Tag Archives: Politics
Beginning to Look Black
Excerpted from The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien, ©1954: “But last night I told you of Sauron the Great, the Dark Lord. The rumours that you have heard are true: he has indeed arisen again and left his hold in Mirkwood and returned to his ancient fastness in the Dark Tower …
Strict
The Supreme Court ruled that you have to let Black kids go to school. They ruled that you have to let Black people vote. They ruled that women get to decide for themselves whether or not to bear children. And that’s when conservatives began touting the idea of “strict interpretation” of the Constitution. If the …
The Lesser Of, Still Is
“The Truth of the matter is, you all, you all know what has to be done. We can disagree in the margins but the truth of the matter is it’s all within our wheelhouse and nobody (meaning the wealthy) has to be punished. No one’s standard of living will change. Nothing will fundamentally change. Because …
In Defiance of All That Is Bad
Excerpted from A Power Governments Cannot Suppress by Howard Zinn, ©2006: Even when we don’t “win,” there is fun and fulfillment that we have been involved, with other good people, in something worthwhile. We need hope. An optimist isn’t necessarily a blithe, slightly sappy whistler in the dark of our time. To be hopeful in …
Here Lies
I didn’t know this existed until I heard Donald Trump complaining about it.
Bamboozle
“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a …
Not “doctors,” “Germ Warriors!”
Can America do anything without couching it in military jargon? Donald Trump is not a “war president” fighting an “invisible enemy.” He has a health crisis, and he’s floundering.
Keeping The Issues Alive
We were so many, We were working as one, We were miles of moiling wheat In a sizzling summer’s heat. But now we are scattered and flung far apart, But you and I still live as one Through coals in the heart. And if anything is left of the coal in the soul, Oh, flash …
Lesser Of
Ignore his party affiliation for a moment, ignore the rhetoric, and just look at the things Barack Obama did. He built over 800 miles of wall along the border with Mexico, and still holds the record for the most deportations. He built thousands of miles of oil pipeline, declining only to build the last tiny …
I was a stranger, and
Matthew 25: 34-46: Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and …
We do not at present educate people to think but, rather, to have opinions…
Excerpted from Education of a Wandering Man: A Memoir by Louis L’Amour ©1989: Acquiring an education has many aspects, of which school is only one, and the present approach is, I believe, the wrong one. Without claiming to have all the answers, I can only express my feeling that our methods of instruction do much …
An Incomplete Education
“Unfortunately, in most of our schools the history of Europe and North America is taught as if it were the history of the world. The rest of the world is referred to only when Europeans or Americans were invading or trading. There has recently been a small change for the better but not nearly enough.” …
The Things That Make Us Human
“This is the result of social collapse, a lack of education, the loss of values in our homes and in our institutions. In recent years this country has focused only on politics. We have forgotten about the things that make us human.” ~Jorge Liscano He was quoted in a BBC video about grave robbing in …
Intellectually Agile
“If there was ever a reason to improve the country’s educational systems, just look at where your country is right now. It’s not an intellectually agile majority that got us to this place.” ~Henry Rollins
Emergency
“I could do the wall over a longer period of time. I didn’t need to do this. But I’d rather do it much faster.” (source) This quote puts the Supreme Court on trial. Their verdict will show whether they are impartial or packed with partisans. I know the way I expect this to go.
Obey
“Historically, the most terrible things– war, genocide, and slavery– have resulted not from disobedience, but from obedience.” ~Howard Zinn
Well,
“Peace is a very complicated concept. When the lion gobbles up the lamb and wipes his lips, then there’s peace. Well, I ain’t for that peace at all.” ~Abbie Hoffman The president called for unity last night. When everybody marches in lockstep and does as he tells them, then there’s unity. Well, I ain’t for …
can/must
Just because we can do something doesn’t mean we have to do it, and just because we posses something doesn’t mean we deserve to possess it. I read an article that said the coming revolution in artificial intelligence and automation is going to cause social upheaval as millions of people are thrown out of work. …
Bloodbath
People forget what an extremist Ronald Reagan was. He wasn’t a kindly old man who told funny stories, he was a demagogue who wanted to end political unrest by slaughtering all the hippies: “If it’s to be a bloodbath, let it be now.” Later he claimed that “bloodbath” was just a figure of speech. I’ve …
Abbie's Tree House 