Saturday, December 26, 2015

Politics 101

Who should be president? Do you "like" any of the Republican candidates? Hillary? Why and/or why not?

Right at the beginning, I'm going to declare my disdain for Hillary and leave it at that. What this blog is about, then, is my opinion of the Republicans.

Beginning with the first Republican debate, I have been impressed with all of them, both tiers. 

So we do have really qualified men and women willing to tackle the office of president. Of course, they must have big egos and nerves of steel and backbones that won't break under the intense scrutiny they undergo on a daily basis.

What I most like about these candidates is their high intelligence, a willing commitment to the ideals of the presidency, a knowledge of American history, and a litany of what can be done to restore the integrity of our national pride.

In "The Sound of Music," the nuns had this to say about Maria: "How do you solve a problem like Maria?" She was irrepressible, full of high energy, and committed to being free and following her own star. So, I say, is Donald Trump.

Do you remember bra burning (if you're of a certain age). Its point was to shift the pendulum from the extreme of the '50's with women in their place. "Burning bras" had the audacitty of swinging that pendulum from staidness to free-ness. Damn those bras. "Let it all hang out." And it did. And so does Donald Trump.
He's like a petulant child, uttering forth all his glib comments. However, they make us think. Is he speaking our minds? Are we allowed to say those things? Of course not, but here is a presidential candidate saying them. Political correctness had reached a point of silliness--no "Merry Christmas." It had to be "Happy Holiday" or "Happy Winter Solstice" or some such.

Truly the country was founded on religious freedom but in a bifurcated way. On the one hand, freedom was granted to those "like us," but not to those who practiced a variation of Protestantism. The word itself was a precursor to the rabbling of voices that finally grounded itself into the new country. If the country was founded on religious freedom, then the opposite, devil worship, or even the hint of it, almost destroyed communities. The witches of Salem threw out accusations, setting the path of future behavior. Does not the Donald make variant accusations like the girls of Salem, planting ideas of questionable behavior or differences.

Attacking Fiorina's looks, saying he will deny Muslims entrance into the country, promoting Putin makes me think the Donald is not a serious candidate.  




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A favorite souvenir

A favorite souvenir
These are my two girls from Ireland!

Judy's shared items

Books on my very ambitious TBR list (*denotes read)

  • *Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever by Mem Fox
  • The Odd Women by George Gissing
  • The Zen of Fish by Trevor Corson
  • How to Get Your Child to Love Reading by Esme Raji Codell
  • The Cod Tale by Mark Kurlansky
  • In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden
  • *Joan of Arc by Mark Twain
  • Dag Hammarskjold by Elizabeth Rider Montgomery
  • The Wisdom in the Hebrew Alphabet by Rabbi Michael L. Munk
  • Children of Strangers by Lyle Saxon
  • Spiritual Writings by Flannery O'Connor
  • Nightmares and Visions: Flannery O'Connor and the Catholic Grotesque by Gilbert H. Muller
  • The Violent Bear It Away by Flannery O'Connor
  • Flannery O'Connor's South by Robert Coles
  • Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
  • Sylvanus Now by Donna Morrissey
  • *Vincent de Paul by Margaret Ann Hubbard
  • Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
  • A Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking
  • The Library at Night by Alberto Manguel
  • Readicide by Kelly Gallagher
  • *Ruined by Paula Morris
  • Say You're Not One of Them by Uwem Akpan
  • Wandering Star by J.M.G. Le Clezio
  • Silence by Shusaku Endo
  • *The Assault by Harry Mulisch
  • Kari's Saga by Robert Jansson
  • *The German Mujahid by Boualem Sansal
  • Western Skies by Joseph Conrad
  • *The Giver by Lois Lowery
  • *Imperium by Ryszard Kapuscinski

School Library Journal - NeverEndingSearch

Imperium

Imperium
A semester course in one book about the Soviet Union. Click on image for my review.