In August of 1865, a Colonel P.H. Anderson of Big Spring, Tennessee, wrote to his former slave, Jourdan Anderson, and requested that he come back to work on his farm. Jourdan — who, since being emancipated, had moved to Ohio, found paid work, and was now supporting his family — responded spectacularly by way of the letter seen below (a letter which, according to newspapers at the time, he dictated). Rather than quote the numerous highlights in this letter, I'll simply leave you to enjoy it. Do make sure you read to the end. To My Old Master
US Army Soldiers gather around a fire to stay warm during an operation in Helmand province, Afghanistan in February of 2010. (Photo: The U.S. Army / flickr)
"The same war continues," Denise Levertov wrote in her poem, "Life at War." Her lament is even more appropriate for 2011 than it was when she wrote the poem forty-five years ago.
Columnists and academics, including international relations professor Andrew Bacevich of Boston University, are finally acknowledging facts familiar to anyone "awake" regarding failed US policies, wasted lives and wasted resources during this period. Willfully ignoring such facts, as Bacevich wrote, "is to become complicit in the destruction of what most Americans profess to hold dear."
At the beginning of the new year, consequences of "life at war" stare us in the face: the victimization of military and civilian populations and a huge national debt, including an annual military budget that is larger than all military budgets in the world combined and includes $5 billion that remains unaccounted for in Iraq, as well as aid to Pakistan that has wound up in the hands of the Taliban.
These truths haunt any citizen who has lost loved ones in prolonged wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan since 1950, or in disastrous interventions in Iran, Guatemala, Indonesia, Chile, Granada, Panama, Honduras, and so on.
Any responsible citizen acknowledges this painful history in the hope of redirecting US foreign policy in the future. The purpose of reclaiming it is not to open old wounds, but to encourage legislative and direct action committed to peacemaking. It is a call to critique the policies and competence of the Pentagon, the CIA, and the national security apparatus responsible for these disasters.
Sensitive ground &tc, but that clip is of an insanely talented woman going through the motions, not the real deal. And it seems edited.
Billie Holiday's story was a sad one. A very talented blues and jazz singer, she started using hard drugs in her mid-twenties. They destroyed her at age 44.
They got me up to the tree and they got a rope and they put it around my neck. And they began to push me under the tree. And that's when I prayed to God. I said, 'Lord have mercy, forgive me my sins.' I was ready to die.
- James Cameron
Sensitive ground &tc, but that clip is of an insanely talented woman going through the motions, not the real deal. And it seems edited.
History is history. You can't change it. Much of it is ugly and distasteful. Nuggler has every right to post that just as you have every right not to look at it. I've seen worse images and subjects on network TV.
I don't think that it was out of context. The article, including the leader photo was direct form NPR. This is the same way it popped up on FB.
This is an open forum etc., but this pic is very much out of place here and highly offensive. It comes off like you are bored and just want to incite some kind of flame war here. We all know about the grim history of this country. We now have an African-American president. This is highly insensitive. They may not post, but there are children who view this site.
I request that you delete this post. Be part of the community and be sensitive to the common group, please.
History is history. You can't change it. Much of it is ugly and distasteful. Nuggler has every right to post that just as you have every right not to look at it. I've seen worse images and subjects on network TV.
They got me up to the tree and they got a rope and they put it around my neck. And they began to push me under the tree. And that's when I prayed to God. I said, 'Lord have mercy, forgive me my sins.' I was ready to die.
For Navy, history, and/or old-time film buffs, this is an 11-minute clip of rare footage from the silent movie US Navy of 1915. It shows brief shots a submarine in action, life aboard a warship, training signaling, rope skills, and more. A sailor's life was definitely not for me!!
For Navy, history, and/or old-time film buffs, this is an 11-minute clip of rare footage from the silent movie US Navy of 1915. It shows brief shots a submarine in action, life aboard a warship, training signaling, rope skills, and more. A sailor's life was definitely not for me!!
I respectfully disagree. I would prefer Pres. Obama hire an aide, who hires an aide, who hires an aide, who takes a large unpleasant-looking Peace Officer with him (or her) to Paulson's office, and says "clean out your desk, we'll escort you to the door. Now."
After reconsidering, I abandon my previous opinion, and wholeheartedly support yours.
I'd be tired, too, after a hard day of panic selling.
Fortunately most modern high-rise office buildings have windows that don't open, so that "over-tired" traders can't succumb to "accidental" self-defenestration.
First of all, I have zero confidence that Paulson will be motivated by anything that I say. On the other side of that same coin, I have a strong desire to keep my name from being flagged in Poindexter's gigantic database. It might be an irrational fear, but it might not. But when I consider the stakes, I choose to fly in the weeds until I'm a lot more convinced that there are no more unseen bogies on my six.
"Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent." —Napoleon Bonaparte
"The sound of a door being closed furtively attracts far more attention than one slammed shut." —John LaCarre
Using the works of Mohandas Gandhi and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as examples, a group of people united to a common cause can drown out the loudest angry mob with total silence. Think of it as a clever way to enhance the signal to noise ratio.
I will not "send a message" to Paulson. What I will do is send one of my state's senators, Barack Obama to the White House. Then President Obama can hire an aide, who hires an aide, who hires an aide, who sends an e-mail to Paulson saying "clean out your desk, and be out of the building by 5PM."
I respectfully disagree. I would prefer Pres. Obama hire an aide, who hires an aide, who hires an aide, who takes a large unpleasant-looking Peace Officer with him (or her) to Paulson's office, and says "clean out your desk, we'll escort you to the door. Now."
OMG!! You can tell from the serious tone of my post that I was making a fiendish effort to propagate a major historical distortion.
Who knows what the actual body count was from the Crash of 1929? I'd be very surprised if it was zero. And in the Old Days, you could open the windows of your office building, so it's not entirely out of the question that some took the plunge. Someone should find the truth behind this important aspect of American history.
I don't think that it was out of context. The article, including the leader photo was direct form NPR. This is the same way it popped up on FB.
It might be an irrational fear, but it might not. But when I consider the stakes, I choose to fly in the weeds until I'm a lot more convinced that there are no more unseen bogies on my six.
