1.2 Trillion Dollars lost in the US Stock

Aaaggghhhhhhh! I am upset that people still do not seem to understand what is going on…Millionaires and Billionaires are not being bailed out. This is turning in to a class warfare issue yet it is not about bailing out the rich. The rich will continue to get richer with or without the bail out while those who need to borrow money (coz they are not million or billionaires and need to) will get screwed. It is the pension funds, the retirement plan and the US Financial System that is getting hit. And sooner or later the rest of us, non-billionaires will get hit. I agree we should not let them use tax dollars for purposes other than restoring the stability and credibility of our financial markets but this needs to be done 'yesterday'. But as usual we have "a patient dying of cardiac arrest and politicians are arguing about the patient's poor diet, why he didn't go to the gym everyday and why he did not take care of himself. How about we rescue the patient? (Aka the US financial system) and then worry about tackling the reasons why he went into cardiac arrest. I say we should send each member of congress that voted nay a bill for 52.6 billion (1.2 Trillion divided by 228 members who voted nay) and show them what their choices imply. By the way John this is my way of saying I totally agree with you! See you at the water cooler!

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

* If you grow up in Hawaii , raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."

* Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, a quintessential American story.

* If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.
* Name your kids Willow , Trig and Track, and you're a maverick.

* Graduate from Harvard law School and be President of the Law Review, you are unstable.
* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

* If you spend 3 years as a community organizer, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senat e representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.
* If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.
* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

* If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.
* If, while g overnor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

* If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.
* If your husband is nicknamed "First Dude," with at least one DUI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA , your family is extremely admirable.

Vote Wisely and Responsibly

Riadh Fehri Concert

Finally I attend a real concert in Tunisia. Riadh Fehri organized a concert night called “Awtar Tonic” that was fantastic. Brennan Gilmore a former colleague and neighbor was part of the performance. The two created, in 2005, a musical group called Kantara where Brennan is the lead singer and multi-instrumentalist and Riadh is the oudist and composer. The two have worked to create a unique synthesis of two distinct musical traditions, those of Appalachian bluegrass and old-time and traditional Tunisian music. The intersection of these two traditions seems to have led to a third path that has not yet been walked.
Group Kantara

Andrea, Brennan and me

Tunisian Military band joined the concert for an amazing piece

Denis, me and Andrea

A painting inspired by the music (painted on stage as we watched)

Ice Cream social

Zaria and her friend Chloe

Wadi (with the blue baloon) and other kids waiting for the magician to perform

Me Suzie and Zaria's friend Malkhia