08:08 – Barbara is leaving work at 2:00 this afternoon to head for the golf course. It’s been a very long time since she played golf. I was surprised she decided to play a round instead of spending a couple hours on the driving range first, but she wants to actually play. When she was in high school and college, Barbara was a scratch golfer and actually thought about turning pro, so I’m sure she’ll be unhappy with whatever she shoots today. Kind of like I’d be unhappy with the results if I picked up a tennis racket and headed for the courts after not playing for almost 40 years.
I’m seeing calls for Obama to Do Something about the airliner shoot-down in the Ukraine. Do what, precisely? It seems to me that the US government needs to adopt a new motto: “Don’t Just Do Something. Stand There.” The default position of the US government on world events needs to be: “This is not our problem.”
People slaughtering each other in Africa, Asia, or the Middle East? This is not our problem. Russia invading Ukraine? This is not our problem. North Korea threatening South Korea? This is not our problem. Tsunamis in East Asia? This is not our problem. Almost none of what happens on the world stage is our problem, and US taxpayers shouldn’t be expected to pay to fix any of it. And US troops certainly shouldn’t be deployed outside the US to deal with issues that are not our problem.