Tuesday, February 28, 2006
THE WHITE ROSE
Hans (left) and Sophie Scholl with Cristoph Probst (right), leaders of "The White Rose" resistance movement. Munich Germany, July 1942.
Hans Scholl and his sister Sophie were part of "The White Rose", a group that opposed Hitler and the Nazi party. Hans served as a medic on the Eastern (Russian) front from late July to October 1942. One month later, 300,000 Germans were trapped in Stalingrad and only 5,000 returned to Germany.
Hans and Sophie were arrested February 18, 1943 for distributing leaflets and indicted for treason. They were "tried" February 22, 1843 along with their friend Cristoph Probst, found guilty, and executed by guillotine later the same day. A moving account of the trial and visits with their parents during their last hours is toward the end of this article.
12 or so years ago, my son Jim acquired the above photo. He and his friend Eric wrote the following poem at that time.
--- --- ---
WHITE ROSE
They are the things of nursery rhymes
Such as ones you read to children –
Unknowing toddlers suffering parents’ crimes
And burned beneath the ashes of Dresden:
Petals falling to the ground.
Sophie stares darkly serious
With heavier weight than should be
Allowed for a woman on twenty-one.
But everyone carried burdens.
Three hundred thousand bodies
make the conscience sour,
Shameful that a much larger number
would be necessary to sate one man’s
Thirst, or earn
righteous vengeance.
For Hans, perhaps no healing powers
Ever learned could stop the burns and amputations
from the
EAST
Or mend the bleeding of a people
Once vast
Once proud
Once beautiful.
And more than beauty, the daisy
sits
Close to Sophie’s bosom,
In its last bastion of protection
Where life and beauty survive
If only for a moment –
Innocence lost, like blood drained and
Whitened leaving zombies in blind sleep;
Red sapped from passionate roses
Stifling growth,
Cultivating compliance,
Leaving only a single symbol
Of virginity
Of purity
On aninimity
White Rose
- Copyright © Eric Duckworth and Jim Doty III
--- --- ---
You can learn more about Hans, Sophie, and the White Rose here , here, and (if you speak German) here.
Sophie's story has been made into a critically acclaimed movie that will be released in major U.S cities between February and May. You can learn more about the movie here and here.
Current play dates are at the movie site.
Hans (left) and Sophie Scholl with Cristoph Probst (right), leaders of "The White Rose" resistance movement. Munich Germany, July 1942.
Hans Scholl and his sister Sophie were part of "The White Rose", a group that opposed Hitler and the Nazi party. Hans served as a medic on the Eastern (Russian) front from late July to October 1942. One month later, 300,000 Germans were trapped in Stalingrad and only 5,000 returned to Germany.
Hans and Sophie were arrested February 18, 1943 for distributing leaflets and indicted for treason. They were "tried" February 22, 1843 along with their friend Cristoph Probst, found guilty, and executed by guillotine later the same day. A moving account of the trial and visits with their parents during their last hours is toward the end of this article.
12 or so years ago, my son Jim acquired the above photo. He and his friend Eric wrote the following poem at that time.
--- --- ---
WHITE ROSE
They are the things of nursery rhymes
Such as ones you read to children –
Unknowing toddlers suffering parents’ crimes
And burned beneath the ashes of Dresden:
Petals falling to the ground.
Sophie stares darkly serious
With heavier weight than should be
Allowed for a woman on twenty-one.
But everyone carried burdens.
Three hundred thousand bodies
make the conscience sour,
Shameful that a much larger number
would be necessary to sate one man’s
Thirst, or earn
righteous vengeance.
For Hans, perhaps no healing powers
Ever learned could stop the burns and amputations
from the
EAST
Or mend the bleeding of a people
Once vast
Once proud
Once beautiful.
And more than beauty, the daisy
sits
Close to Sophie’s bosom,
In its last bastion of protection
Where life and beauty survive
If only for a moment –
Innocence lost, like blood drained and
Whitened leaving zombies in blind sleep;
Red sapped from passionate roses
Stifling growth,
Cultivating compliance,
Leaving only a single symbol
Of virginity
Of purity
On aninimity
White Rose
- Copyright © Eric Duckworth and Jim Doty III
--- --- ---
You can learn more about Hans, Sophie, and the White Rose here , here, and (if you speak German) here.
Sophie's story has been made into a critically acclaimed movie that will be released in major U.S cities between February and May. You can learn more about the movie here and here.
Current play dates are at the movie site.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
WHERE ARE THE PHOTOS?
Photos on this site (as well as my other blogs) actually live in my albums at ImageEvent.com. When you view one of my posts, the photos are pulled off of ImageEvent's servers. They are running v-e-r-y slow today (which is unusual). That is why images are slow to show up here, or don't appear at all.
Photos on this site (as well as my other blogs) actually live in my albums at ImageEvent.com. When you view one of my posts, the photos are pulled off of ImageEvent's servers. They are running v-e-r-y slow today (which is unusual). That is why images are slow to show up here, or don't appear at all.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
ONLY 2 DAYS to SAVE OUR U.S. NATIONAL PARKS
From the National Council of Churches home page, February 16, 2006
You have until February 18 to do your part to save our National Parks. It will take you less than two minutes of your time if you use the form letter at the link below.
Proposed changes to the policies that have protected our National Parks can turn them into "A Noisy, Hazy, Off-road Nightmare." Keeping the 2001 NPS Management Policies would be much better for our parks than adopting the proposed changes.
A number of retired employees of the National Park Service, each of whom served the National Park Service in executive level leadership positions, are opposed to the proposed changes and have explained their concerns in a detailed letter. The signers of the letter include three Deputy Directors that served between 1975 and 2002 and a long list of Regional, Associate, and Center Directors. Their letter will tell you most of what you need to know (see the "letter of protest" link below). They call the proposed changes "a drastic and dangerous departure from a longstanding national consensus." They go on to say "We are especially troubled by the omission from the opening sections of the Management Policies of their long-established emphasis upon the NPS’s overriding responsibility to preserve resources on behalf of all Americans, including those yet unborn."
Several senators are also opposed. The National Council of Churches (NCC) and FaithfulAmerica.org are calling on Americans to do their part to stop these changes. Surprisingly enough, it was an email this morning from the NCC that brought this issue to my attention.
If you are a photographer and you want to protect our National Parks from visual degradation, DO YOUR PART.
If you are a person of faith (no matter what religion) and you believe that stewardship of the earth and preserving the beauty of some of our national wonders is important, DO YOUR PART.
If you want your children and granchildren to be able to enjoy our National Parks in the future in the way that you have enjoyed them in the past, DO YOUR PART.
If you believe in the values of wilderness, tranquility, and peace, and you don't want our National Parks to sound more and more like amusement parks, DO YOUR PART.
If you use the form letter at the link below, it will take you less than two minutes to fill out and send. The NPS deadline for sending emails or post marking letters is February 18 at 11:59 pm MST.
While you are at it, write to your representatives in the House and Senate. Find your elect officials here.
Send an email to the NPS:
Send a message to the National Park Service with this online form letter from the Faithful America web site. Just fill in your name, email address, and mailing address and click "Send this message". You can edit the letter or write your own letter in the box provided.
You can also use the NPS comment form. You are limited to a 4,000 character message.
Or write to this NPS email address: waso_policy@nps.gov and use this subject line: "Comments on NPS Management Policies (ID: 12825)".
There is an online form letter you can log on and use at the Sierra Club web site and another online form at the National Parks Conservation Association web site.
Information Links:
The web site of Faithful America with more information about this issue.
Read the letter of protest to the NPS Director from National Park Service employees that served in executive level leadership positions with the park service prior to their retirement.
The National Parks Conservation Association is also opposed to the proposed NPS policy changes.
Some Republican and Democratic Senators oppose changes to proposed NPS policies changes.
The complete text of proposed revisions to National Park Service management policies.
National Council of Churches home page.
From the FaithfulAmerca.org web site, February 16, 2006.
From the National Council of Churches home page, February 16, 2006
You have until February 18 to do your part to save our National Parks. It will take you less than two minutes of your time if you use the form letter at the link below.
Proposed changes to the policies that have protected our National Parks can turn them into "A Noisy, Hazy, Off-road Nightmare." Keeping the 2001 NPS Management Policies would be much better for our parks than adopting the proposed changes.
A number of retired employees of the National Park Service, each of whom served the National Park Service in executive level leadership positions, are opposed to the proposed changes and have explained their concerns in a detailed letter. The signers of the letter include three Deputy Directors that served between 1975 and 2002 and a long list of Regional, Associate, and Center Directors. Their letter will tell you most of what you need to know (see the "letter of protest" link below). They call the proposed changes "a drastic and dangerous departure from a longstanding national consensus." They go on to say "We are especially troubled by the omission from the opening sections of the Management Policies of their long-established emphasis upon the NPS’s overriding responsibility to preserve resources on behalf of all Americans, including those yet unborn."
Several senators are also opposed. The National Council of Churches (NCC) and FaithfulAmerica.org are calling on Americans to do their part to stop these changes. Surprisingly enough, it was an email this morning from the NCC that brought this issue to my attention.
If you are a photographer and you want to protect our National Parks from visual degradation, DO YOUR PART.
If you are a person of faith (no matter what religion) and you believe that stewardship of the earth and preserving the beauty of some of our national wonders is important, DO YOUR PART.
If you want your children and granchildren to be able to enjoy our National Parks in the future in the way that you have enjoyed them in the past, DO YOUR PART.
If you believe in the values of wilderness, tranquility, and peace, and you don't want our National Parks to sound more and more like amusement parks, DO YOUR PART.
If you use the form letter at the link below, it will take you less than two minutes to fill out and send. The NPS deadline for sending emails or post marking letters is February 18 at 11:59 pm MST.
While you are at it, write to your representatives in the House and Senate. Find your elect officials here.
Send an email to the NPS:
Send a message to the National Park Service with this online form letter from the Faithful America web site. Just fill in your name, email address, and mailing address and click "Send this message". You can edit the letter or write your own letter in the box provided.
You can also use the NPS comment form. You are limited to a 4,000 character message.
Or write to this NPS email address: waso_policy@nps.gov and use this subject line: "Comments on NPS Management Policies (ID: 12825)".
There is an online form letter you can log on and use at the Sierra Club web site and another online form at the National Parks Conservation Association web site.
Information Links:
The web site of Faithful America with more information about this issue.
Read the letter of protest to the NPS Director from National Park Service employees that served in executive level leadership positions with the park service prior to their retirement.
The National Parks Conservation Association is also opposed to the proposed NPS policy changes.
Some Republican and Democratic Senators oppose changes to proposed NPS policies changes.
The complete text of proposed revisions to National Park Service management policies.
National Council of Churches home page.
From the FaithfulAmerca.org web site, February 16, 2006.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Happy Valentine's Day!
Grocery store, February 14, late in the afternoon. Photo (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
Ah! Valentine's Day. I was at a local grocery store about an hour ago and the flower section was packed with men and women doing some last minute shopping. The card section was packed too and the card shelves looked like a tornado had gone through.
Despite all the reports in the media about how stressful this day can be (Men: "What if I don't choose the PERFECT gift?" Women: "What should I wear?"), I like Valentine's Day. The flowers I bought are in a vase, the card purchased, the gift ready to go, and I will take my favorite girl out to dinner later this evening. It's a good day. Maybe this day is less stressful since I am less perfectionistic than I used to be (at least that is what I keep telling myself). So what if things aren't just perfect? Flowers orders can get lost, dinner reservations get mixed up, things can and do go wrong. So? What really matters is the people we care about.
If you haven't done so already (and it doesn't matter what day you read this post) it's a good day to call, write, or email some of the special people in your life and tell them how much they mean to you.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Grocery store, February 14, late in the afternoon. Photo (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
Ah! Valentine's Day. I was at a local grocery store about an hour ago and the flower section was packed with men and women doing some last minute shopping. The card section was packed too and the card shelves looked like a tornado had gone through.
Despite all the reports in the media about how stressful this day can be (Men: "What if I don't choose the PERFECT gift?" Women: "What should I wear?"), I like Valentine's Day. The flowers I bought are in a vase, the card purchased, the gift ready to go, and I will take my favorite girl out to dinner later this evening. It's a good day. Maybe this day is less stressful since I am less perfectionistic than I used to be (at least that is what I keep telling myself). So what if things aren't just perfect? Flowers orders can get lost, dinner reservations get mixed up, things can and do go wrong. So? What really matters is the people we care about.
If you haven't done so already (and it doesn't matter what day you read this post) it's a good day to call, write, or email some of the special people in your life and tell them how much they mean to you.
Happy Valentine's Day!
