After all, your hard work as a project manager undoubtedly entitled you to some time soaking up the rays and splashing around in your pool last year, although the figures are not certain it was certainly a hot one, and I hope that this summer finds you still making waves in your smooth, cement pit, sunning yourself and as content as a well-fed boa constrictor.
And now, for all you freakish, perverted readers of non-fiction, a news report on the situation in Iraq, partially leaked to the New York Times over 100 years ago:
Of late by reason of the conduct of the troops, such as the extensive burning of the barrios in trying to lay waste the country so that the insurgents cannot occupy it, the torturing of natives by so-called water cure and other methods, in order to obtain information, the harsh treatment of natives generally, and the failure of inexperienced, lately appointed Lieutenants commanding posts, to distinguish between those who are friendly and those unfriendly and to treat every native as if he were, whether or no, an insurrecto at heart, this favorable sentiment above referred to is being fast destroyed and a deep hatred toward us engendered.
The course now being pursued in this province...is in my opinion sowing the seeds for a perpetual revolution against us hereafter whenever a good opportunity offers. Under present conditions the political situation in this province is slowly retrograding, and the American sentiment is decreasing and we are daily making permanent enemies.
American non-fiction fans, ancestors of today's deranged perverts, weirdos, conspiracy theorists and lunatics, would have first come across these words, written by Major Cornelius Gardner, a West Point Graduate and commanding officer in the region, back in 1902, after he submitted his report to the Lodge Committee on the Military Atrocities in the Philippines.
He could not have known that his testimony and words would ultimately be suppressed in the interests of a fledgling American Empire, or that the man who forced him into his post would be honored some 100 years later for his calculated and opportunistic "heroism" during the conflict.
This is the 37th Medal of Honor I have presented, but the first I presented in the recipient's old office -- (laughter) -- in front of a portrait of him in full battle gear. It is a tradition in the Roosevelt Room that when a Democrat is in the White House, a portrait of Franklin Roosevelt hangs above the mantle, and when a Republican is here, Teddy Roosevelt occupies the hallowed spot.
I chose to break with the tradition these last eight years because I figured if we could have even half the luck and skill leading America into the 21st century that Theodore Roosevelt did in leading America into the 20th century, our nation would do just fine. ----President Bill Clinton speaking in 2001, posthumously awarding the Medal of Honor to Teddy Roosevelt, 5 days before President Bush's inauguration
Indeed, President Clinton, indeed. We have had just as much luck carrying on those traditions started by Roosevelt and others so long ago in the first part of this century, thanks in large part to the fact that we continue to ignore the words and opinions of men like Major Gardner.
When Roosevelt, acting as Secretary of the Navy, sent his cable to the Pacific Fleet, stating:
Dewey, Hong Kong:
Order the squadron, except the Monocacy, to Hong Kong. Keep full of coal. In the event of declaration of war Spain, your duty will be to see that the Spanish squadron does not leave the Asiatic coast, and then offensive operations in Philippine Islands. Keep Olympia until further orders.
ROOSEVELT
Surely, Mr. Roosevelt, like President Bush in Iraq and Afghanistan, had no selfish interest in the Philippines, other than to extend the umbrella of American liberty, culture and civilization over it with saintly benevolence.
No matter that he grew up surrounded and patronized by international shipping magnates and financiers in New York who were associated with his father, Robert Minturn being a close associate of Teddy Sr. and a fellow club member. Minturn, whose ancestors allied with the British East India Company, one of the first semi-autonomous international corporations, during the Opium Wars in China, even relayed their letters from Singapore to London. 3
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