The Palestinian strategy against Israel has always been the strategy that a small child uses against his parents when he throws a screaming tantrum in public. The child wants something and the parents refuse it, and the child has no direct ability to force his parents to change their minds. So the kid makes a scene and attracts attention, hoping the parents will yield in order to shut him up.
...
All parents soon learn, if they didn't already know it, that giving in to a child's tantrum is a really good way to get a lot more of them. More to the point, doing anything which the kid interprets as being a reward for the tantrum, even if it was not intended to be, will get you more tantrums. It doesn't matter why the parents did what they did; what matters is whether the brat decides that tantrums are effective. By the same token, anything which seems to militants to be a positive result of their attacks will encourage more attacks.

No matter why Spanish voters changed their government after the Madrid bombing, or what issues may have influenced their decision, those responsible for the bombing interpreted the electoral result as a major reward for the attack, and that means we can expect more attacks like it.---- Steven Denbeste

As usual, read the whole thing.

Yesterday the Gospel was about Jesus and Lazarus. Our deacon gave the homily and as usual he said "and to do that, I will tell you two stories." The "two" was a surprise. His second story was personal, about when his father died, and I started to think about and remember Rich's father.

He was a good father to his 9 living children. Rich remembers long walks and his father's patience explaining things to them. Djadja taught the boys to do home repairs and to build walls, and also to be responsible young men. On trips they would stop at historical sites. Dad always wanted to learn things.

I met him in 1964 when I took a train to Pittsburgh to meet the family. They picked me up and told me that Pittsburgh had some of the few remaining inclines (I thought he was talking about hills, and had no idea what he meant.) Dad was always unfailing in his kindness and support. When Rich and I got engaged, I got on the phone and asked for Rich's hand in marriage, but Dad told me I could have the whole thing!

They came to Laramie for the wedding. Dad was fascinated by the cowboy country. They visited us a couple of times in Illinois, and in England, and here in 1978. In England, Rich walked to town with his father and our three-year-old followed them, only they didn't know it. (Nor did we, till a kid from down the village brought him home. Eek.) Again, my father-in-law thoroughly enjoyed sightseeing.

I stayed with them a month while Rich was getting settled in Arkansas. He enjoyed our children and being Djadja to them. He was also really proud of all his children. They had cars, which was a real sign of success to him. Rich is a good father and he learned it from his dad. Every time I read of a dysfunctional abusive parent, I appreciate my inlaws more and more.

The last time we saw him alive was the summer of 1978, when they visited us here. We were poor and couldn't afford to go back to Pittsburgh just on the spur of the moment, and so Dad went downhill into Alzheimer's and a home, and died six years later. He was 75. There were some signs of memory loss in his late 60s, but we never saw him when he was having trouble.

Rich was a zombie when his father died. We flew out without the teens, all of whom had summer jobs. I got the tickets (probably spent too much, but Rich wasn't functioning... I paid the bills for a year or two in here, too.) It was hard to recognize my father-in-law... he'd lost a lot of weight before he died. Rich was a pallbearer. Vince and Bernadette (8 and 6) behaved very well. They got to see fireflies.

I was very lucky in my father-in-law.

Flipper John is in town. I agree with him on one thing, that this is the most important election in my lifetime. This because I want my grandchildren to grow up without fear, as I did.

Let's see... fight the terrorists, or raise taxes? This is how I see the decision.

RIP, Peter Ustinov.

Rich spent the day trying to get his lawn mower out of the shop, but it's in hospital for another 10 days, at least.