Where once there had lived a sober and thrifty citizenry, proud of their founding fathers, jealous of their Republic, finding their full expression of being in work and family and their gods, and in their quiet homes and the shadows of their trees, there now lived a motley and rapacious rabble, quick to acclaim, quick to murder, quick to quarrel ( Read more... )

The hoariest and most of-repeated cliche in American politics
may be that America is the greatest country in the world.
Every politician, Democrat and Republican,
seems duty bound to pander to this idea of American exceptionalism,
and woe until him who hints otherwise.
There is nothing wrong with self-satisfaction or national pride.
But the ( Read more... )

The explosions are constant now and the sirens are temporarily silenced. The pets are in hiding. The show is amazing, terrific, colorful, people are applauding within a block of here. I am tired, and headed for bed soon. The noise will not keep me up ( Read more... )

104,366 AMERICANS buried in Europe ( Read more... )

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/countries/

They're not all the same: the UK, Switzerland, Taiwan, Germany, and Japan all provide healthcare for their citizens.

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/07/09/jesse-jackson-apologizes-for-obama-remarks/
( thoughts and links )

OK, so right now, the media is buzzing with clips of Obama's speech on patriotism. I haven't taken in any more than the clips, but I get the gist of it. He is attempting to raise the standard of debate, to stop people from saying "you're not a patriot" anytime they disagree about what is right for the country. He has a long row to hoe, because ( Read more... )

I thought I posted a link to Naomi's article earlier, but couldn't find it, so here it is! This is the same lady from the utube clip (previous to this entry ( Read more... )

Yesterday I hosted a small party with European flavor at the Barn in Mountain Dell. Right around the block there was an all-American shindig complete with red, white and blue banners and propane grills filled with low quality meat products. I told my friends it was to be an "unamerican" celebration with no hot dogs, potato chips, flags, ( Read more... )

( Read more... )