Onblass.com News1 - Your Consolidated News Source - Tracing the fires of Berkeley Springs

Newsflash

DENVER (AP) -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain, ridiculing Barack Obama for "the audacity of hopelessness" in his policies on Iraq, said Friday that the entire Middle East could have plunged into war had U.S. troops been withdrawn as his rival advocated. Speaking to an audience of Hispanic military veterans, McCain stepped up his criticism of Obama while the Illinois senator continued his headline-grabbing tour of the Middle East and Europe. The Arizona Republican contended that Obama's policies -- he opposed sending more troops to Iraq in the "surge" that McCain supported -- would have led to defeat there and in Afghanistan. "We rejected the audacity of hopelessness, and we were right," McCain said, a play on the title of Obama's book "The Audacity of Hope." McCain laid out a near-apocalyptic chain of events he said could have resulted had Obama managed to stop the troop buildup ordered by President Bush: U.S. forces retreating under fire, the Iraqi army collapsing, civilian casualties increasing dramatically, al-Qaida killing cooperative Sunni sheiks and finding safe havens to train fighters and launch attacks on Americans, and civil war, genocide and a wider conflict. "Above all, America would have been humiliated and weakened," he said. "Terrorists would have seen our defeat as evidence America lacked the resolve to defeat them. As Iraq descended into chaos, other countries in the Middle East would have come to the aid of their favored factions, and the entire region might have erupted in war." Noting that the buildup was unpopular with most Americans, McCain said: "Sen. Obama told the American people what he thought you wanted to hear. I told you the truth." Obama has called for a withdrawal over 16 months. McCain again criticized him for advocating "a politically expedient timetable" and for voting against funding for troops. McCain had raised eyebrows earlier this week by charging that Obama "would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign." With once exception, Obama has voted for every spending bill for troops at war. In 2007, Bush vetoed a bill that provided funding on condition of troop withdrawals, and Obama joined 13 other senators who opposed the measure that took its place. McCain's speech in Denver came at the conclusion of a week in which he struggled against Obama's overseas tour de force. Yet amid the awkward moments, McCain managed to campaign busily in key battleground states and to raise millions of dollars at fundraisers. Polls in many swing states are close, and some are tightening. The Arizona Republican sought to turn this to his advantage in what was clearly a difficult week to be a stay-at-home candidate. McCain repeatedly emphasized his long military and congressional background, scolded Obama from afar on foreign policy, and kept playfully fueling speculation that he was close to picking a running mate. His address to the group of Hispanic veterans also gave him a chance to court the valued Hispanic vote. McCain was to visit the Dalai Lama in Aspen, Colo., his first meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader and a chance to express criticism of Chinese treatment of those who live in Tibet just weeks before the Olympics in Beijing. McCain also was to spend the weekend in Arizona and make a round of television news shows on Sunday. Everywhere he went in recent days -- in New Hampshire, Maine, Pennsylvania, Ohio and here in Colorado -- the Arizona senator drew warm and appreciative crowds. No matter that many, if not most, of those in the audiences were senior citizens. Seniors vote in big numbers. For the most part, the side-by-side images weren't pretty: --Obama meeting with leaders in Iraq, McCain on a golf cart in Kennebunkport, Maine, with the first President Bush. --Obama before a sweeping Mideast landscape, McCain holding a news conference in a supermarket in Bethlehem -- Pennsylvania, that is -- and narrowly escaping an attack from a tumbling stack of apple sauce jars. --Obama delivering his trip's keynote speech at Berlin's Victory Column, McCain eating bratwurst and chatting with reporters at a German restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. McCain responds philosophically when asked about being overshadowed by his rival's overseas trip and outsize attention: "It is what it is." McCain has inched ahead of Obama in Colorado, come within inches in Minnesota and narrowed the gap in Michigan and Wisconsin, according to Quinnipiac University polls of likely voters in these battleground states. The polls, taken for The Wall Street Journal and washingtonpost.com, showed voters in each state saying energy policy is more important than the war in Iraq.

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites

Content Calendar

YouTubes OnBlass

Home

Blog

Tracing the fires of Berkeley Springs

Saturday, 29 November 2008

Tracing the fires of Berkeley Springs - 11/26/2008

The Museum of the Berkeley Springs is staging an informal chat about the more than 150-year pattern of destructive fires in the town as part of its annual meeting on Sunday, November 30, at 2 p.m. at the museum.

John Douglas and Jeanne Mozier lead the discussion using images and information from period news accounts and research done for the museum's new exhibit on the fires. The public is welcome to attend the free presentation.

"We are excited about the fires exhibit which will be up and ready for view when the museum opens for the 2009 season in March," said Tamme Marggraf, the museum's executive director. "There is so much exciting information, we wanted to show it off early."

The museum welcomes anyone with photographs or memories to share to come to the presentation.

Douglas is the editor of The Morgan Messenger and author of numerous books and articles on local and regional history. Mozier is an author and developer of the new exhibit.

The presentation and exhibit are funded in part by an "Our Town" grant from the West Virginia Humanities Council.

The complete exhibit features the formation of the town around the springs as well as a section on the fires.

"The part John and Jeanne are talking about on Sunday is called Town Burns and Burns and Burns...and Keeps Coming Back!" said Marggraf. "We want people to know the town has always survived."

An accurate map and timeline of the major fires will be available for the public to examine during the presentation.

A brief business segment precedes the discussion and includes election of members to the museum’s board of directors. Nominees for a two-year term on the board are: Phyllis Andrews, E. J. Fischer, Betty Lou Harmison, Jeanne Mozier and Mary Banks Nichols.

The Museum of the Berkeley Springs is located on the second floor of the Roman Bath House in Berkeley Springs State Park.

It is open on Saturdays and Sundays from March through December; Friday and Monday hours are added in the summer.

The Museum closes for the year on Sunday, December 7. For more information call

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites

< Prev		Next >

[ Back ]

OnBlass Weather

Dallas, Tx

Short Term Forecast - Dallas (Texas)

	Today: Slight Chance Rain 57°F \| 37°F
	Tomorrow: Mostly Sunny 64°F \| 39°F

Current Conditions:

The most current observation is more than 4015 hours old, please try again later.

Los Angeles, CA

	Today: Mostly Sunny 64°F \| 51°F
	Tomorrow: Mostly Sunny 69°F \| 51°F

Current Conditions:

The most current observation is more than 4808 hours old, please try again later.

Weather data provided by the National Weather Service

OnBlass Weather

Newsflash

Content Calendar

YouTubes OnBlass

Main Menu

Advertisement Images

Featured Articles

OnBlass Weather