North Korea, Iran- and Detroit.

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In North Korea, I am as worried about nuclear weapons as I have been since I was a 7-year old boy during the Cuban Missle Crisis- a Catholic in Upstate NY watching the first Catholic president and getting my first taste of politics, and of course, struggling to understand.

We had already had the moment at the Pelkey's, where the kids were all sitting on the hill above the ice rink frame, discussing whether we were Republicans or Democrats. Just then, my folks came out, ready for the 1-block walk home.

I yelled across the yard and asked whether I was a Democrat or Republican. The reply was short and concise: "If you are coming home with us, you are a Democrat."

I was a little young to become an emancipated minor.

I don't ever think a parent should insist on one or the other for their kids. It's a process that evolves by discussion and debate- a parent's job is to make sure their kids have reason for what they think and do- not to dictate.

We used to call our oldest "Alex" when he was a kid- as in Alex P. Keaton.

Kim Jong-Il is crazy, or if his health has deteriorated that much, whoever is running things is crazy. Perhaps the youngest son...

We already know that they withdrew from the Armistice ending the fighting of the Korean War just last month. Yesterday, they threatened to retaliate "a thousand-fold" against any perceived hostilities.

I can't believe I am saying this, but perhaps the only viable solution is to infiltrate the DPRK, and strategically place some nuclear bombs that are remote-controlled in Pyongyang. I assume self-destruct technology is available. Maybe a few other locations, too, but we obviously can't just sprinkle them around like candy.

One missle clears the launch site with a trajectory that takes it out of the DPRK, and "push".

I know this seems harsh, and out of character for me. The fact is, though, that mutual-restraint diplomacy is based upon logic and rational thinking.

And maybe there is a fail-safe Missle Defense technology available that can keep missles from leaving North Korean airspace. That, of course, would be the better solution.

Fail Safe. What a movie- and just how far, and how near, we have come since then.

We have to consider the strong possibility that the North Koreans are watching what is happening in Iran, and the moderate changes, to us, but probably significant to the North Koreans, that have occurred in China.

Rather than give up this family legacy, the aristocracy and the riches, mightg they be thinking about simply going out in a blaze of glory?

Speaking of Iran. That train has left the station- it's a bullet train, and it ain't stopping until it gets where it wants to go. Get ready world- here they come! It seems just like yesterday that I was calling the 1st Islamic Leader of Iran the "Assahollah Cockamamie"- but it was 25 years ago. What a difference a quarter decade
makes.

Detroit. The WSJ is reporting that Detroit does not have a single national grocery chain presence, has no major bookstores, that you can buy neither a Chrysler nor a Jeep in Detroit, and that the city of 900,000 has only 4 Starbucks. Oh, and they can't twopeat the Stanley Cup. Detroit may be the best City of Opportunity in our history.

Finally, a couple quotes from The Week: "I envy paranoids; they actually feel people are paying attention to them." Susan Sontag.

"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize that half of them are stupider than that." George Carlin

SRT