ain't it just like the night

 to play tricks when you’re tryin' to be so quiet?

We sit here stranded, though we’re all doin’ our best to deny it (dylan)

for 20 years we held the hammer down on the taliban in afghanistan....many of our troops were killed or injured but we forged on and continued to engage/destroy our enemy and allow the afghan people to live a semi-normal life with freedoms that we enjoy.........so why overnight have we become an impotent , scared and frightened little child ? asking the taliban to extend "our" deadline to remain in the country....giving them lists of names of the people we want to get out of the country ? ( kind of like giving putin a blueprint on what to hack)  why is the POTUS saying that everyday we remain in the country the likelihood of an attack from al queda and isis increases ? what have we become ? i am moving from angry to embarrassed at warp speed.......to watch these empty suit losers stand in front of the camera and say that they are doing everything they can to get Americans out of Kabul is mind numbing.......like setting fire to a house and then patting yourself on the back for being the first one to call 911 .

I had the Honor and privilege  to visit Gettysburg PA this week........i walked Evergreen cemetery at Dawn , the spot where Lincoln gave his address just 4 months after the battle.....there is something in the air , besides the multitude of restless spirits......i toured the vast battlefield and listened to the courageous stories from both sides...the bravery.....the willingness to lay down ones life for a perceived greater good......to know that you will be killed but continue to fight on, to hold on, with a glimmer of hope for the man behind you .......moving....inspirational........and i felt an emptiness and sorrow to think about how far my country has fallen .