Home » Blog » Thoughtful Read by FDR
Blog for America
Thoughtful Read by FDR
Linked to groups: Las Vegas Democracy For America
Excerpt from President Roosevelt's January 11, 1944 message to the
Congress of the United States on the State of the Union
It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the
strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the establishment of
an American standard of living higher than ever before known. We
cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living
may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or
one-fifth or one-tenth—is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and
insecure.
This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength,
under the protection of certain inalienable political rights—among
them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by
jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty.
As our nation has grown in size and stature, however—as our industrial
economy expanded—these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.
We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual
freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence.
"Necessitous men are not free men." People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.
In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for
all—regardless of station, race, or creed.
(Click Read More for the rest of this post)
The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops
or farms or mines of the nation;
The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return
which will give him and his family a decent living;
The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an
atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by
monopolies at home or abroad;
The right of every family to a decent home;
The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and
enjoy good health;
The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age,
sickness, accident, and unemployment;
The right to a good education.
All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must
be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to
new goals of human happiness and well-being.
America's own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon
how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for
our citizens.
Unfortunately, the word 'secure' has taken on a negative connotaion since FDR's time. It now refers to a population being restrained in their own country and not able to leave at will.
8:39 AM EDT
and a hat tip to another person (like Howard Dean) who has two first names (or nearly) -- Dave Matthews:
http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/17349014.html
...
We used to refer to the people behind the iron curtain and the bamboo curtain. What are American hemmed in by? Plastic?
Perhaps those fences and gates the Frenchman has been stringing are more telling than we knew. Imagine putting orange "gates" in a park.
Very good front thread here.
8:52 AM EDT
Indiana --
good (Dave Matthews Band played last night in Bloomington)
bad (Obama sign defaced in Dayton):
http://www.indianagazette.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24150&Itemid=2
State police investigating swastika on Obama sign in Indiana County
Written by The Associated PressMonday, 07 April 2008
Indiana (AP) — State police say a swastika was spray painted on a campaign sign for Sen. Barack Obama in an Indiana County couple's yard.
Kamal Youssef and his wife, Maria, say they found the defaced sign on Saturday.
Police and an Obama campaign official say it appears to be an isolated incident.
Youssef is 86 years old and moved to the United States from Egypt. He became a citizen in 1958. His wife is an immigrant from Czechoslovakia and is also a U.S. citizen.
...
The couple told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette they don't believe they were personally targeted. They say neighbors in the Amish farming community of Dayton have known them for decades.
Entertaining blip on this Sunday's shows.
Ed Rendell trying to redefine a "big" win in Pennsylvania as 4-9 points.
By next week it'll be 2-5 points.
I'm not an Obama guy, but watching Clinton and her supporters "play" politics makes me ill.
http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/linkframe.php?linkid=56401
Democratic talk of an early, hard-hitting campaign to "define" and tar Arizona Sen. John McCain appears to have fizzled for lack of money, leading to a quiet round of finger-pointing among Democratic operatives and donors as McCain assembles a campaign and a public image relatively unmolested.
Despite the millions of dollars pooling around Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, anti-McCain funds have fallen far short of the hopes set in November, when a key organizer, Tom Matzzie, reportedly told The Washington Post that the "Fund for America" would raise more than $100 million to support the activities of a range of allied groups.
The Democratic National Committee, too, is organizing an anti-McCain campaign, but a spokeswoman, Karen Finney, said fundraising to support that effort has met "mixed" results.
So while news releases and Internet ads have been launched, the largest-bore weapon in contemporary politics — a sustained television campaign — hasn't. That's because, people involved say, the soft-money groups don't have the soft money.
Dems have found yet another way to lose to this old fart!
9:27 am
Obama and Clinton are spending millions tearing each other down and giving Repugs ammunition for the General. They should both be putting that money into showing what a loser McCain is
9:32 AM EDT
http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/02/superdelegate-history-tracker.html
Superdelegate History Tracker
...
...
SEIU skullduggery
EXCLUSIVE: Internal emails show top staffers seeking to undermine dissidents in contested union election
BY JB POWELL
As an internal power struggle wracks the giant Service Employees International Union, emails obtained by the Guardian suggest that SEIU officials may have violated union rules by working to influence an important San Francisco delegate election last month.
Delegates selected by Local 1021, based in SF, will attend the union’s international convention in June and will vote on a series of democratic reforms put forward by dissident labor leader Sal Rosselli. In recent weeks, Rosselli has clashed publicly with SEIU’s international president Andy Stern over Stern’s increasing consolidation of the 1.9 million-member labor organization.
And the emails appear to show a concerted effort by Stern’s senior staff and local loyalists to ensure that the dissidents don’t dominate the convention delegation.
Referring to themselves in the emails as the “Salsa Team,” SEIU staffers discussed strategy and coordinated campaign activity for the delegate election with high-ranking union officials like Damita Davis-Howard, the president of Local 1021, and Josie Mooney, a special assistant to Stern, the emails show.
Critics charge that these activities violated Local 1021’s Election Rules and Procedures – specifically Rule 18, which states, “While in the performance of their duties, union staff shall remain uninvolved and neutral in relation to candidate endorsements and all election activities.” ...full article: http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=6...
poblano has an excellent post up on The Momentum-lus primary.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/4...
Good Morning!
Obama and Clinton are spending millions tearing each other down and giving Repugs ammunition for the General. They should both be
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That isn't true. Obama rarely mentions Hillary if at all in his speeches and contrasats his views with McCains at every stop.
Huron John
do you think a 527 should raise "soft money" and speak for Democrats on national interests against McCain or should the candidates through raising hard money through individual contributions such as Obama has done?
Huron John
Mon, 04/07/08
___________________________________________________________________________
What do you expect from this party.......common sense? Its pretty sad and a state of things, when an x-wrestler, Jesse Ventura and previous Governor of Minnesota made more sense on Larry King the other night................the laughable pundits for ALL the candidates was something to see......
10:29 AM EDT
America's taking some much-needed medicine from the Doc:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/04/AR2008040403227.html
The Dems, Now Dancing to His Tune
By Perry Bacon Jr.
Sunday, April 6, 2008; Page B04
As the Democratic presidential race turns into the political equivalent of the Battle of the Somme, lots of Democrats are glaring at the party's nominal leader, Howard Dean.
...
But Democrats have some good reasons to stop kicking Dean around. You don't hear the word "prescient" used very often to describe the much-maligned chairman, but one can make a pretty plausible case that his six years on the national Democratic scene have had a significant impact on his party -- on machinery, message and methods. If the Democrats win in 2008, they may come to thank Dr. Dean for providing the medicine that cured some of the party's ills.
Sen. Barack Obama's campaign has been groundbreaking on many levels, but its widely hailed use of the Internet to create a large base of small donors largely recycles the breakthrough that powered Dean's 2004 campaign.
...
Despite having had more time to plan for her presidential run, Clinton has often found herself outmaneuvered at creative online fundraising by Obama
...
Howard Dean has been a man ahead of his time. When he leaves Washington for good next year, the improved fortunes he has helped bring to his party may be enough to make him want to scream.
mary vb
national polls don't matter at all for the next few weeks, only likely primary voters in a handful of states, but you can bet nobody is "bored" that is still undecided in Indiana or Montana
Ventura would draw from McCain. I'd like to see him jump into the race.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm not buying for a minute that Americans say by 81% we are on the wrong track and then vote for a tired old war monger running on "stay the course".
Obama willl carry 35 states.
my browsers keep crashing while connected to KOS
8.
rich^kolker
Mon, 04/07/08
Entertaining blip on this Sunday's shows.
Ed Rendell trying to redefine a "big" win in Pennsylvania as 4-9 points.
By next week it'll be 2-5 points.
I'm not an Obama guy, but watching Clinton and her supporters "play" politics makes me ill.
------------
So does me...lol, (apparently comparison is a powerful tool to make one to compromise).
It is stunning to find FDR’s expectations of post-WWII America been so far away from reality. Although such failed expectations was not unique. Other WWII winners have experienced the same fate.
I thought the Clintons were waiting for Obama to stumble.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/4...
This is a good read. It points out who has been the effective manager with respect to how the campaigns are run. Hillary's campaign has been a disaster. She didn't choose her staff wisely, didn't spend wisely, etc. Who is the better manager to run the country?
It's not possible to show that someone is a loser. So far, btw, McCain is a sitting United States Senator, just like Clinton and Obama and Dodd and Biden.
Referring to people as "losers" doesn't strike me as a winning strategy. The assumption that people want to back a winner is really selling people short. People do want to do the right thing and, very often, the right thing is doing what other people want. So, there is a strong element of going along to get along. But that shouldn't be held against people.
The reason we are in the fix we're in is because people lied. Bush lied; people died. Don't blame the people who were lied to. Responsibility doesn't lie with the recipient of information; it lies with the sender. So, let's be real clear about who's doing what to whom. We don't even have to pay attention to the reason. Just watch who's doing what. Or not doing.
11:00 AM EDT
I wonder if Mark Penn will be listening in the audience ?
White House: Need To Send Lawmakers Colombia Bill 'Very Soon'
By Henry J. Pulizzi, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- As the White House prepares to force Congress to vote on the Colombia free trade agreement, President George W. Bush will make a statement on the pact at 11:35 a.m. EDT Monday.
...
Will there be more coming from Hillary's kitchen sink since the polls are tightening in PA? You can count on it. It's already starting with Debbie Wasserman Schultz regarding Rev. Wright. To think I used to like Wasserman Schultz.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/4...
Hillary was on Ellen this morning. She spun a tale about her dad's homosexual neighbors. There is something disgusting about people who bring up "black" issues with black people, homosexual issues with homosexuals, young people concerns with college students, blue-colar issues with hard-hat workers--as if all these people were reducible to an interest group.
I had a college class mate whose father was an iron-worker and clad buildings in steel. What he wanted to talk about when he got off work was Charles Dickens, all of whose novels he'd read over and over again.
The problem with Republican politicians is that their interests are defined by WHO brings forward an issue, rather than WHAT the issue is. That's why I think Hillary should have run as a Republican.
If some think ending the war will be gladly embraced by either Obama or Hillary, as promised, may want to think again...and while thinking don’t forget neither one of them ever voted to stop war funding.
-------------------
http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredC...
ANALYSIS-Democratic president may reassess Iraq promises
Mon Apr 7, 2008 7:39am EDT
By Kristin Roberts
WASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) - Democrats running for U.S. president have promised to pull troops from Iraq, but some analysts and defense officials question whether either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton would fulfill that pledge if elected.
Certainly, the U.S. military will comply with any policy adopted by the next commander-in-chief, including a full-scale withdrawal from Iraq, officers say.
But some officials and policy analysts say it is difficult to see Obama or Clinton, if elected, ordering a swift pull-out once presented with the complexity of the security and political situation in Iraq and the responsibility for maintaining relationships in the region.
Obama, an Illinois senator who leads in the number of delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination, has repeatedly promised not just to withdraw but to have all troops out of Iraq within 16 months.
To do that, the Pentagon would have to pull one to two brigades -- roughly 3,500 to 7,000 troops -- out each month.
That could be done, but military officers warn that if the president expects an orderly withdrawal, the pace must be dictated by security conditions that allow the military to get its soldiers and equipment out safely. That could take years.
New York Sen. Clinton has been less specific, promising only that troop cuts could start within 60 days of taking office and offering no deadline for full withdrawal.
That could give her room to make decisions based on current conditions in Iraq, meaning the pursuit of a policy that might fall in line with President George W. Bush's current plan of pulling troops out as warranted by security gains.
"She's been a little more careful," said Michael O'Hanlon, national security policy expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington. "She still obviously wants out and she obviously isn't happy with the war and she wants to make a distinction with Bush but I see a little more flexibility on her account."
"Obama's the one who's in more trouble on this," he said.
POLICY CHANGE
Candidates have a tradition of revisiting campaign promises once they are in office, and security officials and analysts close to the Pentagon say it is easy to see Obama or Clinton ordering a review of Iraq policy and then leaving troops there.
In fact, one of Obama's former policy advisers, Samantha Power, said Obama would weigh security conditions in Iraq in implementing a withdrawal.
She told a BBC interviewer Obama "will of course not rely upon some plan that he's crafted as a presidential candidate or U.S. senator," and he would take into account the advice of generals on the ground.
"A lot of people think that Obama is locked in. I don't think he is," said Daniel Byman, security analyst at Georgetown University.
The next administration could, for example, decide that only troops involved in counterterrorism missions or those linked to training Iraqi soldiers would stay in Iraq. That could mean tens of thousands of troops and all of the personnel who support them might remain.
"There's a lot of ways you can have troops out and not have them out depending on how you define things," Byman said. "There's a definitional ambiguity.".....
11:23 AM EDT
Is it Christmas time already ?:
Do you hear what I hear ? A star, a star ...
...
From FDR -- front blog:
People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.
That is an explanation for the "everyone for themselves" philosophy. After it doesn't work for the masses, the American dictators gain control.
FDR knew it in 1944, it is about time today's masses got his message. Is FDR taught in Civics classes? If not, why not?
From Monica:
There is something disgusting about people who bring up "black" issues with black people, homosexual issues with homosexuals, young people concerns with college students, blue-colar issues with hard-hat workers--as if all these people were reducible to an interest group.
How right you are!
However, it can often be that those making the remarks are just awkward at making conversation with those they consider much different than themselves. It is a blind and subtle condescension.
11:42 AM EDT
typo upthread:
Indiana --
good (Dave Matthews Band played last night in Bloomington)
bad (Obama sign defaced in Dayton)
===
s/b:
Indiana --
good (Dave Matthews Band played last night in Bloomington)
Pennsylvania --
bad (Obama sign defaced in Dayton)
Monica Smith
Mon, 04/07/08
Reply to this
GOOD JOB, Fred, on the financial background question.
It's unfortunate that Americans expect people to be boastful
====================
Thanks. Actually I am glad BO is keeping this arrow in his quiver for now. I hope it comes out in a national debate with McCain. It will spike a lot of stereotype attitudes.
ps. check A.B.'s video coming out today
3.
* rdorgan
Mon, 04/07/08
...an isolated incident.
---
That is what they always call it. The real intention is to isolate those who vote. Any incident needs to be taken very seriously, period.
I grew up in Indiana. The Klan is still very alive and well there. And immigration is a hot button issue.
New thread. Nice work, Fred.
Michael Ellis
Mon, 04/07/08
Reply to this
12.
Huron John
Mon, 04/07/08
___________________________________________________________________________
What do you expect from this party.......common sense?
=========================
You guy's sound like a couple of neocons. "Common Sense" is a neocon periodical.
It is not the Dem party that created this dilemma. It's the people, and in the case of FL primary, I hear it was the Republicans that instigated the present situation.
This is a classic duel of the establishment vs. the reformers. However it is complicated by the fact that they are both "firsts" for two constituencies, who've never had one of their own in the White House.
Phil Specht
Mon, 04/07/08
Reply to this
That isn't true. Obama rarely mentions Hillary if at all in his speeches and contrasats his views with McCains at every stop.
================================
This is true --- and reminiscent of my childhood.
My mother favored my little sister, so when we fought, when I was bad, I got punished.
When my sister was wrong, we both got punished.
We're seeing this here - Hillary attacks Obama. When he responds to defend himself, he's accused of "attacking" Hillary. Obama seldom, if ever, attacks Hillary without provocation.
There is whole lot more on the subject.
---
How the Klan Captured Indiana By DAVID HAWARD BAIN;
THE DRAGON AND THE CROSS The Rise and Fall of the Ku Klux Klan in Middle America. By Richard K. Tucker. Illustrated. 224 pp. Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books. $27.50.
IN "The Dragon and the Cross: The Rise and Fall of the Ku Klux Klan in Middle America," Richard K. Tucker offers an instructive, narrowly focused look at a short, dark time in Indiana history: the 1920's, when the Klan held sway over state politics, with its leader aspiring to the United States Senate and even the White House. The book might have been subtitled "The Life and Times of D. C. Stephenson, Grand Dragon of the Klan," presenting as it does the colorfully sleazy life of a confidence man turned zealot and illuminating the times that made his rapid rise so effortless. ... http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.ht...
Past KKK activity
In 1995, a large trunk was discovered in an abandoned barn. The trunk contained over 1,000 membership cards and dues receipts revealing the names of citizens of the local chapter of the Invisible Empire of the Ku Klux Klan, as well as hoods, sashes and other equipment, according to Allen Safianow, professor of history at Indiana University's Kokomo campus.
In the lead article in the June issue of the Indiana Magazine of History, Safianow describes in detail the effects of the discovery. They ranged from calls for public disclosure of the names to comments that the finder of the trunk, a local building contractor named Don Roberts, should have burned its contents and kept his discovery secret. Instead, Roberts donated all of the Klan materials to the Hamilton County Historical Society, where they are preserved as a valuable resource for those seeking a better understanding of the Klan's operations in Indiana. ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noblesville...
Indianas Grand Wizard creating a kinder, gentler KKK http://www.hoosiergazette.com/Feature/fe...
http://www.iub.edu/~imaghist/for_teachers/mdrnprd/lstmp/Klan.html
http://www.centerforhistory.org/indiana_...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Kla...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_t...
Indiana Murals Parks, the Circus, the Klan, the Press in Its Contexts http://www.indiana.edu/~deanfac/benton/
Mural Under Fire for Klan Depiction
Thomas Hart Benton Artwork Sparks Indiana University Debate http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/feat...
Critical Mass - Growing up in Indiana, as
Growing up in Indiana, as I did, you notice a few things about the place. It's beautiful. The people are friendly, overweight, and overwhelmingly Republican. They are called Hoosiers. Basketball is a religion. There is no cappuccino (or at least there wasn't until a couple of years ago), and there is a southern twang to Indiana speech. You also notice that Indiana has made some embarrassing contributions to U.S. culture over the years--Michael Jackson, Dan Quayle, Bobby Knight, the Klan. The Klan? One of Indiana's dirty little secrets: it was the KKK capital of the U.S. during the twenties. The Klan was a sort of insular, insulating social glue in Indiana after WWI--it brought together native-born white Protestants from all economic and social levels, and it united them against Catholics, Jews, blacks, alcohol, and immorality in general. Corruption from within destroyed the Klan's power by the mid-twenties, but the memory of Indiana's Klan period lingers on--not so much as a memory of events, but as a set of national assumptions about what Indiana is like. I encounter those assumptions whenever I tell a hip, worldly West Coaster or East Coaster that I am from Indiana. Eyes widen, mouths grimace, shudders may commence. "How can you be from there?" they ask, all attention and empathy for my warped beginnings. These are typically people who profess great tolerance for difference, and who wear their love of diversity like a membership badge, or a medal. Which brings me to the point of my blog. ..full post: http://www.erinoconnor.org/archives/2002...
Add your comment
(to reply directly to a comment, click the reply icon for that comment)Post closed to commenting
 |
|
 |
My DFA |
|
Members |
|
Groups |
|
Events |
|
Candidates |
 |
|
Blog for America
-
41!
By Mary R on Mar 10, 2010 6:17 PM EST -
Gov Dean and Jim rally in DC
By Mary R on Mar 10, 2010 3:22 AM EST -
Thoughts on the State of the Union?
By Kate Lesniak on Jan 28, 2010 11:08 AM EST -
Governor Dean Speaks for Me
By Charles Chamberlain on Dec 17, 2009 12:33 PM EST -
No Option? No Mandate!
By Jim Dean on Dec 16, 2009 12:24 PM EST
Recent Blog Posts
-
41!
By Mary R on Mar 10, 2010 6:17 PM EST -
InstaCash Group
By Rob Cortez on Mar 10, 2010 3:16 PM EST -
We can't wait for ground to be given, we must take it
By Stephen Smith on Mar 10, 2010 11:50 AM EST -
darzthmp02
By Darz T on Mar 10, 2010 10:21 AM EST -
darzthmp02
By Darz T on Mar 10, 2010 10:16 AM EST
-
By * rdorgan on Apr 7, 2008 8:24 AM EDT8:37 AM EDT
The first thing I saw on TV yesterday morning was Howard Dean. What a great way to wake up.