I recently re-watched the movie, Chisum, and heard this great line.
James Pepper: You know, there's an old saying, Miss Sally. There's no law west of Dodge and no God west of the Pecos. Right, Mr. Chisum?
John Wayne: Wrong, Mr. Pepper. Because no matter where people go, sooner or later there's the law. And sooner or later they find God's already been there.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
LBJ Vietnam Speech
One of my friends recited part of this for school. (ya, Trev, that's you!)
It's the best speech by a Democrat I've ever heard. Every person who opposes American involvement in Iraq or intervention in general should read this speech by Lyndon Johnson.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Quote of the Day
"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad."
-Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)
-Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)
Monday, February 18, 2008
It's Washington’s Birthday, Not Presidents’ Day
I found this article on the National Review. The link is at the bottom.
Why the Republic should go back to publicly celebrating the American Cincinnatus.
By Gleaves Whitney
People ask why a few of us presidential junkies would like to see Presidents’ Day changed back to Washington’s Birthday. The technical explanation has to do with a misguided law called HR 15951 that was passed in 1968 to make federal holidays less complicated. The real answer is simply this: George Washington is our greatest president, and too few American children know why.
George Washington earned the respect even of his former enemy, King George III, by doing something exceedingly rare in history: When he had the chance to increase personal power, he decreased it — not once, not twice, but repeatedly.
During the American Revolution, Washington put service before self. His personal example was his greatest gift to the nation. It has often been said that the “Father of our country” was less eloquent than Jefferson; less educated than Madison; less experienced than Franklin; less talented than Hamilton. Yet all these leaders looked to Washington to lead them because they trusted him with power. He didn’t need power.
Washington knew that the bold American experiment in self government under the rule of law could survive only if leaders exercised self-restraint and accepted institutional limits on executive power. He believed that leading virtuously was more important than anything he could write or say. This is why Washington has been compared to two great republicans of Ancient Rome — Cincinnatus, who traded his sword for a plow, and Cato the Younger, who died defending the republic against the tyranny of Julius Caesar.
Consider all the times that Washington put service before self.
In 1775, when he accepted command of the Continental Army, he promised Congress that he would resign his commission when the war was over. Once the British withdrew, he was true to his word, and surrendered command of an army fiercely loyal to him. In a moving scene before Congress on December 23, 1783 (then assembled in Annapolis, Maryland), Washington pledged loyalty to the civilian government he had served. He thereby established the principle that our nation’s military would always be under civilian rule.
Earlier in the 1780s, Washington had been approached twice by army officers who promised their support if he decided to seize civilian power. In one famous incident in 1782, Col. Lewis Nicola wrote a letter urging Washington to overthrow Congress and become America’s king. The commanding general scolded Nicola the very same day.
In 1783, Washington caught wind of officers wanting to stage a coup d’état against Congress. The so-called Newburgh Conspirators were frustrated that Congress was not paying them what had been promised when the nation desperately needed their sacrifice. Washington would not be moved — that die would not be cast. On the Ides of March, he called the men together and sternly reprimanded them for losing faith in the idea of America. The new nation had a chance to succeed only if its leaders and military adhered to the rule of law.
When King George III heard that Washington would resign his commission to a powerless Congress, he told the painter Benjamin West: “If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.”
Washington returned home to Mount Vernon in December 1783. Like Cincinnatus, he put down his sword and took up his plow, making him the most trusted man in America. Delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 selected him to be their president, knowing he would not abuse his position to aggrandize himself. And a grateful nation unanimously elected him president of the United States in 1789 and again in 1792, because they knew he would devote all his energies to serving the new nation.
Washington, when convinced that he had done all he could to help the country, retired after two terms as president. True to principle, he relinquished the power that was his for the taking. It was an example of selfless leadership that inspires Americans and the world to this day. Why don’t more American children know that?
— Gleaves Whitney is director of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University.
Quote of the Day
"History is a people's memory, and without a memory, man is demoted to the lower animals."
-Malcolm X
-Malcolm X
Sunday, February 17, 2008
The Drums
I wrote this poem for American Lit class as an immitation of the first three stanzas of Edgar Allan Poe's The Bells.
It is mostly unreadable and the last two stanzas were written during a Diet Coke induced, semi-conscious trance from around 11:00 pm to 12:30 in the morning the day before it was due. The last stanza sounds like a bad Beatles song. For the original Poe poem, visit http://www.online-literature.com/poe/575/
Enjoy.
I
Feel the beating of the drums--
Battle drums!
How much pain and dying with their pounding rhythm comes!
Hear the tapping, tapping, tapping,
To the marching of the few!
All the battle flags are flapping
And the fates are softly laughing
At this ghastly game they view;
While they thud, thud, thud
Men lay dying in the mud
To the bitter salutation that so powerfully comes
From the drums, drums, drums, drums,
Drums, drums, drums, --
From the tapping and the rapping on the drums.
II
Feel the solemn fun’ral drums,
Deathly drums!
How much pain and mourning with their ghostly rhythm comes!
Through the ghoulish fog of morn’
How they sing their song forlorn! –
From the melancholy strokes
In cold accord,
Such a passion it unyokes
In the guilty coffin-bearer who uncloaks
The fallen lord!
Oh, from out those low anthems,
Such a life of bravery into heaven welcomes!
How it hums
And becomes
A sinking dirge which benumbs
And silently succumbs
To the looming, deeply booming
Fun’ral drums, drums. drums, --
Oh, the drums, drums, drums, drums,
Drums, drums, drums,
To the greeting of the beating of the drums!
III
Feel the proud victory drums --
Parade drums!
How much pride and glory with their joyful rhythm comes!
Through the homeland’s golden streets,
How they march to lively beats,
Singing songs of battles won,
Of plunders gained a ton,
Ne’er defeat!
In a clamorous revealing of the nature of the choir,
In a vibrant exhaltation of the birthplace of the choir,
Singing higher, higher, higher,
With a deep and burning fire,
Now the crowd is moving faster
To the booming of the pastor
Through the streets of a war-torn land.
Oh, the drums, drums, drums!
Never minding of the sums
Of the dead!
How they sing of life and death,
And now how the sons of Seth
Are so dancing on the homeland’s golden streets!
And the people clearly see
By the clanging
And the banging
That they can be now set free;
And the people surely know
From the rapping
And the tapping,
That their vict’ry’s now secure
Through the dying and the crying now comes life, say the drums--
Say the drums,--
Say the drums, drums, drums, drums,
Drums, drums, drums--
Spoke the fates so softly laughing through the drums!
It is mostly unreadable and the last two stanzas were written during a Diet Coke induced, semi-conscious trance from around 11:00 pm to 12:30 in the morning the day before it was due. The last stanza sounds like a bad Beatles song. For the original Poe poem, visit http://www.online-literature.com/poe/575/
Enjoy.
I
Feel the beating of the drums--
Battle drums!
How much pain and dying with their pounding rhythm comes!
Hear the tapping, tapping, tapping,
To the marching of the few!
All the battle flags are flapping
And the fates are softly laughing
At this ghastly game they view;
While they thud, thud, thud
Men lay dying in the mud
To the bitter salutation that so powerfully comes
From the drums, drums, drums, drums,
Drums, drums, drums, --
From the tapping and the rapping on the drums.
II
Feel the solemn fun’ral drums,
Deathly drums!
How much pain and mourning with their ghostly rhythm comes!
Through the ghoulish fog of morn’
How they sing their song forlorn! –
From the melancholy strokes
In cold accord,
Such a passion it unyokes
In the guilty coffin-bearer who uncloaks
The fallen lord!
Oh, from out those low anthems,
Such a life of bravery into heaven welcomes!
How it hums
And becomes
A sinking dirge which benumbs
And silently succumbs
To the looming, deeply booming
Fun’ral drums, drums. drums, --
Oh, the drums, drums, drums, drums,
Drums, drums, drums,
To the greeting of the beating of the drums!
III
Feel the proud victory drums --
Parade drums!
How much pride and glory with their joyful rhythm comes!
Through the homeland’s golden streets,
How they march to lively beats,
Singing songs of battles won,
Of plunders gained a ton,
Ne’er defeat!
In a clamorous revealing of the nature of the choir,
In a vibrant exhaltation of the birthplace of the choir,
Singing higher, higher, higher,
With a deep and burning fire,
Now the crowd is moving faster
To the booming of the pastor
Through the streets of a war-torn land.
Oh, the drums, drums, drums!
Never minding of the sums
Of the dead!
How they sing of life and death,
And now how the sons of Seth
Are so dancing on the homeland’s golden streets!
And the people clearly see
By the clanging
And the banging
That they can be now set free;
And the people surely know
From the rapping
And the tapping,
That their vict’ry’s now secure
Through the dying and the crying now comes life, say the drums--
Say the drums,--
Say the drums, drums, drums, drums,
Drums, drums, drums--
Spoke the fates so softly laughing through the drums!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Elegy in a Country Churchyard
The men that worked for England
They have their graves at home:
And bees and birds of England
About the cross can roam.
But they that fought for England,
Following a falling star,
Alas, alas for England
They have their graves afar.
And they that rule in England,
In stately conclave met,
Alas, alas for England,
They have no graves as yet.
- G.K. Chesterton
They have their graves at home:
And bees and birds of England
About the cross can roam.
But they that fought for England,
Following a falling star,
Alas, alas for England
They have their graves afar.
And they that rule in England,
In stately conclave met,
Alas, alas for England,
They have no graves as yet.
- G.K. Chesterton
The Sun Also Sets
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY Posted Thursday, February 07, 2008 4:20 PM PT
Climate Change: Not every scientist is part of Al Gore's mythical "consensus." Scientists worried about a new ice age seek funding to better observe something bigger than your SUV — the sun.
Back in 1991, before Al Gore first shouted that the Earth was in the balance, the Danish Meteorological Institute released a study using data that went back centuries that showed that global temperatures closely tracked solar cycles.To many, those data were convincing. Now, Canadian scientists are seeking additional funding for more and better "eyes" with which to observe our sun, which has a bigger impact on Earth's climate than all the tailpipes and smokestacks on our planet combined. And they're worried about global cooling, not warming.Kenneth Tapping, a solar researcher and project director for Canada's National Research Council, is among those looking at the sun for evidence of an increase in sunspot activity. Solar activity fluctuates in an 11-year cycle. But so far in this cycle, the sun has been disturbingly quiet. The lack of increased activity could signal the beginning of what is known as a Maunder Minimum, an event which occurs every couple of centuries and can last as long as a century. Such an event occurred in the 17th century. The observation of sunspots showed extraordinarily low levels of magnetism on the sun, with little or no 11-year cycle. This solar hibernation corresponded with a period of bitter cold that began around 1650 and lasted, with intermittent spikes of warming, until 1715. Frigid winters and cold summers during that period led to massive crop failures, famine and death in Northern Europe.Tapping reports no change in the sun's magnetic field so far this cycle and warns that if the sun remains quiet for another year or two, it may indicate a repeat of that period of drastic cooling of the Earth, bringing massive snowfall and severe weather to the Northern Hemisphere. Tapping oversees the operation of a 60-year-old radio telescope that he calls a "stethoscope for the sun." But he and his colleagues need better equipment.In Canada, where radio-telescopic monitoring of the sun has been conducted since the end of World War II, a new instrument, the next-generation solar flux monitor, could measure the sun's emissions more rapidly and accurately.As we have noted many times, perhaps the biggest impact on the Earth's climate over time has been the sun.For instance, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Solar Research in Germany report the sun has been burning more brightly over the last 60 years, accounting for the 1 degree Celsius increase in Earth's temperature over the last 100 years.R. Timothy Patterson, professor of geology and director of the Ottawa-Carleton Geoscience Center of Canada's Carleton University, says that "CO2 variations show little correlation with our planet's climate on long, medium and even short time scales."Rather, he says, "I and the first-class scientists I work with are consistently finding excellent correlations between the regular fluctuations of the sun and earthly climate. This is not surprising. The sun and the stars are the ultimate source of energy on this planet."Patterson, sharing Tapping's concern, says: "Solar scientists predict that, by 2020, the sun will be starting into its weakest Schwabe cycle of the past two centuries, likely leading to unusually cool conditions on Earth.""Solar activity has overpowered any effect that CO2 has had before, and it most likely will again," Patterson says. "If we were to have even a medium-sized solar minimum, we could be looking at a lot more bad effects than 'global warming' would have had."In 2005, Russian astronomer Khabibullo Abdusamatov made some waves — and not a few enemies in the global warming "community" — by predicting that the sun would reach a peak of activity about three years from now, to be accompanied by "dramatic changes" in temperatures.
A Hoover Institution Study a few years back examined historical data and came to a similar conclusion."The effects of solar activity and volcanoes are impossible to miss. Temperatures fluctuated exactly as expected, and the pattern was so clear that, statistically, the odds of the correlation existing by chance were one in 100," according to Hoover fellow Bruce Berkowitz. The study says that "try as we might, we simply could not find any relationship between industrial activity, energy consumption and changes in global temperatures." The study concludes that if you shut down all the world's power plants and factories, "there would not be much effect on temperatures." But if the sun shuts down, we've got a problem. It is the sun, not the Earth, that's hanging in the balance.
Climate Change: Not every scientist is part of Al Gore's mythical "consensus." Scientists worried about a new ice age seek funding to better observe something bigger than your SUV — the sun.
Back in 1991, before Al Gore first shouted that the Earth was in the balance, the Danish Meteorological Institute released a study using data that went back centuries that showed that global temperatures closely tracked solar cycles.To many, those data were convincing. Now, Canadian scientists are seeking additional funding for more and better "eyes" with which to observe our sun, which has a bigger impact on Earth's climate than all the tailpipes and smokestacks on our planet combined. And they're worried about global cooling, not warming.Kenneth Tapping, a solar researcher and project director for Canada's National Research Council, is among those looking at the sun for evidence of an increase in sunspot activity. Solar activity fluctuates in an 11-year cycle. But so far in this cycle, the sun has been disturbingly quiet. The lack of increased activity could signal the beginning of what is known as a Maunder Minimum, an event which occurs every couple of centuries and can last as long as a century. Such an event occurred in the 17th century. The observation of sunspots showed extraordinarily low levels of magnetism on the sun, with little or no 11-year cycle. This solar hibernation corresponded with a period of bitter cold that began around 1650 and lasted, with intermittent spikes of warming, until 1715. Frigid winters and cold summers during that period led to massive crop failures, famine and death in Northern Europe.Tapping reports no change in the sun's magnetic field so far this cycle and warns that if the sun remains quiet for another year or two, it may indicate a repeat of that period of drastic cooling of the Earth, bringing massive snowfall and severe weather to the Northern Hemisphere. Tapping oversees the operation of a 60-year-old radio telescope that he calls a "stethoscope for the sun." But he and his colleagues need better equipment.In Canada, where radio-telescopic monitoring of the sun has been conducted since the end of World War II, a new instrument, the next-generation solar flux monitor, could measure the sun's emissions more rapidly and accurately.As we have noted many times, perhaps the biggest impact on the Earth's climate over time has been the sun.For instance, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Solar Research in Germany report the sun has been burning more brightly over the last 60 years, accounting for the 1 degree Celsius increase in Earth's temperature over the last 100 years.R. Timothy Patterson, professor of geology and director of the Ottawa-Carleton Geoscience Center of Canada's Carleton University, says that "CO2 variations show little correlation with our planet's climate on long, medium and even short time scales."Rather, he says, "I and the first-class scientists I work with are consistently finding excellent correlations between the regular fluctuations of the sun and earthly climate. This is not surprising. The sun and the stars are the ultimate source of energy on this planet."Patterson, sharing Tapping's concern, says: "Solar scientists predict that, by 2020, the sun will be starting into its weakest Schwabe cycle of the past two centuries, likely leading to unusually cool conditions on Earth.""Solar activity has overpowered any effect that CO2 has had before, and it most likely will again," Patterson says. "If we were to have even a medium-sized solar minimum, we could be looking at a lot more bad effects than 'global warming' would have had."In 2005, Russian astronomer Khabibullo Abdusamatov made some waves — and not a few enemies in the global warming "community" — by predicting that the sun would reach a peak of activity about three years from now, to be accompanied by "dramatic changes" in temperatures.
A Hoover Institution Study a few years back examined historical data and came to a similar conclusion."The effects of solar activity and volcanoes are impossible to miss. Temperatures fluctuated exactly as expected, and the pattern was so clear that, statistically, the odds of the correlation existing by chance were one in 100," according to Hoover fellow Bruce Berkowitz. The study says that "try as we might, we simply could not find any relationship between industrial activity, energy consumption and changes in global temperatures." The study concludes that if you shut down all the world's power plants and factories, "there would not be much effect on temperatures." But if the sun shuts down, we've got a problem. It is the sun, not the Earth, that's hanging in the balance.
All The Presidents' Hairs
Really expensiven toupees? A scrapbook containing samples of the first 12 presidents' luscious locks will be displayed at a Philedelphia museum.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,330229,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,330229,00.html
Friday, February 8, 2008
Super Bowl XLII and Feb. Poll Results
Well, people, the New York Giants won. The New England Patriots lost. There's not much more too say. There will be no joy in Foxboro tonight; however the rest of America, the middle class, the heart and soul of America, the proponents of liberty and freedom, are rejoicing at the greatest upset of this generation. The true patriots have won.
NY: 17
NE: 14
But this should not have been a suprise, because the score was perfectly predicted by none other than the readers of this blog!!! So here are the results to prove it.
February Poll #1:
"Who will win Super Bowl XLII?"
1. 50%- The Giants by less than 10. (3 votes)
2. 33%- The Patriots by more than 10. (2 votes)
3. 16%- The Patriots by less than 10. (1 vote)
4. 0%- The Giants by more tan 10. (0 votes) geeze, a little faith, people?!
So, my blog now officially determines the future. Beware my magical powers.
Long may the Manning Dynasty thrive!!! and long may the 1972 Dolphins remain unmatched!!!
NY: 17
NE: 14
But this should not have been a suprise, because the score was perfectly predicted by none other than the readers of this blog!!! So here are the results to prove it.
February Poll #1:
"Who will win Super Bowl XLII?"
1. 50%- The Giants by less than 10. (3 votes)
2. 33%- The Patriots by more than 10. (2 votes)
3. 16%- The Patriots by less than 10. (1 vote)
4. 0%- The Giants by more tan 10. (0 votes) geeze, a little faith, people?!
So, my blog now officially determines the future. Beware my magical powers.
Long may the Manning Dynasty thrive!!! and long may the 1972 Dolphins remain unmatched!!!
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Friday, February 1, 2008
Finals Update!
Well, folks, I wasn’t all wrong, but in case you didn’t get the memo we will only have finals for the subjects we choose. We will be given our current scores in all our classes on Monday, which will be a review day, and bring them home to our parents so they can decide which finals we need to take. They’ll sign something saying which ones we’re not taking, then we’ll take that to school.
So here’s the schedule:
Tuesday: Bible :P
Wednesday: Lit, Physics
Thursday: Science, Rhetoric
Friday: Trig, Espanol
So here’s the schedule:
Tuesday: Bible :P
Wednesday: Lit, Physics
Thursday: Science, Rhetoric
Friday: Trig, Espanol
Attention Oaksters!
I just heard from I reliable source that finals have been canceled for all secondary. I'm pretty sure my information is correct, but don't sue me if it's not. Let the celebrations begin!!!
Possible Blog wars?
Does this seem like a good idea to you?
"We are excited to announce that Blogger is now available in three more languages: Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian!"
"We are excited to announce that Blogger is now available in three more languages: Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian!"
Quote of the Day
"Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense?"
-Patrick Henry
-Patrick Henry
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