As you might know, I work on the historic Battleship Missouri located in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The following was posted on-board lately and I felt it was well worth repeating here.
Harry Truman was a different kind of President. He probably made as many important decisions regarding our nation's history as any of the other Presidents this country has had. However, a measure of his greatness may rest on what he did after he left the White House.
The only asset he had when he died was the house he lived in, which was in Independence, Missouri. His wife had inherited the house from her mother and other than their years at the White House, they lived their entire lives there.
When he retired from office in 1952, his income was a U.S. Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an "allowance" and later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year.
After President Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves. There was no Secret Service following them.
When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined stating, "You don't want me. You want the office of the President, and that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale".
Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, "I don't consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise."
As President, he paid for all of his own travel expenses and food. Modern politicians have found a new level of success in cashing in on the Presidency, resulting in untold wealth. Today, many in Congress also have found a way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices. Political offices are now for sale.
Good old Harry Truman was correct when he observed, "My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!"
I say we dig him up and clone him!!!! If only we had politicians and presidents now that had even 1% of the integrity and humility of President Truman, this country would be in a lot better shape! He truly understood that being a politician and/or president made him a public servant to the people of this great country, not the other way around. God bless you Harry Truman!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
No Tears for Van Jones
Let there be a celebration in the streets......the pressure from the citizens of this country has had a positive effect! Today we were greeted with the joyous news that Van Jones, the Green Jobs Czar has decided to step aside and resign his position. That my friends is GREAT news!!! This was a person with ideals that are 180degrees from what we need in this country.
Van Jones is a self-admitted Communist and anti-capitalist, willingly signed a petition seeking an investigation into 9/11 because he believes the government was behind it and called Republicans "A@^$%holes" at a public forum in Berkeley earlier this year. He has recently come out apologizing for these things saying he really didn't believe them and was sorry for his remarks. I for one though don't believe a word he has to say in that respect. He has admitted personally to being a communist and anti-capitalist. As far as the 9/11 conspiracy, we have all had clipboards thrust at us for all kinds of issues to sign......but I am willing to bet that if you are like me, you don't sign unless you believe the same way. Given the education level of Van Jones, I would expect no less from him. To think otherwise is ludicrous! As for his remarks regarding Republicans, he said it because that's what he thinks and he knew he could get away with it at a like-minded forum of kool-aid drinkers in Berkeley. As far as his apologies, it is readily apparent that he was willing to apologize simply because he wanted to "keep his job"! Bottom line here is that he said what he said because that is what he believes! A false and insincere apology doesn't change that.
The aggravating thing about people like Van Jones is that they are radical people with radical ideas that are more than willing to tear down the very same country and system that gave them the opportunity and freedom to get to where they are now (VERY much like the mush-headed liberal actors who just thrive on deriding conservatives....). In addition, these liberal elitists consider themselves to be better and smarter than us, the average American citizen. They fail to realize that the average American is pretty darn smart.....and resourceful too. We aren't as blind and dumb as they think (and hope) we are.
So now, Van Jones is gone and calling the opposition to him a "vicious smear campaign against me." Perhaps he should take a good, hard look at himself and listen to the words of Jeremiah Wright(Obama's religious mentor)when he said...."The chickens are coming home to roost!!!!"
Van Jones is a self-admitted Communist and anti-capitalist, willingly signed a petition seeking an investigation into 9/11 because he believes the government was behind it and called Republicans "A@^$%holes" at a public forum in Berkeley earlier this year. He has recently come out apologizing for these things saying he really didn't believe them and was sorry for his remarks. I for one though don't believe a word he has to say in that respect. He has admitted personally to being a communist and anti-capitalist. As far as the 9/11 conspiracy, we have all had clipboards thrust at us for all kinds of issues to sign......but I am willing to bet that if you are like me, you don't sign unless you believe the same way. Given the education level of Van Jones, I would expect no less from him. To think otherwise is ludicrous! As for his remarks regarding Republicans, he said it because that's what he thinks and he knew he could get away with it at a like-minded forum of kool-aid drinkers in Berkeley. As far as his apologies, it is readily apparent that he was willing to apologize simply because he wanted to "keep his job"! Bottom line here is that he said what he said because that is what he believes! A false and insincere apology doesn't change that.
The aggravating thing about people like Van Jones is that they are radical people with radical ideas that are more than willing to tear down the very same country and system that gave them the opportunity and freedom to get to where they are now (VERY much like the mush-headed liberal actors who just thrive on deriding conservatives....). In addition, these liberal elitists consider themselves to be better and smarter than us, the average American citizen. They fail to realize that the average American is pretty darn smart.....and resourceful too. We aren't as blind and dumb as they think (and hope) we are.
So now, Van Jones is gone and calling the opposition to him a "vicious smear campaign against me." Perhaps he should take a good, hard look at himself and listen to the words of Jeremiah Wright(Obama's religious mentor)when he said...."The chickens are coming home to roost!!!!"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
