy Walter Donovan takes a jewel encrusted goblet, and thinking it’s the one Jesus drank from on the night he was betrayed, drinks from it. He quickly regretted having done so, because he died a hideous death immediately afterwards.

It’s said that life imitates art, so it should be of no surprise that following Pope Francis’ speech to a joint session of Congress, Pennsylvania’ Democratic Congressman Ben Brady, a Catholic, rushed up to the lectern and stole the Pope’s glass of water. He took this modern-day Holy Grail to his office and drank from it as did his wife, Debra, and two staffers.

The congressman also invited Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania into his office, where Casey, his wife, and Casey’s mother dipped their fingers into the water. Brady saved the rest to bless his four grandchildren and his great-granddaughter, all of which is creepy if you ask me.

As the ‘Guardian of the Holy Grail’ from the movie told Indiana Jones: “You must choose. But choose wisely, for as the true Grail will bring you life, the false Grail will take it from you.”

For years my mantra about this blogging thing had been, “No rules. Jus’ write.” I stole that slogan from the restaurant ‘Outback,’ whose tagline is “No rules, just right.”

Then as I continued to write, I realized I did have rules – and it suddenly appeared hypocritical of me to proclaim a ‘no rules’ statement. Slowly, now I am attempting to return to that old idea because I jus’ wanna write without hindrance. I also want to encourage you to write, too.

Many people worry that they are ‘no good’ at writing and this keeps them from sharing their personal stories. I believe that everyone has stories to tell if they’d jus’ take the time to reflect on their entire life. This leads to another situation that I find in need of addressing: it is okay to ‘brag’ on oneself and on your family.

So now it’s time to sit down at the computer keyboard, the typewriter or a blank piece of paper and write freely about whatever the hell you wanna write about. It’s time that you and I let others know what it is that we’ve lived through and observed and that our lives are  full of unique experiences and thoughts and that our feelings really matter.

What a gift each of us has been given within this opportunity and what a shame if we don’t unwrap it.

The 2005 REAL ID Act has long reminded me of those old 1950 and 60s film noir spy movies where an Eastern Bloc KGB/Gestapo-type official would ask for papers to make certain the protagonist had the ‘right permissions’ to travel and the suspense would build because they didn’t. Well, that scenario is coming to pass in the good ol’ U.S. of A.

Beginning in 2016, travelers from four U.S. states and a U.S. territory won’t be able to use their driver’s licenses as ID to board domestic airline flights. This is because Louisiana, Minnesota, American Samoa, New Hampshire and New York haven’t yet issued state ID cards that meet the federal guideline set forth by the act.

If you’re from one of these states, ‘acceptable’ IDs include passports and passport cards, permanent residency cards, U.S. military IDs, and Department of Homeland Security trusted traveler cards like Global Entry and NEXUS. However 38-percent of all Americans don’t have a passport and the numbers grow from there.

The Transportation Safety Administration will also accept Enhanced Driver’s Licenses, the kind used to replace passports for travel to and from Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. And of the non-compliant states, only New York and Minnesota issue enhanced licenses.

This is crazy, considering states are now issuing drivers’ licenses to illegal aliens.

While it is called a ‘guide,’ the Associated Press Stylebook is often taken as the ‘bible’ in the newsroom when it comes to how to write an article. Here’s the complete entry regarding ‘global warming:’

“The terms global warming and climate change can be used interchangeably. Climate change is more accurate scientifically to describe the various effects of greenhouse gases on the world because it includes extreme weather, storms and changes in rainfall patterns, ocean acidification and sea level. But global warming as a term is more common and understandable to the public.

Though some public officials and laymen and only a few climate scientists disagree, the world’s scientific organizations say that the world’s climate is changing because of the buildup of heat-trapping gases, especially carbon dioxide, from the burning of coal, oil and gas. This is supported by more than 90 percent of the peer-reviewed scientific literature.

In a joint publication in 2014, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society of the United Kingdom stated: “Human activities – especially the burning of fossil fuels since the start of the Industrial Revolution – have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations by about 40 percent, with more than half the increase occurring since 1970. Since 1900, the global average surface temperature has increased by about 0.8 degrees Celsius (1.4 degrees Fahrenheit). This has been accompanied by warming of the ocean, a rise in sea level, a strong decline in Arctic sea ice, and many other associated climate effects. Much of this warming has occurred in the last four decades.

To describe those who don’t accept climate science or dispute the world is warming from man-made forces, use climate change doubters or those who reject mainstream climate science. Avoid use of skeptics or deniers.”

Obviously, the AP Stylebook can now be used as a reference when it comes to citing global warming sources.

To His Most Holiness, Pope Francis:

While I respect your opinion on church matters as that is truly your business, I disagree with your supposition that the ‘over-use’ of ‘air-conditioning’ is ‘harmful.’ Furthermore, most of your views on capitalism’s based on Marxism and is incompatible with the mind of Christ as taught in the New Testament.

With all due respect to your Holiness’s office, had I wished to live as an Argentinean, I would have moved to Argentina. Your native country’s 2001 default on $93 billion in sovereign debt and later currency devaluation caused Argentina’s GDP dropped by 11 percent.

Unemployment doubled to more than 20 percent and inflation rose dramatically. The peso lost nearly 70 percent of its value and basic foodstuffs became scarce and hospitals ran short of essential drugs.

It is true that your country’s debt swaps in 2005 and 2010 brought over 90 percent of the country’s debt out of default, but bondholders lost nearly two-thirds of the face value of their holdings. U.S. federal courts eventually awarded private creditors with the full terms of their bond contracts in 2013, but your governments continued refusal to pay, led to another default in 2014.

And please believe when I say that living through this nation’s so-called recovery from the Great Recession by using Marxist ideal’s on capitalism has been no picnic. People from all walks of life have suffered and continue to suffer monumentally.

So, instead of railing against air conditioning and capitalism, you should be using your position to battle radical Islam and ISIS/ISIL, by saving lives that continue to be extinguished. That is the real threat the world faces.

Finally, enjoy your visit here to the United States of America. I’m certain that you’ll find her people to be mostly warm and inviting.

You stay in my prayers as asked for.

Sincerely yours,
Tom Darby

Sexual abuse of children, especially young boys, has been a problem in Afghanistan for centuries and now our U.S. military’s being instructed not to intervene. This policy of non-intervention’s intended to maintain good relations with the Afghan police and militia units being training.

It also reflects a hesitance to impose cultural values in a country where pedophilia is a mark of social status. Furthermore several service members are facing career ruining discipline for disobeying it.

An unnamed Pentagon official admitted that such abuse was taking place but denied that there is an official policy that instructs U.S. troops to ignore it.

“There is no policy in place that directs any U.S. military or government personnel overseas to ignore human rights abuses,” the official said. “On the contrary, we monitor such atrocities closely and have continually stood up for those who have suffered exploitation and denial of basic human freedoms.”

Meanwhile, the White House is refusing to comment on the report first issued by the New York Times that punishment is being mete out to U.S. troops who expose the sexual abuse of children.

“For the rules of engagement and the kind of structure that’s in place to guide the relationship between the United States and Afghan members of the military, I’d refer you to the Department of Defense for that,” said spokesman Josh Earnest.

Such evil destroys its host from the inside — and we are that host.