On July 27, 1940, Bugs Bunny burst onto screens across the nation in his first Warner Bros. cartoon, “A Wild Hare.”
Lobby card for "A Wild Hare," Warner Bros, via Wikimedia
Who was it said this?
Bugs Bunny is who we hope to be, but Daffy Duck is who we secretly fear we are.
Happy birthday, Bugs!
More:
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Cartoons, History, Video and film | Tagged: Bugs Bunny, Cartoons, Film and Video, History | 
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Posted by Ed Darrell
About genocide and other political issues that lead to the deaths of tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of people: We keep saying “never again!” When is never? There is famine today in Somalia.
Alison Stewart of PBS’s Need To Know:
This week, the U.N. declared a state of famine in parts of Somalia. Need to Know speaks with Adrian Edwards of the U.N.’s Refugee Agency about the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the region.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
[2014 Update: Video expired, no longer available for streaming. Story and some details, here.]
More, Resources:
Leave a Comment » | Africa, Current History, Disasters, Famine, Foreign Aid, Immigration, Politics, United Nations, War | Tagged: Current History, disaster, Famine, History, Immigration, Politics, Refugees, Somalia, United Nations, War | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
A haunting by Santayana’s Ghost:
Was this a convention speech? I wonder when and where it was. Can anyone help?
_____________
Ha! In comments, SBH points us to the text of the speech. FDR addressed the New York State Democratic Convention, in Syracuse, on September 29, 1936 (Can you imagine — does any state have such thing still — state party conventions so late in the year, today?). He found it at UC-Santa Barbara’s American Presidency Project website. Here’s the text of the excerpt above, plus a little:
In New York and in Washington, Government which has rendered more than lip service to our Constitutional Democracy has done a work for the protection and preservation of our institutions that could not have been accomplished by repression and force.
Let me warn you and let me warn the Nation against the smooth evasion which says, “Of course we believe all these things; we believe in social security; we believe in work for the unemployed; we believe in saving homes. Cross our hearts and hope to die, we believe in all these things; but we do not like the way the present Administration is doing them. Just turn them over to us. We will do all of them- we will do more of them we will do them better; and, most important of all, the doing of them will not cost anybody anything.”
But, my friends, these evaders are banking too heavily on the shortness of our memories. No one will forget that they had their golden opportunity—twelve long years of it.
Remember, too, that the first essential of doing a job well is to want to see the job done. Make no mistake about this: the Republican leadership today is not against the way we have done the job. The Republican leadership is against the job’s being done.
Read more at the American Presidency Project: Franklin D. Roosevelt: Address at the Democratic State Convention, Syracuse, N.Y. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=15142&st=Roosevelt&st1#ixzz1T2VHx1tx
6 Comments | Democratic Party, FDR, Franklin Roosevelt, History, Politics, Republican Party, Santayana's ghost, Social Security | Tagged: American Presidency Project, Democratic Party, Franklin Roosevelt, History, Politics, Republicans, Santayana's ghost, Social Security, UCSB | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
William Austin Burt received a patent on a typographer on July 23, 1829 — signed personally by President Andrew Jackson.
Image of the first patent issued for a typewriter, July 23, 1829, to William Austin Burt, a Michigan surveyor and inventor. It was signed personally by President Andrew Jackson.
The typographer is considered the forerunner to the typewriter.
Burt’s chief reputation came from his work as a surveyor in Michigan. He discovered the massive iron ore deposits for which Michigan became famous, the iron that fueled much of American industrialization in the 19th and 20th centuries. He discovered one of the world’s largest deposits of copper, the Calumet and Hecla Mine. He invented the solar compass, to survey areas where iron deposits made magnetic compasses inaccurate.
Patent drawing of W. A. Burt’s typographer, the first patented typewriter – Wikimedia image
Some of Burt’s biographies do not mention his invention of the typewriter.
Burt was born in an era of great technological development and invention. People in all walks of life invented devices to aid their work, or just for the joy of invention. Even future president Abraham Lincoln invented a device to float cargo boats in shallow water, hoping to increase river commerce to his home county, Sangamon County, Illinois.
Burt invented devices to aid his work in surveying, a very important service industry in frontier America. Because surveyors often worked on the frontier, they were famous for discovering natural resources in the course of their work. So it was that Burt, working in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, found his magnetic compasses spinning wildly. Suspecting a natural phenomenon, Burt ordered his crew to look for ferrous rocks, and they quickly determined they were in an area rife with iron deposits.
It was to further surverying in such areas that Burt invented the solar compass.
Even uninteresting frontiersmen could lead lives that fascinate us today. Was it Burt’s inventiveness that led him to such a life as a surveyor, or was it his work that pushed him to invent?
First letter ever written on a typewriter, in 1829 — to Martin Van Buren, then Vice President Secretary of State of the U.S., and future Vice President and President. Notice the letter was written nearly two months prior to the patent being issued on the device upon which it was written. Wikimedia image
6 Comments | History, Invention, Technology, Typewriters | Tagged: History, Inventions, Michigan, Technology, typewriter, typographer, Wiliam Austin Burt | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Courtesy of some guy who goes by the handle Americus Paulytics:
Here’s the count of how many Republican U.S. Senators voted to increase the debt ceiling the last eleven times it’s been done
1997: 55
2002: 31
2003: 50
2004: 50
2006: 51
2007: 26
2008: 34
2008: 33Then Obama was elected.
2009: 2
2009: 1
2010: 0
Bill Clinton occupied the White House in 1997; George W. Bush lived there the next seven times the Senate voted. Is there a trend here?
Is that account of events correct?
Tip of the old scrub brush to Marion Young.
Leave a Comment » | History, Politics | Tagged: Debt Ceiling, History, Politics | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Gregor Mendel was born July 20 in 1822.
Google’s doodle honors the man now generally regarded as the “father of modern genetics.” The Washington Post blogs note, “Rare is the monk who gets to be celebrated for passing down his genes.”
Oblivious to Mendel’s work and significance, and to much else in the world of knowledge, the Texas State Board of Education debates how to frustrate the teaching of evolution with hearings in Austin tomorrow, and a vote on supplementary materials to texts in biology on Friday, July 22.
Mendel would urge, pray for Texas and the children who will be saddled with the decision of the Texas SBOE.
Look up something about Mendel. Maybe we could all learn something from him.
Google Doodle honoring Fr. Gregor Mendel, "father of modern genetics"
6 Comments | Biology, Evolution, Genetics, History, Science | Tagged: Biology, Evolkution, Genetics, Google, Google Doodles, Gregor Mendel, History, Science | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Make that a cold bath. It hit 107° F here Friday. 15th consecutive 100°-plus day? 17th? 200th?
Birds refuse to bathe in the bird bath — they’re saving it to drink. The sprinkler system misfired yesterday — had to kill the power to fix a kitchen light and the clock on the sprinkler got a few hours off — and we were alerted by dozens of bluejays broadcasting the news. “Water!” they screamed. Dallas isn’t supposed to be home to robins, but there were three of them dancing on the wet sidewalk with the jays, plus assorted other birds — house finches, mourning doves, white-winged doves, cardinals, and that little scamp, the Bewick’s wren. The woodpeckers declined to land on the ground. No room for grackles.
While soaking, and cooling, what do we read? In total chaos, or at least, in no particular order:
Cartoon by Chicago cartoonist John T. McCutcheon, 1909
A number of commentators seem shocked at how unreasonable Republicans are being. “Has the G.O.P. gone insane?” they ask.
Why, yes, it has. But this isn’t something that just happened, it’s the culmination of a process that has been going on for decades. Anyone surprised by the extremism and irresponsibility now on display either hasn’t been paying attention, or has been deliberately turning a blind eye.
And may I say to those suddenly agonizing over the mental health of one of our two major parties: People like you bear some responsibility for that party’s current state.
You can only read until your fingers get all wrinkly. There’s still stuff on the reading stack!
Another soak, for another time.
1 Comment | Cartoons, History, Humor, Music, Political cartoons, Politics | Tagged: Cartoons, Chicago, History, History images, Humor, John T. McCutcheon, Music, Political cartoons, Politics | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Two organizations provide information to Congress in an unbiased manner, with great care for accuracy and completeness of information: The Congressional Research Service (CRS), an arm of the Library of Congress, and the General Accountability Office (GAO), formerly the General Accounting Office. Both agencies share the unique status of being organs of the Congress, and not the executive branch.
Consequently, we and Congress should give particular consideration to a report issued by GAO on February 22, 2011:
Debt Limit: Delays Create Debt Management Challenges and Increase Uncertainty in the Treasury Market
GAO-11-203 February 22, 2011
Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 52 pages) Accessible Text Recommendations (HTML)Summary
GAO has prepared this report to assist Congress in identifying and addressing debt management challenges. Since 1995, the statutory debt limit has been increased 12 times to its current level of $14.294 trillion. The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) recently notified Congress that the current debt limit could be reached as early as April 5, 2011, and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that under current law debt subject to the limit will exceed $25 trillion in 2021. This report (1) describes the actions that Treasury traditionally takes to manage debt near the limit, (2) analyzes the effects that approaching the debt limit has had on the market for Treasury securities, and (3) describes alternative mechanisms that would permit consideration of the link between policy decisions and the effect on debt when or before decisions are made. GAO analyzed Treasury and market data; interviewed Treasury officials, budget and legislative experts, and market participants; and reviewed practices in selected countries.
The debt limit does not control or limit the ability of the federal government to run deficits or incur obligations. Rather, it is a limit on the ability to pay obligations already incurred. While debates surrounding the debt limit may raise awareness about the federal government’s current debt trajectory and may also provide Congress with an opportunity to debate the fiscal policy decisions driving that trajectory, the ability to have an immediate effect on debt levels is limited. This is because the debt reflects previously enacted tax and spending policies. Delays in raising the debt limit create debt and cash management challenges for the Treasury, and these challenges have been exacerbated in recent years by a large growth in debt. In the past, Treasury has often used extraordinary actions, such as suspending investments or temporarily disinvesting securities held in federal employee retirement funds, to remain under the statutory limit. However, the extraordinary actions available to the Treasury have not kept pace with the growth in borrowing needs. For example, unlike the past, the amount potentially provided by the extraordinary actions for 1 month in fiscal year 2010 was less than the monthly increase in debt subject to the limit for most months of the year. As a result, once debt reaches the limit, Congress will likely have less time than in prior years to debate raising the debt limit before there are disruptions to government programs and services. This trend is likely to continue given the long-term fiscal outlook. Failure to raise the debt limit in a timely manner could have serious negative consequences for the Treasury market and increase borrowing costs. Also, some of the actions that Treasury has taken to manage the amount of debt near the limit add uncertainty to the Treasury market. In the past, Treasury has postponed auctions and dramatically reduced the amount of bills outstanding, which compromised the regularity of auctions and the certainty of supply on which Treasury relies to achieve the lowest borrowing cost over time. GAO’s analysis suggests that borrowing costs modestly increased during debt limit debates in 2002, 2003, and most recently in 2010. In addition, managing debt near the debt limit diverts Treasury’s limited resources away from other cash and debt management issues at a time when Treasury already faces challenges in lengthening the average maturity of its debt portfolio. Observers and participants suggested improving the link between the spending and revenue decisions that drive debt and changes in the debt limit. Better alignment could be possible if decisions about the debt level occur in conjunction with spending and revenue decisions as opposed to the after-the-fact approach now used. This practice, which is similar to practices used in some other countries, might facilitate efforts to change the fiscal path by highlighting the implications of tax and spending decisions on changes in debt. To avoid potential disruptions to Treasury markets and help inform fiscal policy decisions in a timely way, Congress should consider ways to better link decisions about the debt limit with decisions about spending and revenue. Treasury provided technical comments on a draft of this report, which GAO incorporated as appropriate.
Recommendations
Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from “In process” to “Open,” “Closed – implemented,” or “Closed – not implemented” based on our follow up work.
* * * * * * *
Matters for Congressional Consideration
Recommendation: The projections of a growing debt burden have raised concerns both in Congress and in the public. Well-designed budget processes and metrics can help as Congress and the President seek to address the federal government’s long-term fiscal challenge. The current design of the debt limit does not engender or facilitate debate over specific tax or spending proposals and their effect on debt. In addition, the uncertainty it creates can lead to disruptions in the Treasury market and in turn to higher borrowing costs. To avoid these potential disruptions to the Treasury market and to help inform the fiscal policy debate in a timely way, Congress may wish to consider ways to better link decisions about the debt limit with decisions about spending and revenue. Such a process would build on the approach used in 2008 and 2009 when Congress passed and the President signed three laws that were expected to increase borrowing with a corresponding increase in the debt limit. This report presents a number of approaches that could serve as a basis for better linking decisions about spending and revenue with decisions about the debt limit.
Status: In process
Comments: When we determine what steps the Congress has taken, we will provide updated information.
Use the links near the top of the report to get to the full report.
Pay particular attention to this, repeated from above:
The debt limit does not control or limit the ability of the federal government to run deficits or incur obligations. Rather, it is a limit on the ability to pay obligations already incurred. While debates surrounding the debt limit may raise awareness about the federal government’s current debt trajectory and may also provide Congress with an opportunity to debate the fiscal policy decisions driving that trajectory, the ability to have an immediate effect on debt levels is limited. This is because the debt reflects previously enacted tax and spending policies. Delays in raising the debt limit create debt and cash management challenges for the Treasury, and these challenges have been exacerbated in recent years by a large growth in debt.
Tip of the old scrub brush to Michael A. Ryder.
_____________
Wall of shame: Bloggers and others who do not have a clue
14 Comments | Economics, Government, History, Politics, President Obama, Presidents, Primary Source Documents, U.S. Congress | Tagged: Debt Ceiling, Deficits, Economics, GAO, Government, History, Politics, Treasury Market, U.S. Congress | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
So I found myself in Waco, Texas, after noon and hungry. Where to eat?
Fortunately, I’d read about the burger emporium favored by none other than Elvis Presley, Health Camp.
Even after the lunch rush cars and pickups crowd the door at Health Camp.
Who names a burger joint “Health Camp?”
Established in 1949, it’s still dispensing “100% Angus ground chuck” burgers. While it’s not a competitor for the title of World’s Best, to me, it’s a good burger, and the fries were pretty good, too. The place specializes in milkshakes in a wide variety of flavors, including banana, butterscotch and peanut butter. I did not ask if the peach flavor comes from fresh, or real peaches.
Here’s a photo from a few years back:
Health Camp burger stand in Waco, Texas - TexasBurgerGuy
It looks much the same. If you’re passing through on Interstate 35, it’s not really that hard to find it at 2601 Circle Road. Circle Road terminates literally in a circle — a “circus” in British terminology — less than 100 yards off of I-35. Take Exit 333A going either north or south, aim for South Valley Mills Road on the east side of the freeway. The next intersection is the Circle off of Circle Road. Other roads going into the Circle include LaSalle Avenue, Robinson Road. Elite Circle Grill has a larger, easier to find sign — and the two essentially share a parking lot. If you’re at the Elite Circle Grill, you’re close enough to Health Camp to walk.
More parking than needed, Health Camp shares parking lot with the Elite Circle Grill; daytime shots suffer from not showing the neon on the flying-V sign. Photo by Ed Darrell, use encouraged, with attribution.
The business here is drive-in food, especially burgers and milkshakes. Someone did a photo essay on drive-ins in Texas, and a dozen or so framed pictures of famous greasers lines the small dine-in room. It’s formica and vinyl, and signs with plastic red letters on white — some of which have not been changed in months, perhaps in years.
It’s a classic place. Not classy, but classic.
Atmosphere? You came here for the burgers and the milkshakes. The seats work, the tables are clean, the ketchup isn't watered down. You want decor? Go to McDonalds.
They know what they’ve got. A combo meal — burger, fries or tots or rings, and drink, will be north of $6.00; add a shake, you’re up to $8.00 Change back from your $10 or $20.
I got a cheeseburger, mayo, “all the way.” Very good beef, satisfying, fresh and sweet onions. Fries could have been cut in the place, but I’ll wager they were frozen — not highly processed beyond that. Fried to a good crisp, they screamed for ketchup.
A stop here beats a stop at any of the big chains, but will cost you a bit more. True burger aficionados may complain. Let ’em.
I’ll stop there again with pleasure, unless I think I have time to try the Elite Circle Grill for a comparison. I thought fondly of the Owl Burger at the Owl Cafe in Albuquerque, and the Big H from Hires Drive-In in Salt Lake City, both superior to the Health Camp product. But they are related closely enough for horseshoes.
The Health Camp cheeseburger comes wrapped unassumingly in paper, served on a plastic tray. Clearly the management puts its effort into ingredients and preparation.
1 Comment | History | Tagged: Elvis Presley, Food history, Hamburger, Health Camp, History, Road Food, Travel, Waco | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Ben Stein is too easy to kick around anymore. His views on politics, science, and general public policy have inflated so much above the troposphere that he really cannot speak about life on the ground at all. The movie mockumentary “Expelled!” provided the early signs of pundit dementia.
Graphic for Ben Stein's American Spectator column: Even in the art, Stein's out of it; his column is titled, "Nation's Pulse," but the graphic shows Uncle Sam hooked up to a machine measuring everything but his pulse. Even Sam's genitals get wired, but the nurse isn't counting heartbeats, nor does it appear any other monitor is.
At the same time, he’s a friend of dogs. One of his tributes to his old dog literally brought tears to my eyes, and reminded me much of the old saying that heaven has no room for those who don’t like dogs. That also raised the horrible vision of spending eternity in a heaven with dog-lovers who also happen to be political idiots.
Stein won’t kick dogs, but he’ll kick scientists, and poor people, and anyone in the middle class. Maybe heavens don’t take people solely on the basis of their affection for dogs.
I digress.
At the remains of the American Spectator — a once-great, nearly revolutionary and smart journal of conservatism slipped on the slime to twitchy, bumper-sticker politics — Stein’s every-issue column turned to his vacation in an exclusive and expensive home in Sandpoint, Idaho, his distaste for undeveloped land and and outright fear of wilderness, friends, and the birth of his granddaughter, nicknamed Coco:
I feel so worried about Coco, She is only a tiny infant with eyes barely open. What do I want Coco to know? To do her best. To love her parents. To forgive. To be a lot more prudent about money than I am. To be grateful for this, our America, the best place in the universe. To turn her will and her life over to God and turn to Him for help in every situation.
But I wish my parents and Alex’s parents were here to help. And I wish my sister lived closer so she could help. And that Mr Nixon were still alive to give the leaders of this nation some clue about how to lead a nation. I am excited about Coco, but I am scared.
Right emotions, wrong thoughts. We need Lyndon Johnson, with a concern for eliminating poverty among the aged (something he did!), not Richard Nixon. With the possible exception of his trip to China, nothing Nixon did couldn’t have been done better by Johnson with another four years, or Humphrey, had we had the sense.
But that’s Stein. He’s human on the family front, full of emotion, loving dogs, getting a cold treat for his ill wife, worrying about the future his granddaughter faces, especially from his privileged palace in Sandpoint, a nice nearly-wild area unfortunately become home of right-wing militias, Aryan-loving neo-Nazis and Keystone Kops-style militias — then switching to his brain-driven mode from emotion-driven, and doing everything he can to make sure anyone who lacks a few million dollars in the bank courtesy of the Old Man will be unable to rise above the fears. Stein luckily led a charmed life, dependent on the kindness of family, friends and strangers, and he cannot understand why others don’t do the same. Stein’s solutions stand magnificently out of reason: Out of work? Take a tax cut. Need money to go to college? Your father needs a tax cut, if he’s rich. Health care tough to find because you can’t pay for it? Tax cuts for the owner of the company you wish to work for. And stop your arguing for more practical or workable solutions whining.
Stein stands in such sharp contrast to the Nepali prince Siddhartha, whose views of real life led him to forsake his princely heritage and seek spiritual enlightenment. One hopes for a Stein-like character with the conscience of Siddhartha, but the practicality of Ross Perot who once noted that what America really needs is a political leader who will fill some potholes, and then, instead of holding a press conference about it, fill some more potholes.
Ben Stein’s road of life has been stripped of most potholes. It’s so smooth, he can’t understand why everyone doesn’t drive that way, going to fancy school’s on Dad’s big money, hobnobbing with Republicans at the country club and occasionally taking the opportunities they toss your way. Wouldn’t such a life be divine?
8 Comments | History, Journalism, Politics, Republican Party | Tagged: American Spectator, Ben Stein, History, Journalism, Politics, Republicans, Siddhartha | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
One of the most dramatic categories of evidence that the U.S. landed men on the Moon is the detritus and other stuff they left behind. Now we have satellites orbiting the Moon that can send back images of the landing sites with an amazing amount of detail.
Around the 4th of July somebody usually wonders how those flags left behind, are doing.
CBS News reporter Jim Axelrod asked around; you can see his report at YouTube (CBS disallows embedding of these reports, so you’ll need to click the image a couple of times to go to the YouTube site for CBS):
(720 views of this report when I posted this; come on, news hounds, flag fliers and Moon and history buffs, you can boost that total.)
Leave a Comment » | Flag ceremony, Flag etiquette, History, Moon, NASA, Space exploration, Space Race | Tagged: CBS News, Flag etiquette, History, Jim Axelrod, Moon, NASA, Space exploration, Space Race | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
In a letter to the Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, the President wrote:
This letter is to ask for your help and support, and that of your colleagues, in the passage of an increase in the limit on the public debt.
As [the Treasury Secretary] has told you, the Treasury’s cash balances have reached a dangerously low point. Henceforth the Treasury Department cannot guarantee that the Federal Government will have sufficient cash on any one day to meet all of its mandated expenses, and thus the United States could be forced to default on its obligations for the first time in history.
This country now possesses the strongest credit in the world. The full consequences of a default — or even the serious prospect of default — by the United States are impossible to predict and awesome to contemplate. Denigration of the full faith and credit of the United States would have substantial effects on the domestic financial markets and on the value of the dollar in exchange markets. The Nation can ill afford to allow such a result. The risks, the costs, the disruptions, and the incalculable damage lead me to but one conclusion: the Senate must pass this legislation before the Congress adjourns.
I want to thank you for your immediate attention to this urgent problem, and for your assistance in passing an extenstion of the debt ceiling.
Sincerely,
Ronald Reagan
True then. Still true now.
Letter from President Ronald Reagan to Senate Majority Leader Sen. Howard Baker, R-Tennessee, November 16, 1983. The Treasury Secretary at the time was Donald Regan.
Tip of the old scrub brush to mainstream media pillar, The Washington Post, where a .pdf of the letter is available.
Leave a Comment » | DBQ sources, Economics, Famous quotes, History, Politics, Public Debt, Quotes, U.S. Congress | Tagged: DBQ sources, Debt Ceiling, Economics, Famous quotes, History, Howard Baker, Politics, Ronald Reagan, U.S. Congress | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
The Century edition, 100th Carnival of History is up on the internet, over at Walking the Berkshires. Well worth the stroll.
Who says history isn’t sexy or exciting? Tim Abbott, in the text discussing entrants to the 100th History Carnival, tossed off this gem:
And then we have certain minted pneumismatic artifacts of scholarly interest blogged about at Hypervocal. Be forewarned that these may be considered NSFW in some quarters. Are they ancient Roman brothel tokens, or possibly pornographic gaming pieces? At right, a proposed design for a modern token, suitable for use by disgraced US Congressmen in exchange for sexting services, appropriately priced at “sex asses”, if I remember my High School Latin.
You’ll have to go read it there if you don’t know immediately what he’s talking about.
Other pointers to great posts, with more that I haven’t mentioned:
Now: Is there some way to sneak a copy of the 100th History Carnival into the e-mail of every member of the Texas Lege?
Leave a Comment » | History blogs, Weblogs | Tagged: Carnival of History, History, Weblogs | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Some of the more astute students in our high school classes ask questions about everything. For example, they ask: “What does the Pledge of Allegiance mean, when it says, ‘ . . . and to the Republic for which it stands?'”
Is the Pledge all that important? Is the flag all that important?
Maybe. How would you answer that question, really?
Penn and Teller offer a demonstration:
What do you think? Did they burn a flag? Should that sort of performance be legal?
What if Penn and Teller burned a flag in the White House?
An exercise in ambiguity: A fictional drama about a sleight of hand, illusionary performance. (Best line: The answer to the question, “Did you go to law school?” For the record, yes, I did go to law school. I’m an amateur clown.)
Did you fly your flag yesterday?
4 Comments | 100 Milestone Documents of U.S. History, Bill of Rights, First Amendment, Flag ceremony, Flag etiquette, Free speech, Freedom - Political, Law, Patriotism, Pledge to the flag, Reason, U.S. Constitution | Tagged: 100 Milestone Documents of the U.S., Bill of Rights, Constitution, Flag etiquette, freedom, History, Law, Patriotism, Penn and Teller, Pledge of Allegiance, Reason | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Fourth of July: NPR has already read the Declaration of Independence, PBS broadcast the Capitol Fourth concert last night (maybe a rebroadcast is available — check your local listings), your town has a parade somewhere this weekend, and fireworks are everywhere.
Remember to put your flag up today.
Last flag on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene Cernan and the U.S. Flag -- Apollo 17 on the Moon (NASA photo)
Also:
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter photo of Apollo 17 landing site
This is mostly an encore post, but I so love that photo of the flag with the Earth in the distance.
Happy birthday, Kathryn!
1 Comment | 4th of July, Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, Patriotism | Tagged: Citizenship, Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, Fourth of July, History, Independence Day, July 4, Moon, NASA, Patriotism | 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 