The
Lessons of A 'War of Values' -
"In today's world,
"wars of values" are the only wars that many nations
will ever be asked to fight. There is, for example, no conceivable
military threat to the national interest of the Netherlands or
Canada. If such nations are to have armed forces at all, their
primary mission is bound to be humanitarian. Increasingly, the
great world wars of this century—wars in which national survival
was genuinely at stake—look like aberrations rather than the
norm..."
Sober
truths -
"WHEN I QUIT DRINKING, THE FEELING OF VICTORY LASTED TWO YEARS.
HOW WAS I TO KNOW THE HARDEST PART WAS YET TO COME? In the
beginning, there was elation. I quit drinking five years ago last
month -- Feb. 20, 1994, to be precise -- and for a solid year, I
rode a private little wave of victory. Hah! Problem identified,
solution found! I felt triumphant and strong and full of promise, as
though all the key aspects of my life -- relationships, work, health
-- had been given a second chance..."
DRINKING:
A LOVE STORY - Caroline Knapp started drinking when she
was 14, and spent almost 20 years as an alcoholic. Throughout the
1980s she maintained a good front, holding down a high-pressure
job at the Boston Phoenix and keeping her addiction under wraps.
Much of the time she managed to hide it even from herself:
"You know and you don't know. You know and you won't
know, and as long as the outsides of your life remain intact --
your job and your professional persona -- it's very hard to accept
that the insides, the pieces of you that have to do with integrity
and self-esteem, are slowly rotting away..."
The
Superpower They Love to Hate - Nothing quite like it had
ever been seen before. Gathered at the United Nations Security
Council were ambassadors, dignitaries and those just looking for a
good show. Jesse Helms, veteran chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, was in New York to give his audience a lesson
in language "a little more blunt" than they were
accustomed to hearing. The United States might be behind in its
dues to the United Nations, Helms said, but it was not a
"deadbeat nation." If America, as it did during the
Reagan years, decided to "lend support to nations struggling
to break the chains of tyranny," that was its own business.
In fact, argued Helms, if the United Nations sought to
"impose its presumed authority" on America, it could
face "eventual U.S. withdrawal" from the organization.
Then the members of the council firmly made their own points—the
United States had obligations of membership; collective action was
not the same as world government. And Martin Andjaba, the
ambassador from Namibia, said that under the Reagan doctrine
"some of us who were legitimate and genuine national
liberation movements were called other names—terrorists."
OUR
SOCIALIST MINDSET -
"No - this will not be not about the
president’s State of the Union address. Its blatantly socialist
content was noteworthy only to the extent to which Mr. Clinton
invoked the Founding Fathers. That, and his shameless celebration
of our armed forces, coming from a man who never recanted his open
hatred of the military, was a performance on par with “I did not
have sexual relations with that woman — Miss Lewinsky...”
Patrick
Henry's famous "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech
- No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well
as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed
the House. But different men often see the same subject in
different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought
disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions
of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my
sentiments freely and without reserve...
Just when you thought you've seen it all... Hillary
Clinton makes it official! (Reuters)
So,
you want to see me naked? - "These days, when I retire in
the evening, I am afforded the comfort of assured security. I rest
peacefully, my thoughts centered firmly on my many blessings, the
butterfly tickles indicating the life growing inside of me, and my
renewed confidence that America can weather most political storms,
only to emerge stronger than before. What brings me such peace of
mind? Is it the strapping giant I call my husband, nestled in the
bed alongside of me? To a degree, yes. Is it my comfortable home,
located in a quiet neighborhood? To a degree, yes. Is it the
security alarm that monitors my home continuously, warning against
unwanted intrusion? To a degree, yes. Ultimately, the source of my
peaceful rest is the 12 Gauge 28" Accu-Choke shotgun and case
of 3" shells under my bed..."
This
Land Is Our Land. End of Story - "President Clinton
designates three sites as national monuments — and not
everyone is happy about it. It's a photo op no savvy pol
would want to miss: The Grand Canyon, glowing orange and red
in the fading sunlight, gaping and huge and entirely...
American. And since no one has ever accused Bill Clinton of
being less than savvy, there he was Tuesday, perched on the
edge of the chasm, announcing his decision to designate
three new national monuments, including land along the north
ridge of the canyon, and to also expand an existing site.
And while the assignation of national monuments often yields
little more than a pretty picture, this case is a bit
different..."
