Time, God and The Declaration of Independence
We are destined for Eternity but in this life we live in Time, which consists of the temporal trinity of past, present and future. The present consists of an often confusing series of disparate events, while the future is a deep mystery to us all. When we recall the past we try to make sense of it all, giving order in our mind and our recollections to what has happened to us individually and collectively.
When we look back at the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence from our vantage point of 234 years in the future, everything seems neat and orderly, an old story that we recall from school, books, television and films. Perhaps to some of us it seems a bit trite and boring. Such was not the way it all appeared to the Founding Fathers. For them it was their present, and a chaotic present it must have seemed. On July 3, 1776 the day before the Declaration was adopted by the Continental Congress, a huge British army of some 30,000 men, all regular troops and superbly equipped, began landing on Staten Island. To oppose them, Washington could only gather together an army of 10,000, many of them untrained militia. In the ensuing campaign, Washington’s army would be beaten time and again, often coming close to destruction. The British would seize New York City, holding it until the end of the war in 1783. So it went throughout the Revolution, with the patriots fighting an uphill battle against the mightiest empire since the fall of Rome. At the end of the war, Washington made this observation:
“A contemplation of the compleat attainment (at a period earlier than could have been expected) of the object for which we contended against so formidable a power cannot but inspire us with astonishment and gratitude. The disadvantageous circumstances on our part, under which the war was undertaken, can never be forgotten. The singular interpositions of Providence in our feeble condition were such, as could scarcely escape the attention of the most unobserving; while the unparalleled perseverance of the Armies of the U States, through almost every possible suffering and discouragement for the space of eight long years, was little short of a standing miracle.” Continue reading
Michael Scott Resigns From Dunder Mifflin
Michael Scott, the head sales manager of Dunder Mifflin is calling it quits at the end of the 2011 television season.
The Office is one of the few shows that I enjoy watching because the comedy and writing are top-notch and just as importantly, it isn’t as depraved as most shows on television.
Viewing The Office is like watching elementary school cliques try to behave as adults. It’s entertaining and sometimes difficult to watch, especially when the Michael Scott character embarrasses himself to the point that I cringe at the tv set.
Regardless, the show will definitely be different without him if they choose to continue, which I hope they do.
Invincible Ignorance
Hattip to Ed Morrissey at Hot Air. I hope that this blog as the years roll by will play a small role in battling the growing ignorance among many American adults regarding the history of this country. In the meantime, I can only repeat the sage piece of advice from the video clip below:
Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Willis Together Finally
Sly, Ahnold, and Bruno finally make my dream action flick I’ve been waiting for since the 1980′s called the Expendables.
Unfortunately, Ahnold and Bruce only make a cameo appearance. But the film is packed with 80′s and contemporary action stars, from Dolph Lundgren to the under-rated Jason Statham.
The rest of the film looks real good, so I’ll be watching this movie at my first opportunity.
Here is a preview from Reuters:
It is the action hero dream team. Sylvester Stallone will shoot a scene with Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger soon for his upcoming adventure “The Expendables,” due to hit theatres in 2010.
The man behind the successful Rambo and Rocky franchises has also brought Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke and Dolph Lundgren on board for the story of a team of mercenaries who head to South America on a mission to overthrow a dictator.
Revolution, Independence and Schoolhouse Rock
I loved these schoolhouse rock videos when they were first broadcast back in the Seventies right before the bicentennial. Among a fair number of kids I knew they sparked an interest in history. Of the videos, I believe No More Kings has the catchiest tune. For a cartoon, The Shot Heard Round the World does a fairly good job of conveying information about the Revolution in a very short span of time: it manages to include the opening battles of the war, Washington as the central figure of the war, the role of the militia, the endurance of the Continentals, the battle of Trenton, Valley Forge, the frequent defeats of the Americans, the importance of diplomacy and foreign intervention, and the decisive victory at Yorktown. Fireworks is a nice opening view of the Declaration for kids. If readers have kids, or if, like me, part of them has never really grown up, watching these cartoons can be a good way to get into the Fourth of July spirit !
Libertarians vs. Rand Paul
A couple of months back Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul stirred up a hornets’ nest of controversy when he (briefly) indicated his opposition to Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned racial discrimination in “public accommodations” like restaurants and hotels. The controversy was notable not only for its utterly irrelevance to any current political issue, but also for the fact that even many libertarians distanced themselves from Paul’s position. I was out of the country at the time and so didn’t get a chance to comment, but libertarian think tank the Cato Institute recently published a libertarian defense of Title II and other civil rights legislation, which got me thinking about the issue again.
Defenders of Paul’s position (and there were a few) typically made one of two arguments; one based on an appeal to principle; one based on free market economics. The first argument is the straightforwardly libertarian one that individuals have the right to dispose of their property as they see fit, and while we might not like it if a business owner refuses to serve members of a particular racial group, it is still wrong to violate his property rights by telling him he can’t do so. I don’t have much to say about this argument, except to note how incongruously unpersuasive it is to most everyone today. Libertarianism is also criticized as being absolutist, but of course there are areas in which lots of people are willing to be comparably absolutist in their defense of individual freedom. Had Paul said, for example, that he supported the right of neo-Nazis to march through the streets of Jewish neighborhoods waving swastikas, his views would have been in keeping with those of most of the intelligentsia. Yet displaying a similar solicitude when the subject involves commercial activity is viewed as borderline crankish. The reasons for this discrepancy are probably worth further reflection, but I won’t dwell on them here.
Perhaps sensing that the argument from principle is a surefire loser, others have contended that laws such as Title II weren’t really necessary to end private discrimination by businesses. According to this argument, any business that turned away a substantial number of potential customers would soon find itself out of business, and absent legal mandates segregation would simply collapse under its own weight (call it the ‘everyone’s money is the same color’ argument).
The Romance of the Press
It’s been interesting, though a bit odd, for me, watching the hand-wringing over the “death of the press” as some of the major newspapers struggle to figure out how to make their budgets work in a world in which fewer people read “dead tree” editions and advertisers can take advantage of more targeted advertising online and in specialty publications. There is, it seems, a level of reverence which many people seem to attach to “the press”, which does not seem well born out what it actually is.
Looked at historically and economically — newspapers exist as a delivery system for ads. They seek to provide stories that people want to read (whether “news”, human interest, comics, crosswords or recipes) in order to persuade people it’s worth parting with the artificially low newsstand or subscription price.
July 4, 1826
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on July 4, 1826, fifty years to the day from the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Jefferson died before Adams, and therefore Adams was in error when, with his last breath, he said “Thomas Jefferson survives.” However, in a larger sense, a part of Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Adams and all the patriots who brought us our independence, will remain alive as long as Americans continue to read and remember the Declaration of Independence.
Elena Kagan: "I'm sorry-the memo which is?"
Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan was asked yesterday about her falsification of evidence detailed here. Her response was a classic example of Beltway Weaselspeak:
“Did you write that memo?” Hatch asked.
“Senator, with respect,” Kagan began, “I don’t think that that’s what happened — ”
“I’m sorry — the memo which is?”
“Yes, well, I’ve seen the document — ”
“The document is certainly in my handwriting.”
Shannen Coffin, the former Bush deputy attorney general who defended the partial birth abortion ban responds to this non-answer at National Review Online: Continue reading
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