• Recommended reading: "George Washington" by Ron Chernow; also by Chernow "Alexander Hamilton;" Harlow Unger's "James Monroe;" also by Unger "John Quincy Adams;" Kevin Gutzman "James Madison and the Making of America." Two volumes on the life of Thomas Jefferson by Alf Mapp. Read "THe Federalist Papers" to get a full eyewitness account into the Constitution. Especially important is the account by Madison in #10 as to freedom of Religion and #29 by Hamilton on the meaning of the Right to Bear Arms. Politics in the 18th and 19th Centuries was quite as contentious as it is today. The battle ro ratify the Constitution was down and dirty and makes "Liberty's Blueprint" by Michael Meyerson a good read.

  
  
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"Guns don't kill people, people kill people."

Heard that one before?

Okay, well I know that David slew Goliath with a sling shot and a rock.  But I'm hard pressed to think of another example of rock vs. human.  And for the life of me I cannot think of another killing involving a fork or a rolled up newspaper or a Christmas tree.

But let's ask these folks what they think about the issue:

Abraham Lincoln
Alexander Hamilton
James Garfield
William McKinley
John F. Kennedy
Martin Luther King
Robert Kennedy
John Lennon
Charlotte Bacon, 2/22/06
Daniel Barden, 9/25/05
Rachel Davino
Olivia Engel, 7/18/06
Josephine Gay, 12/11/05
Ana M. Marquez-Greene, 04/04/06
Dylan Hockley, 3/8/06
Dawn Hochsprung
Madeleine F. Hsu, 7/10/06
Catherine V. Hubbard, 6/08/06
Chase Kowalski, 10/31/05
Jesse Lewis, 6/30/06
James Mattioli , 3/22/06
Grace McDonnell, 12/04/05
Anne Marie Murphy
Emilie Parker, 5/12/06
Jack Pinto, 5/06/06
Noah Pozner, 11/20/06
Caroline Previdi, 9/07/06
Jessica Rekos, 5/10/06
Avielle Richman, 10/17/06
Lauren Russeau
Mary Sherlach
Victoria Soto
Benjamin Wheeler, 9/12/06
Allison N. Wyatt, 7/03/06

What's that you say?

So today is 12-22-12.  Below is a story of the Old World known as Earth I. That world ended yesterday if you didn't notice.  I did.  And I'm sure many of you did, too.  So, please remember the new rules of Earth II:

I. Be kind to everyone, even your waitress and the greeter at Walmart.
II. Hug your kids at least 5 times a day and check their homework.  
III. Take an opportunity at least twice a day to make someone else smile
IV. Remember RAOK (Random acts of kindness) 
V. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

Thus there is no need for guns or the NRA.  Obama and the Republicans will hug.  Trump will stop talking and get a haircut.  Murdoch will give ALL of his $ to Operation Smile.  Lindsay Lohan will join a convent.  Honey Boo Boo and her mother will go vegan.  The Cubs will win the World Series. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will  rent a nice summer cottage in Miami next door to Benjamin Netanyahu and they'll play pinochle every night for Hanukkah gelt.  Apple and Samsung will make nice and give away free computers to everyone in the new world.  Arabs and Palestinians and Israelis will join hands and sing IMAGINE, GIVE PEACE A CHANCE, and ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE! 

Let's make it happen...TODAY!!!

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20121221_World_War_II_survivor_of_a_dark_day.html#recent_comm

Armed, dangerous, and unaware

The NRA defends it's stance by quoting the Second Amendment.  I would advise them to read Alexander Hamilton's analysis in Federalist #29.  The intent, following the Revolutionary War, was how to protect the State (meaning a state such as NY, not the US as a whole) from foreign incursion.  It is important to remember that when the Amendment was written the US had no standing army due to fears of a potential monarchy subsidized by a strong military alliance.  Thus the need for local militia for protection. Militias were local, and the need was there for them to be trained to be ready at any time for service.  Thus they needed to be armed as well as ready.  The Amendment is written as one function, the need for armed militia.  If there were two separate functions it would have been written thus: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, [AND] the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."  The Amendment read in conjunction with Federalist #29 is clear.  Hamilton's analysis was used to limit gun rights right through until 1939, when the Supreme Court heard a gun case, but not until 2008 were the limits removed. Claiming the right to own weapons as a Constitutional right is in error.  The right came directly from a conservative Supreme Court which used their authority to usurp the Constitution and become legislators rather than judges.  

OUCH!

Many things on the conservative agenda strike me as not only odd but also un-American.  First, abortion rights.  If Roe v Wade is overturned it will give the Fed control of American women's bodies.  I do not condone abortion.  But I do think that those who cry out for less government need to understand where this may possibly lead.  Beside the obvious illegal abortions, what about men?  Men are half of the story, correct?  Women are not asexual.  They need a partner in order to become pregnant.  Who is to say that vasectomy may be next?  If the Fed can control a woman's body, why not a man's?  Perhaps those crusty old men on the religious right might think twice about limiting a woman's right to control her own body if there's was also controlled.  Is this far fetched?  Not at all when there is talk of involuntary vasectomy for rapists.  Once the Fed steps into this area there will be no stopping them.  

A reminder to the far right Tea Party.  Someone once said, "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 

John Quincy Adams

If you are sick and tired of Washington and the lack of concern for the real issues rather than attacks, you really should read Harlow Unger's biography of John Quincy Adams. JQA gets short changed by historians, but we really need someone like him to lead our country. He was a man of principles, did not give in to the worst of politics, never sought office but was often chosen, fought against slavery and nullification, helped establish the Smithsonian Institution, and was without doubt our greatest and most qualified Secretary of State. His career extended from watching the battle at Bunker Hill with his mother at age seven, to passing away on the floor of Congress at age 80.  He was ambassador to Russia among other European nations.  As Secretary of State under James Monroe he initiated what became the Monroe Doctrine.  He and his father, the second president, were the only two non-Virginians to win the presidency and the only two to serve only one term among the first six elected to office.  Adams antagonized every president from Jefferson to Monroe to Jackson, to varying degrees, but Jackson led to his failure as chief executive.  But JQA rebounded by becoming a man of the people while serving in Congress.  Sadly, he is forgotten and usually ranked with the worst of presidents, well deserved.  Greatly misunderstood, hopefully others will reassess Adams through Unger's book.

Monday morning quarterbacks

The Monday morning political analysts are hurling barbs at BHO, and partially they are correct. He was a somnambulist on stage and didn't come off as the orator we are used to. But, isn't it easier for Romney to be critical of the POTUS who has been there than it is for the incumbent to defend himself. After all, Obama has tried and the Repubs from day one have undermined him every step of the way. So Romney lies his way through the debate and just because he seems chippie they claim him the winner. Well, when you are the POTUS you have more on your mind than a debate, or you should. And it's much easier for Romney to throw crap against the wall that nobody will remember just a month from now. Hopefully the American voters will READ the debate rather than judge by the TV version. The debate reminded me of the little drops of sweat on Nixon's upper lip during the Kennedy debates in 1960. Yes, I do remember that and many people believed that was a sign that Nixon wasn't quite presidential enough. They later changed their minds but that's another story. So, as I told my daughter Anna, don't just watch them, read them. And remember that it's easier to be on the offense when you have nothing to lose.