On Old Mill Road: A Tribute

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday February 10, 2011 · 8:57 PM PST

2011/02/10 · 20:57

Jennifer D. Haynes, my sister, was born on December 25, 1953. She died at the age of 14 on September 7, 1968, a victim of Cystic Fibrosis. I was almost 13 years old at the time of her death. Her remains are buried on Old Mill Road at Swan Point Cemetery on the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island.

I visited her grave last November late in the day. It was a very moving experience, something that has haunted me since (or at least it has stuck in my mind).

A few night's back I awoke from a dream and for the first time in my life wrote a poem, spontaneously.

Poll

4 votes Show Results

This poem . . .

4 votes Vote Now!

This poem . . .

Needs some work.

0 votes

Is obviously from the heart.

4 votes

Don't quit your day job.

0 votes

Revisiting (Yet Again) Old Abe Lincoln

RoddieH

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday February 05, 2011 · 3:05 PM PST

2011/02/05 · 15:05

Abraham Lincoln is generally ranked as one of the greatest Presidents in American history, among Washington, Jefferson (??), Theodore Roosevelt, and some would include FDR and Reagan in this small camp (I would not). This essay attempts to get behind the stereo-typical Lincoln, to offer insights into who he was and why his star still shines brightly.

Poll

69 votes Show Results

Abraham Lincoln

69 votes Vote Now!

Abraham Lincoln

Was an accidental hero of history.

0 votes

A freakin' tyrant, nothing more and nothing less

1 vote

Wrongly receives accolades for 'freeing the slaves.' It was, for the most part, political expediency.

3 votes

One of the all-time great statesmen in American history. He wrote and spoke with simple language, but man his words packed a powerful punch.

61 votes

His greatest attributes were the handling of his political rivals once he became President.

2 votes

Is over-rated. Why the hell didn't you write about James Buchanan instead????

2 votes

Yawn.

0 votes

A John Lennon Story

RoddieH

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday December 09, 2010 · 5:35 PM PST

2010/12/09 · 17:35

Each time I tell the story below I am typically met with more with skepticism than with acceptance that what I write about actually took place. During the weekend before John Lennon's assassination on December 8, 1980 I was visiting an old college roommate in New York City, having taken the train from the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard where I was assigned to a U.S. destroyer in overhaul. I had been commissioned from Officer Candidate School the previous July. This story is one episode from a book about my time in the United States Navy during the Reagan era. I intend to self-publish the book sometime in the next six to eight months.

Poll

31 votes Show Results

Did this actually happen?

31 votes Vote Now!

Did this actually happen?

No way. Pure Fantasy.

1 vote

I believe you.

28 votes

Who cares? Lennon is dead. That's all that matters.

2 votes

Photo-Report from Sanity Rally in Seattle

RoddieH

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday October 30, 2010 · 2:41 PM PDT

2010/10/30 · 14:41

Twas a rainy, chilly (typical) fall day at Westlake Center in downtown Seattle where the announced attendance was 10 million, but I estimated it downward just a tad to 4 or 5,000. A photo report of the rally follows.

Poll

64 votes Show Results

Did You Attend or View Any of the Sanity and/or Fear Rallies Today???

64 votes Vote Now!

Did You Attend or View Any of the Sanity and/or Fear Rallies Today???

Indeed I did. Twas a wonderful experience.

41 votes

No. I still say you are nuts for wasting your time.

3 votes

Hell no. I heard Colbert was in an underground bunker beneath the Lincoln Memorial so I started to dig one, too. Praise Jesus and pass the ammunition.

7 votes

Nah. I stayed hope and generated my own fear just for me.

5 votes

Nope. Sarah Tweeted me and said it was a communist plot and ordered me to stay home.

4 votes

Yeah. There IS some sanity after all. Except for those two guys named Colbert and Stewart.

4 votes

Rally To Restore Sanity: Seattle

RoddieH

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday October 27, 2010 · 11:52 AM PDT

2010/10/27 · 11:52

Open invitation to all who want their sanity restored or fear escalated: the Pacific NW version of the COLBERT/STEWART extravaganza happens Saturday, Oct 30.

Poll

82 votes Show Results

Do you intend to rally to restore your sanity this Saturday?

82 votes Vote Now!

Do you intend to rally to restore your sanity this Saturday?

No, I've already lost it and it's not coming back.

11 votes

Yes, indeed. Look forward to it.

43 votes

I'm sane but I need to stoke some fear so I'm coming for that reason.

4 votes

I'm fearful but I need to find sanity, so I'm coming for that reason.

1 vote

I'm fearful and I'm insane. I love Angle, Paul, and O'Donnell.

0 votes

Are YOU insane? Of course not. What a stupid waste of time.

23 votes

Obama Stops at TOP POT DONUTS Seattle

RoddieH

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday October 21, 2010 · 10:10 AM PDT

2010/10/21 · 10:10

Crowds gathered in Belltown in downtown Seattle 10 minutes ago as Barack Obama entered TOP POT Donuts and bought a few dozen donuts . . .

RoddieH

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday September 17, 2010 · 10:43 AM PDT

2010/09/17 · 10:43

Bear with me here, people. I'm riddled with caffeine this morning and I am in a Jack Kerouac "stream of consciousness" frame of mind. If this is total gibberish, kindly move onto the next diary.

Poll

24 votes Show Results

Will Frodo succeed in Subduing Evil in the 2010 Mid-terms?

24 votes Vote Now!

Will Frodo succeed in Subduing Evil in the 2010 Mid-terms?

Not A Chance, Bucko. We're all screwed.

9 votes

Absolutely. But it starts with tossing those Fox News guys into the fire.

11 votes

Are you on crack? Go sleep it off.

4 votes

4th of July Reflections on Liberty and Freedom

RoddieH

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday July 04, 2010 · 12:12 PM PDT

2010/07/04 · 12:12

Not long ago acclaimed historian David McCullough noted, "For at least 25 years we've been raising young Americans who are, by and large,historically illiterate. The founding of our nation, the Civil, World War II--they should be common knowledge, but they are not . . The historian Daniel Boorstin put it very well [when he said] 'Trying to plan for the future without a sense of past is like trying to plant cut flowers.'" More recently it was announced on the news that in a poll among Americans below the age of 40, a full 40% were unable to identify which nation America won her independence from at the conclusion of the American Revolution. This essay will focus on the concept of liberty and freedom, terms that have been used in various ways for specific purposes inside political circles stretching all the way to the Founding Fathers.

Poll

12 votes Show Results

Define 'liberty and freedom'

It's in the Declaration of Independence and legally laid out in the Constitution. That's all you need to know, jack.

Liberty and Freedom only works if all citizens of America can participate in the system. Liberty and freedom for the few is antithetical to everything America stands for.

Watch an AMWAY commercial. They got it right.

Responsibility for the downtrodden, love of country, a willingness to contribute, the right to choose one's own path. Or something similar to these things.

Watch Pat Robertson. He'll tell you.

The promise of America.

Tea Parties can tell you all about it.

Got my gun. Got my moonshine. That's America liberty and freedom, sport.

Liberty and Freedom = love of country and the willingness to participate in its progress.

You are all over the map with this diary. REWRITE, REWRITE, REWRITE!!!!!

12 votes Vote Now!

Define 'liberty and freedom'

It's in the Declaration of Independence and legally laid out in the Constitution. That's all you need to know, jack.

0 votes

Liberty and Freedom only works if all citizens of America can participate in the system. Liberty and freedom for the few is antithetical to everything America stands for.

6 votes

Watch an AMWAY commercial. They got it right.

0 votes

Responsibility for the downtrodden, love of country, a willingness to contribute, the right to choose one's own path. Or something similar to these things.

1 vote

Watch Pat Robertson. He'll tell you.

0 votes

The promise of America.

1 vote

Tea Parties can tell you all about it.

1 vote

Got my gun. Got my moonshine. That's America liberty and freedom, sport.

1 vote

Liberty and Freedom = love of country and the willingness to participate in its progress.

1 vote

You are all over the map with this diary. REWRITE, REWRITE, REWRITE!!!!!

1 vote

WALK FOR RICE, Seattle, WA: Open Invitation

RoddieH

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday May 08, 2010 · 5:58 PM PDT

2010/05/08 · 17:58

Asian Counseling and Referral Service will hold its 20th Annual Walk for Rice for its Food Bank located in the International District Seattle, WA at Seward Park in Seattle on June 19, 2010 beginning at 9:00 am. All are invited to attend.

Poll

15 votes Show Results

Have you ever personally known hunger?

15 votes Vote Now!

Have you ever personally known hunger?

No. And I hope I never have to experience it.

3 votes

Yes, I have been there. I will never forget the experience. HUNGER HIRTZ!!

5 votes

No, thankfully I have not. But I know it is in every community. And it's important to spread the word about ways to help.

7 votes

Thomas Wolfe on The Myth of the Confederacy

RoddieH

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday April 10, 2010 · 1:12 PM PDT

2010/04/10 · 13:12

Yesterday I posted some comments about the Governor of Virginia and his pathetic attempts at replicating Ronald Reagan's kow-kowing to the conservative white trash largely in the South (yes, there are plenty north of the Mason-Dixon line, but the fact Reagan spoke at Philadelphia, Mississippi about 'states rights' right after his nomination was an unmistakable message to Southern Dixiecrats).

Poll

155 votes Show Results

Was Thomas Wolfe Right?

155 votes Vote Now!

Was Thomas Wolfe Right?

Yes. End of Story.

122 votes

I suppose so, but, man, is that guy into self-loathing. I think he should lighten up a bit.

5 votes

No. He is a traitor to his Southern roots.

5 votes

I thought that guy wrote the ELECTRIC KOOL AID ACID TEST. What's with this Confederate History celebration crap?

23 votes

Southern Intransigence: Inconvenient Truths About The Confederacy

RoddieH

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday April 09, 2010 · 9:20 AM PDT

2010/04/09 · 09:20

In the early 1980s I was an Ensign onboard a Navy destroyer. One evening liberty call went down and a young black enlisted man requested permission to go ashore while I was standing watch as the Officer of the Deck. I noticed the young man had a large STARS and BARS patch on the back of his jeans jacket, so I briefly stopped him and asked if he had any idea what that symbol represented. He answered he did not. I permitted him to go ashore with the stipulation that he seek counsel from his Chief, who was also black, upon his return from liberty. That incident lingers in my mind today, especially in light of the Governnor of Virginia's announcement of Confederate History month in the Commonwealth of Virgina.

Poll

287 votes Show Results

Confederate History Month in Virgina is:

287 votes Vote Now!

Confederate History Month in Virgina is:

A respectful nod to the valor of Southerners who fought in a lost cause

13 votes

not worthy of the attention it is receiving. Who really cares?

9 votes

Inappropriate, an insult to all those who fought in the Civil War.

13 votes

Sure to bring in black tourists from across America to delight in the memories of those wonderful pre-war years in the South

14 votes

A bold, insightful political move

1 vote

A fine precursor to the northern states' "We Won the Damn War; Shut Up and Deal with It" month in June.

49 votes

Embarassing. The Governor is an out and out A-hole.

84 votes

Almost as good as "British Torrie" Month and "Whiskey Rebellion Week," and "Daniel Shays Rebellion Day," and "Japanese Relocation Week" holidays to follow.

29 votes

A pre-cursor to "Aryan Nation Month" in August

70 votes

Pie

5 votes

LIVING History: The Oddest of Coincidences

RoddieH

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday March 07, 2010 · 7:36 AM PST

2010/03/07 · 07:36

Earlier this week I was asked to write a follow up article in DAILY KOS about the Nisei Veterans Committee (NVC) here in Seattle, WA. I have previously offered some observations following my participation in the formal dedication of the NVC Memorial Hall on March 15, 2008. I served as a representative of American Legion Post 19 in Renton, WA at the ceremony. The Hall stands at 1212 South King Street in Seattle's International District. It is well-worth visiting. Take your kids, if you have any. This is the kind of Americana our young people need to know more about.

Poll

30 votes Show Results

The $20 K Per Person Reparations Resulting from the 1988 Civil Liberties Act

30 votes Vote Now!

The $20 K Per Person Reparations Resulting from the 1988 Civil Liberties Act

Doesn't completely atone for the actions of the U.S. but it is a start.

8 votes

Is an acceptable token of a nation's sincere regret for a terrible indignity visited on innocent people.

6 votes

Was the wrong way of saying, 'I'm sorry.'

1 vote

What other method would you select to offer regrets? Ya gotta do something.

2 votes

Wrong, wrong, wrong. An apology by a President is sufficient.

1 vote

It sets a wrong precedent, almost cheapening a very big wrong.

2 votes

Should have been more. $50 K???????????

1 vote

It sents a wrong precedent: now every group wronged by the American government will be lining up for a check.

9 votes

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