[Vision2020] "Leftist" Misused Term

[Tom Hansen]

Greetings Visionaires -

Kennedy was NOT responsible for bringing the United States " . . . to the
brink of a nuke-fest with Russia."  That was instigated by Nikita Kruschev
(who threatened to bury the US) by installing nuclear missiles on the island
of Cuba (only 90 miles from the shores of Florida) in October of 1962.
Kennedy merely placed a floating blockade around Cuba and told Kruschev to
stop shipping missiles to Cuba.  This action by Kennedy was a defensive
action.  The alternative could have resulted in possible nuclear
devastation.

As far as the "little conflict in S.E. Asia" is concerned, that dates back
to 1949 when Ho Chi Minh approached Truman for assistance in developing an
independent Vietnam free from French rule.  The US has had a love affair
with France since our Revolutionary War and Lafayette.  France told the US
that Ho Chi Minh was Communist and that we should not side with him.  The US
refused to assist Minh and he ended up going to the only country that was
willing to assist him, the Soviet Union.  The war escalated under Johnson
after a brief (but impacting) skirmish at the Gulf of Tonkin.  Johnson
stepped down after he realized that General Westmoreland had lied to him.
Nixon promised withdrawal with honor after being elected in 1968.  Nixon
stepped up air attacks into North Vietnam and (surprise) Cambodia.  The war
continued until August 1975.

Since you are so fond of quoting John Kennedy, here is one for you:

"The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war.  We do not
want a war.  We do not now expect a war.  This generation of Americans has
already had enough - more than enough - of war and hate and oppression.  We
shall be prepared if others wish it.  We shall be alert to try to stop it.
But we shall also do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are
safe and the strong are just.  We are not helpless before that task or
hopeless of its success.  Confident and unafraid, we labor on - not toward a
strategy of annihilation but toward a strategy of peace."

- John Kennedy's commencement address at American University (June 10, 1963)

Take care, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil
and steady dedication of a lifetime." 
 
--Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.


-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
On Behalf Of Kai Eiselein
Sent: Friday, March 18, 2005 3:51 PM
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] "Leftist" Misused Term

I learned the same thing in high school. Go far enough either direction and
the two sides become nearly the same.
The republicans of today would have made good democrats a few decades ago.
Kennedy was conservative compared to today's democrats.
Just look how close he brought us to the brink of a nuke-fest with Russia,
the Bay of Pigs thing and that little coflict in S.E. Asia that we took over
from France.
"...we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any
friend, oppose any foe, to insure the survival and the success of liberty."
JFK January 20, 1961
Does that sound like a modern democrat?

Kai T. Eiselein
Editor
Latah Eagle
521 S. Jackson St.
Moscow, ID 83843
(208) 882-0666 Fax (208) 882-0130
editor at lataheagle.com


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