Christine: Taking It To the Limit [One More Time]

All alone at the start of the of the hearing

With the bright lights, all focused on you

You are a brave and jeopardized woman with a duty to do

You long endured a secret that almost no one else ever knew 

You have always been a dreamer

You’ve kept your mouth shut and head down

But it's been so hard to refrain

And you can't let things get you down

But the scenes you've seen lately

Keep on turning up and burning up

And bringing out the shame

So, Christine put herself in harms’ way

And shown us a sign

That she’ll take things to the limit one more time

You’ve spent most of your life making progress

You’ve spent much of your life marking time

If everything falls to pieces tomorrow

Will you still be fine?

And when you seek justice and freedom

And somebody who seems to be fair

And you can't find them anymore

Can't find them anywhere 

Now there's not much left to believe in

Still, you're coming back; you're running back

You're going back for more

So, Christine stepped into harms’ way

At this crucial time, and

She took her courage to the limit one more time!

Larry Conley

27 September 2018

Photo Credit: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCx_gqJq8Gv78fp0u-GnEkLs6Urq-vZ7id64V0RaSFM1wchgTOhY6kY-Jf9NfbhuRogj0COWUv5vjKYfzdD43xtLjnd1lgN1UR6W-NH-nfstdI5P5DgMI2BKM-RNbFVzIqs4EmZ6iEkeAH/s640/I-Believe-Dr.Ford.jpg

Christine

It’s September 2018

The weather will be changing soon

But it is just business as usual

In the Senate’s hearing room

Oh Christine, Christine, brave Christine

Oh Christine, Christine, brave Christine

You’re a threatened, but a courageous woman

The facts will come finally out,

And the truth, at last, will be said

When I try to ponder wrong and right

I can only think in red

The outside world sees black and white

While some are killing the truth dead

Oh Christine, Christine, brave Christine

Oh Christine, Christine, brave Christine

You’re a threatened, but a courageous woman

The facts will come finally out,

And the truth, at last, will be said

Lies can snuff out a candle

But they can't blow out a fire

Once the flames begin to catch

The winds of truth blow them ever higher

Oh Christine, Christine, brave Christine

Oh Christine, Christine, brave Christine

You’re a threatened, but a courageous woman

The facts will come finally out,

And the truth, at last, will be said

And though lies are circulated

By people holding or seeking power

Your truth is marching forward 

And growing stronger with every passing hour.

Oh Christine, Christine, brave Christine

Oh Christine, Christine, brave Christine

You’re a threatened, but a courageous woman

The facts will come finally out,

And the truth, at last, will be said

Let us now raise our voices 

In support of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford

The wrong that she's long suffered 

Will soon be excised by truth’s wondrous healing sword

Oh Christine, Christine, brave Christine

Oh Christine, Christine, brave Christine

You’re a threatened, but a courageous woman

The facts will come finally out,

And the truth, at last, will be said

To the members of the Senate

Please put away the plow

The eyes of the world are watching you

And they are watching you right now

Photo Credit: http://impiousdigest.com/daughter-of-cia-assassin-paymaster-tries-to-bring-down-trump-supreme-court-nominee-kavanaugh/

These Truths Never Lapsed!

 6 November 2018 - A Crisis that Again will Try Our Souls

Before we vote how we want in our struggle to choose, 

And feel like kingmakers for a day, 

We should sit in our homes and think of old truths, 

And ponder what they seem to say. 

For it isn’t a person, a poll, or some partisan jibes, 

Whose verdicts on our votes will last. 

The judgment that counts above all in our civic lives 

Is the one history will ultimately cast! 

America’s foundational precepts are clear and concise. 

They’ve transcended the tests of both trouble and time, 

The ongoing flow of events will charge us with vice 

 If our votes confer power on corrupt, greedy swine! 

We may rejoice at the outcome and beat on a drum, 

And think we’re both fortunate and sly, 

But if history shows we’ve elected a vile and venomous bum 

Then, we’ll struggle to tell our children why. 

We can revel and laugh in the ensuing years, 

And argue that any problems won’t last, 

But our final reward will be infamy and tears 

If we betray the ennobling truths dispatched from America’s past! 

Larry Conley

16 September 2018

Photo Credit: http://www.notable-quotes.com/v/voting_quotes.html

America's Creed!

America’s self-conception is described by our Declaration
It proclaims a set of premises about what it means to be our Nation.
Its purposes and promises are detailed in the Constitution,
But their practical realization has had a long and arduous evolution.

America’s officials are elected to govern, not to rule.
Just power is not a weapon, but a tool.
Elected officials should strive to mend our Union’s fissures;

Not to pursue dominance while solidarity withers.

Politics must foster progress, not further partisan gain
Those who divide to conquer the nation’s honor stain;
Every agency and officer must secure everyone’s human and civil rights;
Whether the persons be Blacks, Browns, Reds, Yellows, or Whites

America’s Republic forms one nation and one people - indivisible;
Words and deeds disruptive to unity are frankly impermissible.
All patriotic Americans must rally to its banner
And seek liberty and justice for all in a firm and honorable manner.

Now we once again face times that try our souls;
Will, we stand by America’s ideals and struggle for its goals?
Without a renewed commitment of lives, fortunes, and sacred honor,
The last, best hope of humankind may soon become a goner.

Honor obliges us as Marines, Sailors, Airmen, Guardians, or Soldiers,
To once again take this burden on our shoulders!
And revive the resolve celebrated in our stories and our songs
And strive anew to set right many of these wrongs.

Although times are turbulent, the raging battle is not lost;
Now, all true American patriots must pay a portion of the cost.
Let us resume the struggle to bring our destiny to be;
And ensure treachery no longer stains the banner of the free

America will not bloom as what it must and ought to be
Unless all of us assume and well perform our solemn duty
Our hallowed Republic and its Constitutional ideals
Will not be fully and firmly realized while so many blithely cool their heels,

America’s Creed is splendid and no burden to defend
But if words don't become actions, our shame will never end.
Every sworn and silent enemy must be confronted and defeated.
Citizens must affirm and advance the Creed until its realization is completed!

So, my dear compatriots, there's not much more to say.
The crucial question remains: “Will we rally and save the day?”
Despite our manifest differences, we are all equally human,
And the dictum driving us forward must be “E Pluribus Unum!”

R. Lawrence Conley

12 September 2018

Photo credit: https://www.geoghanart.com/New-Additions-2018/JANUARY-2018/i-rxHvmKd

Racial slurs and racist threats at various PA schools and school events prompted me to write this.

For a long time, I have thought and said that too many of our compatriots are American by nationality only, but are unamerican in word and deed. As Henry Wallace correctly said:

                         “It may be shocking to some people in this country to

                          realize that, without meaning to do so, they hold views in

                          common with Hitler when they preach discrimination

                          against other religious, racial or economic groups.”

It is high time and long past for every citizen of goodwill to affirm and advance the true meaning of America's Creed!

“We can’t all be Washingtons, but we can all be patriots.” - Charles F. Browne

“There is much more to being a patriot and a citizen than reciting the pledge or raising a flag.” - Jesse Ventura

“Posterity: you will never know how much it has cost the present generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.” - President John Quincy Adams

“True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else.” ~Clarence Darrow

“Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.” ― Adlai E. Stevenson II

For Which It Stands!

When we stand in our classroom as custom oft commands
We say the pledge as a ritual but with weak ardor and little thought
For the flag has no importance without the “Republic for which it stands.”
We must now show our commitment to doing what we ought!

The flag is just fabric in the colors red, white, and blue
The object of our allegiance is much more than a banner
And by our loyalties and efforts, we’ll make the Constitution true
As American patriots, we must always act in an honorable manner.

Since 1789, all patriotic citizens of goodwill, and fine ambition   
Have had a solemn duty to do all they could do
To advance the struggle to bring America’s promises to fruition
It is not to a party or person, but to ideals; we must be true!

Despite the passing time and all the mistakes, we’ve made
If we are people of our words with courage
America and Americans can finally make the grade.
Through every day, by every deed, we must embody honorable carriage.

In stadiums and elsewhere when the National Anthem's heard
Let us recall our solemn loyalty pledge
And let us kneel and keep our word
In this time that tries our souls, we must go to the edge!

For no tune can bestow honor or rouse nationalistic pride
If we scorn and scold the few, the brave
Who have freedom, truth, and justice on their side
Anyone who stands against them may be a traitor or a knave.

Our pledge is to something that’s real, but not visible
It is to a brave ideal of unity
That makes America one Nation, indivisible!
Our ongoing efforts must strive to build the Beloved Community.

The burden is upon each of us to rally to the call
And do anything that needs to be done 
To realize Liberty and Justice for all!
Until these apply to every American, the battle remains unwon!

Larry Conley

6 September 2018

Photo Credit: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjnwIn_nandAhXlYN8KHXRdAkEQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftuckmagazine.com%2Ftag%2Fdon-krieger%2F&psig=AOvVaw307NoLOAQU_WzNswV1DwAW&ust=1536421423077815