February 12th Significant For More than Lincoln February 12, 2010

Abe Shares His Birthday with other notables, including Nit and Wit

Nit and Wit have a Full Bag of tricks for their 14th birthday

On This Date in History:  Everyone should know that today my two cats, Nit and Wit, turned 14 today and that the day marks the 201st anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.    In years past, this would have been a holiday but Congress decided that we had too  many holidays and so when they decided to give everyone the day off for Rev.  Martin Luther King’s birthday,  they felt like that they had to eliminate one.  So, they took Abe’s birthday and General Washington’s birthday of February 22nd and combined them to form President’s day which falls between Abe’s and George’s birthdays.  But, February 12th not only marks Abe’s birthday and Nit and Wit’s birthday, but also a couple of other notables were born on this date.

All thumbs up for Bill on February 12th

President Clinton got a rebirth of sorts on this date in 1999 and again this year.  The former president is recovering very nicely after going home on  February 12, 2010 following a scare.  On the previous day, he was rushed to the hospital after suffering from chest pains.  Doctors discovered a heart problem and quickly inserted a couple of stints.  Everyone keeps saying that our healthcare system needs to be fixed but, the fact that this procedure is relatively routine and Mr. Clinton went home the next day illustrates that the health care in this country is top shelf.  It’s the payment system that has flaws.  Anyway, it’s hard to say if Mr. Clinton is more grateful today or on this date in 1999, when his impeachment proceedings ended in an acquittal following a Senate trial and subsequent acquittal.  Remember, impeachment is the charge, not removal from office and, like Andrew Johnson before him, President Clinton lived to fight another day in the White House, much as he is doing now as a goodwill ambassador teaming with George W. Bush to help bring relief to Haiti.

Fierce Rivals Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain

On this date in 1934, basketball great Bill Russell was born in Monroe,Louisiana.  Bill Russell played for the Boston Celtics for 13 years and won 11 championships.  He even won as player-coach.  He was a 5 time league  MVP.  He is credited with changing the game with his defense so his offensive statistics,while impressive, will not be found at the top of too many all-time categories.  The league did not count blocked shots when he played but there is little doubt that, if they had, he very well may have been the all-time leader, even today.  His defense was so great that he was able to be more than a match for the great Wilt Chamberlain.  But, a little recognized fact regarding Russell is that he was not the number one pick in the NBA draft.  The Rochester Royals had the first pick but chose another player because the owner wouldn’t pay the $25,000 signing bonus that Russell was demanding.  Boston’s pick was way down the list so they traded two very good players to the St. Louis Hawks for the second draft pick.  The Hawks went on to win the NBA championship that year but they handed the Celtics a dynasty that would last more than a decade. 

Then there is an old favorite, Ben Cartwright.  He was the patriarch of the family that featured 3 sons from different mothers.  When Adam left to travel the world, a hired hand took his place, Candy.  Of course this is all fiction as I”m speaking of the TV show Bonanza that aired on NBC from 1959 to 1973.  If I recall, Bonanza was promoted heavily because,in the early days, it was one of (if not the first) prime time show in color and NBC wanted to promote NBC color in conjunction with its new peacock symbol.  Canadian born actor Lorne Greene was born on this date in 1915 and, while his character was ficticious, Greene said that he based the character on a real person: his father. 

Roy Hoping Ben Will Come to the Rescue

While Greene was a star in Earthquake with Chuck Heston and later starred  in Battlestar Galactica, which was a far stretch from his days roaming about the Ponderosa, it was a vehicle to introduce him to a whole new generation of young Ameircans.  Personally, I always liked the way that he, Hoss, Little Joe, Adam and later Candy always seemed to be in Virginia City bailing out Sheriff Roy Coffee, whom I think is tied with Sheriff Micah Torrance of Northfork as the worst sheriff in the old west. In Micah’s case, it was always Lucas McCain who was coming to the rescue.  Where would Micah be without “Lucas-boy” or Virginia City be without the Cartwrights?  Where would America be without “Pa” who lived in our living rooms as the stern but kind, Ben Cartwright on Bonanza.

National Weather Service Correctly Not Tipping It's Hand Just Yet

Fri 18Z GFS Bullish with 6-8 Inches Louisville and South Thru Midday Wed

Weather Bottom Line:  We are going to get snow.  The question is how much?  That’s a good question.  I’ve seen on TV anywhere from 2 inches to 8 inches.  I would say that the former is more likely than the latter but the truth will probably be somewhere in between.  Now, I must say, I don’t see how we did it, but we nudged to 33 for a few minutes on Friday.  The sun should be absent on Saturday and Sunday and Monday so I don’t see how we get above freezing on those days, but like before, if we do it won’t be by much or for long.  Early Saturday morning there may be some light snow showers or flurries. No big deal but it may be enough in some areas to create some slick spots Saturday morning. 

12Z Fri NAM Had 3-5 inches by Monday Evening but...

Now, this next guy is a little clipper system.  Typically, an “Alberta Clipper” is an area of low pressure that forms in Alberta, Canada and then moves pretty quickly down through the flow.  It usually moves quickly and since it originates over the land, doesn’t have a huge amount of moisture to work with.  The heaviest snow associated with a clipper is in a relatively narrow band just to the left of the track of the low.    So, the trick will be the track.  There are no models that take this low north of Louisville so that is why I know we will get some snow.  But, if it tracks too far south, then we get a little.  If it comes just right, then we get heavier snow.  There is no way to know for certain.  Some models want to have the narrow band of 4-6 inch totals down around E-town.  Others put it over Louisville.  I’ve seen some try to bring up to 8 inches by the time this is all over with on Tuesday or early Wednesday but its tough to get that much snow out of a system like this.   

Fri 18Z NAM Shifted Heaviest Snow Well South

The idea for  the bigger totals would be an inch on Saturday, 1-2 inches on Sunday and 4-6 on Monday.  I say nonsense to that.  We will probably get well below an inch on Saturday and the snow doesn’t get going again with the clipper until Sunday night.  I would think the most anyone gets would be 3-4 inches on Monday with perhaps a total of an inch for Monday night through Tuesday into Wednesday morning in the form of snow showers or flurries.  I don’t see how we get above freezing again until Thursday in advance of another system that may bring some messy rain/ice/snow for the end of next week.   But, we’ll deal with that later.

Happy Birthday Nit & Wit…and Abe Too! Finally Quiet February 12, 2009

If you Haven’t Been to the Lincoln Memorial, You Need To

Another Good Excuse For This Photo

Hike Nude if you Dare: 

Recently, I posted a follow up to a post I had on nude hikers and climbers in Switzerland.  The follow up is that the Swiss are apparently more conservative than I thought and have put in laws to fine people who want to frolic in the buff.  But, you don’t need to go to Europe to climb about, we’ve got plenty of mountains right here in the Good Old USA.  Some of the nicest areas in the east are in the Smoky Mountains.  I ran into some nice folks on Wednesday and introduced them to http://alphainventions.com/ where they can get more eyeballs onto their site.  It’s called http://hikinginthesmokys.com/ and has all sorts of stuff on there about trails and cool places to stay.  They even have a weather report…but you can check with me for the accuracy.  And I suppose you’ll have to take your chances if you want to wander about naked.  I don’t know if there are any fines.  Give it a looksee and plan a nice vacation.

Nit and Wit Don't Have A Bag of Tricks Like Felix

Happy Birthday!  Okay…it’s someone’s 200th birthday today but in our house…its the birthday of the real queens of the castle, Nit and Wit.  I also call them Barfette and Poopalot, Kitty Cat and Fatso as well as Tubby and Miss Piss.  You can figure out the reasons for some of those names.  Their orginal names are Mary Todd and Abee.  Now, why would I name my cats that?  Well, they were born on this date in history in 1996 in Cajun Country.  I can’t recall the exact town but it was somewhere near Abbeville, LA….thats southeast of Lafayette.  They are sisters and are black and white with mainly white faces and little black beards.  I couldn’t name one Abe so she became Abee and the nutty one who chases her own tale is Mary Todd.  They run the house and Snow White and I are fortunate they allow us to live here and we are free to stay as long as Snow White feeds them and I clean the litter box.  Happy Birthday Girls.

                                                                                                                                                           

On This Date in History:  In what is now La Rue County in Kentucky, a poor family had a baby boy on this date in 1809.  They called him Abraham after the boy’s grandfather.  He was self educated and self made.  He became the 16th President of the United States and more has been written about Abraham Lincoln than anyone in US history.  Some say the only person who has been written about more is Jesus of Nazareth.  He’s an interesting study and, with his 200th birthday, there have been all sorts of “new” things that have come out.  Some of it is good, written by trained scholars.  But, much is nonsense written by “history buffs” or people with an agenda.  In Louisville, a good place to go to find out about Lincoln is at Farmington House.  Lincoln spent several weeks there visiting his friend Joshua Speed in the late summer of 1841.  I was honored to be able to do some of the research for the display there.  The trip holds significance in that it was on his steamboat ride home that he saw slaves in chains.  In a letter he wrote to Mary Speed in 1855, he recalled that trip and that sight and pointed to it as the beginnings of his notion that the “peculiar institution” was immoral.

Now, there is nonsense out there such as those who claim that he was gay.  People point to his sharing a bed with a man.  Today,  that may seem odd but in those days, it was quite common.  Just  like it would be odd for a mother of infants to nurse the infants of a neighbor.  Mary Todd Lincoln did just that when the neighbor mother was sick.  I’ve seen psychological profiles and such and people who have written that Mary Todd Lincoln was a victim of an anti-woman establishment or something.  You cannot take today’s societal notions and transport them to the 19th century.  Its two different worlds.  But, people still try.

Great Man Fred May Have Changed Great Emancipator's Mind

Here’s one guy who tries to say that Lincoln was a racist  .  Most of this type of thing comes from amateurs. I’ve seen other articles recently that cited Lincoln’s use of emancipation simply as a war measure intended to help preserve the Union.  Most of this sort of stuff shows up in newspapers from columnists.  They either are unwilling or unable to look at the historiography.    However, you do get arguments among historian.  Eric Foner is a top-shelf historian who reviews this book that deals with the subject.  Then there is a Time reviewer of a book by a noted African American’s take on Lincoln and the fact that the book was largely ignored. I have no idea what credentials this Time reviewer has but who does he quote? Foner.  Foner is cited as saying the book’s arguments were pretty lame but that white historians had been pretty quiet on some of old Abe’s racial attitudes.  This guy suggests that we’d be better off if we read the book.  Not a very helpful review. 

Anyway, in my mind the truth is, Abraham Lincoln was a master politician.   He knew it was impossible for him to run for president and win on an abolitionist platform.  People were against slavery in the North for a number of reasons. There were the true abolitionists whose opposition came from moral principals.  But there were others who were “free-soilers” who wanted to get the immigrants out of the east and move them to the west and without jobs, they wouldn’t leave.  Slavery kept jobs from other folks who could do the labor.  There were lots of other reasons why people opposed slavery so Lincoln took the position that was acceptable to all.  He wished to contain slavery in the states that it was in.  Do not argue the Constitution with the South.  Instead, let them keep their system and the rest of the country would develop free which would necessarily end the system…it would “whither on the vine.”  

While he did not believe that there was an intellectual equality between the races, one again must consider the time.  He had no contact with anything but uneducated African-Americans.  He knew in his heart that slavery was wrong…that one man should not profit from the sweat of another man’s brow.  That is a principal, not a position.  And, though he did have attitudes that are considred abhorrant today, I believe one could argue though that his views changed toward the end of his life after meeting Frederick Douglass and others.  He was really taken back and I suspect that his views may have changed had he lived longer.  He also believed that it was impossible for the two races to live together and it was never part of the larger plan of God.  So, his solution was to help folks get back to Africa as he thought it would be best for everyone.  But, he did not figure that many of these people had backgrounds that had them in America longer than his own family tree and they considered it their country as much, if not more than he did.  So, he had what we may call racist today, but again, one must consider the times. 

When he issued his Emancipation Proclamation, he did say it was a war measure and it was only for the states in rebellion.  It was not a haphazard thing, it was calculated.  He waited for the right time to issue it and he announced it many weeks before it actually went into effect at the first of the year.  That was brilliant because by saying it was a war necessity, it found some acceptance as everyone wanted to win the war.  He prepared everyone for it and held fast.  I don’t know this to be the case but I would not be surprised if at some point when he knew it was going to be a long war, that he was going to take the opportunity to do what he wanted to do regarding slavery…the right thing and get rid of it….and all he needed was the proper timing.  He knew that once he freed some of the slaves, he could and would not and the nation would not put them back in chains after the war, particularly when he had African American troops fighting and dying for freedom. 

Scotty May Have Transported Lincoln to the 23rd Century in Star Trek But You Can't Evaluate History That Way

I’m not going to run on any more but, when one looks at history, one must look at all angles to make an assessment.  One must look at the culture and traditions of the time.  You can’t take today’s sensibilities and transport them back to another time like Mr. Scott on the Starship Enterprise and expect to get an honest assessment.   And you certainly cannot get your history from a newspaper or the movies, which routinely alter things to fit a story line.  One must read…not the internet…but books.  Get the full historiography and read all views and angles as you can before reaching a conclusion.  In the meantime, give thanks today for Abraham Lincoln and his birth 200 years ago.  Many presidents in the 19th century were truly do-nothings and largely not too significant.  But, Abraham Lincoln really changed things in this nation.  I’ve always wondered what would have been different had he lived as I’m sure that Reconstruction would have turned out differently and perhaps the next 100 years might have been better in many regards.  Then again, maybe not.  So, lets not speculate….be thankful for what we have. 

Peak Wind Gusts Feb 11, 2009

Weather Bottom Line:  Told you it would be windy.  The storms did pretty much what I expected.  When the squall line moved through, the storms were racing NE at about 50 mph.  There were a couple of radar indicated tornados on the edge of the line.  One in Pulaski county was moving at 75 mph…those high upper level winds scooting it right along.  After the boundary moved through, we got some sunshine.  The winds aloft were still howling.  Sunshine helped to mix up the atmosphere a bit to bring some of those winds to the ground.  There were some post-frontal showers in the late afternoon that were sufficient to bring down even more wind and so in those areas, mainly west and northwest of Louisville, wind gusts of some 70 mph were reported. Snow White’s sister in Charlestown called frantic after her roof was blown off the barn.  The horses were fine but she was frazzled.  She said the dogs went to the basement just before it happens.  Pretty smart weather dogs.  I bet that my favorite black chow led the way.  Greatest dog in the world.   What she got was probably winds being drawn down by the shower that hit around 70 mph.  They went up and over the roof, which is similar in shape to an airplane wing.   The Bernouli principal took over  and the roof came off, just like an airplane takes off.  Its why whenever there is high wind, whether it be from a storm, a tornado or a hurricane, the roof always comes off first.  Anyway, most of the rest of the area had sustained winds of some 20-40 mph with gusts of 55-60 mph.

As I said yesterday…most of the weak limbs were taken down by the ice storm.  There were some weakened limbs that hung on then and the wind took care of them today.  Had there been leaves on the tree, the power outages and damage would have been worse.  Well, its going to be quiet for a while.  Not too enthused about worthless snow chances for the weekend.  Cooler but still above average temps for the rest of the week.  Seasonal temperatures through the weekend with perhaps some showers….probably Saturday rather than Sunday.