Can you give us any hint of what the "psychological issue" is that you would be addressing in your article? That may help in determining what kind of publication might be appropriate.
President Zelensky of Ukraine was in Washington today and apparently came away empty-handed. A slim majority of House Republicans and an overwhelming majority of Senate Republicans want to join Democrats to provide desperately needed aid to Ukraine which is just about out of ammunition and is facing a really cold winter. But Speaker Mike Johnson, in thrall to the right wing crazies, says he won’t bring Ukraine aid to a vote without concessions at the southern border. But privately, Republicans really don’t want concessions or anything that will reduce the flow of migrants because they think the border situation is the Republicans' best issue and they want it to remain unsolved.
Given Republican isolationism, Putin is surely delighted and Xi Jinping is drawing appropriate conclusions about the risks of invading Taiwan where, just coincidentally, the lion’s share of the world’s most advanced chips are made.
And the situation in Israel/Gaza is depressing beyond belief. It’s impossible to argue that the brutality of the Hamas attack was in any way justified - Israel had every right to respond. But the longer this goes on and the civilian casualties skyrocket and Gaza is turned into a moonscape, it’s hard not to think that, even if they succeed in killing all the Hamas leaders and fighters, Israel’s scorched-earth response is only sowing the seeds of Hamas 2.0.
Growing up in the 50's I can recall the wide spread anti-communism that was so all pervasive in th eRepubican party. I never dreamed there would come a day where the GOP would be so full of "Russian sympathisers". I'm not sure if they are full-blown "Russian agents" or just yellow bellied cowards with short memories.
Is there a difference in this case?
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Mike M and Mark,
One of you says 16,000. the other says 10,000. What's all the fuss about?
They're only a bunch of dead Palestinian children.
I totally agree with John Jackson's post. Not giving $ to defend Ukraine is exactly what Trump and Putin want. If we allow Ukraine to go to hell, all the deaths in that war will be for nonthing. Putin will just go ahead and take over other countries if he wants. Plus, other European countries will just know that America is a fickle ally and they can't defend on us to help them. Trump wanted to get the USA out of NATO and this isolationism is a big mistake. On Israel, yes they have the right to defend themselves, but there comes a point when they must provide humanitarian help for civilians. the Palestinians have been treated by Israel poorly, kicking them out of their homes so that Israel and build more settlements. I personally am not all the interested in supporting Israel to the extent that we have. They also have blood on their hands too. I am not antisemetic but the international community will be turning against Israel soon for their lack of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in Gaza. America will only be seen as one-sided.
Tom Nichols is a long-time (but now former) Republican who taught for 25 years at the U.S. Naval War College. Here is part of a piece he published today in The Atlantic:
The U.S. intelligence community, in a newly declassified report to Congress, estimates that Russia has lost 87 percent of the total number of active-duty ground troops that it had prior to launching its invasion of Ukraine—and note that this does not mean “men sent into battle” but nearly nine-tenths of its entire army—and two-thirds of its pre-invasion inventory of tanks.
The United States has so far provided military aid to Ukraine that amounts to roughly a tenth of its total annual defense budget. In return, one of America’s most dangerous enemies has sacrificed almost all of its existing soldiers and the bulk of its armor. The courage of the Ukrainian people and the valor of their armed forces have accomplished all of this without a single American soldier being ordered into battle. And yet Republicans want to depict this astonishing achievement as a budgetary strain that makes America less safe.
Despite the clear impact of American aid, critics continue to ask: How does it all end? For Ukraine, the only exit strategy is survival, just as it was for Britain in 1940 or Israel in 1973. The Ukrainians will keep fighting, because the alternative is the enslavement and butchery of the Ukrainian people, and the end of Ukraine as a nation. The Russians are the people who need an exit strategy. But as long as some in the GOP keep giving Putin the hope that he can outlast the West—and as long as Russian parents keep handing Putin their sons to burn on the pyre of his ego and delusions—this war will go on.
The Kremlin will stay the course. So should we, for as long as it takes to ensure the survival of Ukraine and the security of Europe, the United States, and the world.
I was about to post a similar argument. These reports, if accurate (and there are a growing number of said reports), would indicate that Russia's forces could be near exhaustion. Quitting our support for Ukraine now would be the worst thing we coul do. Hard to fathom the short sightedness of some of these morons in Congress.
This time, present and with alliteration and a quiz!
I awoke this morning to a rather deep snowfall, not a two-footer but about 6 inches in some areas and with a layer of ice beneath. Except for some snow shovel sounds, the silence of these mornings is beautiful as is the scenery.
All I could think of was the line from a song that says:
"On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow"
How's that for alliteration!
Oh, yes, the quiz: Name that tune and the artist(s) who sang it.
omg. I have been doing some reading for an essay writing class I am teaching next semester. This is the opening paragraph of a famous personal essay I just discovered. The last sentence is so beautiful I gasped.
When I was twenty years old, I became a kind of apprentice to a man named Andrew Lytle, whom pretty much no one apart from his negligibly less ancient sister, Polly, had addressed except as MisterLytle in at least a decade. She called him Brother. Or Brutha—I don’t suppose either of them had ever voiced a terminal r. His two grown daughters did call him Daddy. Certainly I never felt even the most obscure impulse to call him Andrew, or “old man,” or any other familiarism, though he frequently gave me to know it would be all right if I were to call him mon vieux. He, for his part, called me boy, and beloved, and once, in a letter, “Breath of My Nostrils.” He was about to turn ninety-two when I moved into his basement, and he had not yet quite reached ninety-three when they buried him the next winter, in a coffin I had helped to make—a cedar coffin, because it would smell good, he said. I wasn’t that helpful. I sat up a couple of nights in a freezing, starkly lit workshop rubbing beeswax into the boards. The other, older men—we were four altogether—absorbedly sawed and planed. They chiseled dovetail joints. My experience in woodworking hadn’t gone past feeding planks through a band saw for shop class, and there’d be no time to redo anything I might botch, so I followed instructions and with rags cut from an undershirt worked coats of wax into the cedar until its ashen whorls glowed purple, as if with remembered life.
One of our classmates posted this on Facebook today and I thought it was too good to not share. It is in response to Toby Keith's recently released single, "No Letting the Old Man In" which was inspired by Clint Eastwood.
"No Letting the Old Man In"
That's the response the admired nonagenarian actor Clint Eastwood gave to country singer Toby Keith when asked about his secret to staying active and vibrant at his age. "Every day when I wake up, I don't let the old man in. My secret has been the same since 1959: staying busy. I never let the old man into the house. I've had to drag him out because he was already comfortably settled, bothering me all the time, leaving no space for anything other than nostalgia. You have to stay active, alive, happy, strong, and capable. It's in us, in our intelligence, attitude, and mentality. We are young, regardless of our ID. We must learn to fight to not let the old man in.
That old man awaits us, stationed and tired by the side of the road to discourage us. I don't let the old, critical, hostile, envious spirit in—the one that scrutinizes our past to tie us up with complaints and distant anxieties, or relived traumas and waves of pain.
You have to turn your back on the old murmurer, full of rage and complaints, lacking courage, denying himself that old age can be creative, determined, and full of light and projection.
Aging can be pleasant and even fun if you know how to use your time if you're satisfied with what you've achieved, and if you still maintain enthusiasm," adds Clint Eastwood, a legend with ten Oscar nominations, of which he has won four statues—all after crossing the threshold of sixty. That's called "not letting the old man into the house."
These words resonated so deeply with country singer Toby Keith that they inspired him to compose the song "Don’t Let the Old Man In," dedicated to the legendary actor.
That song was released in 1966 (!) on the "Sounds of Silence" album, and - for the English majors out there - contains other alliteration lines: "in a deep and dark December", "It's laughter and it's loving I disdain" and "my poetry to protect me".
Obviously, that song was about loneliness as were some others on that album.
MM.,
Love that song and video by Toby. Rings true for me and probably many in our class.
Here ya go: change of pace. This is one of my favorite poems.
Some of it puzzles me but I like it just the same. I remembered it because of the story I have been thinking about writing - I mentioned it a few days ago - which would be about forgetfulness and aging and some new science along those lines.,
All I can say about this poem is it is about nostalgia; about acceptance...about love,,,,about courage, I think.
It may look like it's a downer but it's not. I think it is a kind of celebration.
Switching back to a more serious topic, which I will not debate on this Message Forum, but will invite anyone to view the User Forum where I have posted perspective on the recent posts regarding Israel's military response to the barbaric Hamas surprise terror attack on innocent Jewish civilians.
I think maybe Simon and Garfunkel were the defining musical group of our genertion - or maybe the Righteous Brothers, The Four Tops, or the Supremes.
I recall watching (our 12 inch TV in our "hooch") Simon and Garfunkel performing live one night from the AFVN TV studio in Saigon (that's Armed Forces Viet Nam - yes, the same studio as in "Good Mooooorning Viet Nam"). One sat on a stool while the other stood - with almost no backdrop or decor at all. They sang a song that is a bit obscure but has become one of my al-time favorites. This video is a very similar version. The memory still gives me a chill.
I can't believe I forgot to mention this. (Or did I ?)
A local resident, one Mary Ann (Nolan) Thomas (WHS '66) has just commited an act of charity that will elevate her directly to sainthood - with bo need to have to wait for beatification. She delivered a load of Chinese food, cokes, popcorn, candy, and two cans of VanKamps Beanie Weenees, to my front desk, who promptly brought it to my (COVID restrricted) room.
Flaberghasted is my response!
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P.s.
Jack,
I just noriced one of your old posts - maybe 10 days back - with a photo of Blanche Rish where your photo woud be. She and I dated for a while in Juniour year - went to Prom together. What's up with the photo?
With limited choices for TV viewing here in my "cell" (room), I have had about a zillion repeats of the "Home Alone" series, the "Chevy Chase FamilyChrismas" series, a few dozen repeats of "Back to the Future", I have refused to watch any of them.
But I have enjoyed 3 repeat watches of "Hitch" a really delightful Romantic Comedy with Will Smitth, Eva Mendez, and Kevin James. And I confess that I have actually watched part of "It's a Wonderful Life" 4 times (or is it five?). I think this might be one of the top "feel good" films of all time. You all know t's a sappy, sentimental story with that special magic that only Jimmy Stuart can bring.
Today we near the bicentennial of an anonymous poem, attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, that appeared on December 23, 1823 in the Troy, NY, Sentinel. "A Visit From St. Nicholas," commonaly known as "The Night Before Christmas." Enjoy the season.
For Christmas, I'm hoping to be put back on the distribution list for the Email notifications of the Forum.
Dave, I believe you may have suffered serious brain damage. I believe the Beatles were the most influential music makers of the sixties. Perhaps you may have had significant emotional events listening to the commercially successful S&G. I will admit that they were good. So was Bob Dylan.
Here is a poem from 1907 published in the St. Nicholas Magazine for children. Titled : The Dear Old Tree, By Luella Wilson Smith.
There's a dear old tree, an evergreen tree, And it blossoms once a year: 'Tis loaded with fruit from top to root, And it brings to all good cheer.
For its blossoms bright are small candles white, And its fruit is dolls and toys And they all are free for both you and me If we're good little girls and boys.
So be good for goodness sakes! Merry Christmas Everyone. Jack
Accompanying the poem in the magazine was a Christmas tree. I have been printing the trees this month at the Liberty printing office at Greenfield Village.
