Matt will be missed by many.  The family greatly appreciated your messages and condolences.

Matt had a treasure trove of writings ready to be published.  He planned on publishing at least two books before his sudden departure.  We thought the best tribute would be to finish the books.

Over the upcoming months, we will continue to edit the books and prepare them for publication.  As we do, we plan to publish the chapters on the blog in a serial fashion.  Matt loved Dickens so we thought this approach would be particularly fitting.  As always, the blog has thrived through comments.  Comments brought a distinct perspective and increased the vitality of the blog.  We think your comments would do the same as we finish the books.  We welcome your comments on the books and we will incorporate the comments and suggestions as we go.  In the end, we will publish the books in book form.

Here’s a teaser of what’s to come.  Please stay tuned….

I am sorry to report that Matt is in the ICU.  Please send your best wishes or comment below as I’m sure he’d love to hear them.

You could have knocked me over with a feather when I read this: “In Qatar’s capital, Doha, U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met with Taliban political leaders who demanded an end to intensifying U.S. airstrikes aimed at slowing the fast-moving push by Taliban forces to gain territory, occupy provincial capitals and hold key roadways.”

Khalilzad is one of those preposterous people who use their foreign birth, he was born in Tabul, as a way to wheedle themselves into the good graces of our leaders who lean upon them for direction assuming they are from that country so that gives them a step up over others born in America.

Mike Pompeo appointed Khalilzad as  the United State’s special envoy to Afghanistan for the purpose of finding a peaceful solution to that country’s troubles. That he did. The US would all but surrender. On February 29, 2020, he was sitting next to a Taliban leader agreeing we would withdraw our troops by May 2021 provided the Taliban would negotiate a peaceful settlement with the Afghan government.

I imagine if Shakespeare were writing today. He certainly would not have Hamlet saying the words “to be or not to be.” There are better words today that he could use to express the same thoughts. An example  would be “to mask or not to mask” or “to vaccinate or not to vaccinate.”

As most know those are choices that for some will determine if they live or die. Worse, they are choices that do not just affect the person making the choice but others around him or her. Where Hamlet’s decision relative to living was going to only affect him.

Those who refuse to mask or vaccinate are much more prevalent in the Republican Red states than in the Blue states. It is in states that voted for Trump and have politicians abetting the idea there is something wrong – not American – in refusing to protect themselves and others.From best I can tell they shout out that by not doing so they are exercising their American freedom.

I read that we have succeeded in breaking another record. July was the hottest month in recorded history. It now is that each month breaks a record of some sorts. An article I read points out how the increase in heat and the melting of ice has adversely affected  places on all parts of the world. Yet we still have many who refuse to accept global warming and that it is caused by human behavior although some Republican Congress folk seeing its effects on their voters have started to believe it.

There’s the boiling over in Afghanistan that was as predictable as the sun rising.  Blame will be tossed back and forth between political parties when it rests fully on the shoulders of both.

Several things boggles my mind. The idea you could bargain with the Taliban is commensurate with thinking you can do so with a poisonous snake. More absurd is making a deal, watching the other party continually break it, and believing you still are bound by it.

Trump’s mistake was bargaining with the Taliban and setting a May 1 withdrawal date. Biden’s mistake was seeing the ongoing breaches of Trump’s deal, feeling despite that he was bound by it except to  move the date to September 1.

I’m in the process of compiling an index for my book “The Boston Gang Wars – 1956 to 1976”  It really is taking much longer than I thought so as far as other things I have been quiet.

But I was recently sent a copy of correspondence between a lawyer and the Cleveland Browns that I believe you would enjoy reading when you have a spare minute.

Hope you are well.

Are they out to accelerate the destruction of what is left of the Catholic Church. An article in 2019 noted: “Gallup has previously reported that church attendance has dropped ore among Catholics than among Protestants. Consistent with this, the decline in church membership has been greater among Catholics. Twenty years ago, 76% of Catholics belonged to a church; now, 63% do.”

Actually, it is surprising that figure is not greater given the seemingly endless scandal among the priests and the ham-handed response of the bishops. Despite the horrid news of bishops knowing priests who sexually offended young boys rather than being drummed out of the priesthood were transferred to other places and their sins covered up, most Catholics remained faithful to the Church. Sadly, the scandal of priests abusing youngsters and bishops covering up their offenses spread from Boston throughout the United States and the world.