Monday, November 14, 2005
Free Spirits On A Motorcycle in Vietnam
"Two for the road"*Panic in Bush Land
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It was such a pleasure to read the account of the motorcycle trip by Dustin Roasa and his girl friend, "Vietnam's Easy Rider" in the Washington Post. After the headlines about the Iraqi conspirator in Jordan and preparations for bioterrorism, Mr. Roasa was like a breath of fresh air. Reminded me that people in some parts of the universe still live normal lives. Yes, I am aware that Vietnam is not idyllic for all. But such journeys help one to get a feel of lands and people quite different than our own. If all of us cannot actually hit the road, reading about the journeys is the next best thing.
- "Leaving behind the traffic-clogged, European-scale streets of Hanoi's central districts, we dodged pedestrians and trucks to emerge into the booming exurbs, ground zero for Vietnam's recent economic explosion. Industrial parks, where local workers stitch and assemble the goods that fuel the global consumer economy, lined the road on vast plots that had been scratched out of the dust. The stench of vehicle exhaust gave way to a mixture of burnt brush, overheated metal and soggy rice paddy -- the unmistakable odor of progress in Vietnam."
Who Will Say 'No More'
The president seemed to be out campaigning during his Veterans' Day appearance at Tobyhanna,PA. The Washington Post report by Linton Weeks and Peter Baker reads "Bush Spars with Critics of the War".
Shrillness arising, the man is desperate. Fortunes of Republican politicians are tied to him. They loyally fell behind to offer tortuous arguments that there were no lies, no deception leading to the decision to go to war. Too many facts are now available to whitewash the records. Let them try. The truth is out there.
Not easy for Democrats who didn't have the courage to take a stand. Back in August, Gary Hart, the former senator from Colarado said this in an op-ed piece "Who will say 'No more' " in the Washington Post:
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Not easy for Democrats who didn't have the courage to take a stand. Back in August, Gary Hart, the former senator from Colarado said this in an op-ed piece "Who will say 'No more' " in the Washington Post:
- "History will deal with George W. Bush and the neoconservatives who misled a mighty nation into a flawed war that is draining the finest military in the world, diverting Guard and reserve forces that should be on the front line of homeland defense, shredding international alliances that prevailed in two world wars and the Cold War, accumulating staggering deficits, misdirecting revenue from education to rebuilding Iraqi buildings we've blown up, and weakening America's national security.
- "But what will history say about an opposition party that stands silent while all this goes on? My generation of Democrats jumped on the hot stove of Vietnam and now, with its members in positions of responsibility, it is afraid of jumping on any political stove. In their leaders, the American people look for strength, determination and self-confidence, but they also look for courage, wisdom, judgment and, in times of moral crisis, the willingness to say: "I was wrong."
- "To stay silent during such a crisis, and particularly to harbor the thought that the administration's misfortune is the Democrats' fortune, is cowardly. In 2008 I want a leader who is willing now to say: "I made a mistake, and for my mistake I am going to Iraq and accompanying the next planeload of flag-draped coffins back to Dover Air Force Base. And I am going to ask forgiveness for my mistake from every parent who will talk to me."
