Sarah's book is rated 5-stars on Amazon.com and I understand why. It's a very good story, well written, a spellbinding tale of some of the most colorful, dysfunctional Rednecks I've ever encountered and their tendency to overreact to "the other." Even though set in Maine, they are not much unlike some I've known in Mississippi. That was an eye-opener for me, that ignorance and prejudice of this sort are not confined to the South. Evidently, there are enclaves of the suspicious type everywhere. Thanks, Sarah, for a very entertaining and thought-provoking read. Jean called this morning to tell me how much she enjoyed it, too, and is looking forward to meeting you.

For those of you who are sick of the "War on Terror," as I am, the President's speech last night did nothing to provide even a glimmer of hope that it will one day be resolved. He got as close to honesty as he's gotten so far about the reason we went there in the first place - to occupy the country. He clearly intends to leave the solution to the problems he's created to his successor. His legacy will be one of the worst ever recorded for American presidents, mark my word, children, but that gives me little comfort in the wake of his destructive bumbling and fumbling. And the Democrats in Congress won't stop him because they don't want to be tagged as the ones who "lost the war." Can't say I blame them, but I can't condone their calculated cowardice, either. I see no heroes on either side.

And to my grandchildren: I never want you to fight in America's misbegotten wars. We, as Christians, are called to be peacemakers. Use your energy, your influence, your resources for social justice and a better way to resolve conflict than military quagmires. I'm sorry my generation was unable to do that, or your fathers'.

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. " Dwight D. Eisenhower