Welcome to Katfrog's Corner

For the past few years, news of Syria and its civil war flitted in and out of the headlines.  Sometimes I read the news; sometimes I felt too depressed about the situation to read.  But this past month, the conflict went from an internal, civil war in one country to a potential global war, with Russia lining up on one side and the US lining up on the other. As a fan of history, the situation reminds me of Europe before World War I.  We have groups of allies on separate sides of a conflict, each waiting for the other side to make a move.  Only now, the use of chemical weapons takes the role of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.   Which makes me wonder - is this it?  Will we blindly ignore history and go in, guns blazing?  Russia already sent two warships to the Mediterranean Sea and Iran stated its intention to help out should the United States or the UN choose to retaliate against Syria with military force. And I don't think we want the American military in Syria anywa

As summer rolls to an end, the call of the school bell begins to ring out all over the nation.  Here in Cobb County, students started school last week.  Cherokee County started August 1st, and I know of places elsewhere that start in the next week or two. And as kids board their school bus, parents begin to panic.  Will my child do well this year?  Will he make friends?  Will she like her teacher? What if the teacher can't teach my child?  What if there is a bully in the classroom?  What if a gunman bursts into the school building and hunts my child down like a rabbit?  What if aliens blow up the school as a sign of their hostility? There is a commonality among all but one of these questions:  there isn't a thing you can do to prevent the situation.  You cannot hover over your child's shoulder during the school day providing personal tutoring or helping him/her make friends and learn how to like the teacher.  Nor can you screen every person your child will meet durin