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Month: February 2007

Invisible Lines of Connection

Invisible Lines of Connection

Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, from Sudbury, Massachusetts, has written a number of books. One of them, Invisible Lines of Connection, is a collection of stories of observations of life events about connections between people and God. Some of his insights include the blackness of night while on a ship when one sees a light house light. He notes "Each lighthouse has its own distinctive pattern of flashes, a coded light-message which enables the approaching mariner to identify his location on the…

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Roger Rosenblatt’s Rules for Aging

Roger Rosenblatt’s Rules for Aging

Roger Rosenblatt has written some sound advice in his piece "rules for aging," Here’s a summary of some of the rules he advocates:  1. It doesn’t matter. Whatever you think matters really doesn’t. 2. Yes, you did. If you have the slightest doubt whether you are responsible for a wrong – you are. Come to this conclusion early and act to correct it. 3. Nobody is thinking about you. I promise you, nobody is thinking about you. They are too…

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American Characters George Catlin & Jumping Sam Patch

American Characters George Catlin & Jumping Sam Patch

In The Devil May Care Tony Horwitz describes fifty Americans, as he puts it, "and their quest for the unknown." One of the accounts involves George Catlin, 1796 – 1872, who entered law school in Connecticut and was admitted the bar the following year. But, within a few years he gave up the law and decided to become a painter. At first he specialized in miniatures, but seeing a delegation of American Native Indians in Philadelphia, he decided to make…

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Women Suffrage & Harry T. Burn

Women Suffrage & Harry T. Burn

In his book, 1920 The Year of Six Presidents, David Pietrusza recounts the struggle to obtain the right of women to vote. He describes Alice Stokes Paul who dedicated herself to the cause, even picketing the White House in 1913. Marching on the way, some ten thousand suffragettes were set upon by thugs who slapped them, spit on them and knocked them down, tearing banners out of their hands. Over the next several years, Paul and thousands of other women…

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The History of Early Labor organizations in the United States

The History of Early Labor organizations in the United States

The history of the labor movement in the United States is one of the most violent of any other industrialized nation. On the other hand, labor conditions were oppressive and cruel. The working person was at the mercy of the employer. The story is one of bravery and violence. This entry is much longer then normal, but is only a tiny summary of a long history. In the 1900’s a sixteen hour six day work week was common. Across the…

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1920 & Warren G. Harding

1920 & Warren G. Harding

David Pietrusza has written 1920 – The year of The Six Presidents. His description of this interesting period of American history is very well written. Warren G. Harding is one of the historical figures he discusses. Harding was the 29th President from 1921 to 1923. He was a Republican Senator from Ohio. Even thought he appointed such distinguished people as Charles Evans Hughes, Andrew Mellon and Herbert Hoover to positions of importance his administration was so scandal ridden as to…

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Clarence Darrow & The Ossian Sweet Trial

Clarence Darrow & The Ossian Sweet Trial

Kevin Boyle has written a history of the famous 1925 criminal trial in Detroit involving eleven blacks who were in a house surrounded by a mob of whites when someone inside fired a shot which killed a white man. The case was twice defended by Clarence Darrow. Boyle’s book Arc of Justice traces the history of widespread bigotry against the black race and the activities of the Klu Klux Klan in Northern cities. The shooting happened on September 29, 1925…

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Dick Cheney and More War Propaganda

Dick Cheney and More War Propaganda

Like a true student of Frank Luntz & Karl Rove Vice President Cheney has a new mantra for continuing the failed Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld Iraq war policy. In a recent speech to American Troops he used "come home with honor." That’s right, "come home with honor." It combines strong words "home" and "honor" while implying any talk of leaving Iraq is dishonorable. Isn’t that clever? That’s how our second in command fashioned his rallying cry for the killing fields of…

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John Gribbin & Humans as Stardust

John Gribbin & Humans as Stardust

John Gribbin is an astrophysicist who trained at Cambridge and has written a number of scientific books.His book, Stardust is a book about the relationship between life and the universe. It is an informative history of discoveries about the universe with technical facts mixed with understandable explanations. A few excerpts from the book are worth repeating. The most startling to me is the fact that we are made of stardust. As Gribbin points out: "In fact, life begins with the process…

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The Bush Adminstration Tries an End Run Around the Senate regarding Susan Dudley

The Bush Adminstration Tries an End Run Around the Senate regarding Susan Dudley

I reported here about the Bush administration’s arrogance in trying to appoint Susan Dudley to an important regulatory post: The Bush Administration Makes Another Bad Appointment 12/23/06. Dudley is on record as a dyed in the wool anti regulatory zealot. She has not been bashful about her strong hostility to any regulations that would restrict big oil or big business in their search for another dollar in profit. So, the Bush administration decided she would be perfect as the czar…

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