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Get Yer Red Hot Book Quotes Here - 2 For The Price Of 1, Today Only
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Get Yer Red Hot Book Quotes Here - 2 For The Price Of 1, Today Only “What the hell does liberty mean anyhow? It's just a word like house or table or any other word. Only it's a special kind of word. A guy says house and he can point to a house to prove it. But a guy says come on let's fight for liberty and he can't show you liberty. He can't prove the thing he's talking about so how in the hell can he be telling you to fight for it?” from Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo ************************************************************************************************** Those thunderbolts crashing to the desert floor in Southern California yesterday were, I am sad to say, the fault of my mother. She has publicly decried President George W. Bush. My mother, you see, is an arch-conservative. And I mean that in a loving (but not oedipal) sort of way. She is conservative in what would be called a God, Queen and Country sort of way in the UK. Margaret Thatcher was a wimp when placed alongside my mother. Ronald Reagan was a total pussy. George Senior showed a lot of promise (according to her) but let the team down. (We will skip over Billy C. as the kind of words she uses are just not usually attributed to a 70 year old proper English woman.) However, yesterday, in a phone conversation, my mother decried the reign of King George the Prez: (my term for him, not hers as my mother does not make political jokes (or any other kind of jokes) at all.) Now my mother is exceedingly conservative: but she is not a Fascist. So I can live with her view of the world. She is one of the least rascist people I have ever met ‒ she dislikes liberals of any race, gender, color or creed equally. I am the bane of her existence as I am much further to the left of the political spectrum than my father ever dreamed of going (and he was a trade union shop steward in the UK). But back to the matter at hand. The catalyst for my mother’s epiphany is her -in-law fighting house to house in Iraq, guiding Halliburton trucks through blinding sandstorms and my mother e-mails him every day to check up on him. She has come to understand the futility of what has transpired, is transpiring and she can see what is approaching. Her disappointment with her chosen leader is profound. I see this as a step in the right direction (the direction towards liberalism). Now today, of course, is Monday. That means the second edition of "Monday Night Wordplay". And of course, if you want to promote your product then you have to have a sale. It’s a “2 fer” special today and my theme has a definate “futility of war" bent to it. Like a lot of people, I got my first exposure to the novel Johnny Got His Gun through seeing the fantastic video that Metallica made for their song “One”. The video contained many clips from the movie about the “armless, legless wonder of the world”. I was able to find a copy of the Dalton Trumbo novella and sat and read it in about two hours. It is a very powerful, though not especially well written, story of a World War I soldier who is blown up and survives ‒ but as a brain only. His body is completely destroyed as he has lost his legs, arms, face, eyes, and mouth. It has been banned in many school districts in this country. My second choice is very oddball choice, though it could be very fitting given the circumstances. The Mouse That Roared is one of the funniest stories I have ever read and it was made into a superb Peter Sellers movie in 1959. The plot is that a tiny duchy in Europe needs money and decides to declare war on the US so that it can lose and the US will respond with a Marshall Plan type of solution. Through the ineptitude of the Grand Duchy’s fearless military leader, the little country accidentally wins and swings the balance of world power. Does this sound familiar to anyone? ************************************************************************************************** “The fact is that there are few more profitable undertakings for a country in need of money than to declare war on the United States and be defeated. Hardly an acre of land is forfeited in such wars. It is usually agreed, to be sure, that heavy industries and other installations and activities which could be used in future wars are to be dismantled, destroyed and their reestablishment banned. And it usually evolves that this is not done, because it is decided that to follow such a plan would either wreck the economy of the defeated nation, or make it incapable of defending itself against other foes. In either or both cases, the Americans would feel called upon, such is their peculiar nature, to help out at their own expense. Again it is usually decided that the nation and people which lose to the United States shall be made to suffer national and individual hardship for the aggression. And the ink is no sooner dry on such agreements, than the United States is rushing food, machinery, clothing, money, building materials and technical aid for the relief of its former foes. Once more, it is always laid down that the defeated armies must be disbanded and never again be allowed to reform. But, a little later, it is discovered that these armies are in an oblique but nonetheless definite manner essential to the security of the United States itself. Either the defeated enemy must have an army and navy and air force of its own, or the Americans must remain there in an indefinite occupation. Americans, particularly American soldiers, do not like to remain long outside their own country. And in a matter of months, or at most years, the United States is first requesting and then begging its former enemies to raise an army to defend their own territory. It is not unheard of that these defeated foes are able to state the terms under which they will raise an army for their own policing and defense. Those terms have involved the payment of large sums of money by the United States, or the extension of generous credits, revision of trade agreements in favor of the defeated nation, return of shipping, rehabilitation of factories destroyed in the war, and even the gift of the equipment needed for an army. All in all, as I said before, there is no more profitable and sound step for a nation without money or credit to take, than declare war on the United States and suffer a total defeat.” from The Mouse That Roared by Leonard Wibberley  |
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Q U O T E S F R O M E I T H E R P R E S I D E N T O F T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S G E O R G E W. B U S H O R S E N A T O R /C H A N C E L L O R / E M P E R O R P A L P A T I N E F R O M T H E S T A R W A R S M O V I E S BY JASON MCGREGOR (Didn't we do this before???) - - - - 1. "Your friends have failed!" 2. "As a matter of common sense and self-defense, [we] will act against such emerging threats before they are fully formed." 3. "If we have reason to believe someone is preparing an attack against the [Republic or U.S.], has developed that capability, harbors those aspirations, then I think the [Republic or U.S.] is justified in dealing with that, if necessary, by military force." 4. "The [Republic or Nation] is not what it once was–the Senate is full of greedy, squabbling delegates. There is no interest in the common good." 5. "That will be part of the resolution, authorization of use of force. If you want to keep the peace, you've got to have the authorization to use force." 6. "Now witness the firepower of this fully operational battle station." 7. "If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed." 8. "You will pay the price for your lack of vision." 9. "Delaying a vote in [Congress or Senate] would send a message that the [Republic or U.S.] may be unprepared to take a stand, just as we are asking the [international community or universe] to take a stand." 10. "My [country or planet] will continue to encourage all parties to step up to their responsibilities as we seek a just and comprehensive settlement to the conflict." 11. "I will not let this [Republic or Nation]... be split in two. My negotiations will not fail." 12. "We cannot stand by and do nothing while dangers gather. We must stand up for our security and for the permanent rights and the hopes of mankind." 13. "It is with great reluctance that I have agreed to this calling. I love democracy, I love the [Republic or United States of America]. The power you give me I will lay down when this crisis has abated." 14. "The [chancellor or president] is authorized to all means that he determines to be appropriate, including force." ANSWER KEY Palpatine: 1,4,6,7,8,11,13 Bush: 2,3,5,9,10,12,14 This is my blog - [blog _Safira]. There are many like it, but this one is mine. RECOMMENDED READING: A F F The Only Site For Me
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