Past Tense: In English, the so-called simple past form, sometimes called the preterite, is a true tense in that its use always places the action in the past.
The present perfect form is an aspect that relates the past to the present; it specifies a present state that results from past action, and as such it is a form of present tense even though it makes reference to past action.
It can be altered to move the time that the state is experienced to the past. The other basic form of English verbs is the progressive aspect form, which shows ongoing action; this too can be altered to place the action in the past.
English also has two forms, one of them unique to the past, that indicate past habitual action.
Another defining moment, courtesy of Wikipedia
Fast-Forwarding almost eight decades...
Yahoo!News, March 20, 2012:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had encouraging words Tuesday for a new investigation into one of the 20th century's most enduring mysteries: the fate of American aviator Amelia Earhart, who went missing without a trace over the South Pacific 75 years ago.
Clinton and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood gave their support and encouragement on Tuesday to historians, scientists and salvagers from The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, which is launching a new search for the wreckage of Earhart's Lockheed Electra plane in the waters off the remote island of Nikumaroro, in what is now the Pacific nation of Kiribati.
[Moos Note: Kiribati? I wrote about these folks last week. Coincidence? I dunno... Re-visit Wet Feet and Open Minds for more detail. I smell a Global Climate Change moment of Zen coming from Washington SOON...]
Earhart was an inspiration to Americans in difficult times as the nation struggled to emerge from the Great Depression, Clinton said, adding that her legacy can serve as a model for the country now.
[Moos Note: It's odd / surprising / sad that Ms. Clinton cites Amelia Earhart's legacy as an inspiration to Americans in difficult times - adding "that her legacy can serve as a model for the country now". Please note that I never said we were in a Depression, however, I believe that Secretary of State Clinton MAY have just done so.]
Never one to leave well-enough alone, Ms. Clinton continued...
"Amelia Earhart may have been a unlikely heroine for a nation down on its luck, but she embodies the spirit of an America coming of age and increasingly confident, ready to lead in a quite uncertain and dangerous world," Clinton said at a State Department event to announce the new search. "She gave people hope and she inspired them to dream bigger and bolder."
"Today, we meet at a time when the challenges are not so dire despite what you might hear on cable television or talk radio. But these are still difficult days for many Americans," she said. "After a long decade of war, terrorism and recession, there are some who are asking whether we still have what it takes to lead, and like that earlier generation we too could use some of Amelia's spirit."
"We can be as optimistic and even audacious as Amelia Earhart," she said. "We can be defined not by the limits that hold us down but by the opportunities that are ahead."
...
"The most important thing is not whether we find the ultimate answer or what we find, it is the way we look," he said. "We see this opportunity to explore ... the last great American mystery of the 20th century as a vehicle for demonstrating how to go about figuring out what is true."
The Obama administration takes no position on any of purported evidence and acknowledges there is fierce debate on the subject. But Clinton, who noted that the State Department and other federal agencies had actively supported Earhart's flight, cheered the searchers on.
"Even if you do not find what you seek, there is great honor and possibility in the search itself," she said. "So, like our lost heroine, you will all carry our hopes ... We are excited and looking forward to hear about your own great adventure."
Okay, so what's the deal? Why is the United States' Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, cheer leading for the project to locate Amelia Earhart's 'remains'?
Is it:
- To take our mind of our very own 'Great Recession'? [ I NEVER said the 'D' Word ]
- To make us aware that Global Climate Change might flood the island-nation of Kiribati?
- To encourage our Nation to 'look somewhere else' for 'something else'?
What's with all the nostalgia? Is this Secretary Clinton's way of taking our collective consciousness off a few of the actual challenges facing our Nation today?
Iran.
Iraq.
Afghanistan.
Greece.
Economic Free falls in Europe.
US Cities preparing once again to be 'Occupied'.
Unsustainable debt levels.
Middle-income Americans struggling to provide for their families.
Contraception. (Sorry, had to go there.)
Secretary of State Clinton wants to look for Amelia Earhart? Is it because looking to the past is easier than looking ahead into the future?
Did 'Hope and Change' actually happen 75 years ago?
If it already did happen, did our grandparents miss it too?
I honestly don't know. The only thing I do know is that the Obama Administration is highly adept at the art of diversion.
As a magician pulls a white bunny out of his hat while you're watching elsewhere on the stage - these guys are forever sending out stage hands to distract you.
The question is not "Why are we looking for Amelia Earhart?". The question is in truth, "What are we NOT supposed to be looking for WHILE we're talking about Amelia Earhart?"
My gut tells me that somehow the search will spotlight Kiribati and swing back to Stage Left as this 'sinking island nation' is thrust into the World view as a cautionary tale of global climate change and the general ugliness of man's existence.
Of course, I'm not ruling out the appearance of very large, very angry, and very hungry bunnies...
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