Two bright spots among dismay

It's easy to become discouraged - broken campaign promises, humiliating international apologies, unconscionable deficits and national debts, ambivalence toward China's growing military strength and economic violations, the ever-deepening oil crisis in the Gulf of Mexico, the jobless rate - all very discouraging.

The "solutions" are also very discouraging and unproductive - form an investigating committee, establish new layers of Washington departments and move on to the next attempt at re-election.

Then, along come a couple examples of direct action that reinvigorate the spirit. The first is Arizona's new law regarding illegal immigration. Arizona simply got tired of federal inactivity and acted on its own. Good for Arizona.

The second example is Israel's reaction to the much-publicized attempt to break Israel's blockade of Gaza. The world knows where Israel stands when it acts in the interest of its national defense. Good for Israel.

It boils down to a lack of leadership in Washington and, when you think about it, where's the change?

Jim Osebold

Arlington Heights