Tom Brazaitis, 64, a leading political writer and longtime Washington bureau chief of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, died March 30 at his home in Washington. He had kidney cancer that spread to the brain...
He continued to write a liberal-leaning syndicated column published in Newhouse newspapers such as the Plain Dealer, the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the Oregonian of Portland and the Star-Ledger of Newark... In some respects, Mr. Brazaitis was a Washington anomaly. He was relatively low-key in the world of punditry, seldom appearing on television with the exception of C-SPAN and making occasional visits to the public radio program "The Diane Rehm Show."...
He wrote two books with his wife of 15 years, Eleanor Clift, a contributing editor at Newsweek magazine: "War Without Bloodshed: the Art of Politics" (1996) and "Madam President: Shattering the Last Glass Ceiling" (2000).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14472-2005Mar30.html http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/11269367.htm Tom Brazaitis page:
http://www.tombrazaitis.com/ History Profs Rate Bush a Disaster
by Tom Brazaitis
President George W. Bush's campaign for a second term got a big break last week from the nation's historians. Responding to a national survey by George Mason University's History News Network, 81 percent of the 415 historians who expressed a view of the Bush presidency so far classified it as a failure and 12 percent see it as the worst presidency in American history.
At least eight of the 77 historians who expressed a belief that Bush's presidency has been a success so far seemed to be pulling our leg. Seven said Bush's presidency is only the best since that of Bill Clinton, his immediate predecessor, and one said the country hasn't seen a president of Bush's caliber since Millard Fillmore (1850-53) who filled the remaining term of Gen. Zachary Taylor after Taylor's death. Fillmore's time in office was unmemorable. He was defeated by a rival from within his own party.
"Actually, I think
presidency may exceed the disaster that was Nixon," said one historian who was not named. "He has systematically lied to the American public about almost every policy that his administration promotes."
Robert S. McElvaine, who teaches history at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., reported the survey's findings, adding his own astonished comment that so many people still support a president with so many strikes against him... http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0523-03.htm
The eternal truths
an eschatological laundry list -- a partial register of the 927 (or was it 928?) eternal truths
by Sheldon Kopp, author of GURU
1. This is it.
2. There are no hidden meanings.
3. You can’t get there from here, and besides there1s no place else to go.
4. We are all already dying and we will be dead for a long time.
5. Nothing lasts.
6. There is no way of getting all you want.
7. You can’t have anything unless you let go of it.
8. You only get to keep what you give away.
9. There is no particular reason why you lost out on some things.
10. The world is not necessarily just. Being good often does not pay off and there is no compensation for misfortune.
11. You have a responsibility to do your best nonetheless.
12. It is a random universe to which we bring meaning.
13. You don’t really control anything.
14. You can4t make anyone love you.
15. No one is any stronger or any weaker than anyone else.
16. Everyone is, in his own way, vulnerable.
17. There are no great men.
18. If you have a hero, look again; you have diminished yourself in some way.
19. Everyone lies, cheats, pretends (yes, you too, and most certainly I myself).
20. All evil is potential vitality in need of transformation.
21. All of you is worth something, if you will only own it.
22. Progress is an illusion.
23. Evil can be displaced, but never eradicated, as all solutions breed new problems.
24. Yet it is necessary to keep on struggling toward solution.
25. Childhood is a nightmare.
26. But it is so very hard to be an on-your-own, take-care-of-yourself grown-up.
27. Each of us is ultimately alone.
28. The most important things each man must do for himself.
29. Love is not enough, but it sure helps.
30. We have only ourselves, and one another. That may not be much, but that’s all there is.
31. How strange that so often it all seems worth it.
32. We must live within the ambiguity of partial freedom, partial power and partial knowledge.
A33. ll important decisions must be made on the basis of insufficient data.
34. Yet we are responsible for everything we do.
35. No excuses will be accepted.
36. You can run, but you can’t hide.
37. It is most important to run out of scapegoats.
38. We must learn the power of living with our helplessness.
39. The only victory lies in surrender to oneself.
40. All of the significant battles are waged within the self.
41. You are free to do whatever you like. You need only face the consequences.
42. What do you know for sure...anyway?
43. Learn to forgive yourself, again and again and again and again.
http://www.tombrazaitis.com/Eternal%20Truths.htm
Tom's Cancer Page
Cancer columns in The Plain Dealer
1) Minus one kidney, but still flossing, July 1, 1999
2) Life after surgery begins, August 1, 1999
3) Kidney cancer and a sequel, October 8, 2000
4) Gladiator in the ring, January 2001
5) The long, tortured road to a cure, July 29, 2001
6) A cancer patient looks at terrorism, October 14, 2001
7) The cancer phase called 'now what'? March 29, 2002
8) Cancer patients experiment, try alternatives, December 22, 2002
9) Going after cancer with a 'knife,' October 5, 2003
10) Fighting cancer with every tick of the clock, November 5, 2003
11) CT and MRI have gloomy tales to tell, January 24, 2004
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