When A President Secretly Had Part of His Jaw Removed July 1, 2010

Who Dares Do Battle with Grover?

On This date in History:  President Grover Cleveland was an interesting fellow.  He is the only person in history to have been elected president and serve two non-consecutive terms.  He is also the second heaviest president in history.  During one of his presidential campaigns, Cleveland was charged with having fathered a child out of wedlock.   While he wasn’t certain if the child was his, he took what was  perceived as the honest approach, acknowledged his paternal responsibility and was rewarded by being elected.  It makes one wonder what would happen if today’s candidates for office accepted the charges against them and continued their campaigns instead of denying charges or dropping out of the campaign.   His real first name was Stephen but discontinued its use   in a “search for something more sonorous and distinctive.”  As sheriff of Erie County, NY Grover Cleveland had Susan B. Anthony arrested for voting.   He was the first Democrat to be elected after the Civil War and served as both the 22nd and 24th president, having been defeated in between by Benjamin Harrison.  Curiously though, when he was considering a run to recapture the White House in 1892, he wrote: “Why should I have any desire or purpose to return to the Presidency? I do not want the office. It involves a responsibility beyond human strength to a man who brings conscience to the discharge of his duties.”  I suppose he must have answered his own question because he did run and did win.  During his second term, Cleveland attempted to root out any immigrants serving in the government. 

Cleveland Often Portrayed as Rotund

Throughout his life, Grover Cleveland battled against a number of challenges.  He had always been considered a chubby child so it must have been difficult when at age 18 he was treated for typhoid with starvation and bed rest.  He did recover from his near-death experience but he must have quickly returned to the dinner table because by the time he was in his 30′s his nieces and nephews called him “Uncle Jumbo.”   He apparently loved beer and developed a large “beer belly” to supplement his natural rotundness.  When he was a candidate for the position of District Attorney of Erie County, NY he was friends with his opponent.  They would meet each day to chat over beer.   They limited themselves to 4 glasses but it got pretty hot that summer so they decided to “anticipate” their future supply.  After a few days, his friend and opponent Lyman K. Bass said, “Grover, do you know we have anticipated the whole campaign?”  Dejectedly, Cleveland agreed.  So, the next night they remedied the problem for good when they each brought large tankards into the saloon, said that they were glasses and then presumably resumed the 4 glass limit.

"Uncle Jumbo" Can Be Found on the $1000 bill

In relation to the issue of his health, President Grover Cleveland pulled off one of the biggest cover-ups in Presidential History. The cigar chomping President was found to have cancer of the jaw in June 1893.   So, he created a cover story that he was going on a summer vacation at his summer home.   But really, he was on board his friend’s yacht, the Oneida, anchored in the East River in New York.  On this date in 1893, the 24th President of the United States had  part of his jaw removed and almost no one knew about it.   So secret was the surgery, not even his pregnant wife was told.  This was the woman whom he had agreed to care for as a child when his friend died.  After little Frances came of age, Cleveland married her!   I wondered in a previous post if his wife called him “Uncle Grover” but now I wonder if she called her husband “Uncle Jumbo.” Anyway, members of the cabinet and even the Vice-President were not told of the risky surgery. The public did not know that their President had been treated for cancer until 1917…Nine years following his death. Not only could Grover woo the little girl whom he was charged with caring for by his dead friend, he also knew how to keep a secret.  It seems to me that the foibles of Grover Cleveland make today’s politicians look tame in comparison.

Real Issue with Alex will be Inland Flooding

Weather Bottom Line:  It looks like I missed the landfall of Hurricane Alex by 10 miles.  Well, truth in advertising, I had surmised 5 days before landfall that it would get to Tampico and my revised notion was just 24 hours before landfall.  Anyway, it wasn’t too exciting though it did blossom late into a very impressive hurricane and I bet if it had lasted over water another 24 hours then it probably would have pushed 150 mph given its pressure at landfall of about 947 mb.  Anway, my point yesterday was that it was going to hit a very sparsely populated area and thus not be much of an effect.  However, it did provide a glimpse of what a tropical cyclone might do to the oil spill. I had thought that it would spread the oil around as we keep on hearing trumpted in the media.  But it also did what I thought was possible which is break up the oil…kinda nature’s dispersent.  I’m sure there will probably be at least another tropical cyclone of some intensity this season and they aren’t going to stop the oil flow anytime soon, so we’ll see what happens.

High to East By Saturday AM Will Bring Back Heat and Humidity

Alex got driven westward in the end as a big fat high settled down from the plains.  That high also brought us the nice break from the heat and humidity.   But, as the high drifts to our east, we will get on the backside and just as quickly as we got the drier cooler air in our area, it will draw back up the heat and humidity from the South.  So, enjoy the end of this week because this weekend will be a return to 90′s and dewpoints in the 70′s.

Immigration To US Has Been Controversial for over 150 Years June 8, 2010

1899 Cartoon: Immigrant-"Can I come in?" Uncle Sam- "I 'spose you can; there's no law to keep you out."

Big Daddy Grover?

On This Date in History:  Grover Cleveland was the only president to serve two non-consecutively terms as President of the United States. So, it is quite common for him to be  listed as the 22nd and 24th President.  In his first campaign, there was much mud-slinging between he and Republican James G. Blaine.  The accusations against Blaine were pretty pedestrian.   They claimed that he took bribes.  Cleveland was accused of fathering a child with a woman to whom he was not married!   In a world in which we are used to politicians making denials to claims against them, Cleveland took a novel approach.   Guilty as charged.  He acknowledged the legitimacy to the question and said that the child was indeed his.  The American people seemed to shrug their shoulders and Cleveland was promptly elected.  Goes to show, all you need to do is tell the truth!   It’s amazing how difficult it is for some politicians to try such a simple and winning formula. Interestingly, the mother named the baby boy, Oscar Folsom Cleveland.

Grover's Bride Was His Best Friends Daughter

Now, Cleveland was an attorney by trade and he had a partner in practice by the name of Oscar Folsom, which raises the question as to why the mother used both the law partner’s names.  Anyway,  Folsom died in 1873 following an unfortunate carriage accident and left his old friend Grover to manage the estate.  And manage he did!  No, he didn’t marry his good friend’s wife…he married his daughter.  Frances Clara Folsom was but 9 years old when her father died but Cleveland made sure that she and her mother’s finances were in order.  After Frances Clara  graduated from Wells College, he proposed marriage.   Frances was not one to make a rush decision so she took a trip to Europe to clear her mind.  When she returned, no doubt some thought she had lost her mind because the on June 2,  1886, President Grover Cleveland became the first president to be married in the White House to Frances, who was 27 years his junior.  I wonder if when she was growing up she called him “Uncle Grover.” 

Doubtful that the Baby Ruth Bar Was Named For Cleveland's Daughter Ruth

They had several children, one of which was Ruth.  The official story by the maker of the “Baby Ruth” candy bar was that it was named after the President’s daughter.  Somehow, a judge sided with the company in a lawsuit it brought against the makers of the “Babe Ruth Home Run Bar” saying the competitor’s name too closely resembled “Baby Ruth.”  Trouble is, Ruth Cleveland died in 1904, the candy company wasn’t in existance until 1916 and the “Baby Ruth” bar wasn’t born until 1921…or about the time that a certain George Herman Ruth was beginning to make a name for himself.  But, the makers stuck to the story  and, to this day as far as I know, the estate of Babe Ruth has not gotten a dime from the makers of the bar.

Big Daddy Grover-Investigated Anyone in Gov't Who Was Not Born in the US...How Would That Fly Today?

So, let’s jump ahead almost to the Cleveland’s 10th wedding annivesary.  President Cleveland was in his second term as President and was the defacto head of a Democrat Party.  Now, at this time there were no real laws to limit or control immigration.  Yet, anti-immigrant sentiment had run high in the nation throughout the 19th century.  In Antebellum America there was even a political party called the American Party that had some cloudt and became known as the “Know Nothings” with a platform that took an exceptional view of Americans born in the country and opposed any “non-native” Americans.  Well, by the late 19th Century, the Democrat Party had taken the lead in anti-immigrant sentiments.  Hence, as head of that party,  on this date in 1896 Cleveland ordered his cabinet secretaries to determine exactly how many foreigners worked in the federal government.  Much like illegal immigrants today, late 19th Century immigrants from Europe were blamed for rising crime rates. Cleveland held these “aliens” responsible for bringing with them ideas like socialism and communism. Once he found out the identities of the culprits, he had them investigated for potential subversive behaviour.   Cleveland maintained that it was his duty and the right of the government to “prevent the influx of elements hostile to its internal peace and security…even where there is not treaty stipulation on the subject.” I’m just not sure how far back Cleveland took this. I mean, ultimately, everyone except for the Native Americans were immigrants at one point or another. If the investigators took it to the limit, then they’d have to investigate everyone in the government including the other investigators and the President himself!!

We are a Nation of Laws

Today, we often hear of protestors who claim that governmental is unconstitutional or over-reaching.   Many times, those bringing the charges are simply not well versed in Constitutional Law but, some times, the charges may hold merit.  Either way,  it would be wrong to assume it had never happened in American history.   And it would be wrong to assume that the country would necessarily fall to pieces if the supposed un-Constitutional behavior of the government came about.  Eventually, we seem to get things right.   The pendulum of power has always swayed too and fro and as long as there are counterbalances amongst the people, the branches of government and the judicial system then things tend to work out in the end.  The key to this democracy, in my view, is to maintain the balance of power between states, Congress, the executive and judiciary and to make certain that each part of government is by and for the people, not by and for those who would make themselves king or the would-be king makers.

SPC Severe Outlook Tuesday...I wouldn't worry about it.

Weather Bottom Line:  Snow White and I had planned to take our niece, McKenna, to visit the animals at Henry’s Ark today.  My sister-in-law informed us “it’s supposed to rain” on Tuesday.  I told her nonsense.  But, it’s an example of how people perceive forecasts.  I told you yesterday that I had seen forecasts of 50% chance of rain for Tuesday and 50% on Wednesday and then it changed to 40% on Tuesday and 60% on Wednesday.  Either way, when someone sees 40% then most people assume its going to rain.  The truth is, it has been my experience that the majority of people on TV don’t even know what the rain chance means.  They will usually say that a 40% chance of rain means that there will be “a 40% coverage of rain.”  That would be wrong.  Officially what it means is that at the forecast site, in this case the airport, given the forecast conditions that there would be measurable rain in that rain gauge 40 out of 100 days of similar weather conditions.  It has nothing to do with coverage nor with rain amounts.  In order for it be to an issue of coverage, uou would have to have a rain gauge about every 100 feet in the area because one must be able to verify an hypothesis.  Now, the last station I worked for was quite reasonable because no one lives at the airport.  So, we modified the meaning to say that at any given point in our viewing area we were forecasting that there would be rain 40 out of 100 days. 

SPC Severe Outlook Wednesday

When I forecast, I always took the public perception into account.  I personally did not think it would rain on Tuesday but had noted that a couple of models wanted to throw out a few sprinkles.  I  figured that the best chance for rain would be after midnight and on Wednesday.  So, I would have put a 20% or 30% chance of rain on Tuesday because when people see that, they think that it won’t rain and I didn’t much think that it would but would have allowed for perhaps an outside possibility.  By elevating the rain chances to say 70% for late Tuesday night and Wednesday, that would indicate to people when the best chance for rain was and also play to the perception that 70% means to most people that it will indeed rain. 

SPC Wednesday Severe Probability

All of this is holding true.  Our air is just so doggone dry that I don’t see how the storms from the west will be able to hold together and by the time they get here, it will be after dark.   On Wednesday, the storms will get going again but the best chance for them to really get rambunctious would be to our east when they are  moving through  the heating of the day.  My guess is that we get rain in the first part of Wednesday and those storms become stronger as they head toward Lexington.  However, should the initiation take place just to our west on say an outflow boundary left over from the Tuesday storms, then there would be the potential for some strong storms on Wednesday.   So, I would say that its possible but  not probable for strong storms in our region but that at least some shower or even thundershower activity will be in the region.  After that, it gets hot heading into next weekend when it would appear that there may be another opportunity for strong storms.

US Economy Was Salvaged By One Man February 5, 2010

JP Morgan Bailed Out Uncle Sam in 1895

Gold Used To Back US Currency-Now Backing if the Full Faith and Credit of the United States

On This Date in History:  Once upon a time, most currencies were based on the gold standard.  The US operated on the gold standard until 1971 when President Nixon took the nation off the gold standard.  Since then, the US and most other nations operate under the fiat money system.  Basically, the gold standard calls for a particular currency to be backed by an equal amount of gold pegged at a standard price set by a particular government.  Under a fiat system, a currency is not really supported by any commodity at all but instead the value is established through supply and demand market forces as well as the full faith and credit of the issuing entity.   One of the problems with a fiat system is that, since it is not based on any commodity, governments can simply print money to inject into the currency supply and that can lead to inflation because it is often an aritificial increase in supply versus the market based demand.  That is a concern involved in today’s financial and ecnomic crisis around the world.

1893 Panic Led to Near Collapse of US Treasury in 1895

But, at the end of the 19th century, the US was still on the gold standard and the underlying commodity backing the US currency was the concern.  There was a severe economic depression beginning with the Panic of 1893.  The economy became stifled and large financial institutions were fearful that there would be a devaluation in paper money.  So, they began trading in their greenbacks for gold.   By January 1895, gold reserves in the United States were flowing out at a rate of $3 million a day.  That led to a fear that the public would lose confidence in the dollar and the paper money would be worthless.  So,  the solution would be to replentish the gold supply.  It wasn’t really practical for the government to quickly go to public lands and start mining for gold so they needed to find another solution.  President Grover Cleveland looked into the political crystal ball and decided it was best to push Congress to act with a bill that would authorize a sale of bonds.  In other words, the president thought that governmental borrowing was the answer.  Sound familiar?   The money borrowed would then used to buy gold.  Now, the financial expert of the day was not the President of the United States but instead was John Pierpont Morgan and he wasn’t so sure that publically announcing that the government was going to borrow money  for the purpose of replentishing the gold supply in the treasury was a great idea .  He reasoned that an announcement of such a bond sale would signal that the treasury was weak and only intensify the rush to cash in dollars for gold.  In other words, the government solution would make a bad situation worse.

Grover Cleveland's Great Idea Might Have Led to Disaster

So, J.P. Morgan decided to meet with President Cleveland to try and show him the error of his ways even though Cleveland continued to be convinced that his plan was the way to go to save the nation’s financial system.   While in that meeting, the president and Morgan learned at noon on this date in 1895 that the New York subtreasury only had $9 million of gold left and Morgan knew of at least one man who could present a draft for $10 million in gold that day that would send the system into collapse.  So, Morgan used the opportunity to present the president with a better idea.  For some reason, no one else knew of a law that was already on the books, thus making any announcement of governmental borrowing necessary.  But information is a key ingredient to success so it is not really surprising that J.P. Morgan knew of a Civil War era law that allowed the US Treasury to acquire gold coins directly through the issuance of bonds.  In essence, it was still governmental borrowing to buy bonds but the law would allow Cleveland to buy his gold the way he wanted but to do so privately and not with an act of Congress that might panic the public.   But, surely the saavy financial institutions would know what was going on and what was to keep them from going ahead and cashing in their greenbacks for the same gold that Uncle Sam would acquire.  Enter the power of persuasion of John Pierpont Morgan. 

JP Morgan Knew How To Take Charge...And The President Needed Him to Take Charge

It is rather amazing but in order for this scheme to work, President Cleveland needed one man, J.P. Morgan to assume control of the entire international financial community in order to maintain support of American paper currency.  Morgan had to convince large financial institutions to stop converting their currency to gold.  Perhaps no one else in American history could do what Morgan could do; Morgan promised that there would be no further drain from the financial community.  The bond gold currency exchange took place and no further drain of gold from the treasury took place due almost entirely to Morgan’s power of persuasion.  Now, at this point, it may be common to think that Morgan must have had a dog in this fight; he had to profit from this.  He did in the sense that the system that had made him wealthy and powerful was saved but as to the transaction and the effort, Morgan’s company made less than a one percent profit.   This little story tells us a few things.  One is that the US has been in severe crisis situations many times in the past.  This 2009 fiasco was not the first  time that we have been “on the brink.”  Another is that government alone is rarely the solution; it usually takes cooperation between public and private policy and action to solve a complex problem.  

University of Chicago Founded by John D. Rockefeller

Now, J.P. Morgan bailed out the US government on many occasions and he is often labled as one of the “robber barons.”  But, while these men of great wealth did have tremendous power on a large scale, they used their power for the general good of the public.  John D. Rockefeller argued that a monopoly was the most efficient way to bring products to the public at the lowest price.  You know what? He’s right and he generally did that, though he did run competitors into financial ruin to gain that monopoly.  But, the trouble is that it is impossible to expect everyone who is in charge of a monopoly, including any government, to actually deliver products to the public at the lowest rate. Rockefeller is often demonized for his fortune that pushed toward $1 billion in 1912 yet, he established education systems in the South specifically to bring education to minorities, though this researcher trys to denegrate his Calvinist intention to aid Blacks with ulterior motives.  Even if he’s right about the motives, the fact remains that Rockefeller was instrumental in helping to bring equality of education to America.   He established the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, the University of Chicago and provided so much philanthropic funding that when he died, his worth had dwindled to about $26 million.  He gave most it away and his son used his inhertitance to revive Colonial Williamsburg.  

Andrew Carnegie's Legacy Lives in Today's Libraries

Then there is Andrew Carnegie who has a tremendous rags to riches story and he left a legacy of the free public library system across the United States and other parts of the world when he donated over $56 million for that cause.  He believed that his gift of attaining wealth should be used for the benefit of all.  But, early 20th century labor issues were often tumultuous and Andrew Carnegie is associated by many for the brutal response to the Homestead Strike.  I suppose that the point I am trying to make is that wealthy people aren’t necessarily bad simply due to their wealth.  They do good for society, if nothing else, they provide incomes and opportunity to people. Same is true of corporations.  And historically, it is been shown repeatedly that cooperation between the public and private sector most often provides the best solutions to problems that face the nation and society as a whole…but we tend to forget that. Perhaps a few more “robber barons” today may be a better alternative to many who currently call  Wall Street home.

NAM Fri 18Z seems content with 2 inches of snow

GFS Fri 18Z Likes 3 Inches of Snow

Weather Bottom Line:  Okay, it’s here.  Rain all day then turning to snow overnight.  Daytime temps mainly in the upper 30′s will be the rule and as the upper low swings around, the air column will chill down from above and so there will be no risk of icing except on roadways and I think that is somewhat of a concern.  The wet roads will probably still be wet when we eventually get to freezing and since there was no opportunity to treat the roads, Saturday morning drive will be problematic areawide.  I’m still thinking something like 2 inches of snow with areas north of the river with higher amounts.  I still think that afternoon temperatures on Saturday will be in the upper 20s for most people. 

The next system for Tuesday still looks interesting but there are so many potential solutions that I don’t want to deal with it right now.   There are some machines claiming a fair amount of rain, others call for a huge amount of snow while others have a some of both with  a popular idea being snow, rain, snow.  I don’t like that last solution because I don’t want it.  It does appear though that it will be more of a Tuesday/Wednesday event and not Monday.  We’ll look at it closer when there is something more concrete to deal with.  I wouldn’t totally pooh pooh the risk of decent snow just yet but the trend in the models has been for a track of the storm to not support the giant event that one bucket of bolts still is looking for.

First Census Computer Use Involved the President? White House “traditionally been involved?” September 2, 2009

1st Computer for Census-Tabulator for 1890 Census Invented by Herman Hollerith

Herman Hollerith

On this date in History:  Herman Hollerith went to a dance and met a young lady.  His dance partner must have been smitten because she invited him to home for dinner.  There, he met her father who was the head of the US Division of Vital Statistics for the 1880 census.  Her father told Herman that a machine using notched cards could more easily count census statistics rather than the cumbersome and time consuming method of counting by hand.  Herman’s curiosity was picqued.

Hollerith, who was just around 30 years old at the time, recalled receiving a train ticket that had a “punch photograph” on it. He described it as a description punch out.  With that in mind, he began figuring out how to make a punch card to record information and then follow up with a machine to be able to read the punch cards and calculate the results.  He tested his inventions against two different hand methods of counting and proved his machine was twice as fast.  Presumably it was also more accurate.  He went up against the likes of Alexander Graham Bell in bidding for the job of counting the 1890 census and won when Bell abandoned his attempt. 

Early Census Punch Card

 The census bureau rented 56 of Hollerith’s machines.  They ran on battery power with the batteries regularly recharged using Thomas Edison’s new electrical circuitry.  The New York Sun reported that “women are better adapted for this particular work than men” as they employed a bunch of “nice looking girls in cool white dresses” to do most of the work of punching hundreds of cards a day.  They tried men for awhile for the night shift but the men were confused and quickly dispatched.  While they were there, they managed to exchange flirtatious notes with the ladies.  That would get them sent to some board of inquiry today.  Anyway, one operator could count up to 80,000 people a day so the total of 62,622, 250 was reached on this date in 1890, just 6 weeks after counting began.  

The superintendent of the census bragged that “the bright young women and the sturdy young men of our Population Division could run thorugh the entire population of the earth…estimated at 1.3 billion, in less than 200 days.”  Now the Constitution only calls for a counting of people every 10 years.  Nowadays, you get a questionaire filled with all sorts of information.  And now the Obama Administration has put the collection  of all that data into the hands of the White House and out of the hands of the census bureau. 

Big Daddy Grover-Involved in 1890 Census?

While Mr. Hollerith ushered in the era of computer technology to the census business, inspired by “chicken salad”, I wonder what the founders would have to say about collection of so much data and then placing it directly into the hands of the President?  Newt Gingrich calls it a “Nixonian Power Grab.”   The Congressional Black Caucus says that the President should be involved to make sure that there is not an undercount, suggesting that the White House has ”traditionally been involved” in the census.   I found no mention of either our old pal Grover Cleveland or his successor, Benjamin Harrison being involved in the 1890 census.  But, that doesn’t mean that they weren’t.  What do you think…should the White House be involved or should this be left to the Herman Holleriths of the world?

Thursday Evening

Weather Bottom Line:  A little bit of a surprise in that a shortwave is coming down through the flow and may trigger some afternoon showers or t’storms on a scattered basis.  We’re still pretty dry in the atmosphere and the main part of the short should be down to our south and southwest.  So, I would think that most people will stay dry.  There may be some leftover stuff bouncing around tonight and on Thursday, another little impulse does the same thing but is progged to be even farther away.  An isolated afternoon t’storm Thursday afternoon is still not totally unreasonable to expect but for the most part, it probably won’t be over your house…consider yourself lucky or unlucky if it is, depending on your situation.  My sunflowers need some water so it would be nice but its probably the best chance that they will see.  We should start to see more consistent temperatures in the low 80′s through the weekend, nights not quite as cool and humidity levels slowly rising.

1st Bikini was HOT by today’s standards; A Presidential Cover-Up; Winter-Like Weather Pattern July 1, 2009

1st Bikini Would Turn Heads Even Today

Bikini Blast July 1, 1946

On this date in history: The US completed its first atomic blast on the Bikini Atoll islands in the Pacific on this date in 1946.   There were doomsday predictions concerning what to that time was one of the largest nuclear devices ever exploded.  The fear was that the atmosphere might catch on fire and the earth would be incinerated.  That one seemed to have been disproved at Hiroshima.  So, other fears arose that since it was being tested in the ocean that it would blow a hole in the bottom and drain the ocean or it would empty the sea by turning all of the water to vapor.   Around that time, French couturier Jacques Heim had brought the what was dubbed as the world’s smallest swimsuit to the masses. In France, amid rumors that the superbomb would bring the end of time, hostesses began throwing “Bikini Parties” and the two piece suit got its name. The bikini became popular in Europe but was frowned on in the US where no suits were manufactured until 1959.

Not What Heim Had in Mind

At one time, Webster’s Third New International Dictionary derived the name of the suit “from the comparison of the effects wrought by a scantily clad woman to the effects of an atomic bomb.”   Yes indeed the effects of the bikini are known to create quite a lot of heat in some circles. We won’t go into the derivation of the term “bikini whale” made popular by the B-52s…I’ll leave that to your imagination in the privacy of your own home.

The photo accompanying this story of  Micheline Bernardini modeling the first bikini in 1946. This story claims the designer was Louis Reard, but is consistent with the contention that Bernardini was a stripper.  I guess she was the only one who didn’t mind being the first to model the new suit.  But anyway, WOW…that certainly must have caused a stir in many a household in the good old USA. Even by today’s standards, what standards are left, that would turn a few heads.

Grover Cleveland Returns! On This date in 1893, President Grover Cleveland pulled off one of the biggest cover-ups in Presidential History. The cigar chomping President was found to have cancer of the jaw. He created a cover story that he was going on a summer vacation at his summer home. But really, he was on board his friends yacht, the Oneida, anchored in the East River in New York having part of his jaw removed. So secret was the surgery, not even his pregnant wife was told…you remember…the wife we spoke of in another post(see June 2 “Big Daddy Grover”) that I surmised called him Uncle Grover? Anyway, members of the cabinet and even the Vice-President was not told of the risky surgery. The public did not know that their President had been treated for cancer until 1917…Nine years following his death. Not only could Grover woo the little girl whom he was charged with caring for by his dead friend, he also knew how to keep a secret. Grover Cleveland stories just never stop(See June 8). Here is a link to a list of his maladies…one of which was drinking beer…that entry is pretty funny. Apparently, when he ran for district attorney in Erie County, NY he pounded beers every night with his opponent. I’m tellin’ ya…this guy makes President Clinton’s foibles look tame in comparison.

Grover Cleveland Maladies

 

NAM 300 mb Wed 8 AM-Note the big trof over the Great Lakes

NAM 300 mb Sat 8 AM-slight trof west coast, bigger trof east coast, slight ridging in between

Weather Bottom Line:

We’ve got a kinda interesting pattern.  It’s not something one typically sees in the summer but more often in the winter.  That is with the polar jet stream dipping way down into the lower 48 with a big long wave trof over the Great Lakes.  This type of amplification is unusual because typically the polar jet has gone north for the summer by now.  As it is, the pattern will be a little slow to move and so we will continue to have the big low over the Great Lakes rotate around with little vort maxes spinning around.   In the winter, this would produce cloudy skies and snow flurries from time to time.  It’s a fairly dry pattern but the colder air tends to squeeze out what moisture it can.  In our case, the shortwaves rolling through will bring clouds and maybe a sprinkle or two and thats about it.  The clouds will hold the temperatures in the mid 70′s at best.  Once a wave moves through, then we get sinking air in its wake and the skies will clear.  So, for the next day or so, expect much cooler than average temperatures with periods of cloud cover.

Now, by Friday,  the long wave pattern shifts with the trof moving to the east coast and another trof on the west coast with an amplified ridge in between.  By early next week, it almost looks like an omega block is forming, which means that the pattern will probably stay put for a while.  Guess here is that we will see very warm conditions in the middle of the nation all the way to the northern plains and both the northeast and northwest in a cool and damp condition.  The Ohio Valley will be in between.  So, we will warm up, but not too terribly hot.  We will probably be in the general storm track as well with disturbances moving up and over the ridge then down to the southeast through the region.  One such event should happen late Saturday or early Sunday.  July 4th should be warm and partly cloudy with rain/t’storm chances inreasing through the overnight.

Dr. George Tiller and Grover Cleveland-Any Connection? Arctic Sea-Ice 20 Yr. Time Lapse June 2, 2009

Political Discourse In the Media Has Never Been Civil..Ask Big Daddy Grover

 Global Warming Update:  There is a new time lapse depiction of the Arctic Ice Melt on Youtube.  You need to check it out here.  It’s pretty cool and looks to me as if there are some minima about 15 years ago that are close to those of the past few years.  But the maxima of ice seems to be pretty consistent.  Seems to me that if Global Warming were going full bore, then the maxima of ice would also be affected as noticably.  I bet there is something else afoot.  Anthony Watts explains fully.  Regardless of where you are on the issue, I’d suggest that you click here for an explanation of the potential other factors at work.

Life Aborted

Pro-Life?  The guy who killed the doctor who performed late-term abortions in Kansas, Dr. George Tiller (story), no doubt thought of himself as being pro-life.  Yet, he killed a guy.  No consistency.  Most people who are in the pro-life movement in no way would condone this yet, the actions of one loon is being broad brushed by the opposition to show the justification for their position.  Nonsense.  They are doing the same thing that they object to when their opponents try to say that pro-choice advocates want everyone to get abortions.  This is a tragedy on many levels and it’s getting more and more difficult to find responsible debate in this country on almost any topic.  Alan Colmes says Dr. Tiller was an American Hero.   Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry says that Dr. Tiller was a mass murderer.  But is this any different than the past?  You see…vile political attacks on all subjects have actually gone on for a long time in this country….

Big Daddy Grover Took The Slings and Arrows By Admitting the Charges!

Let us take a look at Big Daddy Grover Cleveland.  Grover Cleveland was the only president to serve two terms as president non-consecutively. So, you will see he is commonly listed as the 22nd and 24th President.  In his first campaign, there was much mud-slinging between he and Republican James G. Blaine.  The accusations against Blaine were pretty pedestrian. They claimed that he took bribes.  Cleveland was accused of fathering a child with a woman to whom he was not married!  Cleveland’s defense? Guilty as charged.  He acknowledged the legitimacy to the question and was promptly elected.  Goes to show, all you need to do is tell the truth! Would he have gotten elected had he denied it?  Would he have gotten elected had the woman had an abortion?

Grover's Bride Best Friends Daughter

Now, Cleveland was an attorney by trade and he had a partner in practice by the name of Oscar Folsom.  Folsom died in 1873 following an unfortunate carriage accident and left his old friend Grover to manage the estate.  And manage he did!  No, he didn’t marry his good friend’s wife…he married his daughter.  Frances Clara Folsom was but 9 years old when her father died but Cleveland made sure that she and her mother’s finances were in order.  After she graduated from Wells College, he proposed marriage.   Frances was not one to make a rush decision so she took a trip to Europe to clear her mind.  When she returned, no doubt some thought she had lost it because the On This Date in 1886, President Grover Cleveland became the first president to be married in the White House to Frances, who was 27 years his junior.  I wonder if when she was growing up she called him “Uncle Grover.” 

Baby Ruth Sold As Natural Energy

They had several children, one of which was Ruth.  The official story by the maker of the “Baby Ruth” candy bar was that it was named after the President’s daughter.  Somehow, a judge sided with the company in a lawsuit it brought against the makers of the “Babe Ruth Home Run Bar” saying the competitor’s name too closely resembled “Baby Ruth.”  Trouble is, Ruth Cleveland died in 1904, the candy company wasn’t in existance until 1916 and the “Baby Ruth” bar wasn’t born until 1921…or about the time that a certain George Herman Ruth was beginning to make a name for himself.  But, the makers stick to the story to this day and, to this day as far as I know, the estate of Babe Ruth has not gotten a dime from the makers of the bar.

00Z June 2 NAM For Thurs Midday Claims Less than 60 degrees!

Weather Bottom Line:  This little hot spell won’t last much longer and the temps close to 90 from Monday and Tuesday will make the highs on Thursday in the low to mid 70′s feel even that much cooler.  I know the forecasts are all calling for a bit warmer temps but I tell you ,the models are suggesting not even 70′s.  I suspect, as most things, the truth will be somewhere in between.  We’ll have a front sliding down and approaching on Wednesday.  There will be plenty of warm moist air to work with so there should be a fair chance for t’storms.  Some modeling data suggests that we get overrunning on the slow moving front so we still have a threat of showers on Wednesday night into early Thursday.  That too should keep a lid on the temperatures…if not rain then some clouds.  Friday back to the mid to upper 70′s.  Look for some people on Thursday and Friday mornings to see temps in the 40′s.

Nasty Politics and Nice Weather October 10, 2008

TR Heads to Vacation During Crisis

Tis the Fall Season: A year ago we were experiencing record heat in the 90′s. It’s not going to be that hot but its also not much of a fall so far. We’ve had a couple of cool days but generally we’ve had cool nights and warm afternoons in the 80′s and that trend will continue through the weekend. It will be fabulous.

Tis the Political Season: So much for George H. W. Bush’s attempt in 1992 to become “kinder and gentler.” Our political discourse on the surface seems to have gone down the tubes.

There is the story of the Sheriff in Florida who got on stage and referred to Senator Obama by his legal full name. That sheriff is now under Federal Investigation for violation of the Hatch Act which prohibits public officials from using their position to influence an election. Seems the Feds are reacting to a bunch of negative phone calls. He could lose his job and the county could lose up to $300,000 in funding.

Here’s the story of the Federal Investigation with video

There is the story that Governor Palin accusing her of using racist verbiage in her stump speeches.

Palin’s Words Carry Racial Tinge-AP

Then there is the story of children allegedly being “indoctrinated” into the Obama camp by a teacher who had the kids line up in t’shirts and camouflaged pants while chanting words that allegedly sing the praises of Senator Obama. The teacher has been suspended.

Teacher Suspended Over Video of Students’ Obama Chants-with video

Jefferson Constitution Destroyer?

All of this might make one think that this is unprecedented. Well, it’s not. In the cartoon to the left, Thomas Jefferson is portrayed as attempting to burn the Constitution in fire fed “by the flames of radical writings” before the altar of Gallic despotism. The American eagle and God are attempting to prevent him from doing so. Abraham Lincoln was often referred to as a “Baboon” as he was seen by his rivals as a simpleton and also they made reference to his long and lanky physical appearance. In an event that may bring to mind current circumstance, President Tyler vetoed a measure to re-establish the Bank of the United States and on August 16, 1841, President Tyler was burned in effigy outside the White House….and it was mostly members of his own party who did the burning! Of course, who can forget my old buddy Grover Cleveland? As part of the campaign against him, the charge was that he fathered an illegitimate child and that too made it into the cartoon pages. A topic of lampooning is always the subject of presidential vacations. Teddy Roosevelt (at top) was mocked for going on vacaton to Pine Knot, Virginia during a big coal strike. The list goes on all the way through President Clinton to President GW Bush. The point here is that this type of harsh political discourse is not new. It’s just that now, instead of pamphlets and drawings or actual effigy burnings, we have the internet and video to do the job.

Daddy Grover?

We also hear about lack of voter turn out. Well, in the 1824 election, only 16% of eligible voters turned out to vote for President. Election participation increased though after that. However, curiously, the 1860 presidential election only turned out 72% of the vote, which seems odd since it was an election that would determine secession. It was during Reconstruction that voter turn out topped the 80% mark and then declined thereafter to the 50% to 65% range In the 20th Century, it appears that several states did not have such a high turnout. Alabama, for instance, did not have a 50% turn out in the 1900′s until the 1980′s. Prior that it was often the case that turnout was way less. From 1904 to 1960, average turnout in Alabama averaged about 25% with a lowpoint in 1924 of 13.3%. There are other examples from other states that were similar. Here is a list of tables regarding voter turnout.

In this time of economic unrest and political electioneering turmoil, don’t fall into despair. It can be considered the American way. I told you before about a financial situation in 1907 that had some similarities to today. The market fell 40% over that year of turmoil and from the Dow Peak of Oct 9, 2007 to Oct 9, 2008 the Dow has fallen about 35%. We got the ship righted then and probably will again. There will be change. Back then the 1907 “bailout” led to the creation of the Federal Reserve. Who knows what will happen this time? But in all probability, we will emerge stronger. Politically, we are not hanging Presidents in effigy and the discourse is tough, but not really much different than the past. Hang in there, we will press on.

Doomsday Super-Collider Lawsuit, First Bikini Swimsuit and Jawboning Grover July 1, 2008

FORGET GLOBAL WARMING! FORGET THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION! DOOM IS UPON US IN AUGUST! MAKE THE BEST OF YOUR SUMMER WHILE YOU CAN!

Previously, I have posted articles (June23…June 29)about the Super-Collider in France and Switzerland. Biggest thing in the world. Some 17 miles around with super-cooled magnets that will whisk protons around it’s circumference at unheard of speeds in an effort to uncover mysteries of the sub-atomic world. The US had a similar project near Waxahaxie Texas and they canceled after construction was begun. I thought that was the end of that when ,in fact, we have put in over $500 million into the European project. Based in part on the US participation, this guy in Hawaii filed a lawsuit saying that it could produce a black hole, among other things. As it turns out, this guy has made these claims before about other super-colliders and he was wrong. Either this guy is a nut or he is like the little boy who cried wolf. Perhaps he will be like the young lad and after a couple of times when he shouts the warning and nothing happens, the third time when he warns of danger and no one listens, he would be right. Just in case…have a good summer. It may be your last. Scheduled start up is in August. Here’s the NY Times story on the lawsuit.

NYTimes “Government Seeks Dismissal of End-of-World Suit Against Collider”

Coincidentally, on this date in history, on July 1, 1946 the US completed its first atomic blast on the Bikini Atoll islands in the Pacific. Like the doomsday predictions concerning the collider, there were doomsday predictions concerning what to that time was one of the largest nuclear devices ever exploded. Around that time, French couturier Jacques Heim had brought the what was dubbed as the world’s smallest swimsuit to the masses. In France, amid rumors that the superbomb would bring the end of time, hostesses began throwing “Bikini Parties” and the two piece suit got its name. The bikini became popular in Europe but was frowned on in the US where no suits were manufactured until 1959. At one time, Webster’s Third New International Dictionary derived the name of the suit “from the comparison of the effects wrought by a scantily clad woman to the effects of an atomic bomb.” Yes indeed the effects of the bikini are known to create quite a lot of heat in some circles. We won’t go into the derivation of the term “bikini whale” made popular by the B-52s…I’ll leave that to your imagination in the privacy of your own home.

The photo accompanying this story of of Micheline Bernardini modeling the first bikini in 1946. WOW…that certainly must have caused a stir in many a household in the good old USA. Even by today’s standards, what standards are left, that would turn a few heads.

Grover Cleveland Returns! On This date in 1893, President Grover Cleveland pulled off one of the biggest cover-ups in Presidential History. The cigar chomping President was found to have cancer of the jaw. He created a cover story that he was going on a summer vacation at his summer home. But really, he was on board his friends yacht, the Oneida, anchored in the East River in New York having part of his jaw removed. So secret was the surgery, not even his pregnant wife was told…you remember…the wife we spoke of in another post(see June 2 “Big Daddy Grover”) that I surmised called him Uncle Grover? Anyway, members of the cabinet and even the Vice-President was not told of the risky surgery. The public did not know that their President had been treated for cancer until 1917…Nine years following his death. Not only could Grover woo the little girl whom he was charged with caring for by his dead friend, he also knew how to keep a secret. Grover Cleveland stories just never stop(See June 8). Here is a link to a list of his maladies…one of which was drinking beer…that entry is pretty funny. Apparently, when he ran for district attorney in Erie County, NY he pounded beers every night with his opponent. I’m tellin’ ya…this guy makes President Clinton’s foibles look tame in comparison.

Grover Cleveland Maladies

WHAT ABOUT THE WEATHER? Don’t worry about it for now…but know that we go down hill just in time for the Fourth of July. Monday came as advertised…clouds with showers first half of day…partly cloudy afternoon. Tuesday is great, Wednesday warmer but still great. Cool for Tuesday and Wednesday mornings so you can turn off the AC and save money for gas. A front approaches late Thursday. Rain/t’storms likely. Friday, the front stalls just to our south as a shortwave(upper low) moves across the boundary increasing the likelihood of rain and t’storms. Saturday, another guy moves through increasing the chance again. Once it moves by late Saturday, it should energize the front an move it south. There is a chance that the front moves south Friday morning and doesn’t return with the shortwave until after fireworks…keep your fingers crossed. I like the Fourth of July. I’m supposed to be in the Jeffersonville Indiana Fourth of July Parade. I’m practicing my wave.

Here’s what the SPC has to say about it, and it’s not much. They’re uncertain so they keep it short . Day 5 is Friday and Day 6 is Saturday:

STRONG STORMS WILL REMAIN POSSIBLE ALONG STALLED BOUNDARY OVER THE OH AND MS VALLEY REGIONS THROUGH DAY 6…BUT THIS AREA WILL REMAIN S OF STRONGER FLOW ALOFT.

Midwest Flood Videos, 3 Legged Willie and Lady Liberty June 19, 2008

Our weather pattern will remain persistent and that is a good thing.  We’ll see afternoon highs in the low to mid 80′s through Sunday.  Overnight lows will be in the upper 50′s and low 60′s.  A northwesterly flow aloft will bring little disturbances through the flow periodically and they will bring isolated to scattered storms across the area should they move through during daytime heating.  Saturday will be the best chance for scattered stuff with more isolated afternoon storms possible on Friday and Sunday.  Next Wednesday morning a warm front comes through and with it the heat and humidity so enjoy this stretch while you can.

Three Legged Willie Arrived in Texas on this date in 1827.  He was Robert Williamson and his leg deteriorated perhaps from a run-in with infantile paralysis.  So, he stuck a peg leg on the end of his knee and used it as a substitute.  You can see his bad leg bent back on the top of the stump in the photo.  He was a scholarly man from Georgia who could have stayed in the Peach State as a southern aristocrat but instead chose the wildness of Texas.  He set up court in Shelbyville, Texas and used a general store for his courtroom and a dry-goods crate for a bench.  One of his first cases featured a man that slung down a Bowie knife on the bench.  As it stuck in the wood, the man declared that was the law in Texas.  Three Legged-Willie pulled out a pistol and said “this is the Constitution and it overrides all.”  He earned respect though, not through brutal justice like Judge Roy Bean,  but instead by persuading with his knowledge of the law, quick wit and courage.  He became a leader in the Texas Independence movement and is acknowledged today as a Hero of Texas.

Lady Liberty Arrived In New York on this date in 1885.  On America’s centennial in 1876, the French promised to give to the United States a great statue.  Part of the deal was that the Americans would be responsible for the base and the French would take care of the statue.  Trouble was, both sides were short of money.  The Americans didn’t get done with the base until April 1885 and the French didn’t finish the statue until 1884 and arrived on this date in 1885 in 214 crates in 350 sections.  Two of the photos above are from France as it was being constructed and the third is one of it being reassembled on its pedestal in New York.  It was dedicated in October 1886 by none other than our man Grover Cleveland.    The sculptor, Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, needed engineering help to figure out how to build such a colossus.  So he got the help of Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Ducand Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel (Eiffel of Eiffel Tower Fame) to design and build the superstructure.  An American Minister ended his prayer at the dedication ceremony by saying in part: “God grant that it [the Statue] may stand until the end of time as an emblem of imperishable sympathy and affection between the Republics of France and the United States.”  I’m guessing he never heard of “Freedom Fries.”

Midwest Flooding Videos I found a link to a sight that is a treasure-trove of Midwest flooding video.  Some is from Network sources while others are from individuals.  It looks like that its updated often so come back and click on it from time to time to see the updates.

Flooding Video

Too Much Rain and The President Orders a Search For Foreigners in Government June 8, 2008

What you see here is a map of the cooperative network of rain gauges in Indiana through 7 AM Saturday.  The bullseye to the east of Terre Haute represents about 10 inches of rain. BUT..that’s only through the morning. It rained some more during the day on Saturday.  Basically all across the state from Terre Haute through Columbus and points to the north got anywhere from 7-13 inches of rain Friday through Saturday afternoon.  Newschopper 32 witnessed many people stranded on roof tops and in fields that were islands.  Patients were evacuated from the hospital in Columbus and parts of I-65 and I believe also I-70 were closed for a time.  Seymour didn’t get that much rain but the water in the East Fork of the White River was at 17.5 feet at Seymour and is expected to crest near 19.5 feet which would be the highest level since 1913.  Fortunately, it’s going to be dry for Sunday and most of Monday.  But, it’s going to be hot.  Sunday’s record of 95 will probably fall at the airport.  Monday afternoon a front approaches and we may get some isolated t’storms in the evening.  Tuesday as the front moves through, scattered thunderstorms will be in the area.  Hopefully it won’t be anything to increase the headaches in Indiana.  They ought to come out with another map and when they do I’ll post it.

Grover Strikes Again!!!

A couple of days ago I told you how Grover Cleveland was charged with looking over his partner and friend’s affairs following his friend’s death. Cleveland took the mission so seriously that he married his friends daughter as soon as she graduated from college. Well, On This Date In History the 22nd and 24th President of the United States struck again.

On June 8, 1896 Cleveland was in his second term as President.  He was the defacto head of a Democrat Party that was largely anti-immigrant.  So, he ordered his cabinet secretaries to determine exactly how many foreigners worked in the federal government.  Immigrants from Europe were blamed for rising crime rates.  Cleveland held these “aliens” responsible for bringing with them ideas like socialism and communism.  Once he found out the identities of the culprits, he had them investigated for potential subversive behaviour!  Cleveland maintained that it was his duty and the right of the government to “prevent the influx of elements hostile to its internal peace and security…even where there is not treaty stipulation on the subject.”  I’m just not sure how far back Cleveland took this.  I mean, ultimately, everyone except for the Native Americans were immigrants at one point or another.  If the investigators took it to the limit, then they’d have to investigate everyone in the government including the other investigators and the President himself!!

Once again…when you hear today of governmental action that you deem as unconstitutional or over-reaching, you may be right.  But you would be wrong to assume it had never happened in American history.  And you would be wrong to assume that the country would necessarily fall to pieces.  The pendulum of power has always swayed too and fro and as long as there are counterbalances amongst the people, the branches of government and the judicial system then things tend to work out in the end.

Belmont Update:  It was hot…but Big Brown was not.  Snow White’s Aunt Betsy is very disappointed and a little bit poorer.