An Unfortunate Turn of the Phrase Moment

Speaking about Bill Clinton’s success in winning the release of the two  imprisoned American journalists, Donna Brazile made a comment that earns my nomination for the most unfortunate turn of a phrase that I have seen in a long time.

Complimenting Clinton’s success, Brazile said, “Bill Clinton still has the juice. I hope this is a sign of things to come.”  Brazile is a long-time Clinton/Gore insider, surely some aide could have pointed out the troublesome double meaning of her words.

Read more at this Politico article.

The Argument Clinic.

What's wrong with this picture? Not a damned thing.

This morning, I had the opportunity to sleep in. I woke to the sound of my wife getting ready for work and watching the news. She passed on the news that Laura Ling and Euna Lee are on their way home from being captive in North Korea. It is a good day. What could be bad about that?

Well, apparently it can be bad, because according to the Republicans, sending Bill Clinton to speak to the North Koreans was wrong because it gives that countries leaders opportunities to use the release and photos of Kim Jong Il and the former president  as propaganda tools.

Rhonda Holman’s “Tear down that berm”

I am re-printing Rhonda Holman’s pretty fine post Tear down that berm which appeared at TBTSNBN.  The editorial deals with the controversy of seperating the “Vietnamese-American community’s memorial” from the “Veterans Memorial Park” by an earthen berm.  The story caught the attention of the New York Times.  It is always nice when Wichita gets on the national radar in these ways.

Totally unrelated:  I have often wondered if Rhonda is a Mennonite and a pacifist.  Given that her hometown is Halstead, KS, that is not a huge leap; and the content of her opinion pieces have also made me wonder about Rhonda’s possible Anabaptist roots. 

Any way, the post:

Tear down that berm?

In the end last month, the Wichita City Council voted 7-0 to place the Vietnamese-American community’s memorial near but not in Veterans Memorial Park, separated by an earthen berm and the lack of a sidewalk between them. The issue caught the attention of the New York Times, which published an article about the memorial dispute. Among the Times’ quotes:
“How could people now separate us with a wall? Why the need?” asked Nga Vu, whose brother died in Vietnam War.
“This doesn’t have anything to do with being Vietnamese,” said John Wilson, a U.S. Army veteran. “This is about serving in the American military. That’s it.”
“This has divided us, our American community, and we don’t want to make this a thing that will divide us,” said the Rev. Kenny Khanh Nguyen. “But I hope that it will look silly to our children and grandchildren. I hope that the next generation will take down that berm. And I hope that the relationship can heal later on.”

This was just a thought experiment for me, how would our posters differ from those folk over there.  Please “no-cheating”: post first, and look over there second.

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Thank you, all.  iggy donnelly

Rewarding Kim Jong Il’s behavior?

By meeting with Kim Jong Il, and negoiating the release of American journalists, did former president, Bill Clinton,  reward Kim Jong Il’s misbehavior?  If you think “yes”, tell us why;  same request to those of you who think “no”.  Shades of grey will be tolerated and read as well.

Thanks, all

iggy donnelly

Wednesday, 08/05/09, Public Square

In this RED state, the Prairie P&P bloggers are like a gentle breeze, a refreshing rain, a dose of sanity!  😉

What are you doing to stay cool?

fnord