A Review of Legend by Eric Blehm

Eric Blehm tells a story of Roy Benavidez, a Special Forces staff sergeant who risked his life to rescue a squad of his Fellow Special Forces troops who were stranded in Cambodia and suppressed by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. Roy Benavidez was a true American hero who refused to abandon his fellow soldiers.

At first, I thought that it was just another book about the Vietnam War, but when I started reading it, I couldn't stop. Blehm's writing style resembles a novel, and I instantly found a connection to the book. The way that Blehm tells the story, you could almost sense the battle. I felt the bullets whizzing by, and grenades hurtling through the air as the main subject of the book, Roy Benavidez held up his section of the jungle. As bayonets tore into Benavidez's body, I found myself wincing in pain. The story is just that good.

I recommend this book to anybody interested in military history. America should never forget its heroes. They have served and continue to serve valiantly and with great honor so that future generations can appreciate the values that America stands for.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book through Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames. A Review

The Good Spy is a tragic account of a CIA operative named Robert Ames. The author of the book, Kai Bird was Ames' childhood neighbor, so he provides a brutally honest account of his life and work. Like most biography books, it starts out with an outlook on Ames' childhood life with the chapter called The Making of a Spy. In this chapter, Bird tells what made Ames become a CIA case officer. Later on, he gives an account of Ames' spy work in the Middle East as the chief of the Near East and South Asia Division of the Directorate of Intelligence. He was truly a great spy who knew the ins and outs of all the nuances in espionage and built common ground between the CIA, Mossad, and various Middle Eastern intelligence agencies. Tragically, however, Ames' life was cut short on April 18, 1983 when Islamic terrorists bombed the American embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. There is an entire chapter devoted to this terrorist attack where the author follows Ames minute by minute. Finally, he provides an account of the aftermath of the event, and in the epilogue, we see what happened to Ames' wife and six children and how they coped with their loss.

As someone who likes spy novels, I found The Good Spy a very informative and enjoyable read. Bird's writing style was very clear and easy to follow along. As for the rating, I would give this book a 9.5/10.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book through the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review.

Review of Making the Case: How to Negotiate Like a Prosecutor in Work and Life by Kimberly Guilfoyle

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22693263-making-the-case" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Making the Case: How to Negotiate Like a Prosecutor in Work and Life" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1416177000m/22693263.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22693263-making-the-case">Making the Case: How to Negotiate Like a Prosecutor in Work and Life</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6086950.Kimberly_Guilfoyle">Kimberly Guilfoyle</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1311688806">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.<br>Kimberly Guilfoyle is a prosecutor and host of various Fox News show. In her book, she uses her negotiation skills honed as a prosecutor to describe how to make a case and ultimately maximize the benefits out of life. Her book is an invaluable resource to anybody who wants to live life to the fullest.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/15086762-michael-shulman">View all my reviews</a>

Confederate Flag Controversy

So the South Carolina State Senate signed a bill to remove the Confederate flag from the state capitol. This is setting a dangerous precedent. From its founding, America has been the bastion of freedom and democracy. The Founding Fathers valued individual freedoms, the kind of freedoms that you just couldn't get in Britain, France, Russia, etc.  To truly enjoy these freedoms you needed a strong faith in God. As we were all taught in school, one of the main reasons America wanted independence from Britain is because Britain has been very oppressive. Americans were taxed like crazy by the Crown and after a while they got tired and said it was time for change. The rest is history. Fast forward 239 years later, and our inalienable rights are being infringed upon by the state. Removing the Confederate flag is rewriting history. To many, the flag symbolizes its true meaning which is Southern pride, not slavery, hate, and racism. When the flag was originally commissioned which was not the Confederate flag, but rather the battle flag of the Northern Virginia army, it served as a symbol of patriotism and belonging. Only later did groups such as the KKK hijacked and co-opted the flag for their own nefarious purposes. 

Yes what Dylann Roof did on that day was completely reprehensible and there is no justification for this heinous and cowardly act of racial violence. However, I also believe the government shouldn't tell us what to do and what not to do; we should decide for ourselves. In my opinion, the whole controversy over the flag is a knee-jerk reaction to an act of violence, just like gun control was a knee-jerk reaction after the Sandy Hook massacre. Today we take down the Confederate flag, tomorrow we'll take down the American flag for the sole reason that certain groups deem it offensive.  

The President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenka looks like Dr. Phil.

No kidding!

I'm a Mystic Seal And Here Are All My Animal Friends

Serendipitous Koala, the love of my life
Glorious Eagle
Devious Narwhal
Jubilant Rabbit
Awesome Kangaroo
Amazing Hedgehog
Elegant Panther
Chunky Monkey
Magical Flamingo
Fabulous Sheep
Zany Bee
Jolly Giraffe
Nostalgic Cheetah
Juvenile Horse
Mischievous Sparrow
Majestic Feathery Peacock
Meticulous Dog
Magnificent Grouse
Glorious Japanese Hawk
Kooky Mockingbird
Marvelous Kinkajou
Sneaky Lemur
Nerdy Mallard
Alluring Manatee
Dynamic Newt
Chivalrous Mule
Caring Squirrel
Drunk Skunk
Tyrannical Hog
Tantalizing Hamster
Giant Panda
Articulate Rat
Eclectic Rooster
Slick Raven
Sensitive Rhino
Precious Mouse
Reasonable Cat
Grotesque Tiger
Gigantic Moose

Fly in My Hummus

So one day I went to my local restaurant that served Middle Eastern food. My favorite food from that region is hummus. So I go in there, sit down at a table, and the waiter asks me what I'm going to eat. I say "Bring me hummus wrapped in pita bread with tomatoes, onions, and ketchup. The waiter says "OK, I'll be back in 10 minutes with your order. Anything to drink?" I order Sprite because it's my favorite soda. The waiter brings me out a glass of Sprite, while I go to the bathroom to wash my hands. I do my business and then come out and sit down. Ten minutes pass by and the waiter comes out with a pita wrap stuffed to the top with hummus. I take the order, and VOILA! There is a dead fly in my hummus! I was shocked! I immediately started a thought process in my brain. How did it get there? Maybe it came all the way from the Middle East while savoring the great taste of hummus. Or maybe it was a local fly that happened to die and then drop into the hummus.

If it was a Middle Eastern fly, then was it Muslim, Christian, or Jewish? If it was Jewish, then this was the best case scenario, as I am Jewish myself. If it was Jewish, was it religious or not? If it was religious, then its yarmulke is somewhere close by. If it wasn't, then I couldn't tell, unless it had a Jewish last name, like Goldberg, Steinberg, or Weinberg.

Next, the middle case scenario was if the fly was Christian. If it was Christian, did it have a cross? If it did, then where is it? If not, then is it a true believing Christian or a sinner? I learned quite a bit about sin and repentance while waiting for a bus on College Ave. Almost every day, a preacher yelled at the top of his lungs, "Repent! Repent! Only that way you could go to Heaven" or "The Bible says 'thou shalt not commit adultery' or "Homosexuality is a sin! You WILL go to hell if you're gay!", but if a man looked at a woman with lust then he committed adultery in his heart." Too bad, it didn't live on College Ave to listen to the preacher's words, or did it? If the fly was a sinner, then it would be in Hell. If it was a good fly, a true Christian, it would be in Heaven. Was dying in the hummus and then being transported halfway across the world Hell or Heaven? I don't know about that, since I don't know the fly.

Lastly, the worst-case scenario is if the fly is Muslim. If it is, then I'm 99.99% confident that it had negative feelings toward Israel. There is also the possibility that it trained with Al-Qaeda in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan. If it did, then its commanders probably sent it to the United States for subversive activity. If this was the case, then was it on FBI radar? If it was, then why didn't the FBI act sooner? Also, if it was on the FBI list, then was it on the no-fly list? If it wasn't on the FBI radar, it wasn't on the no-fly list. Lastly, I doubt that the fly blew itself up, because then it would be in tattered and torn pieces. If the fly was Muslim, then it couldn't possibly eat pork. Also, if it had a wife-fly, then most likely she was constantly battered and oppressed. Where was the fly's Quran? Did it drink alcohol? Did it gamble? Did it fly into strip clubs? Most likely, no, if it was religious.

After finishing brainstorming all of the outcomes, I called up the waiter, and told him there was a fly in my hummus. He apologized, and brought me a new pita with hummus. I looked in there, and there was no fly. I then proceeded to enjoy the best-tasting hummus ever.