Budweiser

Since most Americans are focused on rising gasoline prices and the "home mortgage crisis" I have to guess most people completely overlooked some very encouraging economic news in today's newspapers. Anheuser-Busch of St. Louis, Missouri announced that they will be launching Budweiser beer is none other than Vietnam!

Now this my friends is what I call progress. Instead of "exporting" soldiers to fight in Vietnam we are finally - nearly 30 years later - doing something vital for both countries, namely serving up some beers for everyone to enjoy. I take this trade development news very seriously because two of my uncles served with the US Marines in Vietnam which caused many sleepless nights for my grandmother until both of her sons came home safe and sound.

As my personal friends know I am still a Cold War Warrior even though the Soviet Union (I was there in 1986) is a relic of history so I am not being soft on Communism when I state - I would have much rather seen my uncles delivering shipments of beer to Vietnamese villages instead of scrambling to stay alive by hiding in rice paddies filled with feces-dominated water.

The lesson here is of course a very ancient one -- "trading nations are not warring nations". When was the last time you feared an invasion of the USA by Canada or Japan -- two of our major trading partners?

Beer makes the world go 'round,

Todd