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Locked on 06/17/2004 7:16:03 AM PDT by Admin Moderator, reason:
Hobbit Hole XI: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1155177/posts |
Posted on 06/01/2004 9:35:59 AM PDT by HairOfTheDog
New verse:
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Upon the hearth the fire is red, |
Still round the corner there may wait |
Home is behind, the world ahead, |
No more than I missed, being born in the 60s and only knowing anything of World War II from the history books and stories my Dad and relatives told.
By the time your kids are the age you are now, you will have seen plenty of history, good and bad, to amaze them with.
You know, speaking of that, I just remembered I still have my parents' World Book yearbooks from the years of Reagan's Presidency. I think I'm going to go back and read those and see how the news was covering things at the time. Here's some highlights from the 1981 yearbook, reflecting on 1980, the last year of Carter's Presidency and the year Reagan was elected:
August: 2--Terrorist bomb blast in Bologna, Italy. 3--Egypt asks Israel to delay Palestine question. 11--Senator Kennedy ends his campaign for the Presidency. China orders removal of most public displays of Mao. 20--UN Security Council urges all nations not to recognize Israel's claim of Jerusalem as capital. "Stealth aircraft" that can evade radar has been developed, DoD announces 22--Lech Walesa leads Polish strike committee 27--France's Navy breaks a fisherman's blockade of the country's largest oil-tanker port (ROFL!)
September: 11--Voters in Chile approve Constitution allowing Pinochet to remain president until 1989. 17--Gunmen assassinate Nicaragua's former president Somoza. 19--Belgium approves deployment of US nukes on soil if US-Russian talks fail. 22--Iran-Iraq border battles erupt into war. 27--Italy's government resigns.
October: 2: Larry Holmes whips Muhammad Ali. 8: Russia and Syria sign 20-year friendship pact that calls for military cooperation. 21: Philadelphia Phillies win World Series. 28: Carter and Reagan debate on national TV.
November: 1: Egypt recognizes Iran's revolutionary regime. 2: Iran's parliament approves plan to release US hostages. 4: Reagan is elected. 5: NY Stock Exchange gains a record 84 million shares with Reagan's election. 10: Poland's Supreme Court declares Solidarity's charter need not recognize Communist Party's supremacy. 24: Polish rail workers strike.
December: 1: Russia's new five-year plan indicates an economic slowdown through 1985. 2: Carter warns Russia against invading Poland. Poland dismisses foru members of its ruling Politburo. 8: John Lennon is shot. 14: Polish farmers meet in Warsaw to discuss forming a union. 16: OPEC approves oil price hike up to $41/barrel. Call for reconciliation issued by Polish Communist Party, church officials, and labor leaders. . .
What strikes me in going over all this is how dangerous the Russian threat to Eastern Europe was at the end of Carter's Presidency and how quickly Reagan's election began to turn that tide in Poland esp.
Hehehe....you shoulda seen it when he fired the air traffic controlers. And now the airport is named after him. LOL
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us...
That's what Ronald Reagan did. That's what George Bush is doing. We are all called to live in different times. And the test of who we are is how we live up to those times.
I remember the dark days of the Carter Presidency. I was in college and those were perhaps some of the happiest times of my life. At the same time, they were some of the darkest years for our country.
I'm even old enough to remember JFK's funeral. I was five.
But, like Bear said, I don't remember WWII or the Depression. There are many brave men and women who have gone on before us.
The best we can do is to try to honor their memory by the way we face the challenges presented to us.
Yeah, that's ironic.
I remember my mom teaching me European geography, and it was so easy because there's this huge "USSR" in the middle of things. And then when it broke up, I couldn't keep track of all the countries. I still have only the sketchiest outlines of eastern Europe.
Heh... for extra credit in my high school geography class, I hand-drew a map of the U.S.S.R., detailing each of the 15 or so "Republics" and their capitals. So, when the U.S.S.R. began breaking up in the late 80's - early 90's, I knew where places like Kazakhstan and Moldova were located. ;P
I was a bitty lad then :) I was just old enough to remember everyone complaining about inflation all the time when Carter was President. That and the Iran Hostage Crisis--those are my two strongest memories of Carter.
I was vaguely aware when he did that. Later when I was older I read about it and it cracked me up, LOL!
Now that I see the picture, I wonder if they were sleeping or just praying to Satan (I figure it wouldn't be God in their case).
I was busy getting ready for my second trimester. :P
Probably remembering the woman they were with last night...
Good news on a sad day. Jr. passed his Spanish exam. Now he just has to get a decent grade on a project that is due Tuesday and he'll pass for the year. We've already made plans for summer study to get ready for next year.
But this means he'll be able to play football. I won't bend, but I do NOT want to enforce that...
Interestingly, Brit Hume on Fox News just felt the need to comment on the "were they asleep" issue... someone at Fox must monitor FR for him to hear of it that quickly!
I had a really vague awareness of Eastern European geography until I took a class on World War I in the early 90s and I had to learn more about the background to the Balkans conflict. Before that I remember we had this geography contest in school and I was amazed that some people actually knew where some of these places were, LOL! And then when the USSR broke up it got even more confusing. I sort of have a general knowledge of where things are now but sometimes I get the various "Stans" confused, LOL! Playing Risk and Axis and Allies also helps me remember where stuff is :)
Well, I was about to have lunch, but I think I'm going to hurl now. . . [shudder!]
So where were you guys when JFK was shot, then?--they say everyone remembers.
More than likely they were just recoiling to hearing the truth. Brit may be a little slow on the uptake. Rush was commenting on it during the service (as reported on the live thread).
Sleeping or meditating, they are still the face of evil incarnate.
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