The new pres is certainly not wasting any time.  He's signing orders and issuing statements.  It's about time that Gitmo was dealt with.  I'm a little concerned about the whole "lasting peace between Israel and Palestinians" thing though.  I listen to a crazy insightful guy named Dan Carlin.  He does a podcast from time to time called "Common Sense."  I like to think about Thomas Paine's common sense when I listen to him, because he's grounded in history and connecting the dots.

On a recent show, he related how he's seen Palestinians who still have the keys to their old houses, and how one day they want to go home and expect that their key will work in the lock, even if it's only symbolic, but the connected dot is that they are willing to trade ANYTHING, including the lives of their children, and their children's children, for that dream.

That's where we run into problems understanding what the big deal is.  I can't think of a single thing I believe in that much.  If God himself presented to me, and said,"I'm here, I'm real, and I want you to kill your child to prove your love for me," I'd tell him where he could go.  I love my family so much that I'd risk the wrath of the creator of the universe to keep them safe. 

I think it's borderline retarded to think that anyone with my best interests in mind would expect me to slaughter my own son.  There was a story in the bible about this, and it only makes sense to study it if I'm allowed to call the charactors idiots, not idolize them.  And since they don't "get it" over in the middle east, I think we are just going to be banging our heads on the wall for  a long fricken time.