During the Iraq war, I participated in at least two demonstrations against the conflict. Unlike Afghanistan, we went into Iraq based on faulty intelligence and the perception that Saddam Hussein was creating weapons of mass destruction and had a hand in 9-11. I also remember participating in a get out the vote campaign in Florida for John Kerry and the then Democratic candidate for Senator in the 2004 campaign. Kerry ended up losing, but I had no regrets. I have come to have some respect for George W. Bush during the Trump years. At least Bush was capable of feeling shame and didn’t encourage his supporters to take to the streets if the race didn’t go his way.
You never read or see on TV about the planes that land safely or the trains that get to their destination safely (even though they make up the majority of flights and train runs. Crashes, derailments and near misses are what generates clicks and pumps up ratings after all. Also, at the risk of sounding like Captain Obvious, the person riding shotgun should now better to distract the driver with those reports.
In Germany, they first came for the Communists, but I wasn’t a Communist, so I didn’t speak up. Then they came for the Jews, but I wasn’t a Jew so I didn’t speak up. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, but I wasn’t a Trade Unionist so I didn’t speak up. Then they came for the Catholics, but I was a Protestant so I didn’t speak up. Then they came for me, and by then there was no one left to speak up – Martin Niemoller
There are more good people than bad in this country, it’s just that the bad get all the attention. That said, the good people need to stand up for those who would otherwise be brought to heel. Evil can only flourish when good people look the other way.
I’ve listened to Dark Side of the Moon a few times, but I’m more familiar with Wish You Were Here and The Wall (which ultimately led Roger Waters to quit the band). Some of their post-Waters stuff is good too, like “Learning to Fly” and “Keep Talking” with Stephen Hawking. Though I like bands like The Beatles and Talking Heads more, I’ve been a Pink Floyd fan for years.
For all the hoo hah from the GOP about “Won’t someone please think of the children?” (thank you Helen Lovejoy), some GOP governors want to rewrite the Child Labor laws so 14 year olds can work in mining, meatpacking, etc. The Child Labor laws were enacted so children that young can be at school instead of coughing their lungs out in mines. Vote blue no matter who!
We are talking about a virus that may have originated from an animal in China’s “Wet markets” or may have originated from a leak (accidental or deliberate) in China’s labs. Both sides have stated that more studies need to be done. In the early part of the Pandemic, we really didn’t know all that much about COVID and made it up as we went along. What we do know now is that (like other viruses) COVID has adapted and evolved as its environment changed.
Biden and Western Europe are aiding Ukraine so there won’t be WW3! If we don’t let Ukraine fall, and show Putin that autocrats ultimately meet bad ends, we can avoid a global conflict and/or nuclear warfare. If we fight WW3 with nukes, we’ll be fighting WW4 with sticks, rocks and clubs!
I can’t believe that I agree with you on something, Rosie, but I don’t think that Putin would be satisfied with Ukraine falling. He was a lifelong admirer of Josef Stalin and wishes to reestablish the old USSR (why else would he re-annex Crimea?). During the rise of Hitler in Europe, the US stayed on the sidelines because of the horrors of WW1 as well as us combating the Great Depression. Although we sent aid to the UK in 1940 and 1941, we didn’t enter WW2 until Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. A Japanese officer was said to remark, “I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant!”
During the Iraq war, I participated in at least two demonstrations against the conflict. Unlike Afghanistan, we went into Iraq based on faulty intelligence and the perception that Saddam Hussein was creating weapons of mass destruction and had a hand in 9-11. I also remember participating in a get out the vote campaign in Florida for John Kerry and the then Democratic candidate for Senator in the 2004 campaign. Kerry ended up losing, but I had no regrets. I have come to have some respect for George W. Bush during the Trump years. At least Bush was capable of feeling shame and didn’t encourage his supporters to take to the streets if the race didn’t go his way.