FBI origins date back to Teddy’s Roosevelt’s attempt to keep in eye on Congress January 8, 2011

Did Teddy Fancy Himself More Than a President?

Teddy Like Napoleon?

On This Date in History: President Theodore Roosevelt had many crusades during his presidency and one was against corruption. He weilded power by liberally using the investigave arm of the Treasury Department, aka the Secret Service. Apologists of the practice suggested that the Secret Service was the federal government’s only trained investigative agency. Remember, this was prior to the creation of the FBI. But, opponents decried this use of federal resources as presidential thuggery, comparing the service to the secret police of Napoleon!

Livingstone Had His 15 Minutes

That little comparison probably came about since Roosevelt’s Attorney General was none other than Charles J. Bonaparte, Napoleon’s Great Nephew. Now, Congress was atwitter with rumors that President Roosevelt, in his zeal to crush corruption, used the Secret Service to create files on the private lives of Congressmen and that he meant to use them. Does this sound familiar? Remember the 900 FBI files that showed up in the Clinton White House and it was blamed on the former bouncer working in the White House, Craig Livingstone?

Anyway, Congress decided to take action and tried to restrict the reach of the Secret Service. Members of the House and Senate blasted away, claiming that Roosevelt was developing despotic powers by creating his own secret police force. Teddy fired back that he was simply using tools to fight corruption, even if the trail led right up to the doors of the Congress. The two side tossed verbal grenades at one another until on this date in 1909, Congress decided to defend its “maligned integrity.” (Is it only Congress thinks that Congress has integrity?) The House voted 212-36 to table, or formally ignore, that portion of the president’s annual address that assailed any restrictions on the Secret Service. It had not been since the days of Andrew Jackson that a president had received such a rebuke from the legislative body. It took a few years but eventually, it all got worked out. Congress restricted the use of the Secret Service but, partly due to Teddy’s use of the bully pulpit and big stick way of pushing for what he wanted, a bureau of investigation was formed in the Justice Department which later became known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, more commonly called simply the FBI.  While many histories point to Bonaparte’s creation of the Bureau in 1908 as the beginning, it was not until March 1909 that it officially came about as Congress, for its part, had staked out its position against any form of domestic spying.

J Edgar Hoover Confused?

Now, the funny thing about this is that the man who became the first head of the FBI was J. Edgar Hoover and he held the post until his death in 1972. After 40 years at the helm, he had amassed so much power and had so much dirt on so many people, many people have suggested that Hoover actually held more power than any person in the United States. Presidents were afraid of what Hoover might have in his files. It has been revealed the the FBI pressured Martin Luther King, Jr during his Civil Rights protests with many historians suggesting that the pressure put on King was directly linked to Hoover’s own private prejudice. So, in effect, the very thing Congress was afraid of came to pass except the power was not so much in the hands of an elected official, the President, but instead on the man who led the agency.

It is partly for this type of abuse of power why the framers of the Constitution did not allow for a provision for a federal police force. Well, after Hoover’s death, it was determined that no one could ever hold that type of power again and so the FBI director cannot serve for life any more but instead is limited to a ten year appointment. So, it could be said that Congress didn’t get it close to right until some 65 years after it wrestled with Roosevelt about domestic spying….keep in mind that Congress’ concern was not so much with the feds spying on your average joe….no…it was concerned with spying on them! The public certainly cannot be privy to the skeletons in the closet of its elected officials. This link will also tell you of Hoover’s own closet full of secrets that may have made him thankful that there was not a bureau of investigation for investigating the bureau of investigation. This link claims Hoover’s closet was clean…mostly….you be the judge if you care.

Weather Bottom Line:  Believe the forecasts Louisville…looks cold with snow off and on for the next 5 or 6 days.  Most models toss out a few inches total through Wednesday but I could create a scenario for more than that.  Either way, I’m not so sure that the mercury doesn’t go above freezing nearly a week.  I love it when all that ice that forms on the rocks along the freeway, like on 71 just in side the Watterson.  Looks like frozen waterfalls.

When The President Tried to Change the Way Americans Spell August 27, 2010

Taking Aim at Mr. Webster

Andrew Carnegie's Legacy Lives in Today's Libraries

On This Date In History: Back in 1906, Andrew Carnegie thought that if English was made more simple, it could become the dominant language in the world.   In an effort to try and simplify the spelling and writing of English, he funded the Simplified Spelling Board which was made up of a group of intellectuals who would discuss the issue.  The Board had 26 members including Supreme Court Justice David Brewer, US Secretary of the Treasury Lyman Gage and Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain.  The board determined that there many words that could easily be changed; such words like ”ghost” could be made simpler by dropping the silent “h.”  Words like “blessed” could be reconfigured as “blest” and certainly the “u” could be dropped in words such as “behaviour,” “colour” and “honour.”  They had enough of “enough” and decided that “enuf” would do just fine.   The board did not want to overwhelm the nation so they proposed slowly introducing new word spellings with an initial list of 300 words that would be changed.  Some schools even adopted the suggests.  The go slow approach though got thwarted by a big stick.

Dan Quayle Decided To Be The Little Helper

President Teddy Roosevelt decided that me would be Vice-President Dan Quayle about 90 years before there was a Vice-President Dan Quayle.   If you recall, on June 15, 1992 then Vice-President Dan Quayle went to an elementary school in Trenton, New Jersey.  Quayle decided to help a kid with his spelling and added an “e” to the end of the word, potato.   That was effectively the end of Quayle’s political career and was no help in President Bush’s re-election bid.  It came as a big surprise to the eggheads on the Simplified Spelling Board when President Theodore Roosevelt unilaterly sent a letter to the US Government Printing Office on this date in 1906 that orderd the office to use the new spelling of the 300 words on the list.  President Roosevelt almost immediately got as much of a backlash as Vice President Quayle did nearly a century later.  Newspapers printed it as “Rozevult’s List.”  However,  Roosevelt managed to hold his seat in the White House.   The Rochester Post-Express pondered whether the president’s surname would spelled “Rusevelt” or “Buttinsky.”  The Baltimore Sun claim that the whole effort was simply “a scheme financed by Carnegie, backed by certain large publishing interests, and designed to carry out an immense project for jobbery in reprinting dictionaries and school books.”

The response to Roosevelt’s attempt to expand to power of the presidency to that of Grammarian in Chief was swift, broad and wicked. One columnist wrote that “nuthing escapes Mr. Rucevelt. No subject is tu hi fr him to takl, no tu lo for him tu notis.”  Congress wasn’t too certain that presidential powers extended to the spelling book and ordered the printer to pay no attention to the man with the big stick in the bully pulpit. So great was the public response, Mr. Roosevelt withdrew the order but later wrote that he glad “did the thing anyhow.”  I’m not certain exactly when the order was rescinded but Congress made certain that Presidential Power did not apply to the pen when on December 13, 1906 the US House of Representatives passed a resolution 142-24 that confirmed it would use traditional spelling found in most dictionaries and not the new and improved list of 300.  The US Supreme Court also vowed to not use the new spelling in spite of the involvement of Justice Brewer. 

Some Jobs Require Good Spellers

As many people who have read this blog can attest, either my spelling is lame or I can’t type.  But, spelling is very important and is seen by many as a reflection to the author’s competence or carelessness.  It would seem that words such as “kissed” did not become “kist” (except as part of the brand name “Sunkist”) but other words did gain a new set of letters.  It is not common in American to  spell “behavior’ or “color” with a “u.” 

The Good Old Washington "Natinals"

But, it would seem that text messengers have begun doing what Andrew Carnegie, Teddy Roosevelt and others tried to do over 100 years ago as many words are spelled in a shorter, simpler form in messaging.  One that comes to mind is “enuf.”   The effort at spelling reform has a long history and some people in the 21st century continue the effort at spelling reform.  It remains to be seen if those efforts or the texting craze continues and if the abbreviations eventually transform the way English is written.  In the meantime, make sure you learn to spell properly. Dan Quayle never won another election and neither did Theodore Roosevelt.

Weather Bottom Line:  The operative word for the last few days of August is dry.  High pressure will continue to dominate but will drift to the east.  Today will again have highs limited to the low to mid 80′s and the overnight low will be in the upper 50′s and low 60′s.  After that we get on the backside of the high with a return southerly flow.  We’ll be around 90 on Saturday afternoon and low 90′s for the balance of the week ahead.  Overnight lows will climb to the mid 60′s on Sunday morning and then upper 60′s thereafter.   My hydrangia is telling me that it needs water and your garden will be screaming the same, if it’s not already.

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.

Yugo, Dan Quayle Went the Way of the Roosevelt Simplified Spelling Guidelines August 26, 2009

Danny is looking for an "e"

On This Date In History: On this date in 1906, President Teddy Roosevelt made his final plans for his effort to be Vice-President Dan Quayle about 90 years before there was a Vice-President Dan Quayle. If you recall, on June 15, 1992 then Vice-President Dan Quayle went to an elementary school in Trenton, New Jersey. He decided to help a kid with his spelling and added an “e” to the end of the word, potato. That was effectively the end of Quayle’s political career and was no help in President Bush’s re-election bid. Well, Theodore Roosevelt got almost as much of a backlash, but managed to hold his seat in the White House.

In the early 20th Century, Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie funded an organization that crusaded for a more simplified spelling system. They advocated dismissing the “u” in behaviour and honour. To that end, they were successful, unless you live in Europe. They failed in their effort to convert “kissed” to “kist” and “though” to “tho”. There are many examples of success and failure but the point is, Teddy liked the concept. So, he ordered the public printer to change the spelling of 300 words to adhere to the code of the Simplified Spelling Board guidelines.

The response was swift, broad and wicked. One columnist wrote that “nuthing escapes Mr. Rucevelt. No subject is tu hi fr him to takl, no tu lo for him tu notis.” Congress wasn’t too certain that presidential powers extended to the spelling book and ordered the printer to pay no attention to the man with the big stick in the bully pulpit. So great was the public response, Mr. Roosevelt withdrew the order but later wrote that he glad “did the thing anyhow.”

Make sure you learn to spell properly. Dan Quayle never won another election and neither did Theodore Roosevelt.

Here is a list of all of the changes that President Roosevelt wanted to change…

WALL STREET JOURNAL-Rozevult’s List

 

Could the Yugo beat Herbie the Love Bug?

 

You GO!  Remember the Yugo?  It was a small, inexpensive car from Yugoslavia that went on the market in the USA on this date in 1985.  There were just 90 Yugo dealerships in America and the minute the automobile’s availability was announced, people had come in droves to put down a deposit on the $3990 car before they even saw it.   It was thousands less than any other car offered in America and by the time 1500 had arrived from Yugoslavia, there were orders for over 6500 waiting.  Though sales weren’t as high as expected for inaugural year, second year sales rose. 

Now, the Yugo was small but had lots of standard features.   Standard equipment included fabric upholstery, full carpeting, reclining front seats, folding rear seat, rear window wiper/washer, opening rear quarter windows, rear window electric defroster, low fuel warning light, cigarette lighter, locking gas cap, and a full size spare tire. There were few options such as air conditioning, stereos, floor mats, wheel covers, and roof racks.  I can tell you two things that shouldn’t be an option in the United States is air-conditioning and a stereo.

Check Out the Monster Yugo!

But, that wasn’t the only problem.  Seems that owners complained of mechanical problems including premature engine failure, bad brakes, poor shifter and transmission, and faulty electrical systems, and terrible dealer service.   Then there was the safety issue.  The insurance industry faulted the cars crash worthiness.  That last one is kinda stupid to me because anyone buying such a tiny cars are not buying it for safety.  Well, things didnt go so well and in 1989, they stopped importing Yugos to the US and Yugo America went bankrupt. But, it came back for a last hurrah in 1990 when new models came to US shores, but they didn’t last with the 1991 model year being the last for Yugo in the US.

Poor Little Car-Video Abuse

The company that made (makes) the Yugo is Zasatava.  If it weren’t for bad luck, they’d have none at all.  The plant at which they made Yugos was bombed by the US and its allies in the Kosovo war…seems it  was determined that it was making strategic arms.  But, they haven’t given up. In spite of crappy US exposure the first time around and in spite of not so crappy US bombs falling on the factory, Zasatava is at it again with the Yugo and it may try the US market again.  That is the history of Yugo.  Many people in the US have a different individual history of their Yugo.  Someone from Europe decided to show their video history of their Yugo..poor little car.

Weather Bottom Line: Well, the AC came back on Wednesday afternoon.  A bit too humid for me and the fat cats.  I saved some money for 3 days though.  There is a strong front that will come down, just like last weekend.  It will take us back to conditions more reminiscent of October or late September than late August.  It is also going to steer Tropical Storm..and probably Hurricane…Danny up the east coast..just like Bill except that it will probably be closer to the coast, even along part of the coast, than Bill was.  Not a slam dunk but we should get rain late Thursday or early Friday.  Not likely at this point but if we get destablized then we may get some strong storms but at this point, it does not appear that the atmosphere will get drunk..er…loaded up for that.

President Spies on Congress? January 8, 2009

Did Teddy Fancy Himself More Than a President?

Teddy Like Napoleon?

On This Date in History: President Theodore Roosevelt had many crusades during his presidency and one was against corruption.  He weilded power by liberally using the investigave arm of the Treasury Department, the Secret Service.  Apologists of the practice  suggested that the Secret Service was the federal government’s only trained investigative agency.  Remember, this was prior to the creation of the FBI.  But, opponents decried this use of federal resources as presidential thuggery, comparing the service to the secret police of Napoleon!  That little

Livingstone Had His 15 Minutes

comparison probably came about since Roosevelt’s Attorney General was none other than Charles Bonaparte, Napoleon’s Great Nephew.  Now, Congress was atwitter with rumors that President Roosevelt, in his zeal to crush corruption, used the Secret Service to create files on the private lives of Congressmen and that he meant to use them.  Does this sound familiar?  Remember the 900 FBI files that showed up in the Clinton White House and it was blamed on the former bouncer working in the White House, Craig Livingstone?

Anyway, Congress decided to take action and tried to restrict the reach of the Secret Service.  Members of the House and Senate blasted away, claiming that Roosevelt was developing despotic powers by creating his own secret police force.  Teddy fired back that he was simply using tools to fight corruption, even if the trail led right up to the doors of the Congress.  The two side tossed verbal grenades at one another until on this date in 1909, Congress decided to defend its “maligned integrity.”   (Why is it that only Congress thinks that Congress has integrity?)  The House voted 212-36 to table, or formally ignore, that portion of the president’s annual address that assailed any restrictions on the Secret Service.  It had been since the days of Andrew Jackson that a president had received such a rebuke from the legislative body.  It took a few years but eventually, it all got worked out.  Partly due to Teddy’s use of the bully pulpit and big stick way of pushing for what he wanted, a bureau of investigation was formed in the Justice Department which later became known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, more commonly called simply the FBI.  Congress for its part had staked out its position against any form of domestic spying. 

J Edgar Hoover Confused?

Now, the funny thing about this is that the man who became the first head of the FBI was J. Edgar Hoover and he held the post until his death in 1972.  After 40 years at the helm, he had amassed so much power and had so much dirt on so many people, many people have suggested that Hoover actually held more power than any person in the United States.  Presidents were afraid of what Hoover might have in his files.  It has been revealed the the FBI pressured Martin Luther King, Jr during his Civil Rights protests with many historians suggesting that the pressure put on King was directly linked to Hoover’s own private prejudice.  So, in effect, the very thing Congress was afraid of came to pass except the power was not so much in the hands of an elected official, the President, but instead on the man who led the agency. 

It is  partly for this type of abuse of power why the framers of the Constitution did not allow for a provision  for a federal police force.  Well, after Hoover’s death, it was determined that no one could ever hold that type of power again and so the FBI director cannot serve for life any more but  instead is limited to a ten year appointment.    So, it could be said that Congress didn’t get it close to right until some 65 years after it wrestled with Roosevelt about domestic spying….keep in mind that Congress’ concern was not so much with the feds spying on your average joe….no…it was concerned with spying on them!  The public certainly cannot be privy to the skeletons in the closet  of its elected officials.  This link will also tell you of Hoover’s own closet full of secrets that may have made him thankful that there was not a bureau of investigation for investigating the bureau of investigation.  This link claims Hoover’s closet was clean…mostly….you be the judge if you care.

Weather Bottom Line:  As it turns out, my suspicions were correct.  We had light snow and the ground was too warm to have any accumulation, though I think parts of South Indiana had some white spots.  With wet roads overnight, there may be some Thursday morning icy spots but, with the wind blowing so hard, many of the roads may dry before much ice forms.  Still a good idea to be careful, especially on bridges.  As I mentioned yesterday, Thursday looks pretty cold. We won’t get out of the 30′s and the breezes will make it a bit tough.  Now we warm up a bit for Friday…though not warm…and then we just hit the tank with another pretty cold time of it next week.  If some of the data holds up, we may not get to the 20′s on Monday or Tuesday.  Even if the coldest stuff isn’t right, we’re still looking at highs in the mid to upper 20′s.  So, unless you are a thermometer you won’t notice…its going to be cold. Bet we see single digits.  Some snow showers look possible for say Sun-Tue off and on but accumulations don’t look like anything more than a nuisance and a nice post card.

Rain To Change Our Fortunes; Spelling Dooms Presidential Fortunes August 26, 2008

Here is a link to a cool set of photos in a slide show brought to our attention by Rick, a frequenter of these here pages. He sent it as a response to this post but I’m bringing it to your attention….CLICK HERE for Photos From Parker, CO Tornado

2 Day Rain Forecast Tue and Wed

To Track Fay via radar imagery, you can click on this Interactive Radar (Click Here) and zoom in to street level, loop and navigate anywhere in the entire nation .

The track of the remnant of Fay is lifting up and perhaps a shade farther west. That is good for we in the Louisville Metro area. Now, we are on the left hand side of the storm and by far, the heaviest rain will be to our east and south. But, if you look at the 2 Day rain forecast from the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center you notice that they have nudged the rain blob farther west to perhaps an inch. That is not too far off and we are currently looking more closely at the ETA model which over the weekend advertised a blob coming over Louisville. Conversely, the GFS has no interest in rain for the next few days. Given the current position of the center of Fay and its previous track and the environmental conditions, we feel like a good shot at area wide rain, beneficial rain, is in the cards, particularly Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. A front comes through late Friday that may bring some showers or t’storms, followed by a great looking Labor Day Weekend.

Taking Aim at Mr. Webster

Don't Forget The "e"

On This Date In History: On this date in 1906, President Teddy Roosevelt made his final plans for his effort to be Vice-President Dan Quayle about 90 years before there was a Vice-President Dan Quayle. If you recall, on June 15, 1992 then Vice-President Dan Quayle went to an elementary school in Trenton, New Jersey. He decided to help a kid with his spelling and added an “e” to the end of the word, potato. That was effectively the end of Quayle’s political career and was no help in President Bush’s re-election bid. Well, Theodore Roosevelt got almost as much of a backlash, but managed to hold his seat in the White House.

In the early 20th Century, Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie funded an organization that crusaded for a more simplified spelling system. They advocated dismissing the “u” in behaviour and honour. To that end, they were successful, unless you live in Europe. They failed in their effort to convert “kissed” to “kist” and “though” to “tho”. There are many examples of success and failure but the point is, Teddy liked the concept. So, he ordered the public printer to change the spelling of 300 words to adhere to the code of the Simplified Spelling Board guidelines.

The response was swift, broad and wicked. One columnist wrote that “nuthing escapes Mr. Rucevelt. No subject is tu hi fr him to takl, no tu lo for him tu notis.” Congress wasn’t too certain that presidential powers extended to the spelling book and ordered the printer to pay no attention to the man with the big stick in the bully pulpit. So great was the public response, Mr. Roosevelt withdrew the order but later wrote that he glad “did the thing anyhow.”

Make sure you learn to spell properly. Dan Quayle never won another election and neither did Theodore Roosevelt.

Here is a list of all of the changes that President Roosevelt wanted to change…

WALL STREET JOURNAL-Rozevult’s List

President Invokes Imaginary Right to Avoid Subpoena ; Non-Imaginary Severe Threat Friday June 13, 2008

Here is the Thursday afternoon update from the SPC regarding the severe threat for Friday into Saturday morning.  If you notice the highest probability’s location, you will see that it is along the path of an upper low or MCS that is expected to develop in Kansas and move into Missouri before swinging up toward the Ohio Valley.  This should happen in the heat of the late afternoon and evening.  As it moves up along the frontal boundary that is approaching from the west, it will enhance the severe weather threat.  What it will also do is keep the front moving slowly so rain totals will continue to be a problem in the Midwest.  The storm risk area ends just to the east of Louisville because we get into the late hours Friday night and early Saturday when the storms approach the Metro.  The storms should be on the downside of their life-cycle but we could see line segments or bow echoes that would produce gusty winds.  Bow echoes are also known to produce weak, short lived but dangerous tornadoes.  The track of the upper low and the slow moving nature of the front could also amplify the rain amounts over southern Indiana. For that reason, a Flash Flood Watch was issued on Thursday, taking effect Friday afternoon through 4 AM on Saturday.  AS the low moves by, the front will get energized and move through Kentucky fairly quickly so inordinate amounts of rain are not likely, but heavy downpours are still possible.  I’ll try to bring updates along.

On This Date In History:  On this date in 1807, President Thomas Jefferson received a subpoena to testify at the treason trial of his former Vice-President, Aaron Burr.  If you recall, Burr and Jefferson both had the same number of electoral votes for the 1800 presidential election.  The tie went to the House of Representatives who voted for Jefferson only after Tom’s old nemesis, Alexander Hamilton, reluctantly went to bat for the famous statesman.  That made Jefferson the President and Burr the Vice-President.  The original Constitution had the second place electoral vote-getter become Vice-President.  But that meant that political rivals had to be the team.  That obviously created problems and the Constitution was changed.  The problem became all too apparent when Burr, as the sitting Vice-President, took out his anger at Hamilton for his support of Jefferson, as well as other items of disagreement, by taking Hamilton to the dueling field.  Burr killed the Revolutionary Hero and a warrant was issued for the Vice-President’s arrest for murder.  Burr fled until the charges were dropped.

Well, Burr wasn’t done.  His political career was over in the United States as the public turned on him for his duel.  So, he secretly conspired with Britain and Spain to try and set up a new country in the Southwest of what is now the United States and part of Mexico.  Of course, Burr would rule the new empire.  But, he plot was foiled and he went to trial for Treason.  As part of his defense, he had Jefferson, still the sitting President, called to the trial to produce documents that would exonerate him.  But, Jefferson cited his right to protect the public interest as reason for not showing up at the trial and he only offered a few of the documents requested.  If Jefferson was trying to send Burr to the gallows it didn’t work because Chief Justice John Marshall declared that the charges were to be dropped due to lack of evidence.

Now, I’m not sure why the Chief Justice was involved unless somehow an appeal was made to the Supreme Court or if the judicial system was different then.  But, I do know that this is another of a number of instances in which President Jefferson simply ignored the Constitution to suit his needs. On these here pages, we’ve talked about the undeclared Barbary Pirate War which I suppose set the precedent for other undeclared conflicts to come and the funding of the Lewis and Clark expedition as examples of how Jefferson the President acted perhaps differently than Jefferson the author of the Declaration of Independence.  So often today, when we hear charges that the President is shredding the Constitution, we hear the name of Jefferson invoked….when in fact, Jefferson is hardly the one who should be upheld as the President who held the Constitution without contempt.

 

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.