Tag: Holidays

The Anti-War Origins of Mother’s Day – Truthdig

I am breaking a tradition by posting more than one post on the weekends.

To all my Mothers out there…Happy Mother’s Day!

I am unapologetic anti-war….and there is a precedent with anti-war and Mother’s day……

In 1870, Julia Ward Howe responded to the horrors of the Civil War by issuing her “Mother’s Day Proclamation,” calling on women around the world to rise up and oppose war in all its forms.

It would be decades before Americans officially began celebrating Mother’s Day, and much of the original spirit of the proclamation has since been lost.

Source: The Anti-War Origins of Mother’s Day – Truthdig

The Season of Peace And Joy

We are in the middle of what some people call “the season of peace and joy”…..the problem is that for most it is only a fleeting concept…..for they want to feel something and they cannot…..

It’s the time of year when people sing about peace and goodwill. Unfortunately in the United States, too little thought accompanies the nice words. Otherwise Americans would be in the streets demanding that President Obama shut down the war machine. They would also be repudiating every presidential candidate who endorses the fundamentals of America’s criminal […]

Source: The Season of Peace Requires Action Not Songs – Antiwar.com Original by — Antiwar.com

Yep…..I am a peace-nik (a slur from the 60-70’s)…..after experiencing the obscenity of war how can one be anything but?

When The Going Gets Tough…The Tough Go………

I will be going light on my head today…….a couple of days of relaxation…….

Today is a Federal holiday……..we will be celebrating the Declaration of Independence this weekend…….and like every other event we have had a warning of the possibility of some sort of terrorist activity……

For the past couple of days the media has been reporting that there is a chance that terrorists could strike out at the US…….ISIS has issued a note for their followers to do “something calamitous”……to strike at the infidels.  And as usual that means the US…….

But while the government is giving this info to the media it is also saying something else……..

While conceding there is no specific threat, nor evidence of any ongoing plot, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are both issuing warnings about terrorist plots on the Fourth of July, and Rep. Michael McCaul (R – TX) predicted several “small scare ISIS attacks” that day.

Did you notice that there is NO evidence of a pending attack?

If ISIS is keen to attack US assets, there are much more convenient targets in the Middle East, particularly with the Pentagon sending a number of ground troops to the outskirts of Ramadi for “training” operations, meaning US forces are just a stone’s throw from a major, ISIS-held city.

As for attacks on US soil, there doesn’t seem to be any particular reason why ISIS might want to launch such an attack now, particularly with US officials doing a good job of terrorizing themselves about the mere thought of such attacks.

Here is where I have my problem…….what is the purpose of these warnings?  A warning?  Maybe fear?

After they issue the warning and the media dutifully helps spread the word, irrespective of evidence, we are told to not let this warning stop us from enjoying our holiday…..because if we are afraid to go out and spend money then the terrorists have won (remember hearing that after 9/11?)

Again…..what is the purpose of reporting this “imaginary” attack if we are to go out and walk into the middle of it?  How does this exercise make us safer?  We are warned just about every holiday of some possible attack or terrorist activity……why?  Is it just CYA for the toads in government?

Few Americans care…..that is until there is an attack then they will blame everybody from the president to the dude that delivers your pizza……..all these warning are nothing more than an exercise in stupidity……

Please be careful and go enjoy yourself……you deserve a break!

 

 

Message For The 4th

Today we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence…..not by making sure that the document signed by our founding fathers holds true today as it did in those early days…..no we celebrate by bitching about gas prices, the president and by attacking anyone who does not agree with us…….that is NOT what the founders would have wanted.

We need to take the day and talk and teach the people what it meant to declare our independence….Me?  I will be doing everything I can to educate my fellow Americans…..there is so much we as a people do not understand and I will trying to rectify that oversight.

I will take the day off from beating you guys abut the brain with facts and figures…….we all need a break…..we all need a day of pure nothingness……

So I wish all my readers and followers a very happy 4th…..enjoy the day filled with food, fun and family……may we all work for a better understanding and a better country.

How Federal Judges Use and Abuse the Words of Martin Luther King Jr. in Their Decisions | Alternet

Today we celebrate MLK, Jr’s birthday……and his legacy is under attack from both Left and Right….I believe he would be appalled at the lack of progress towards his ideals……some successes but look at what it has gotten……all the rights he fought for are under constant attack for reform…..

How Federal Judges Use and Abuse the Words of Martin Luther King Jr. in Their Decisions | Alternet.

Year’s End Message–2013

As a tradition I do a post on the last day of the year summarizing all the stuff that has occurred in the past year….kinda my “thank you” message if you will…..passing of another year is not something you celebrate when you get to be my age….this year was not a good one I lost my father….but I can say that the one shining point of the year was my blog…….helped make everything worthwhile…..

Seven years ago I was recovering from having my leg smashed while working in a Katrina damaged house……it hurt……but the massive damage forced me to retire……for years I had been writing letters and articles, did some teaching and lecturing and a bunch of activism, but I gave all that up in 1996 because Clinton was destroying the country and NO wanted to see it……I got discouraged and took some time off……sorry I digress…….my blog has been through many name changes and I finally settled on the name In Saner Thought and as they say here we are today…..

Since the beginning I have got 151,583 hits, it started slow but has picked up in the last several years and in the 7 years I have had the honor of getting 15,583 comments from great followers…….my old reliable like Larry of Woodgate’s View has been a joy and in those years I have got many new readers that I hope will stick around and enjoy the exchange of views……people like Cry & Howl, John Z, John L., Mathius, Bill Hayes, Gigoid and others that have extremely good taste by visiting here and joining the dialog…..we may not always agree but at least we talk……if I left you out I am sorry but be aware that I cherish the participation in my site.

And in those years I have also lost a few readers for various reasons like Quin and Terrance I keep hoping that they will find their way back and rejoin the conversation….I miss their input……

It is the end of another year and a very successful year for me and I want to thank each and every one of my readers that have stuck with me and hope that we enjoy a long association….my readers have been a joy and a frustration at times (but in a good way)…..I pray that we all have a great New Years Day and we all come back and ….

Thank you all each and every one, so very much for making the blogging experience a joy and educational…….and a bit manic at times, LOL……..Thanx!~

Merry Christmas: A Message

Today is the big day….a day of joy and family and friends….a time when we look back at our year and see the things we accomplished and the things that we may have left undone or unsaid….a day of food, fun and family…..I want to take a moment to write a brief note to all my followers……I read this op-ed an thought it would make a great closing message……

Christmas has become the most wonderful time of year … for heated political debate, especially of the “War on Christmas” or First Amendment variety. It’s “when all the ideologues get a little extra outrage or victimization in their stockings,” writes Michael Gerson in the Washington Post. This year “is all the more poignant in the light of a fallen reality-television star who manufactures duck calls and culture war imbroglios.” Such controversies are really centered on power, Gerson says. “Who has the ability to define and enforce the boundaries of the acceptable?” But the story of Jesus’ birth and life turns traditional ideas of power upside down. “If the deity was born as an outcast, it is impossible to view or treat outcasts in quite the same way,” Gerson notes. “A God who fled as a refugee, preferred the company of fishermen and died as an accused criminal will influence our disposition toward refugees, the poor and those in prison.” When we look to score political victories around Christmas, let’s remember that Christianity is about “identifying with the vulnerable and dependent. Living for others,” Gerson notes. “The author of this creed sought a different victory than politics brings—the kind that ends all selfish victories.” Click for his full column.

Thank you all for your support and your patronage…..it is the one thing that has made my year a success and a joy…….today will be a day of rest and relaxation for the old professor….but never fear…the old opinionated SOB will return tomorrow just as fired up as always…………

Enjoy your day ….fun, food, football and family…it gets NO better than that…..Merry Christmas everyone…….