RIP Nelson Mandela - "He Belongs to the Ages"

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Obama in Africa: Cape Town to Tanzania

RT @louisef100: Front pages of today's South African newspapers on #Madiba #Mandela pic.twitter.com/z7fFx8qlYq #NelsonMandela #Mandela

— Nora Wahlquist (@DahmPublishing) December 6, 2013

Nelson Mandela and his wife salute crowds upon his release from prison on February 11, 1990. Photo by Alexander Joe pic.twitter.com/NAOTMtOnJb

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) December 5, 2013

Every time Melinda and I met Nelson Mandela, we left more inspired than ever. His grace and courage changed the world. This is a sad day.

— Bill Gates (@BillGates) December 5, 2013

It always seems impossible until it is done #RIPNelsonMandela pic.twitter.com/5Oe103KCAV

— Anmol (@Anm0l) December 6, 2013

He changed history for the better!Such an incredible man and a huge inspiration.. Thank you #RIPNelsonMandela pic.twitter.com/vYgmyNkayS

— Linda (@Lindajaber9) December 6, 2013

Must-See Video of Mandela Dancing:

The #Obama Ladies with #Mandela, 2011: pic.twitter.com/A0A00BIpaq

— Eric Wolfson (@ericwolfson) December 6, 2013

President Obama's Full Statement on the Death of Nelson Mandela:

5:25 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: At his trial in 1964, Nelson Mandela closed his statement from the dock saying, “I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

And Nelson Mandela lived for that ideal, and he made it real. He achieved more than could be expected of any man. Today, he has gone home. And we have lost one of the most influential, courageous, and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this Earth. He no longer belongs to us -- he belongs to the ages.

Through his fierce dignity and unbending will to sacrifice his own freedom for the freedom of others, Madiba transformed South Africa -- and moved all of us. His journey from a prisoner to a President embodied the promise that human beings -- and countries -- can change for the better. His commitment to transfer power and reconcile with those who jailed him set an example that all humanity should aspire to, whether in the lives of nations or our own personal lives. And the fact that he did it all with grace and good humor, and an ability to acknowledge his own imperfections, only makes the man that much more remarkable. As he once said, “I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”

I am one of the countless millions who drew inspiration from Nelson Mandela's life. My very first political action, the first thing I ever did that involved an issue or a policy or politics, was a protest against apartheid. I studied his words and his writings. The day that he was released from prison gave me a sense of what human beings can do when they’re guided by their hopes and not by their fears. And like so many around the globe, I cannot fully imagine my own life without the example that Nelson Mandela set, and so long as I live I will do what I can to learn from him.

To Graça Machel and his family, Michelle and I extend our deepest sympathy and gratitude for sharing this extraordinary man with us. His life’s work meant long days away from those who loved him the most. And I only hope that the time spent with him these last few weeks brought peace and comfort to his family.

To the people of South Africa, we draw strength from the example of renewal, and reconciliation, and resilience that you made real. A free South Africa at peace with itself -- that’s an example to the world, and that’s Madiba’s legacy to the nation he loved.

We will not likely see the likes of Nelson Mandela again. So it falls to us as best we can to forward the example that he set: to make decisions guided not by hate, but by love; to never discount the difference that one person can make; to strive for a future that is worthy of his sacrifice.

For now, let us pause and give thanks for the fact that Nelson Mandela lived -- a man who took history in his hands, and bent the arc of the moral universe toward justice. May God Bless his memory and keep him in peace.

END

And the Children Shall Lead Them

After the sad week we've had - with the unjust verdict of the Zimmerman Trial and grief for Trayvon Martin - this video of innocent kids without prejudice is a breath of fresh air. And it should give everyone hope for the future because the kids raised today understand the global community differently than any generation. And they are nearly colorblind and vastly more open-minded.

Forward.

Celebrating the Birthday of Naturalist John Muir

John Muir is often called a "Scottish-American" because he was born in Scotland. But he was really an all-American hero, striding across the landscape in search of natural treasures and using his skill as a writer to help preserve the wilderness. He was key to founding our National Park System, especially the great western parks of Yellowstone and Yosemite. He founded the Sierra Club which carries on his great work to this day.

Happy Birthday, John Muir!!! How fitting that his birth is one day before Earth Day.

"The Battle for Conservation will go on endlessly. It is part of the universal warfare between right and wrong."
~ John Muir







From PBS

John Muir was one of the earliest advocates of the national park idea, and its most eloquent spokesman. Born in Dunbar, Scotland, he moved with his family to a Wisconsin farm in 1849. Muir's father, an itinerant Presbyterian minister, treated him harshly and insisted that he memorize the Bible. By age 11, he was able to recite three-quarters of the Old Testament by heart, and all of the New Testament.

Muir studied botany and geology at the University of Wisconsin and had a natural flair for inventions. In 1867, after recovering from a factory accident that left him temporarily blinded for several months, he cut short a promising career in industry to walk from Indiana to Florida, creating botanical sketches on his way. From there he sailed to California and then walked from San Francisco to the Sierra Nevada – the "Range of Light" that would transform his life with his "unconditional surrender" to nature.

After working as a sheepherder in the high country for a season, Muir took a job in the Yosemite Valley in 1869, building a sawmill for James Mason Hutchings. In his free time, he roamed Yosemite, where he developed a scientific theory that the valley had been carved by glaciers. Muir felt a spiritual connection to nature; he believed that mankind is just one part of an interconnected natural world, not its master, and that God is revealed through nature.

. . . he traveled to Alaska's Glacier Bay and Washington's Mount Rainier. His writings brought national attention to two more places that would eventually become national parks.
Muir would also champion protection of the Petrified Forest and the Grand Canyon in Arizona. He was the public voice for setting aside the high country around Yosemite Valley as a national park in 1890, as well as for General Grant and Sequoia national parks.

. . . Muir was a founder and the first president of the Sierra Club; Muir Woods National Monument, a grove of redwoods north of San Francisco, is named in his honor.

2012 Memories ~ Good, Bad, and Amazing

source:tumblr


Wow, so much happened in 2012 that one video can't hold all of it. In fact, one post can't hold it all, so expect a few more.

Emanuel Cleaver on Fire at DNC

  gif via jajsdoiuhasigyad.tumblr

This speech, which was part of the Black Congressional Caucus, wasn't shown in prime time and therefore many of us missed it. But I kept seeing tweets about how amazing Emanuel Cleaver was so I tracked it down.

He is on fire, preaching to the choir, and hopefully will inspire! :)

Oh, and he is totally off-script and ad-libbing this!

Cleaver's speech begins at 5:37 on this video:



"Now I greatly respect my Republican colleagues and their ideas. But make no mistake: I am proud to be a Democrat. I am proud to be a member of this great party. And we have, in many instances, been hit: 'They are liberal, they are progressive.'

"Look, if being liberal and progressive means that I care for children and whether they go hungry, color me! Color me a Democrat! If being a Democrat means I'm concerned about our seniors in the sunset of their life, color me Democrat! Color me liberal! After all, we are the ones who protected Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, who fought for fair wages and who ended 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' We are Democrats! And don't you ever forget it!"

~~~~~~~

"There is something essential in the human spirit that searches for hope. We are driven by hope. President Barack Obama has been lampooned for speaking of hope; hope for a better America. I want to encourage our president and all of us to continue to hope for an America that remembers, recognizes, and fervently protects its greatness."

"Yes, Mr. President, hope on. Continue to hope, Mr. President. No matter what, Mr. President, you continue to hope! As long as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob sits on the throne of grace, hope on! Hope on! Hope on! We are people of hope, Mr. President! Hope on! Hope on! When everything else is gone, hope on!"

~~~~~~~

"Hope inspires me to believe that any day now, we will catch up to the ideals put forth by our nation's founding fathers. ... It is our hope and faith that reminds us to pray and also affirms that we must move our feet. It is our hope that tells us our latter days will be better than our former. It is our hope that instructs us to march on!"
(marching in place)
"And march on! And march on, means marching through our communities and to make sure everyone is registered and ready to vote."

~~~~~~~

Let me erase some confusion. Let me tell you something. There are people who poke fun at us Democrats. They say we go to far with this inclusion stuff. They say that we have a caucus for tall people and caucus for short people and a caucus for people who don't fit into any other caucus.
But let me just tell you - God did not burden the United States with the diversity of backgrounds, ideas and religions. He BLESSED America with them!