Most likely by the time you read this, I will have had my 4th epiderol shot since my second back surgery in July of this year. I can’t express in words how disappointed I am about the outcome of my second surgery. It did little for me in the way of pain. I simply can’t go through a third surgery. I am furious at my doctor since he assured me that there was a 95% success rate at the minimally invasive surgery he performed on my back. Of course, he will say, “Sorry. You were in the 5%.” Meanwhile, he pockets about 15 grand from my pain and suffering. I was disgusted by the medical profession after the death of my mother. I am even more disgusted by them now.

Ever hear the saying, “Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight?” Well, it just so happens a man did just that at the Church of Scientology in Hollywood, CA. He came at three security guards with a sword in each hand. In self-defense, one security guard shot and killed this man as he came at them. I doubt this is the first time this guy brought a knife to a gunfight. He’s probably done that all his life based on this one incident.

And the band played on. Now, it is Citigroup who comes to the government with its hand out for some of the dough being dished out. Seriously, when does this crap end? When do the taxpaying citizens of this nation say ENOUGH to bailing out overpaid CEOs of companies who never saw a bad loan they didn’t like? Who’s next? Why none other than the Big Three automakers, that’s who. We are no longer a capitalist society. We are now socialists. All this before our first socialist president even takes office. Again, when does this end?

Finally, Thanksgiving Day is this Thursday. Like many other bloggers, I will be taking that day off from my new hobby. We have much to be thankful for in this country. I have been all over the world. I have been around many different and diverse cultures. But, despite its many problems, this country is something we can all be thankful to be a part of even during these turbulent economic times. I have been to the Ivory Coast as a young man during a famine. I saw the usual picture of malnourished children with bloated stomachs. I have seen hatred and killing in Belfast during the 70s. I have seen and been a part of the brutality and killing fields of Vietnam. But, no matter how bad things were at any part of the world I happened to be in at the time, I knew Dorothy was right; there’s no place like home. And, trust me ladies and gentlemen; there is no place like the United States of America. That's something we can all be thankful of on Thanksgiving Day.