‘Three Cups of Tea’ advice for Obama

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34238313/ns/us_news-giving//
I was browsing the internet and came across this article today. I previously told you about the book in another post. This guy (Greg Mortenson) has it right. I believe the solution to the problems, not only in Afghanistan, but in the entire Middle East, revolves around education and getting to know the people on the ground being affected by the war.
It seems to me that in Iraq, we didn't start making any significant progress until we started working with the village leaders to help them overcome the problems in their own villages. They wanted al-Qaida out as bad as we did, but we kept throwing our forces and money at people who did not have the ear of the locals. The military finally "got it" and began working with the locals and they were able to drive al-Qaida out of the areas.
The same applies in Afghanistan. We will never win the war on terror by throwing bombs at it exclusively. By meeting and working with the local elders (shuras) we would be able to meet their needs and they would take care of the war on terror.
I heard that if you educate a man it helps him, but if you educate a woman, you educate a village. I really believe that if we could do what Greg Mortenson is trying to accomplish in the region, we would eventually have success.
Read the article. It is pretty perceptive. The military now believes him and uses him. If we can get the politicians on board we may win this war.

Bicycles and life

Roma's new "used" bike.

Early in the fall our ward did a clean up for a lady in our ward. We spent an afternoon cleaning up her yard and home. When all was done there was an old rusty bike in the yard. I looked at it and saw that it was an old style Columbia bicycle. We asked her what she wanted to do with it and she said just to take it to the dump. Roma has been wanting a cruiser bike so I asked if I could take it and try to restore it.

It sat for a week but then I decided to tackle it. I began by taking it apart. Everything was rusted and it became a real chore to get it into pieces. I sprayed everything with WD40 and started cranking on the pieces. Some just wouldn't come apart so I sprayed more WD40 and waited a few days and tried again. After about a month I had everything apart but the seat post. I went and borrowed a big pipe wrench and began cranking on the post. It still wouldn't move so I sprayed it again and the next day put the wrench to it again. It moved just slightly so I kept working at it and after about 15 minutes of cranking on it the rust broke loose and everything was apart. I thought that I would have to paint every surface but after rubbing some of the pieces with a s o s pad they began to brighten right up. Some pieces, like the rims were too rusted. I went ahead and painted them with a chrome paint and they looked all right, but eventually we need to buy some new rims. The fenders needed paint also. I painted them a pretty blue and then painted the frame white and the forks blue. It looked beautiful. I cleaned up all the bearings and gears and then had to remember how to put them back together. When it was all done it looked beautiful. I was unable to restore the seat so purchased a new one. The tires and handlegrips were also replaced. It was a great project.
I started thinking the other day that that bike was a lot people. Sometimes we get rusty with lack of use, both physically and spiritually. We need to get the rust out and sometimes it takes a little time. Conditioning takes time and patience. We don't get it great shape in a week or even a month. It takes time. The same thing happens with our spiritual life. We don't change our lives overnight, but over time. I think our society is way too impatient. We expect things too quickly. Life is a process and if we do it correctly we can turn ourselves into beautiful cruiser bikes.

Why so long?

Why did it take President Obama 3 months to decide to do exactly what his Generals told him to do before his long deliberation of the issue. What a waste of time. It makes you wonder that he was just pandering to special interest groups to let them think thier views were being heard.It just gave the Taliban 3 more months to consolidate their gains and make it that much harder for our troops to roust them out.

In another vein. I hope that when we have taken out the Taliban that we do some things to win the hearts of the people both in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I would like to recommend a book that we all should read. The book is "Three Cups of Tea". It was written by a man who has devoted his life to establishing schools in villages in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. His thoughts are that we can't win the war on terror without winning the hearts of the people We don't do that by bombing the heck out of them, but by showing them that we care by helping them help themselves. Read the book. It is life changing.

Thanksgiving is great

Three of our newest. We are only missing ELLA
Three buddies

Four buddies.

Cute little Molly

Thanksgiving is my favorite time of year. It is a great holiday. You get to be with family and eat great food. There is very little pressure like there is at Christmas. We had a large percentage of our family at our home during the weekend. There is nothing better than having family around.

To top off the weekend, BYU beat the Utes and I don't have to hear Ute fans for the next year bragging about their most recent win. With any luck the basketball team will also win their games and BYU will win the Deseret Duel.

Musings

Train them up early. Go BYU!

This has been an interesting news week. One item kind of upsets me. With the Justice Department now wanting to prosecute 9-11 detainees in the US (New York for heaven's sake) I wonder what the administration is trying to prove. Why aren't we just using the Military Tribunals that were originally set up. These are war crimes. What are we accomplishing by putting the whole city of New York on edge. Does that put them squarely in the sites of the terrorists once again. Who are we trying to appease. This has got to be a publicity nightmare for the administration. Why on earth would they do it.
On the positive side, TCU is well on its way to crashing the BCS party. They crushed Utah. With a little luck they may rise even further in the polls. BYU played lousy yesterday, but hopefully they have got it out of their system although if they are going to lose a game, Air Force would make me feel good to beat the Cougars. BYU, Utah is shaping up to be a barn burner. I am definitely worried about this one.

I love fall and Thanksgiving

Isaac and Noah get along even with competing t-shirts

There is no greater time than fall with leaves, cool weather, and football!

Jumping in the leaves is the best!

This is a great time of year. The fall leaves are beautiful and I can even drive my neighbor crazy by letting my leaves blow into his pristine yard. (He blows off his lawn at least once if not twice each day.) The weather is pleasant and cool. What a great time to be outside. On this day Isaac was here from Virginia and he, Noah and Cooper had a wonderful time playing and having a wonderful time outside. It is amazing how many different games they come up with. Noah is very creative.
I love Thanksgiving. It is the best holiday of all. It is a time when you can reflect on your blessing, get a great meal (or several) and be around family. Even in this time of economic trial in the nation we have so much to be thankful for. We live in a country with freedoms, beauty, and opportunity beyond all others. I am especially thankful for my family. I can't imagine life without great kids and wonderful grandchildren. Yes life can be challenging, but what a trip it has been for me and all of us. Heavenly Father has blesses us mightily.
This past week in football has been great. BYU won, Air Force beat Army, Utah won, making this a big week for TCU. Boise State is still undefeated (barely) and a perfect storm may be coming for the BCS that may be their undoing. Maybe best of all Navy beat up on NotreDame hopefully taking them out of BCS consideration.
David's Saints are awesome although losing at halftime today.
It is a great fall.

I am in Virginia visiting Emily and her family. Little Eleanor will be blessed Sunday. I love being with my grandkids. This is the Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum. What a great place for a veteran of the Air Force to be. This is a must see in the DC

We live in such a wonderful country. I love traveling to be with my family wherever they live.

First Post

I have had a blast reading and following my kid's blogs over the past few months. I have had the feeling that I should do the same thing. I have been a frustrated citizen over the past few years. While conservative by nature, I have been frustrated by the lack of social compassion by many of the conservatives that I know. On the opposite side I find myself put off by the ultra liberals who think they can solve any problem by letting the government handle it. I can't say that I believe that more government is the solution to anything, plus how can we possibly pay for what needs to be accomplished. Thus the title of my blog. It seems to me that in order to solve the huge problems that plague our country today, we need to find bi-partisan ways to handle our problems. Yes, health care needs to be fixed, but it seems to me that a total government solution would be a major disaster that may bankrupt an already bankrupt economy and yet to leave things as they are will bring about millions of people without the ability to obtain health care. We live in a society where many of our citizens think that they are owed a beautiful life with no responsibility to be productive citizens. Well enough for my first post. I love this country and I am worried about it. I greatest hope is that our elected officials will someday start acting like statesmen and look to provide our country with legislation that will benefit the country and not their own narrow special interests.