Words from former presidents: 12. Bill Clinton (1993-2001)
"The world wars are over. The cold war has been won. Now it is our job to win the peace."
"Education is about more than making money and mastering technology, even in the 21st century. It's about making connections and mastering the complexities of the world. It's about seeing the world as it is and advancing the cause of human dignity."
Words from former presidents: 11. George Bush (1989-1993)
"We as a people have a purpose today. It is to make kinder the face of the nation and gentler the face of the world."
"This is America . . . a brilliant diversity spread like the stars. Like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky."
Words from former presidents: 10. Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
"I will not make age an issue in this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience."
"Regimes planted by bayonets do not take root."
"Whoever would understand in his heart the meaning of America will find it in the life of Abraham Lincoln."
Words from former presidents: 9. Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)
"The best way to enhance freedom in other lands it to demonstrate here that our democratic system is worthy of emulation,"
"The tax system is a scandal that a businessman can deduct his fifty-dollar lunch but a worker can't deduct the sandwich in his lunch pail."
"We were sure that ours was a nation of the ballot, not the bullet, until the murders of John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr."
Words from Former Presidents: 8 Gerald Ford (1974-1977)
"I was America's first instant VicePresident--and now, America's first instant President."
"To me the presidency and vice presidency were not prizes to be won but a duty to be done."
"Truth is the glue that holds governments together. Compromise is the oil that makes governments go."
Words from Former Presidents: 7. Richard Nixon (1969-1974)
"There can be no whitewash in the White House."
"History makes the man more than the man makes history."
"In dealing with the environment we must learn not how to master nature but how to master ourselves, our institution, and our technology."
"Those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself."
Words from former presidents: 7. Lyndon Baines Johnson: 6. (1963-1969)
"Politics is the art of the possible"
"Unfortunately, many Americans live on the outskirts of hope--some because of their poverty, and some because of their color, and all too many because of both. Our task is to help replace their despair with opportunity."
"This administration, today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty."
"The women in America represent a reservoir of talent that is still under-used. It is too often underpaid, and almost always under-promoted."
Words from former presidents: 5. John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)
"My fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
(on becoming a World War 11 hero) "It was involuntary. They sank my boat."
"Unconditional war can no longer lead to unconditional victory. Humankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to humankind."
"If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity."
The U.S. Supreme Court has taken up the issue of criminalizing homelessness. They are hearing the case brought by people living unhoused in Grants Pass, Oregon. But the ruling on this case may have further implications.
The issue focuses on the 8th Amendment, whether fining or jailing homeless people is "cruel and unusual punishment." Being becoming a criminal would make it even harder for homeless people to find a job or to rent a place to live. Putting up a tent in a park or living out of one's car my be seen as a nuisance to people living in homes, but it might be the only choice other people have.
Words from former presidents: 4. Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961)
"The only way to win World War III is to prevent it."
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signified, in the final sense, is a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
Words from former presidents: 3. Harry Truman (1945-1953)
"It takes only one nation to make war. But it takes two or more to make peace."
"About the meanest thing you can say about a man is that he means well."
"Our allies are the millions who hunger and thirst after righteousness."
Words from former presidents: 2. Franklin Roosevelt (1933-1945)
"I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished."
The Four Freedoms: Freedom of speech. Freedom of religion. Freedom from want. Freedom from fear everywhere in the world.
Words from former presidents: 1. Herbert Hoover (1920-1933)
"No public man can be just a little crooked."
"Being a politician is a poor profession." "Being a public servant is a noble one."
Today is the 75th anniversary of NATO. Harry Truman is often overlooked as an important president. But the Truman Doctrine meant American support for other nations threatened by Moscow. It led to the formation of NATO in 1949. NATO is needed as much now as then to fend off totalitarian movements.
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