-Caveat Lector- ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Email 2, September 8, 1999. A Political Literacy Course from Common Courage Press. To find out more, click on “free email course” at: http://www.commoncouragepress.com. Or subscribe with a blank email to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Feedback and suggestions for new books to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Feel free to forward. Who to Vote for: A One-Year Advance Warning Have you figured out who you’re voting for for president next year? Behind all the glitter of slogans and commercials, are you having trouble figuring out what constitutes presidential timber? Gore Vidal in “The American Presidency” shows just what counts. Based on history, look for candidates to have as many of these qualities as possible: 1) Wealth. George Washington acquired much of his fortune in the most honest way--he married it. The first president was our first millionaire. 2) Law-breaker. During his two terms, Andrew Jackson broke ninety-three treaties with Indian tribes. 3) Willing to impose martial law. Lincoln became a dictator. He levied troops without consulting Congress, shut down newspapers, suspended habeas corpus, defied the Supreme Court--all in the name of “military necessity.” 4) Willing to commit genocide. In 1898 the U.S. went to war with Spain, taking over the Philippines which was seized with the aid of nationalist guerrillas to whom we promised independence. But, writes Vidal, “President William McKinley decided we ought to keep the Philippines in order to Christianize the natives. When reminded that Filipinos were already Roman Catholic, the president responded, ‘Exactly.’ So we betrayed the nationalists and began our own conquest…” Mark Twain saluted the resulting genocide of 200,000 men, women and children “by suggesting that we replace the stars and stripes in our flag with the skull and crossbones.” 5) Aptitude for construction projects. When Colombia refused to give Theodore Roosevelt land needed for a canal, the president engineered a rebellion in the section he wanted, then “recognized the result as the new ‘free’ Republic of Panama and dug his ditch.” 6) Able to take over empires from weakened allies. After World War II, Franklin Roosevelt seized on the opportunity afforded by the devastation of Europe to command the former colonial powers of England, France and Holland to give up their empires, allowing them to adhere “like metal filings to the American magnet.” To learn more about presidential character, click on http://www.commoncouragepress.com/american.html TOMORROW: Molly Ivins looks at the greatest democracy in the world. ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] A<>E<>R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your common sense." --Buddha + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished. -Johann Christoph Schiller, German Writer (1759-1805) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. -Bertrand Russell + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Everyone has the right...to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." Universal Declaration of Human Rights + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." --- Ernest Hemingway + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! 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