January 9, 2013, Currumbin Waters, Australia

Commentary: One of the things that has always fascinated me about Australians is that many people know so much about America’s current affairs.  When my son-in-law, Bradley, first came to America in 1990, he knew more about the political state of affairs than I did.  Over the years, I have come to realize that lots of Australians watch American T.V. daily.  Yesterday, I sat with my son-in-law and we watched three hours of Bill O’Reilly’s program that was taped while we were on the cruise.  Three hours of Bill O’Reilly will give you lots of perspectives on the current affairs in America.  I talked to my daughter, Barbara, about this issue and she gave me a number of reasons while this pastime is huge for Australians.  One of the facts that she told me is that the Australian Stock Market is tied to the American Stock Market and their stocks rise and fall on what happens on Wall Street.  It is hard for Australians not to know what is going on in America as their major news programs always have a number of stories about what is happening in America.  The bottom line to my observation is that Australians like Americans and many are current on the state of our affairs.  Pictures: (1) Sydney Harbor at 6 AM as the cruise ship is docking: (2) Opera House at 6 AM; (3) People walking on the Harbor Bridge.