Happy 4th from over here everyone.
Last night someone tried to break into the house and the stray dog that the gods sent was at her best and drove him/them away. I wasn't scared, just angry. Then it got sort of funny because the police had no idea how to find my place and couldn't follow directions. I finally, an hour later, had to drive to the top of the lane and lead them down to the house. Needless to say, after I, finally awoke this am after a restless remainder of the night, I was pretty mad again and feeling a little helpless and alone, but former President Jimmie Carter came to my rescue and made me feel good about life and celebrating the 4th of July. He is an amazing man.
Follow me down
I got an e-mail from President Carter addressed to the Democrats Abroad this morning. His bravery and honesty is amazing. He told me:
Since leaving the White House, Rosalynn and I have visited more than 120 foreign nations in our work at The Carter Center. In many cases, we've become deeply involved with them in resolving some of their political, health, and agricultural challenges. During the earlier years, their admiration and friendship toward our country was almost universal, and truly heart-warming - in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and throughout the Islamic world. Lately, there has been a drastic and disturbing shift toward distrust, alienation, and outright hatred.
I had to agree with him on that point. Ireland is a neutral country, like Switzerland, and almost 90% of the country is against this pseudo-war and the torture and secrecy.
Then he said:
The dramatic deterioration in America's reputation was not caused by a conflict between liberals and conservatives or even between Democrats and Republicans. The unprecedented new American policies are a radical departure from those of Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Dwight Eisenhower, and also, of course, from those of Democratic presidents. At home, the result has been an unprecedented division among our citizens - exemplified by a sharp delineation between red and blue states.
Amen, brother. These are not republicans as we used to know them. These are evil personified.
Many Americans are deeply disturbed, and some are willing to stake their careers on making a change. Our son Jack, for instance, has left the world of agricultural commodities and investment finance to run for the U.S. Senate from Nevada - against a first term incumbent who has voted with the White House 96% of the time during the past five years (compared to Tom Delay's 90%).
We are faced in 2006 with congressional elections of momentous historical importance - more so than at any time in my memory. The outcome will be either an endorsement of Washington's current policies or a great political brake on these ill-advised and destructive trends. There can be no better qualified or objective analysts than Americans, like you, who live overseas and are not unduly swayed by the constant stream of biased news media, like Fox News and the all-pervasive right-wing radio talk shows.
President Carter is braver than almost everyone. He is telling it like it is. Now why can't President Clinton or Hillary Clinton-Bush say the same things? Why can't they and the "Spineless" Ones in Congress speak out like this? Why can't they say that Fox News is a pile of propaganda like Carter can? Why can't they say how evil this administration is? Why won't they stake their careers on helping us fight this evil we face?
No wonder why the majority of voters dislike Congress. The current administration is evil and the Democrats won't say a word against what they are doing. Who can voters look to for help?
I love my President Carter who is brave for me, and I love my stray dog who was also brave for me, in the face of danger. I don't feel alone and helpless in a strange country with two such good friends beside me. Thank you President Carter for your words! And thank you Lady dog for chasing off the bad guys in the night.