The piano player
AN ITEM comes this way from the US. Does it strike any chords locally? Humility? Frugality? Modesty? Perhaps only by way of contrast.
Harry Truman was a different kind of president. He probably made as many - or more important - decisions regarding the history of the USA as any of the other 42 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, Missouri. 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 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an "allowance" and, later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 a year.
After President Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves. There was no Secret Service following them.
When offered corporate positions at large salaries, Truman declined, saying: "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 May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor 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 office.
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. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!"
Too true. They can't stop the music.
Most hated man
AN INTERNET video posted by an American children's rights group has refocused attention on the Lord's Resistance Army, a Ugandan guerrilla group led by one Joseph Kony, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court at The Hague for a murderous terror campaign which has involved the forced recruitment of children.
Kony operates also in the Southern Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic. He claims to be the spokesman of God.
British satirical magazine Private Eye takes up the story.
"A video featuring the world's most hated man, the war criminal Blair Tony, has become an internet sensation with over 79 million hits and even more 'dislikes'.
"The video argues that Tony, the leader of the notorious Frauds Resistance Army in the troubled third world country of Britain should not be allowed to remain at liberty.
"The International Court told documentary makers that they wanted Tony to speak to them, but they couldn't afford his fees (£100 000 per minute. Handshake extra).
"Young campaigners who have been politicised by the video are now demanding that the United States should intervene to arrest Tony even if it means 'invading Britain and waterboarding Cherie Blair to discover his whereabouts'.
"Tony's notorious crimes include enlisting young Britons and sending them to war motivated only by extreme religious views and a Messianic belief in his invulnerability …"
Lovely stuff, especially for those of us who always found Blair very creepy.
Tailpiece
A WOMAN pregnant with her first child pays a visit to her obstetrician.
After the examination she shyly says: "My husband wants me to ask you..."
The doctor replies, "I know, I know …" He places a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I get asked that all the time. Sex is fine until late in the pregnancy."
"No, that's not it. He wants to know if I can still mow the lawn."
Last word
If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.
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