One Man's Opinion

My father, who was a very wise man, used to say that there comes a time when artists should no longer have their picture taken or appear in public. It's obvious that Clint Eastwood has overstayed his welcome in polite company. The man should no longer appear before the camera in any capacity. Maybe -- just maybe -- he could continue to direct films, but I'm not so sure. For a long time, Eastwood "made the day" for millions of moviegoers. Now, it is painfully obvious that his day has come and gone.

Predictably, the U.S. Department of Justice has decided not to file any criminal charges for the deaths of two prisoners held by American forces ten years ago. It took them five years to conclude that the CIA operatives that were involved... were not involved...at least not in a way that can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Yeah, sure. So, it's business as usual. Impunity goes on its merry way.

Some outrageous news are only more so because there seem to be no explanations for what happened. A young man in Oregon has sued his orthodontist for having left him with braces during eleven years . Now, this guy and his parents never thought it odd that the treatment was taking so very long. Did they all think that this was normal? Why was this allowed to continue for such a long time? The doctor has a lot of explaining to do. So do this young man and his family. Patients should never accept blindly what their doctors prescribe. It's bad for one's health.

Although it's been downplayed, the plot to kill Obama by a group of U.S. soldiers is significant because it shows how deep is the hatred for this man solely based on his color. Make no mistake about it: all the other reasons -- his supposed un-American birth or socialist tendencies -- are just ways to cover up the real reason he's not wanted: his being black. It is also significant because just a couple of days ago, a county-court judge in Texas predicted that an Obama reelection would trigger a "civil war." Maybe the guy knows something we don't.

Jesus Christ! That's what they must be saying at the Vatican, as yet another thing goes wrong for the Catholic Church. The archbishop-elect for San Francisco has been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. The man has been a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage and other items of the progressive agenda, so maybe it's all that bad karma that has finally caught up with him. It happens very frequently that those who pride themselves on being morally superior end up exposed for some fault of their own.

What it all comes down to is business. The U.S. is the world's leading seller of arms: 77% of all weapons sold globally. Most of the business is done with Arab countries who "fear" an attack from Iran. Now we know why the Americans are always talking about how dangerous Iran is. By making it such a "menace" to world peace, the U.S. military-industrial complex, as Eisenhower so aptly put it, guarantees having steady customers for its extremely expensive weapons. Arms dealing is such a profitable business that the Americans are not to be taken seriously when they talk about peace. They have absolutely no interest in peace. War is too good a business.

There are things that are perfect metaphors for something else. Such is the case of the Washington Monument, which is still being repaired one year after the earthquake that damaged it. It's possible that it may take as long as 2014 to have it completely ready to receive visitors. Just as the Monument to the "Father of his country", the republic which he helped deliver is in full disrepair, and it doesn't seem like it's going to get fixed any time soon. American "exceptionalism", know-how or can-do attitude notwithstanding, it's going to take a long time for the Monument and "the Republic for which it stands" to see better days.