Peggy's comments

Peggy's comments from the Happy & Brainy Group group.

Note: Peggy is no longer a member of this group.

Dear Lyn, I have to back up Jim's basic premise. Your having formed the group does not authorize you to censor it. Nor does it qualify you to take offense at every disagreement of your set of prejudices.

If all you want here are people who agree with you on every topic this is no place for me. I never agree totally with anyone. Not even myself.

As for politics, there are as many opinions as there are A@s and this topic tends to bring them all out.

I thought it was caused by greedy lenders and buyers who accepted adjustable mortgage rates and balloon payments that could not be sustained in a ruined/indebted economy.

The US vered away from pure capitalism a long time ago. As if capitalism can ever be pure.

It is important and in keeping with the wishes of our founding fathers that the banking industry remain independent.

Happy holly daze & Blessed Chanukah, Y'all.

Jim wrote: "The US helped create Kuwait back in the 50's, didn't we? Wasn't it out of a piece of Iraq? All the European powers have been dabbling in the Middle East for centuries. They've been fighting each ..."

Kuait was indeed a piece of Iraq just as Afghanistan and Pakistan were pieces of India which the Brits arbitrarily cut off, gifting the Pakis with prime Indus Valley real estate while assigning the Afghans to caves and rocks.

It should also be noted that Saddam was "our boy" whom we propped up as long as he was fighting Iran with WMDs sold to him by NATO industrialists with the blessings of their governments [including the US:]

It always amazes mt how some otherwise intelligent people manage to ignore history or scew it for their own convenience.

Jim wrote: "Stephen, I was thinking of the new infrastructure we built Japan. I used to live near Baltimore & the steel mills of Japan were much newer & more efficient, that Sparrow's Point shut down. (The d..."

First let me mention that I once had the pleasure of tending bar on Sparrows Point. The fellows were great to me once they realized I saw through their bluster.

Now on the subject of Japan. I think few realize that the primary reason Japan was able to jump ahead of us was not due to anything we did. They were able to do it because the terms of their surrender forbad them to maintain a standing military.

Just imagine where we'd be economioally if we didn't have to spend so much of our gnp on arnament.

Ilyn wrote: "From message 161:

"... My party respects every country that respects Rights. It does not recognize any organization of nations that include dictatorships. No one, no nation, has the right to ens..."

Who were you quoting?

[After 9-11, every intelligence agency said Saddam had WMD.}

Not so, but I'm tired of debating with the illinformed.

Happy New Year, Everybody. We'll soon be free of the Bush/Cheny Cartel.

"The US media have never been cowed by presidents."

That being the case then how is it that the Bush administration was able to squelch showing of row upon row of flag covered coffins? Why are these not shown? Why do we not see photos of rows of hospital beds and/or wheelchairs caused as a direct result of administration policies?

As for impeachment - it is my guess that congress failed to move toward impeachment because doing so would have left us with Cheney - a worse scenario that what we already had. And, BTW, wasn't there a move in Congress to impeach Cheney? I thought I read something about that but then that story may have also been squelched.

And, no, I did not mean to infer that our military had been/was killing innocents. We had the Government hired Blackwell thugs for that.

Ilyn wrote: "My latest blog:

The throwing-shoes incident in the preside..."

Ah, come on, Lyn. The shoe throwing incident was a prime example of freedom that doesn't exist in Iraq. Did you look at the way the reporter was treated? Can you really blame him for being furious over the lack of mention of the more than a hundred thousand Iraqi civilian deaths? Good grief, woman, Americans are outraged over Bush's failure to publicize the thousands of maimed children in uniform that his pet war has caused. It's a wonder that the missels thrown at his head were only shoes. And that reporter will spend long years in an Iraqi prison to reflect on his deed. I strongly doubt he'll consider it a high price to pay for one minute's actual freedom to desent [a right that is supposedly sacrosanct in America:] He would have gotten the same treatment had he merely stated the obvious - Iraqis are dying by the hundred thousand because our miliscary ia there.

SUPPORT THE TROOPS - BRING THEM HOME - NOW!

The book I remember most from my pre-teens is FOREVER AMBER by Kathleen Windsor [1944:]. Now, over 60 years later I can still see some of the scenes in my head.

Jim et al - Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclaimation to keep England from entering the war on the Confederatre side. The EP did not include slaves in Maryland, Missouri, Delaware and New Jersey which had never left the Union nor did it apply to slaves in Louisiana and other places that had already been returned to the Union.

Additionally, check the dates on the 13th and 14th ammendmendments and You'll find that they were proposed and passed after Lincoln's death.

I'm not saying Lincoln was not a good President. He was but history has given him more credit than he earned.

Incidentally, it was the 15th Ammendment tht gave former slaves the right to vote -

"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

NOTE that "persons" in the above does NOT include women. It took women another 60+ years and 3 intervening Ammendments to gain that right with passage of the 19th Ammendment.

Borrowing scattered bits of documents and books to prove a point is an ancient tradition. Using dictionaries penned and edited exclusively by the male of the species to claim the word "man" to be universally inclusive in all instances is ludicrous.

One has to but read the beginning passages of the US Constitution to know the equality of all humans under that document to be untrue. Look at the original rules for counting the census as regards number of representatives in our initial government. Man = 1 vote, women 3/4, slaves 1/2 if I recall correctly. And only white male land owners were deemedintelligent to vote at all. It was stuff like that which made the first ten ammendments essential.

Like The Bible & The Quran, The Constitution, including all of its ammendments must be read and understood IN ITS ENTIRITY in order to comprehend its/their complete message. They're all open to interpretation especially when quoted in bits and pieces.

OK, I have to weigh in on this discussion.

#1 "All men are created equal" if this had been true in practice there would have been no0 need for the 14th Ammendment to the Constitution.

#2 When they said "All men" they must have sortof meant exactly that or there would have been no need for the 19th Ammendment to the Constitution.

#3 It is important to remember that the phrase at issue is "the PURSUIT of happiness" the documents contain neither definition nor guarantee of "happiness"

#4 Lincoln did not initiate the Draft because he believed in Service to the Country. The Draft was instituted because the citizenry DIDN'T believe any Service or Sacrifice was owed.

#5 If Washington "held it abhorrent to hold power over a single human being." did he consider his slaves non-human?

Several years ago, in Cloister Walk, Kathleen Norris cited these words from Mechtild of Magdeburg, a Cistercian nun and medieval mystic: "Stupidity is sufficient unto itself. Wisdom can never learn enough."

Lyn, I will be leaving now. My recent posts were intended to point out the triteness of endless cyclic discussion that does no more than confuse the issue. Having accomplished this, as witnessed by the "attack" responses, I will now redirect my "braininess" to the more enjoyable task of creating fully rounded characters to people interesting portions of history.

Can't say my sojourn here has been fun or enlightening. I find it a pleasure to say "farewell" to most everyone her but you.

Live well and prosper, Lyn. May The Lady shower you with Her gifts of knowledge and creativity.

Sincerely,

Peggy Ullman Bell
Author FIXIN' THINGS & SAPPHO SINGS
http://peggyullmanbell.com

After attempting to sift through the minitue of this lengthy conversation I have reached this simple conclusion. Woman is a conscious, logical being. Man is illogical topped with irrational and repetitive.

i.e. perhaps with enough repetition woman will come to man's way of thinking [but I doubt it].

Truth - gravity exists

To test this reality, stand next to a 5 story building and have a friend drop a bee bee on your head from the roof.

A.L. have you considered having your kids find some native soapweed? Also, pioneers used cornmeal as a dry shampoo in cold weather. Works good on dogs too. It's easy to brush out and it take excess oil with it which soda will not.

As for the sword issue, try a fanny pack instead of a purse for a few months. Set that on your hip for the feel of weight a sword might give you. Unfortunately a fanny pack on the hip won't let you get the feel of a scabbard banging your knee during fast turns. {}:>)

www.peggyullmanbell.com