Saturday, June 2, 2012
July 31
If there is not the war, you don’t get the great general; if there is not a great occasion, you don’t get the great statesman; if Lincoln had lived in a time of peace, no one would have known his name.
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President, 1901-1909
The Conditions of Success, An Address at the Cambridge Union, May 26, 1910
I have spoken only of the great successes; but what I have said applies just as much to the success that is within the reach of almost every one of us. I think that any man who has had what is regarded in the world as great success must realize the the element of chance has played a great part in it. Of course a man has to take advantage of his opportunities; but the opportunities have to come.
There are two kinds of success. One is the very rare kind that comes to the man who has the power to do what no one else has the power to do. That is genius.
The average man who is successful,_the average statesman, the average public servant, the average soldier, who wins what we call great success_is not a genius. He is a man who has merely the ordinary qualities that he shares with his fellows, but who has developed those ordinary qualities to a more than ordinary degree.
July 30
Let us remember that revolutions do not always establish freedom. Our own free constitutions were not the offspring of our Revolution. They existed before.
Millard Fillmore, 13th President, 1850-1853
State of the Union 1852
France had no sooner established a republican form of government than she manifested a desire to force its blessings on all the world.
In less than ten years her Government was changed from a republic to an empire, and finally, after shedding rivers of blood, foreign powers restored her exiled dynasty and exhausted Europe sought peace and repose in the unquestioned ascendency of monarchical principles. Let us learn wisdom from her example. Let us remember that revolutions do not always establish freedom. Our own free institutions were not the offspring of our Revolution. They existed before. They were planted in the free charters of self-government under which the English colonies grew up, and our Revolution only freed us from the dominion of a foreign power whose government was at variance with those institutions. But European nations have had no such training for self-government, and every effort to establish it by bloody revolutions has been, and must without that preparation continue to be, a failure. Liberty unregulated by law degenerates into anarchy, which soon becomes the most horrid of all despotisms.
July 29
We must strengthen the ability of free nations everywhere to develop their independence and raise their standard of living, and thereby frustrate those who prey on poverty and chaos. To do this, the rich must help the poor and we must do our part.
Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President, 1963-1969
First State of the Union Address
delivered 8 January 1964
For our ultimate goal is a world without war, a world made safe for diversity, in which all men, goods, and ideas can freely move across every border and every boundary.
Third, we must make increased use of our food as an instrument of peace -- making it available by sale or trade or loan or donation-to hungry people in all nations which tell us of their needs and accept proper conditions of distribution.
Eighth, we must strengthen the ability of free nations everywhere to develop their independence and raise their standard of living, and thereby frustrate those who prey on poverty and chaos. To do this, the rich must help the poor -- and we must do our part. We must achieve a more rigorous administration of our development assistance, with larger roles for private investors, for other industrialized nations, and for international agencies and for the recipient nations themselves.
July 28
In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves…self discipline with all came first.
Harry S. Truman, 33rd President, 1945-1953
Corresponding Biblical Proverb:
"A patient man is better than a warrior,
and he who rules his temper, than he who takes a city."
Proverbs 16:32
July 27
Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of the government. The history of government is the history of resistance. The history of liberty is the history of the limitation of government, not the increase of it.
Woodrow Wilson, 28th President, 1913-1921
In 1912, former president Theodore Roosevelt sought the Republican nomination at the convention in Chicago. He was infuriated by what he took to be betrayal of his progressive program by his personally chosen successor, the incumbent William Howard Taft.
The delegates chose Taft and former New York congressman James "Sunny Jim" Sherman as his running mate. Roosevelt and his supporters bolted, then formed the Progressive Party, popularly known as the Bull Moose Party. TR's running mate was California governor Hiram Johnson.
The Democrats were elated by the Republican split, realizing that their opponents' 16-year rule was at an end. The only real suspense was generated around the question of which Democrat would be the next president.
After 46 ballots, the exhausted delegates finally selected Woodrow Wilson and Indiana governor Thomas R. Marshall as his running mate.http://www.u-s-history.com
July 26
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
John F. Kennedy, 35th President, 1961-1963
Delivered at The White House, Washington D.C. on 13 March 1962
Together, the free nations of the Hemisphere pledged their resources and their energies to the Alliance for Progress. Together they pledged to accelerate economic and social development and to make the basic reforms that are necessary to ensure that all would participate in the fruits of this development. Together they pledged to modernize tax structures and land tenure - to wipe out illiteracy and ignorance - to promote health and provide decent housing - to solve the problems of commodity stabilization - to maintain sound fiscal and monetary policies - to secure the contributions of private enterprise to development - to speed the economic integration of Latin America. And together they established the basic institutional framework for this immense, decade-long development.
For too long my country, the wealthiest nation in a continent which is not wealthy, failed to carry out its full responsibilities to its sister Republics. We have now accepted that responsibility. In the same way those who possess wealth and power in poor nations must accept their own responsibilities. They must lead the fight for those basic reforms which alone can preserve the fabric of their societies. Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
July 25
Our constitution works. Our great republic is a government of laws, not of men.
Gerald R. Ford, 38th President, 1974-1977
Remarks By Gerald Ford On Taking the Oath Of Office As President
The oath that I have taken is the same oath that was taken by George Washington and by every President under the Constitution. But I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances never before experienced by Americans. This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts.
I have not sought this enormous responsibility, but I will not shirk it. Those who nominated and confirmed me as Vice President were my friends and are my friends. They were of both parties, elected by all the people and acting under the Constitution in their name. It is only fitting then that I should pledge to them and to you that I will be the President of all the people.
I believe that truth is the glue that holds government together, not only our Government but civilization itself. That bond, though strained, is unbroken at home and abroad.
Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule. But there is a higher Power, by whatever name we honor Him, who ordains not only righteousness but love, not only justice but mercy.
Richard Nixon resigned the Presidency on August 9, 1974 and Gerald Ford ascended to the office after he had recently been appointed Vice-President after the resignation of previous vice-President, Spiro T. Agnew.
July 24
Preparation for war is a constant stimulus to suspicion and ill will.
James Monroe, 5th President, 1817-1825
On April 20, 1817, the Rush-Bagot Treaty was signed between the U.S. and Great Britain – one of the first acts of Monroe’s first presidential term. The treaty regulated naval armaments on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain after the War of 1812, demilitarizing the border between the U.S. and Canada. It created the world’s longest east-west boundary (5,527 miles), which is also said to be the world’s largest demilitarized zone.
July 23
We have learned that terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength; they are invited by the perception of weakness. And the surest way to avoid attacks on our own people is to engage the enemy where he lives and plans…so that we do not meet him again on our own streets, in our own cities.
George W. Bush, 43rd President, 2001-2009
Text of George W Bush's Speech on Iraq
Sunday, September 7, 2003
Address of the President to the Nation
The Cabinet Room
Address to update the public on the war on terrorism
Two years ago, I told the Congress and the country that the war on terror would be a lengthy war, a different kind of war, fought on many fronts in many places. Iraq is now the central front. Enemies of freedom are making a desperate stand there -- and there they must be defeated. This will take time and require sacrifice. Yet we will do what is necessary, we will spend what is necessary, to achieve this essential victory in the war on terror, to promote freedom and to make our own nation more secure.
The people of Iraq are emerging from a long trial. For them, there will be no going back to the days of the dictator, to the miseries and humiliation he inflicted on that good country. For the Middle East and the world, there will be no going back to the days of fear, when a brutal and aggressive tyrant possessed terrible weapons. And for America, there will be no going back to the era before September the 11th, 2001 -- to false comfort in a dangerous world. We have learned that terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength; they are invited by the perception of weakness. And the surest way to avoid attacks on our own people is to engage the enemy where he lives and plans. We are fighting that enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan today so that we do not meet him again on our own streets, in our own cities
July 22
Communist leaders believe in Lenin’s precept: Probe with bayonets. If you encounter mush, proceed; if you encounter steel, withdraw.
Richard M. Nixon, 37th President, 1969-1974
Well, let me go back historically to how this all relates to Vietnam.
President Kennedy met Khrushchev at Vienna. And Scotty Reston of The New York Times reported that sk--Khrushchev bullied him, Khrushchev following the usual Leninist dictum, which says, "Probe with bayonets. If you find mush, proceed. If you find steel, withdraw." Now, President Kennedy was not a weak man. He was not a soft man. He was a tough guy, and after all these things happening, he was determined that Khrushchev, and the Communists generally, should not assume that they had found mush. Now that, of course--if--you have to understand that to understand why he felt it was important to increase the number of Americans in Vietnam. That was why he thought it was important to as--have these Americans participate in military exercise, even though it cost some casualties.
Day 2, Tape 1
00:31:34
[Frank Gannon]
THE NIXON/GANNON INTERVIEWS
July 21
No man can sit down and withhold his hands from the warfare against wrong and get peace from his acquiescence.
Woodrow Wilson, 28th President, 1913-1921
ADDRESS
OF
HON. WOODROW WILSON
GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY
IN THE
AUDITORIUM, DENVER, COLO.
ON THE OCCASION OF THE TERCENTENARY
CELEBRATION OF THE TRANSLATION OF
THE BIBLE INTO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
MAY 7, 1911
And so when you see a man going along the highways of life with his gaze lifted above the road, lifted to the sloping ways in front of him, then be careful of that man and get out of his way. He knows the kingdom for which he is bound. He has seen the revelation of himself and of his relations to mankind. He has seen the revelations of his relation to God and his Maker, and therefore he has seen his responsibility in the world. This is the revelation of life and of peace. I do not know that peace lies in constant accommodation...
No man can sit down and withhold his hands from the warfare against wrong and get peace out of his acquiescence. The most solid and satisfying peace is that which comes from this constant spiritual warfare, and there are times in the history of nations when they must take up the crude instruments of bloodshed in order to vindicate spiritual conceptions. For liberty is a spiritual conception, and when men take up arms to set other men free, there is something sacred and holy in the warfare. I will not cry “peace” so long as there is sin and wrong in the world.
July 20
It is by no means necessary that a great nation should always stand at the heroic level. But no nation has the root of greatness in it unless in time of need it can rise to the heroic mood.
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President, 1901-1909
From FEAR GOD and Take Your Own Part, a compilation of articles by Theodore Roosevelt, Chapter 12, p 349,George H. Duran Company, New York, 1916
Our democracy must prove itself effective in making the people healthy, strong and industrially productive, in securing justice, in
inspiring intense patriotism and in making every man and woman within our borders realize that if they are not willing at time of need to serve the nation against all comers in war, they are not fit to be citizens of the nation in time of peace. The democratic ideal must be that of subordinating chaos to order, of subordinating the individual to the community, of subordinating individual selfishness to collective self-sacrifice for a lofty ideal, of training every man to realize that no one is entitled to citizenship in a great free common-wealth unless he does his full duty to his neighbor, his full duty in his family life, and his full duty to the nation; and unless he is prepared to do this duty not only in time of peace but also in time of war. It is by no means necessary that a great nation should always stand at the heroic level. But no nation has the root of greatness in it unless in time of need it can rise to the heroic mood.
July 19
It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. We hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of citizens, and one of the noblest characteristics of the late Revolution.
James Madison, 4th President, 1809-1817
Amendment I (Religion)
Document 43
James Madison, Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments
20 June 1785Papers 8:298--304
To the Honorable the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia A Memorial and Remonstrance
We the subscribers, citizens of the said Commonwealth, having taken into serious consideration, a Bill printed by order of the last Session of General Assembly, entitled "A Bill establishing a provision for Teachers of the Christian Religion," and conceiving that the same if finally armed with the sanctions of a law, will be a dangerous abuse of power, are bound as faithful members of a free State to remonstrate against it, and to declare the reasons by which we are determined. We remonstrate against the said Bill,
. Because it is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. We hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of Citizens, and one of the noblest characteristics of the late Revolution. The free men of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise, and entangled the question in precedents. They saw all the consequences in the principle, and they avoided the consequences by denying the principle. We revere this lesson too much soon to forget it. Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other Religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other Sects? that the same authority which can force a citizen to contribute three pence only of his property for the support of any one establishment, may force him to conform to any other establishment in all cases whatsoever?
July 8
You should have disagreements with your leaders and colleagues, but if it becomes immediately a question of questioning people’s motives, and if immediately you decide that somebody who sees a whole new situation differently than you must be a bad person and somehow twisted inside, we are not going to get very far in forming a more perfect union.
Bill Clinton, 42nd President, 1993-2001
The Price of Success
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or evil, we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty.
John F. Kennedy, 35th President, 1961-1963, from Kennedy's Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961, at the Capital Building, Washington, D.C. , http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=8032 - One of the main purposes in putting this work together was to try to see how our Presidents thought- what made them tick, as it were, and to see if we could learn to emulate those thoughts and translate them into our own personal success. This quote and the idea that "we shall pay any price" reveals (on many levels) Kennedy's determination to maintain freedom and liberty on the international front, his political ambitions and personal will to win, but most certainly would serve to answer the question, "What does it take to succeed?" ~~ On close to the coldest Inauguration Day in history (temperature at noon was 22 degrees), the youngest elected President in U.S. History gave notice to the "old guard" in general and the Soviet Union in particular, that Kennedy and his "new generation" intended for the United States to maintain its position in the world as a bastion of freedom and leader in the international community. He had won the Presidential election by the slimmest of margins and, some would say, by questionable and possibly illegal voting and ballot counting practices. One might cynically say his choice of Vice-President, Lyndon B. Johnson, was certainly not due to a close working relationship, but appeared to be a surprise and politically calculated choice designed to sway the Southern electoral block in order to garner the votes needed to win the election. Despite the closeness and controversy of the election, Richard Nixon, the defeated candidate, declined to demand an investigation or a recount. Both men would stay on the political stage through the socially turbulent decades of the 1960's and 1970's, each embroiled in the Vietnam War, with Johnson displaying the strategic political experience and knowledge to translate many of Kennedy's visions into legislative reality after his death and Nixon being elected to two terms as President, before his historic resignation in 1974.~~
In Kennedy's abbreviated Presidency, he oversaw the development of The Peace Corps, he engaged the United States in "The Space Race" with the goal of being the first nation to send a man to the moon and back by the end of the decade, he promoted a ban on atmospheric nuclear arms testing, confronted Russia and Cuba in the "Cuban Missile Crisis", opposed the Berlin Wall in Russian controlled East Germany, and promoted equal rights at home, all lofty and righteous goals designed to inspire us to make the country and the world a better place. In reality, the price was, and is, indeed high and the burden heavy, with loss of life and resources spent. Would we have paid a larger, heavier and "worse" price for not acting at all? Conversely, one might cynically say these programs were merely public relations measures designed to promote the image of the United States over the Soviet Union in a worldwide competition for support of the United States' political and economic ideologies. Perhaps "the truth" might lie somewhere in between.~~
In any case; Presidential politics aside, in order for you to succeed, would you "pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of...your goal?"
July 4, 1872- Birthdate of John Calvin Coolidge, Jr.
Men speak of natural rights, but I challenge anyone to show where in nature any rights existed or were recognized until there was established for their declaration and protection a duly promulgated body of corresponding laws.
30th President, 1923-1929, Died January 5, 1933
Friday, June 1, 2012
June 27
A man who has never lost himself in a cause bigger than himself has missed one of life’s mountaintop experiences. Only in losing himself does he find himself. Only then does he discover all the latent strengths he never knew he had and which would otherwise have remained dormant.
Richard M. Nixon, 37th President, 1969-1974
June 23
Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.
Andrew Jackson, 7th President, 1829-1837-Quoted as "a maxim of Gen. Jackson's" in Supplement to the Courant Vol. XXII No. 25, Hartford, Saturday, December 12, 1857, p. 200 books.google, from Wikiquotes.org. This appears to be a quote attributed to Jackson but not much substantial evidence has been found that he actually said it or wrote it. The quote has also been attributed to Napolean Bonaparte (1769-1821), the famous French general and Emperor who also rose to power in Jackson's era. Both men were great military leaders and fearless generals. Napolean rose to power after the French Revolution where the French monarchy was overthrown in 1789, the first year of George Washington's Presidency.
Jackson was only a young teenager during the American Revolution and rose to prominence as controversial Indian fighter and as a general in the War of 1812 against the British.
As a point of interest, the source of this quote, The Hartford Courant, is the United State's oldest newspaper in continous print. "It's the newspaper in which George Washington placed an ad to lease part of his Mount Vernon land.
It's where Noah Webster's "Blue-Backed Speller" was first published.
Thomas Jefferson sued this newspaper for libel - and lost.
And Mark Twain tried to buy stock in this paper but his offer was turned down.
The Courant is, in fact, older than the nation. It was started as a weekly paper in 1764 by a printer named Thomas Green. He sold the newspaper to his assistant, Ebenezer Watson, who ran the business successfully until he died of smallpox in 1777. Then Watson's widow, Hannah, took over the paper and became one of the first women publishers in America.
During the Revolutionary War, The Courant had the largest circulation of any newspaper in the colonies and was an influential backer of the rebel cause. The Courant's existence was considered so important to the war effort that when its paper mill was burned down - probably by Tories - the Connecticut legislature authorized a lottery to raise money to build a new mill. In the meantime, The Courant printed a few issues on wrapping paper.
In the mid-1800's, when the country was dividing over the issue of slavery, The Courant was inspired by a visit Abraham Lincoln made to Hartford. The paper became a leading supporter of the new Republican Party and Lincoln's presidential campaign. When Lincoln won the 1860 election, The Courant's headline pronounced: "VICTORY, VICTORY, WE'VE GOT'EM." http://www.courant.com/about/thc-history,0,4107859.htmlstory
June 20
"Our problems are man made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings."-
John F. Kennedy, 35th President, 1961-1963- from his Commencement Address at The American University, Washington D.C., Monday June 10, 1963.- A brief Prologue: In an effort to bring an end to World War II, on August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, killing 90,000 people with another 75,000 perishing as a result of radiation poisoning and other factors. On August 9, 1945, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, killing 39,000 with an additional 40,000 deaths over time. On August 15, 1945, Japan announced its surrender, thus ending the war. With the end of the war, however, began the debate over the use of atomic weapons and their effect on the world and the fate and very survival of mankind. Testing and development continued in the Nevada desert not far from Las Vegas (extolled as safe and proudly viewed by thousands-(view photos and history at www.nationalatomictestingmuseum.org/)) and in the Soviet Union. With ongoing testing, the threat of nuclear destruction and fallout loomed over all the world. We now fast forward almost 20 years to focus on the frantic pace of now United States President, John F. Kennedy. Despite his physical frailties and back problems, Kennedy had served in the South Pacific in WW II as patrol boat (PT-109) commander. He had seen the devastations of war firsthand. He had also studied the causes and results of Word War I which had been fought from 1914-1918. Hence, one of his main foreign policy goals was to prevent another devastating war and the inevitable aftermath. After averting a possible nuclear catastrophe with Russia and Cuba in October, 1962, Kennedy desired to limit the threat of nuclear annihilation and sensed that Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, also wanted to limit the threat and cost of further escalation. Despite initial military and congressional opposition to idea of ending nuclear testing, Kennedy decided to renew efforts to pursue the ongoing goal of a securing a test ban agreement and used his June 10th speech at the American University as the stage for his policy proposal. The speech is largely regarded as one of his best, recognizing the common humanity of the American and Soviet people and influencing Khrushchev to forge an agreement. But first...his itinerary for the days leading up to his speech: He already had a five day trip scheduled to the western United States. On Wednesday, June 5th, Kennedy and his entourage flew to Colorado where he gave the commencement speech at the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs. As one of many military stops, he then visited the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. On Thursday, June 6, he continued west to California and spoke at commencement ceremonies at San Diego State University, where he emphasized the responsibility of educating the next generation of Americans. Afterwards, he spoke at the Marine Corps Recruiting Depot training site, after which he toured the recently commissioned aircraft carrier, Kitty Hawk (larger, supercarrier classed vessel), addressed the crew and spent the night onboard. On Friday, June 7, he travelled north to visit the China Lake Naval Air Facility and then attended a fundraising dinner in Los Angeles. Continuing the whirlwind pace, on Saturday morning, June 8, he attended and spoke at a breakfast given by the Democratic State Committeewomen of California, again in Los Angeles and subsequently flew on to Hawaii. The next morning, June 9, Kennedy attended chapel services in Honolulu, visited the U. S. Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, and that afternoon spoke to an assembly of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He immediately flew back across six time zones to Washington, D.C., finalizing his speech and arriving at 8:50 AM Monday, June 10. After a brief rest, Kennedy then travelled to the American University where he gave his historic address. In his conclusion, he states, "...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." (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/jfk-university/) With continuing negotiations, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty on August 5, 1963. The treaty banned atmospheric testing and was ratified by Congress on September 24 and signed by Kennedy, himself, on Monday, October 7, 1963.
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