We're all familiar with this iconic photograph of 'Tank Man':
Seems like this photoshpped version is really annoying the Chinese leaders:
Internet searches for the terms 'big yellow duck' have been banned in China.
Then there is this one:
No sense of humor, those Chinese leaders.
"Like man in front of tanks, cow in road is fair game for bulldozers." - Chinese proverb (?)
Sixty-six years ago today, on a cold Tuesday in Brooklyn, Jack Roosevelt 'Jackie' Robinson took the field in a game against the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field. He was to face Johnny Sain, one-half of the legendary "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain" pitching duo of the Braves.
Robinson didn't do too well that day: grounded out, flied out, hit into a double play,
reached on an error. But his feat went far beyond what he did at the plate or in the field. He became the first African-American since the 1880s to play in a major league baseball game, and entered the history books. We didn't know it at the time but the USA's civil rights era began that day.
Jackie Robinson was a great athlete, but he proved to be an even greater man. Robinson endured a lot of crap (a euphemism) from other ballplayers, the public, sportswriters, and fans. He was a proud man, but had promised Dodgers owner Branch Rickey that he would hold his tongue and his fists for two years. Rickey feared that if Robinson proved to be too combative right off the bat, naysayers would proclaim 'I told you so!' and the cause of major league baseball integration would be damaged.
I like this 1997 passage by Ira Berkow, in which he talked about Robinson and Dodger teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese, a Southern boy from Kentucky who was the Dodgers' captain at the time Robinson came to the big leagues.
The first of the two incidents occurred at the beginning of spring training in 1947, when Robinson had been called up to the Dodgers from Montreal, Brooklyn's top minor league team, on which Robinson had starred during the 1946 season. A petition was drawn up by a group of mostly Southern Dodgers players that stated they would not take the field with a black man.
"I'm not signing that," Reese told the ringleaders, who included Dixie Walker, Kirby Higbe and Bobby Bragan. "No way."
Reese, the soft-spoken but respected team captain, with a Southern upbringing, perhaps surprised the petition-carriers. "I wasn't thinking of myself as the Great White Father," Reese says now. "I just wanted to play baseball. I'd just come back from serving in the South Pacific with the Navy during the Second World War, and I had a wife and daughter to support. I needed the money. I just wanted to get on with it."
But there was more to it than the money.
And Reese's refusal to sign the petition, many believe, meant the end of the matter.
Robinson played, and endured vicious abuse from opposing teams, from beanballs and spikings to racial epithets and spitting. Robinson had promised Branch Rickey, the owner and general manager of the Dodgers, that for at least his first two years in the major leagues, he would hold his tongue and his fists, no matter the provocation. And one day -- it was probably in Cincinnati, Reese recalled, in 1947 or 1948 -- the attack was so nasty that Reese walked over to Robinson and put his hand on the black man's shoulder.
"Pee Wee kind of sensed the sort of hopeless, dead feeling in me and came over and stood beside me for a while," Robinson recalled, as quoted in the forthcoming biography "Jackie Robinson," by Arnold Rampersad (Alfred A. Knopf). "He didn't say a word but he looked over at the chaps who were yelling at me through him and just stared. He was standing by me, I could tell you that." The hecklers ceased their attack. "I will never forget it," Robinson said.
After reading that pssage I gained a huge amount of respect for Pee Wee Reese. He could have easily gone the other way, but he did the right thing. Not easy for a white guy from Kentucky in the late 1940s.
Jackie left us at the all-too-early age of 53. What he endured no doubt contributed to his untimely death. Robinson was a truly remarkable man who rose to a challenge few of us could ever imagine, much less face with such grace, strength, and courage.
At the tender age of 8, in 1956, I saw him play against the St. Louis Cardinals and Stan "The Man" Musial at Ebbets Field. He was nearing the end of his Hall of Fame career, but still went 2-for-4. My father attempted to explain to me the significance of what he had done, but I was too consumed with hot dogs and cotton candy to comprehend. Later, I understood, and realized that what Robinson had done helped free us all. He is now one of my all-time heroes, right up there with Nelson Mandela and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Arnold Rampersad wrote an excellent biography, Jackie Robinson. Read it. Never mind that you're not a sports fan. It is not a sports book; it's about a courageous man, a hero for all, who just happened to play baseball.
And don't forget the new movie, 42.
"Some numbers will always be associated with an athlete; '42' will forever be associated with a movement." - John Saunders, ESPN
From The New Yorker.
"In today's gun debate and discussions of the Second Amendment, you rarely hear the term 'well-regulated' mentioned." - Unknown
Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr ,,who would have turned 84 on 15 January 2013. I have come to appreciate and admire him (and all the civil rights workers) by reading Taylor Branch's brilliant trilogy of the civil rights era: Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63; Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65; and At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years 1965-68.
What thoroughly amazes me were the toughness, resiliency, and
resolve of the civil
rights workers, and how they honored King's insistence upon nonviolent resistance. Along with King, the names of heroes such as John Lewis, Ralph Abernathy, Hosea Williams, Rosa Parks, Coretta King, Septima Clark, James Meredith, Andrew Young, Marian Wright, Diane Nash, Fannie Lou Hamer, James Bevel, Bob Moses, et al., are forever burned in my mind. Similarly, I shall not soon forget place names like Selma and Montgomery,
or people like Lester Maddox, George Wallace, Bull Connor, Orval Faubus, Strom Thurmond, and their ilk.
As I read the aforementioned books, cringing at what humans can do to each other, one thought haunted me: what would I have done had I been a Southern white person during that time (I am actually half-North Carolina Scots-Irish WASP)? I've concluded that I probably would not have been one of the segregationist ringleaders, but certainly would not have risen to the defense of the oppressed. I probably would have (very quietly) supported their cause, but not done anything to jeopardize my comfortable middle-class lifestyle (see
the quote below). Certainly Northerners were no better than Southerners when it came to desegregation; recall the Boston busing "incidents" of the 1970s.
Another thing also amazes me: how much the Southern poor whites ("poor white trash") and blacks had in common. Both were horribly oppressed, but skillful politicians kept the poor whites riled about the "uppity Negroes". If the two groups had united, there would have been hell to pay.
I do have a few interesting memories about that period, as I was a student in Virginia (College of William and Mary) from 1966-1970. One stands out. Just after I arrived in Virginia, Sen. Harry F. Byrd died - he was the scion of the infamous Byrd (members of the FFV) political dynasty in Virginia, and the whole state mourned his death. What I remember most about that time is the characterization of Byrd by a local columnist:
"Never was there a man who so dragged his feet through the sands of time."
Here is a humorous memory. I played alto saxophone in the W&M marching band, and we had been engaged to provide entertainment at the Southern Governors' Conference (in Williamsburg or Jamestown). While we stood in formation, who should start darting among the band members, fiddling with the music and instruments and being a nuisance? It was none other than Lester Maddox, newly-elected segregationist governor of Georgia. He finally asked our band director, Charles 'Chuck' Varner, if we knew Dixie, and if so, could we play it? Varner, annoyed by all of Maddox's antics, calmly but firmly said, 'No, Governor, we don't have the music but we would gladly play Marching Through Georgia for you. Maddox stopped, scowled deeply, and then darted off whence he came. Way to go, Chuck!
"I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr., 28 August 1963
I saw this monument while walking along the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, FL, this morning. Thought it was appropriate for Veterans Day.
Thanks!
"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations." - Woodrow Wilson
Got this from Facebook.
Makes a lot of sense, which is why we are not likely to hear it from either major candidate in the 2012 election.
"A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad." - Theodore Roosevelt
In between the fireworks, auto and furniture sales, and barbecues, take a few minutes today to read the Declaration of Independence and the remarkable Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, which came along 11 years later:
If you are an American citizen, thank your lucky stars for those 56 guys who signed the Declaration in Philadelphia in 1776 and started this thing rolling.
While you are at it, give extra thanks for the First Amendment, which guarantees five fundamental rights, which you can remember with the mnemonic RAPPS: religion, assembly, press, petition, and speech.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, two giants in American history - friends, then opponents, and finally friends again - both died on this day in 1826. As I get older, I think less of Jefferson and more of Adams. Both were great men, but the former 'talked the talk' and didn't always 'walk the walk' (e.g., slavery) whereas the latter tried to do both.
Enjoy the day, and enjoy RAPPS!
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." -- Declaration of Independence
"...a Republic, if you can keep it." -- Benjamin Franklin, at the end of the Constitutional Convention, when asked, "What have you wrought?"
Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr ,,who would have turned 83 yesterday. I have come to appreciate and admire him (and all the civil rights workers) by reading Taylor
Branch's brilliant trilogy of the civil rights era: Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63; Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65; and At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years 1965-68.
What thoroughly amazes me were the toughness, resiliency, and resolve of the civil
rights workers, and how they honored King's insistence upon nonviolent resistance. Along with King, the names of heroes such as John Lewis, Ralph Abernathy, Hosea Williams, Rosa Parks, Coretta King, Septima Clark, James Meredith, Andrew Young, Marian Wright, Diane Nash, Fannie Lou Hamer, James Bevel, Bob Moses, et al., are forever burned in my mind. Similarly, I shall not soon forget place names like Selma and Montgomery, or people like Lester Maddox, George Wallace, Bull Connor, Orval Faubus, Strom Thurmond, and their ilk.
As I read the aforementioned books, cringing at what humans can do to each other, one thought haunted me: what would I have done had I been a Southern white person during that time (I am actually half-North Carolina Scots-Irish WASP)? I've concluded that I probably would not have been one of the segregationist ringleaders, but certainly would not have risen to the defense of the oppressed. I probably would have (very quietly) supported their cause, but not done anything to jeopardize my comfortable middle-class lifestyle (see the quote below). Certainly Northerners were no better than Southerners when it came to desegregation; recall the Boston busing "incidents" of the 1970s.
Another thing also amazes me: how much the Southern poor whites ("poor white trash") and blacks had in common. Both were horribly oppressed, but skillful politicians kept the poor whites riled about the "uppity Negroes". If the two groups had united, there would have been hell to pay.
Here is King's "I Have a Dream" speech:
I do have a few interesting memories about that period, as I was a student in Virginia (College of William and Mary) from 1966-1970. Just after I arrived in Virginia, Sen. Harry F. Byrd died - he was the scion of the infamous Byrd (members of the FFV) political dynasty in Virginia, and the whole state mourned his death. What I remember most about that time is the characterization of Byrd by a local columnist:
"Never was there a man who so dragged his feet through the sands of time."
"I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr., 28 August 1963
Few people realize that the late Kim Jong-il was something other than just another pretty face, fashion maven, skilled diplomat, and fervent humanitarian: he was an energy conservation genius who brought North Korea to the top of the world's nations when it came to efficient use of energy.
Don't take my word for it - witness this nighttime satellite image of the Korean Peninsula. Can you guess which country is North Korea?
"DPRK [North Korea] citizens are guaranteed many provisions that are uncommon in many developed capitalist societies, which are home to real poverty. Unlike in many countries of the capitalist world, the DPRK is a state free of homelessness, unemployment, prostitution and starvation.” - Kim Jong-il
Lest you think you are someone special try using BBC's tool to discover where you fit in the panoply of human existence.
Yes, I am the 75,491,735,358th human to have ever lived, and when I was born, I was the 2,480,775,909th person alive on Earth.
Maybe that's special after all!
If you also enter your country and gender you can get more information. Here is what I got:
What's next? The global population will continue to increase during your lifetime and beyond, reaching 10 billion by 2083. However, the rate of growth is expected to slow. Little of the current growth is happening in developed countries like yours.
Longer lives: Working-age people like you will be supporting increasing numbers of older people during the next decades. By 2050, there will be just 2.2 people of working age supporting every person aged 65 or older in the developed world. In Europe, this will drop to just two.
Battle for resources: It is estimated that your group of the richest countries consumes double the resources used by the rest of the world. The UN estimates that if current population and consumption trends continue, by the 2030s we will need the equivalent of two Earths to support us.
Did you know? The average family size globally has declined by half since 1950 - from five children to the current 2.5.
The site also told me that 4,136 people had been born since I entered the site.
Bringing attention to the 7 billionth person is good. It will focus our attention on the issue of increasing population and its ramifications.
So how's this for a wish? Hard to believe Prince Phillip said this. Click on the yellow text for more quotes about population control.
“If I were reincarnated I would wish to be returned to earth as a killer virus to lower human population levels. -- Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh
This morning on NPR I heard a story about the dismantling of the final blockbuster nuclear weapon in the USA's arsenal: a 9-megaton bunker buster known as the B-53. The story related how these weapons were the size of a minivan (see below), weighed 4.5 tons, and could obliterate all life within 9 miles of ground zero and spread radiation for hundreds of square miles. Only two could be carried aboard a B-52, and during the height of the Cold War, 24 of these things were always in the air ready to take out the Soviet Union.
Years ago I was involved in the nuclear weapons program. Read about it here.
Here is a PDF of a lecture on the effects of nuclear weapons and the classic text by Glasstone and
Dolan,The Effects of Nuclear Weapons. Here is an online version of the 1977 edition. Above is a picture of the 'Strangelove Slide Rule', the circular 'Nuclear Bomb Effects Computer' that came with the Glasstone and Dolan book. I still have mine! John Walker has an online version of the computer.
Talk about macabre displacement behavior! Enjoy, if you can.
"They're not 'bombs'; they are 'devices'! They are only called 'bombs' when we drop them from the sky." - an especially irritating Lawrence Livermore physicist, educating yours truly on the correct nomenclature for nuclear devices, c. 1979
And then there is this from William Easterly's Facebook page.
"When asked by an anthropologist what the Indians called America before the white man came, an Indian said simply, 'Ours.' " ~Vine Deloria, Jr.
In between the fireworks, auto and furniture sales, and barbecues, take a few minutes today to read the Declaration of Independence and the remarkable Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, which came along 11 years later:
If you are an American citizen, thank your lucky stars for those 56 guys who signed the Declaration in Philadelphia in 1776 and started this thing rolling.
While you are at it, give extra thanks for the First Amendment, which guarantees five fundamental rights, which you can remember with the mnemonic RAPPS: religion, assembly, press, petition, and speech.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, two giants in American history - friends, then opponents, and finally friends again - both died on this day in 1826. As I get older, I think less of Jefferson and more of Adams. Both were great men, but the former 'talked the talk' and didn't always 'walk the walk' (e.g., slavery) whereas the latter tried to do both.
Enjoy the day, and enjoy RAPPS!
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." -- Declaration of Independence
"...a Republic, if you can keep it." -- Benjamin Franklin, at the end of the Constitutional Convention, when asked, "What have you wrought?"
Great cover cartoon from the current Funny Times.
Sad but true.
"We learn nothing from history except that we learn nothing from history." -- Cicero
Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr , who would have turned 82 earlier this month. I have come to appreciate and admire him (and all the civil rights workers) by reading Taylor Branch's brilliant
trilogy of the civil rights era: Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63;
Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65; and At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years 1965-68.
What thoroughly amazes me were the toughness, resiliency, and resolve of the civil rights workers, and how they honored King's insistence upon nonviolent resistance. Along with King, the names of heroes such as John Lewis, Ralph Abernathy, Hosea Williams, Rosa Parks, Coretta King, Septima Clark, James Meredith, Andrew Young, Marian Wright, Diane Nash, Fannie Lou Hamer, James Bevel, Bob Moses, et al., are forever burned in my mind. Similarly, I shall not soon forget place names like Selma and Montgomery, or people like Lester Maddox, George Wallace, Bull Connor, Orval Faubus, Strom Thurmond, and their ilk.
As I read the aforementioned books, cringing at what humans can do to each other, one thought haunted me: what would I have done had I been a Southern white person during that time (I am actually half-North Carolina Scots-Irish WASP)? I've concluded that I probably would not have been one of the segregationist ringleaders, but certainly would not have risen to the defense of the oppressed. I probably would have (very quietly) supported their cause, but not done anything to jeopardize my comfortable middle-class lifestyle (see the quote below). Certainly Northerners were no better than Southerners when it came to desegregation; recall the Boston busing "incidents" of the 1970s.
Another thing also amazes me: how much the Southern poor whites ("poor white trash") and blacks had in common. Both were horribly oppressed, but skillful politicians kept the poor whites riled about the "uppity Negroes". If the two groups had united, there would have been hell to pay.
Here is King's "I Have a Dream Speech":
I do have a few interesting memories about that period, as I was a student in Virginia (College of William and Mary) from 1966-1970. Just after I arrived in Virginia, Sen. Harry F. Byrd died - he was the scion of the infamous Byrd (members of the FFV) political dynasty in Virginia, and the whole state mourned his death. What I remember most about that time is the characterization of Byrd by a local columnist:
"Never was there a man who so dragged his feet through the sands of time."
The Tea Partiers have made a big deal about returning to the principles espoused by the Founding Fathers. In this morning's Oregonian (and in the New York Times a few days ago) Ron Chernow's Op-Ed piece lays to rest the myth that the Founding Fathers were a bunch of like-minded men who moved in step with each other.
Chernow begins:
Like many popular insurgencies in American history, the tea party movement has attempted to enlist the Founding Fathers as fervent adherents to its cause. The very name invokes those disguised patriots who clambered aboard ships in Boston Harbor in December 1773 and dumped chests of tea into the water rather than submit to the hated tea tax. At tea party rallies, marchers brandish flags emblazoned with the Revolutionary slogan "Don't Tread on Me" while George Washington impersonators and other folks in colonial garb mingle with the crowds.
So all the Founding Fathers were states' righters? Here is what Chernow writes:
Jefferson and his Republicans (not related to today's Republicans) advocated states' rights, a weak federal government and strict construction of the Constitution. The tea party can claim legitimate descent from Jefferson and Madison, even though they founded what became the Democratic Party. On the other hand, Washington and Hamilton -- founders of no mean stature -- embraced an expansive view of the Constitution. That would scarcely sit well with tea party advocates, many of whom adhere to the judicial doctrine of originalism: i.e., that any interpretation of the Constitution must abide by the intent of those founders who crafted it.
Chernow concludes:
No single group should ever presume to claim special ownership of the Founding Fathers or the Constitution they wrought with such skill and ingenuity. Those lofty figures, along with the seminal document they brought forth, form a sacred part of our common heritage as Americans. They should be used for the richness and diversity of their arguments, not tampered with for partisan purposes. The Dutch historian Pieter Geyl once famously asserted that history was an argument without an end. Our contentious founders, who could agree on little else, would certainly have agreed on that.
Give this article a read.
"If the first amendment doesn’t work, the second will." -- Tea Party sign
Nine years ago today my younger sister Ann Campana Judge was murdered by the five men you see here.
She was on American Airlines Flight #77 - the one that was crashed into the Pentagon.
I will always remember that these men, as well as 10 of the other 14 murderers, were Saudi Arabians. The other four were nationals of the UAE (2), Lebanon, and Egypt.
When we buy Saudi oil, some of our money goes to organizations that support these kinds of people.
We should never forget that.
A few days after 9/11/2001, a field outside the Pentagon was 'appropriated' by loved ones of the victims. We left mementos of those we lost.
Below you can see what what my niece Becky and I left in Ann's memory. The Marlboro Lights and Diet Coke should have been accompanied by a fifth (or more) of Dewar's Scotch but we exercised some good judgment - we left a Dewar's ad from a magazine. Besides, Annn would have wanted us to consume it.
Two years ago on this date they dedicated the Pentagon Memorial. The Washington Post had a special section on it.
I've been to the memorial thrice and it is a remarkable place. It's open 24/7.
Below are some pictures, including Ann's bench and her name carved in stone at the entrance.
In August 2009 I had a nice long visit. I sat on her bench and said "God bless!" to the other 183 murdered heroes who are memorialized, including the three middle-school students and their teachers Ann and NGS colleague Joe Ferguson were escorting to Los Angeles to join others for a field trip to the Channel Islands. It was the students' first airplane trip.
Here are more pictures.
Next time I vist I'll bring some Diet Coke, a pack of Marlboro Lights, and maybe a bottle of Dewar's. Those were three of Annie's favorite things.
One thing gnaws at me: what were Ann's last moments like? Was she aware that they were going to crash? She must have - she was an experienced flyer who'd flown out of DC airports many times. She knew they were flying too fast and too low. And they were going in the wrong direction to be landing at DCA. Did she die on impact or suffer? Was she comforting the children? Probably.
Somewhat morbid, I know.
I have her effects in a box (Mary Frances had this custom-built for me) in our library - her driver's license, some business cards, etc. It's amazing how well they survived the conflagration. She was incinerated but her business cards survived.
On the tenth anniversary I am going to retrace her flight. I suspect flight number 77 has long since been retired byAA but I'll do IAD > LAX. Perhaps that will help me.
Here is an article about the foundation I created to honor Ann.
RIP, Annie. You're still doing good things.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -- Edmund Burke
"A little bit of irreverence is good. A lot is better." -- Ann Campana Judge.
From Juan Cole: a parody of former DJ Glenn Beck's (not that there's anything wrong with being a former DJ) speech today.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from tax increases or increased regulation of your speculative financial instruments. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of government takeover and staggered by the winds of police laxness toward Mexicans and minority crime. You have been the veterans of creative suffering, under our current strange mixture of fascism, communism and Islam (Islamo-commie-fascism as I call it). Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering cannot be cured by a government take-over of health care.
Go back to the Hamptons, go back to Grosse Point, go back to Alaska, go back to Utah, go back to Idaho, go back to the suburbs and exurbs of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation of having an African-American president can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that some men are only worth 3/5s of others.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down and recognize that our president doesn’t like white guys.
I have a dream that one day even the borough of Manhattan, a borough sweltering with the heat of socialism, sweltering with the heat of Islamic fascism, will be transformed into a mosque-free oasis of freedom for people just like me.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their gold portfolios.
I have a dream today.
Here's a report about Beck's speech and rally.
Now savor the original 'I Have A Dream' speech.
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today." --Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Washington, DC, 28 August 1963
Women's suffrage: happy 90th anniversary! On this date in 1920 the 19th Amendment was certified by the Secretary of State as being adopted after having been ratified on 18 August 1920. It granted the right to vote to all women with the simple words at the bottom of this page.
It's still surprsing to me that it took so long, especially after I viewed the following video, courtesy of Marty Ennis. Or maybe it should be apparent after viewing the video, which is titled, Why Women Stay Single.
You might want to avert your eyes.
"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."
In between the fireworks, auto and furniture sales, and barbecues, take a few minutes today to read the Declaration of Independence and the remarkable Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, which came along 11 years later:
If you are an American citizen, thank your lucky stars for those 56 guys who signed the Declaration in Philadelphia in 1776 and started this thing rolling.
While you are at it, give extra thanks for the First Amendment, which guarantees five fundamental rights, which you can remember with the mnemonic RAPPS: religion, assembly, press, petition, and speech.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, two giants in American history - friends, then opponents, and finally friends again - both died on this day in 1826. As I get older, I think less of Jefferson and more of Adams. Both were great men, but the former 'talked the talk' and didn't always 'walk the walk' (e.g., slavery) whereas the latter tried to do both.
Enjoy the day, and enjoy RAPPS!
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." -- Declaration of Independence
The Georgian government attempted to erase one of the its more unpleasant national memories when it toppled the bronze statue of Gori's hometown boy who made it big, Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili, aka Joseph Stalin.The statue was removed under cover of night.
Here's a photo of the statue I took in October 2008. The statue was located in Gori's town square. It is to be replaced by a memorial to vistims of the 2008 war with Russia.
Here is another statue of Stalin, near his house (on whose porch I sit) that I took on the same visit. This one was not torn down - it's certainly less visible than the other one. Rumor has it that the big bronze stsute will be placed near his home and musuem.
It should be noted that some residents of Gori are still proud of Stalin. After all, he was one of the most brutal dictators the world has ever seen. How many towns can lay claim to that?
"So, I see you're still a whore." -- Stalin to his mother, upon returning to Gori
Enjoy Cinco de Mayo, which celebrates Mexico's victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. The Mexicans were outnumbered by about 2 to 1.
The holiday is a much bigger deal in the USA than it is in Mexico, except perhaps in the state of Puebla. The country''s independence day is 16 September.
We owe the Mexicans a great debt. We could be speaking French and eating crêpes in the Southwest USA.
If you're going to Arizona to enjoy the celebration, be sure to bring your passports or birth certificates.
If you are going to Mexico, bring your AK-47.
And a shout-out to the Phoenix Suns for their 'Los Suns' jerseys!
"In Mexico an air conditioner is called a politician because it makes a lot of noise but doesn't work very well." -- Len Deighton
The following letter to the editor was published in the Corvallis Gazette-Timeson 25 March 2010. The writer invokes John Lewis (D-GA), who represents Atlanta in the U.S. House of Representatives.
I realize most Americans know virtually nothing about our history. But then most Americans don't strut around acting as if they are the very torchbearers of freedom.
The right-wing reactionary group known as The Tea Party compares itself to the colonial Sons of Liberty. Yet their actions this past weekend in Washington, D.C., were more reminiscent of the White Citizens' Council and demonstrated that you can call yourself an American patriot, without knowing the first thing about American history.
John Lewis of Georgia is unquestionably one of the giants of American history. What he endured for the cause of freedom during the 1950s and '60s should be honored and held in awe by every American. Yet, when he attempted to walk into the United States Capitol this past weekend, he was spat upon and called a nigger by Tea Party members protesting health care reform.
He could handle the abuse. No living American has endured more abuse from bigots calling themselves patriots than John Lewis and no living American has done more for the cause of freedom than John Lewis.
Defenders will argue that it was a few bad apples. But the Tea Party is fully embraced by the Republican Party. Not surprisingly, 25 percent of people claiming to be Republicans think that President Obama "might be the anti-Christ."
Before you call yourself Tom Paine, learn what he believed. Before you spit on John Lewis, learn what he did.
I used to think Lewis was 'just' an African-American politician from Georgia until I read Taylor Branch's trilogy on the civil rights era of US history. Lewis, barely into his 20s, was a giant of those times. He endured far more than someone's spit: beatings and death threats. Throughout all that, he persevered, never wavering from his nonviolence and belief that equality would ultimately arrive. That's courage, friends, something Tea Partiers know little about.
Excellent letter that really resonated with me.
My hero? I'll take John Lewis any day.
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.
Hard to believe the Iraq War began seven years ago today.
I remember where I was when it began: attending the Third World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan. The Japanese had set up large-screen TVs throughout the conference center and all were tuned to CNN. I recall a group of us staring in silence at a large screen, watching the invasion unfold, all in that eerie green light.
CNN switched to President Bush, who announced the invasion and explained its rationale. Again, we watched, although the silence was occasionally punctuated by hushed comments, not all in English.
Then, from the back of the pack, came an American-accented female voice: "My God! He does look like Alfred E. Neuman!" Those of us who understood her comment dissipated the solemnity with laughter.
We've come such a long way since 20 March 2003.
"Americans are rising to the tasks of history, and they expect the same of us." -- George W. Bush
Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who would have turned 81 earlier this month. I have come to appreciate and admire him (and all the civil rights workers) by reading Taylor Branch's brilliant
trilogy of the civil rights era: Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63;
Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65; and At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years 1965-68.
What thoroughly amazes me were the toughness, resiliency, and resolve of the civil rights workers, and how they honored King's insistence upon nonviolent resistance. Along with King, the names of heroes such as John Lewis, Ralph Abernathy, Hosea Williams, Rosa Parks, Coretta King, Septima Clark, James Meredith, Andrew Young, Marian Wright, Diane Nash, Fannie Lou Hamer, James Bevel, Bob Moses, et al., are forever burned in my mind. Similarly, I shall not soon forget place names like Selma and Montgomery, or people like Lester Maddox, George Wallace, Bull Connor, Orval Faubus, Strom Thurmond, and their ilk.
As I read the aforementioned books, cringing at what humans can do to each other, one thought haunted me: what would I have done had I been a Southern white person during that time (I am actually half-North Carolina Scots-Irish WASP)? I've concluded that I probably would not have been one of the segregationist ringleaders, but certainly would not have risen to the defense of the oppressed. I probably would have (very quietly) supported their cause, but not done anything to jeopardize my comfortable middle-class lifestyle (see the quote below). Certainly Northerners were no better than Southerners when it came to desegregation; recall the Boston busing "incidents" of the 1970s.
Another thing also amazes me: how much the Southern poor whites ("poor white trash") and blacks had in common. Both were horribly oppressed, but skillful politicians kept the poor whites riled about the "uppity Negroes". If the two groups had united, there would have been hell to pay.
Here is King's "I Have a Dream" speech:
I do have a few interesting memories about that period, as I was a student in Virginia (College of William and Mary) from 1966-1970. Just after I arrived in Virginia, Sen. Harry F. Byrd died - he was the scion of the infamous Byrd (members of the FFV) political dynasty in Virginia, and the whole state mourned his death. What I remember most about that time is the characterization of Byrd by a local columnist:
"Never was there a man who so dragged his feet through the sands of time."
How true!
I recall going on field trips to areas in the rural South and being "bold" enough to enter the "Colored" bathrooms or drink from the "Colored Only" water fountains. To me it was a game; I had little realization or understanding of all the hatred and oppression embodied in those few simple words. And I am now embarrased to admit that my roommate (a Jew) and I (a Yankee) had a Confederate flag in our dorm room. Sure, we used it to cover holes in the wall, but that's a lame excuse - we could have used a psychedelic poster or a peace symbol, not a heinous symbol anathema to millions.
One recollection, though, is humorous. I was playing with the W & M marching band at the Southern Governors' conference in Williamsburg. As we stood at attention, Governor Lester Maddox of Georgia came by and started scurrying among us, chattering away, grabbing at our instruments and asking if we would play "Dixie". Finally, our stoic band director, Charles Varner, could restrain himself no longer and quietly but firmly said to Maddox, "I'm afraid we don't know 'Dixie', Governor, but we would be glad to play 'Marching Through Georgia' for you." That stopped Lester dead in his tracks, and he frowned and walked away. After that, for me, ol' Chuck's stature zoomed upwards.
We all have a huge debt to Dr. King and his followers. They were all remarkable, courageous people.
"We will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends." -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1929-1968
From cartoonist R. J. Matson.
Give Andrew Bacevich's The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism a read.
"When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Just roll to your rifle an' blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier."
--Rudyard Kipling
What with all the people tossing around the word 'Nazi" today, I think it's instructive to reflect upon who the Nazis were and what they did. Perhaps then we won't be so cavalier in branding someone a Nazi.
Leonard Pitts, Jr. hits the nail on the head with his column,We Need a History Lesson About Nazis.
Here's a teaser:
I hope this column makes you sick.
See, we'll be talking about Nazis, something many of us are doing lately. Indeed, just this week a fellow named Joseph e-mailed me about a caller he heard on a radio show. The man, vexed over healthcare reform, likened President Obama to Adolf Hitler. Asked why, he said, "Hitler took over the car companies, then healthcare and then he killed the Jews.''
Said Joseph: "I almost swerved my vehicle off the road when I heard that.''
But the caller is hardly unique. Google "Obama + Nazis'' and you get almost seven million hits. Nor is the phenomenon new. Substitute President Bush's name and you get nearly 2.8 million.
Then there is this passage:
For the record, then: It was Nazis who shoved sand down a boy's throat until he died, who tossed candies to Jewish children as they sank to their deaths in a sand pit, who threw babies from a hospital window and competed to see how many of those `little Jews' could be caught on a bayonet, who injected a cement-like fluid into women's uteruses to see what would happen, who stomped a pregnant woman to death, who once snatched a woman's baby from her arms and, in the words of an eyewitness, `tore him as one would tear a rag'.''
Read on, folks. It only gets better, or should I say, worse.
"We have a Constitution, after all, and it says we can say whatever we want. It doesn't say it has to be intelligent." -- Leonard Pitts, Jr.
Forty years ago today, several other future geologists/hydrologists and I were enthralled by the grainy images we saw on a B & W TV in the basement of the geology building at the College of William and Mary. Amazing!
Just like President Kennedy's assassination I will never forget where I was. It's still as clear as a bell.
And forty years later I am still amazed at what I witnessed.
My hat's off to Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin.
"I believe that the Good Lord gave us a finite number of heartbeats and I'm damned if I'm going to use up mine running up and down a street." -- Neil Armstrong
In between the fireworks, auto sales, and barbecues, take a few minutes today to read the Declaration of Independence and the remarkable Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution:
If you are an American citizen, thank your lucky stars for those 56 guys who signed the Declaration in Philadelphia in 1776 and started this thing rolling.
While you are at it, give extra thanks for the First Amendment, which guarantees five fundamental rights, which you can remember with the mnemonic RAPPS: religion, assembly, press, petition, and speech.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, two giants in American history - friends, then opponents, and finally friends again, both died on this day in 1826. As I get older, I think less of Jefferson and more of Adams.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." -- Declaration of Independence
I found this at audible.com.
A Reflection on Memorial Day by Sen. Bob Kerrey
I stand on a bluff in Normandy, France, overlooking the English Channel. The beach below was called Omaha. 9,387 white crosses mark the remains of young Americans killed here or in other places in France following the June 6, 1944, invasion. They're all dead. Another 1,557 names are on a wall here but their bodies could not be found. They're all dead, too. They did not come home to kiss their girlfriends or wives. Their children grew up without them. They did not enjoy the GI Bill. They did not build a new house. They did not see their commanding officer elected President twice. They never heard rock and roll. They didn't grow old.
Try to remember them today. Try to hear their youthful laughs. Try to know their fear. Try to feel their promise realized in your life, through your actions, your humility, your respect.
Give thanks today.
Listen to Terry Gross' interview with former Marine platoon leader Donovan Campbell, author of Joker One. Remarkable man, remarkable story.
“Heroism is latent in every human soul - However humble or unknown, they (the veterans) have renounced what are accounted pleasures and cheerfully undertaken all the self-denials - privations, toils, dangers, sufferings, sicknesses, mutilations, life." -- Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
What really happened in the early days of our nation? How was it possible for white settlers to march across the entire continent, inexorably claiming Native American lands for themselves? Who made it happen, and why? This gripping book tells America’s story from a new perspective, chronicling the adventures of our forefathers and showing how a legacy of repeated betrayals became the bedrock on which the republic was built.
Paul VanDevelder takes as his focal point the epic federal treaty ratified in 1851 at Horse Creek, formally recognizing perpetual ownership by a dozen Native American tribes of 1.1 million square miles of the American West. The astonishing and shameful story of this broken treaty—one of 371 Indian treaties signed during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries—reveals a pattern of fraudulent government behavior that again and again displaced Native Americans from their lands. VanDevelder describes the path that led to the genocide of the American Indian; those who participated in it, from cowboys and common folk to aristocrats and presidents; and how the history of the immoral treatment of Indians through the twentieth century has profound social, economic, and political implications for America even today.
"The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives." — Native American proverb
Today is my adopted home state of Oregon's 150th birthday, otherwise know to cognoscenti as its sesquicentennial.
Oregon is the only state whose flag has a different picture on each side. Here are the front and back pictures (that's a beaver on the back):
One other state I once called home - Arizona - also entered the Union on Valentine's Day, but in 1912. But the best statehood day of all my former home states is Nevada's: Halloween. Someone had a sense of humor. I'll never forget driving to Las Vegas on I-15 in 1990. As I crossed into Nevada from Arizona, there was a huge billboard, a relict of Nevada's 125th anniversary in 1989. It had the state seal, with the words: Nevada - 125 Years of Vision After struggling to keep my Toyota pickup from going off the road, I thought to myself, "Yeah, that's right: gambling, prostitution, and nuclear testing." In short, tunnel vision. But I miss the ol' Silver State. "Eugene is located in western Oregon, approximately 278 billion miles from anything." -- Dave Barry
L. Douglas Wilder, the first African-American to be elected a governor (VA), ought to get some credit for his prescience over 20 years ago.
Since last November I've head many pundits discuss why and how Barack Obama got elected president. He's often referred to as the "first viable black (or African-American) presidential candidate", and how he had to ensure whites he was "okay".
But I've heard few pundits allude to Wilder's prophetic statement, which, at the time, was derided by some as "dumb":
"The first black president will be a politican who is black."
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 28 August 1963
Marty Ennis sent this a picture of an IBM Hard Disk Drive (HDD) in 1956. It weighed one ton and stored 5 MB of data. It was introduced with the 305 RAMAC computer, the first computer with a HDD.
And in case you're wondering what "PAA" signifies, it is 'Pan American World Airways', for many years (from the 1930s till 1991) the USA's principal international airline, now confined to the electronic dustbin of history.
"User, n. The word computer professionals use when they mean 'idiot'." -- Dave Barry
Georgians are quite proud of their illustrious history. Their country is the land of Jason and the Argonauts, who, in Greek mythology, came here in search of the Golden Fleece. Only Armenia has been a Christian country longer than Georgia.
But a trip to the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park enlightened me as to the very beginnings of Georgian civilization, and indeed, its collective psyche. I encountered the little-known Pankisi Panel, which details how Georgia came to be. Few outsiders have seen this amazing artifact.
Here I am in front of the panel, examining the alien bowhunters who came to Georgia over 6,000 years ago. They bear an uncanny resemblance to those aliens reported to have visited Roswell, NM, in 1947. The animals surrounding the hunters depict their favorite foods - fish, reindeer and elk. But missing are current Georgian game - antelope, skunk, rat, dog, and mountain goat. Why? Did the aliens hunt them to extinction?
What the panel also fails to explain is why these aliens, who came to the South Caucasus from the planet Zocor in the Andromeda Galaxy , would use such a primitive weapon as bow and arrow. I mean, these guys had FTL drive, but bows and arrows?
This conundrum is indeed at the heart of Georgian culture itself, and readily explains the difficulties faced by Georgians today. I am honored to have been introduced to the Pankisi Panel and its central place in Georgian culture. It made my trip all worthwhile.
Well, that, and seeing "Big Joe" himself!
"The cat would eat fish but would not wet her feet." -- Georgian proverb
In between the fireworks, auto sales, and barbecues, take a few minutes today to read the Declaration of Independence and the remarkable Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution:
If you are an American citizen, thank your lucky stars for those 56 guys who signed the Declaration in Philadelphia in 1776 and started this thing rolling.
While you are at it, give extra thanks for the First Amendment, which guarantees five fundamental rights, which you can remember with the mnemonic RAPPS: religion, assembly, press, petition, and speech.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, two giants in American history - friends, then opponents, and finally friends again, both died on this day in 1826. As I get older, I think less of Jefferson and more of Adams.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." -- Declaration of Independence
Scott McClellan, former White House Press Secretary whose book What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception has generated much controversy, has been selected by Sunbeam International to be the spokesman for its new line of upscale wafllemakers, the WafflePro.
The selection was announced today by McClellan's agent, Dewey Cheatham, and Hugh Jeego, spokesman for Sunbeam International.
"We are thrilled to have someone of Mr. McClellan's stature promote our new line of upscale wafflemakers, the WafflePro line", said Jeego, who continued: "We intend to remove the stigma attached to waffles - a food long associated with toothless, six-fingered, moronic, unkempt crackers from Georgia or Kentucky who consider Waffle House haute cuisine, or worse, Belgians."
Jeego added that McClellan, whose Texas family includes some bona-fide crackers, is perhaps the best-known waffler of our time, even more so than George 'Slam Dunk' Tenet.
Agent Cheatham chimed in: "The American public will readily identify him as a waffler extraordinaire, and we expect sales of WafflePros to skyrocket because of Scott."
Jeego also introduced the beginner model of the WafflePro, a microprocessor-controlled device that will "create the perfect waffle" each time for only $250. "Since McClellan is the 'perfect waffler' himself, we expect the product recognition to be huge," said Jeego.
More expensive versions will have built-in MP3 players, TVs, WiFi, and XM satellite radio receivers.
Cheatham added that McClellan's fees will be donated to a new nonprofit self-help group he has created, Wafflers Anonymous. Someone known only as 'George S.D.' has already become the first member.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered in Memphis on this day in 1968. He had gone there in support of the Memphis sanitation workers' strike. The night before his death, in his famous "I've been to the mountaintop" speech, many believe he foresaw his imminent death.
Download ive_been_to_the_mountaintop.pdf
He has now been dead for longer than he was alive.
It is fitting as we mark this somber anniversary, an African-American has a real chance at becoming our next President.
Read Taylor Branch's remarkable trilogy, America in the King Years, which should be required reading for all Americans. Hear more on NPR's Fresh Air and other NPR shows.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." -- Martin Luther King, Jr., "Letter from the Birmingham jail", 16 April 1963.
I was remiss in failing to mention that yesterday was International Women's Day. Visit the WWW site for inspirational stories.
Read and listen to this morning's Weekend Edition on NPR, especially the description of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company's factory fire in New York City in 1911. In that conflagration, 146 workers, predominantly women, died in about an hour.
The fire spread so quickly that many workers were found still sitting at their sewing machines. Many women jumped to their deaths.
The miserable working conditions helped galvanize the drive for better working conditions in the women's garment industry, which, at the time, was headquartered in New York, producing about 69% of all women's clothing. Many of the workers were 13-14-year-old Jewish and Italian girls who worked six days per week in sweatshop conditions.
Ultimately, the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), which was founded in 1900, emerged from all this as a strong organization that spoke for the workers and was grudgingly recognized by the company owners.
The NPR site also has many other IWD-related resources. The site notes that Saudi Arabia is the only country prohibiting women from voting.
Oddly enough, the show also notes that today is the 49th birthday of Barbara Millicent Roberts, aka Barbie.
And speaking of Barbie, you can watch the documentary Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story. Todd Haynes' 1987 cult film, a biopic shot entirely using dolls rather than actors, charted the anorexic pop singer's tragic demise — with Barbie in the leading role. Music-rights issues keep the film out of public circulation but it is available online.
Here is a story about women from 45 countries meeting in India to discuss women's role in conflict resolution.
And here is another excellent CSM article - this one describes the re-engineering of an engineering major at a women's college: Smith College.
But whatever you do, celebrate International Women's Day.
"It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness." -- Eleanor Roosevelt
On this day when we honor Martin Luther King, Jr., it's appropriate to look back and reflect on the civil rights progress that has been made since that fateful day in 1968.
The Christian Science Monitor did this in its 18 January 2008 edition, which you can access here.
Here are some samples from the article.
How often blacks say they face discrimination in:
How well blacks say they get along with whites:
Give it a read and draw your own conclusions.
If you want to get remarkable, chilling, perspective on Dr. King and the civil rights movement, I recommend Taylor Branch's superb trilogy:
"That is a boy. I am a man" -- Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr., pointing to his son Martin Jr., after being addressed as " boy" by a white policeman.
Today's post is near to the heart of the Republic of Campanastan, which has its roots in the steppes of Central Asia.
If you're about the same age as Campanastan's President-for-Life, your schooling likely taught you that Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordes were little more than barbarians who periodically swept across the steppes to pillage, rape and wreak havoc on "civilization". That's what I was taught. Now I realize that portrait of Genghis Khan and his people is little more than proof of the verisimilitude today's quote (see below).
I just finished a remarkable little book by Jack Weatherford, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. In it, Weatherford documents Genghis Khan (born Temujin, 1162; died, 1227), the rise of his empire, his death, and the fall of his empire after his death. He also describes some of the aspects of the modern world that can be attributed to this far-sighted man of the steppes.
He also notes how the West has promulgated a distorted view of the man and his people, and how the Asia of today is recognizing his legacy. Even the Japanese at one time claimed Genghis Khan was a samurai warrior who escaped to Mongolia after a falling out with a Japanese warlord.
This map, from Wikipedia's entry on the Mongol Empire, shows the extent of Genghis Khan's empire at the time of his death.
After his death, the empire stretched all the way to eastern Europe and southward to encompass what is now modern-day China. They never really conquered the Arabian peninsula, India, or north Africa.
This map, from the same source, shows, in white, the approximate maximum extent of the Mongol empire, 1300-1405. The gray area is the Timurid dynasty.
Genghis Khan's grandson, Kublai Khan, is the one who received Marco Polo.
Genghis Khan and his successors were not just a bunch of warriors who reveled in making life unpleasant for others. Some their empire's common precepts were ahead of their time. Consider these principles:
The Mongols did not force their culture on the people they conquered. Contrast that with the Romans, British, Spanish, et al. In fact, they were famous for combining the best aspects of their vanquished and spreading them throughout the rest of the empire.
Women also played a substantial role in the administration of the empire. Who do you think ran the empire when the men were off on military campaigns? Wives and mothers, that's who.
The Mongols' military tactics are still emulated in modern times. Weatherford suggests that the German's concept of blitzkrieg was taken from the Mongols' mode of attack. And the Russian campaign against the Germans in World War II (and perhaps Napoleon, too), where they "drew" the Germans deeper and deeper into Russia till their supply lines were too long, is lifted from the Mongols' successful tactics against the Russians along the Kalka River in 1223. Turnabout is fair play.
So my view of Genghis Khan has done a "180" since reading Weatherford's book, similar to how my view of Tamerlane changed after reading Justin Marozzi's book.
Maybe I should read about Attila the Hun next.
"Until lions have historians, hunters will be the heroes." -- Kenyan proverb
Recent Comments