The Book of Shua

Tonight, my family had dinner together for the first time in what seemed like a lifetime. It was awesome (the food was, too)! We talked. We laughed. It was something I'd been missing. Days fly by and these little moments of bliss get left behind. We hardly ever think about how important those family dinners are until there are no more. I'm glad we did this tonight and I hope we have the opportunity to gather for many more years to come. This may all sound a bit cliche, but it truly does make my heart happy. (L to R): Dad, Mom, Brother (absent from dinner), Myself Christmas 2016 Let's make some memories, 'round this 9 foot pine Pull up a chair and stay a while, at the family table Zac Brown Band, "Family Table" Yes, Let's.

For six months, President Donald Trump has been on a collision course with the American media; quite literally. This morning, he tweeted an edited video from his days at the WWE, which showed him attacking a man with the CNN logo superimposed over his head. CNN, and the mainstream media in general, have been Trump's main target, dubbing them as "the enemy of the American people." They aren't. Journalists serve a very great purpose in our democracy. They expose the wrongdoing in our government. They brought Richard Nixon to justice. Trump's attack on CNN isn't entirely unwarranted, however. Recently a video of CNN's CEO came out calling the whole Russia deal "bullshit." Mind you, this is the CEO and not the actual journalists. People like Jake Tapper and Erin Burnett take great pride in what they do, and they do a great job! They do not think it is "bullshit." They, like me, know these are serious allegations that need proper examina...

From Left: cousins Ethan & Ellie, Myself, my Mother at Christmas Over the weekend, my mother was admitted to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, a place with which my family is all too familiar. Her latest hospital stay comes as a result of a lung infection. In 2013, she fought with Leukemia and won. Ever since, she's battled with other ailments that have been caused in one way or another by the cancer. Every time something comes up, I can't help but think the worst. It never is, but my fragile mind always escalates everything to a 10. My mom is my rock. I don't know how I could go on without her. But I know I will. I'll have to. I imagine it'll involve a lot of tears. But at what point should the tears stop? There have been many tearful occasions over the last four years, but at some time they have to stop, right? Life will be very different when she's gone. I hope that isn't for a while, but I want to be ready when the time ultimately co...

Just outside of our nation's capital this morning a deranged gunman opened fire on a Congressional baseball practice. Five to seven (excluding the gunman) people were injured, but thankfully none were killed. Steve Scalise, the House Majority Whip, was one of the injured. As of this writing, he is in critical condition but is expected to make a recovery. Among the others injured were a congressional staffer, a lobbyist, and a couple of Capitol police officers. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) Every year the congressional Democrats and Republicans get together to play a baseball game for charity. Both sides were holding practice for the game, which remains scheduled for tomorrow. One of the participants spoke with a man who asked if it were Democrats or Republicans who were practicing. "Republicans," he told the man. We now know this to be the assailant: James T. Hodgkinson, a former home inspector from Illinois. It is suspected that the motive for the shooti...

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions Today (Tuesday), United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee. His testimony comes just days after former FBI Director James Comey testified in front of the same committee. I was able to watch Comey's testimony last Thursday, and there were many revelations. What stuck out to me was his insistence that President Trump could not be trusted, which is why the former director kept detailed memos of their meetings. These memos were leaked by Comey himself, which is very unusual, but interesting nonetheless. While I wasn't able to watch Sessions testimony, I did read reports of it, and it sounds like Sessions didn't reveal a whole lot. In fact, one Senator told Sessions that he was impeding the investigation. That is a very damning claim. Where does this all lead? Can we really go four years with this whole Russia investigation over our heads? In my mind, there is only one way all of...

I've spent almost a fifth of a century on this Earth, and all I've ever experienced from my country is a constant state of war. The United States of America has been engulfed in conflict in the Middle East ever since that fateful Tuesday morning in September 2001. We've been fighting, yet the threat of terror is more prevalent than ever. What got me thinking about this today was a report I saw on the CBS Evening News tonight. Before closing the show, anchor Scott Pelley told the audience about three American soldiers who were killed by a member of the Taliban (which had supposedly been eradicated in Afghanistan). What Pelley said next really struck me with awe. One of the soldiers, Cpl. Dillon Baldridge was only six years old when al-Qaeda brought down the World Trade Center. This American hero is only two years older than I. Scott Pelley put it into perspective when he said, "Our troops are fighting in a cause they learned in a history book." Then I thought...