Notthemayor
Tuesday will mark 150 years since America's greatest President delivered America's greatest speech.
There exists no definitive text of the Gettysburg Address. Five copies exist in Abraham Lincoln's hand. Most were written out after the fact and no two are identical.
The copy here, printed in the New York Times the day after the Address, is as likely as any to accurately recount the exact words he spoke that day.
95 years ago today one of the most destructive...and stupidest...wars in human history came to a bloody close. What we now call the First World War claimed 35 to 40 MILLION lives. In it's final, pointless hours approximately 11,000 unnecessary killed and wounded were added to the carnage.
At about this minute 150 years ago today Private Christian Zeitler of Company G of the 62nd Pennsylvania infantry stood in line of battle with his comrades, prepared to engage the enemy. It was two days shy of the second anniversary of his enlistment. He'd joined up in 1861 on the 4th of July.
My final, for now, letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. If you can stomach it, continue below the squiggle for the disappointment...
I still have no words befitting the depth of the tragedy at Sandy Hook. Perhaps on reflection I will.
Probably not.
For some reason...the jarring juxtaposition of season and slaughter, I think...this old MGM cartoon, released in 1939 and directed by animation pioneer Hugh Harman, came to mind.
Though I realize this certainly doesn't qualify as a diary, please accept this humble offering in the spirit with which it is intended.
I posted the following on Facebook last night. It has more likes and shares than anything else I've said on this election so I thought I'd share it here. Even my vocal Republican friends (Yes, I have them...though passion my have strained it has not broken our bonds of affection.) have been quiet on this one so I'll accept that as a grudging assent. Though brief, it is my closing argument.
Poll 11 votes Show Results I... Am voting by mail. Have taken advantage of early voting and already cast my ballot. Live in a stupid state with neither of these options but am voting tomorrow. There's an election??? 11 votes Vote Now! I... Am voting by mail. 2 votes Have taken advantage of early voting and already cast my ballot. 3 votes Live in a stupid state with neither of these options but am voting tomorrow. 6 votes There's an election??? 0% 0 votes
Gleefully watching the rolling calamity that is the presidential campaign of Mr. Willard Mitt Romney navigate the distance between Swiftian satire and flat-out Three Stooges slapstick, I have more than once stopped to wonder…is he the worst nominee ever?
It’s tempting to think so. He can’t hold a consistent position on a major issue for a week…and sometimes not for an afternoon. His self-inflicted immolations of the recent past, like the Libya statements and the secret fundraiser video have cemented an impression of the candidate and his campaign as a gang that couldn’t shoot straight.
But the truth is we really don’t know yet. In five weeks the historical judgment will begin. If Mitt goes down in flaming defeat, wrecking GOP hopes of reclaiming the Senate and even managing the once insurmountable feat of costing them control of the House, he’ll have sealed his place on the Mount Rushmore of losers.
But for now, Mitt’s grade remains an Incomplete…much like the job he pledged to do as Governor and his development as a fully-rounded human being. Which begs the question…just who is the worst major party candidate for the Presidency ever and Mitt’s top competition for the White House version of the biggest loser?
Poll 80 votes Show Results The choice is yours...who is the WORST Presidential nominee ever??? Walter Mondale, Democrat, 1984 George McGovern, Democrat, 1972 Barry Goldwater, Republican, 1964 Thomas Dewey, Republican, 1944 & 1948 Alf Landon, Republican, 1936 John Davis, Democrat, 1924 James Cox, Democrat, 1920 William Jennings Bryan, Democrat, 1896, 1900 & 1908 Alton Parker, Democrat, 1904 Horace Greeley, Democrat, 1872 Winfield Scott, Whig, 1852 Henry Clay, Whig, 1824, 1832 & 1844 Charles Pinckney, Federalist, 1804 & 1808 A former Massachusetts Govenor and vulture capitalist to be named later. Other...blast away! 80 votes Vote Now! The choice is yours...who is the WORST Presidential nominee ever??? Walter Mondale, Democrat, 1984 12 votes George McGovern, Democrat, 1972 9 votes Barry Goldwater, Republican, 1964 11 votes Thomas Dewey, Republican, 1944 & 1948 3% 2 votes Alf Landon, Republican, 1936 1% 1 vote John Davis, Democrat, 1924 4% 3 votes James Cox, Democrat, 1920 4% 3 votes William Jennings Bryan, Democrat, 1896, 1900 & 1908 4% 3 votes Alton Parker, Democrat, 1904 4% 3 votes Horace Greeley, Democrat, 1872 10 votes Winfield Scott, Whig, 1852 3% 2 votes Henry Clay, Whig, 1824, 1832 & 1844 0% 0 votes Charles Pinckney, Federalist, 1804 & 1808 1% 1 vote A former Massachusetts Govenor and vulture capitalist to be named later. 17 votes Other...blast away! 4% 3 votes
Okay, so here's the deal. Tonight, after posting the Romney 47% video on Facebook, I suddenly get an e-mail from a right-wing friend. (Yeah, I have some of those. I even have a friend who's a Paulite...and a lot of fun to debate.) As this particular friend never e-mails, I suspect it is in response to the post.
It's one of those thinly disguised "You're gonna think it's Obama but...on no...it's Hitler!" shock ending things. You know, the shocking Hitler reveal that was already not especially shocking when Rod Serling did it around 1960 on the Twilight Zone.
Now my first instinct was just to ignore it...but hey, I'm feeling pretty froggy these days. And since screaming isn't really my style I thought it might be fun to take it apart point-by-pointy-headed-point. Original e-mail in bold. My responses not. Since if I did it the other way around all that bold would make your head hurt.
So stick around after the squiggle if you like, but first a word from our sponsor:
Sad to read of the passing of Monkee Davy Jones. I'm not going to write a long appreciation. It was a TV show I enjoyed as a child. Their music to this day makes me smile.
Poll 82 votes Show Results Favorite Monkees song? Last Train to Clarksville I'm a Believer (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You Pleasant Valley Sunday Daydream Believer That Was Then, This Is Now Duh...the theme from the TV show, stupid! I didn't get the TV show...but man was HEAD weird! Other 82 votes Vote Now! Favorite Monkees song? Last Train to Clarksville 8 votes I'm a Believer 13 votes (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone 12 votes A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You 4% 3 votes Pleasant Valley Sunday 15 votes Daydream Believer 18 votes That Was Then, This Is Now 0% 0 votes Duh...the theme from the TV show, stupid! 7% 6 votes I didn't get the TV show...but man was HEAD weird! 0% 0 votes Other 9% 7 votes
I understand the urge. He's a joke. He's a clown. Um...but...what if he wins?
A good man died after living a long and productive life. We should all be so lucky. Though many of you may not know the man's name you almost certainly know his work.
He was a writer, an artist, an editor and a publisher. He was a newspaperman. He was a founding father of the comic book industry. The poor son of an immigrant Jewish haberdasher, he was with his longtime partner Jack Kirby...likewise the son of poor Jewish immigrants...he was father to Adolph Hitler's arch nemesis, a full year before Pearl Harbor.
His name was Joe Simon. He was one half of the team that created Captain America. He was 98 years old.
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