PITCHFORK BEN TILLMAN & RACIST JOE WILSON

PITCHFORK BEN TILLMAN & RACIST JOE WILSON

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Benjamin Tillman was governor of South Carolina from 1890 to 1894. He was responsible for doing everything possible to prevent blacks from voting. He proudly said that he "had done his level best [to prevent blacks from voting]…We have scratched our heads to find out how we could eliminate the last one of them…" He served in the Senate and was censured after assaulting another Senator. He was also barred from the white house. He became known as "Pitchfork Ben" after…

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COACH PAUL “BEAR” BRYANT

COACH PAUL “BEAR” BRYANT

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I am reading The Last Coach, a life of Paul "Bear" Bryant by Allen Barra. An interesting book by a very good writer. Bryant has been everyone’s image of who is a great football coach and his life story confirms why. Here a few stories from the book that I thought were worth repeating. Bryant grew up dirt poor in Arkansas and he remembered all his life when he was able to afford to have cleats attached to the shoes…

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SOUTH CAROLINA’S JUVENILE JOE WILSON – SPONTANEOUS OUTBURST OR A POLITICAL GIMMICK?

SOUTH CAROLINA’S JUVENILE JOE WILSON – SPONTANEOUS OUTBURST OR A POLITICAL GIMMICK?

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By now everyone knows the disgraceful conduct of a little known Republican Congressman from South Carolina, Joe Wilson, during the President of the United States speech to a joint session of Congress. Heckling the President of the United States during a speech to the joint sessions of Congress is unprecedented in the history of Congress. Worse then the shouted interruption, calling the President a liar, during such a speech, is rude, insolent and discourteous. When it is done by a…

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RECORDINGS OF GREAT SPEECHES & HISTORICAL FIGURES

RECORDINGS OF GREAT SPEECHES & HISTORICAL FIGURES

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The internet is a marvelous thing. I was pleased to find that there are many websites that offer free  recordings and videos of famous people and historical figures giving speeches. Some offer a text of the speech or in the case of Clarence Darrow the text of his arguments and trials.  One of my favorite sources is American Rhetoric http://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesall.html  At this site you can see a video of Abbott and Costello doing their famous "Who's on First" routine that is still very…

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MORE ABOUT AL McINTOSH ROCK COUNTY STAR-HERALD

MORE ABOUT AL McINTOSH ROCK COUNTY STAR-HERALD

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I was captivated by Ken Burns wonderful documentary The War shown on Public Televison http://www.shoppbs.org/product/index.jsp?productId=2784344=. What really impressed me, however was Al McIntosh who was the editor of the Rock County Star-Herald in Luverne, Minnesota. (For more on Mr. Burns see Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_McIntosh) There is also a book Amazon sells of his writings Selected Chaff: The Wartime Columns of Al McIntosh, 1941-1945 His writing was simple, clear and moving. I published about him in this blog https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2008/04/if-you-watched.html. I also was curious about…

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IMAGES FROM THE ANNUAL TRIAL LAWYERS CONVENTION

IMAGES FROM THE ANNUAL TRIAL LAWYERS CONVENTION

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Here are some shots from the annual Washington State Association for Justice (formerly Washington State Trial Lawyer's Association) annual convention. Wyoming trial attorney Gerry Spence and I conducted a seminar at the meeting. The photos were taken by one of the most talented photographers around, Carl Murray of Seattle Photography (www.seattlephotography.com)

FAREWELL & GODSPEED – a book

FAREWELL & GODSPEED – a book

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No, not me. I'm not voluntarily going anywhere. Farewell is the title of a book edited by Cyrus M. Copeland. The full tile is Farewell, The Greatest Eulogies of Our times. Here are some random passages that I thought of interest. Adlai Stevenson on Eleanor Roosevelt We who are assembled here are of various religious and political faiths and perhaps different conceptions of man's destiny in the universe…And now one can almost hear Mrs. Roosevelt saying the speaker has already talked…

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SHORT SERMONS ARE BEST

SHORT SERMONS ARE BEST

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We have had a visiting priest filling in for our pastor the last couple of Sundays I've been home to go to Mass here in Gig Harbor. Both Sunday's his homilies have been under four minutes. Now compared to the twenty to thirty minute homilies we usually get that is not much time. What's interesting is the quality of communication depends upon content and delivery more then then the volume of words used. There is nothing more boring then an…

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INFLATION AND HISTORY

INFLATION AND HISTORY

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When you consider America’s economic troubles be happy it is not like the hyperinflation of Zimbabwae today. The so called "bearer cheque" was first introduced there worth 50,000 Zimbabwean dollars but actually worth about fify cents in U.S. money and, at the time, was only enough for a loaf of bread. A roll of toilet paper costs $145,759 Zambwean dollars but about 69 cents in U.S. dollars.  In 2008 the government was printing 100 billion dollar bills and in 2009 a 100 trillion dollar…

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“MR BASEBALL” LEO H. LASSEN

“MR BASEBALL” LEO H. LASSEN

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When I think of local sportscaster's I think radio – not television, because I grew up with no television and an ear to the radio. Bill O'Mara and Leo Lassen were voices on the radio and Keith Jackson and Wayne Cody were faces on television, but the voices have a stronger mental image in my mind then the faces. From 1931 to 1958 Leo Lassen was the radio voice of the Seattle Indians and then the Seattle Rainier baseball clubs…

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