Remembering Nelson Mandela with a Quote from Him

Nelson Mandela died two days ago in his native South Africa.

Former President Bill Clinton said Mandela would ask to speak to Chelsea when he called the White House to ask her if she had done her homework. Chelsea Clinton went on to graduate from Stanford.

Though former Vice President Dick Cheney made disparaging remarks about this remarkable man, he was lauded by politicians on both sides of the aisle in the United States. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va) and Cong. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) praised his contributions to ending Apartheid while Cong. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) praised Mandela for being a champion of human rights.

Here is a quote from Mandela:

"It always seems impossible until it's done."

SIDEBAR: Alas, it was a rough night for us as spectators as all four of the teams we were rooting for somehow fell in the NCAA tournament: Cal upset North Carolina, LSU came from two sets down to win over Michigan, Radford University posted a great second set but still fell in straight sets to host Minnesota, and in spite of winning the first set against Utah, the Yale Bulldogs lost to the Utes 3-1.

Oh well............

Tweets of the Day: All Things Damascus

Here are a sample of tweets from objective and subjective sources including former Cong. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), who was one of the most liberal members of the house, and Liz Cheney, the daughter of Dick Cheney, the 43rd president of the USA (forgive the political humor), both of whom are against a possible American military strike on Syria. Both Kucinich (top) and Ms. Cheney (bottom) are pictured here.

I will be put in my subjective view and openly state that while I am personally center-left politically, I am for military intervention in Syria, as Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt are overwhelmed with refugees. The Turkish newspaper "Today's Zaman" said as many as one million refugees will have fled to Turkey from Syria by the end of the year.

Here are the tweets:

1) Dennis Kucinich @DennishKucinich: "#Syria: The threat to US credibility isn't what happens if we don't intervene, but what happens if we do, @SenMikeLee (yes, Kucinich acutally quoted far-right Tea Partier Sen. Mike Lee, Republican from Utah).

2) National Review @NRO (a conservative magazine): "If Obama isn't seeking permission to wage war, why is he in Congress at all?" #Syria

3) Politico @Politico: "Even as he makes the case for a military strike against #Syria, John Kerry is careful to keep the light on for Russia."

4) Mustafa Akyol @AkyolinEnglish  (Akyol is prominent Turkish journalist): "Al-Assad should be bombed soon and hard."

5) Syria Freedom @FreeingSyria: "Obama to make G20 push for #Syria strike_ US President Barack Obama gives a press conference in Stockholm."

6) Katrina vandenHeuvel @KatrinaNation (She is the managing editor of the liberal magazine "The Nation"): "73% MoveOn members say Congress should oppose authorization to use military force in Syria."

7) The Hill @hillballotbox: Liz Cheney says she'd vote against Syrian strikes.

8) WeeklyStandard @weeklystandard (a conservative magazine): National Review: "Yes" to U.S. Action in Syria. The editors of National Review endorse military action in Syria."

9) JerodPolis @jaredpolis Cong. Jason Polis (D-Colo.): "Sounds like I will be voting on military action in Syria! Send me information/articles to read as I study the issue to make a decision."

10) TheDailyEdge @TheDailyEdge: "Rick Santorum: I wanted to strike #Syria right up to the moment Obama said we should. Now, I think it's a bad idea."

11) Roll Call @rollcall: "Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.): "Senators will get DVD of CIA evidence showing 'horrendous' effects of chemical weapons."

12) BBCWorld @BBCWorld: "US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power accuses Russia of holding security council hostage on #Syria."


http://thehill.com/

http://www.rollcall.com/

http://thewhitepath.com/ (Mustafa Akyol's web site)

http://www.politico.com/

http://www.thenation.com

http://www.weeklystandard.com/

http://www.nationalreview.com/

Tweets of the Day_ Politcs, Weather and Halloween Stuff

Earlier today, I overheard the following at a pancake house in the Roanoke, Va., metro area: "I got these great Swedish candies for Halloween, there are called Toberlone." Uhmm...just one problem, that's a Swiss candy! Those, I must profess, I didn't know how to spell the name of the Swiss chocolate candy until I googled it just now.

And, Happy Anniversary to us! This blog was launched four years ago today on Oct. 31st, 2008.

With that, let's look at the afternoon tweets:

1) (@occupywallst) Occupy Wall Street: "#OWS (Occupy Wall Street) rapid response to #Sandy shows importance of building network for mutual support. When government falls short, people stand tall."

2) @WSJ (Wall Street Journal): "Halloween is on hold for many kids in #Sandy's path as municipalities cancel  trick-or-treating."

3) @SheHasWorth (She Has Worth, a women's publication in California): "Happy Halloween! And remember you can still dress up cute without giving away your 'treats.'" (hmmm....yeah, we think there is a double-meaning there too).

4) @LOLGOP (LOL GOP, a liberal satirist): "You notice that for Halloween, I'm dressed up as a sluty elephant."

5) @TeaPartyCat (Top Conservative Cat, another liberal satirist): "The real victims of Hurricane Sandy are the pundits desperate for polling which has been postponed."

6) @Keswick_theatre (Keswick Theatre is a venue in Philadelphia): "Happy Halloween! What are you dressing up as this year? Anything music related?"

7) @RockyMtnMike (Rocky Mountain Mike, a radio personality in Vail, Colo.): "Happy Halloween! Mitt Romney Vampire Hunter."

8) @nprnews (NPR News): "If Dick Cheney's dogs can dress up for Halloween, so can you."

Quote of the Day- Albert Camus

Since it will be Bastille Day in France next week (July 14th is the French day of independence), which is coincidentally a day of jubilation in Azerbaijan as well---though we aren't quite sure exactly why, we thought we'd post some quotes from famous French people. In fact, we are doing this all this month on Wednesdays as we are also quoting famous Americans on Mondays. I suppose those who were ex-pats, like the late poet James Baldwin, could qualify for both slots!

Today, we are quoting two French legends who were actually born in Algeria on our two blogs. On "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" (yeah, I know this isn't the best name for a blog), we quip the recently-deceased fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent (1936-2008).

But, here we quote Albert Camus (1913-1960), who wrote "The Stranger." The great writer was also known for speaking out against capital punishment, colonialism and human rights abuses. We take it Dick Cheney probably hasn't checked any of his books out of the Casper, Wyo., library.

Here is the quote from Camus who alas died a few years short of his 50th birthday:

"All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridicilous beginning. Great works are often born on a street corner or in a restaurant's revolving door."

Remembering Sen. Robert Byrd with Quote from Joe Lieberman

There are definitely time when I strongly differ with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Ct.) whom many call 'Dick Cheney's favorite Democrat,' but this is not one of those times.

Lieberman tweeted this moving message about his fellow member of The Hill Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) who died early Monday morning at age of 93.

"Sen. Byrd was a genuine American statesman who loved his country and the great institution of the U.S. Senate."

The man who represented communities as diverse and divirgent as Princeton, Huntington and Morgantown will most assuredly be missed.

We should perhaps point out to blog visitors from places like Turkmenistan who are likely to be unsure of who is in the U.S. Senate that the man pictured here is Sen. Lieberman not Sen. Byrd.

Political Confusion Test (19 of 21) Dijon Mustard or Buffalo Beef Jerky?

It appears that right-wing talk show hosts will get ticked with President Barack Obama for virtually anything he does. Case in point, Sean Hannity recently whined about Obama putting French Dijon mustard on a hamburger during his visit to a burger joint with Vice President Joe Biden in Arlington, Va.

So, this leads me to ask those of you independent voters out there which way you lean politically. If you prefer imported mustard over buffalo beef jerky which one can at Jackson Hole Meat in Jackson Hole, Wyo. (do we need to mention that it's located in Dick Cheney's home state), then might be a Democrat.

Remembering the American Newspaper- Letters to the Editor

While I was in flight to Denver, I stopped at Chicago O'Hare International Airport where I was able to pick a copy of "The Chicago Sun-Times," and I saw this neat letter-to-the-editor written by Sybil Hoffman of Evanston, Ill:

"Excuse me, but why is ex-Vice President Dick Cheney getting so much airtime? His party was voted out of office! Might that mean that most Americans no longer want to hear his views?"

Political Confusion Test (12 of 21)

It has recently come to our attention that the former veep/president Dick Cheney thinks Obama is going to be 'soft and cuddly' towards the likes of Osama bin Laden. In the mean time, it appears that a mere 17 percent think Cheney did a good job.

To most of us that number is shockingly high, but then again it does lead one to wonder what percentage of people out there think the late Tiny Tim (1932-1996) was actually a good singer.

And, this leads us to today's political confusion question:

If you are more likely to thing the man who sang "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" was a good singer than Cheney, aka the ark angel of death, was a good vice president, then you are either a Democrat or a very smart/hip Republican (are there any of them out there???!).