e-commentary e-ssay e-poem

. . .

1          “Some lawyer named Fidel questioned why his fellow Cubans were being exploited by outsiders.  The political and economic system did not offer any recourse, so he and others personally took action.  Those who had property taken by the people were not pleased that their takings were taken.”

2          “America was patient allowing him to sit in an Adirondack chair on America’s back deck, smoke a cigar and blow smoke at us.”

1          “Monroe rolled over in his grave, although even James realized that the Doctrine was more aspiration than doctrine.”

2          “A problem arose when he smoked a cigar and sat atop a keg of gunpowder.”

1          “Many reasonable Americans understandably felt a NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) response, but we applied the patented policy of Containment that emerged to confront Fidel’s benefactor after the Second War To End All Wars.”

2          “Either side could have pointed to an act of war.  When the U-2 reconnaissance plane was shot down, America could have shot up the place.”

1          “Curtis “Bombs Away” LeMay wanted to blow up the world.”

2          “There is always one in every crowd.  America had subs wandering the waters with tactical nuclear weapons and the Russians had subs wandering the waters with tactical nuclear weapons.”

1          “Kennedy and Khrushchev communicated via lines of communication that were not much more sophisticated than smoke signals.  Kennedy gave up some missiles in Turkey that induced a NIMBY reaction among the Russians and Khrushchev cleaned up the dynamite in our back yard without publicly making it look like a sell-out.”

2          “Finding out what really went on is problematic and a problem.  Those who dislike Kennedy for other reasons dislike what he did even if they do not know what he did; those who like Kennedy for other reasons like what he did even if they do not know what he did.”

1          “It was a prudent resolution.  Awarding both of them the Nobel Peace Prize would not have been inappropriate.”

. . .

[George McGovern - 1922 – 2012.  A great war hero and a greater peace hero.  America would be a profoundly more peaceful and prosperous place today if the populace had picked decent men such as McGovern and Stevenson in the past.]

Bumper sticker of the week:

What is effortless to start is often impossible to stop.