I am trying to keep the blog journal entries as apolitical as possible so as not to offend anyone, but for the record, I can’t help but comment on the turmoil in the Middle East. That entire part of the world is boiling over by people who have been oppressed for years by ruthless dictators. These dictators salt away billions while their subjects starve and are terrorized. Our on country has coddled and appeased these dictators for years in order to satisfy our addiction to oil.

The common people are finally revolting at the risk of their lives. They are overthrowing the dictators and corrupt governments. Maybe, if we had waited, the people of Iraq would have overthrown Saddam Hussein, and it would have saved us billions of dollars and many lives of US soldiers. Although the overthrow has occurred in Iraq, and the government is fragile, it’s about as stable as they come in the Middle East.

I have been wondering where all these deposed dictators are going to go when they are exiled. I don’t know where Mubarak of Egypt is currently hiding. If Moammar Gadhafi falls in Libya, I don’t know where he will find a safe haven. Revolutions are also erupting in Bahrain, Tunisia, Yemen and places I didn’t even know existed. Where are all these leaders and government officials going when they are driven out of their countries? I suspect that Chavez in Venezuela or Castro in Cuba may welcome them but living conditions are pretty dismal in those places.

I used to have a piece of property in South East Texas that is hidden deep in the pine forest. It would have made a perfect hiding place. I used to think it would be the place I would go if there were a nuclear attack. It’s almost like Dogpatch USA. Except for me, no one really cared if the place existed or not, so it remained isolated through the years. It’s the perfect place to go and not worry about the rest of the world looking for you. Next to the porch, it’s the most restful and peaceful place I have found on earth. So, if I still owned the place I would offer it Mubarak, Gadhafi and others as a safe haven. Of course, I would charge them a hefty price. I would offer them a place on the porch but I’m afraid their camels wouldn’t mix very well with the deer in my back yard.