Meeting Sebastian Maniscalo, Red Rocks, Seeking Good News

“The greatest evils since World War II have been Communism and, since the demise of Communism in the Soviet Union and most other Communist countries, violent Islam — or, as it often called, Islamism. Islamism is the belief that Sharia (Islamic law) must be imposed wherever possible on a society, beginning, of course, with Muslim-majority countries. These Islamists are, as the British historian Andrew Roberts has noted, the fourth incarnation of fascism — first there was fascism, then Nazism, then Communism, and now Islamism.”
— Dennis Prager

Good morning; yesterday, I had a busy morning with my wife; the solar people came and began their installation.  We worked here until our agency Zoom call and then headed to our condo to pick up a car, and then I headed to one of my men’s group lunches.  I met with my mentors and friends at Ted’s Montona Grill and then got some Testosterone. After that, I ran a management meeting with my wife and ops manager and then headed back up the hill.

I cleaned up my inbox, and then Melissa stopped by with her pup; Jack and Parker played while we worked.  About 4:00, we took some time to catch up on the deck and then headed to Red Rocks to meet my good friend Dr. Kent who grabbed us tickets to see Sebastian Maniscalo.  A great show, a funny man; we are lucky to live so close to Red Rocks.  It is fantastic to get to see an artist perform for the first time at our local venue.  He was terrific, funny, not p.c., but as he went a petite rouge, he would point out to the offended parties and explain why they should not be offended. 

We stayed until the end, unusual for us, but the guy was good. So we headed out and left the venue about 10:00; Melissa stayed, we were all in bed by 11:00, and it’s now 5:11 a.m. So the coffee is made, Parker is waiting for her boyfriend to get up, and I need to leave by 6:45 to hit my 7:30 meeting time.  Although I only got 6 hours of sleep, it was deep, and I feel rested.

I was listening to some news yesterday.  Afghanistan is a mess; I wrote yesterday that this is not a democratic or republican issue; this is a failure at all levels of our government and those who decided to invade the troublesome country.  I think the decision to pull out was a little mismanaged.  It seems those 8th-century warriors don’t value women as we do in our country.  I wonder where all the #metoo people are during this time of crisis.  They have a different set of rules for women under Sharia Law; what is Sharia Law? I am not a scholar, but I don’t think they value women as equals.  I did some research, and it depends on the specific society and how they interpret the law.  I will say I would not want my wife or daughters to live under Sharia law.

In addition to the heart-wrenching treatment of women and children, roughly 10,000 American Citizens are left to fend for themselves.  Some claim that they have no chance to escape the country; we lost 3000 on 9/11. Could this cost us more American lives? President Biden said 30 or so days ago; he did not expect the Taliban to overrun the country; we had trained the Afgan army, they would hold.  Well, it took them a couple of days, and now they occupy the entire country. 

Also, we have a few hundred thousand Afgan people that helped us who are now in peril.  Expect mass loss of life in a country that might be a future hotbed of terror.  The military officials seem a little confused as to what happened.  They claim contingency plans, but we left 10k of our people in the hands of folks that like to chop up other humans.  

We are living in some strange times, but there is some good news.  Let’s focus on that; we live in the most accessible country in the world.  Equality abounds for anyone that wants to work hard and contribute to society.  Afghanistan is a reminder of how fantastic our community is.  I’m proud of this little experiment that started in 1776.   If you are not, you can go north, south, east, or west; we have a few folks that would love to join this little experiment.

So this morning, I’m heading to Golden to a meeting of like-minded people.  We care more about who you are than what you do. So I’ll run that meeting and then have a full day of ripping and running.  My meditation practice is helping me find gifts and opportunities in everything; I would encourage you to do the same.

So I hope these words find you well; I hope you still have faith in humanity, although we are being tested right now. I hope you believe in something bigger than yourself and know that everything will work out.  It always does. – cheers, I have to run!

“The greatest evils since World War II have been Communism and, since the demise of Communism in the Soviet Union and most other Communist countries, violent Islam — or, as it often called, Islamism. Islamism is the belief that Sharia (Islamic law) must be imposed wherever possible on a society, beginning, of course, with Muslim-majority countries. These Islamists are, as the British historian Andrew Roberts has noted, the fourth incarnation of fascism — first there was fascism, then Nazism, then Communism, and now Islamism.”
— Dennis Prager