60 Minutes on a Sunday

Before being sucked into flipping between The Matrix and Return of the Jedi last night (it's my little way of keeping grading from being too tedious -- watch old movies in between papers), I caught 60 Minutes, which I haven't watched in a loooong time.

Amazing story on it about a young fella from the 'Point who's a two-tour veteran of Iraq. He's 28. Safer interviewed him, and it was as though a 65-year old man was talking out of a young man's body. Desperately unnerving for me, watching this man younger than myself speak and look out of eyes that were, for lack of a better term, steely. He was going back for a third tour because he loved his men and felt responsible for them. The story was about the newest grads from West Point and the way the Army is trying to transform in order to give junior officers more leeway and more leadership training, since those are the fellows who are fighting in Iraq while trying to run Iraqi cities. Cannot imagine. Did more for my support of the troops than anything in recent memory, but I have to say I'm worried about this old young man and where he'll be in 20 years. He's seen too much.

The other story was sadly, hilarious. Mike Wallace was interviewing Vlad "I've gotten a sense of his soul" Putin, and he was such a snarky prick to this world leader that I sat there with my jaw on the floor. He made vulgar hand gestures referring to the money dealings with Russian oligarchs, ordered Putin to "speak English," and basically told the world "I'm Mike Wallace. F*&k you." Watching Putin -- wasn't he KGB back in the day? -- watch Wallace, I was mildly concerned over the journalist's lifespan once the cameras went off. But WOW was it a train wreck to watch! 60 Minutes -- not just for the grandparents anymore!!