I had a wonderful chat with my cousin D tonight. He is one of the most talented and interesting people I have ever met. Sometime I should cajole him into letting me post a few of his photos. What he sees through a camera can still your soul just at the sight of his vision caught by frame. He is also quite intelligent. What I admire most, though, is that he pursues life quite vigorously. It is that reason, therefore, why he is brave to call me. My blues these days are the anti-thesis of his philosophy and wear deeply on his heart. Still, he braves the call to cheer me up by the vitality of his life. Such an act of kindness!

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The Lakers lost a triple-overtime game in which Kobe Bryant scored 58 points. You know what? I am not surprised. I know that I am not a basketball expert or a coach. But, really folks, someone out to point out to the Lakers that basketball is a TEAM sport. That means, at least at the same time on the court, five individuals are working together to accomplish the win. Whenever one person takes over any type of team...well, that process is never one conducive for success.

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Saddam Hussein was executed this evening. The New York Times ran an op-ed piece saying the trial was basically a sham and the execution wrong. This man is personally responsible, under his 35-year regime, for nearly 2 million documented deaths. Many believe the actual number will never be known and is thousands and thousands more between the countless people who simply went "missing" and were never heard from again. Over 270 mass graves have been found since he was ousted from office. This man devastated the population of a country that is still torn by the violence he inculcated into his people. Perhaps the end of this man's life might mark a beginning to the healing of a nation bathed in blood.

One Iraqi leader remarked that before there was no hope for a positive future under Saddam and now there was. He noted the uphill battle that remains to shed the culture of violence that has been woven across his country...but there is hope. His only sorrow on the day was that the media was re-playing the footage of Saddam instead of focusing on the millions who lost their lives and the millions more who suffered under his rule. This is their day. And it is they who should be lifted up in prayer.

Seriously...I cannot understand how anyone can come in defense of such a brutal dictator.


NOTE: I take exception to the graphic of Saddam on www.cnn.com. The photo looks as if it is some polished piece of dignified remembrance. It makes him look more like a martyr than the tyrant he was.