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In a land where all voices could once have their say,

Two figures arose, and they wanted their way.

One named Trump, with a suit and a tie,

And the other was Vance, with a glint in his eye.

They huffed and they puffed, saying, "We know the best!"

But the people could see through their boastful zest.

With fingers they pointed, with words they did lash,

Spreading ideas that could make freedoms crash.

"Let's silence the folks who don't think like we do!

And twist all the facts 'til they fit our own view!"

They wanted more power, no questions, no doubt—

A democracy's light they aimed to snuff out.

But the people, you see, were both brave and quite smart.

They knew from the start how to play their own part.

They stood up, they spoke up, they said, "Not today!"

For freedom's too precious to let slip away.

So remember this lesson, both big kids and small:

When someone wants power, it’s not theirs to take all.

In a land that is free, every voice gets a turn—

That’s the lesson to keep, and the one we must learn!

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This is genius

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Genius, Eric! Any objection to my posting your poem along with a Seuss political comic on my neighborhood Bulletin Board? 📋

Look at my Instagram account, @Radaghast11, to see current & previous posts.

And Peter, if you don’t mind I’ll also tack up a copy of your excellent piece. All with credit, of course. 🙂

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Go for it!

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Finally got the Seuss post up on my Board! 😄 Still working on how to “mount” Peter’s essay (13 pages, “rebuilt” from screenshots and housed in a school report folder) to the board for our dog-walking crew to read.

Instagram/Radaghast11 (Mike McGraw)

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I checked out your Insta - Keep spreading the word!

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No objection at all, sir, although as I admitted to Peter, ChatGPT should share the byline.

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Finally got the Seuss post up on my Board! 😄 Still working on how to “mount” Peter’s essay (13 pages, “rebuilt” from screenshots and housed in a school report folder) to the board for our dog-walking crew to read.

Instagram/Radaghast11 (Mike McGraw)

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OK then. Up they’ll go and ChatGPT will get a credit. 😄

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Peter, I didn't know about Dr. Seuss's 'extra' activities. Thanks for this.

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That’s why I call it “The Forgotten Files”

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Thank you for the cartoons and your essay. I found you in a comment on Joyce Vance’s excellent post. I treasure people who allow comments from free subscribers.

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Thanks. Glad to hear my posts are resonating with folks.

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As did I! Interesting article & sits nicely with HCRs post from today. Betting her readers would find this of interest too!

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My Substack strives to offer historical context to contemporary issues. Pleased that it's working here

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Thanks for the education! I had no idea.

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if you follow the link at bottom of post it leads you to hundreds of Seuss's wartime cartoons. It was tough to pick just a selection

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I was reading this interesting book entitled:”the science of reading” and how dr. Seuss books were really involved in “the reading wars” (phonics vs whole language) because of dr. Seuss books “the phonics” approach to reading won out.

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I was a social studies teacher. Never served in that war. Grin

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From what I'm reading about education today - the current approach IS "whole language".

Read an article on it a short time ago.

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AmeriCa dies, as Gaza is destroyed by Netanyahu's zionist genocide, the Middle East is bombed into oblivion, lynching & social unrest in the USA again! We watch trump's fascist ameriKKKa on the rise 2024!

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THIS needs to be part of education. We got to watch Sam I Am, Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, and many others as little getaways from class in grade school. Probably because 1) it was too scary and over our heads and 2) in the 1970s it was beyond comprehension and it would ever matter again.

Obviously, not educating young people via the module...modem...device... that suits their needs has allowed the dumbass chickenshits to come home to roost.

Time to build a new chicken coop.

That's filled with feathers, and not with poop.

Cuz the poop falls below

On the people we know

Whose worldview continues to droop.

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Thank you for sharing, Peter.

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PAINFULLY TRUE!

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I have this book: Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The WWII Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Geisel. It’s excellent.

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Lucky you. A treasure, no doubt.

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100%

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Just saw your brilliant article--thanks for posting! Along those lines, you might enjoy this piece I wrote for Medium a few years back about Dr. Seuss:

https://medium.com/@meatlocker/new-eyes-27c286287ce0

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RD. A thoughtful piece. Just think how crazy things have gotten since you wrote it.

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Thanks!

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Thank you for the Dr Seuss cartoons. Wow!

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You're welcome. And if those aren't enough - lots more here: Seuss cartoons: Dr. Seuss Political Cartoons. Special Collection & Archives, UC San Diego Library https://library.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dswenttowar/index.html

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Becoming president forever

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The Japanese 5th Column cartoon was soon after Pearl Harbor attack. Seen as "sneaky" on a Sunday morning.

Of course a catastrophic failure of American defenses. Were they expecting a Declaration of War then a date to commence hostilities?

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A model of decency was Suess.

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