"Life has a way of reminding you of big things through small incidents"

Like Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Tiny and Baby have never believed you base foreign policy on trust. This morning Tiny's frequent gentleman caller (Chelsea-Grayish hottie below), a regular patron of the Gardener's Catnip Pub out on the terrace, put the Chelsea Grays on red alert (above). Our camera's shutter was too slow to catch Cartier-Bresson's "Decisive Moment" when, all fur and fury, our feline border guards rushed the intruder and ran him off the property.

"I have never believed you base foreign policy on trust," Defense Secretary Robert Gates is telling inquiring reporters at a live Pentagon press conference this morning. Fox News dipped into it briefly but then left the press room to bring us the latest on the burning question of "Where is Caylee?" Fortunately, C-Span's priorities more closely matched our own, so we were able to catch the Secretary's punchline:

I believe you base foreign policy on interests and on realities.

Like President Reagan, Tiny's suitor would never trust before verifying. Here he freezes in fight-or-flight mode, calculating how much of a threat we pose focussing our camera from the back door nearby. Just after this shot, he continued down the path past the Gardener's Catnip Bar toward the spot just beyond the gate where Tiny and Baby lay in wait (above).

"We must keep up our guard, but we must also continue to work together to lessen and eliminate tension and mistrust," said President Reagan in his farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office January 11, 1989, as relevant as ever in the context of recent developments in the Russia-Georgia conflict:

But life has a way of reminding you of big things through small incidents. Once, during the heady days of the Moscow summit, Nancy and I decided to break off from the entourage one afternoon to visit the shops on Arbat Street--that's a little street just off Moscow's main shopping area. Even though our visit was a surprise, every Russian there immediately recognized us and called out our names and reached for our hands. We were just about swept away by the warmth. You could almost feel the possibilities in all that joy. But within seconds, a KGB detail pushed their way toward us and began pushing and shoving the people in the crowd. It was an interesting moment. It reminded me that while the man on the street in the Soviet Union yearns for peace, the government is Communist. And those who run it are Communists, and that means we and they view such issues as freedom and human rights very differently …

I want the new closeness to continue. And it will, as long as we make it clear that we will continue to act in a certain way as long as they continue to act in a helpful manner. If and when they don't, at first pull your punches. If they persist, pull the plug. It's still trust but verify. It's still play, but cut the cards. It's still watch closely. And don't be afraid to see what you see.

Those who do not study Reagan's words are doomed to repeat the mistakes of history?

Update: Those who do not study the animals are doomed to miss out on all things bright and beautiful. Solution: Modulator's Friday Ark #204.

Comments

[Gayle Miller]

That is a very handsome cat - not as handsome as the Chelsea Greys or Sam the Wonder Cat - but still, that cat does at least come CLOSE!

[goomp]

It is the nature of living things including humankind to obtain the best results obtainable from the situations which we face. Continued existence depends upon so doing. Verified trust is essential. Unverified trust leads to poor results and economic and even virtual slavery. Retribution to those who violate our trust is essential for an ordered world.

[Mitch]

Are your critters Maine Coons? That looks like a ruff on their chests.

[Sissy Willis]

Mitch -- We're convinced there's some Maine Coon in there. Vet thinks so too. Besides their looks, the Chelsea Grays have the presence of that noble breed. How is Winston?

[Gayle Miller]

Well Sam the Wonder Cat is also a Maine Coon. Aren't they a magnificent breed? And I love the ruff! Are yours vain about having that groomed? Sam certainly is. He absolutely PREENS when I get to that part of his daily "toilette"!

[Sissy Willis]

Gayle: Magnificent they are. Tiny loves to have her ruff combed, but Baby is a bit tetchy about being groomed and may quickly turn, i.e., grab your hand or the comb itself with tooth and claw. :-)

[Mitch]

Winston, I'm sorry to say, has fallen in with bad company – the dog – and picked up bad habits, like sniffing butts and humping legs.

[Teresa]

"It's still trust but verify."

I'm always highly amused that liberal foreign policy is "trust every other country, but never your own". The naiveté is astounding. They would never conduct their own lives in this manner, yet they expect us as a country to do so.

As usual, I see Tiny and Baby are in fine fur. *grin*

[retriever]

Love it! The images as well as the message.