Comments on: ‘Election:’ July 2nd, 2006: (revisited)

By: kthomas

kthomas — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 06:03:28 +0000

“ANONYMOUSE:”

Amsterdam is it tonight? You and your proxies certainly do get around a lot compared to… ahum… the average Epfh.

You also seem to feel a particular need to shout about these issues. Well enough: imagine my position. And as Avital Ronell once said of Neitzsche, even the most quiet and timid among us, may need to should to be heard, now and again.

Regardless: if you are in any sense ’serious’– some-thing which requires a great deal of ‘actual’ ‘humour’ to achieve– I would remind you of a question you posed in a previous inquiry, and suggest that you give some thought to what is called, by the word, ‘Republic.’

If I may, might I also point you towards’ Walter Kaufmann (W ‘4X)’s explication of the ‘Logic’ of (somethings like) ‘reality’ and ‘State,’ as presented in from Shakespeare to Existentialism, around here?

And FM…

By: FROSH/SOPH MOM

FROSH/SOPH MOM — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:28:45 +0000

(Nothing prompts me to skim by a comment faster than seeing it ALL IN CAPITAL LETTERS!!!!)

Ken:
In reading about McCain’s recent jaunt to Mexico, (which must have been very ‘unjaunty’ considering their were four decapitated bodies found the same day he arrived) I was wondering…

Do you have any sense of how your D.F. acquaintances feel about our upcoming election?

I get the feeling they are pretty disgruntled with Bush, and McCain has voiced emphasis on cracking down on illegals, and yet Obama has specified renegotiating NAFTA…so …?

By: ANONYMOUS

ANONYMOUS — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:46:13 +0000

WE NO LONGER HAVE A REPUBLIC.

WE HAVE AN EGALITARIAN DEMOCRACY. WE HAVE MOB RULE. THIEVES AND SWINDLERS SAVAGE OUR NATION. THEY ARE MOVING OUR ASSETS AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ON FLYING CARPETS TO DISTANT LANDS AND YOU DO NOT NOTICE. YOU ARE TOLD THAT YOU MUST SUPPORT ‘FREE TRADE’; THAT ‘FREE’ IS IMPORTANT TO ALL THAT YOU RECEIVE; THAT WE CANNOT REMAIN ISOLATIONIST; THAT ISOLATIONISM IS WRONG; THAT TO PROTECT OWN’S OWN IS BANEFUL; THAT WE ARE OUR NEIGHBOR’S KEEPER; THAT WE NEED TO SHARE AND CARE ABOUT EVERYONE. WE ARE BANKRUPTING OUR NATION AT THE EXPENSE OF TRADING IN ‘FREE’ BALONEY.

THIS SWINDLE HAS EVERYONE VEXED.

OUR CANDIDATES ARE ILLEGITIMATE. THEY ARE THE BY-PRODUCTS OF CAPITAL AND MADISON AVENUE. THEY OFFER NO SOLUTIONS. THEY PANDER TO EMOTIONS. WHERE ARE THE CANDIDATES ON THE ISSUES CONFRONTING OUR NATION? WHERE IS OUR CONGRESS? THE FAILURE OF GOVERNMENT IS EVERYWHERE. THERE IS NO CREDIBLE GOVERNMENT. WE HAVE NO LEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT. WE HAVE REPRESENTATIVES THAT SQUANDER PRECIOUS RESOURCES AND ARE DRIVING OUR CITIZENS TO BANKRUPTCY.

WE DO NOT HAVE AN ELECTION COMING, BUT WE ARE GONG TO HAVE A MOMENT, A DENOUEMENT OF PLACE AND TIME. A PERIOD OF TRIBULATION WHICH THEY CLAIM IS THE RESULT OF SIN OR NEGLECT. THESE VAPID CANDIDATES DO NOT REPRESENT THE SPIRIT OF OUR FOUNDERS OR THEIR SUCCESSORS. THEY ARE THE CIRCUS TENT BARKERS OF THEIR SUPPORTERS. THEIR PURPOSE IS TO APPEAL TO CONSTITUENTS, TO DRAW THEIR ATTENTION AND TO REPRESENT THE MUTUAL WISDOM OF THEIR FINANCIERS.

THIS ELECTION REPRESENTS THE FAILURE OF THE POLITICAL WILL OF THE PEOPLE. WE HAVE NO NATION, NO PEOPLE. WE HAVE HANDLERS WHO HAVE USED US TO FINANCE THEIR GREAT GLOBAL SWINDLE.

HAVE A GREAT FOURTH OF JULY.

By: FROSH/SOPH MOM

FROSH/SOPH MOM — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:23:21 +0000

Wierd…it did work after all.

So…(to ‘tech’)…when a previous link previewed as working, it didn’t once submitted…

and when this one previewed as not working..it did after submitting…

Hmmm, thoroughly confusing.

By: FROSH/SOPH MOM

FROSH/SOPH MOM — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:14:50 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hupgC1d-St8

Here is the Sorensen YouTube. I cannot get it to link. It works fine until I get it on the site and then it just goes flat.

This happens to me every now and then and I have absolutely no idea why.

By: PTC

PTC — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:49:55 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df2p6867_pw&feature=user

Obama on you tube.

By: FROSH/SOPH MOM

FROSH/SOPH MOM — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:03:06 +0000

That was the link I was trying for, Ken. Not sure why it didn’t work for me, but thank you.

I have a recent You Tube of him that I’m having trouble linking as well. He looks good. I’ll try it again later.

The recounting of the crisis gives me chills…

By: frank uible

frank uible — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:42:25 +0000

As I recall, Sorensen during Q&As was not surprisingly defensive of JFK’s judgment relative to risk, despite Sorensen’s specific denial at that time that the Soviets received any quid pro quo in return for their withdrawal from Cuba, whether in terms of the U.S.’s closure of air bases in Turkey or otherwise.

By: kthomas

kthomas — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:10:15 +0000

(I cannot add the link above: Kennedy's Touch on Obama's Words)

By: kthomas

kthomas — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:57:19 +0000

(I am sorry that I missed Ted Sorenson at Williams, and would like to hear what he had to say then.

At the first Havana conference, Bob McNamara remarked that success in the October crisis, lay in Kennedy’s “remarkable leadership” and his restraint in dealing with the crisis.

Were Fate so rational, much of human life and history would not be interesting. At the same time, Bobby Kennedy was making an incredible statement to the Russian ambassador: “Then, sir, (if you do not withdraw), there will be war.”

It has been said that Bob turned completely white, when he learned that the US had been dropping depth charges on armed nuclear submarines which had field authority to use those weapons rather than “lose the ship–” and that, under heavy bombardment, a Russian first officer had convinced his commander to give up their lives, rather than begin a nuclear conflict.

Bob learned that within a day or two of when Ted was in Williamstown, I believe.

“It is impossible to think,” Bob managed to respond, “that the United States would not have responded in kind.”

The flaw in the US analysis was to assume that the crisis was a strategic bluff, and that the missiles in Cuba were neither armed nor operational. They were.

Had a depth charge strayed thirty feet that day, had a first officer not argued passionately with his commander, or not succeeded– such, is the God we call Fate.

Within fifteen minutes of the US countermove, the talons the Khrushchev conspiracy had placed in Cuba would have torn at every US city from Miami to Washington to New York to Portland, destroying eighty million souls. Within a half hour, the US strategic response would have killed the same number in eastern Europe and the Russias, as the remains of the Soviet Union’s military apparatus began to obliterate the cities of Western Europe.

Or some such. Within a few weeks, the conflict would have unfolded to consume half a billion lives. I am not clear on how far the conspiracy had begun to reveal and unravel is operational plans to the field generals– but they would have done well to delay, long enough to secure some tens of thousands of the troops amassed in Cuba for an invasion of the US mainland, and to do the equivalent for Europe.

Such had been the plan all along, of course– though I wonder if Khrushchev was entirely aware.

Ted, by now, must be.)

By: frank uible

frank uible — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:00:49 +0000

Sorensen spoke on campus about 6 years ago – on the occasion of the anniversary of the 13 days. He looked and sounded very frail. It must have been the 40 year anniversary – in the fall.

By: FROSH/SOPH MOM

FROSH/SOPH MOM — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:33:59 +0000

Here is a recent piece on Sorensen. And if his ability to capture an audience of highschoolers, (at near 80 and blind), is any indication, I guess he hasn’t lost his touch.

A quote:

“…Sorensen has a new mission: to resurrect Camelot. And it seems the Obama camp is listening. “I’ve given them a phrase or suggestion or two,” Sorensen admits…”

He goes on to lament (quite humorously) the decline of..ahem…’eloquence’ in our current administration.

By: frank uible

frank uible — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:48:17 +0000

Absent a monumental blunder on his part, Obama will win – but will he start to fix America’s gigantic fiscal mess? It will take a lot more than increasing the taxes of the top 5 percenters. He and his successors will need to lead the pain of not insubstantial tax increases for a broad base of citizens and/or substantial cuts in federal expenditures so that over the intermediate term government revenues fall in line with spending. Otherwise, the U.S. will continue to gradually decline in standard of living relative to the ROW, ultimately becoming absolute decline.

By: FROSH/SOPH MOM

FROSH/SOPH MOM — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:40:14 +0000

Well put, PTC.

And the fact that this election rides on the simple answer to that question, is exciting and terrifying at the same time.

If the answer to ‘who are we?’ is an ugly one, if the process is thwarted, if lies and deceit prevent us from accomplishing what we so drastically need (much like what Ken experienced), can we recover?

I think we are going to need all we can muster. Ken is wise to reflect on his experience in Mexico; to draw the similarities and heed the painful lessons learned from the outcome. Frank is right to imply that we need some great leadership, JG is correct that we all need to face forward and get involved. And your story, PTC, is a reminder of all that is possible. And your tone, IMO, is exactly what we need to make it happen.

By: PTC

PTC — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:32:33 +0000

We struggle with our identity.

In late 2006 I had a discussion with a Deputy Governor of an African nation, during which time he decided to speak to me about American politics while I mostly listened. He spoke a lot about the Clintons, and his dislike for the current administration. He reflected on the Bush doctrine of pre emptive war, toture- etc. He felt America had a “belligerent” position in the world.

At the end of the discussion, or should I say, his dialogue and critique of our current administration and hope for a future with Hillary, he asked me this question.

“What do you think about Barack Obama?” He asked.

“He can win.” I replied.

He gave me a look of shock and disbelief. He was stunned in fact. Then he gave me a questioning and probing look, to see if I believed my own statement. He was searching me and then his own internal belief as he looked at the floor for a moment. When he realized that I meant it, he sat back in his chair with a look of half disbelief, then a realization that it was indeed possible. His face gave way to a broad smile and huge glimmer of hope. He laughed, ending our political conversation.

“Who are we?” That is the question that everyone will be asking this year in that election booth. As much or more so than any other time in our nation’s history- this year the nation is going to vote on the question of who we are. The results of this election will send an immediate signal to the world about who we want to be. Regardless of the results this year, we will all take a moment to look at the floor and ponder about what it means for our identity.

What a fascinating time to be an American.

By: frank uible

frank uible — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:33:36 +0000

Bull shit – of course you’re not.

By: JG

JG — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:57:07 +0000

Gosh Frank, I guess us young whipper snappers should just step out of the way and let you old heads decide everything. Apparently Williams is a desolate hell-hole without fraternities, the United States will never have another leader, and if only we could go back to the 1950s life would be perfect (assuming we are all reasonably well-off white males I suppose).

Truman did some good things and was a pretty damn good president in a lot of ways but he was far from perfect. Most politicians have their great strong points and the weak points that somehow get minimized in our gloss in history. For Truman I’d say among his greatest accomplishments are his push for the U.N. and some great work on civil rights (including integrating the armed forces). But there were also some problems such as a pretty corrupt administration that he somehow didn’t notice (?) and a really abysmal way of dealing with organized labor – threatening to draft striking workers as punishment, seizing steel mills, etc.

As far as your Golden Era, it may have been nice for you, but I think there are many who didn’t see it as such. I for one would rather not go back to some idealized notion of what once was, instead looking to a future that I actually have the right to participate in. I hope that you can find something to be less defeatist about in the near future as just about every comment you make on this blog sounds like it comes from a profoundly grumpy soul living in the past. If that impression is incorrect I apologize, but I really am starting to worry about your happiness.

By: Larry George

Larry George — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:33:13 +0000

…and a safe and happy Fourth of July to all.

Especially to Derek.

By: frank uible

frank uible — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:08:21 +0000

Where is Harry Truman when we need him? Of course we as a people were not wise enough to elect him President before he already had the election day advantages of having served in that office (or at any rate to fully appreciate him when we had him). Immersed in our inherent short-sightedness, arrogance, greed, downright corruption and other fundamental foolishness, we are extremely unlikely to be lucky enough to again stumble on another Truman or the like. We ourselves have caused the Golden Era of American Life to wither and expire, there is no return, and if one is analytical, it is easy for one to perceive that our prospects reflect a highly probable depreciation in our long term condition.

By: FROSH/SOPH MOM

FROSH/SOPH MOM — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:25:13 +0000

This is a beautiful essay, Ken. But more important, it is a timely one.

If my fears and hopes for our country, and it’s leadership, represent in any small way, those of others, then your words can serve as confirmation that what we must now do, (trite as it sounds), is set petty differences aside and move forward together.

I have seen your prescience (regarding the state of affairs in Mexico) make its way to the front page of the national news, and I fully understand, and appreciate your attempt to take your experience there, and voice it here as warning; that we should take nothing for granted and do everything in our power to ”build and secure the future…”

Your words…

…“What does this experience of Presidency mean, for the United States today, the challenges and problems it is about to face in earnest, the decisions to be made and the construction of a future administration?”

…are entirely in keeping with the profound, and forward-thinking editorial, ”America’s Next Chapter” by Gary Hart, that was published a few days ago in the NY Times.

An excerpt….

”The next cycle of American history is as yet unframed, awaiting a national leader who can define a new role for government at home and a new role for America in the world of the 21st century.”

I hope that your words, and those of the many others who care so deeply, are taken to heart by each and every one of us.

Thank you for this […]

…and a safe and happy Fourth of July to all.