Monday Musings - December 9, 2019

1. It is the 49th Monday of 2019 and the year is coming to a rapid close. Christmas is just over two weeks away and the New Year just a week behind that.

2. Traveling by car for a weekend trip to Upstate NY saw me spend 15 hours driving during a 50 hour period! Wow!

3. Family NFL Report;

    Ravens defeat Bills 24-17
    Steelers defeat Cardinals 23-17
    Cowboys lose to Bears 24-31
    Redskins lose to Packers 15-20

Deer in the Field
Near Hunt, NY
December, 7, 2019

4. I was amazed at the number of deer that could gather in one place. I saw 15 deer together. It was a sight to see all of them together in the field. I also noticed how dark their coloring had become, helping them to blend into the forest better. 

5. I have had my mandatory initial exposure to snow for this winter. I hope that is all of the snow I have to experience.

6. I suppose that rain is more desirable than snow!

7. It was interesting viewing the exterior Christmas decorations while driving through Central and Western New York. I felt that few homes were decorated for the holidays than in the past.

8. Today in History. On December 9, 1992, 1,800 United States Marines arrive in Mogadishu, Somalia, to spearhead a multinational force aimed at restoring order in the conflict-ridden country.

Following centuries of colonial rule by countries including Portugal, Britain and Italy, Mogadishu became the capital of an independent Somalia in 1960. Less than 10 years later, a military group led by Major General Muhammad Siad Barre seized power and declared Somalia a socialist state. A drought in the mid-1970s combined with an unsuccessful rebellion by ethnic Somalis in a neighboring province of Ethiopia to deprive many of food and shelter. By 1981, close to 2 million of the country’s inhabitants were homeless. Though a peace accord was signed with Ethiopia in 1988, fighting increased between rival clans within Somalia, and in January 1991 Barre was forced to flee the capital. Over the next 23 months, Somalia’s civil war killed some 50,000 people; another 300,000 died of starvation as United Nations peacekeeping forces struggled in vain to restore order and provide relief amid the chaos of war.

Headlines

With the White House absent, the impeachment process has devolved into a partisan brawl. - The New York Times

North Korea Turns Up Pressure on the United States for Concessions - The New York Times

Protesters Killed and Cleric’s House Bombed in Deepening Iraqi Chaos - The New York Times

Hong Kong sees biggest protests since democrats' election boost - Reuters

Thousands form human chain in Brussels in climate change demo - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

Right now we need both realism and idealism. Millions of our neighbors are without work. It is up to us to see they aren't without hope. This is a task for all of us. And may I say, Americans have rallied to this cause, proving once again that we are the most generous people on Earth.

Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union, January 25, 1983 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD