News-Miner Editorial
D-Day to today
Reflecting on history puts pains in perspective
Published Friday, June 6, 2008
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Stumble It!We have been reminded of historic milestones recently that are worthy of reflection as we face economic woes and headlines that are less than rosy these days.
We live in a country that has overcome hardship and challenges by which the travails of today’s citizens seem to pale. The following is not meant to trivialize the problems of today or to simply point out that things could always be worse. But embracing our history, observing and reflecting upon major events of the past, can have the comforting effect of lending perspective that can fortify hope for the future, always a worthwhile outcome of reflection.
Today is D-Day: On June 6, 1944, our country was embroiled in World War II on fronts in Japan and Europe. Everyone at home was touched by “the war effort.” Gas, clothing, food and staples like sugar were rationed as the government stepped in to take control of supply and demand — and to simply make sure the wealthy didn’t snatch everything up. Yet on this day, an assault of unheard-of proportions involving nearly 150,000 Allied soldiers had been amassed. Thousands of ships, planes and armaments, many of which had rolled out of American plants, descended upon coastal France. Historical accounts say that by nightfall of this day more than 9,000 Allied soldiers were dead or wounded, but the assault was a success, and within weeks the killing grounds were transformed into staging and supply areas that helped turn the war in Europe.
Alaska is (almost) 50: The 49th state is only 49 years old and celebrating its way up to the big day, Jan. 3, 2009 when it turns a whopping 50. It was not so long ago that Alaskans rose up to fight against what was viewed as a colonial status, invoking images of taxation without representation. Aboriginal rights were yet to be addressed and, after decades of territorial status, shipping was spotty and unreliable, roads were simply inadequate to support any meaningful economy, medical care was sparse and the infrastructure in general lagged far behind the United States. In 49 years the detached state with a small population and questionable economic value has come far indeed.
RFK assassinated: It was 40 years ago this week that a second young Kennedy was assassinated. Robert, the youngest brother of President John F. Kennedy and apparently bound for the Democratic presidential nomination was gunned down shortly after celebrating his triumphant primary win in California. What a year 1968 would become, with Kennedy’s assassination coming just months after that of The Rev. Martin Luther King and the 1968 Democratic National Convention to be forever linked with the riot that ensued. President Richard M. Nixon was to be elected in a year of race and war demonstrations, riots, national unrest and fear.
This week, we watched the first black presidential candidate gain enough votes for nomination, narrowly defeating a female candidate for the Democratic nomination. In 40 years, we have come a long way indeed.
Our country’s historic moments continue to unfold.
Community Discussion
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Not far enough. Under what other circumstances would an amitted former crack addict/gang banger with less than 2 years experience have so much support? Seems like we try so hard to be progressive we aren't looking past race, we're using it to pat ourselves on the back. I hope he has a running mate with a REAL plan and not just "wanting" change. My firts born is half Aleut and my second is half black, so please do not think I am racist-not at all. I just think that if we were trully being racially neutral we would not be afraid to criticize his weaknesses more vocally.
There's a lot we should be able to learn from history.
And yet history proves that we never do.
In fact, the main lesson of history is that we never learn the lessons of history.
This makes us look so stupid that few people care to read it.
They'd rather not be reminded.
Any good history book is mainly just a long list of mistakes,
complete with names and dates.
It's very embarrassing. - A. Whitney Brown, The Big Picture
Had to do it :o) Just too true.
The assasination of RFK is one of the saddest parts of our History..
What would the world be like today if he had gotten in instead of Nixon?? I was only a year old at the time..but I wonder about these things..Like why do so many have such apathy for where our country is going..A whole lot of "I don't care...just give me the cheap stuff from China"...?? What is wrong with this picture? Does anybody want anything made in America anymore? If we did and were willing to pay for the wages Americans made we would not have supported corporations who took all our manufacturing jobs away(thus taking away the politically motivated, activist, inner city workers of the 60's), and that want to start bringing them back at a steep price to us..They want to bring people here with work Visa's..the products, buildings, tech jobs will be "In America" but, they will have gotten Congress to pass legislation(Free Trade, Globalization ect..) that will let them pay them what they would make in their own countries..thus bring down the wages paid to Americans! If I am wrong please, let me know how many people you know who work in manufacturing ANYTHING that used to be made in America? The only work available any more to the inner city poor person is most likely an illegal activity caused by removal of any unskilled jobs that paid decent wages & left them time to think about what was going on, or better themselves, not just on day to day survival!
Watch parts 1 & 2-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZkIp74C7...
Who makes the stuff you buy at Wal-Mart? Do you care?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bhodyt4f...
I'm sure a lot of people feel that way but there's so much "red tape" to get opinions up to those who matter. The federal government for example. While I like to read comments such as yours, NativeAlaskan, simply reading it won't change a damn thing. Neither will watching endless you tube videos. It makes people smarter sure, but I'd like to know how we can actually MAKE a difference and make our voices heard. Instead of simply giving our opinions to the Daily News Miner comment forum boards. DO SOMETHING about what you're passionate about, not simply typing it on a computer.
I call my legislators, write letters to them expressing my opinions ect..
Getting smarter and more informed is a good start..
Choosing carefully what you buy & WHERE you buy it..Letting the corporate leaders know what you think by contacting them personally, every major Corporation anymore has a website and usually if you search it deep enough you can find a physical/e-mail address and/or a phone # for the top dogs.
Letting the Major players in the media know we don't want fluff anymore by NOT watching the stupid crap that is put on T.V. They want US all insulated, entertained and dummied down!
Edward R.Murrow-
" I invite your attention to the television schedules of all networks between the hours of 8 and 11 p.m., Eastern Time. Here you will find only fleeting and spasmodic reference to the fact that this nation is in mortal danger. There are, it is true, occasional informative programs presented in that intellectual ghetto on Sunday afternoons. But during the daily peak viewing periods, television in the main insulates us from the realities of the world in which we live."
RTNDA Convention
Chicago
October 15, 1958
Google it for the whole speech!
Writing letters to the editor of the papers you read.
Pay attention to what is happening in Washington by going and reading what is going on..They put all of it up on the web for anybody who cares to go read! http://www.washingtonwatch.com,
http://thomas.loc.gov Your first search should be for H.R. 1955 and S.B. 1959.
Public opinion messages can be left for our local and state leaders..They all have local offices & phone #'s..
Your handle says you graduated from College...I didn't even finish High School! The basic principal behind the reason for any Union (Including our UNITED STATES) is that ONE person will find it extremely difficult to change anything with the higher ups...But MANY standing together united in purpose can MAKE change happen(The Revolutionary War)! Why do you think Corporate America spends so much on propoganda to break Unions?
Many people have died fighting for the rights that are sooo taken for granted now..Some never lived to see their life's work completed ie..Susan B. Anthony died before women got to vote!
I think I'll go ride motorcycles today with my pal Ray...
Ray jumped off the nose of a LandingCraft on Utah-Beach June 6th 1944.
...and he can still chase girls like a teenager too.
I also would point to a speech by a former President and it's
insightfulness on the current situation in our country-
It will make you think...
Farewell Radio and Television Address to the American People by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, January 17, 1961.
http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/speec...
NativeAlaskan,
I am currently in the military as a machinist/welder. I will be getting out here in the next year and have been looking for manufacturing jobs and supprisingly, I have there are more jobs than a person can shake a stick at. Not in Alaska, but the rest of the US.
I think the major problem with a lot of manufacting jobs leaving the country is not that these companies want cheap labor, it's that there isn't the skilled labor in this country anymore. Our schools cut funding for many of these programs and with boom in tech jobs a lot of people gave up manufacting for a cushy desk job.
There certainly isn't a shortage of jobs in the machining field. During my time job hunting last month in the Idaho/Utah area I have multiple companies willing to hire me on the spot for a very good starting wage.
TheGrudge- Thank you both for your info and for your service!
I am VERY happy to hear that...
We absolutely do need more school programs geared toward Mechanical, Machine, Wood shop, Labor, Life skills ect..Creative Thinking and ingenuity are also things that should be embraced rather than trying to fit all pegs into the same hole.
We are finally realizing this and now have a few schools in our area that offer non-traditional school experiences for our kids..The James T. Hutchison “TECHADEMIC” High School is one and another is the Effie Kokrine Charter School..just two examples!
I have great hope that all can be turned around :o) and that we as a nation are not as stupid as "Big Brother" hahaha, would want us to believe. But it is also our responsibility to keep our eye on the powers that be as good citizens of this country. I am only "one" woman, wife and mother who cares about what kind of place my children and grandchildren will be living in.:o)
akmommie-what are you talking about? Who is a crack addict/gang banger?
NativeAlaskan,
I do think things will change when it comes to technical careers such as those you mentioned. I have seen an increase in demand for workers and secondary education programs.
This isn't to say things will return to the way it was. Manufacting is and will become more and more high tech involving more training. In years past many of these jobs were unskilled labor or OTJ training so it was within easy reach of the lower and middle class citizens. Even with something as simple as automotive maintenance it is becoming a very involved process on today's vehicles.
I think all and all this is a good thing as it brings higher paying jobs to the market.
Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate the thanks for my service. By military standards I'm in a cushy job so often times I don't know how to respond when people thank me. I guess when you really enjoy what you do it's hard not to have a bit of guilt.
Yeah so akmommie. You say that you have a half aleut kid and half black kid. I don't know exactly why you would mention something like that on the article here. I mean I know of a lady that gave birth to 5 kids from 5 different men and another that has 6 kids from 3 different men. Lol. I mean to me that is just embarrassing. Whatever happened to commitment and staying true.
I have searched the net and various national newspapers trying to find anything alluding to Obama as a "gang banger". I find nothing. The only thing I find regarding 'crack addict' are some weird You Tube videos put out by some very sad sick individuals who appear to be looking for their 15 minutes of fame.
akmommie- You do everyone a disservice by spewing this unproven crap. You certainly have the right to criticize anyone running for office but do us all a favor and stick to valid and truthful criticisms. I would suggest a broader array of reading material and less YouTube for current events. But mind you, that is only a suggestion.
Sleeping with minorities doesn't preclude you from being a racist.
I think we all ought to akmommy alone. Predictably there have been several racial innuendos referring to Barack Obama in the Newsminer online forum, all by anonymous users. It's clear why those users choose to be anonymous; their comments reflect more on the writer than on their subject.
We and many of the world's people do owe our freedom to those that landed on beaches on D-Day and all the other bloody battles through Europe and the Pacific in the 1940's. We also owe our freedom to those who have died by refusing to live in fear of oppression, intolerance, crime, and poverty of spirit.
DistantThunder, give your pal Ray a pat on the back, tell him thanks and congratulations for a long life and have a great ride!
I wasn't implying that because I slept with a minority I wasn't racist. I was trying to illustrate that as a mother of minority children, my non-support of Obama is not racially motivated. I know people jump to conclusions, so I thought that by noting I have minority children whom I would love to have a presidential nominee of color as a role model, then people would not say "you're just a racist". Instead I am promiscuous-sheesh I didn't call anyone names on here.
Obama wrote a book about how he rose from the ashes of a gang banger influence and cocaine addiction to become a senator. He got involved in gangs and drugs to deal with the struggle of being half black (Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance 1995). Commendable of course, but why aren't his competitors beating this horse like they did with clinton's blunt or bush's dui.
My post is about people saying we have come so far, we look past race is not true, in my opinion. I think Obama is only the candidate BECAUSE he is black. If it were a white candidate we tend to use their past against them. One Clinton aide brought up his past and was asked to resign and called a racist. Also, he has no experience and no clear plan, he just thinks America sucks now and needs change. So do I, but I am not qualified for president. I feel we will trully be past the race issue when we can call a person for what they are-good or bad- regardless of race. I wanted people to argue with me about that point. Give me a prospective on Obama's qualifications that maybe I am unaware of. Not insult my choice to have children with my previous relationships. I am 30 years old, no my husband isn't my first relationship-but to say my thoughts are invalid because of those decisions is cruel, I don't feel I deserve it.
I am very glad that my relationships with my childrens fathers did not work out, but that I had kids out of it. I love my husband and my children all of which I would not have had I not been such a promiscuous person.
My post is purely that I disagree with the author that we can pat ourselves on the back because of Obama.
My name is JoAnna Harper.
akmommie-
That is one of, if not the, most beautiful and sincere (I'm big on sincere) posts, I've ever read.
I completely agree with what you're saying, politically and otherwise.
In the past, I was the sort who disparaged those with children from more than one or a few partners.
I met one of my two best friends several years ago. A woman who has several children by several different fathers.
What a gal!! She is doing well. She is vivacious. Her kids are decent people, although there have been some troubled times. She is smart, sharp, and way cheaper than a therapist! She is married, and a good wife to, a good and decent man with a very good education and employment. She recently got an awesome job too.
In fact, though all my kids are from a long time marriage, my friend was a whole lot smarter than I.
She got out of a bad thing (or two!). I married "one of the beasts," as Mike Kelly put it; (Mike and I have discussed this, and I agree with a lot of his take on it); and stayed for many, many years.
I am fortunate, because of circumstances that arose, that I got out alive. And, as few know, because of current circumstances I will be fortunate to remain that way.
People don't get the psychology, the practical, the social, or the safety factors involved in staying. I did a lot of research on it; partly for a school paper, but because of my trying to figure out it out myself.
The damage all around has been indescribable.
Now, when people demean others for this kind of stuff, or even when I hear someone say something like "How could he be with her" or vice versa, or start thinking the ol' "guilty by association" stuff; I need only remember myself.
Oh yeah!
There can be a lot of truth in judging by associations; but not all associations are what they appear, and must be " judged" individually as the person(s).
akmommie, you are brave. I admire you. I am happy for you.
I would never, ever, not ever ever, in a million years, expose this much of myself publicly if not for your post.
I think people should hear an equally sincere voice in your support.
Thanks for being sincere.
wait a minute... who is this "minority" you are talking about. last i looked, a minority group would not have its own schools, schollarship programs, hiring practices, grants and loans, allotted government monies, ETC. ETC. ETC. this list goes on and on and ON! African american beauty pagent (white girls need not apply)... what the hell is that? i am not racist, but i surely will not sit here and listen to someone else calling black people "minorities"!
and to address another point, what does obama have to offer to this country? he doesnt have politics, he has ethnics. watch the news when they interview people for voting opinions. anyone who stands for obama talks only about race. and how he is somehow "freeing" the blacks of something, whatever that is...
between him and his preacher, he already has brought way too much "drama" to this election already. i do support opinions, so i will give mine and say that i feel that anyone who stands for obama stands for stupid. so what do you know?
mi·nor·i·ty /mɪˈnɔrɪti/ adjective –noun
1. the smaller part or number; a number, part, or amount forming less than half of the whole.
2. a smaller party or group opposed to a majority, as in voting or other action.
3. a group differing, esp. in race, religion, or ethnic background, from the majority of a population.
4. a member of such a group.
Hope that clears it up for you Burninator!
wow frozen!!! feeling good? you now know how to spell a whole 'nother word. and you even know what it means... now to learn how to read the whole sentence and maybe next year... a paragraph, and you might be able to read an entire post and know what you are talking about.
but keep trying lil guy. and you'll get it one day there sport!!
You're welcome! You just seemed a little confused and I wanted to help. I do believe that you may be the only person I have ever met that thinks blacks are not a minority. Maybe you were trying to say that they are not oppressed or that they do not lack in having a certain amount of power. However, they are most definately, a minority.
Now get back to work.
Oh...and thank you to any and all WW2 Veterans who may still be around. Talk about getting the shaft. They sacrificed more than most generations and the government has continually screwed them year after year.
Visit Normandy this time of year if you ever can. The French have not forgotten even if we somtimes do.
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