Wild Postcards

“The United States believes strongly in what you call soft power, the value of democracy, the value of the free economic system, the value of making sure that each citizen is free and free to pursue their own God-given ambitions and to use the talents that they were given by God. And that is what we say to the rest of the world. That is why we participated in establishing a community of democracy within the Western Hemisphere. It’s why we participate in all of these great international organizations.

“There is nothing in American experience or in American political life or in our culture that suggests we want to use hard power. But what we have found over the decades is that unless you do have hard power — and here I think you’re referring to military power — then sometimes you are faced with situations that you can’t deal with.

“I mean, it was not soft power that freed Europe. It was hard power. And what followed immediately after hard power? Did the United States ask for dominion over a single nation in Europe? No. Soft power came in the Marshall Plan. Soft power came with American GIs who put their weapons down once the war was over and helped all those nations rebuild. We did the same thing in Japan.

“So our record of living our values and letting our values be an inspiration to others I think is clear. And I don’t think I have anything to be ashamed of or apologize for with respect to what America has done for the world.

“We have gone forth from our shores repeatedly over the last hundred years… and put wonderful young men and women at risk, many of whom have lost their lives, and we have asked for nothing except enough ground to bury them in, and otherwise we have returned home… to live our own lives in peace.”

– Secretary of State Colin Powell, at the World Economic Forum, 26 January 2003, responding to an assertion by George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, that the United States ”is in danger of relying too much upon the hard power and not enough upon building trust”.

The United States believes strongly in what you call soft power, the value of democracy, the value of the free economic system, the value of making sure that each citizen is free and free to pursue their own God-given ambitions and to use the talents that they were given by God. And that is what [...]

“Between 1935 and 1943 the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project printed over two million posters in 35,000 different designs to stir the public’s imagination for education, theater, health, safety, and travel. Due to their fragile nature only two thousand posters have survived. This contemporary design illustrates many of the WPA-era posters, including those of our National Parks.” And so, alas, it’s not a reproduction of an authentic WPA poster, but it did fool me. This brilliant re-creation is by Doug Leen and Brian Maebius.

This card comes from Marsha, who bought this card in Hawaii in January, and mailed it to me from Wisconsin in February.

Want to visit some other exotic places from times past? Check out today’s Postcard Friendship Friday.

“Between 1935 and 1943 the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project printed over two million posters in 35,000 different designs to stir the public’s imagination for education, theater, health, safety, and travel. Due to their fragile nature only two thousand posters have survived. This contemporary design illustrates many of the WPA-era posters, including those of [...]

So, naturally, my first postcard sent from Bahrain would feature Algiers, the capital of Algeria, some 2,800 miles away. This somewhat-dated postcard appears to feature what’s probably the main post office in Algiers. Like so many countries, the post office there also seems to control telephone service, as evidenced by the signage / inscription on the building (just under the top row of windows; you can click on the postcard to see a larger image).

The sender, a young Bahraini girl, confirms my impression that this is an older card by stating that Algeria “doesn’t look like this anymore”, implying that she has visited there recently. She’s also somewhat displeased at the lack of variety in Bahraini postage stamps; I can certainly see her point.

So, naturally, my first postcard sent from Bahrain would feature Algiers, the capital of Algeria, some 2,800 miles away. This somewhat-dated postcard appears to feature what’s probably the main post office in Algiers. Like so many countries, the post office there also seems to control telephone service, as evidenced by the signage / inscription on [...]

“Artist’s conception of the 1101-foot long, 252-foot canted deck Attack Carrier, the Navy’s most powerful offensive weapon. Built by the Newport News (Va.) Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, she was christened by Mrs. William B. Franke (wife of the then-Secretary of the Navy. — Ed.) on September 24, 1960. A flight deck, five city blocks long, and over a block wide, makes the ENTERPRISE the largest ship afloat and the first to be driven by atomic power.” She’s the eighth ship to bear the name Enterprise.

After 49 years, not only is she still afloat, but she’s still the fastest aircraft carrier in the world. I’d say the American people got their money’s worth on this one. Happy anniversary, Enterprise!

“Artist’s conception of the 1101-foot long, 252-foot canted deck Attack Carrier, the Navy’s most powerful offensive weapon. Built by the Newport News (Va.) Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, she was christened by Mrs. William B. Franke (wife of the then-Secretary of the Navy. — Ed.) on September 24, 1960. A flight deck, five city blocks [...]