Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007
(P1) Philosophical (Historical)John Quincy Adams - Hero - 3 Very Interesting Facts
1. Toward the end of his life, he became the first president to be photographed (see 1848 photo)
2. Rather than retire, he went on to win election to the House of Representatives, serving for seventeen years, from 1831 until his death.
3. It was during these years that he gained his greatest political respect, by defending, successfully, the rights of the African captives who in 1839 overwhelmed the crew of the Spanish slave ship Amistad, by opposing, unsuccessfully, the Mexican War and statehood for Texas, and by opposing, again unsuccessfully, the gag rule denying the right of petition on issues involving slavery. In the end, however, his opposition to the gag rule can be counted as successful, for his unwavering efforts against slavery had a powerful effect that outlived him.
"Look, Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
Observance: Logically, then, it's time to destroy knowledge
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(P2) Political
Oprah Is to Iraq As Cronkite Was to VietnamI believe Marty Kaplan ( Huffington Post Dec. 10th) is really onto something:
"But Oprah -- well, in an age that has thoroughly blurred the boundary between news and entertainment, Oprah may actually be the twenty-first century's de facto national anchor. She really does channel -- and change -- Middle America.
"And as I watched Oprah introduce Senator Obama in Iowa, the two-by-four that hit me on the head wasn't: Oprah is for Obama. It was: Oprah is against the war.
"Maybe, just maybe, Oprah's audience will take from this the message that their own opposition to the war isn't a betrayal of the troops, as the Republicans claim; isn't giving comfort to the terrorists, as the administration asserts; isn't moral cowardice, as the Right's bile-spewing whiner intelligentsia insists. And maybe the message that current and aspiring members of Congress will take from Oprah's unembarrassed anti-war message is that it's not political suicide to stand with the decisive majority of the American people, that being called bad names by your opponents will not kill you, that if as canny a businesswoman and brand manager as Oprah doesn't think it's a fatal risk to tell the truth about Iraq, then maybe you can afford some campaign candor, too."
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(P3) Poetical
Shepherd
This guy 30 or so
pulls up curbside
in the rain by the rescue mission.
Someone on a decrepit bicycle
yells, “Hey Speedy!”
Everyone in the car gapes
but the passing cyclist aims
elsewhere while the driver
gets out to open his trunk,
grabs an umbrella, covers as much of
his dependent trio as he can
and gently herds them
into lunch.
Ever find yourself
wondering who has the right
to live, whose lives are worth
something, why so many are mortified by
the death of a cat?
Why my demented ninety-three year-old parents
continue to live?
Then there’s this thirty-year-old
who from this perspective,
still a kid,
is caring for three profoundly
damaged young men
his own age who
without him would
drown, freeze,
disappear——
entirely.
© Ed Coletti 2007 / Drawing Jim Spitzer
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5 comments:
We all have a right to live until we die. Then rights mean nothing. Dying means nothing. Life means everything. Everything becomes nothing. Meaning nothing. So many try to imitate life by doing something and in the end accomplish nothing. Such is life and politics in the western world of plenty.
What is the alternative to war? Where and how has this alternative ever been proven lasting? How do you eliminate the need and perhaps the desire for war? The people of this world will never hold hands across the globe in peace unless there is a common enemy more threatning than each other. Every war that ends, regardless of how, does not stop wars from spreading all over the world. Cronkite or Oprah do not have the answer and the lives they think they might save could ultimately cost more for unforseen reasons.
I'd love to walk around with an olive branch and preach the message of peace, but who and how would my security be guaranteed?
Bob Fischer
Thanks for the comment, Bob. In this case, we're only addressing the issue of THIS war as opposed to all wars. James Hillman once pointed out that over the 5,000 years of civilization, something like 15,000 wars have been fought. But THIS one is the one we have and the one which immorally spawned from lies and for ulterior motive.
"I'd love to walk around with an olive branch and preach the message of peace, but who and how would my security be guaranteed?"
I'm not sure what your point is with this statement, Bob, but it looks like you are saying that as long as we (the USA) are killing people outside the US and no one in this country is threatening your personal security, then that's all well and good. That it matters not why we are killing people as long as we are doing the fighting somewhere other than our own back yard.
Unfortunately, I believe there are many more millions who think like you than there are millions who believe there can be peace. As long as you and your like thinkers live in fear, universal peace will not be acheived.
Of what or who are you afraid?
The millions of dead Vietnamese and Cambodians will be glad to know that Oprah, like Walter, has plans, too.
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