It was chilly, about 40 degrees F, and overcast in the Washington, DC metropolitan area today.  This morning I decided that I didn't want to spend my day watching TV coverage of the government's machinations over the fiscal cliff.  I decided to go downtown and walk around the mall to see what was happening from a citizens perspective.

I got a free parking spot near the corner of Constitution Avenue and 17th Street.  I walked up 17th Street by the Old Executive Office Building.  The vendors were out selling food and souvenirs.  I turned the corner onto Pennsylvania Ave and started walking toward the front of the White House.   I looked up  and saw John Harwood, Chief Washington Correspondent for CNBC, walking toward me.  I have seen many of Mr. Harwood's reports on the machinations going on in Washington including several reports this morning.  He appeared to be reading email on his Blackberry.  Work never stops for Washington media folks in times like these.  I introduced myself to Mr. Harwood and thanked him for his great work for CNBC. 

There were lots of security people on the street in front of the White House.  There were a few tourists looking around and taking pictures.  There weren't any protestors at the White House today.   Construction is well underway for the viewing stands for the inaugural parade in front of the White House.  The workers continued to make progress this afternoon since the weather wasn't too bad.

I had to walk around Lafayette Park to head east toward the Capitol building because the road and park fo the park were blocked off due to the inaugural related construction.  As I walking down Pennsylvania Ave I could see the Capitol in front of me.  Every couple of blocks temporary stands have been erected for the inauguration parade.

When I got to the area around the Capitol I elected to walk around the north side (Union Station side) and walk completely around it.  There were no protesters at the Capitol today.  I guess nobody wanted to brave the cold to express their views on our inept Congress.  There were a few tourists around all bundled up in the cold.  When I walked to the east side of the Capitol I saw a lot of security people, some carrying what appeared to be automatic weapons.  There were a large number of black Chevy Suburbans in the driveway and on the street in front of the east entrance.  There was a lot of visible security as our lawmakers (trying for some humor) attempt to solve the fiscal cliff issues. 

After circling the Capitol building I started walking back to my car about 16 blocks away down the mall.  I decided to visit the Air and Space museum which was filled with families with young children.  It was great to see all of these folks learning about the history of our space program.  The entrance that I used to enter and exit Air and Space is near the Gemini 4 command module.  There is an adjacent donation box where visitors can make a cash donation to the museum to help it keep up its good work.  I was amazed to see many different colors of currency in the box.  I saw Yuan, Rupees, Yen, Philippines currency and others that I didn't recognize.  I guess the US needs the rest of the world to help us maintain the history of one of the US government and aerospace industries greatest successes.

As I walked down the mall I saw many family groups enjoying their day in downtown DC.  I wondered how many of them understand the damage being done to their future lives and the lives of their children by the politicians at the White House and the Capitol.  I wondered how many of them have any understanding of the impossible fiscal situation that has been created and getting worse every day.  It is likely most of them have no clue.  They are too busy working, raising a family and trying to be good citizens.

After my long walk in the chilly overcast of DC, I returned to the corner of 17th and Constitution.  I started my car and turned on CNBC on satellite radio.  After couple of minutes John Harwood came on the air and updated all of the listeners on the latest details of the fiscal cliff negotiations.  It was time to head home. 

In a few hours it will be 2013.  The politicians continue to negotiate the fiscal cliff.  "Happy" New Year?

P.S. The Senate passed the fiscal cliff legislation at about 2:00 am on New Year's Day.  The House of Representatives will reconvene at noon to consider the legislation.

P.P.S. The House of Representatives passed the fiscal cliff legislation at about 11:00 pm on New Year's Day.

More political battles concerning government fiscal policy are coming in the weeks ahead.  I may have to take some more walks in downtown DC to work off my frustration with the fiscal insanity of the US government.

TPM

Many of us have been following the fiscal cliff argument and negotiations between President Obama and the leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives.  The Democrats want to raise tax rates to generate more revenue so they can keep spending in support of their wealth redistribution efforts.  This is because the US economy is unfair. 

Some Republicans want to keep taxes at current levels for everyone, keep defense spending very high and are unclear on their commitment to make real cuts on entitlement spending.  There are a few Republicans that are committed to make real spending cuts and stop compounding our government's debt. 

Currently the Federal Reserve is buying about $1T in debt each year to keep interest rates low and allow the government to continue stimulating the economy.  Between the government's annual $1T stimulus through additional debt and the Federal Reserve interest rate manipulation the government debt bubble continues to expand.

Everyone talks about how all of these actions are needed to help the middle class.  All the politicians reference the past in describing the life style that all Americans should be able to lead.  They want the future to look like the past in terms of qualify of life.

Unfortunately, nobody wants to put any of this debate into context of the changes in the world economy during the past 20 years.  Many middle class people can't compete with their peers in other parts of the world.  For the same level of skills Americans have a life style expectation that far exceeds their international competitors.  Americans have priced themselves out of many markets.  The post World War II American economic dominance has long passed.  Instead of focusing on competing in the new economic world of the future many of our politicians are attempting to meet past expectations that are no longer relevant.  The people should be told flat out that they will have to earn their own prosperity by out working and out competing their peers around the world.  And if citizens are not willing to educate themselves and learn competitive skills they will have a minimal standard of living.

Most of the problems in our education system come from students and their families that don't have an intense desire to learn and gain skills so they can compete in the global economy.  We spend more money than any other nation on education.  But if people aren't committed to learning and competing there is no amount of money that will solve the problem.  I believe our social welfare system has made life too comfortable for too many people so they aren't inclined to learn and compete.  This situation has created too many noncompetitive people.  The only way to spur them on is to significantly remove or reduce the safety net, not expand it.  They have to be under pressure to work to survive.  

Many people would say that my views are heartless. Or they would say that I am cruel.  I say to those people.  Go to Asia.  Look at the lifestyles of the people that the US middle class is competing against.   The Asians have the desire to be educated.  They have the desire to gain skills.  And they are willing to work very hard so they can get a 400 to 600 square foot apartment in a high rise building for their family.  The US middle class is competing against people with completely different life objectives than themselves.  US politicians aren't doing the US population any favors by refusing to deal with the impact of world economic forces on future expectations.  The bottom line is that US workers must compete in the world market effectively to gain a world market standard of living as a result or watch their current standard of living gradually deteriorate over time.

There is no perspective in the political argument that we watch every day.  The media is intent on covering the action but provides no context to the decision making.  The world markets are observing the debate and laughing as they watch a once great nation being lead down a path to oblivion by most of its political leaders because they refuse to deal with economic and fiscal reality.  Our political leaders are lost in their arguments.

TPM

It has been almost exactly 17 days since I got home from my 75 day cruise to Asia, Australia and the South Pacific.  Since I got home I have attempted to resume my normal winter routine.  Since it is fairly cold outside, and getting colder as we head into winter, there is not a lot one can do outside.  I have been watching a lot of cable TV, both business and news channels, in order to keep up with the events of the day.  During the cruise I didn't watch a lot of US originated news coverage because most of my days were occupied with other activities including all the excursions we took at the various ports we visited on the cruise.

The more I watch the wide of range of people reporting and analyzing news of all types; the people that are commentating on the events of the day; and the people that are being interviewed as experts on a variety of subjects the more I understand how poorly served US citizens are by the news media. 

There is a wide range of reporting skills in the news media ranging from very accurate reporting to reporting flat out wrong information.  Most of the business reporting appears to be very accurate.  There seems to be a very high standard for reporting business news accurately.  Unfortunately, the general news media doesn't come close to meeting that standard.  The recent shootings in Newtown, CT are a prime example.  Many news outlets reported a lot of information as fact that turned out to be flat out wrong.  The level of errors reported by the media was inexcusable.  Producers of various news programs allowed reporters to report information on-air that was never correct.  To me this is completely unacceptable. 

Another example is the killing of the US ambassador to Libya.  Many news organizations reported as fact information that was completely wrong.  It appears the US govenment did its best to hide the truth from the American people and continues to do its best to prevent all the facts from becoming public.  Were news organizations working with the government to hide the truth?  What did they do to find out the truth separate from the governments official statements?  Clearly, some news organizations worked independently to find out what happened, but many simply rehashed the US governments inaccurate statements.

Many of the media organizations proved to me that they can't be trusted to report information factually in real time.  They have made decisions to report as facts, information that someone made up that had no basis in fact.  It makes you wonder how much of the news they report is actually based on facts.  It told me that fact based reporting standards for cable TV for live information is very low.  Unless you see something yourself, don't believe what they are telling you is the true story.

I have to say that most of the people that are presented as commentators for the cable news channels are a joke.  They present points of view that won't stand up to any analytical test.  They make stuff up every day as they advocate for their emotions.  It must be emotions because there is no logic or detailed analysis that backs up their position.  Since I have returned from my trip it is getting harder and harder to watch people talk about issues that they can't or won't back up with a substantive logical argument.  All they want to do is attack others and defend themselves from attacks, all of which have no basis in fact or logic.

The people being presented as experts on many of the subjects discussed in the news media are experts on nothing.  Most haven't done anything of substance in their lives to warrant the level of expertise they are reported to have.  Maybe I am being unfair because the format of the shows doesn't allow these people to present their views in enough depth or in context.  But I believe most of these people are simply "selling their book", meaning that they are employed by somebody to advocate for a specific position on a topic because they hope to financially gain from others believing it to be true, even if it is not true or doesn't makes sense.

I don't really see how much of what is presented in cable news is helping anyone learn much about anything.  It is helping to create citizen insanity.  There a high percentage of US citizens that appear to be completely clueless as to what is happening in the world around them.  Cable news is not leading people to a better understanding of issues and potential solutions.  It also helps to explain why it appears that so few citizens have any understanding of the complex issues that our nation faces.  The media doesn't appear to have the skills, intelligence or interest in presenting facts on issues so that citizens can decide rationally how to navigate through the world as it is today.

Or maybe I am the one suffering from insanity.  Maybe, I have lost my ability to understand basic finance or correlate independent data sources when analyzing a problem or verify that an educated opinion is indeed a fact.  Maybe I have gone insane, but I don't think so.  I think the time off from watching the media almost every day has allowed me to look at the media with fresh eyes.  These guys and gals need to perform at a much higher level if they are to deserve our trust.

TPM

Check out my additional commentary,  http://www.thepurplemuse.com/id52.html, on the new book, Why Nations Fail - The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty by Daron Acemoglu and James A Robinson.  This is an extremely interesting and thought provoking book worthy of my comments on my part.

I strongly suggest you read this book.

TPM

Check out my commentary,  http://www.thepurplemuse.com/id52.html, on the new book, Why Nations Fail - The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty by Daron Acemoglu and James A Robinson.  This book takes a different perspective at the intersection of political and economic history.  There is a lot for all of us to learn about economic and political systems.  There is lot for us to think about regarding how our nation and our government are evolving today. 

I suggest you read this book.

TPM 

I just posted a new video by Peter Schiff of Euro Pacific Capital on my web site.  I encourage everyone to watch Mr. Schiff explain the reality behind the Federal Reserve's most recent actions and statements made by Ben Bernanke at his press conference on December 12, 2012.

The Obama Administration and the Federal Reserve are doing their best to devalue the savings that have been accumulated by Americans and redistribute wealth from productive to non-productive people. This is the simple truth.  Watch Mr. Schiff's video and he will explain how they plan to finish the job they started a few years ago.

TPM.

In October I wrote a blog about my perspectives on Japan's actions in Asia prior to and during World War II, http://thepurplemuse.com/2012.10.01_arch.html.  Yesterday I read an article by Chico Harlan in The Washington Post, "In Japan, the fight over war memory has new implications", http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/in-japan-the-fight-over-war-memory-has-new-implications/2012/12/10/9389ef3c-3237-11e2-92f0-496af208bf23_story.html. 

It appears there is a group in Japan that is in complete denial over the atrocities committed by the Japanese military during this period.  There is a shrine that honors war criminals.  It also appears that there is a group in Japan that is trying to rewrite the history of this period in attempt to erase the criminal activities conducted by its leaders.

Japan has never fully apologized to the world for its actions prior to and during World War II.  It is time for Japan to fully acknowledge its evil actions and recommit itself to never engaging in such activity in the future.

TPM

My wife and I have gone through all the mail we received while we were on our long cruise.  One of the little goodies that was waiting for us was a letter from our medical insurer.  The letter was dated September 13.  It must have been delivered just after we departed for Seattle to start our cruise.

"This letter outlines changes ... due to an amendment to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (known as ... Federal Health Care Reform)", also known as Obamacare.  The letter states that "Women's Preventative Services will be provided at zero-cost to our members effective August 1, 2012."  There is a list of eight items that will be provided at no-cost.

Unfortunately, the actual cost of providing these services is not zero.  There is no indication that there will be any copay for these services.   Since the users of these services will pay nothing the actual cost of these services will be paid by all insured people.   Effectively, the rest of us are being taxed through our insurance rates to pay for "Women's Preventative Services".

This letter is an illustration of what is wrong with our government's approach to medical services and all kinds of services.  It puts no burden on individuals to be responsible for their own actions and own lives.  I have no problem with a requirement for these services to be made available to women, if needed.  However, women should me required to pay for these services or at least make a significant copay.  The idea that these are zero-cost services is ludicrous.  People will be paid to provide these services and other insurance payers will pay the bill.  This is a tax that will be administered by insurance companies.

This is another example of the Entitlement Mentality that has become a cancer in the culture of the United States.  It is another small increment of entitlement that will ultimately cause our economy to break down due to the incredible government overhead that is being added to our economy every day.  How high will entitlements soar before the breakdown occurs?

TPM

I have been home from my cruise to Asia for a whole two days.  As I get back into the flow of my normal routine I can't help but notice the incredible entitlement mentality I see on TV news programs and read in newspapers and on-line media.  I assume that after a person is bombarded with the same entitlement messages hour after hour and day after day there is a tendency to become almost immune from recognizing it when you see and hear it.  You can see it in direct statements by all kinds of people.  You can infer it from statements about what people should get in terms of pay or benefits or quality of life.  Basically, it amounts to statements that have a bottom line of "since we live in the US we should have this or that and it is our right to have it".

After visiting China, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia as part of my trip I can assure everyone in the US that if you don't wake up and understand what is happening in the global economy you are going to wake up one day with "nothing".  As I wrote in my article, The End of the Post World War II Era, the majority of people in the US are trying to live in a world that no longer exists.  All you have to do is travel around Asia and see what is happening.  You can forget about the type of government these countries have.  These people are capitalists; they are good at it; and they think big.  They understand what world competition is all about.  When you add South Korea, Taiwan, India and other Asian nations to the mix you have an immense population that is prepared to compete in every market they can possibly compete in so they can improve their overall living standards.  These people gain ground everyday in their efforts to build infrastructure that will strengthen their economies, improve their competitiveness and increase the skills of their workforce.  The US spends its time spending money it doesn't have to sustain life styles for people that contribute little or nothing to our overall economy.

It is really sad to see people with absolutely no understanding of what is going on in the world making statements or demands about this entitlement or that benefit.  These people are a complete joke.  The world has fundamentally and forever changed.  Our country was a leader in causing the changes in the world economy to occur.  We created the competitive monster that we must now compete against.

The US has a lot of highly competitive and skilled people that are doing their best to drive our nation forward.  Almost all of these people are in the business world and it is because of their efforts that the US leads many markets and is competitive in others.  But the excess non-productive overhead costs created by a clueless Federal government and many state governments is creating real long term economic damage to the US.  The US government is not telling the US people that if it was treated as a business it would not be considered a going concern because its long term liabilities far exceed its ability to create revenue.  This fact was confirmed again today.

After being gone for almost three months and getting a limited first hand look at what is going on in Asia, I am not sure what actions I should take on a personal level much less recommend for others.  My level of disgust with US politicians has increased.  My tolerance level for foolish behavior and ideology from my fellow citizens has diminished. 

My gut belief is that there will be a US government debt bubble explosion somewhere down the line.  It will be beyond the capability of the Federal Reserve to control.  The bursting of the US government debt bubble will cause a massive economic and standard of living reset among all nations on earth.  The US has been the world's reserve currency in the post World War II era.  When the government debt bubble bursts the US dollar's primary role as a reserve currency will come to an end.  I don't know when it will happen.  I don't how it will happen.  But I believe it is extremely likely that it will happen.  It will cause the end of the age of the entitlement mentality in the US.  After the government debt bubble bursts the focus will be on survival, not entitlements.

TPM

Earlier I posted a blog about being sick on a cruise ship with Norovirus on Tuesday.  I have been home for less than 24 hours and I am now totally sick of the Fiscal Cliff debate.  Fortunately, I didn't have the time or capability to watch coverage of this political mess when I was on the ship.  The representatives from both sides of the debate look ridiculous. 

The Democrat's focus on increasing tax rates on those making over $250K is a joke.  The amount of money to be raised in aggregate is so small it doesn't make any material difference in the debt/deficit problem.  However, the Democrats have done a great job of keep the debate away from the big problem, long term entitlement programs that can't be funded under any rational economic forecast.  The unfunded liabilities of the Federal Government are estimated to be in the range of $100T to $200T, far in excess of the current $16T federal debt.  The entitlement programs and federal spending in general must be fundamentally restructured.

The Republicans whining over the Democrats proposed tax increases is very annoying.  Instead of attacking the spending problem and keeping their eye on the big issues the Republicans are arguing over a minor issue, the tax increase.  There is no problem with a small tax increase as part of a package that delivers major spending cuts and restructuring of entitlements.

Nobody with power in Washington is showing any executive leadership skills.  The politicians are a complete joke as leaders.  It is hard to believe that Barrack Obama is President of the United States.  When was the last time the US had a President with less executive leadership skills than Obama, in the 1920's or earlier? There are thousands of executives around the US that know how to solve these kinds of problems and have the leadership skills to make it happen.  Unfortunately, our political process had degenerated into a dysfunctional disaster that is aided by the desires of media to fill a 24 hour news cycle with confict.  Very few top notch executives want anything to do with our polluted political process.

I have to give a lot of credit to Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles.  These gentlemen and the members of the their commission that supported their plan showed tremendous leadership in creating a plan that makes an honest attempt to start solving our nations fiscal problem.  They demonstrated that a few people are left in DC that can provide leadership, unfortunately, none of them have any effective power.  I would focus more on spending cuts than Simpson and Bowles, but I can agree to their approach as a rational compromise so we can move forward.

Do I have Fiscal Cliff virus? The debate is making me sick to my stomach.

TPM

My wife and I arrived home yesterday after our 75 day Grand Voyage to Asia, Australia and the South Pacific on Holland America's ms Amsterdam.  The overall trip was 79 days.  This is the longest time I have spent away from my home in my adult life.  It was a tremendous voyage of exploration for me.  I documented the highlights of the trip in my blog over the past two months and I will have a lot more to say about our visits during the months ahead.

However, the 75th day of my Grand Voyage was not so good.  I got hit with the Norovirus.  I woke up at 2:00 in the morning after less than two hours of sleep and I could feel the onset of the symptoms.  I was physically ill four times over a five hour period ending at 9:20 am.  After reporting my illness to the Amsterdam medical staff I spent the rest of the day in bed.  All people hit with this illness are requested to spend the first 24 hours away from other people on the ship.

I missed the disembarkation event which was a massive party that occurred at about 10:00 am that morning.  When I saw Gene, the Cruise Director, later that night in hallway outside of our stateroom (I was moving heavy luggage for pick-up and disembarkation.) he stated that it had been a wonderful day.  I remarked that it wasn't a very good day for me since I spent it in bed.

The ship went on Code Red for Norovirus about four days out of San Diego.  The number of cases got progressively worse as we approached San Diego.  The medical staff member that visited me in my stateroom told me that the strain that had attacked the ship originated in Australia and was a new strain.  I guess it was different than the one that knocked me for a loop for two days on the ms Prinsendam last year in the Mediterranean.

Most people believe the Norovirus came on board in significant amounts in Hilo, Hawaii when we were in port with the Sapphire Princess.  Apparently, the Sapphire Princess had a significant Norovirus problem when it arrived in Hilo and the two ships shared shuttle buses going to the local Walmart.  My wife and I were not on the shuttle buses or in the Walmart.  There is no question that the number of cases on the Amsterdam was increasing rapidly as we reached San Diego.  New cases were being called into the Guest Relations front desk when my wife was there taking care of some business prior to disembarkation.  We know that some of our fellow cruisers that were in the United Airlines terminal at San Diego airport had very recent symptons that weren't reported to the ship because the people were disembarking.  Our quick survey in the airport indicated about a 50 percent recent Norovirus event based on a small sample size.  The disembarkation event held on day 75 should have been cancelled and the key information disseminated via the closed circuit TV system.  It didn't help the Norovirus situation.

I have taken two extended duration cruises (beyond two weeks).  Both were on Holland America.  In both cases my wife and I were among the youngest passengers on the ships, most likely in the bottom 15 percent in terms of age
and we are 62 and 59.  On both cruises I got the Norovirus.  In both cases it appears that people were taking part in ships activities knowing they were ill or had just been ill.  My fellow passengers made me ill.  This isn't acceptable to me.  I have been on 12 cruises in total.  All of the rest of the cruises have been two weeks or less with younger overall demographics.  I haven't had any problems and the ships, generally much larger than the Amsterdam and Prinsendam, haven't had problems.

When a ship goes into Code Red the amount of work the crew has to do is immense.  Everything has to be disinfected continuously. Everything has to be wiped down.  People that work hard, long hours every day have to worker harder and longer.  Singers, dancers and cruise director staff members have to disinfect the tables and railings in the Theatre.  The Casino staff has to spend the early morning hours disinfecting every chip in the casino.  Most of this can be avoided if the passengers would simply follow the guidelines for this type of illness so it can be contained.

My last day on the ms Amsterdam was a bad day.  It was only one day out of 75.  However, I am not interested in traveling with people in the future that are unwilling to conduct themselves properly.  This may be my last long duration cruise.  I will definitely be taking short cruises but I am not interested in getting the Norovirus again.  My abdominal muscles are still sore from the violence of the symptoms on Day 75.

I believe that Holland America and other cruise lines should develop a simple system of testing the environment on board ship for Norovirus.  The cruise industry needs to spend the money needed to develop a testing procedure than can be used widely across the industry.  For example, stateroom attendants could test staterooms during the normal cleaning operations every day.  Other members of the crew could routinely test common areas of the ships.  There must be more emphasis of identifying problem individuals and getting them isolated to stop the spread of the disease.

We had a great voyage of exploration.  We may not have another unless the Norovirus problem is fully addressed by preventative measures.

TPM

The final ports of call of our cruise were Honolulu (Oahu), Lahaina (Maui), and Hilo (on the big island of Hawaii).  We had three beautiful days in three very nice but different places.  It was great to be back in the USA after spending the past two plus months in foreign lands or sailing the Pacific Ocean and seas of the Far East.

I had not been in Honolulu for more than 12 years.  Physically, Honolulu didn’t look much different from the last time I was there.  In the tourists areas there appeared to be a far higher percentage of Asians that I remembered from past visits.  We were advised that the Japanese are the largest group of tourists in the islands these days.  It was very interesting seeing buses with Japanese language characters on them making it easier for those folks to get around town.  Hawaii is truly a multicultural place.  This is one of the features of Honolulu that makes the city so interesting.   We climbed to the top observation point on Diamond Head.  This was a significant physical challenge but we accomplished it.  The view of Waikiki Beach area was breathtaking from Diamond Head.  There is nothing quite like watching sunset from Waikiki Beach.  It is one of the most beautiful views in the world even if it is shared with thousands of other tourists.

Our day on Maui was very different.  All we did in Lahaina was walk around the small town and check out some of the history of the place.  The former whaling town, missionary headquarters and sugar cane producer has an extremely interesting history that is worth checking out if you have a chance to visit Maui.  Our goal for the day was to have lunch at an ocean side restaurant called Kimo’s.  Our mission was accomplished.  By happenstance we wandered into the home and workshop of Stephanie and Augustine Costantino, a married couple that are artists living in Lahaina.  We purchased one of Stephanie’s paintings which we will proudly display once we get home.   Lahaina is a wonderful, peaceful place.  I have only been on Maui three times in my life and only twice in , but I doubt if there is any place in the world that is more beautiful and peaceful than Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii.

On Hilo we took a tour around the big island of Hawaii looking at lava flows from 1991-1996, 1980, and 1805 as well as checking out the beautiful views of the ocean.  Only about 70,000 people live on the big island with about 45,000 of them living in Hilo.  They don’t get a huge number of tourists.  It was really cool walking on lava that was about 20 years old that expanded the size of the island when it poured into the ocean.  We could see steam raising from an active volcano vent just a couple of miles from where we were standing.  We saw some of the areas that had been destroyed by lava flow and other areas that had been destroyed by tsunamis a few decades ago.  There is tremendous beauty in nature but nature can also be incredibly destructive.  The big island has great examples of both.

We are now in the second of five days of cruising from Hilo to San Diego and then we will fly home.  It has been a great adventure, a grand voyage of exploration. 

I have also read a couple of interesting books while on the cruise and will publish articles about them after I get home.  I also have to review my pictures of the Vietnam War museum display I saw in Ho Chi Minh City and write an article about it.

Aloha,

TPM