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Quote of the Day: “Courage is grace under pressure.” — Ernest Hemingway

* The C.I.A.’s 1953 overthrow of the democratic government of Iran that led to all the problems we have with that country today 
* The Gulf of Tonkin fraud that Lyndon Johnson used to entrench America in Vietnam 
* Support for groups in Afghanistan who went on to become the Taliban and Al Qaeda”

Well, we as a nation weren’t very graceful after 9-11. Our reaction led us to . . .

* Trash our Constitution and our Bill of Rights
* A bungled invasion of Afghanistan
* And a completely unnecessary war and occupation in Iraq

Sadly, this kind of thing has happened many times before. For instance . . .

Way back in 1898 the Battleship Maine exploded in Havana Harbor. Decades later the Navy determined that the explosion had been an accident, but . . . 

The hysterical way Americans reacted at the time led to a pointless war with Spain, followed by an evil war of colonial conquest in the Philippines.

In other words . . .

Hysteria led to an overreaction that resulted in a disaster, just like after 9-11.

Something similar happened during World War I. Our politicians loudly claimed neutrality, but they were not neutral. Instead . . . More