22 August 2011. A Friend Sent This on to Me…

We’ll Never See This Again

Harry Truman was a different kind of President. He probably made as many, or more, important decisions regarding our nation’s history as any of the other 32 Presidents preceding him. However, a measure of his greatness may rest on what he did after he left the White House. The only asset he had when he died was the house he lived in, which was in Independence MO. His wife had inherited the house from her mother and father and other than their years in the White House, they lived their entire lives there. When he retired from office in 1952, his income was a US Army pension reported to have been 13,507.72 USD (393,000 Roubles. 9,362 Euros. 8,183 UK Pounds) a year. Congress noted that he was paying for his stamps, and personally licking them, so, it granted him an “allowance” and, later, a retroactive pension of 25,000 USD (727,000 Roubles. 17,328 Euros. 15,145 UK Pounds) per year.

After President Eisenhower‘s inauguration, Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves. There were no Secret Service agents following them. When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating, “You don’t want me. You want the office of the President, and that doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it’s not for sale”. Even later, on 6 May 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honour on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, “I don’t consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise”.

As president, he paid for all of his own travel expenses and food. Modern politicians have found a new level of success in cashing in on the Presidency, resulting in untold wealth. Today, many in Congress also have found a way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices. Political offices are now for sale (e.g. Illinois). Good old Harry Truman was correct when he observed, “My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician. To tell the truth, there’s hardly any difference!”

I say that we should dig him up and clone him!

Editor’s Note:

I’ll observe that two men came from Missouri… actually, one man and one worthless putz. Rush Limbaugh isn’t fit to be mentioned in the same sentence as Harry Truman. Rush’s supporters are lobotomised, violent, and mindless. Rush is a vacuous boob, yet, his supporters become physically violent if they’re countered with an intellectual argument. I’ll be blunt; virtually everything on his show is pure fabrication… it’s sheer fantasy, cacophony, and foolishness.

When you compare Harry and Rush, one thing becomes clear… Harry’s selfless service is laudable, Rush’s godless, grasping, and soulless greed isn’t. Harry Truman didn’t take what was his by right, Rush steals everything that’s not nailed down, and calls it “Free Enterprise” (it’s certainly “free”, for it costs him nothing, and it’s “enterprising”, for he’s quite assiduous in his gluttony and voracity). The sooner that we take Rush out, shoot him, and dump his carcass in the ocean, the sooner that the world can breathe a sigh of relief. He’s not simply a simpering shill for the oligarchs (he’s that, to be sure), but he’s a Göbbels… he has a hold upon his listeners in a very demonic and troubling way.

You can admire Harry (even if you don’t agree with him) or you can admire Rush Limbaugh. The two are mutually-exclusive… the first was a good (although flawed) man, the second is an evil charlatan who uses his talents in a demonic way to enrich himself and implant lies in his audience. I prefer Harry… what about you?

BMD