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 Teddy Roosevelt Gave a Speech After Being Shot In Chest By Would Be Assassin October 15, 2010

If Not For The Case For The Spectacles of Teddy Roosevelt (like this set auctioned in 2005) the Name of John F. Schrank Might Be As Well Known as that of John Wilkes Booth

On This Date in History: Lost to much of the pages of history are attempted assassinations. (Here is a list of failed presidential assassinations) President Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 was a former President who was running to get his old job back. He had filled the term of the assassinated President McKinley and finished his own term in 1908. In deference to the precedent set by President Washington, Teddy Roosevelt decided against running in 1908, instead promoting his Vice-President William Howard Taft who won handily. Teddy was not happy with the way in which Taft ran things and decided to challenge him for the Republican nomination for the 1912 election but power interests in the party which had fared better with Taft than Roosevelt, backed Taft and Roosevelt did not get the Republican nomination at the 1912 Republican Convention. So, he formed his own party, the Progressive Party, which came to be known as the “Bull Moose Party” after TR’s tough-guy bull-moose image. Roosevelt ended up getting more votes than Taft but the pair split the Republican vote which led to the election of Woodrow Wilson as President.

While on the campaign trail prior to the election, on October 14, 1912, Theodore Roosevelt got into a car after dining at a hotel in Milwaukee. He was headed to give a speech. When he turned to wave to the crowd, a shot rang out from the .38 caliber revolver in the hand of John F. Schrank. Schrank, a Bavarian-born immigrant, had been stalking Roosevelt since at least September 1912 when he left New York in pursuit of his prey .  It was reported that the assailant felt that no one should get more than two terms as president and had also been having dreams of William McKinley.  His dream supposedly occured on the September 6 anniversary of the assassination of President William McKinley which vaulted the then young Vice-President Roosevelt into office.  His dream was said to have involved McKinley in a coffin.  McKinley suddenly sat up straight and pointed to Roosevelt who was dressed like a monk.  The dead president floating around Schrank’s head then said, “This is my murderer. Avenge my death!”  So. Schrank did his best to follow the orders of the ghost in his dream.  When Roosevelt turned to the crowd from his car, it opened up an opportunity for Schrank to shoot the candidate at close range.

Chest X-Ray of Teddy Roosevelt Shows Location of Bullet That Was Never Removed

The shot struck Roosevelt squarely in the chest. But, in his breast pocket, Teddy had the thick,  folded up 50-page text of his planned 90 minute speech.  It must have been some pocket because, in addition to the 4-dozen sheets of paper the pocket also contained a metal spectacle case.  The bullet was slowed by the eye-glasses case and the thick manuscript.  The bullet, however, entered his body but it did not penetrate his heart. Initially, Roosevelt did not realize that he had been shot.  Once he had discovered that he was indeed the victim of a gunshot wound he still insisted on giving his speech. Using his experience as an avid hunter as a guide, he reasoned that since he was not coughing up blood, then no major organs were damaged.  Roosevelt survived an assassination attempt and had not been assassinated so, when he arrived on the podium. Teddy proudly showed the crowd the hole in his speech and thundered, “ it would take more than that to kill a Bull Moose!”   While the speech (text of speech) was abbreviated, most accounts report that Mr. Roosevelt still spoke before the crowd for 80-90 minutes and rebuffed attempts to get him to conclude the speech so he could go to the hospital for attention.  

Mrs. Medill McCormick and TR daughter Alice Roosevelt Longwell Leaving Mercy Hospital Oct 15, 1912 After Visting the Original Bull Moose

Only after he concluded his speech did Roosevelt finally go to the hospital in Milwaukee and reluctantly allowed for a tetnus injection.  On This Date in 1912, the former president was in Chicago’s Mercy Hospital where he stayed for observation for 8 days. the bullet was found lodged in tissue such that it would be more dangerous to attempt its removal.  The slug remained in Roosevelt’s body for the rest of his life.  After making the determination that the bullet would stay where it was,  Teddy was  released  from Mercy Hospital on October 23.  Both Woodrow Wilson and William Howard Taft suspended their campaigns until Roosevelt was released but they were back on the campaign trail with  just a little more than a week before the election.  While his opponents were back on the stump, TR was prevented from making important campaign stops.  Some speculate that his absence from the campaign trail in the critical final days may have influenced the election results.  In any event, Roosevelt was unable to convince enough Republicans to swing his way and the GOP vote was split between he and Taft.  While he received 88 electoral votes to the sitting president’s 8, Wilson skated to victory with 435 votes from the Electoral College.  However, Wilson’s popular vote total was about 6.3 million while, collectively, Taft and Roosevelt collected 7.6 million votes.  

Schrank Lived His Lonely Final 31 Years in a Mental Hospital Only To See the 2 Term Tradition Broken By Teddy's Cousin

Wilson went on to be re-elected in 1916, again with less than a majority of the popular vote.  He took in 49.2% of the vote and became a two term president never to receive a majority of the popular vote by a narrow 277-254 electoral victory over his Republican opponent, Charles E. Hughes.  18 times in US presidential elections has the winner not received a majority of popular votes since the popular vote was first reliably recorded in 1824.  So, it’s not that unusual.  However, only Woodrow Wilson, Grover Cleveland and Bill Clinton served two terms and never received a majority of the popular vote.  For his part, Schrank was whisked away to a mental institution where he remained for the rest of his life.  Apparently, no one came to visit him. His health began to fail in 1940 shortly after he learned that Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 5th cousin of Theodore Roosevelt, was going to run for a 3rd term as President of the United States. Schrank died at the Central State Mental Hospital in Waupun, Wisconson on September 16, 1943; about a year before FDR was elected to a 4th term.

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.

Robber Gets $1.2 Million from City to Settle Lawsuit. Long Winded Speech Saves President’s Life October 14, 2009

Pat Garrett Shot Billy the Kid in the Back. Should the kid's family have sued Lincoln County?

Is This True?

The city of Oakland, California decided to pay a man $1.2 million to settle a Civil Rights lawsuit against the city.  The man was shot in the back by  an Oakland Police Officer and is now a paraplegic.    The rub with many people is that the victim was in the act of committing a robbery when the officer shot him.  The cop thought the man had a gun and shot him in self defense.  But, the man was unarmed.  This echoes back to a case in Louisville a few years ago.  A young man was conducting a drug transaction with an undercover cop.  When the officer identified himself, the youth ran and reached for what the officer thought was a gun.  The kid was shot three times in the back and died.   While, the case showed that what the officer thought was a gun was in fact not a gun, the investigation revealed that the young man was indeed armed with a gun.  The Louisville Police Officer was charged with murder.  The officer in question was  acquitted of that murder charge but he was later fired by the city for not following procedure.  

These types of cases come up from time to time.  The cop has to make a split second decision.  In these two particular cases, the men were in the act of committing a crime.  In both cases, the cops thought that the suspect was going for a gun.  In both cases, neither was going for a gun, though in the Louisville case, the man was armed.  In both cases, the officer shot the suspect in the back. 

If a man robs a liquor store and, while driving away, accidentally runs over someone,  he would most likely get charged with murder because the incident happened while  they were committing a crime.  How is it that a suspect is held responsible for his actions during the act of committing a crime, yet, is not responsible for putting himself in a position to be shot by police because he’s committing a crime?

Should cops be punished for mistakes made in shootings in which the person shot was in the process of committing a crime?  Should those “victims” be able to collect for damages in those situations…in effect get paid for being injured while committing a crime? 

These are not isolated incidents.  Just recently, a man who was convicted of a violent armed robbery filed a lawsuit seeking monetary damages for injuries he received when trying to flee the scene of the crime.  Are cities like Oakland setting a precedent for such payoffs? 
On This Date in History: Lost to much of the pages of history are attempted assassinations. (Here is a list of failed presidential assassinations) President Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 was a former President who was running to get his old job back. He had filled the term of the assassinated President McKinley and finished his own term in 1908. In deference to the precedent set by President Washington, Teddy Roosevelt decided against running in 1908, instead promoting his Vice-President William Howard Taft who won handily. Teddy was not happy with the way in which Taft ran things and decided to challenge him for the Republican nomination for the 1912 election but power interests in the party which had fared better with Taft than Roosevelt, backed Taft and Roosevelt did not get the Republican nomination. So, he formed his own party, the Progressive Party, which came to be known as the “Bull Moose Party” after TR’s tough-guy bull-moose image. Roosevelt ended up getting about 12 million votes to Taft’s 8 million but the pair split the Republican vote which led to the election of Woodrow Wilson as President.

On this date in 1912, Theodore Roosevelt got into a car after dining at a hotel in Milwaukee. He was headed to give a speech. When he turned to wave to the crowd, a shot rang out from the .38 caliber revolver in the hand of John Schrank. Schrank had been pursuing Roosevelt for many days over many miles. He had been reported to be having dreams of William McKinley and also felt that no one should get more than two terms as president. When Roosevelt turned to the crowd from his car, it opened up and opportunity for Schrank to shoot the candidate at close range.

The shot his Roosevelt squarely in the chest. But, in his breast pocket, Teddy had the thick, 50 page, folded up text of his planned 90 minute speech. He also had a metal spectacle case. The bullet was slowed by the eye-glasses case and the thick speech. While the bullet entered his body, it did not penetrate his heart. Initially, Roosevelt did not realize that he had been shot but, after he did, he insisted on giving his speech. He arrived on the podium and proudly showed the crowd the hole in his speech and said that it took more than an assassins bullet to kill a bull moose. While the speech (text of speech) was abbreviated, he still stood before the crowd for quite awhile and rebuffed attempts to get him to conclude the speech so he could go to the hospital for attention. He went to the hospital in Milwaukee and reluctantly allowed for a tetnus injection and then went to a Chicago hospital where he was released on October 23. But, that was just a little more than a week before the election and he was prevented from making important campaign stops, which may have influenced the election and leading to Wilson’s victory.

Here’s the kicker. The bullet was never removed.

Weather Bottom Line:  Still looks like crappy weather through the rest of the week if not into Saturday.  It will be cloudy with off and on rain and showers.  We may not see 50 degrees until Saturday afternoon.

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.

Presidential Example of How To Deal with Islamic Terrorists Helped Re-Election Bid May 18, 2009

Teddy Knew How To Take Care of Business

On This Date in History:  President Theodore Roosevelt got a boost to his re-election campaign from an unlikely source on this date in  in 1904.  The benefactor was an Islamist terrorist.  Did you think that was a late 20th century phenomena?  Of course not.  They’ve been around for quite awhile as I’ve pointed out numerous times on these here pages.  However, this event really wasn’t that long ago when you consider that the seamstress for one of the main characters just died in 2004. 

Abdul Aziz Was Tossed in 1908

This guy inadvertently helped out Teddy when he kidnapped a wealthy American, Ion Perdicaris, in Morocco.  Mubu (Mulai) Ahmed er Raisuli was considered to be a Barbary Pirate who was unhappy with the sultan of Morocco for allowing the French to have great sway and influence in the country as long as they gave him toys.  See, Sultan Abdul Aziz got bicycles, 25 grand pianos, over 600 cameras and even a gold car even though Morocco had no roads.  Well, Raisuli had enough so he decided to act.  Not in the violent way that seemed more prevalent in the early 20th Century in general and has been pervasive in Islamic politics for generations. No…he decided to follow a script that could have been written in Hollywood.

By kidnapping Perdicaris and ransoming him to the Moroccan government, he hoped to involve the United States and bring great shame in disrepute to the government which would lead to it’s demise.  His plan worked.  He got the attention of none other than the old Rough Rider himself, Teddy Roosevelt, whose re-election campaign was in need of a boost.  Roosevelt seized the opportunity and sent a negotiator even though Raisuli had a reputation for sending messengers back with their throats slit or even just sending back their heads.  In this case, Raisuli didn’t provoke Roosevelt that directly but he was being difficult.  He finally agreed to release the tycoon for $70,000 then he changed his mind.  That provoked TR.

Cruiser Brooklyn Was a Pretty Big Stick

Teddy sent a telegram to the envoy instructing him to proceed cautiously and also included numeorus other items for the envoy to consider.  But, it also included the phrase, “the government wants Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead.”  In typical Roosevelt fashion, TR sent a bunch of warships to the coast of Morroco.  The Republican convention had unanimously re-nominated President Roosevelt but the atmosphere was dull and listless until….they read the one “bully” phrase from the telegram to the negotiator.  When the conventioneers heard that TR wanted the prisoner back alive or the captor dead, wild cheers and applause errupted on the convention floor and the campaign was off and running.  It turns out it was all for naught because by the time the telegram reached Raisuli he had already changed his mind again, accepted the money and released Perdicaris.  Of course the perception of the public was that it was Teddy’s dead or alive demand that caused the release.  The campaign never did  anything to change that perception nor did it point out that the United States had given in to every one of the pirate’s demands.

Don't Let the Facts Get in the Way of a Good Cartoon

They also didn’t tell the electorate that it had been found out that Perdicaris wasn’t even an American citizen.  The administration had found out that during the Civil War, Perdicaris had renounced his US citizenship and become a Greek citizen so that when he refused his draft call into the Confederacy, his land holdings would not be confiscated.  The fact that the captive was not an American was not known to the public for 40 years, well after Roosevelt’s death.    I don’t think anyone shouted out “Teddy lied!”  Nor was there a movement to blow up his face from Mt. Rushmore. 

Raisluli...Doesn't Look Like He Missed a Meal

Now, this Hollywood script worked better than Raisuli bargained for. He got the $70,000 but he made the Sultan look so incompetent that the Sultan’s brother overthrew the government and the new administration clamped down on the pirate Raisuli.  The French were so angered by the whole thing that they exerted even greater influence.  Perhaps there is a reason why those who wish to topple a government don’t follow a drama line…

Sean Makes a Better Raisuli Than the Real Thing

But Hollywood liked the script and in 1975 produced The Wind and the Lion that was based on the incident.  But, producers being as it is…they made some changes.  Instead of a wealthy expatriated American man getting kidnapped, the lovely Candice Bergen was held by her captive…Sean Connery…who just a few years later was named the Sexiest Man Alive!!!  

Does the picture at the upper left look like Sean Connery to you?

Here’s a link to more details if you like:

Teddy’s Big Stick

 

 

In previous years, taking target practice with beers at guys running on port-o-cans was popular...not this year

Preakness Infield Looked Nothing Like This in '09

Weather Bottom Line:

  Snow White and I had a wonderful time at Pimlico this past weekend.  But, they didn’t allow anyone to bring their own beer (BYOB) into the infield this year and attendance suffered.  It was down 35,000 from last year.  Usually, its very wild and there is no space to be found anywhere.  There were plenty of green places this year.  Beer sold for $3.50 and a pack of cigarettes sold for $10!  I talked to one guy who said the local colleges boycotted the event.  But, that was better for me because I got to see ZZ Top on the infield from about 10 feet away. 

 

Paul Richardson has a birthday today, but I don’t know how old he is but he’s closer to retirement than me.  I may have been in the Baltimore Sun because I was standing behind a woman who got her photo taken.   I met a couple from Tampa who told me that my old buddy Dave Reynolds suffered the same fate as I did.  But, because it happened to me, I was able to go to the Preakness for the first time.

You can tell I’m dodging the weather.  That’s because there’s nothing to say except a big ridge will be building in from the Southwest.  After a chilly Monday start, we begin moderating and will be quite warm by midweek.  No rain likely for the week ahead.  However, there will be a low wandering in to Florida from the Atlantic that will skid along the Gulf Coast.  It’s progged at 1008 mb and it will be interesting to see if they call it a depression.  Hurricane Season doesn’t start until June 1 but it’s not unusual for the boys at the National Hurricane Center to get aggressive with the classification of pre-season storms.  Often, it doesn’ t warrant such a thing but I think they bend the parameters a bit sometimes to get everyone’s attention.  Sorta  a marketing tool.   But, I don’t know that for certain.

White House “Scares The Crap” Out of New York For Photo Op; Talking Rarely Brings Peace April 28, 2009

World War I Protest...What a Waste of Time

White House Wastes Money for "Classified" Photo Op and Scares Taxpayers Who Paid For It

Can you Imagine if this was the Bush Administration?  So, on Monday, a large low flying commercial jet was reported flying near New York City.  What people saw was a 747 with two fighter jets near by.   One could easily surmise that there was another attack coming and the Air Force was chasing down the plane.  Or maybe some people didn’t see the fighters and only saw a 747 flying low near the Statue of Liberty,  which is near the World Trade Center.  The public in the area panic and starting running pell mell in all directions.  At first it was reported as a “military drill.”  As it turns out, it was nothing more than a photo op involving one of the planes that serves as Air Force One.  And who approved it?  The Obama White House!  They wanted to get a photo of Air Force One with two jet fighters flying with the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop.  The mayor of New York said he didn’t know about it but some reports say that the military told the city but said that they couldn’t tell anyone because it was classified!  Haven’t these people ever heard of photo shop?  President Obama is telling us how he is going to reign in spending, yet the White House thought it was a good idea to spend untold thousands of  taxpayer dollars to get a photo  and scare the very taxpayers that it are supposed to be serviing.  Ask yourself…wouldn’t the outrage be deafening if this had been the Bush Administration?  Yet…the media seems to be burying the story.  Here’s the take from the New York Times from the NY/region page…not the front page.  Compare it to the Wall Street Journal, which includes video.  The story from Newsweek headline rightly says it “scared the crap” of out New Yorkers.

Jacobs Words Were Useless

On This Date In History:  Ever noticed how there are some people who feel like that effort or intent is  more important than actual results?  Symbolism over substance.  Today marks such a day because, if that’s not the case, then it would be largely forgotten.  On this date in 1915, World War I (then known as the Great War) raged and the International Congress of Women convened at The Hague in the Netherlands.  The meeting was one of women’s rights organizations and suffrage groups from around the world.  One of the main organizers, Aletta Jacobs, said in her opening remarks that the group meeting would “have its moral effect upon the belligerent countries,”  The conference lasted 3 days and concluded in part ”…we can no longer endure in this twentieth century of civilization that government should tolerate brute force as the only solution of international disputes.”  They outlined specific ways of conflict resolution with continual mediation. 

1915 US Delegation to Hague

Of course, it didn’t work, not in this war or any other armed conflict.  WWI went on for 3 more years. Two decades later we had World War II followed by so many other conflicts.  Now, you might say that if these nations had listened to what is often referred to as the Women’s Peace Conference then these other conflicts wouldn’t have happened.  But, in WWI no one was giving up an inch on the battlefield nor at the negotiating table.  In 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain tried the negotiation route and he ended up sacrificing the people of Czechoslovakia for a piece of worthless paper that precluded a world war.   

WWI Could Not End Until Someone Gave Up

I mean really…I wonder if these ladies really thought 20 years after their peace conference that one could reason with Adolph Hitler?  Gee…if the two sides had only talked more, wonder what would have happened?    Negotiations didn’t stop Slobadan Milosevic, it was the bombs of the United States Air Force ordered dropped by President Clinton.  When you extend a hand, you have to have a hammer close by.  People like these women meant well.  But they seem to think that having a meeting and bringing attention to themselves does anything when in fact, it does nothing.  Remember, war is defined as nothing more than an extension of political will.  The object of war is to get the other side to quit.  When there is an impasse in talk, the only thing that is left to do is take action if its important enough. Action requires boldness.   However, at the dawn of the 20th century, it became more apparent that the results of action could be devastating and so the total destruction of war became part of the equation….measuring risk vs. reward.

If you look at the Great Seal of the United States.  You will find that in the talons of the Eagle, there is an olive branch as well as a cluster of 13 arrows.  The most obvious representation is that the 13 arrows is for the 13 original colonies.  But, the cluster of arrows and the olive branch indicates “peace through strength.”  The founding fathers knew that a strong nation was one more likely to live  in peace. 

Pragmatism and reality doesn’t seem to disuade or convince folks though because, today there are many associations like International Congress of Women that think they are doing something, that tell people they are doing something and have people tell them they are doing something when, in fact, they accomplish nothing except headlines.  Martin Luther King achieved success through action, although it was peaceful action. ..and I’m not talking about walking around with signs.   The US achieved freedom through action.    The Spirit and words of President Roosevelt do well here:

 

 

You Tell'em, Teddy!

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how

the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

 

SPC: Not a Big Deal Tuesday

Weather Bottom Line: The pattern looks pretty much holding true to form which is the idea of getting rain with t’storms on Tuesday as a weak front sneaks through.  If you noticed the sky on Monday, the clouds had almost no vertical development.  This would suggest warmer air aloft considering that we got to the mid to upper 80′s and still had no convective growth.  Any jet streaks have also moved out of the area.  With a strong front, then one could get enough lift to create some good storms.  But, in this case, the front is weak and therefore the slope is gentle.  So, it would need some help getting good lift.  But with not much of a good lapse rate and  no dynamics helping, its tough to get good storms.  Hence, you see we have no real severe threat on Tuesday.  Clouds and showers will hold the temps down to the mid 70′s.

As I had previously mentioned, the front doesn’t go far south but it appears that it will probably get far enough south to make for a decent Wednesday.  Having said that, I wouldn’t call it a slam dunk.  The times I got burned the worst on a forecast was when a front didn’t go far enough south.  It will be close.  Thursday, the front returns as a warm front and brings a risk of showers.  Friday, a cold front sags down and rain chances go up again.  I think that Oaks Day is iffy.  I’ve seen some reports being all kinda optimistic but, here’s the problem; the cold front may get hung up over the area which would enhance rain chances.  Then, there is some indication suggests that a wave of energy will run up along the front over us.  Timing would be the issue.  If the wave comes through in the late afternoon, strong thunderstorms are not out of the question.  If it’s in the evening, then, then it may be okay.  The European model wants to take the bulk of the energy well north which would put the threat in the plains.   The GFS is more interested in bringing a threat to the mid to upper Mississippi Valley and part of the Ohio Valley.  It seems to me its a risky bet to call for no chance for rain or a dry day almost any day this week.  Good news is that for the Kentucky Derby, it still looks like that high pressure will build in long enough to make for a dry and mild Derby Day with rain then coming back for Sunday.

 

DAY 2 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK 
   NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
   1225 PM CDT MON APR 27 2009
  
   VALID 281200Z – 291200Z
  
   …THERE IS A SLGT RISK OF SVR TSTMS SRN HIGH PLAINS AND NRN TX…
  
   …SYNOPSIS…
   SHORTWAVE TROUGH…CURRENTLY LOCATED OVER THE CENTRAL PORTIONS OF
   THE COUNTRY…WILL EJECT NEWD AND DEAMPLIFY AS IT MERGES WITH A
   STRONGER TROUGH MOVING EWD ACROSS SERN CANADA. THESE SYSTEMS WILL
   PUSH A COLD FRONT EWD THROUGH THE NERN QUARTER OF THE COUNTRY ON
   TUE…WHILE THE WRN PORTION OF THE FRONT STALLS ACROSS THE MIDDLE
   MS/SRN PLAINS REGION. ANOTHER TROUGH DIGGING SWD THROUGH ORE/NRN CA
   IS FORECAST TO EVOLVE INTO A BROAD UPPER LOW IN THE PACIFIC NW. THIS
   WILL RESULT IN BROAD CYCLONIC FLOW WITH EMBEDDED SHORTWAVE TROUGHS
   EXTENDING FROM THE SWRN STATES NEWD INTO CENTRAL/SRN PLAINS.
  
   …SRN HIGH PLAINS AND NRN TX…
   FRONT IS EXPECTED TO STRETCH ACROSS NRN TX WWD IN THE SRN TX
   PANHANDLE DURING THE MORNING. SCATTERED CONVECTION MAY BE OCCURRING
   ALONG AND NORTH OF THE FRONT…ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE TX PANHANDLE
   …WHERE STRONGER FORCING IS EXPECTED DUE TO STRENGTHENING LOW LEVEL
   JET/ISENTROPIC LIFT. COMBINATION OF STEEP MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES AND
   MOISTENING ADVECTION ABOVE THE BOUNDARY LAYER INDICATE A MARGINAL
   THREAT FOR SEVERE HAIL WITH ELEVATED THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE
   MORNING.
  
   HOWEVER…THE COMBINATION OF DIURNAL HEATING AND DEWPOINTS IN THE
   50S IN NM AND 60S IN TX SHOULD RESULT IN MODERATE INSTABILITY
   …WITH MLCAPES FROM 1000 TO 2000 J/KG ACROSS THE SLIGHT RISK AREA.
   A SHORTWAVE TROUGH IS PROGGED TO MOVE INTO THE WRN TX BY
   AFTERNOON…AND STORMS ARE LIKELY TO DEVELOP ALONG NWD DRIFTING E-W
   ORIENTED FRONT…REMNANT BOUNDARIES FROM MORNING CONNECTION AND IN
   MOISTENING UPSLOPE FLOW REGIME ACROSS ERN NM. VEERING WINDS IN THE
   LOWER 3KM COMBINED WITH MODERATE 40 KT WSWLY MID LEVEL WINDS WILL
   CONTRIBUTE TO EFFECTIVE SHEAR NEAR 40 KT AND SUPERCELLS DURING THE
   AFTERNOON/EVENING HOURS. ALTHOUGH THERMODYNAMIC PROFILES LOOK MOST
   FAVORABLE FOR LARGE HAIL…STRONG TURNING IN THE LOWER 1-2 KM AND A
   RELATIVELY MOIST BOUNDARY LAYER FAVORS SOME TORNADO DEVELOPMENT IN
   ERN NM AND THE TEXAS PANHANDLE.
  
   OVERNIGHT…ELEVATED STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP NWD IN ZONE OF
   STRONG WARM ADVECTION…THOUGH WEAK INSTABILITY SHOULD LIMIT SEVERE
   POTENTIAL WITH THESE STORMS.
  
   …MID MS VALLEY NEWD INTO THE NEW ENGLAND…
   THOUGH CONVECTION IS EXPECTED TO BE ONGOING ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE
   MID MS/TN AND INTO THE OH VALLEYS IN THE MORNING…WEAK LAPSE RATES
   SHOULD RESULT IN A LOW THREAT FOR SEVERE. IN THE NERN STATES
   …LIMITED INSTABILITY WILL EXIST AHEAD OF ADVANCING COLD FRONT.
   THIS INSTABILITY ALONG WITH AFTERNOON HEATING AND CONVERGENCE MAY
   SUPPORT SCATTERED STORMS ALONG THE FRONT. DESPITE WEAK INSTABILITY
   …MODERATE/STRONG UNIDIRECTIONAL WSWLY WINDS INDICATE A THREAT OF
   ISOLATED WIND GUSTS BETWEEN 18Z-01Z.
  
   ..IMY.. 04/27/2009

http://alphainventions.com/

alphainventions

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.

President Escapes Assassination Attempt; Omar Lurks In Tropics? October 14, 2008

Rain Total Forecast Through Sat Night 1018

Our forecast stays generally on track with some modifications. We have a weak boundary in the middle of the week that will bring perhaps some light showers late Wednesday into early Thursday. But, with the long wave (jetstream) pattern shifting east, this feature will most likely lift north and then a more significant boundary will move through. The models seem to have come around with a continuity advertising a shortwave moving down on Friday, which will elevate our rain chances higher than perhaps I suggested before. The HPC rain total shown above is the total rain for both features with a total of 1/2″ to 3/4″ area wide so neither event will be huge but collectively we will take what we can get. Much cooler air filters in for the weekend. Wouldn’t be surprised to see some frost on the pumpkin in outlying areas on Saturday night.

Atlantic IR Satellite 1014 0215Z

Tropical Depression 15 Forecast Track 1013 11pm

Tropics: The tropics are active in regard to the number of systems but not in the

Invest 99 Spaghetti Model 1013 12Z

significance. Tropical Storm Nana is in the process of being ripped to bits so we won’t worry about that. Invest 90 is way out there and there are lots of variables. On a more significant note, Tropical Depression 15 is not Omar yet but probably will be sometime during the day. It is the feature in the Easstern Caribbean on the satellite photo above. It is forecast to become a hurricane but be mainly of concern for mariners. The feature on the west side of the Caribbean looks interesting but is very close to land and should move into Central America over the next day or so. But the steering currents are such that it probably is worth monitoring.
On This Date in History: Lost to much of the pages of history are attempted assassinations. (Here is a list of failed presidential assassinations) President Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 was a former President who was running to get his old job back. He had filled the term of the assassinated President McKinley and finished his own term in 1908. In deference to the precedent set by President Washington, Teddy Roosevelt decided against running in 1908, instead promoting his Vice-President William Howard Taft who won handily. Teddy was not happy with the way in which Taft ran things and decided to challenge him for the Republican nomination for the 1912 election but power interests in the party which had fared better with Taft than Roosevelt, backed Taft and Roosevelt did not get the Republican nomination. So, he formed his own party, the Progressive Party, which came to be known as the “Bull Moose Party” after TR’s tough-guy bull-moose image. Roosevelt ended up getting about 12 million votes to Taft’s 8 million but the pair split the Republican vote which led to the election of Woodrow Wilson as President.

On October 14, 1912, Theodore Roosevelt got into a car after dining at a hotel in Milwaukee. He was headed to give a speech. When he turned to wave to the crowd, a shot rang out from the .38 caliber revolver in the hand of John Schrank. Schrank had been pursuing Roosevelt for many days over many miles. He had been reported to be having dreams of William McKinley and also felt that no one should get more than two terms as president. When Roosevelt turned to the crowd from his car, it opened up and opportunity for Schrank to shoot the candidate at close range.

The shot his Roosevelt squarely in the chest. But, in his breast pocket, Teddy had the thick, 50 page, folded up text of his planned 90 minute speech. He also had a metal spectacle case. The bullet was slowed by the eye-glasses case and the thick speech. While the bullet entered his body, it did not penetrate his heart. Initially, Roosevelt did not realize that he had been shot but, after he did, he insisted on giving his speech. He arrived on the podium and proudly showed the crowd the hole in his speech and said that it took more than an assassins bullet to kill a bull moose. While the speech (text of speech) was abbreviated, he still stood before the crowd for quite awhile and rebuffed attempts to get him to conclude the speech so he could go to the hospital for attention. He went to the hospital in Milwaukee and reluctantly allowed for a tetnus injection and then went to a Chicago hospital where he was released on October 23. But, that was just a little more than a week before the election and he was prevented from making important campaign stops, which may have influenced the election and leading to Wilson’s victory.

Here’s the kicker. The bullet was never removed.

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.