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The JFK Mystique
“Ask not,” said John F. Kennedy at his inauguration as President, “what your country can do for you – but what you can do for your country…,” the timely and powerful suggestion heard around the world and often repeated yet today.
I was a young Air Force officer in Wichita Falls, Texas, the day President Kennedy was inaugurated. Age 31, wife and three kids, I was both enlightened and thrilled – impressed that such a young man could have risen so far in a supposedly old man’s beltway bailiwick. Kennedy had also purveyed to me the promise of a nation bent on not only progressing as a nation but so as to be able to help others – as in the creation of the Peace Corps, a volunteer group of dedicated and well-meaning young Americans which won for the U.S. new friends all around the world. For us in the military, he promoted the GI bill which not only allowed many of us to go on to college but in so doing paving the way and creating the incentive for thousands of other young Americans to do the same. Science, progress and improved human relations seemed the new goals for the country and education was the answer…and properly so.
JFK always spoke to the nation’s future – expressing his hopes and goals with a gentle sense of humor that refreshingly penetrated and rose above the usual diatribe of the two ever-contentious political parties less intent on the nation’s welfare and future than in destroying each other. Such a pity for this nation – and perhaps the world – that this part of the Kennedy legacy has not endured. Read the rest of this entry »
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Post-Pink Slip Opportunities
Today’s job seekers typically look for “replacement employment” through a variety of high-tech professional networking sites like LinkedIn, Plaxo, Xing, Flicker, Tumblr and YouTube. But when the national employment picture remains bleak month after month, it’s hard to find a job on- or offline. And according to John Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia Corp., “These jobs aren’t coming back. There are going to be fewer stores, fewer factories, fewer financial services operations. Firms are making strategic decisions that they don’t want to be in their businesses.”
The U.S. has experienced recessions before, but with the massive job losses during such a compressed timeframe, some experts predict that the entire U.S. economy is poised for a makeover. The days of corporate power may not return for a long, long time. Company jets, lavish headquarters, and astronomical bonuses are sure to seem as outdated as the typing pool on Mad Men.
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Mother Nature Defines Fitness in Functional, Not Cosmetic Terms
In nature, out in the wild, animals who are overweight (unfit) are not tolerated, and obesity just can’t happen. If an antelope for example, gains a few extra pounds, he gets one step slower and becomes easy prey for Mamma lion. If Mamma lion picks up a few extra pounds, she won’t catch up to the antelope. As the result she’ll naturally miss a few meals, eventually sheds the excess weight, and she’ll be back in the hunt.
Moving a little closer to home, if a squirrel picks up extra weight, he’ll be unable to climb trees or leap from limb to limb with total abandon. He may even miss, fall, and become a tasty treat for the local cat. And if a robin in your backyard picks up a little extra luggage, she’ll have a harder time getting off the ground and into flight. At that point the local cat might just make a meal out of her as well.
Tags: peace corp