10 for 10 (5th Entry): Love Those Greyhounds

Greetings to our blog readers in Argentina, Israel, and Russia........

The sport of greyhound racing which is popular in many American states including West Virginia is highly controversial, but in recent years, awareness has been made about adopting retired greyhounds, we will provide two links to greyhound rescue organizations in Virginia and North Carolina.

Additionally, we will provide links to animal shelters in Georgia and Florida.....

At this hour, we are delighted to hear writer Steve Almond who has written a critical book on American football on the BBC World Service; we have been a fan of his work since he wrote pieces for "The Oxford American." Almond, a long-time Oakland Raiders fan, also recently wrote an opinion essay on the need for greater civic action to protect football players from concussions.

Here are the dog links:

http://www.virginiagreyhounds.org/

http://www.greyhoundfriends.com/

http://albanyhumanesociety.com/ (animal shelter of Albany, Georgia)

http://www.thehsmc.org/ (animal shelter of Ocala, Florida)

http://againstfootball.org/ (Steve Almond's book)

Our Top Ten Comics from Sunday, Dec. 14th Washington Post: Bill Cosby Had a VERY Bad Year

Greetings to our blog readers in Costa Rica, Sweden and Australia......

Today, we focus on our ten favorite comic strips from "The Washington Post"(Sunday, Dec. 14th edition). For those of you in Kazakhstan who may have never been to America, Sunday is the day when color comic strips are posted in newspapers and web sites, such as http://www.gocomics.com

"The Washington Post" has substantially more comics than small-town newspapers like "The Register and Bee" in Danville, Va. And, there are comic strips for virtually every demographic, including "Reply All" (young women), "Baldo" (Hispanics), "Mark Trail" (children) and "Beetle Bailey" (Republican senior citizens men with hearing airs...........our apologies to Mort Walker).

Darrin Bell's "Candorville" is our top comic strip of the week for the first time in the survey (there are over 30 comic strips in the Sunday Post) when the title character, an African-American man presumably in his late twenties, overhears two school children talking about why their parents don't want them to watch "The Cosby Show." For those of you in Uzbekistan, there are some serious criminal allegations aimed at Bill Cosby (pictured top), a former stand-up comic and sitcom star.

"Candorville" is followed closely by "Pearls Before Swine" in which Rat declares that he wants to be president of the United States so he can aim drones to spy on every living person on earth. Of course, if he were running as a Republican for Congress in South Carolina, he could say something that outlandish and get elected as Congs. Joe Wilson and Mark Sanford, two of the most dubious members of Congress, did on Election Day (forgive the political commentary).

We used "Three Little Pigs" as our image for "Pearls" because Pig is one of the three major characters in the strip (Goat is the third).

Third place went to "Speed Bump," which depicts a medieval jousting the age of social media.

And, in fourth place, there was a hilarious look at Star Wars fanatics in Keith Kinght's "Knight Life," in which guys dressed like Storm Troopers are camping out for tickets to the next Star Wars film, which is due out next year.

Here is our top ten:

1. Candorville

2. Pearls Before Swine

3. Speed Bump

4. Knight Life

5. Lio

6. WUMO

7. The Argyle Sweater

8. Dustin

9. Prickly City

10. Doonesbury

http://www.washingtonpost.com

http://www.gocommic.com

Famous Quotes from Famous Artists (2 of 5): Aldous Huxley

Hopefully, you can see this blog entry with a quote from Aldous Huxley, the author of "Brave New World," there seem to be tech glitches beyond our control at the moment!

"There is no substitute for talent. Industry and all the virtues are of no avail."

SIDEBAR: Are you taking a three-hour lunch break at Chanello's Pizza in Norfolk, Va., today? Then, you are having an 'intern lunch' according to The Urban Dictionary, it is a term for a very, very long lunch break.

http://www.chanellospizza.com/index

Our Favorite Comic Strips from The Roanoke Times: Another Comic Strip Hero Appears in Pearls Before Swine

Greetings to those of you in France, India and Ireland (Happy St. Patrick's Day as well to you).

Here is a synopsis and survey of our ten favorite comic strips from "The Roanoke Times" (Sunday, March 16th edition):


"Pearls Before Swine:" Stephan Pastis, who is in the middle of a national book store tour that will include stops at Fountain Books in Richmond, Va. (on March 27th) and Park Road Books in Charlotte, NC (on March 28th), did a hilarious take on the delicate art of being a police sketch artist. In the process, Charlie Brown of "Peanuts," makes a cameo in the seventh panel.

"Agnes:" Tony Cochran's strip is usually difficult to explain and this week's Sunday strip is no exception, but it does not involve the late actress Agnes Moorehead (pictured center) of TV's "Bewitched" fame. Rather, it depicts Agnes, the neurotic little girl, trying to show her friend a homemade plush doll with a very strange face. Vincent Price would have been proud!

"Speed Bump:" We'll just say it's the funniest comic strip with a dog that we think might be a Yorkshire terrier (pictured bottom) that we've seen all year!

Here is the survey:

1) Pearls Before Swine

2) Agnes

3) Speed Bump

4) Dilbert

5) Doonesbury

6) Funky Winkerbean

7) Garfield

8) Get Fuzzy

9) Zits

10) Blondie

http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine#.UyZ_EulOWUk

http://www.fountainbookstore.com/

http://www.parkroadbooks.com/

Little Thinkers Quotes (11 of 16): Edgar Allan Poe

We saw a wax museum figure of Edgar Allan Poe in an old Vincent Price film the other night; here is his quote, which reminds me of a dream I had last night in which I was an assistant film director for Sofia Coppola, of all people, on a movie set:

"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream."

http://www.poemuseum.org (Poe Museum in Richmond, Va)

http://www.poeinbaltimore.org

Weather Temps in the Mid-Atlantic

With this image of the Snowshoe Ski Resort in Snowshoe, West Virginia. we look at weather conditions throughout the mid-Atlantic. In some places, such as the Carolina coasts, the weather is actually fairly decent for the winter time, but that it's not case in many areas, including metro areas in Virginia and Maryland.

1) Mount Jackson, Va. 25 Overcast

2) Bowie, Md. 30 Overcast

3) Chapel Hill, NC 33 Overcast

4) North Myrtle Beach, SC 42 Overcast

5) Danville, Va. 33 Overcast

6) Lewisburg, WVa. 27 Overcast

7) Oxford, NC 32 Overcast

8) Colonial Heights, Va. 33 Overcast

9) Roanoke, Va. 30 Light freezing rain

10) Fayetville, NC 37 Overcast

11) Eden, NC 34 Overcast

12) Hopewell, Va. 33 Overcast

http://www.snowshoemtn.com/

http://www.wv.gov/tourism/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/  (Capital Weather Gang)

Presidential Quotes: James Madison

Greetings to our blog readers in Belgium, Portugal and New Zealand, today's quote comes from James Madison, the fourth president of America and an author of the U.S. Constitution. James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., is named after him, and he is frequently discussed on the public radio program "Your Weekly Constitution" ( http://www.montpelier.org/center/radio ) produced at WETS-FM in Johnson City, Tenn. (http://www.wets.org)

His home Montpelier in Orange County, Va., is also relatively close to Monticello, the mansion of Thomas Jefferson, America's third president, in Charlottesville.

Here is Madison's quip:

"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."

http://www.jmu.edu

http://www.montpelier.org

This Blog Will Go On.....

Since we are surprisingly popular in Greece (the editor of this blog Tilly Gokbudak, who is me, is a Turkish-American), we thought we's post the first entry of 2013 with an image of the Greek shadow puppet Karagiozis who really sets a bad example for children by walking barefoot (we are just kidding....we like being populr in Greece).

Karagiozis has a Turkish counterpart in Karagoz, a bearded anti-intellectual, who frequently bouts with his frenemy, the benevolent Hacivat.

One of our hopes for this year is to post a weekly round-up of weather temps around the globe on Wednesdays. We will probably annoy folks in both Greece and Turkey by posting the temps in Fahreinhiet, but perhaps one day, we will use Celsius as well.

Here we go:

Athens, Greece 51 (partly cloudy)

Boulder, Colorado* 10 (snow)

Charlottesville, Virginia* 48 (cloudy)

Istanbul, Turkey 45 (rain/yagmur)

Lawrence, Kansas 30 (cloudy)

Paris, France 38 (cloudy)

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 28 (partly cloudy)

*- These are American cities, all of which are also college towns.

Election Day by the #s (3 of 4)_ All the Votes are Finally In

Here is a look at Election Day numbers in Virginia as well as other parts of the country. Luray Caverns in Luray, Va., which is in the Shenandoah Valley, is pictured above.

Today, President Barack Obama was declared the official winner in Florida, which propels him to 332 electoral college votes.

Rural Nelson County, Va., near Charlottesville, was perhaps the closest jurisdiction, and it was one of the few rural areas won by the president, but Obama did win substantially in major metro areas.

Here are the numbers:

50.7- Percentage that went to Obama in Nelson County

48- Percentage that went to Romney in Nelson County

51.6- Percentage that Obama got in Loudoun County, which had been a Republican stronghold

47.1- Percentage that Romney got in Loudoun County

4,274- Votes for Romney in Dickenson County, in far southwest Virginia, a coal-mining district

2,472- Votes Obama got in Dickenson County, the president did substantially better here in 2008

51.1- Percentage Romney got in King and Queen County in northeast Virginia

16,685- Votes Romney got in Franklin County

9,082- Votes Obama got in Franklin County

688-Votes that Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode got in Franklin County, his home area

20,036- Votes Romney got in Montgomery County, one of the most politically divided areas in the country

19,903- Votes Obama got in Montgomery County, which includes Blacksburg, the home of Virginia Tech

20,075- Votes that Senate-elect candidate Tim Kaine (D) got in Montgomery County

19,335- Votes that George Allen (R), Kaine's opponent, got in Montgomery County

64.9- Percentage Romney got in Shenandoah County

90.1- Percentage Obama got in Prince George's County, Maryland, a DC-suburban area

9.2- Percentage Romney got in Prince George's County

PSA_ October is National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month

From the Muslim Eid Mubarak holiday to Halloween, from the presidential elections to Hurricane Sandy, the month of October, which is also National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, is a busy one indeed. The tenth month is also National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, and it is with this in mind that we are posting an image of Yorkshire Terrier puppy.

Here is a list with links of animal shelters in North Carolina, which is our state of residency; these include shelters from Yanceyville, a rural town near Danville, Va., as well Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte.

http://www.americanhumanesociety.org

http://www.aspcacaswell.org

http://www.spcawake.org

http://www.adoptshelterpets.org

http://www.humanesocietyofcharlotte.org

The Last Tweets from Charlotte- Maryland Congresswoman Comes Home to Carolina

Though none of these tweets pertain to former New York governor Mario Cuomo (pictured top; his son Andrew is now in charge in Albany) or to dinosaur skeletons, we thought we would use them because several speakers at the Democratic National Convention, including Virginia U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine, will try to reach the barometer set by Cuomo when he gave a dynamic speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco.

And, the dino-skeleton is because Charlotte boasts a very popular natural science museum called The Discovery Place, located in the heart of downtown in the Queen City.

Here are tweets from about an hour ago (4:00 p.m./16:00 eastern time, or 20:00 GMT) with explanations:

1) @PoliticalTicker (CNN Political Ticker): "Obama expecting to get 'misty' during first lady's speech (tonight)."

2) @wamu885news (WAMU 88.5 News; the Washington DC-based NPR station): "We spoke to Maryland Rep. Donna Edwards this morning  about what she expects from #DNC2012." (Cong. Edwards was born in Yanceyville, NC, which borders Danville, Va., her fourth district includes many DC suburbs in Maryland).

3) @HuffingtonPost (Huffington Post): "Watch Chuck Norris' stern warning about the 1,000 years of darkness' that Obama will bring if re-elected."

4) @ABC11WTVD (WTVD is the ABC-affiliate in Raleigh, NC): "Gov. Bev Perdue seems fired up heading to the #DNC_ telling a fellow Dem: 'Let's kick some asses.'"

5) @UtahDemocrats (Utah Democratic Party): "@VoteScottHowell now speaking with Senator (Harry) Reid at the @LBSDems event." (Scott Howell is a conservative Utah Democrat of the Mormon faith who is challenging long-term incumbent Sen. Orrin Hatch).

6) @TheNation (The Nation, a liberal magazine): "Activists call for the immigration reform Obama promised when he ran for office."

7) @DavidShuster (David Shuster, a tv-journalist with the liberal Current-TV who ironically worked for the conservative network Fox News): "Biggest demonstration today in Charlotte: 3 people urging sinners to 'repent or burn in hell.' Police amused."

http://www.wamu.org

http://www.chucknorris.com

http://www.wfae.org (Charlotte's NPR station)

http://www.wunc.org (Raleigh-Chapel Hill's NPR station)

http://www.utahdemocrats.org

http://www.thenation.com

http://www.nc-politics.com

http://www.discoveryplace.org

Tweets from DNC in Charlotte_ An Empty Chair for bin Laden

Today, we continue logging tweets from the Democratic National Convention (DNC) which officially gets underway tomorrow in Charlotte, NC, but many meet and greet events, including delegation breakfast talks, have started up.

"The Washington Post" is focusing on Gov. Martin O'Malley of Maryland (pictured top) as he is one of the most -coveted speakers at the convention. Former Virginia governor Tim Kaine, who is running for an open U.S. senate seat, will also speak in Charlotte. Just so there is no confusion, O"Malley is not the governor of North Carolina, that distinction belongs to Gov. Beverly Perdue, also a Democrat, who is stepping down this year at the end of her term.

We are also using a coffee cup from the Turkish coffee Kahve Dunyasi (Coffee World) since many progressives have started the Coffee Party in opposition to the far right Tea Party movement, which has actually propelled fringe candidates, such as Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), into congressional representatives!

Here is a look at some of the tweets from last night, from the right, the left and the center:

1) @theobserver (Charlotte Observer): Was that George Clooney jogging down Tryon Street?

2) @DavidCornDC (David Corn, a liberal journalist with "Mother Jones"): Even Clint Eastwood said we were halfway through a comeback! That is, before he began his career as a performance activist.

3) @reason ("Reason" is a libertarian magazine): Charlotte protests already bigger than in Tampa.

4) @KyDems (Kentucky Democratic Party): Ky Democrats starting to arrive in Charlotte. KDP is finishing convention walk through.

5) @ChrisRockoz (We thought this was the real Chris Rock, but it appears to be an impersonator. Nevertheless, it is very amusing): Democrats should have an empty chair for the entire DNC and when someone asks who it belongs to, they can say Osama bin Laden.

6) @StephenFHayes (Stephen F. Hayes, a columnist for the conservative publication "The Weekly Standard"): Advice to all in #Charlotte. Avoid the Orange Cab company. An hour late for pickup. Told four times cab was 'five minutes' away.

7) @BarryHouse (Barry House is a liberal activist in Illinois): I wish just once #Democrats would be as vicious at their convention as #Republicans always are at theirs.


http://www.motherjones.com

http://www.kydemocrat.com

http://www.reason.com

http://www.weeklystandard.com

http://www.ncdp.org

http://www.mddems.org

http://www.charlotteobserver.com

Image to Fill Space-Power Yoga

Ever since we heard the term power yoga, we thought it was a bit of an oxy moron as the term yoga usually conjures up images of people relaxing and trying to 'strike a pose.' (We don't think Madonna can sue us for that).

But, it seems to be becoming very popular at health clubs around the country, from San Francisco to Provo, Utah. Having tried this once myself, I must advice beginners to try regular yoga first.

There is a yoga retreat called Yogaville in the rural hamlet of Buckingham, Va. (some 30 miles south of Charlottesville in central Virginia), for those you really want to practice yoga away from modern distractions, without going to Sri Lanka.

www.yogajournal.com

www.yogamagazine.com

www.yogaville.org

Quote of the Day/Week-Walter Mondale

Today, we are continuing our series of quotes from American vice presidents, or veeps, with a quip from Walter Mondale who served under President Jimmy Carter. Mondale, 84, also ran for president against Ronald Reagan in 1984, but he was only able to win his home state of Minnesota. I was only 14 years old at the time, but I wanted to vote for Mondale. But, my home state of Virginia did not become a swing state until 2008, and by that time, I had moved to North Carolina.

Here is Mondale's quote:

"If you are sure you understand everything that is going on, you are hopelessly confused."

Another one of Minnesota's favorite sons Bob Dylan is celebrating his birthday today.

The Rabbit Ears Test (7 of 12)_ The Dukes of Hazzard

Thanks to everyone in Slovenia, where this blog is apparently very popular. Our sister blog seems to be well-liked in Slovakia. Since "The Dukes of Hazzard" (1979-1985) may not have aired anywhere outside of the United States or Canada, we are not sure this entry will help with our international hits.

Today, our focus is on Ben Jones, who played Cooter in the CBS show that was always more-watched in Atlanta than it was in Hartford!

Jones, 70, was born in Tarrboro, NC, but in recent years, he has lived in Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee.

Jones had a second life after television as he ran for Congress in Georgia as a Democrat, and then he actually won. Two years prior to Jones' entrance on Capitol Hill in 1989, Fred Grandy, the subject of our entry today on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire", who played Gopher on "The Love Boat" was also elected to the U.S. Congress as a Republican representing Iowa in 1986 (he was sworn in on Jan. 3, 1987).

Cooter/Jones was re-districted to a district with a veteran Republican Congressman named Newt Gingrich (yes, that Newt Gingrinch; I know I can't stand him either), and alas no amount of tv fame could assist him. In fact, according to Wikipedia, Jones only got 35 percent of the vote.

Ironically, according to "Mother Jones," Grandy endorsed Gingrich right before the Iowa Caucuses, but it appears not to have helped much since Rick Santourm edged out Mitt Romney in that political contest as Gingrich finished considerably behind them.

After his defeat Jones moved to rural Sperryville, Va., some two hours south of Washington, DC, and very close to the Shenandoah Valley, where he opened up the original Cooter's Place.

Amazingly enough, Jones decided to take on another powerful Republican in Eric Cantor (yes, that Eric Cantor; I know I can't stand him either) in 2002. Needless to say, Jones was defeated once again.

Jones is actually considered a conservative Democrat, and he even asked then-President Bill Clinton to resign following the Monica Lewinski sex scandal.

While in Sperryville, Jones also started a band called Cooter and the Band, which we gather is still active.

Since Cooter's Place was a success, but hard to find, Jones relocated the roadside attraction to the much more touristy Gatlinburg, Tenn., and then he opened up a second Cooter's Place in Nashville.

But, Jones still hasn't forgotten Sperryville, and this year, Jones will host Hazzard Homecoming in that zip code from Aug. 11-12.

Today, we are asking just how long Jones was a member of Congress, is the answer:

A) 2 years

B) 4 years

C) 6 years

D) 8 years

The winner will get an autograph of Gingrich that we do not have.

PSA- I Need a Job

About six weeks ago, my mom got me "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare," which she found at a very resonable price at a yard sale. The book does indeed contain all 35 of William Shakespeare's plays. And, since I have alas lost my teaching job because of funding cuts, I actually might have time to read "The Merchant of Venice" and "Taming of the Shrew."

But, of course, I am hoping to find employment and put off reading Shakespeare, the great artist that he is, for some other time.

So, I am asking anyone who comes across this entry irregardless if they are in Los Angeles, Cleveland or perhaps even Dubai, if they know of employment opportunities in education, journalism or translation work (I am 90 percent fluent in Turkish).

The three states where I would prefer to work are North Carolina, Virginia or Maryland, but if the job of my dreams is in a far-away place like Logan, Utah, I will have to simply 'jump on the bus,' or perhaps even become a bus driver!

For those of you with jobs and within traveling distance of Staunton, Va., which is halfway between Washington, DC, and Roanoke, I highly recommend going to the American Shakespeare Center.

The troupe is currently performing "Henry V," "The Tempest" and "Hamlet." All productions are 'curtain up' until late November.

SIDEBAR: Alas, my beloved BursaSpor in Bursa, Turkey, lost a home game to traditional Istanbul powerhouse Besiktas (pronounced Beshiktash in English) by a 2-1 score. But, we wish the crocodiles well this season. Yes, that is actually BursaSpor's nickname even though there are no crocodiles that we know of in Turkey, though there could be some at the Ankara Zoo.

Finally, I thought soccer rivalries were pretty intense in Turkey, where in one game just a few days ago involving another Istanbul powerhouse Fenerbahce was played 'in front of women and children spectators only.' That game with Manisaspor ended in a
1-1 tie.

But, perhaps the ugliest soccer rivalry in Europe is in Glasgow, Scotland, where Rangers and Celtic fans go at each other's throats, literally! The two teams, which are divided along ethnic and religious lines (Rangers fans are Protestants, Celtic fans are Catholic), played each other in the first of five meetings (?!) over the weekend.

According to the BBC, there were some nasty clashes after the game that Rangers won by a 4-2 score on two goals from Steven John Naismith, Nikica Jealvic and Kyle Rafferty. Perhaps, their next game should be played 'in front of women and children spectators only.'

The Great Virginia Earthquake of 2011

Personally, I prefer the Turkish word for eathquake which is 'deprem.' My late father's country has had a number of devastating shakers, including one in the eastenr city of Erzincan in the 1960s and more recently a series of massive quakes in wetern Turkey, including a 1999 deprem which put Istanbul and surrounding areas into chaos.

Yesterday's 5.9 earthquake centered around the small town of Mineral, Va., which is between Richmond and Charlottesville, did create some problems for those around the epicentet. Various sources said that residents of Mineral felt the tremor for up to 40 seconds.

Diane Miller who works at the local Louisa County Animal Shelter told NPR that the cats were hiding in their litter boxes. And, at least one florist shop in the area received major damage to inventory.

The often-hilarious liberal talk show host Keith Olbermann gave a stirring commentary during his show on Current TV last night when he pointed that the earthquake occured in the district of Cong. Eric Cantor (R-Va.).

Cantor, who is the majority leader on the Hill and a member of Congress known for being uncompromising and arch conservative, had argued that federal funding for the United States Geological Survey needed to be cut. So, Olbermann was thus able to make him an easy target for ripe political humor.

But, much of the chat about the quake which I felt in North Carolina for 10-12 seconds some four hours from the epicenter has come to an abrupt halt on the Internet.

Though a tweet from WashDCNews asked the following question: "How could Virginia-quake be felt in Canada and crack the Washington Monument?"

The answer is apparently that there is a vast geological different between fault lines in Virginia and those in California.

Father's Day Kitsch

This is basically a complementary entry to my tribute to my father Methmet Gokbudak
(1921-1983) and my second stepfather Donald Sullivan (1918-2003), two men I always remember on Father's Day.

When my mom recently relocated, I came across two vinyl records that I will always associate with dad and Donald.

One is a collection called "German Beer Drinking Music" which was recorded in Germany by Hans Braun and his chorus. I tried to find information about the record on the Internet which was to no avail. Shockingly enough, Diplomat Records in Newark, NJ, which made the record happens to be the name of a rap music label that was founded in 2002! Though I can not confirm when the record was released (my guess is 1962), there was an image of the album and a web site was offering to sell the record for $9.99.

More information was available regarding "The Fading Giant," a recording of steam engines made for O. Winston Link Railway Productions. The record was made in 1958 in conjunction with Link's famous photographs of trains in places like Roanoke, Va. (my hometown), Bristol,Va/Tenn. (there are two Bristols in two neighboring state which border each other), Rural Retreat, Va. and Welch, WVa.

The photographs taken by Link (1914-2001) became quite famous, especially in Europe and there is now an O. Winston Link Museum, housing many of his famous photographs, in Roanoke.

Donald was very fascinated with both trains and airplanes whereas my father was more into bicycles and his Porche.

I suppose all of us are defined by our favorite modes of transportation. I find the old slow boats in Istanbul, Turkey, where my father grew up to be very fascinating though it always seems like the boat to the Princess Islands will NEVER reach Kinali Island, the small island that is the first stop on the way to Buyukada, the largest of the four Princess Islands.

But, ultimately, I most fascinated by buses. I recently saw an abandoned passenger bus marked Knoxville, Tenn., on Route 220 near Martinsville, Va. I wondered what its' journey was, and how the bus ended up being left along a road that is some five and a hours away from its origin.

Quote of the Week- Red Emma Goldman

Today, we conclude our series of quotes from left-wing radicals with a quip from Red Emma Goldman (1869-1940), who may even more lived a more interesting,well-travelled, and certainly less tragic life than her fellow Bolshevik Leon Trotsky.

Goldman is described by Wikipedia as being known for anarchism and giving fiery speeches.

She helped develop the anarchist philosophy of North America. Goldman was born in Lithunia, which became a republic of the Soviet Union (today it is an independent state). She moved to New York in 1885, where she would help create the anarchist journal "Mother Earth" (not to be confused with "Mother Earth News"). The publication lasted from 1906 to 1917.

Goldman was exiled back to the Soviet Union in 1917, but she was not impressed by what she saw. Though it did not change her political ideology, the experience lead to Goldman's penning "My Disillusionment in Russia" (1923), which was very critical of the violence that she witnessed there.

The anarchist leader eventually moved to Canada, where she died in Toronto at age 70.

We should add that while we find Goldman an interesting political figure, and we aren't certainly not in Newt Gingrich's corner (in fact, we think he and Goldman are more or less equally far apart from the political center), by any means, we think it is safe to say Goldman's views are startling to this day and we in now way endorse them. This quote by her illustrates that point quite vividly:

"We Americans claim to be a peace-loving people. We hate bloodshed; we are opposed to violence. Yet, we go into spasms of joy over the possibility of projecting dynamite bombs form flying machines upon helpless citizens."

SIDEBAR- It has been quite the scorcher in the states of Virginia and North Carolina since Sunday. Over the last two days, the following high temperatures were either reported or expected in Virginia: Richmond, 97; Roanoke, 92; Blacksburg, 90; and Appomattox, 100 (?!). Meanwhile in North Carolina, things are not any cooler: Raleigh, 98; Charlotte, 98, Greensboro, 97; Wilmington, 94----perhaps it is a good time to escape to Maine!

Quote of the Day- Rita Dove

Originally, we were going to quip the late playwright/poet August Wilson ("Fences") with Maya Angelou (see our sister entry in the blog "The Daily Vampire"), but we are going with a living poet Rita Dove who lives in Charlottesville, Va.

Since Virginia is my home state, and I still spend quit a bit of time there, I thought Dove would be a good choice, and her poetry_ especially regarding Civil Rights issues_ is quite exemplarary. Nikki Giovanni, another highly regarded African-American female poet, resides just down the proverbial road from Dove in Blacksburg, Va.

Here is the quote from Dove:

"Being true to yourself means being true to all the complexities of the human spirit."