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Containing Some Archived Thoughts and Views of this site's Good Visitors

Gentle Readers: As you will soon discern, the forum does not serve as a blog discussion zone, although the original intent was that it might evolve in that direction. Years later, and approximately a ton of spam down the road, poorwilliam (Will Henry) was convinced that he could not attain the intended goal. At that juncture in early-2008 he shut down the Forum activity. Some moribund remnants are displayed here for historical consideration in the interest of full disclosure. Please do not assume that all other parts of this site have been similarly truncated. The Almanack pages are updated as they are posted each year, and other features, (e.g. The Rightspeak Glossary) are regularly refreshed.

If you are moved to comment on something that poorwilliam (Will Henry) has said, you can do so by sending email to: comments@poorwilliam.net.   He will make an honest effort to respond to your questions directly.

forum    Archives


Kudos

Very clever, refreshing and informative!

Cheryl
1/31/2008


William's response:

Very welcome, succinct, and appreciated.

I beg to remain,
Your Humble Servant,

Will Henry


very small inoffensive error
Hello William

On page http://www.poorwilliam.net/al-082907.html you quote the date as Tuesday, August 29, 2007 this date does not, on earth anyway, exist, of course.

Nice site, I enjoy it.

Nick
8/30/2007


William's response:

Dear Nick,

Thanks for pointing out this error (since corrected thanks to you). As a one-man operation, I do not have the benefit of a proofreader, and my spell-checker steadfastly refuses to recognize garbled dates, incorrect names, erroneous figures, and a host of more grievous errors of which I am no doubt guilty.

I wish more folks would take the trouble to point out goofs. It is also nice to know that there are fellow creatures out there who actually read what I have to say as carefully as you apparently do.

I appreciate the kind words about the site. The Good Wife occasionally urges me to get a real job, but william remains stubbornly unrepentant.

I beg to remain,
Your Humble Servant,

Will Henry


Thanks for what You are doing!!
Thoveasse
Thank You!


William's response:

Dear Thoveasse,

I appreciate the kind words about the site. I am doing what my parents and my public school education taught me to do as a US Citizen. Remain informed as to current events, and speak out for what I believe in.

I beg to remain,
Your Humble Servant,

Will Henry


thanks

Dear William,

whenever our U.K.news leads us to think that the U.S.A. is a country peopled and lead by right wing boneheads I turn to your site.Your site always confirms that which I know to be true.. the vision of freedom found in the Declaration of Independence is still the bedrock of your country.
It is not my place (not that that has ever stopped me) to comment on G.W.Bush, but have you ever read Kipling's poem 'A Servant When He Reigneth'?

mike taylor
10/9/2006


William's response:

Dear Mike,

Good to hear from you again.

It would seem that you blokes over in the Mother Country are several years ahead of us in ridding yourself of a leader who thinks the way to bring about freedom and security in the world is to wage foreign wars and murder lots of innocent civilians. Oh well, we Colonials have always been slow learners.

I have it now:

A Servant When He Reigneth

Three things make earth unquiet
And four she cannot brook
The godly Agur counted them
And put them in a book --
Those Four Tremendous Curses
With which mankind is cursed;
But a Servant when He Reigneth
Old Agur entered first.

An Handmaid that is Mistress
We need not call upon.
A Fool when he is full of Meat
Will fall asleep anon.
An Odious Woman Married
May bear a babe and mend;
But a Servant when He Reigneth
Is Confusion to the end.

His feet are swift to tumult,
His hands are slow to toil,
His ears are deaf to reason,
His lips are loud in broil.
He knows no use for power
Except to show his might.
He gives no heed to judgment
Unless it prove him right.

Because he served a master
Before his Kingship came,
And hid in all disaster
Behind his master's name,
So, when his Folly opens
The unnecessary hells,
A Servant when He Reigneth
Throws the blame on some one else.

His vows are lightly spoken,
His faith is hard to bind,
His trust is easy boken,
He fears his fellow-kind.
The nearest mob will move him
To break the pledge he gave --
Oh, a Servant when he Reigneth
Is more than ever slave!

Rudyard Kipling

After reading the Kipling poem, I definitely see many of the traits of Bush II on display in it. Alas, the analogy breaks down over the term servant. I cannot believe that George Bush has ever been a servant to anyone in his pampered life. He certainly has not served my country well or honestly. Indeed, I would be surprised to learn that Mr. Bush ever did an honest day's work in his life.

I beg to remain,
Your Humble Servant,

Will Henry


A Modest Proposal

Dear William,

I am not too sure about your proposed amendment to your Constitution. I can however see what you are trying to say.

The question I would ask is, 'would the U.S.A.would have come into WW2 had this amendment been in place?'

Sometimes it is only the vision of one or two people that leads us on and changes the future for the better.

It is to be regreted that such people are few and far between. Mostly we end up with the other sort.

all the best
mike taylor

January 29, 2006


William's response:

Dear Mike,

Thanks for commenting again. The page you refer to A Modest Proposal has been one of the most visited pages on my site. I imagine that the reason for that activity is the controversial nature of the proposal. In answer to your question about the US entry into WW-II, it was the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor that precipitated the US declaration of war against Japan, followed swifty by the German declaration of war against the US, at which point my country was all in. Given the dramatic nature of the Pearl Harbor attack and the reaction it provoked throughout the land, there is little doubt in my mind that whoever was president, and whatever the makeup of congress, war would have been declared whether the amendment I propose was in place or not.

The more interesting speculation is whether my proposed change would have prevented the US involvement in Korea, or Vietnam, or Iraq, or any one of the other undeclared wars and foreign adventures my country has engaged in since WW-II. If it had kept us out of just one of those conflicts, it would have been IMHO worth the trouble.

As for the strong leaders with a vision that lead us on, I am of the belief that times of crisis produce great leaders, not the other way round. I would further submit that it is far too easy for leaders who are not at risk, and have no offspring at risk, and have not seen real blood spilled, to order men into battle to die. Witness the current Iraq mess that was perpetrated by a bunch who largely avoided combat themselves. We have a name for them over here. Chicken Hawks.

I beg to remain,
Your Humble Servant,

Will Henry


Nice site
Hi William,

Interesting website! I wonder what Ben Franklin would think! I suppose he might be just as interested in having an internet blog as you. Thanks for taking all the time and work.
RR RR
October 29, 2005


William's response:
Dear RR,

Thanks for the kind words. Ben Franklin would not only be publishing better stuff on the web than I am, he would have figured out some way to make a living at it, which I, alas, have not.

I beg to remain,
Your Humble Servant,

Will Henry


SLAM DUNK
The town I live in,Woking,Surrey,U.K., has the oldest Mousque in England. We also have the oldest Muslem graveyard. Know locally as 'Blackmans Cemetary'. This dates from W.W.1 when the bodies of fallen Muslem Soldiers where brought back to England to be buried. I know and work with many Muslems and they have an intresting take on what is going on. Firstly they beieve to a man that the west is on a crusade against Islam. They also are plesed to see Saddam fall and wish the U.S.A. and Britain would invade other Middle East countries and remove what they call'puppet govenments'. These are the oil rich Kingdoms. On the Election and Referendom they do not understand how the West is so silly. The Shiits and the Kurds are only intrested in one thing..independant statehood. It is this that the Sounies fear. A fear also shared by the Turks who do not want an independant or simi-autominous Kurdish state.

What the West sees has a vote for freedom they see as a means of achieving their long held dreams. Is this freedom? I think so, but not as Bush or Blair see it.

mike taylor
26/10/2005


William's response:

Dear Mike,

Thank you for forwarding your views and insights to the forum. Your email was one of a handful salvaged from the wreckage of my mailbox, and I apologize for not responding to it in timely fashion. While I think it is dangerous to generalize from one Woking, Surrey, Muslim community, or to draw conclusions as to whole populations from a personal circle of friends and acquaintances, you make some interesting points.

It is small wonder that a Muslim community should see Bush as on a crusade of some sort since that is the very term he used when he began his foreign adventures (until one of his spin-doctors pointed out how inflammatory such a label would be). As the polls now reflect, his views do not correspond with those of a majority of Americans. Some of us have opposed him from the start.

As for the various ethnic and religious factions in Iraq seeking independent status, that is surely one of the possible outcomes of our meddling in the Middle East. It was you blokes that cobbled together the state called Iraq, but out of it has emerged an Iraqi identity of sorts. Whether that national identity is strong enough to overcome the old differences and hostilities, and bring about a government of unity, remains to be seen. I would bet that few in the Eighteenth Century believed that thirteen American colonies could band together to form a stable nation.

As the Bush Administration is learning, it takes more than the act of voting to create a democracy. The election results in the Palestinian Territories are a case on point.

I beg to remain,
Your Humble Servant,

Will Henry


http://www.kyiv.it
Saluti da Kiev http://www.kyiv.it

Somovar
http://www.kyiv.it
December 26, 2004

William's response:
Dear Somovar,

I do not know you, but I am pleased you submitted a comment, however brief. When I followed the link to your website it appeared to be in Italian (which I do not speak) but about the Ukrainian city of Kiev, which has been much in the news lately.

I am proud of my Ukrainian roots these days because of the wonderful stand that the people have taken to secure a freely elected government. My paternal grandfather, a tailor, was born in Kiev in the Nineteenth Century. My mother, Sonia, was born in a little village near Odessa in the Twentieth Century.

I look forward to welcoming the birthplace of my ancestors to the family of free and democratic nations.

I beg to remain,
Your Obedient Servant,

Will Henry


The Solution To 9-11

Dear Mr. Henry

I think that your criticism of the Bush Administration's reaction to the tragedy of 9-11 is unfair. It is easy for you and others to look back with 20-20 hindsight and find fault with the President's policies to combat terrorism, but you have offered no better alternative. Unless you can propose something that will keep the country safer, you should be quiet.

Silence Dogood, New Castle, Pennsylvania
April 20, 2004

William's response:
Dear Ms. Dogood,

Thank you for submitting another comment to the Forum. If you took exception to The Solution To 9-11 item, I imagine you will really hate Sail On in the Almanack, in addition to To Change the World , Strange Fruit #1 , The Solution To 9-11 , and Accountability for What? in the Journal.

Actually, I have offered a number of alternative and much less costly (in blood and billions) proposals to the President's new Homeland Security bureaucracy and his disastrous venture into Iraq, and you will find them at the essay entitled There Is a War On in the Journal.

You should understand that I have the highest regard and respect for the Presidency of this Great Nation, nor do I bear ill will toward President Bush as a person. Other than the obvious facts that he has failed in his most basic responsibility to safeguard my Country, involved us in a disastrous war of aggression under false pretenses, caused the unnecessary death and maiming of several thousands of my comrades in arms, shifted the burden of taxation from the rich onto the backs of my children and grandchildren, dismantled and reversed two decades of environmental progress, shipped millions of US jobs overseas, supported repressive measures to limit my personal freedoms and privacy, and changed the image of my Country from one of hope and liberty into an object of hatred and ridicule all over the World, he would probably make a satisfactory Commander in Chief and Chief Executive.

The Pennsylvania countryside must be lovely in the Spring of the year. I trust you are enjoying its beauty.

I beg to remain,
Your Obedient Servant,

Will Henry


Savate

Yeah, I know you are a kick in the ass,
and quite possibly well versed in one or more martial arts,
but ...
Re: "... By that little-known Savate, ..."

savate
A form of boxing in which kicking as well as punching is permitted.
[French, from Old French, old shoe.]

savant
\Sa`vant"\, n.; pl. Savants (F. ?; E. ?). [F., fr. savoir to know, L. sapere. See Sage,
a.] A man of learning; one versed in literature or science; a person eminent for acquirements

Bill Nipper, Laidback, California
March 31, 2004

William's response:

Dear Mr. Nipper,

How astute of you to spot this gaffe. There was no way you could have known it was booby-trapped, and you are truly that one in a hundred fellow that I wrote it for.
Dr. Franklin did indeed use the term "savant" in the frontispiece to his Almanack. He was surely entitled to that descriptor, as he undoubtedly was a man of learning versed in both literature and science, and a person most eminent for his acquirements. My own credentials are somewhat shakier, if not downright suspect, and I therefore chose the other term you mention. Remember that William is not a Poet but a Prankster be. Please see the recently uploaded piece in the Archives entitled Get a Clue .
By the way, how are things in Laidback? I heard that after I left, they paved Paradise and put up a Parking Lot.

I beg to remain,
Your Obedient Servant,

Will Henry


No Sweats

Dear Mr. William or Henry (Whoever you are)

I found your piece with the above title to be both blasphemous and offensive. Shame on you for publishing this trash.

Silence Dogood, New Castle, Pennsylvania
March 12, 2004

William's response:
Dear Ms. Dogood,

Thank you for taking the time and trouble to submit your comment. It has been a long time since we heard from you, and I congratulate you on having held your sharp tongue for about two centuries. This is clearly a new indoor record.

That you should find my work offensive is neither surprising nor of great concern to me, since it is virtually impossible not to offend some people with one's communications, be they verbal or non-verbal. I invite your attention to the Almanack entry for January 25, 2004 - Not One Word, which deals with this very issue.

Your use of the term blasphemous is more troubling. I can assure you that I intend to disparage no one's religion or personal spiritual belief by my writing, and that the piece in question was meant only as my attempt at humor. It was written without malice or rancor directed at any God or any person. Separating the sacred from the profane remains a tricky question however. Please see my entry in the Almanack dated February 5, 2004 on the subject of sanctity.

I know that in your day blasphemy was often considered a crime. It is our great good fortune to now live in a country that by the First Amendment to its Constitution forbids establishment of a state religion, and guarantees to every citizen freedom of worship (or not to worship) and freedom of expression. I would submit that blasphemy, while a demonstration of exceedingly poor taste, can never be a crime in these United States, and that if it should indeed become one, it will be time to think about moving elsewhere.

I beg to remain,
Your Obedient Servant,

Will Henry


A Fable (Continued)

William,

I don't know where you get off making fun of the President on your website. In times like this we Patriotic Americans should close ranks and support him against our enemies. You owe Mr. Bush an apology.

Douglas Downeaster, Moribund, Maine
March 10, 2004

William's response:

Dear Mr. Downeaster,

Thank you for your interest in the Poor William Forum. The piece in the Journal that you referred to entitled A Fable (Continued) is of course fictional, and any resemblance between the Emperor in that story and Emperor you refer to in your email is coincidental.

Assuming purely for the sake of argument that my piece has something to do with the current administration and its Chief Executive, I will try to respond to the substance of your comment. It strikes me as exceedingly arrogant that this President, who received less than a majority of the vote of his fellow citizens for the office he now holds, should assume that he has a mandate to ignore the previous commitment of our Nation to the rule of law, and to make war on other sovereign states based on faulty intelligence and the fact that he disapproved of the regime that was currently in power (terrible though that may have been). As a Patriotic American with twenty years of military service, including combat experience, I believe that it is my duty to stand up for my comrades in arms who are currently serving in Iraq, and who are getting picked off like mechanical bears in a midway shooting gallery.

Mr. Bush ran for office on a platform that promised no nation building. I read his lips. Now he has embarked on a mission to establish a Western Style Democracy in the Middle East, regardless of what the people there want or need. We are paying for this misguided policy with American Blood and our taxpayer dollars (well over $100 Billion to date and likely to exceed three times that amount by the time we are finished). I think that Mr. Bush owes me and the rest of the citizens of this Nation an apology, and an explanation.

Is the lobster on the wharf at Booths Bay Harbor still as good as used to be, Douglas? I have never tasted better.

I beg to remain,
Your Obedient Servant,

Will Henry


If you are moved to comment on something that poorwilliam (Will Henry) has said, you can do so by sending email to: comments@poorwilliam.net.

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