Prof. Boerner's Explorations

Commentary:

We want to revisit last year’s main posting and present it to you so that you may appreciate how easy a community can provide for the needs of our armed forces. During the period following the Japanese on Pearl Harbor. The Union Pacific Railroad passed through the small, rural Nebraska town of North Platt. The  women of the town heard that a train filled with Nebraska boys on their way to the West coast. These women decided to make cookies and coffee for these home state soldiers.

When the train arrived, it was found that it did not carry Nebraska soldiers after all. The cookies and coffee were given out none-the-less. Thereafter, the women continued to serve coffee, cookies, donuts, and sandwiches to each troop train that passed through. The soldiers were given ten minutes to receive their refreshments. This continued through the end of the war.

The North Platt Canteen should be used as a model for our communities (church groups, service clubs, etc.) to provide for those in need. We hope that you and your friends will explore the possibilities.

So, let’s get along with our exploration of the women providing for the sons of other families…  GLB

These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2010 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved

[ 1576 Words ]

Commentary

We examine today an event in 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, that still has relevance to us today with our “War on Terror”. Our excursion into this country on the historical “Silk Road” will be carried beyond the nine years of the Soviet invasion.

It would seem to lend credence to that old saying, “Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” But wait, weren’t we their supporting the opposition groups during the soviet invasion. And wasn’t our current Secretary of Defense in the CIA at that time? We should have known the pitfalls. We, like the Soviets, have good men on the field of battle along with the most sophisticated armaments and technical aids.

But computers don’t help much fight an enemy that blends with the native population and fights a low-tech war. It would do us well to start discovering the facts from this posting and then go to the source documents for a fuller presentation on these data. We should use this opportunity to become better informed  and understand what our country stands for.

So, let’s get this exploration started…  GLB

These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2010 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved

[ 3962 Words ]