Thomas Jefferson Archives - Page 2 of 2

Kind of stupid stuff

This is actually a legitimate scientific theory…of the 18th century and before.

SamuraiFrog was complaining about some burnt-out rocker claiming President Obama was behind the recent mass shootings in Colorado and Wisconsin so that he can get a gun ban bill passed. And it wasn’t even Ted Nugent, this time. Yeah, it might have bothered me if I had heard of this guy, other than by the stupid things he blathers.

I’m actually much more peeved with the British. Diplomats suggested that they could invoke a little-known law to strip Ecuador’s embassy of diplomatic privileges, meaning police would be free to move in and detain [Julian] Assange. Does this mean that if, say, Iran, decided to threaten to void the diplomatic immunity of some Western country, that would be OK? I am guessing not. Oh, the Brits were just discussing options? Then do it in private. Where’s the “diplomacy” here? And, off topic, but I love the headline of this article: Assange to break silence amid diplomatic stoush. No American media source would use the word stouch – yay, ABC News, i.e., the Aussie version.

Roger Ebert has a good piece about what Thomas Jefferson called a wall of separation between Church & State. He writes: “That’s why it’s alarming to see so many politicians proposing to tear down that wall. It’s most evident in the eagerness of states to permit the teaching of Creationism (in the guise of Intelligent Design) in public schools, despite the ruling of a Pennsylvania U. S. District Court that ‘the overwhelming evidence at trial established that ID is a religious view, a mere re-labeling of creationism, and not a scientific theory.'”

Of course, the Republican candidate for US Senate from Missouri is so lame that the Republican Presidential and VP candidate had to distance themselves from him. “First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare,” said Todd Akin in an interview posted Sunday. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” This is actually a legitimate scientific theory…of the 18th century and before.

I’ve been following a discussion about the scoring in Olympic events. I must say that the yuckiest moment I saw was when some poor Romanian girl lost her bronze medal when the American coach was able to lodge a protest which went in the American gymnast’s favor. So many of the sports have these somewhat subjective, or at least somewhat mysterious, scoring system. I appreciate the effort by the diving folks, who throw out the highest and lowest scores. It’d be a dull (and short) Olympics if they only included the sports in which people ran the fastest, jumped the highest, threw the farthest, etc., and I am not advocating for this, but I do understand the sentiment.

This whole blog post, though, was really inspired by a trip Saturday to the Altamont Fair, the regional fair in the Albany, NY area. It’s a great event – we spent over six hours there. But on the rides were signs a bunch of rules, all of which made sense. Still, the necessity of the last two lines pained me:
DO NOT FORCE A CHILD TO RIDE IF HE OR SHE IS FRIGHTENED.
A SCARED CHILD ON THE GROUND MAY PANIC IN THE AIR.
The necessity of such a warning suggests that some parents are tools. sad.

So, to return to SamuraiFrog, let’s Dare to be Stupid.

Presidents Day

“Other than Ronald Reagan, who is your political hero?”

It’s Presidents Day, so I post oddball factoids about the guys that have held the office that I’ve come across in the past couple of months.

But first, a recent Final JEOPARDY! answer: Of the 20 presidents elected to a second term, 2 of the 3 who failed to complete that term. (Question at the end.)

#1- George Washington
He Came
During the American Revolutionary War, George Washington was riding on his horse one day when he passed by a group of soldiers who were busily engaged in raising a beam to the top of some military works. It was a difficult task, and the voice of the corporal in charge of the men could often be heard shouting, “Now you have it!”
“All ready! Pull!”
Unrecognized by the corporal and the other soldiers, Washington asked the corporal why he didn’t help his men.
“Sir,” replied the angered officer “do you not realize that I AM the CORPORAL?!?”
Washington politely raised his hat, saying, “I did not realize it. Beg your pardon… Mr. Corporal.”
Washington dismounted his horse and went to work helping the men until the beam was raised.
Before leaving, he turned to the corporal, and, wiping the perspiration from his face, said, “If ever you need assistance like this again, call upon Washington, your commander-in-chief, and I will come!” *

*Adapted from “An Anecdote of Washington” by Mara Pratt in American History Stories You Never Read in School But Should Have as qtd. by Jason Jackson in Stronger Than Ever (Christian Courier Publications; Stockton, CA; 2008.)

#3- Thomas Jefferson

#10- John Tyler
Jaquandor found this fascinating information about Old Tippecanoe’s Veep and longevity.

#16 Abraham Lincoln
Interview with Ronald C. White, Jr., author of A. Lincoln: A Biography

The ALA Public Programs Office, in partnership with the National Constitution Center (NCC) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), is pleased to announce a large-scale tour for the traveling exhibition “Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War.” Funding for the exhibition and tour is provided by a major grant from NEH’s We the People initiative.
Two hundred sites will be selected to host the 1,000 square foot exhibition for a period of six weeks each from September 2011 through May 2015. All showings of the exhibition will be free and open to the public.
Using the U.S. Constitution as its cohesive thread, “Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War” offers a fresh and innovative perspective on the Civil War that brings into focus the constitutional crises at the heart of this great conflict. The exhibition identifies these crises—the secession of the Southern states, slavery, and wartime civil liberties—and explores how Lincoln sought to meet these political and constitutional challenges.

But the big Lincoln news is that an altered Lincoln document is at the National Archives, where someone changed the date on a pardon from April 14, 1864, to April 14, 1865, the day Lincoln was shot. Worse, the comments, especially in the New York Times piece seem to desire to refight the Civil War.

#17- Andrew Johnson
The Presidential dollar coming out this month is of the first U.S. President ever to be impeached. Impeached means indicted by the House of Representatives; the Senate tries the case, and Johnson missed being convicted by a single vote.

Incidentally, I recently discovered that the mint mark (P for Philadelphia, D for Denver) is not on the face of the coin, but on the edge.

#18- Ulysses S. GrantA Great Bronze Tarnished by Neglect.
The most artistically accomplished memorial in Washington, D.C.—as well as the most overlooked—is that of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. It celebrates not just its namesake but the brave men who carried out his orders in the face of danger and death. Shorn of the allegory and sentiment common to so much commemorative art, it vividly and unsparingly depicts what Kathryn Allamong Jacob calls, in “Testament to Union: Civil War Monuments in Washington, D.C.,” “the harsh face of war in the awful beauty of richly detailed men and horses rushing to battle.”

#34- Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight Was Right about the military-industrial complex, says Michael Moore

#35- John F. Kennedy
In honor of the 50th anniversary of the John F. Kennedy inauguration, the JFK Library unveiled a large digital archive. Interesting story on CBS NEWS Sunday Morning about the anniversary.

However, the History Channel has decided to yank its miniseries on the Kennedys, citing its lack of historical accuracy.

10 Speeches and News Conferences by JFK Now Available on iTunes via U. of North Dakota

#37- Richard M. Nixon
I had decided to create a new narrative about Dick, noting his accomplishments with the environment, et al. But then, information came out about ethnic slurs and other unsavory comments. Sigh. Same old Nixon.

#39- Jimmy Carter
Carter appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, promoting his book, White House Diary.

#40- Ronald Reagan
Reagan exhibited signs of Alzheimer’s while still in White House his son Ron claimed in his book, titled “My Father at 100,” was to mark what would have been President Reagan’s 100th birthday on Feb. 6, 2011. President Reagan died in June 2004. Ron’s half-brother Michael, who has a book of his own, hotly denies that claim.

The Republican National Committee picked a new chair last month. But what I thought was telling was one of the questions to each of the candidates, which was something like, “Other than Ronald Reagan, who is your political hero?” Reagan was listed as a given.

A Reagan Litmus Test for 2012 GOP Hopefuls

American Dad – Oliver North song, which I saw when I experienced insomnia this month.

#41- George H. W. Bush
Medal of Freedom Recipients: George H.W. Bush, Bill Russell, Yo-Yo Ma, and Others

#43- George W. Bush
Description of W’s book from Human Events: “Decision Points is no conventional political autobiography. In gripping, never-before-heard detail, President Bush gracefully brings readers inside the Texas Governor’s Mansion on the night of the hotly contested 2000 election; aboard Air Force One on 9/11, in the hours after America’s most devastating attack since Pearl Harbor; at the head of the table in the Situation Room in the moments before launching the war in Iraq, and behind the Oval Office desk for his historic and controversial decisions on the financial crisis, Hurricane Katrina, Afghanistan, Iran, and other major events that have shaped the first decade of the 21st century.”

JEOPARDY! question: Who were Lincoln, McKinley, Nixon? (any two) Both my wife (Lincoln, McKinley) and I (McKinley, Nixon) got it right; NONE of the contestants did.

Roger Answers Your Questions, Scott and Anne-Marie

DADT is toast; it just doesn’t know it yet. When is that report coming out that’s supposed to assess the impact of openly gay personnel in the military?

My good buddy Scott, who I’ve never met, the blogger at Scooter Chronicles, has several questions:

1. Now that the baseball playoff teams (except for the NL West) are pretty well set, who do you see getting to the World Series and who wins it?

I can’t help but think the teams will be from the East. But which teams? Minnesota has been hot, but I think they can be beaten; likewise the Rangers. So I’m saying Tampa and the Yankees in the ALCS. I’ll pick the Yankees, but I’m by no means certain.

Look for Cincinnati to get to the NLCS, and lose to the Phillies. Yankees over the Phillies. Or Tampa over the Phillies. Whoever wins the AL EAST over the winner of the NL EAST.

2. How long have you been reading/collecting comics?

Well, I’m pretty much not anymore, though I pick up some on Free Comic Book Day in May, and inevitablty buy SOMETHING. I started in 1971 – it was his fault – and sold my collection in 1994. but I still have some collections, and even bought some Marvel Masterworks just this year.

3. If you still read them often, is there a new series that really interests you?

Well, no. But I would recommend to you Saga of the Swamp Thing collection by Moore, Bissette, and Totleben, and not just because Steve Bissette is my buddy who I HAVE met. I know you just read The Watchmen. This is a different thing, of course, but very good.

4. Of the comic book superheroes, who do you think has the coolest logo?

Well, Superman’s is iconic, of course. I’ll pick Green Lantern because it’s…green. And because even I could draw it.

5. What do you think the eventual outcome will be for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the DREAM Act?

DADT is toast; it just doesn’t know it yet. When is that report coming out that’s supposed to assess the impact of openly gay personnel in the military? The Republicans need political cover to overturn it. If the report comes out before the election, it could be overturned after the election. If not, it’ll be more difficult, but it WILL happen.

Whereas I just can’t see the DREAM Act passing at all. The GOP won’t touch it because it rewards “bad behavior” of children, CHILDREN (were they supposed to stay home without their parents?) who came to the United States illegally, want to be productive members of US society through college and/or the military. It’ll happen only when we have a “comprehensive immigration policy” and THAT’S not going to happen anytime soon.

6. If you could go back in time and choose a different career, would you and what would it be?

There was nothing else I’d do as well. I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, but I hated my pre-law course, which really did throw me off for quite a while.
I always wanted to be a Pip. Background singer. Don’t like singing melody, but love singing harmony.

7. A bit cliche, but I can’t remember anyone asking this before, if you could have dinner with three other people, whether they are currently living or have already passed on, who would they be and why?

Jesus, Mohammed and Thomas Jefferson. The first two because I’d be curious about what they thought of things being said in their respective names. Jefferson because he was an interestingly complicated dude who wanted freedom, owned slaves and apparently slept with one, was a theist but not in the traditional sense, and was a book guy. BTW, have you seen Tea Party Jesus, which was described in the Huffington Post a couple months ago. It puts “The words of Christians in the mouth of Christ.” Well, purported Christians, anyway.

Picture from Tea Party Jesus. Used by permission.
The words above describe some politician I described here.

Anne-Marie with a Dash from Montreal – I need to go back there someday – asks:

When should someone retire from a job? Should we wait till we are physically too tired to perform or retire early while we still have some life left in us?

The great philosopher Neil Young once said, It’s better to burn out than fade away. This is a complicated question, based on your economic situation, your prospects and training for another position, your interest in something else.

That said, I think life is too short to work until one is too tired to perform. You do yourself a disservice, your employer and customers a disservice. I wrote on Thursday about leaving a job – I didn’t have one to go to, but it just was time to go. But I was single then, living in an apartment; I’m married with a child and a mortgage now, and probably wouldn’t make the same choice. Your situation will mitigate your decision. But you need joy in your life.

You and your husband are in a small apartment in Qatar right now; I’m guessing that it might be lucrative being there. But you don’t seem to love, or even like(?) being there; it’s too hot except at night, you probably don’t get enough sleep and I’m guessing you’re tired constantly. Short of working nights, if that were possible, I’d leave if at all feasible.

SamuraiFrog gave me an award, and all I have to do is pass it along to 10 others. Well, I can’t give it to SF, obviously, or to Jaquandor, because SF gave the award to him.

Berowne
Witch Reviews
Witch Blog
photowannabe
The Pedalogue (Leslie, not my sister)
Anthony North
Mrs. Nesbitt’s Space
peripheral perceptions (Lisa)
Bringing Up Salamanders (Nydia)
Rose DesRochers – World Outside my Window