I'm back on the job this morning after a few days of vacation. (To those of you who started to wonder in your posts, no, I'm not going anywhere!) I was in North Carolina for an annual golf trip with some buddies. My flight from LAX took me through Newark International Airport where I was scheduled to connect to a flight to Norfolk, Virginia. From there, I would drive to the Outer Banks to meet up with my pals. Newark was bogged down in fog and rain and aircraft were stacked up as we approached. We circled for about an hour and finally landed late. I rushed through the terminal to make my connection, only to learn the flight was delayed for two hours. I'm as human as anyone and was fully prepared to be aggravated by it all, but I know I'm blessed in these trying times to even be able to take a vacation. So as I settled in with a beer at an airport bar, March Madness basketball on the TV, I decided not to sweat it and to just take it all in as part of my vacation experience. I'm not usually a sit-at-the-bar kind of guy, but on this particular night, I'm glad I was. I had great company--a cheerful British bartender, a bunch of fellow stranded passengers, and a U.S. Army soldier on leave from Ft. Irwin-- a young man who had recently returned from Iraq. The soldier was enroute to Florida for some well-deserved R and R. It was great to see how folks treated him--with respect and gratitude. This fellow wasn't permitted to buy a drink for himself, and it certainly wasn't the kind of ugly scene sometimes encountered by our troops returning from another unpopular war in a place called Vietnam. As we nursed our beers, we talked about the basketball game, about Barstow, about the life awaiting the soldier when he leaves the Army this summer. But as we sat there laughing and talking, I couldn't help but wonder about his experiences in Iraq. I wondered if it was O.K. to ask him about it. I decided not to ask. He's on leave. He deserves a break from talking about the war. I have no right to go there, I said to myself. But as if he was reading my mind, he suddenly brought it up. "Check this out," he said. The soldier turned to show me the back of his head where a square of hair was missing, a scar in its place. "I got hit by an IED," he said quite cheerfully. The young man went on to tell me he was in a vehicle that hit a roadside bomb. They were then ambushed by insurgents who hit them with small arms fire. The American soldiers fought them off and it was only then that this soldier fell over and passed out. Shrapnel had torn through his helmet and lodged in his skull. Fortunately, it stopped there and surgeons were able to remove it. "Everyone else pull through O.K.?" I asked. I knew it was the wrong thing to say as soon as the words left my mouth. "One of the guys died," he said matter-of-factly. He said it as if he didn't want to burden me with the news. I felt horrible knowing I'd ask him to relive it. I apologized for his loss. We carried on talking about his plans for the future, about the good times he was looking forward to in the days ahead in Florida. When I learned my flight delay was now a flight cancellation, I decided to check in to an aiport hotel until morning. I shook the soldier's hand and thanked him for his service. As I sat in my hotel room later, I thought about that soldier. I wondered if his war experiences would affect him in a negative way in the years ahead. I hope he'll have the support of his friends and family and the Army to get through it if they do. Meeting the soldier also reminded me of the great life I enjoy and sometimes take for granted. It made me feel, believe it or not, grateful that my flight was cancelled. I was grateful I had a chance to share some beers with some fellow passengers, a cheerful British bartender and a soldier with a full life ahead of him.

On behalf of my fellow shareholders (the American taxpayer), I wanted to extend a hearty congratulations for a job well-done. Not for your performance as an executive at AIG, of course. As you know, your actions in the financial products division of the company drove the company into the ditch and caused American International Group to seek out more than $170 billion in bailout money from the federal reserve and Treasury. 

This morning, President Obama signed an executive order reversing Bush Administration policy on embryonic stem cell research. The decision means we can expect a  huge increase in federal funding for research into the use of embryonic stem cells. These are cells that come from days-old fertilized eggs that fertility clinics would otherwise discard.

Advocates for stem cell research say today's decision means hope for millions of people who pray for cures to their diseases and conditions. According to the National Institutes of Health: "...stem cells offer the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat a myriad of diseases, conditions, and disabilities including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis."

"I cannot guarantee that we will find the treatments and cures we seek. No president can promise that," President Obama said. "But I can promise that we will seek them actively, responsibly, and with the urgency required to make up for lost ground."

But opponents say President Bush had it just right--authorizing funding to only the 21 stem cell lines that had been produced before the Bush policy went into effect in August of 2001. Opponents say destroying embryos to obtain stem cells is destroying human life.

As House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) put it, President Obama "rolled back important protections for innocent life, further dividing our nation at a time when we need greater unity to tackle the challenges before us."

What's your view on President Obama's decision on embryonic stem cell research?