tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post6356448217193284441..comments2024-03-20T12:34:55.100-05:00Comments on Stonekettle Station: Mother of ExilesJim Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comBlogger151125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-38461402770700166082014-08-28T08:49:45.422-05:002014-08-28T08:49:45.422-05:00A Bushism, perhaps?A Bushism, perhaps?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-37232725766045114812014-07-21T12:09:11.460-05:002014-07-21T12:09:11.460-05:00We have, as usual, been down this sorry road befor...We have, as usual, been down this sorry road before. A few years ago I put together a cabaret show about the Vaudeville era (roughly 1890-1930). The more I looked at the social and political climate of a century ago, the more I started getting a sense of deja vu.<br /><br />We had a massive wave of immigration early in the last century. Then, as now, most of the immigrants were "huddled masses yearning to breathe free" and then, as now, they were hated by many of the people who were already here. And many of them weren't white.<br /><br />This was back when the term "white" was more exlusive than it is now. Catholics weren't white. Neither were Jews. All of the grotesque characteristics psychos like Louie Gohmert are attibuting to refugees from the south were routinely applied, back then, to the Irish, Italians, Russians—pretty much everyone who wasn't a white Anglo-Saxon protestant.<br /><br />For a revealing look at turn of the century attitudes towards immigrants, few things are more revealing than the film "Fights of the Nations" by inventor and rabid bigot Thomas Edison: http://www.loc.gov/item/varsmp.2412s1Chuck Lavazzihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11648785168147837794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-17228005599451318632014-07-20T15:14:48.126-05:002014-07-20T15:14:48.126-05:00Since I'm at a loss for words all I can seem t...Since I'm at a loss for words all I can seem to get out is Thank you Jim.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-18829332507009065582014-07-20T14:48:49.436-05:002014-07-20T14:48:49.436-05:00Jim: I can see that I am gonna spend a lot of time...Jim: I can see that I am gonna spend a lot of time crying over what I read coming out of you: Our similar sense of compassion (and outrage) is so the same, tears pour out of this crazy old man here.....Thank you, Jim.....Thank you, Pete, for showing me the way to Stonekettle......My love to you both, and as always, to all sentient beings in all worlds.....Thanks, Jim.......yogi, tucson desert......Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-76444382236222040492014-07-19T11:44:56.443-05:002014-07-19T11:44:56.443-05:00YOU are what is wrong with this country. Not these...YOU are what is wrong with this country. Not these children. Not the President. YOU and people JUST LIKE YOU.hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03226544814244195874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-19341956410496971482014-07-19T10:56:31.960-05:002014-07-19T10:56:31.960-05:00A lot of them may be just kids, as the media repor...A lot of them may be just kids, as the media reports, but many are grown adults, gang members. Heck, even drug dealers/runners. I'm sure word got out in their respective countries/cities/towns...come to America and we'll take care of you. We'll give you housing, food, health-care, clothing...anything you want or need. It doesn't take much to figure out that in return all we ask for is your vote when the time comes.<br /><br />What's wrong with American's being upset when their own government can't/won't take care of their own? Perfect example is the crime in Chicago, Detroit, and other cities. Even the debacle of the Veteran's that proudly served THEIR country, only to be put on endless waiting lists to see a doctor and get the care they were promised. That's a sample of where the outrage is coming from. What's wrong with that? America is the Promised land. But promises aren't always kept.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-18117729928659490732014-07-19T09:08:05.756-05:002014-07-19T09:08:05.756-05:00If you have Google Chrome, there's an adblocke...If you have Google Chrome, there's an adblocker called "Ghostery" which allows you to selectively block or allow ads based upon the site. It works with Mac too. :Dhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03226544814244195874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-14883435308133934572014-07-18T22:09:17.293-05:002014-07-18T22:09:17.293-05:00Look, you're taking one line personally and mi...Look, you're taking one line personally and missing everything else. <br /><br />I get it. Poor people are obese in America because they get shitty food. The calories are packed into cheap carbs and sugars and so on. But they get the calories and enough to grow obese. I'm <i>not</i> blaming poor people for it, nor am I implying directly or indirectly that poor people are fat because they get "soooooo much food." I didn't say that, you did. <br /><br />Again, you're taking what I said personally instead of looking at it in context. Those kids on the border, they're not even getting shitty calories. They're <i>hungry</i>.<br /><br />We're the only country that has obese poor people - AGAIN, NOT NECESSARILY THEIR FAULT - but you don't see a whole hell of a lot of poor Somalis or Guatemalans with the same problem. America has so much, we can afford to throw junk food at poor people without a second thought and then complain about an "epidemic of obesity." <br /><br /><i>That's</i> my point here. Jim Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-74693483032106423092014-07-18T21:56:46.598-05:002014-07-18T21:56:46.598-05:00Look up food deserts. As someone who came up hungr...Look up food deserts. As someone who came up hungry in america and comes from a family of fat folks-- I really want you to understand why there is a correlation between poverty and obesity: HINT-- its not because poor people have sooooo much food.Rachel R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10639116143554167254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-68732960674675280232014-07-18T12:48:17.671-05:002014-07-18T12:48:17.671-05:00Please this: ''Or, we could do it another ...Please this: ''Or, we could do it another way.''<br />But please not try to make everywhere like America, the world might just be a bigger place than the good ol' USA<br /><br />Diff'rnt strokes for different folks<br /><br />tidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-55073676318359397302014-07-17T19:51:37.406-05:002014-07-17T19:51:37.406-05:00Consider how language has changed in a century. I...Consider how language has changed in a century. I always took that line to mean "set about by the sun" - i.e., our shores run from East to West, and are generally far sunnier than those of the UK and Western Europe.Don Hilliardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-16124817670497132192014-07-17T17:46:18.128-05:002014-07-17T17:46:18.128-05:00My first attraction was that you were a CWO. I ha...My first attraction was that you were a CWO. I have a soft spot for the Navy. My son served proudly for 10 years. <br /><br />Came for the attraction - stayed for what you said. I have read several of your posts. They have, each, encapsulated my thoughts exactly. I have been so angry and not nearly so eloquent. I've appreciated each one. Thank you. kAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11549056838098463645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-63357420881797831232014-07-16T18:46:36.249-05:002014-07-16T18:46:36.249-05:00This was a great post. the one issue I have never...This was a great post. the one issue I have never heard brought up in connection with this crisis is the story of the Lost Boys of the Sudan. Now a popular feel-good movie, those boys walked accross deserts and lived in camps and were finally given homes and sponsored into countries where they were cared for and educated. There were about 20,000 of them. After the treaty of 2005, some of them returned to Sudan to work for improvement. This was not all butterflies and unicorns for them after they made their journies, but they did not all devolve into mob-like criminals nor did they spread didease and plague-like death in their host countries. They just grew into adults and started doing what adults do. Might be good to remind some of those rabid, fear-filled Christians that their God demands that they sell all they have in order to feed the poor, care for the lepers, and clothe the homeless. Otherwise they do not get to go to the magic place in the sky when they die.Kim Ricenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-77373108606612081072014-07-16T15:02:42.478-05:002014-07-16T15:02:42.478-05:00Ignorance may be a curse to us, but NEVER for Repu...Ignorance may be a curse to us, but NEVER for Republicans. Republicans thrive where ignorance lives. Ignorance is the #1 reason the Republicans hate our public schools. They want the populace to be ignorant, which is why when they become Governors they shut down as many public schools as possible. If you are an educated, thoughtful, sentient being and not a rich, educated and soulless prick then more than likely you do not vote Republican. The LAST thing they want cropping up out of the public school system is another Obama or heaven forbid even a brown one (bang...republican head explosion). You can never say Republicans do not plan ahead, especially when it comes to elections. Not governing....just elections. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-89759692266305552012014-07-16T11:46:42.971-05:002014-07-16T11:46:42.971-05:00Population of host countries with 1 million cumula...Population of host countries with 1 million cumulative refugees | 2003 - 2012<br /><br />Countries of asylum Total<br />Kenya 3,668,400<br />Jordan 2,727,200<br />Thailand 1,230,800<br />Yemen 1,385,900<br />Syrian Arab Republic 6,020,600<br />Ethiopia 1,562,300<br />Uganda 2,089,700<br />Chad 3,020,400<br />United Rep. of Tanzania 3,338,500<br />Pakistan 15,042,300<br />Egypt 1,010,700<br />Nepal 1,105,000<br />Zambia 1,052,100<br />Dem. Rep. of the Congo 1,754,300<br />Islamic Republic of Iran 9,824,000<br />Sudan 1,553,100<br />Algeria 1,093,900<br />China 2,105,000<br />Venezuela (Boliv. Rep. of) 1,102,800<br />Saudi Arabia 1,448,100<br />France 1,549,600<br />Total 63,684,700<br /><br />extracted from a table in UNHCR Statistical Year book 2012 <br /><br />Some of the poorest countries in the world are taking in refugees with the help of the UN. Do you think we should apply for UN help? <br /> <br />If people can feel for the plight of the native peoples that lost out in this country, perhaps they can also feel for the population that is having another culture roll over and surround them. I remember my aged mother's distress at not being able to understand the chat of the nursing aides around her. She and people her age and people my age don't necessarily have the ability to learn a new language. Lady-Crackerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11847059948420463767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-66424474486544380702014-07-15T19:30:24.241-05:002014-07-15T19:30:24.241-05:00The hunger problem is a whole other ballgame. Ron...The hunger problem is a whole other ballgame. Ronnie Raygun saw to it that the hungry are now in the same position they were before his "thousand points of light" bullshit. Do yourself a favor and see "A Place At The Table" and you'll be surprised at the reasons that keep hunger & malnutrition an ongoing problem in our country. We had a good handle on it and, along with everything else, have slid backward rather than make progress. So it must be more of our good 'Murican policies at work. The good ol' U. S. of A: Trying to drag us 50 years into the past for the last 30 years.<br /><br />Pam in PAAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-83884895706291671422014-07-15T18:42:56.980-05:002014-07-15T18:42:56.980-05:00An elderly woman struck up a conversation with us ...An elderly woman struck up a conversation with us in a diner the other day. It was very pleasant, until she brought up 'that illegal immigration crisis going on down south'. Pretty sure I visibly cringed a bit at her choice of words, but all I could manage to say was, "Well, yeah... some people would call them that. But a lot of them are just kids, travelling hundreds of miles all by themselves... I call them refugees."<br />It got awkward then, and she chose that moment to take her leave. But I hope she thinks about it. MonaLisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13543209628295760693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-58273941578376396012014-07-15T15:55:22.883-05:002014-07-15T15:55:22.883-05:00These children will grow up. It won't be long,...These children will grow up. It won't be long, either. Where will they be? Who will they be? It's not like they're going to simply disappear just because the bus turns around. At the risk of sounding trite or Pollyanna-ish, love is the answer.Two Old Broads and No Estrogenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11778051210687620081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-79221443469065919682014-07-15T14:20:16.660-05:002014-07-15T14:20:16.660-05:00Splendid article! Please don't let some right-...Splendid article! Please don't let some right-winger read this and think, "You know, genocide *could* be a good way to respond to this . . ." Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-29284820665164270292014-07-15T14:17:07.707-05:002014-07-15T14:17:07.707-05:00Another great blog. I wish some of these folks wh...Another great blog. I wish some of these folks who are out there protesting the mostly young children would actually look at themselves and what they are doing. Are they so afraid of everything. And god help me when I hear these ignorant politicians especially Louie G from Texas, say all the crap he is saying, seriously you are afraid of that 5-year old with a crayon and coloring book. (yep I am pretty embarrassed to say I am from Texas, the land of Louie and Governor Good Hair). But sadly all the people who are protesting and everything are doing it because these are little brown children, they are being whipped into a frenzy by the likes of the people over at Faux. I pray everyday that one of these gun-toting fools does not do something stupid. But thank you Jim for being right on yet again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-67311662251748850372014-07-15T10:58:06.645-05:002014-07-15T10:58:06.645-05:00On the rare occasions when Matthew doesn't wor...On the rare occasions when Matthew doesn't work, I follow up with:<br /><br />Hebrews 13:2<br /><br />Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.midgebakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09792321812940134153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-22671693167306309502014-07-15T08:23:23.243-05:002014-07-15T08:23:23.243-05:00Glad to see you back and like the new decor. A phe...Glad to see you back and like the new decor. A phenomenal post, as always. Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284109771398630099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-76478681808846927662014-07-14T19:52:50.910-05:002014-07-14T19:52:50.910-05:00Wonderful writing. My mother was a Norwegian war ...Wonderful writing. My mother was a Norwegian war bride, and arrived in NY harbor on 4th July 1945. She married an American GI in Norway after the occupation. The Nazis had burned down their home and the family scattered. She spoke no English, was a terrified 22 year old girl, leaving her family and home. Our nation was built with stories like hers. We can never forget who we are. Thank you. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-58687438958257643632014-07-14T17:11:37.269-05:002014-07-14T17:11:37.269-05:00Excellent post. Enjoyed reading the entire messag...Excellent post. Enjoyed reading the entire message. Wish the politicians and clergy would get back to the work of taking care of people not partisan opposition. And Yes, they will blame President Obama for the debacle . Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-78586918134287406322014-07-14T15:10:02.646-05:002014-07-14T15:10:02.646-05:00Mr. Wright, I like the new site. Very classy. I...Mr. Wright, I like the new site. Very classy. I'm wondering when the god-bothering, fetus worshipers are going to stand up as Christians and and take in some of these kids. I, for one, won't be holding my breath. The looks on some of the people protesting that bus filled with kids reminded me of the masks of pure hatred that greeted the first African-American kids to go to integrated southern schools. Will nothing ever change?<br /><br />Peace<br />Chris in South JerseyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com