Quote of the Day -- Scary, Presidential Version, Part II

Under Kennedy, we went to the moon.

Under Trump, we can't even go to Mexico.

Thanks, Republicans.

JFK, 100 Years

President John F., "Jack", Kennedy, born 100 years ago today.

"Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future."

"Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind."

--John F. Kennedy

Links:

John F. Kennedy - Wikipedia

JFK remembered for policies, diplomacy and courageous restraint

John F. Kennedy - Civil Rights Activist, US Representative, US - Bio.com

The Legacy of John F. Kennedy - The Atlantic

Imagine

Imagine if any one of these things happened in our US history.

--If Jack Kennedy hadn't been assassinated

--If LBJ didn't lie us into Vietnam and that war

--If Bobby Kennedy hadn't been assassinated

--If Richard Nixon hadn't been elected to the presidency

--If George W. Bush weren't successful in stealing the 2000 election

--If George w. Bush didn't lie us into the Iraq War

The ramifications of each would be huge.

Now, imagine if all the above occurred.

What a world.


Links:

JFK . American Experience 

LBJ . American Experience

Nixon . American Experience

George H. W. Bush . American Experience

Hate Liberals?

Is that you?

You hate "libruls"?

They're--we're--libtards?

Really?

"Liberals got women the right to vote.

Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote.

Liberals created Social Security and lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty.

Liberals ended segregation.

Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act.

Liberals created Medicare.

Liberals passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act.

What did Conservatives do?

They opposed them on every one of those things...every one!

So when you try to hurl that label at my feet, 'Liberal,' as if it were something to be ashamed of, something dirty, something to run away from, it won't work, Senator, because I will pick up that label and I will wear it as a badge of honor."

--Matt Santos, character in The West Wing

Conservatives, also, under the George W. Bush administration, got us into two, count 'em, two wars and crashed the economy, too, by the way. And by economy, I don't just mean the US, national economy, I mean the world economy. There was very nearly a global, economic meltdown.

More.

“If by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people-their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties-someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal", then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal.”

--President John F. Kennedy

They, Liberals, are for the people, first and foremost.

So yeah, call me a Liberal.  I'm good with that. 

Link:  150 Achievements Of Liberalism

On this day

A reminder

Peace on Earth, goodwill toward men

"We, in this country, in this generation, are - by destiny rather than by choice - the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of 'peace on earth, good will toward men.'"

--President John F. Kennedy, November 22, 1963 (Prepared, Not Delivered)

Quote of the day

"The times are too grave, the challenge too urgent, and the stakes too high to permit the customary passions of political debate. We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future. As Winston Churchill said on taking office some twenty years ago: if we open a quarrel between the present and the past, we shall be in danger of losing the future."

--President John F. Kennedy

In remembrance

"Now, I think that I should have known that he was magic all along. I did know it - but I should have guessed that it would be too much to ask to grow old with and see our children grow up together. So now, he is a legend when he would have preferred to be a man." --Jackie Kennedy

Quote of the day

"If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich."

--President John F. Kennedy

Wonderful words after a long election season

We could do this.

A Liberal?

"What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label 'Liberal?' If by 'Liberal' they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of 'Liberal. But if by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I'm proud to say I'm a 'Liberal.'" --Former President John F. Kennedy

Abraham, Martin and John

I always loved this song, of course. It's beautiful to the ear and the message is fantastic. What I had forgotten was the introduction. The child's voice is so plaintive and, again, beautiful. Here's the song by the original writer, singer and performer, Dion.

Imagine that--a president, speaking on peace

We need presidents that give speeches like this, on peace and intelligence, like JFK gave and like President Eisenhower's final "military-industrial complex" speech. We are the one nation in the world that is fueling more war than any other, honestly, yet we think of ourselves as "peace-loving." We need to defuse that "military-industrial complex" and wean ourselves off the defense spending we are told we need so badly. It must end and it should end as soon as possible for our nation's sake and for the world's, as well.

Prophetic and timely words

"Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past - let us accept our own responsibility for the future." - John F. Kennedy, May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963

On "Occupy Wall Street"

Someone needed to tell W and Dick

Can you imagine W quoting an Athenian lawmaker? Can you imagine Dick Cheney allowing openness in government he ran?

Hope

From Arianna Huffington:

"It's a theme Michelle Obama touched on many times on the campaign trail. 'Barack Obama will require that you work,' she said at a rally on the eve of Super Tuesday. 'He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism; that you put down your divisions; that you come out of your isolation; that you move out of your comfort zones; that you push yourself to be better; and that you engage.'"

"This call echoed something that historian and presidential biographer David McCullough had once said about JFK. 'The great thing about Kennedy,' he told me, 'is that he didn't say I'm going to make it easier for you. He said it's going to be harder. And he wasn't pandering to the less noble side of human nature. He was calling on us to give our best.'"

"And when Bobby Kennedy was agonizing over whether or not to run in 1968, he told one of his advisors: 'People are selfish. But they can also be compassionate and generous, and they care about the country. But not when they feel threatened. That's why this is such a crucial time. We can go in either direction. But if we don't make a choice soon, it will be too late to turn things around. I think people are willing to make the right choice. But they need leadership. They're hungry for leadership.' Forty years later, we are starving for it. Real leadership. Leadership geared to transforming the country."
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That's what we voted for Tuesday.


Have a good weekend, y'all.