Armed Forces Day honors those Americans who are, today, protecting our freedom, under arms, in the U.S. military services.
Veterans Day honors those who protected us in the past. Memorial Day honors those who died in our nation’s service, and those veterans who have passed on. Armed Forces Day honors and celebrates living Americans, to whom we owe immediate thanks.
Fly your flag today in their honor. Today is Armed Forces Day.
Armed Forces Day Poster, 2010
6 Comments | 
Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, Heroes, History | Tagged: Armed Forces Day, Current History, Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, Heroes, History, May 15 2010 | 
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Posted by Ed Darrell
Keith Tucker, WhatNowToons.com, via Tennessee Guerrilla Women
In a series of articles at George Mason University’s History News Network, historians from Texas and across the nation make a powerful case against the changes in social studies standards proposed by the politicians at the Texas State Board of Education.
Together, this is a powerful indictment of the actions of the SBOE, and strong repudiation of the raw political purposes and tactics employed in the War on Education by the “conservative” faction, including especially lame duck, anti-education crusader/jihadist Don McLeroy.
Texas scholars
Scholars outside of Texas
Historians can sign a petition set up for the purpose at a site that offers links to the essays, too, An Open Letter from Historians to the Texas State Board of Education.
SBOE will take up the issue again in meetings in Austin this coming week.
1 Comment | Bogus history, Chilling Effect, Education, History, Political Smear, Politics, Voodoo history, War on Education | Tagged: Bogus history, Don McLeroy, Economics, Education, geography, History, Social Studies, Voodoo history, War on Education | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
This video, from 2009, explains why the National Academies will release four reports on climate change, three of them next Wednesday.
NAS explains it this way at their website:
As part of its most comprehensive assessment to date, the National Research Council – the operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering – will release three new reports examining how the nation can combat the effects of global warming. One focuses on the science to better understand climate change, and the others review options for limiting the magnitude of and adapting to the impacts of global warming. The reports are part of a congressionally requested suite of studies known as America’s Climate Choices.
Leave a Comment » | Climate change, climate_change, Global warming, History, Research, Science | Tagged: Climate change, Global warming, History, National Academy of Sciences, Research, Science | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
I get e-mail from the good press people at the National Academies (of Science, Engineering, and Medicine):
America’s Climate Choices Reports to be Released May 19 at a Public Briefing
On May 19th, three reports in the America’s Climate Choices suite of studies will be released at a public briefing that begins at 10 a.m. EDT in the Lecture Room of the National Academy of Sciences building, 2100 C St., N.W., Washington. The reports are: Advancing the Science of Climate Change, which focuses on the scientific evidence regarding human-induced climate change and future research needs; Limiting the Magnitude of Future Climate Change, which assesses options for limiting greenhouse gas emissions and taking other actions to reduce the magnitude of climate change; and Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change, which focuses on options to improving the nation’s capacity to adapt to climate change impacts.
Ralph J. Cicerone, president of the National Academy of Sciences, will deliver opening remarks, and members of the panels that authored the reports will discuss the reports findings and take questions.
America’s Climate Choices also includes two additional reports that will be released later this year: Informing an Effective Response to Climate Change will examine how best to provide decision makers with information on climate change, and an overarching report that looks across the topics of the four panel reports to offer an integrated view of the challenges and opportunities in the nation’s efforts to confront climate change.
The public is invited to the briefing and should RSVP to attend at americasclimatechoices.org. Those who cannot attend may watch a live video webcast and submit questions at http://www.national-academies.org.
This address works better for giving your RSVP to attend. A fourth report pends:
Still upcoming is the fourth and final panel report, Informing an Effective Response to Climate Change.
6 Comments | Climate change, climate_change, Global warming, History, Science | Tagged: Climate change, Global warming, History, National Academy of Science, Science | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
I get e-mail, this time from the Texas Freedom Network:
The State Board of Education meeting is next week, and we need YOU to make a difference.
“Am I a religious fanatic? Absolutely. You’d have to be to do what I do.”
– State Board of Education member Don McLeroyDon't White Out Our History! - Texas Freedom Network
Is this who you want to decide what Texas schoolchildren learn? Or would you rather entrust that task to someone who believes public education is a “tool of perversion,” as board member Cynthia Dunbar believes? Or maybe any one of the board members who believe the separation of church and state is a myth?
If this is not what you want for Texas children, NOW is the critical time to take a stand.
The controversial social studies curriculum process is coming to an end. Public testimony will be heard at the State Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, May 19, and we expect a vote on these standards to take place the following day. We need you to stand up to the State Board of Education by attending our rally on Wednesday, May 19. Or testifying in front of the board. Or both!
“Don’t White-Out Our History” Rally
Wednesday, May 19 at 1:00 p.m.
William B. Travis building (where the state board meets).
Click here to sign up to attend the rally.Also on Wednesday, the State Board of Education will hear public testimony on the social studies curriculum standards. Since you are already planning to be at the William B. Travis building for the rally, you can also sign up to testify! Read below for more information on registering to testify with the Texas Education Agency. (Testimony will begin in the morning and likely stretch into the evening — so if you wish to testify, be prepared for a long day.)
We look forward to seeing you next week. If you have any questions, e-mail Judie or call us at 512-322-0545.
1 Comment | Curricula, Economics, Education, Education quality, Geography - Economic, Geography - Physical, Geography - Political, History, History Revisionism, Social Studies, State school boards, TAKS, Texas Freedom Network | Tagged: Economics, Education, geography, History, Social Studies, state board of education, Texas, Texas Freedom Network | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Armed Forces Day 2010 poster
At the moment the link is down, to download a sharp copy of the poster for printing in gigantic size, but that shouldn’t stop you from planning to fly your flag next Saturday, May 15, for Armed Forces Day. We honor those men and women currently in uniform serving our nation on the third Saturday in May
Previously, in Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub:
5 Comments | Flag ceremony, Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, Military History, veterans | Tagged: Armed Forces Day, Flag etiquette, Flag Fly Dates, Fly your flag today, History, Military History | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Members of commitee and scientist witnesses at May 6 hearing of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. From left: Rep. Jay Inslee, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, Dr. James Hurrell, Chairman Ed Markey, Dr. Lisa Graumlich, Dr. James McCarthy, and Dr. Chris Field
Excerpt from the opening statement from Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., chairman of the U.S. House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, at a May 6 hearing:
Those who deny global warming point to past uncertainties that have been refuted. They ignore the overwhelming observational evidence that the increased levels of heat-trapping pollution are already warming the planet. Instead of trying to understand the science, they use stolen emails about analysis of tree rings in Siberia to turn an honest discussion into a Russian Tree Ring Circus. Or they manufacture a cooling trend by cherry picking a few years out of a longer record of warming temperatures.
While the deniers hope to confuse the public, the real world consequences of inaction mount. Over the weekend, killer storms blew through Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky. In Nashville, nearly 13 inches of rain fell in just over two days time – almost doubling the previous record that fell in the aftermath of a hurricane in 1979.
These storms follow the wettest March on record in Boston. Two 50-year storms occurred within 2 weeks of each other. The National Guard was mobilized. Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes. The region suffered millions of dollars in damages.
No single rainstorm can be attributed to climate change. Nor can a snowstorm disprove its existence. But the underlying science and the observed trends do point to more extreme weather events, especially heavy precipitation events because a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture.
Extreme rainfall is just one of the consequences of the carbon pollution we are releasing into the air. Our witnesses today will explain how science has revealed this unseen pollution for what it is and discuss the very real consequences of its continuing accumulation in the atmosphere.
As we approach summer, our clean energy debate needs to acknowledge what many would like to deny. Our dependence on oil carries with it national security, economic and environmental risks. As gas prices rise and the oil slick spreads, perhaps we will finally acknowledge that we cannot drill our way to independence. We have less than 3 percent of proven oil reserves. Perhaps we can also acknowledge the basic facts that have been known for decades—increasing carbon pollution in the atmosphere is warming the planet and that the only way to put a halt to such warming is to move to clean energy solutions.
4 Comments | Climate change, climate_change, Global warming, Green Politics, History, Politics, Science | Tagged: Chris Field, Christopher Monckton, Climate change, Global warming, Green Politics, History, House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, James Hurrell, James McCarthy, Lisa Graumlich, Politics, Rep. Edward J. Markey, Science | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
I get e-mail from the NAACP; the rest of the nation is paying attention to the follies run by the conservative bureaucrats at the SBOE:
Ed,
I wouldn’t want to be a Texas State Board member this week.
Last week, we asked you to write to your representative, telling him or her that rewriting Texas history textbooks is ignorant and unpatriotic.
Over 1,500 people have already written in, filling the inboxes of our school leaders.
This week, we’d like to offer you one more chance to get involved. The NAACP is planning rallies, hearings and press conferences in Texas to stop the state board from rewriting history. But we can’t do it without you.
An issue as controversial as rewriting history elicits strong emotions, and we want to give you the chance to speak out. Do you have something you would like to say at the hearing?
http://action.naacp.org/TextbookHearing
The NAACP works to ensure equal rights and to eliminate discrimination against all racial and ethnic groups. The proposed changes to our textbooks threaten our mission. This is not about Republicans or Democrats — it’s about our shared history as Texans. That’s why we want to use the words of our Texas supporters to turn the tide.
The Texas textbook vote is just two weeks away, so we need to push ourselves harder now than ever before.
The future of our children’s education is in the hands of just a few State Board members. Your voice could be the one to tip the scale.
Take a moment to tell us what you think about the Texas State Board rewriting history. The best submissions will be read at the hearing on May 19th.
http://action.naacp.org/TextbookHearing
Thank you for helping to protect our history.
Gary Bledsoe
President, Texas NAACP
Leave a Comment » | Bogus history, Economics, Education, Education reform, Geography - Economic, Geography - Physical, Geography - Political, History, History Methods and Tools, Rampant stupidity, Social Studies, State school boards, State Standards, Texas, Texas history, Voodoo history | Tagged: Bogus history, Economics, Education, geography, Government, History, Politics, Social Studies, Texas State Board of Education, Voodoo history | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Today is the anniversary* of our nation’s first** law generally governing immigration.
Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese immigrants from the United States for 10 years.
1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, page 1 - National Archives
1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, page 2 - National Archives
____________
* I note the image says it was approved by President Chester Alan Arthur (who had succeeded to office after President James Garfield was assassinated a year earlier). The New York Times calls May 6 the anniversary of Congress’s passing the law; if Arthur signed in on May 6, it was probably passed a few days earlier. May 6 would be the anniversary of its signing into law.
** The Chinese Exclusion Act was preceded by the Page Act of 1875, which prohibited immigration of “undesirable” people. Who was undesirable? “The law classified as undesirable any individual from China who was coming to America to be a contract laborer, any Asian woman who would engage in prostitution, and all people considered to be convicts in their own country.” It was not applicable to many immigrants. The Page Act was named after its sponsor, Rep. Horace F. Page of California.
2 Comments | History, Immigration, Legislation, U.S. House of Representatives | Tagged: Chinese Exclusion Act, History, Horace F. Page, House of Representatives, Immigration, Law, Legislation, U.S. Congress | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
We’re coming up on four relatively under-appreciated flag-flying dates before Independence Day (July 4):
President Obama at the Gulf of Mexico oil spill - White House photo
I was surprised to see the “fly your flag today” note in the Dallas Morning News today, especially with the accompanying news story. As you can see above, it’s not on the flag-fly list in law. President Obama’s declaration of the National Day of Prayer doesn’t suggest flying the flag.
We are blessed to live in a Nation that counts freedom of conscience and free exercise of religion among its most fundamental principles, thereby ensuring that all people of goodwill may hold and practice their beliefs according to the dictates of their consciences. Prayer has been a sustaining way for many Americans of diverse faiths to express their most cherished beliefs, and thus we have long deemed it fitting and proper to publicly recognize the importance of prayer on this day across the Nation.
Let us remember in our thoughts and prayers those suffering from natural disasters in Haiti, Chile, and elsewhere, and the people from those countries and from around the world who have worked tirelessly and selflessly to render aid. Let us pray for the families of the West Virginia miners, and the people of Poland who so recently and unexpectedly lost many of their beloved leaders. Let us pray for the safety and success of those who have left home to serve in our Armed Forces, putting their lives at risk in order to make the world a safer place. As we remember them, let us not forget their families and the substantial sacrifices that they make every day. Let us remember the unsung heroes who struggle to build their communities, raise their families, and help their neighbors, for they are the wellspring of our greatness. Finally, let us remember in our thoughts and prayers those people everywhere who join us in the aspiration for a world that is just, peaceful, free, and respectful of the dignity of every human being.
It’s not in the Congressional Resolution that declares the day (see it tucked in there between National Aviation Day and National Defense Transportation Day).
You may fly your flag any day. But so far as I can tell, we’re not urged by law to fly the flag for prayer day.
In addition to those many worthy things to pray or meditate for on National Prayer Day, pray for a rational solution to the flap over the day. Since when does anyone need a law to allow them pray? Who is trying to claim an official flag-flying mantle, and why do they think a right to pray needs such a boost?
More:
4 Comments | Bogus history, First Amendment, Flag etiquette, History, Religious Freedom | Tagged: Bogus history, Flag etiquette, Flag Fly Dates, Freedom of Religion, History, Law, National Day of Prayer | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
(Mostly an encore post, from 2009)
You thought Cinco de Mayo was Independence Day for Mexico?
No, it’s not.
History.com has a nice explanation, with a nice little video. Yahoo has a video this year, mostly animation with lots of advertising.
Perhaps the U.S. should celebrate the day, too, at least in those states who were not in the old Confederacy. On May 5, 1862, Mexicans under the command of 33 year old Commander General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín stopped the quick advance of superior French forces trying to invade Mexico to take it over, at the Battle of Puebla. While France did eventually defeat Mexican forces (after getting 30,000 men in reinforcements), the spirit of May 5 inspired Mexicans to continue to fight for freedom. And ultimately, Mexican forces overpowered and captured the French forces and Emperor Maximilian, who was executed.
Thus ended a great hope for the Confederacy, that French-supported Mexican Army would lend aid to the Confederates in their struggle to secede from the Union.
It is one of the great what-ifs of history: What if France had kept Mexico, and what if French-led Mexican forces backed up the Confederate Army?
One thing is rather sure: Had that happened, and had the Confederacy been successful, we wouldn’t be celebrating Cinco de Mayo in Texas today.
Battle of Puebla, Wikimedia (artist?)
Mexican Independence Day is September 16.
_______________________________________
Update: Sam DeBerry sends a note that Seguin was a Texan. So the Mexican hero of the Battle of Puebla was a Texan. You couldn’t make this stuff up — real history is always more interesting than fiction.
2 Comments | 1861-1865, A Good Story, Accuracy, Civil War, Famous Battles, Heroes, History, Holidays, Mexico, Texas | Tagged: Accuracy, American Civil War, Battle of Puebla, Cinco de Mayo, Famous Battles, France, Heroes, History, Holidays, Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín, Maximilian, Mexico, Napoleon III, World history | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Endangered beaches in Chesapeake Bay - map from Jim Titus, EPA, via Wired
At Mother Jones Magazine’s website, “Buh-bye, East Coast Beaches”:
Over the past decade, [Jim] Titus and a team of contractors combined reams of data to construct a remarkably detailed model of how sea-level rise will impact the eastern seaboard. It was the largest such study ever undertaken, and its findings were alarming: Over the next 90 years, 1,000 square miles of inhabited land on the East Coast could be flooded, and most of the wetlands between Massachusetts and Florida could be lost. The favorably peer-reviewed study was scheduled for publication in early 2008 as part of a Bush Administration report on sea-level rise, but it never saw the light of day—an omission criticized by the EPA’s own scientific advisory committee. Titus has urged the more science-friendly Obama administration to publish his work, but so far, it hasn’t—and won’t say why.
So Titus recently launched a personal website, risingsea.net, to publish his work. “I decided to do my best to prevent the taxpayer investment from being wasted,” he says. The site includes “When the North Pole Melts,” a prescient holiday ditty recorded by his musical alter ego, Captain Sea Level, in the late ’80s.
Tip of the old scrub brush to Climate Desk.
1 Comment | Climate change, climate_change, Environmental protection, Global warming, Green Politics, History, oceans, Research, Science | Tagged: Climate change, Global warming, Green Politics, History, oceans, Politics, Research, Science, Sea Level Rise | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
It’s way too short, but a great idea.
More:
1 Comment | DDT, Environmental protection, History, National Wildlife Refuge, Natural history, Natural resources, Rachel Carson, Science | Tagged: DDT, Environmental protection, History, Land Use, Natural history, Natural resources, Nature Conservancy, Rachel Carson, Rachel Carson NWR, Science, Silent Spring | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Here’s the Dilbert cartoon Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli should have viewed before he went fishing:
3 Comments | Accuracy, Bogus history, Climate change, Global warming, History, Hoaxes, Junk science, Research, Science, Voodoo history, Voodoo science, War on Science | Tagged: Accuracy, Bogus history, Climate change, Global warming, History, Hoaxes, Junk science, Ken Cucinelli, Michael Mann, Research, Science, Virginia, Voodoo history, Voodoo science | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
What about that impeachment trial, eh? Planning to watch it?
Your best bet might be C-SPAN, but I wouldn’t wager the mortgage were I you.
Impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson in the U.S. Senate, 1868; from Harper's Weekly, April 11, 1868 - public domain
Federal Judge Thomas Porteous of New Orleans got four articles of impeachment approved against him by the U.S. House of Representatives on March 10. The first article got a nearly unanimous vote — who says the House is divided? — 412 to 0. Three other articles got similar margins, 410-0, 416-0, and 423-0.
Unless you live in New Orleans or have a strange fascination for that great newspaper, The New Orleans Times-Picayune, you probably heard nothing about this great Constitutional drama. If you get the Times-Picayune, you’ve had good coverage of the issue so far.
Under its own special rules of impeachment, the Senate appointed a committee led by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, which will hold the actual trial and report results to the full Senate for action. Sen. McCaskill said she expects the trial to begin in early August, and that the report to the full Senate could come as soon as September.
While news media and bloggers chase ghosts and hoaxes, real work continues in Washington, D.C. You just don’t hear much about it.
You likely have not heard of Judge Proteous’s troubles, though they are long-standing, because the issue was a local, Louisiana and New Orleans affair. Heaven knows New Orleans has had its share of other stories to knock off the front pages the ethical lapses of a sitting federal judge who was once a promising attorney.
Should you have heard? How can we judge? Should we not be concerned when a relatively important story is not only bumped to the back pages of newspapers, but bumped completely out of them, and off the radar of people who need to be informed about how well our government works?
My alert to this story came through a back-door route. On the list-serv for AP Government, someone asked who presides at the impeachment trial of the Chief Justice — remember, the Constitution spells out that the Chief Justice is the presiding officer in the impeachment of the President or Vice President. My memory is that the Senate rules on impeachments, and there is a committee that effectively presides, and that the impeachment of a Vice President or President merits special attention because the Vice President is the official, Constitutionally-mentioned presiding officer. We can’t have the vice president presiding at the trial of himself or herself, nor of the president. Looking up impeachment procedures, I stumbled across the pending impeachment of Judge Porteous. I don’t think it has appeared in our local newspaper, The Dallas Morning News.
Other judges have been impeached. Here in Texas, within the past three years, we had a federal judge impeached, Samuel Kent. You’d think Texas media would be sensitive to such stories. (Kent resigned before the trial could begin.)
I perceive that media are ignoring several important areas of federal governing, not necessarily intentionally, but instead by being distracted by nonentity stories or stories that just don’t deserve the inflated coverage they get. Among undercovered areas are the environment, energy research, higher education, foreign aid, management of public lands and justice, including indictments, trials and convictions. A vast gray hole where should be the news of Judge Porteous’s pending impeachment is just one symptom.
Several news outlets carried stories:
More:
2 Comments | History, Journalism, Jurisprudence, Justice, Law, News, Newspapers, U.S. Constitution, U.S. Senate | Tagged: Government, History, Impeachment, Journalism, Judge Thomas Porteous, Louisiana, New Orleans, News, Politics, U.S. Constitution, U.S. Senate | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Ed Darrell on Texas's Colorado River
Come on in, the water's fine. Come often: Cleanliness is next to godliness.
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 