Neo

Xenophobic is an intriguing word, too. I'm not a xenophobe. When someone says "they are destroying our country" the day after "they" slaughtered 140 of them, I understand where their thought is born. I may counter argue that their "they" is too broadly defined, but I understand. That's intrigue number one. Number two is the concept of country. What is France if not French? What obligation do transplants have to conform, if any? I'm not offering answers. Instead, I'm giving insight into how I frame my internal debate. I see what we call xenophobia on several levels and understand the underlying emotions beyond simply "bad". If I believe in the concept of France, am I xenophobic for expecting fellow French citizens to have or adopt some common understanding? If you answer "no", what does France or being "French" mean? I'm not at the point where I can emphatically argue one way or the other. I am at the point where I know I can consider the options without fear.

Glad her family is well, of course. I'd never heard of Marine Le Pen until yesterday. NPR did an in depth view on France and its thoughts about possible direction. Le Pen didn't appear, but commentators mentioned her. She may find fertile ground in which to campaign. I am under informed, but I believe she represents a strong stance, at least domestically, with regard to viewing radical Islam as a threat and advocates policy in that regard. Interesting to me - France may be more nationalistic than I'd known. There are already laws with regard to clothing and symbols that go further than I understood. Several commentators used the word apartheid. Again, I am on thin ice with regard to expertise. To others: I haven't formed a refugee conclusion, yet. I share all of the humanitarian, philanthropic and leadership arguments. My reserve, though, stems not from fear. I've read that word, here and elsewhere, on a number of occasions. I'm not afraid of refugees. I'm an assumption of risk guy. My reserve is steeped in pragmatism, state interests, and economics. Making donations is nice. Borrowing on a credit card to do so is not very smart.

Awesome ... 35 years ...

Yes, Kipawa ... I confused my fishing trips

I've fished Nipissing ... Dokis, too. I love it

I had to edit my "spell-o"!

I've been to Dokis and New Liskeard. Spent a few weeks in Algonquin. Honeymooned in Bancroft and spent weeks there over the years - Lake Baptiste. I'd love to get North Bay or Sudbury or Sault Ste Marie. God lives in Ontario.

Perfect ... I'll call you before I leave! Ever get to Peterborough?

Bucket list - a few weeks driving around Ontario and Quebec seeing OHL and QMJHL games, eating at diners and staying at small town motels. Just hockey. Reading the local papers and talking to the townspeople who've seen all the stars roll through for decades. I've never seen an OHL/QMJHL game. I visited the rink in Peterborough during a summer vacation on our way to Bancroft. My boys and I wanted to see where Steve Yzerman, Tie Domi, and so many more had played. I also detoured through Perry Sound on my to the French River to see Robert Gordon Orr's home a good twenty years after he retired. Hockey is romance.

Awesome .... I experienced your type of memory with my two boys, as a dad. They played travel hockey through high school. Together, 800 games. I think I missed 20.

I remember going to the movies with my family, cuz I HAD two, on Easter or some other holiday. I wore my new sweater, and had the transistor in my corduroys with the earphone running secretly up my sleeve and into my ear. I kept my left hand in my pocket for hours listening to a matinée. May have been Oliver, or Fiddler in the Roof. Eighty two games is a long season. When there was more fighting, each game took on a relevance you don't see today. There was the passion play, the game within the game. Sending messages, answering the call, taking liberties, the code. I grew up with this, too. I miss it. I am prepared to be called a Caveman. Remember seeing a one goal game become a two goal game, late? Too late to realistically expect to score two to tie? Out would come the muscle - first home, then road ... Especially if home was losing.

You needed NO help!

How cool ... Awesome post. I've chimed in, over the years, with early memories. Mr. J captured it well. I won't eat column inches, again. The Poor Man's Aud and fried bologna. The wheelchair bound peanut vendor who juggled. Looking over the Harbor with Brian Spencer, sitting in a Rolls Royce. Attending a closed practice during the playoffs (Korab to Pereault: "C'mon, superstar...), popping beer cups in the hallways, the organ, "we want Ray", snipping milk cartons and mailing coupons for the open practice, and them watching the mail, The Courrier Express before school, for box scores (and reading that Tim Horton died), transistor radios under the pillow on school nights. Milt Ellis .... Joe Daley playing goal without a mask, and combing his hair perfectly between periods; saving money for pennants ... Sabres first, then the awesomely cool Blackhawks Howie Meeker, rabbit ears and rotating antennas ... SabreJaks, Schoney's album, "and where there's a Gil there's a waaAAay". Looking forward to Juri Dudacek. Perreault and Larry Mickey, walking to the locker room for a practice, smoking cigarettes, with Perreault crooning The Platters' "Only You". Meeting Bob Probert on the catwalk and shaking a hand nearly twice mine in size. He wore a dress shirt, tie, and leather coat. Sleeping overnight for standing room only tickets to watch Bermie Parent hoist the Conn Smyth while Sabres fans applauded and chanted "Bernie, Bernie ...". Niagara Falls International airport to greet the team after a playoff game in Montreal, "thank you, Sabres" when it was spontaneous. 1,2,3,4 .... We want 5. Buffalo 12, Soviet Wings 6 (Korab vs Yakushev), during the Cold War. A game stopped while ten players helped Don Luce find a contact lens. Craig Ramsey's first goal, during a game he scored three (just like Jean Beliveau). A young Jaromir Jagr saying he liked playing the Sabres because "their defense is soft", and Rob Ray lining up opposite him for the opening face off the next time they met .... and he and Super Mario whining to the referees for a full 50 seconds before leaving the ice ... The Buffalo Sabres.

I prefer to think you have a spokesperson. Before anyone says it .... did you enjoy their fragrances?

Great start for Draisaitl. http://thehockeywriters.com/connor-who-oilers-other-rookie-even-more-dominant/

Woods and Matt - thank you. There's a college, Florida Southern, about 45 minutes east of Tampa, eoughly 1/2 way to Orlando/Disney. It has the largest same site collection of FLW architecture. I'm estimating - 7 or 8 buildings. If you get here for tourism, conventions, etc., it's worth a trip.

K9 - thoughtful. I truly shall consider it. Different point of view - what it provides weighed against what it prevents.

I responded to you and the meme. I think the meme speaks for itself. (I'm very proud of myself for knowing what "meme" means, by the way. I'm old). Your post, while you were clear wasn't directed my way, made me think of how a question around number of "x" can elicit a "so all "y""? response. Not a personal thing, but linkage that isn't in words, and yet is somehow sucked out of words, is an honest debate obstacle, IMHO. "Fear" is another word I hear a lot. Being prudent, calculating and diligent isn't fearful. It's smart. Glad you're here, every day. When 100,000 people are killing you and telling you "why" they're killing, I take them at their word that's "why". TRULY no disrespect, but there are times I wonder if our President doesn't still have some reluctant professor in him. "I know Islam to be different, so I'll educate the bastards and tell 'em I'm right and they're wrong". Truly, that's not the partisan in me. That's the "what the hell's he talking about" in me. I've had the same question for both sides of the aisle on many issues. I've had it for myself.

I wasn't referring to world leaders. If I was, I'd make the same point. Truly, tell me the prudence of not saying the obvious? Do you think Hollande, Putin, Cameron, et al. are being imprudent? How about Abdullah II of Jordan? Are the potential wrongly offended too dumb to understand? I'd suggest the unwillingness to identify what you stand for and against is imprudent. Afterthought: Our leader's never acknowledged the linkage. In fact, he's said ISIS isn't an Islamic organization. I can assure you it's not just semantics to him. It's his strategy. It's the language his staff has adopted. Now here's a policy debate. How does the expressed refusal to link affect strategy?

I know no one who's blamed all, or blamed most, Muslims for radical Islam. No one. Zero. Zip. Nada. I know many who won't recognize radical Islam for fear of being associated with blame no one assigns. It's cowardly and anti-thought. Before you link me to toothless Bill in Utah with some racist Twitter rant, let me say serious or meaningful person. Someone's said everything, somewhere. Radical Islam exists. It's significant. It changes our lives. It won't be ignored.

I didn't assume anything.

He's appeared in credible journals. I detected no agenda in his writing, left or right, east or west, etc .... Very grateful for my weekend's most arresting read ... Sincere question ... is that a pie chart of shared belief or membership? I'm struggling with only 150,000 sharing a belief in the three.

On my bucket list (Falling Water). I had no idea about the other. Go see Darwin Martin, if you've not yet. I suspect you have. I've not been to Lake Shore.

It's hard being anything when a shrinking web/cable world brings everything in contact with everything else. Grateful ... Fewer firebombs than I might have thought. Firebombs, sure, but some legitimate empathy all around. I'd love your report on their view of anything the US should or shouldn't do.

Grateful grateful ...