Good Article

I noticed an excellent article in USA Today's online opinion section: "Top Threat to Kurds is not ISIL."  To be sure, Adam Sulkowski is speaking only of Iraqi Kurdistan: in Syria the situation is somewhat different. And yet he is correct in noting that we typically focus only on the Peshmerga's success fighting ISIS. We neglect the fact that Iraqi Kurdistan has, at present, serious economic difficulties that threaten its viability as a military partner. What Sulkowski doesn't mention is that political divisions in Iraqi Kurdistan are just as damaging as its economy. In any case, if we would like te Kurds as a long-term ally, we will need to provide economic and politcal assistance (in the form of advisors, not money) in adddition to weapons.

Washington

I have not written here for a long time, for many reasons--or, really, none at all, which amounts to more or less the same thing. Perhaps it would be a good idea, first, for me to post a few photographs of a recent trip to Washington, DC.

National Basilica and Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

I even met His Holiness there. 

The Air and Space Museum is pretty good. (X-15)

Me 262 

MC 205

Bf 109.

Robert E. Lee's house at Arlington National Cemetary.

Gerorge Washington's sword at the Museum of American History.

Scaffolding.

Our Lord sucking His thumb.

Wright Flyer.

By the way, it seems the SDf is advancing on Azaz. It's not clear whether that includes the YPG or just Jaysh al-Thuwar. 

Amtrak and Yellow Stepstools

     On Saturday, we dropped off a guest (we had company last week) at a local Amtrak station. (Local, where I live, means 90 minutes away.) Apparently, Amtrak is not very good.

      The station was an ugly brown building, at least thirty-five years old. It didn't look any better inside. Everything was rather run-down. I saw a large poster in the waiting room, but it wasn't hanging on the wall; it was standing in a corner. I won't start on the restrooms. But I can tell you that two out of three urinals were functioning and that only one of two graffitti-covered stall doors had a lock. There were no mirrors, and separate faucets for hot and cold water; not just separate faucets, but faucets of completely different designs (and ages). There was a paper towel dispenser, but unfortunately no paper towels.

      Trackside wasn't any nicer. The platform was level with the tracks. Every wagon door did have a built-in ladder to help passengers get up, but since even that wasn't enough for elderly travelers, there were six or seven old yellow stepstools standing about. There was a loudspeaker on the platform, and it worked well for announcements; but between announcements it blared annoying music with the volume on high. On second thought, maybe I should be pleased there was a speaker at all.

       The trains themselves didn't look great either. The engines seemed new enough, but the wagons looked quite old. At least the train we were waiting for was only fifteen minutes late. (That really was a decent showing. A week ago, when our guest arrived, the train was at least an hour behind schedule.)

      I realize that Amtrak is short on funding. And perhaps (indeed, probably) a lack of money is the real issue. But this is still rather embarrassing for America. This station was on a fairly well-traveled route, in a city of 200,000. Something has to change if we want to provide decent rail service in this country.

      I've been in Europe several times, and things there are very different. Service is generally fast and efficient, and cities a tenth the size of the one I was in on Saturday boast equal or better facilities. At the very least, platforms reach up to the level of train doors. No yellow stepstools. Can't we at least manage that?

Republican Debate

I listened to Thursday's Republican debate online (we don't have TV). It was a good deal more exciting and interesting than I expected. It was well-moderated, too, with tough questions all around. Oddly enough, my perceptions of winners and losers did not match up with those I've seen from many analysts. For example, I wasn't overly impressed with Marco Rubio. He spoke well, cogently, clearly, etc.—indeed, he was probably the best speaker there—yet he failed to really stand out. He reinforced the image I have of him as competent and polished, he simply wasn't exceptional. So, the winners:

Rand Paul. I have seen widely varying assessments of his performance, but one thing is clear: he stood out. He was quite combative, attacking both Trump and Christie. (And I was glad indeed to see him attack Trump.) It's arguable whether he got the better of the exchanges—I saw one article about how he had hammered Christie, and another about how Christie had hammered him—but he definitely stood up for his positions. But even beyond that, he was always clear and rational, and often seemed to have more detailed policy positions than other candidates.

Ben Carson. Carson came off as the oppposite of Paul: quiet, friendly, noncombative. But the impression he made was equally good. His answers were reasonable, intelligent, sometimes funny—his closing speech in particular. His answer when the moderators pressed him on things he hadn't known in the past—"you didn't know Alan Greenspan was secretary of the treasury"—his answer was particularly convincing. I don't think he's the president we need, but he may be one of the last standing in the race.

The loser (apart from Trump):

John Kasich. I do not understand why so many people are praising him for his performance. He managed to avoid the question almost every time, always coming back to his record as governor. (Once the moderator couldn't get an answer, turned to the next candidate and said something like, "Well, maybe I can do better with you.") He missed a great chance to score points with evangelicals on the "message from God" question. He has quite a compelling story of how he fell away from Christianity and then returned due to an auto accident that killled his parents. That was a major missed opportunity. I think he will be in the race a long time due to his relatively moderate, broadly attractive positions, but he came off on Monday, to me at least, as the most uninspiring of the bunch.

Here's a good summary of the debate.

Pictures

Eastern Bluebird.

The moon.

It was a beautiful yellow color, but I couldn't quite capture it. I adjusted the white balace in an attempt to do so. That didn't work. Observe:

First Communion

Not my first communion. One of my little sisters had her first communion today.

We went to a park afterward. We saw a bunch of vultures there. Neat birds.