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Tuesday, February 6, 2007
[1778 - France and USA sign Treaty of Amity and Commerce and Treaty of Alliance in Paris, France]
[1788 - Massachusetts is the sixth state to enter the United States of America]
[1895 - Babe (George Herman) Ruth born in Baltimore, Maryland]
[1911 - Ronald W. Reagan, 40th U.S. President, born in Tampico, Illinois]
[1932 - Francois Truffaut, film director, born in Paris, France]
[1945 - Bob Marley, reggae icon, born in St. Ann, Jamaica]
No Lightweight
When Adolf Hitler published Mein Kampf in 1925 and 1926 it was hardly a best seller. After he came to power in 1933, it was, however, widely distributed, translated, and available for inspection. In his opus, Hitler set forth his beliefs, his goals, and his methods for attaining them. Most of the intellectual community that chose to read the Nazi master plan dismissed it as the ravings of a madman, or the product of a "light weight." When Hitler became chancellor, burned the Reichstag, and set about methodically executing his plan, it was only then that the world began to take him seriously. The man was a true believer; he meant what he had said, and he clearly intended to do it.
The same realization has dawned on the current day intelligentsia. George Bush has repeatedly laid out his agenda in a series of speeches and public statements, and in his State of the Union messages to Congress. Whatever you may think of Mr. Bush's policies and ideals, there can be no doubt about his sincerity and conviction. He is another true believer. He means to do precisely what he has said. In this sense, he is by no means a "light weight." To understand this about President Bush is to appreciate how dangerous he is.
When he was first elected without a plurality and began his bumbling ways it was easy to dismiss George Bush as a temporary aberration on the political scene, and a "light weight." When reelected with what he called a mandate, one could no longer use that phrase to describe King George and the threat he poses to a free and open society with his delusions of infallibility and grandeur.
William's Whimsical Words:
Can this great nation long survive when it treats the office of chief executive as an on-the-job training opportunity?
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