QUOTATION: People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people. Of course, that is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote - a very different thing. - Walter H. Judd
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2004-10-21 - 2:55 p.m. "The only thing we have to fear...is fear itself."Where fear is present, wisdom cannot be. � Lactantius (260- AD) Fear imprisons, faith liberates; fear paralyzes, faith empowers; fear disheartens, faith encourages; fear sickens, faith heals; fear makes useless, faith makes serviceable. � Harry Emerson Fosdick The only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. � Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933 Nothing is to be feared but fear. � Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher, essayist, statesman Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is a freedom. � Marilyn Ferguson (b. 1938), Writer, author To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. � Bertrand Russell So are we afraid yet?President Bush and Cheney would have us believe that if Senator Kerry should be elected, the country will go back to a pre-9/11 mentality - a pre-9/11 mentality with a tax-and-spend liberal at the helm. Thus, we will be in much greater danger here in this country. In fact, V.P. Cheney stated categorically, �If John Kerry is elected, terrorists will feel free to attack us.� Whereas, if the current administration is re-elected? Well, we�ll be much safer, he implied, because he and President Bush will go about the business of making the whole world a democracy. [Watch out, Iran and North Korea! Sudan, you�re probably next, if he ever gets around to thinking about the problems there.] And how are they planning to do that? Well, God is on their side. God is speaking directly to George. We�ll live happily ever after. And Senator Kerry countered with, �If George Bush is elected, we�ll probably have the draft again.� Even though Bush was quick to deny any such plans are in the works, there are rumors coming from the Pentagon that at least a partial draft of medical personnel may be necessary if the war continues much longer. More fear! According to Richard Clarke, former counter-terrorism coordinator, Kerry understood how terrorists operate long before most of his peers. He�s been working against terrorism for more than a decade in the Senate. See his book, �The New War.� Republicans blocked measures that Kerry proposed to make it harder for terrorists to finance their activities. [Follow the money. Some would say Republicans were protecting banking interests. Notice Bush�s biggest financial supporters.] It took 9-11 to get the Republicans to write those measures into law. Those who compare the insurgency/terrorism in Iraq to Vietnam are missing one critical feature � Vietnam was a war based on politics � communism; the terrorism we now face is based on religion. Just as the peoples within Iraq cannot agree on their leadership, based on religious differences and traditions of generations, we are today even finding ourselves in this very same situation, I�m sad to say. Our forefathers in their wisdom believed we should keep religion out of our politics � a separation of church and State. They knew this separation would enable the people of divergent and diverse religions to get along. Please check this out -- even some of George Bush's relatives say they're afraid of four more years, so they're voting for Kerry
Thanks to Bev at funnytheworld.com for these words from a former Senator from Kentucky who is voting for Kerry and from whom I here quote: "I am not enamored with John Kerry, but I am frightened to death of George Bush. I fear a secret government. I abhor a government that refuses to supply the Congress with requested information. I am against a government that refuses to tell the country with whom the leaders of our country sat down and determined our energy policy, and to prove how much they want to keep that secret, they took it all the way to the Supreme Court. I remember when John F. Kennedy was running for President, some people expressed concern that his Catholicism might influence his ability to govern. He proved them wrong. Again last year, there was a bit of rumbling about Joe Lieberman and Judaism. Some people may have questioned George Bush�s born-again Christian faith because of potential appointments to the Supreme Court - Roe v. Wade; this was before gay marriage had become a topic of conversation. As it turns out, we should have been more concerned. His conversations with a �higher power� and his messianic stance on freeing the world led us to a preemptive war and the greatest divide this country has had since the Civil Rights movement. As you can plainly see, the fear-mongering is not only coming from the Bush administration. I�ve just done a bit of it myself, haven�t I. I�m very concerned about the divisiveness � the �we against them� and the part that religion is playing in this divided country. Pro-choice v. pro-life and just what does that really mean. Although I am pro-choice, in some ways I think I�m more pro-life than many of the pro-lifers. I abhor war, guns (even the idea of killing a grown up Bambi troubles me), and capital punishment. The same administration opposed to abortion is not all that keen on helping teen mothers to take care of those babies, provide child care so that she can continue her education. The idea of only funding �abstinence only� sex education in an era when any time of the day or night, our children can see alluring sex acts on TV seems ludicrous and unwise. What a tempest in a teapot the Janet Jackson split second baring of a breast during the prime-time Superbowl performance! Had not the media made such a circus of it for days afterward, it would not have been such a big deal. And the media � now there�s another subject of debate. Tomorrow � I have a student arriving momentarily. P. S. Yesterday I went to my granddaughter�s cross-country meet. She won by a full minute over her nearest competitor! 18:15 for 3 miles of somewhat muddy
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