photo snapped by Cardyn Brooks 2014  Confession: Hearing someone (or myself) say, "Thank you for your service," to a military service member always sounds like inadequate words of gratitude for all that they risk and suffer and sacrifice to protect the U.S. The expanding investigation into VA hospitals magnifies that sense of shameful inadequacy. BATAF: One day; one holiday weekend per year is sufficient acknowledgement for those who have died to protect and defend the United States of America.

image by Cardyn Brooks 2014  Observation: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Bill Gates made technology mainstream. They and their peers conceived and built upon innovations that launched this current digital society, measured by likes, views, unique visitors, subscribers, customer reviews, etc. We are connected through many more ways of communication and information access at the same time the depth of our face-to-face connections is eroding because we're always looking down into our personal tech for amusement and knowledge. BATAF: Human- to-human engagement is obsolete.   

image from weneeddiversebooks.tumblr.com  Confession: The #WeNeedDiverseBooks and #DiversifyYourShelves threads are so encouraging to me after reading so much mainstream contemporary fiction in which there are no non-Anglo characters or the ones who are included seem flat and false. BATAF: Diversity is a politically correct fad, not a universal necessity.