Happy Birthday, Jimmy Carter!

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr., the 39th president of the United States turns 83 today and I want you all to wish this amazing man a happy birthday in whatever way you can. If I'd known, I would have prepared something earllier in the day, but as it is, I was working on my review of Jonathan Demme's excellent new documentary Jimmy Carter Man From Plains and noticed that today was his birthday. And how would president Carter be spending the start of his 84th year on Earth, you might ask? Well, he is part of a group of international leaders that landed yesterday in Khartoum, Sudan to do what they can to help end the suffering in Darfur. At an age when many people are either unable or not unterested in continuing to contribute, Jimmy Carter is half-way around the world trying to end unimaginable suffering. If that's not a hero, I don't know what is.

Photo by Alex Cohn © 2007 Real Peace Productions, Inc. courtesy Sony Pictures Classics. All Rights Reserved.