There are two things that all of us who are interested in good government should be promoting right now. Forget the rest. If we can't get these two passed you may as well sit by and watch your country crumble. *Term limits for congress. *A no-exemption draft. Every able-bodied person's name gets put in the pot.
All 70 comments by...
mirmir
-
-
Hey, I like the Green Party, too. Be careful, though, there are two parties that use use "Green" in their name. Here we should be talking about the Green Party US, not "The Greens." Didn't Nader refuse to join the Green Party but thought it OK to run for president on their ticket? I submitted my suggestions for change to the Green Party some time ago. Please go to this site if you'd like to read my proposals: http://lists.gp-us.org/pipermail/iowa-work/2003-November/000505.html
Posted to The Republicans Democracy Disorder
-
johnnyincentx... I think you've gotten my post cofused with that of whattheheck, although I think WTH's two additions have a lot of merit. He also seems to understand very well why I'm pushing the two items that I consider essential. I don't understand your comment "...feel good, hit 'em where it counts, revenge type goals..." I'm aiming for good government, nothing more. There's no "feel good" or "hit 'em where it counts" or "revenge" about it. whattheheck... I ought to have made it clear. I would want any draft to have age parameters. I'd think 18-35 would be OK although the …
Posted to The Republicans Democracy Disorder
-
"People rarely object to their OWN long term representative. Can you name more than a handful of instances where people rebelled against THEIR OWN representative for staying in Gov’t. too long. Even many the “term limit” candidates that ran several years ago, have stayed beyond their limits. And you know what their constituants did? They elected them again and again and again. LOL" Exactly. That IS the problem. If lobbyists are so great, why don't we do away with Congress entirely? Let the lobbyists do it. Have you been keeping up with the Jack Abramoff scandal? Do you understand what "earmark" …
Posted to The Republicans Democracy Disorder
-
johnnyincentx... Yes, to me anyone who can't see the necessity for term limits is either uninformed or stupid. Theoretically there is no reason why we can't have people in today's Congress equal in intelligence and experience to those men in the very first congress. There are many, many more people to choose from, many far better educated than the first congressmen. People who have the entire 200 years plus of experience with the Constitution and the functioning government to draw upon. The problem is that the general public is so ignorant they don't make Congress attractive to gifted and honorable people …
Posted to The Republicans Democracy Disorder
-
NaderRaider sez: "Please visit these sites and consider a third party:" Yes, absolutely. A fine idea. However... There are two things that all of us who are interested in good government should be promoting. If we can't get these two provisions passed all the rest is idle gossip. They are: 1. Term limits for Congress 2. A no-exemption draft. All able-bodied persons' names get put in the pot. I've been trying to get people interested in the Green Party for some time. Please go to this site and read my suggestions for change: http://lists.gp-us.org/pipermail/iowa-work/2003-November/000505.html
Posted to A Progressive State of the Union
-
Wiley sez... "These things are close to obscure even among politically active people." Sad but true. And congressional corruption is rampant, the U.S. in engaged in still another unjust war, etc... “People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.” - Soren Kierkegaard (19th century Danish philosopher 3am and quiet. Suddenly Mercy wakes me up to tell me that the patient in room 206 is dying of congestive heart failure. Complications – the patient collapsed and broke her leg on the hard floor. I hurry along the corridor, Mercy close behind. Do you …
Posted to A Progressive State of the Union
-
Brian, NaderRaider and others... Am I confused? Didn't Nader refuse to join the Green Party but did agree to run on their ticket? How dumb (how egotistical) is that? Has Nader ever been a member of the Green Party? I'm for the Green Party, but Nader? No way, he blew it.
Posted to A Progressive State of the Union
-
Congress most likely will rubber stamp Bush's eavesdropping program, so what can we, just average citizens, do? I suggest that all of us include - in every message we send - words that might cause these "wiretappers" to begin looking at our e-mail . Words such as: Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, Taliban, Hamas. If enough people do this the lines of CIA, FBI, DOD and NSA will be overwhelmed. Maybe we could exchange Mom's apple pie recipe followed by the words Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, Taliban, Hamas at the very end.
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
Congress won't do it. Another investigation, a lot of meaningless posturing, a cowardly umpteen page report and then on to the only thing that matters to every member of Congress - the coming campaign for re-election. If anything is to be done, we have to do it. My suggestion is one simple thing that we can do - easily and with greater effect than we might think. If, that is, all of us have the courage to do it. I have friends (and I thought them solidly anti-Bush) who are terrified that they might be hauled into Bush's star chamber simply …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
Well, I'm not pinning my hope on a public opinion poll of the fickle American electorate. The poll that matters is that conducted on election day - and the American public elected Bush, DeLay, Cunningham, Istook, Frist, Ney, etc. And that same public has roundly rejected term limits for Congress and continues to oppose the draft. It's the system that's broke. Even McCain had the courage to publicly say this. But what's needed is less saying and more doing - on the part of all of us. If we just sit back wringing our hands and wailing while hoping that someone …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
...and there’s enough movement amongst the voters to have this granted power rescinded. Dream on. What really moves the voters? Their pocket books? Fear? Carl knows.
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
"...yet you don’t believe the people are empowered enough to speak up to their reps..." I didn't say that. Why is it that almost without exception these public forums turn into acrimonious trashing of any contrary idea that another might have? Look, I'm for anything that will work. If writing Congressmen will work, fine. I hope it does. Get on with it. The system is broke, and eavesdropping by Bush, even the invasion and occupation of Iraq, may not be the most serious threats the nation faces. Little by little, sometimes imperceptibly, we have allowed this nation to become one of …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
"Will they create a new terrorist crisis to justify it?" You know this administration pretty well. And if that doesn't work, how about a holy war against Iran, Pakistan...the Saudi's, Chavez???
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
csmelnix... Thanks, your apology appreciated and certainly accepted. We're on the same side, allied against a common enemy. If you, or anyone, should be interested in more of my comments see my last four posts on "Cult of Character." I would be very happy to have more people read them.
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
tina1 These figures may very well accurately reflect public opinion. Opinion, though, isn't what will matter in the end. We are, in theory at least, a nation of laws. At times the law and public opinion may be at odds. If the courts do their job Bush may be found in violation of both laws and Constitution. In that case Congress will be obliged, if a shred of honor remains there, to begin impeachment proceedings (as Arlen Specter pointed out in his interview with Stephanopolous) regardless of fickle public opinion. I'm glad you weighed in, opposing views, too, are needed here. …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
More on polls. As I mentioned earlier, the only poll that really counts is the one on election day when voters state their opinions at the ballot box. Public opinion polls aren't very reliable, mostly because people tend to be uniformed, misinformed or both. They want good information but very often don't get it. This Bush administration will probably be remembered as the most secretive in history. Unless you know what it's up to, how can you hold a well-founded opinion? 75 per cent of the people want the administration to disclose its contacts with lobbyist Jack Abramoff - again according …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
whattheheck... The positive side! Great, but if you want to increase the odds that they'll be read, don't forget to include this line in all your e-mails: Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, Taliban, Hamas, Jihad, YeHaw!
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
tiny one (thanks luminous)... "...even harder for law enforcement to catch criminals." I always thought that the principal job of law enforcement was to apprehend suspects, and that suspects only became criminals after due process. Bush, though, apparently thinks that courts and jurors are dispensable. He merely points the finger and a suspect instantly becomes a criminal. "...a big black guy, like Tookie..." Tiny, what makes you think that I'm not a big black guy? I might be seven feet six of of pure ebony muscle. Look out, little bigot.
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
Lying to “justify” war, smart bombs that hit only the intended target (never mind that the intended target may shelter women, children and old people), Guantanamo, Abu Gharib, torture, outsourcing, eavesdropping and now sequestration of Iraqi women whose husbands are suspected of being – what? – terrorists, insurgents, dissidents, anarchists? And that democracy that Bush talks about for others while destroying it at home. Iran elected, presumably through democratic processes, a hard-line militant while the Palestinians democratically elected Hamas (by a considerable margin). But Bush won’t deal with them. They aren’t the “democratic” outcomes he wanted. Rocco… It isn’t whether or …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
"That same public also elected Pelosi, Kennedy, Durbin, Leahy, Boxer, Reid, Bird, Rockafeller (sic), etc…" csmelnix on Jan 26 csmelnix... This old proverb still resonates (at least with me): "One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel."
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
luminous... "Let’s just not allow the bastards to intimidate us into being tacitly tacit." Yes. Straight talk, determined action. Another disturbing Bush "program." DOD distributes propaganda disguised as news to Iraqi journalists on its payroll and also to compensated European journalists. That bogus DOD generated news may return to the U.S. and appear in our newspapers, on our radio or TV as actual news reports attributed to "a reliable source."
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
wileywitch, rocco... Why this caustic internecine wrangling? Aren't you two on the same side? "Your thinking is uselessly simplistic (unless it’s enough for you to appear to have made a point), and your conclusions are trite." wiley, is this really necessary? Comments such as this lower the standard of this forum and tend to keep reasonable people, with reasonable arguments, away. Enough already.
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
rocco... I believe I understand what you're saying. In moments of desperation I sometimes think that a benevolent dictatorship is the only viable form of government. Historically, though, benevolence hasn't much staying power. Now, as to Bush's Goebbelization...
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
"It may very well be hopeless, but if one really cares they will work tirelessly for democracy." Yes, rocco, I agree. ACTION!!!! "And when I met Cindy, there in Crawford, I said to her..." Can anyone finish this???? Only some 300 supporters made their way to Crawford, out of millions of Americans. Sad. "Does anybody really care?" Not many. At least there aren't many who care enough to actually do something, something that might involve a bit of risk, a little bother, a touch of sacrifice. I use the Crawford example because it's recent and was widely publicized. Of course there …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
I keep mentioning Crawford because it was an event unique in this post 9/11 era. A courageous mother had lost her son in an unjust war. Bush, the person responsible for that war and for the death of her son was just around the corner - he had to pass her and her supporters to enter and leave his ranch. We, all of us, could have taken advantage of that opportunity to show our support for that grieving mother and our disgust with Bush and his policies. It would have been relatively easy, risk free. Bush must have been surprised and …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
Liberal and rocco... I agree with both of you. Yes, the lazy, apathetic, over fed, overly pampered middle class. While that middle class idles it's also besieged. Could easy street disappear along with pensions and medical benefits? Life is getting increasingly grim for America's workers, but will there be a middle class to lead them when (and if) they finally take to the streets? I wonder. Good on ya, Liberal, keep up the good work.
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
"...there seems a possibility newly radicalized voices will begin to appear in forums like this." Good post, luminous, and I sincerely hope that newly radicalized voices will show up wherever there's a forum. So Dell is relocating 5000 jobs to India. With all the advantages of globalization that accrue to large companies, the U.S. stock market can soar to new heights while U.S. employment falls through the floor. And Chevron-Exxon's disgraceful mega-profits while the average wage earner sees more and more of his/her paycheck disappearing at the pump. Buy Citgo, all of you, please!!! I subscribe to John Jeavons' bioentensive methods …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
"working class is middle class." I wonder, rocco, if West Virginia's coal miners would agree with you. Maybe. I haven't asked them. This doesn't necessarily logically follow my first sentence, but I think it would be a mistake to think that income level alone defines middle class.
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
rocco. You might check with the people who have the education and who have done the research that enables them to define these things with some authority. Perhaps you are one of those. Why is it that so many who post on these forums simply crouch on their haunches waiting for a chance to pounce on someone? Why is it that so many have yet to learn how to carry on a civil discourse? Is this Rush Limbaugh II?
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
About 95 per cent of Americans (at last report I have)consider themselves to be middle class. That perception may change if real income and opportunity among salaried workers continue to decline. I prefer Fussel's divisions, although you'll find a great deal of disagreement among social "scientists." I've been critized for offering so many quotes, but people aren't inclined to accept an ordinary person's opinion while a good many will accept that of a recognized authority. Of course for some the only authority is their own (usually unfounded) opinion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_in_the_contemporary_United_States "Fussell argues social class to be determined more by culture, lifestyle, and …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
Now, having posted Fussel's system I'd like to say that arguments of this sort aren't particularly productive. We seem to harp on the most insignificant items in one another's posts. I, for one, hope that this will put an end to the discussion on class. Those who want to learn more about it can refer to the literature - there's plenty. I'd rather return to a discussion of Bush's wiretapping scheme, perhaps a critique of his whole program of world domination. How goes the war in Iraq? Can "we" win in Iran? Are Saudi's oil fields and refineries in range of …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
The general public's Interest in the Iraq war wanes, as a glance at this forum's home page would indicate. Also check out these two sites for differing emphasis: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page.html http://www.alternet.org/ It is the war in Iraq - the war on terror as Bush would have it - that's being used as a pretext for subverting our freedoms. Isn't it?
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
"Aren’t hierarchies natural, and can democracy really function in large populations?" Posted by rocco Madison made a case for this in Federalist 10. He held it to be false that democracies can only function in small populations. He argued that in fact just the opposite was true - that democracies could function best in large populations. History, in my opinion, has proved him wrong but neither Madison nor any other of the founders could have imagined the nation as it exists now. For that reason I hold that the two-and-a-quarter-centuries-old (justly venerated) constitution cries out for revision. It no longer serves …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
"Standing here today, I can’t tell you that I know how we can win, or even that we can win. But I can be part of a conversation to try to shift the course onto a winning strategy, and in the course of that conversation we can demonstrate that we should win." Win what? Excerpts from Bush's speech? "staying the course," "we're winning?" What the hell does Jensen mean? And Wendell Berry, as much as I admire him, equally fuzzy. " real work?" "real journey?" Aren't the Republicans doing "real work?" Didn't DeLay and others take more than one "real journey?" …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
A hard working lady. A few paragraphs and the URL for the whole bit of wit... http://www.unconfirmedsources.com/?itemid=1208&catid=6 George W. Bush Declares Cindy Sheehan an Enemy Combatant by Kamal El-Din Unconfirmed sources report that the recently arrested anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan has been declared an enemy combatant and flown to Guantanamo Bay Cuba for questioning and indefinite incarceration. Sheehan was arrested in front of the White House today during a daring attempt to protest against the war in Iraq without a permit. The President was rushed to saftey to an underground bunker from where he issued an Executive Order declaring Sheehan an …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
"Since you used Madison as an example, it may be worth noting that he was an incredible elitist..." Many have held that notion in the past, few today. You might want to read fairly recent books by Drew R. McCoy, Joseph J. Ellis, Robert Allen Rutland, Bernard Bailyn, Lance Banning and Gordon S. Wood as well as articles and essays by them and others on the subject (yes, those books and many others that I often return to sit on my shelves, close at hand). In recent years there has been a long awaited, much needed reexamination - reevalution if you …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
rocco and others... For more of my comments on the subject of good government/constitutional change click on this URL (if you're interested, that is): http://lists.gp-us.org/pipermail/iowa-work/2003-November/000505.html
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
rocco... It would be impossible to summarize all that's written by these authors - I wouldn't try. It isn't fair to any of the Founders to select a few random quotes supposing that a few lines could accurately portray the whole man. The arguments are complex, the debate long and passionate. There were few (maybe none) involved in the noble struggle who did not change one or more of their fondly held notions as they debated and, above all, listened. That is what I, at least, would expect from great intellects. I think that Madison, justly considered the "Father of the …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
"...someone’s own words are always fair game." Yes, but our words change over time. I'd hate to be held accountable for what I might have said when I was 20. I've learned, the Founders learned (yes, for me always capitalized - I revere them). I think that what they accomplished was remarkable, little short of miraculous, FOR THEIR TIME. I doubt that it would have been possible to have gotten anything better. I said that they would probably be "shocked" that we have scarecly changed their constitution. I ought to have said that they would be horrified, astounded, incredulous. We consider …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
Why is it so important to you,mirmir, to set the off topic agendas? Posted by wileywitch on Feb 1, 2006 at 5:18 PM OK, I’ve strayed far from the topic. This is my last posting, promise. Posted by mirmir on Jan 17, 2006 at 10:02 PM Mirmir, please look through the other threads. The threads here are long. We wander around. It’s good. Ignorance is no problem---who isn’t ignorant? Hang out. Relax. The water’s fine, once you get used to it. Posted by wileywitch on Jan 17, 2006 at 10:31 PM Hey mirmir, there are crowds on other posts. We have …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
I'm definitely an elitist when it comes to reading history, although I have read (and enjoyed, applauded, mostly agreed with) Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States" as well as David McCullough's "John Adams." Dr. Zinn put his stamp of approval on Ray Raphael's book and that counts for a lot. Still, I had some very few petty (carping?) disagreements with Zinn who, after all, is a student and scholar of history. So far as I know Raphael isn't either so I doubt that I'll get around to his book any time soon. Right now I'm reading another sort …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
We all live in Hamilton's world. His vision has been realized, in spades. Now, more on Cindy Sheehan. Yes, I think it's on topic - Bush's attack on free speech. Sheehan considers filing a lawsuit, as I think she should. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060202/ap_on_go_co/state_of_union_sheehan_13 Police Apologize, Drop Charge Vs. Sheehan By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer Wed Feb 1, 7:10 PM ET Capitol Police dropped a charge of unlawful conduct against anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan on Wednesday and apologized for ejecting her and a congressman's wife from President Bush's State of the Union address for wearing T-shirts with war messages. "The officers made a …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
Once more, with even more feeling: *How goes the war in Iraq? *Can “we” win a war with Iran? (irony intended) *Are Saudi’s oil fields in range of Pakistan’s atomic warheads? *Will Bush be able to further restrict our freedoms by heightening our fears? *What are you doing to defeat Bush’s wiretapping? Is it something that others could also do? *As for Bush’s Goebbelization… Are these on topic? Worth discussing? No one responded when I posted them earlier (twice). Maybe these questions are more important: *Can the Steelers pull it off? *Will Brokeback Mountain sweep the Oscars? Bush says that if …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
rocco... As you live in Florida, you might be interested in this message that my nephew sent me a couple of days ago. There's a photo that goes along with it, but I've no idea how to post photos here. Of course this sort of thing could happen anywhere in the U.S. these days, given the present climate of fear and consequent loss of freedom. Slowly but surely the U.S. becomes a police state (a warning: be sure to wear only government approved "T" shirts). "This is true... Shortly after taking this photo, I was informed by a police officer that: …
Posted to FBI, DoD, NSA: All Spying on You
-
Very thoughtful posts. I'm surprised that no one mentioned Kant's categorical imperative. I generally shun philosophy (probably because I can't understand it) but for me Kant puts it very nicely. Here's a copy from wikipedia's encyclopedia and their URL if you want to read more on Kant's dictum (and there's lots more): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categorical_Imperative The categorical imperative is the philosophical concept central to the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant and to modern deontological ethics. He introduced the concept in his Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals. It is outlined here according to the arguments found in this work. Kant defined an imperative …
Posted to Cult of Character
-
No, I'm not alluding to anything. And I am neither competent to defend nor to criticize Kant. I believe I made it clear that I shun philosophy and that I don't understand it. This fault, if it is a fault, has as much to do with the way philosophers write as it does with my inability to understand it. I fall back on Wittgenstein - the essence of philosophy is or ought to be the study of language. "Wittgenstein's aim seems to have been to show up as nonsense the things that philosophers (himself included) are tempted to say. Philosophical theories, …
Posted to Cult of Character
-
Sometimes NOT to violate the speed limit would be reprehensible. I expect reasonable people to understand this. Just as I expect reasonable people to understand the intent and deeper meaning of the golden rule. To me, citing exceptions to it smacks of adolescent prancing. Philosophy doesn't generally rate much higher in my book. In all cases language falls short. What we say or write seldom (or never?) expresses precisely what we intend, and how difficult it is to get people to understand us even when we somehow miraculously approach our intention. Communication is a good deal more than just language, or …
Posted to Cult of Character
-
luminous beauty: I quote Wittgenstein because he seemed to think philosophy mostly nonsense and that philosophers ought to confine themselves to the logic of language. That appeals to me. Of course Wittgenstein contradicts himself as he continued to concoct largely unintelligible philosophical tracts. I sincerely think he was putting us on, though, and that appeals to me, too. (My university compelled me to swallow a little philosophy, otherwise no degree, so I have read a little - very little.) Now, please don't think that I'm just being contrary, but I don't like Neruda. One critic called him "a bad poet and …
Posted to Cult of Character
-
luminous beauty... Well, not my last posting - this is. The poem you posted, as you correctly noted, and as I wrongly supposed, wasn't by Neruda but by Octavio Paz. Once again, I've publicly exposed my naked ignorance. In my defense, if such there be, I`ve never read Ocavio Paz in translation, and I'm far from having read all his poems. Thank you for posting this one, and for the fine Dhammapada quote.
Posted to Cult of Character
-
wileywitch... Well, Michael retired, let's see, how many times? So here I am again. We do fret and fuss over simple stuff, but rare times genius cuts straight through to the hard kernel. Conrad did that in his "Heart of Darkness" while the very best poets often do. You and luminous gave us examples. Back to philosophy, here's a short poem of mine on the subject, subtitled "bi-directionalism" or "how my mother survived a near fatal bout with reasoning:" 1 and 2 and ... Determined I will count from zero all the way and back again I set out boldly then …
Posted to Cult of Character
-
wileywitch... Sure, do post it. I don't think it's daft at all and your muse will thank you, may even get a little fiesty. luminous... All that you say rings true. Philosophology - I'm going to adopt that word. Thanks
Posted to Cult of Character
-
Good stuff, wileywitch! It looks, though, that you need to find a wider audience - there're only three of us here, as far as I can tell.
Posted to Cult of Character
-
wileywitch... Before discussing Iran maybe we ought to clean house right here in the good old U.S.A. Enough talking, we've got to act, and term limits for Congress ranks at the top of the "to do" list. Next comes a return to an essentially exemption-free draft. Back to Iran. Have you read William Langewiesche's two recent articles in the Atlantic Monthly on A.Q.Khan? Interesting background on the Iran-Pakistan connection. Strange bedfellows indeed. Pakistan, for me, is the really big concern.
Posted to Cult of Character
-
Certainly your concern that the U.S. might be launching an illegal aggression against Iran is justified. The URL below will take you to an article on Iran, and again I heartily recommend the Atlantic Monthly's two articles on A.Q.Khan. Pakistani supporters of Bin Laden may very well take over control of Pakistan's government giving them not only the bomb ready-built but the means to deliver it. We'll not get back to the treaties so long as the "American" public remains dumb and apathetic. Only determined action on the part of U.S. voters can prevent or stall the administration's (and I include …
Posted to Cult of Character
-
...couldn't care less. From the Washington Post's Home Page. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Justice Dept. Backs Spying Bush administration cites war powers in detailed defense of domestic surveillance program. - Carol D. Leonnig Bin Laden Makes New Threats U.S. intelligence analysts authenticate voice recording of al Qaeda leader aired yesterday. – Craig Whitlock and Walter Pincus • GRAPHIC: Al Qaeda on Tape | Live Q&A, 11 a.m. ET Public Apathetic on GOP Race Republicans campaign to oust blemished leadership, but many voters couldn't care less. – Jim VandeHei and Shailagh Murray • Reid Apologizes for News Release on GOP
Posted to Cult of Character
-
This illustrates what I meant by my comment a few posting ago "language is important, communication is difficult." I didn't name any specific country that BL's supporters might target. Pakistani rockets have limited range, they certainly aren't capable of reaching the U.S. I've no doubt, though, that anti-western fanatics could find "suitable" targets within reach - targets that might provoke an atomic response from the U.S. - and then??? Given access to Pakistan's atomic facilities I suppose technicians could rather easily assemble "suitcase" bombs capable of reaching anyone, anywhere. . .a place right next door. I agree with those who say …
Posted to Cult of Character
-
Nope, not a science fiction fan. Nevil Shute's "On the Beach," not exactly science fiction, is about as close as I get. Garcìa Màrquez writes with great imagination while his "El colonel no tiene quien le escriba" is great literature. I doubt that Borges will wear well. I prefer the much more recent work of people like Josè Donoso. Although no one writing in Spanish, in my estimation, even comes close to Juan Rulfo - two small books and immortality. Fuentes can be Hollywood entertaining while (to his great credit) always championing social justice. I've recently read and admired a couple …
Posted to Cult of Character
-
By the way, the Neruda poem that you posted contains many of the irritating shortcomings that Swartz does justifiably criticize - lots of unrelated metaphors endlessly and senselessly strung one after another, the poet's meaning lost or absent. Here's another Neruda gem: 'To be men! That is the Stalinist law! . . . We must learn from Stalin his sincere intensity his concrete clarity. . . . Stalin is the noon, the maturity of man and the peoples. Stalinists, Let us bear this title with pride. . . . Stalinist workers, clerks, women take care of this day! The light has …
Posted to Cult of Character
-
Taste governs our preference in poetry as it does in all art forms. Your choices are valid for you, just as mine are valid for me. It isn’t profitable to argue about or to criticize individual tastes. Our choices – our preferences – tend to change as we become more knowledgeable, as we gain experience. Education plays a significant role in the choices we make. Basta. Maybe we aren’t asking the right question. Opinion counts for little whether about the number of nuclear war heads or the disastrous new drug plan. Action counts. What if we each asked ourselves “What am …
Posted to Cult of Character
-
“To judge the best writers in Spanish one must read them in the original.” Stephen Schwartz Bread sustenance money life home hearth fire leavening rising lightness fullness hope I don’t understand your intention with these lists. The word for bread in Spanish (pan) does not translate to all these things, and Neruda did after all write in Spanish. “…saying his poetry is bad is just nonsense…” No, saying his poetry is good is just nonsense. I believe that you’re sufficiently intelligent to understand what I mean by this juxtaposition. “Neruda's own loyalty to Stalin had motivated him, while a Chilean consul, …
Posted to Cult of Character
-
These paragraphs are from Bud Parr: “However, when Keats says “If art has no place in politics, politics has no place in art,” he brings up an interesting point for which the conclusion is not so easy as that phrase would suggest. I recall a year or two ago getting into a fairly fierce argument with Stephen Schwartz over the poetry of Pablo Neruda and it really brought home to me the lens with which many people see the world of art. Schwartz doesn't like Neruda's poetry, but I felt his opinion was influenced greatly by Neruda's politics (he had written …
Posted to Cult of Character
-
"QUÉ esperanza considerar, qué presagio puro, qué definitivo beso enterrar en el corazón," A heartless man speaks of the heart, a man who hated more than loved writes of love. No. Although my mind rejects the concept of doing so, I compare this with Machado: Yo voy soñando caminos de la tarde. ¡Las colinas doradas, los verdes pinos, las polvorientas encinas!... ¿Adónde el camino irá? Yo voy cantando, viajero a lo largo del sendero... -La tarde cayendo está-. "En el corazón tenía la espina de una pasión; logré arrancármela un día; ya no siento el corazón." Y todo el campo un …
Posted to Cult of Character
-
"God, I hate rhyming poetry. The only thing more futile than writing poetry is translating it." There, you see Fitzgerald? Utterly futile. And translations of the good Omar into more than 40 languages? Someone should have told them. And what could you have been thinking of, Edward - rhyme? "Ah, fill the cup: -- what boots it to repeat How Time is slipping underneath out Feet: Unborn To-morrow, and dead Yesterday, Why fret about them if To-day be sweet!" How hateful. And the poor man didn't know when to stop, he just went on and on rhyming, translating, composing. He must …
Posted to Cult of Character
-
Well, I tried to re-direct this discussion to "war drums" but not a single response to my post. Here it is again, with a couple of additions. Concern that the U.S. might be launching an illegal aggression against Iran is justified. The URL below will take you to an article on Iran, and I heartily recommend the Atlantic Monthly's recent two articles on A.Q.Khan if you haven't already read them. Pakistani supporters of Bin Laden may very well take over control of Pakistan's government giving them not only the bomb ready-built but the means to deliver it. We'll not get back …
Posted to Cult of Character
-
It's difficult to dialogue with people who are uninformed, who won't read and likely don't listen. I believe that I had a lot to say about "it" (see my posting of Jan. 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22). Ignore any "quotes from others" and stick to my comments. And then read the responses, see if they indicate a desire to dialogue. If you want more of what I "say about it" (what is 'it' anyway?), go to this site as I suggested in my post of Jan. 22, particularly my interactions. There you'll find a lot of quotes as well, but …
Posted to Cult of Character
-
OK, here are a few samples from the 3000 or so messages on the site that I moderate. These are my comments (not quotes) that were part of an exchange with Lsmith. I’m Sanford Russell here, or simply Russ. --- In BoycottUS@yahoogroups.com, LSmith2419@a... wrote: > > > I agree and you’re right--do you think we can change the course we are headed? > LSmith... Honestly I don't know. I DO know that if that course is to be changed the people themselves will have to do it and the mass of people will have to have strong, thoughtful, courageous leaders - …
Posted to Cult of Character
-
Most of us profess to believe in representative government - a democratic republic - as the founders did and as the Constitution provides. Some of us have the same fear that most or perhaps all of them (including Madison) had for populist government or direct democracy, with good reason. Anyone who is familiar with the California initiative/referendum/recall abomination would probably share this view. History provides ample warning against direct democracy and its role in the collapse of republics, while the great Montesquieu expressly denounced it. We might quibble with Montesquieu but we ought not to cavalierly ignore history. The USA has …
Posted to Cult of Character
-
1. Transparency in government to include (a) declassification of ALL official government records five years after the date of their origin (exact, uncensored and unaltered duplicates might be filed, at the time of their origin, with a special archivist and made readily available to the public after the five year period has expired) and (b) immediate and unrestricted access to all files, records and offices of any federal department (when expressly authorized by the full House) by a standing committee of five House members composed of three from the majority party, two from the minority, all of whom have been sworn …
Posted to Cult of Character
-
I wish that Israel's reprehensible policies and egregious abuses of international law would not be associated with the base idea of anti-Semitism. (Who are the Semites, anyway?) It's entirely possible to abhor Israel's actions (as do some Israelis) without being "anti-Semite." Perhaps I'm alone in this, but I hold Israel - the Israeli GOVERNMENT - primarily responsible for the wave of terrorism afflicting the world. And I say this without being "anti-Semetic." Sanford Russell
Posted to The Real Case for Israel
- Joined October 14, 2005
- Last Visit February 5, 2006
Other Profiles
IN THESE TIMES COMMUNITY MEMBERS
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
- 4.
- 5.
- 6.
- 7.
- 8.
Ignoring Outrage, Obama Set to Expand Pentagon Presence in Colombia
- 9.
- 10.
RSS Feed