East Coast

The Shame of America

Viewing The Road to Guantánamo, a first hand account of three British citizens caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time and sent off to Guantánamo Bay where they were treated like less than animals is a truly sad commentary of how the US views it’s role in the world. And these young guys of middle eastern heritage were citizens of England speaking perfect English, can you imagine the treatment of the ones who do not speak English? The story profiled just one case of the many citizens rounded up, jailed and tortured at the hands of Americans in the name of the “war on terror”. That the US government has condoned and even encouraged the torture of hundreds classified as enemy combatants is disturbing and shameful made more alarming by the recent signing by our president of the Military Commissions Act denying due process to these individuals. Every American should see this film and get a first hand look at what our government is doing in our name.

Last Leg of This Year's Art Tour

When in LA we just missed Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party by a few days, so when I heard it would be in DC at the private Phillips Collection, I figured it must be destiny to see it. With the vibrant colors and exquisite detail, it deserves all the hoopla. We also got to see some Van Gogh and Renoir works and another Degas ballerina painting. Some really beautiful art is housed in the museum/mansion gallery and the house itself is a work of art.

















I hadn't been to DC since 1975 so I had never seen the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial which was completed in 1982.  While the others are grand in scale and intent, Washington, Lincoln, and the new World War II, none carry the weight of the Vietnam wall. The granite slab memorial is neither huge nor ornate, yet when you get close and read the names and see the tokens of love left by family members, the personal nature of each life lost is quite overwhelming. It is hard to look at for very long at a time as the pain represented by each of the 50,000+ individuals who died in that tragic misguided war effort is heart wrenching. The human toll on a generation of our young men and the families who loved them is so vast and so sad. War should almost never be the answer in a civilized society. I wish George Bush had been in Vietnam, history would not now be repeating itself with the war in Iraq. While I doubt we will lose 50,000 Americans in the current war, the loss of Iraqi lives and the utter destruction of their country makes this war no less tragic than Vietnam.