Who Wrote That Quote?

Dear Madame L,

I keep thinking of a great paragraph someone quoted in a talk in church recently. The person said it was from Nelson Mandela's inauguration speech in 1994. It's about the possibility we all have to be great, and the fear we have of that very greatness. Can you help me find it?

Thanks in advance,

A Reader

Dear Reader,

Madame L thinks she has found the quote, which she also thought was from Nelson Mandela's inauguration speech. It turns out it was written by Marianne Williamson, inspirational writer and speaker, and author of "A Course in Miracles" and many other books. Here it is:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Here is an excerpt from Nelson Mandela's inauguration speech:

"The task at hand on will not be easy. But you have mandated us to change South Africa from a country in which the majority lived with little hope, to one in which they can live and work with dignity, with a sense of self-esteem and confidence in the future. The cornerstone of building a better life of opportunity, freedom and prosperity is the Reconstruction and Development Programme.

"This needs unity of purpose. It needs in action. It requires us all to work together to bring an end to division, an end to suspicion and build a nation united in our diversity.

"The people of South Africa have spoken in these elections. They want change! And change is what they will get. Our plan is to create jobs, promote peace and reconciliation, and to guarantee freedom for all South Africans. We will tackle the widespread poverty so pervasive among the majority of our people. By encouraging investors and the democratic state to support job creating projects in which manufacturing will play a central role we will try to change our country from a net exporter of raw material to one that exports finished products through beneficiation."

Thanks for asking,

Madame L

Torture and Confessions

Dear Madame L,

I heard that the information the U.S. intelligence and military operations used to find Osama bin Laden came from the enhanced interrogation techniques used by the Bush administration. 

In fact, I read that former VP Dick Cheney and other members of the Bush administration claim that the water-boarding of  Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was what led the CIA to bin Laden's couriers, leading eventually to finding bin Laden himself.

Can you check this out for me?

Sincerely,

Believer in the Geneva Convention

Dear Sniveling Liberal Cry-Baby,

Madame L is just kidding. She also believes in the Geneva Convention, under which water-boarding and other cruel methods of interrogation are considered torture and are therefore banned. 

Madame L also wishes that the U.S. would stand firm for its own stated values of humane treatment of everyone, even criminals and terrorists. Madame L believes that if we don't do this, we lose our credibility in the world, not to mention our soul as a nation. 

Madame L tends not to believe the self-serving statements of Cheney and other members of the Bush administration, who want to claim credit for capturing the terrorist, absolve themselves of guilt for what they know were illegal activities, and at the same time cast stones at President Barack Obama for everything under the sun.

Madame L notes that politicians and military and intelligence officials on the other side of the fence from Cheney et al. insist that the information obtained from KSM was obtained NOT from the "enhanced" (i.e., illegal) interrogations of the Bush administration but from more conventional interrogation methods.

Madame L has not figured out yet how to know for sure which information KSM gave at which times during the many times he was interrogated or tortured by U.S. personnel.

However, Madame L is impressed with Senator John McCain's recent statement on the Senate floor on the subject, and is including that statement below. Here is the full 23-minute speech:

Here is a 4-minute excerpt:

I hope you will read it carefully. McCain points out that KSM, like McCain himself, and like every other prisoner who is tortured, will say ANYTHING to stop the pain; and that for that reason alone conventional questioning invariably yields more correct and therefore more valuable information.

Best, 

Madame L

Here is an excerpt from Senator McCain's speech:

“With so much misinformation being fed into such an essential public debate as this one, I asked the Director of Central Intelligence, Leon Panetta, for the facts. And I received the following information:

“'The trail to bin Laden did not begin with a disclosure from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was waterboarded 183 times. We did not first learn from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed the real name of bin Laden’s courier, or his alias, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti — the man who ultimately enabled us to find bin Laden. The first mention of the name Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, as well as a description of him as an important member of Al-Qaeda, came from a detainee held in another country. The United States did not conduct this detainee’s interrogation, nor did we render him to that country for the purpose of interrogation. We did not learn Abu Ahmed’s real name or alias as a result of waterboarding or any ‘enhanced interrogation technique’ used on a detainee in U.S. custody. None of the three detainees who were waterboarded provided Abu Ahmed’s real name, his whereabouts, or an accurate description of his role in Al-Qaeda. 

“In fact, not only did the use of ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed not provide us with key leads on bin Laden’s courier, Abu Ahmed; it actually produced false and misleading information. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed specifically told his interrogators that Abu Ahmed had moved to Peshawar, got married, and ceased his role as an Al-Qaeda facilitator — which was not true, as we now know. All we learned about Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti through the use of waterboarding and other ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ against Khalid Sheik Mohammed was the confirmation of the already known fact that the courier existed and used an alias.

“I have sought further information from the staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and they confirm for me that, in fact, the best intelligence gained from a CIA detainee — information describing Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti’s real role in Al-Qaeda and his true relationship to Osama bin Laden — was obtained through standard, non-coercive means, not through any ‘enhanced interrogation technique.’ 

“In short, it was not torture or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of detainees that got us the major leads that ultimately enabled our intelligence community to find Osama bin Laden. I hope former Attorney General Mukasey will correct his misstatement. It’s important that he do so because we are again engaged in this important debate, with much at stake for America’s security and reputation. Each side should make its own case, but do so without making up its own facts."

Mickey Mouse

Dear Madame L,

Is it true that the Disney people have trademarked "Seal Team 6"? Does that mean they'll start making cartoons and movies with U.S. commandoes wearing night goggles going in to kill bad guys? Does that mean if we want "Seal Team 6" action figures, we'll have to buy them from Disney? Will Mickey and Goofy be involved in any way? 

Seriously (or not),

A Fan

Dear Fan,

Madame L has also read those news items saying the Disney Company applied on May 3, two days after the Navy SEAL team broke into Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan and killed him, for trademark rights to "Seal Team 6." 

The company's three applications would cover "toys, games and playthings," "entertainment and education services," and "clothing footwear and headwear."

Madame L does not know whether the folks at Disney will be awarded those trademark rights.

Madame L does not know anything, either, about the larger legal and cultural implications of the applications and their being awarded or not.

Madame L does wonder, though, how a private company can trademark the name of a U.S. military organization, particularly one whose existence was until recently secret from most of the world. 

And Madame L does not even want to think about kids' night goggles and toy SIG Sauer P226 pistols, jammies with pictures of MH-60 helicopters on them, and so on.

Ugh,

Madame L

The Decorah Eagles, Again

Dear Readers,

The eaglets have hatched and are bumbling about the nest.

Here's where you can watch them in real time.

Now Madame L has a question for you, Dear Readers: Is it possible that the design of the Harry Potter hippogriff, Buckbeak, is based on eaglets?

Enjoy,

Madame L

Thanks for your patience

Dear Readers,

Madame L thanks you sincerely for your interesting and provocative comments, and apologizes for not replying immediately.

Madame L has LOTS to say about Rand Paul, NG, and other Republican candidates in the 2012 elections, but she will not be writing much about them for a few days or weeks as she must attend to more pressing matters.

Madame L hopes you will continue to read everything you can about political, economic, and social issues; and think about how politicians and pundits fit into your ideals for America's future.

Best,

Madame L

Whose Fault Is Our Current Financial Mess?

Dear Readers,

It seems like the big experts are all blaming you and me (or at least me, and I apologize, Dear Reader, if you don't want to be part of a group that includes Madame L) for the mess America's economy is in now. According to some Republican Members of Congress and conservative pundits, it's our fault for taking out mortgages we didn't really qualify for; it's our fault the too-big-to-fail corporations had to be bailed out; it's our fault the national debt is so high; it's our fault we're growing older and needing more medical services; and so on.

However, Madame L does not agree with this self-serving assessment. Madame L notes that in the year 2000, the United States had a $0000 deficit, thanks to President Bill Clinton's economic policies. It wasn't until "W" was elected that the deficit started to rise again. And it rose in part because of tax breaks for the wealthy (see below).

Madame L notes also that the bailout of the big auto companies succeeded, something she hasn't seen any auto executives or conservative politicians or pundits admitting. In fact, that bailout succeeded so well that those companies made huge profits last year. And what about their executives? General Motors CEO Dan Akerson "earned" $2.5 million for 2010. 

Standard & Poor's 500 Index company executives received an average of $11.4 million in total compensation in 2010, a 23% increase over 2009. The AFL-CIO points out that these executives' combined pay exceeds that of more than 100,000 average workers.


Want to know more? The AFL-CIO has devoted a page to the 2011 Execute Pay Watch, listing CEO salaries for 2011.

And you know all those Tea-Party Republicans who were voted into office in 2010 on their promises of saving Medicare, creating jobs, and taking care of the people who elected them? You know they've all voted to abolish Medicare, right? (They're walking back on that now, but only because of public outrage.) They haven't created any jobs, and their idea of helping people appears to be taking away women's rights and programs that support working moms, work-place equality policies, educational loans and grants for those who don't have rich parents to pay their way through college, and help for poor families.

To quote from a recent article by economist Paul Krugman:

"What happened to the budget surplus the federal government had in 2000?

"The answer is, three main things. First, there were the Bush tax cuts, which added roughly $2 trillion to the national debt over the last decade. Second, there were the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which added an additional $1.1 trillion or so. And third was the Great Recession, which led both to a collapse in revenue and to a sharp rise in spending on unemployment insurance and other safety-net programs.

"So who was responsible for these budget busters? It wasn’t the man in the street.

"President George W. Bush cut taxes in the service of his party’s ideology, not in response to a groundswell of popular demand — and the bulk of the cuts went to a small, affluent minority"


Madame L wishes these conservative politicians, all of whom accepted tens of thousands of dollars, some hundreds of thousands of dollars, in campaign contributions from wealthy donors and big company CEOs, would be more honest with those who actually voted for them.

And Madame L wishes voters would realize how close they are to having the America they thought they were voting for be destroyed.

Pay attention, my friends, and may God bless these United States of America,

Madame L