“Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John Kennedy” has hit the bookstores and her daughter, Caroline Kennedy is hitting the TV circuit to promote the book. At the same time, Diane Sawyer has shown two episodes of the tapes released from the Jacqueline Kennedy interviews with Kennedy aide Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., just 4 months after the Kennedy assassination.
What strikes me the most about Jacqueline Kennedy is how demur she is and how very much she fit into the 50’s mold of the not so modern woman. Her roll as a wife was much closer to my mother’s roll as a wife than I would have imagined. Women in those days very much defined themselves through their husbands and for their husbands. As I watched the Sawyer shows I wanted to spring up through the TV and bellow at Jackie and tell her she was her own person. She was a “stand by your man” kind of woman and it was totally apparent in the interviews.
Jackie became a more independent woman as she aged. She metaphorsized more from a woman who was there to enhance and build up her husband to one who was her own person with her own identity. Caroline Kennedy had the sole responsibility of deciding whether to release the information in the interviews. She decided to release it all. What a gift she has given us with the bird’s eye look into the lives of the two people who redefined the modern presidency in America. Jackie may become better known for her role as national historian than glamorous first lady.
Thomas Jefferson was only 33 years old when he drafted the Declaration of Independence. He began June June 11, 1776. The Committee of five made a few revisions and the entire document was presented to the Continental Congress July 2, 1776. They voted for independence and made a few more revisions before releasing the Declaration of Independence to be read to the colonies. It was read from town to town for the benefit of those who could not read.
The Declaration of Independence stands as America’s most noble document. It defines the very essence of the spirit of America. In 1822, John Adams wrote a response to Timothy Pickering who had asked a number of questions about the writing of the Declaration. It was published in 1850:
You inquire why so young a man as Mr. Jefferson was placed at the head of the committee for preparing a Declaration of Independence? I answer: It was the Frankfort advice, to place Virginia at the head of everything. Mr. Richard Henry Lee might be gone to Virginia, to his sick family, for aught I know, but that was not the reason of Mr. Jefferson’s appointment. There were three committees appointed at the same time, one for the Declaration of Independence, another for preparing articles of confederation, and another for preparing a treaty to be proposed to France. Mr. Lee was chosen for the Committee of Confederation, and it was not thought convenient that the same person should be upon both. Mr. Jefferson came into Congress in June, 1775, and brought with him a reputation for literature, science, and a happy talent of composition. Writings of his were handed about, remarkable for the peculiar felicity of expression. Though a silent member in Congress, he was so prompt, frank, explicit, and decisive upon committees and in conversation – not even Samuel Adams was more so – that he soon seized upon my heart; and upon this occasion I gave him my vote, and did all in my power to procure the votes of others. I think he had one more vote than any other, and that placed him at the head of the committee. I had the next highest number, and that placed me the second. The committee met, discussed the subject, and then appointed Mr. Jefferson and me to make the draft, I suppose because we were the two first on the list.
Jim Webb’s Born Fighting made it to TV tonight on the Smithsonian Channel. Webb traces the history of the Scots Irish in this country. They are the people who settled past the mountains, past where the landed gentry lived. The Scots-Irish were the protestants who came from Ireland and really very little has been written about them as an immigration group.
Dave “Mudcat” Saunders, in the Huffington Post contributed the following that might explain much about our present day politics:
Born Fighting Reveals the Invisible Ink on the Pages of American History
As a Southern Democratic political operative and Scots-Irish hillbilly, I’ve been asked the same question a thousand times in a thousand different ways. In the summer of 2006, the question was condescendingly thrown at me by a sitting U.S. Senator in a luncheon buffet line at a Senate Democratic Caucus retreat. She asked, “How can your people in the South be so ignorant to go against their own economic self-interests and vote Republican?” Huh? I remember thinking that surely, in the name of Jesus, this woman (Senator or not) didn’t call my people “ignorant”.
Since I had been invited to the retreat by Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer, two guys I personally like, I was all cleaned up and on my very best behavior. But candidly, I still had to lock up every brake in my soul to not respond to her question with a bombardment of backwoods, “By God”, profanity. Somewhat to my own surprise, I overcame the urge and answered, “Has it ever crossed your mind that it might not be ignorance, but instead, a more powerful force called culture?”
Barbara Bush, always with her quick wit, tells her husband, George H. B. Bush, that he could be speaker of the house.
George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, appeared yesterday on NBC’s “Today Show” for an emotional Valentine’s Day special about their lasting love. While reading one particularly sentimental segment about their saved love letters, the 41st president began to tear up. Barbara to offered swiftly delivered comparison between her husband and the current Speaker of the House, John Boehner (although not by name).
Richard “Dick” Winters, the Easy Company commander whose World War II exploits were made famous by the book and television miniseries “Band of Brothers,” died last week in central Pennsylvania. He was 92.
Winters was a humble man and very respected by the men under his command. He asked that his death not be announced until after his funeral. He lived in Hershey, PA.
Former President George Bush’s new book, Decision Points, goes on sale today. Kindle, the Nook, ibooks, and other electronic modes began sales after midnight. Those not using electronic books will have to wait until stores like Barnes and Nobel open. Meanwhile, the ex-pres has made the rounds of Hannity, Lauer, and Oprah. The Oprah Show airs this afternoon. I don’t believe he will appear on Jon Stewart.
The former president discusses his youth, his old drinking days, a grizzly fetus in a jar story that supposedly etched his anti abortion stance in stone, 9-11, Katrina, immigration reform, Saddam, torture and the wars. He apparently does not talk about President Obama. He indicated that is how he would have liked to have been treated. He also gives us a glimpse of what his new life is like, in a post-Bush world.
Who plans on reading his book? Are all presidential books dry or will the Bush humor creep into his book? How revealing will the former pres be?
Some folks have said that this book is the beginning of Bush’s vindication. Do most Americans agree with this statement? Has the former pres become less of a lighning rod for criticism? What has been the most unfairly exaggerated criticism of George Bush?
In 1991, Anita Hill testified against Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas during his confirmation hearing. Hill had worked for Thomas at the Department of Education and at EEOC. Under oath, she testified that Thomas had made sexual remarks to her during the time they were both at DoEd and EEOC. Thomas was confirmed 52-48 but the hearings were extremely contentious and almost everyone had an opinion on Anita Hill. The support and condemnation usually ran along party lines.
In a voice mail left at 7:31 a.m. on Oct. 9 — the Saturday of Columbus Day weekend — Virginia Thomas asked her husband’s former aide-turned-adversary to make amends. Ms. Hill played the recording, from her voice mail at Brandeis University, for The Times.
“Good morning Anita Hill, it’s Ginni Thomas,” it said. “I just wanted to reach across the airwaves and the years and ask you to consider something. I would love you to consider an apology sometimes and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband.”
Ms. Thomas went on: “So give it some thought. And certainly pray about this and hope that one day you will help us understand why you did what you did. OK, have a good day.”
Ms. Hill, in an interview, said she kept the message for nearly a week trying to decide whether the caller really was Ms. Thomas or a prankster. Unsure, she said, she decided to turn it over to the Brandeis campus police with a request to convey it the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“I though it was certainly inappropriate,” Ms. Hill said. “It came in at 7:30 a.m. on my office phone from somebody I didn’t know, and she is asking for an apology. It was not invited. There was no background for it.”
In a statement conveyed through a publicist, Ms. Thomas confirmed leaving the message, which she portrayed as a peacemaking gesture. She did not explain its timing.
“I did place a call to Ms. Hill at her office extending an olive branch to her after all these years, in hopes that we could ultimately get passed what happened so long ago,” she said. “That offer still stands. I would be very happy to meet and talk with her if she would be willing to do the same. Certainly no offense was ever intended.”
The olive branch seems to come with a very accusatory tone attached to it. Ms. Hill feels she told the truth which she was required to so and she owes no one an apology.
What is Virginia Thomas thinking? Why dredge up the past after nearly 20 years. To call someones office at that hour of the morning, on a weekend when the likelihood of the person being there is fairly remote, is nothing short of harassment. Mrs. Thomas is already under fire for being too much of an activist with her husband sitting on the Supreme Court. Most spouses of Justices keep a very low profile politically, much like a General’s spouse must do.
It now seems that Anita Hill is the one who should receive an apology. I hope she gets it.
An icon from the past, more specifically, the 50’s, has died. Barbara Billingsley, better known as June Cleaver, mother of the Beaver, died at age 94. Often people long for the good old days, the days before families had a car for every person, a TV in every room, ipods and ipads. But were the good old days all that good and were they good for everyone?
Were the good old days good for blacks, gays, women who wanted careers, girls who wanted to study math and science, and people who wanted to use birth control to limit the size of their families? Were the good old days good for European Jews who had lost their entire families in the previous decade or those who were shut in behind the Iron Courtain? Were things good for the kids who dived under their desks during air raid drills, and who lived in fear of being vaporized in a dust cloud if the wrong person pushed the button?
Hind sight is always better than foresight. Compared to the 40’s I guess the 50’s looked pretty good.
When the pps opens, go to tabs: VIEW/slideshow/start slideshow/from beginning
The Tea Party activists have been drawn to Colonial Williamsburg and its portrayal of the Founding Fathers this past year. The executives who oversee the events here have noticed the influx of those who are trying to discover the founding fathers and connect with them. According to the Washington Post:
“If people . . . can recognize that subjects such as war and taxation, religion and race, were really at the heart of the situation in the 18th century, and there is some connection between what was going on then and what’s going on now, that’s all to the good,” said Colin Campbell, president and chairman of Colonial Williamsburg. “What happened in the 18th century here required engagement, and what’s required to preserve democracy in the 21st century is engagement. That is really our message.”
The foundation that runs the programs at Colonial Williamsburg is nonprofit and nonpartisan, so neither Campbell nor other employees would venture an opinion on the significance of the tea party. But they welcome the business. Like most museums and historical sites, Williamsburg suffered during the recession; even before that, attendance had been dropping for more than a decade. In the late 1990s, annual ticket sales topped 1 million. Last year, that number had dropped to 660,000.
There is a great deal more interaction with the actors who portray Virginia’s prominent ancestors. People don’t always get the responses they want:
The Texas Textbook Wars have begun and it is truly a clash of cultural warriors vs. mainstream America. So why does anyone care what textbooks Texas purchases? Texas is the 2nd largest purchaser of textbooks in the nation. California is the first. However, California’s financial woes are so bad that they have postponed purchasing textbooks for the time being.
So whats the big fight over? Texas has been known as clearing house for textbooks for several decades. What goes in, what goes, who gets mentioned and who is shunned is often determined ‘deep in the heart of Texas.’ Because California is not buying new textbooks, all the textbook publishers are kowtowing to Texas. According to Myfox in Phoenix:
What happens in Texas – is likely to impact your child’s textbooks, no matter where you live. That’s because the Lone Star state is one of the top textbook buyers in the world, so publishers write to Texas curriculum standards and the books are sold nationwide.
This week, the Texas State Board of Education will be hammering out social studies curriculum and stirring up plenty of controversy.
“The cultural war, has regrettably not ended. And of the biggest, most important fronts now are curriculum battles in Texas and indeed around the country because the next generation of young people need to understand good science, good history, comprehensive sex education.” said Barry Lynn, a church-state separation advocate.
But as 15 elected board members prepare to make those decisions in Texas this week, conservatives say there are organized, liberal groups in these textbook fights who want to sanitize our country’s history.
“Our founders acknowledge the reliance upon divine providence, that we’re endowed by our Creator with these inalienable rights, and this idea that now you remove that as if it does not exist it really goes to the depths of what these groups trying to get at, and that is to expunge any reference to America’s religious heritage.” said Jay Sekulow from the American Center for Law and Justice
Math seems to be fairly protected from politics. However, science and social studies texts are rife with contention. The biggest issue in science has to do with origin of the earth ideas and evolution/Darwinism. Many fundamentalist Christians oppose teaching about anything that is Darwin and words like ‘secular humanist’ are used to describe those who believe the earth is more than 6,000 years old.
Social Studies is also a huge area of controversy because of the foundations of this nation. There is also great dispute over who our national heroes really are and what their role is in history. Terms like revisionist history are thrown about as well as terms like afro-centrism and euro-centrism. Patrick Henry sometimes gives way to Benjamin Banneker. George Patton and Douglas MacArthur might not be included. Colin Powell might be the potential replacement. Conservatives hold dear to their heroes and insist that those who have been revered throughout history stay at the forefront for children to read about and to be standard bearers.
Religion and religious topics continue to be argued as some parents and politicians fight to retain holidays like Christmas and Easter as units of study while others want all reference to Halloween stomped out.
One parent, Vivian Scretchen says “One day my son came home with an assignment for– it was around– it was around Christmas.”
But other parents believe religious discussions aren’t suited to secular classrooms.
“What I’m saying is that public schools don’t need to place this in their curriculum. Because it is– it’s potentially offensive to some. And it– it isn’t what a public school should be teaching.” said Jane Miller, a parent.
The Texas Board has already had showdowns over whether to get rid of mentions of Christmas, the Liberty Bell and Neil Armstrong. Some of the debate continues, but the backlash was so bad when the public got wind of the Christmas issue that the Board quickly voted to save it.
How sad that even textbooks have become political and part of the culture wars. What can parents do to make sure their voice is heard? What impact does this battle front have on language arts? What if your school districts ends up with a very conservative set of text books because nothing else is available? What can schools do? How about the other direction? Are there remedies? Will climate change be as contentious as Darwinism?
December 29 marks the 119th anniversary of what has come to be known as the Wounded Knee Massacre. It is often cited as the last major Indian Battle involving United States troops. The Wounded Knee Massacre, December 29, 1890, took place along the banks of the Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota on what is now known as the Pine Ridge Lakota Reservation.
Wounded Knee has become symbolic of US Army abuse towards native peoples. In fact, Wounded Knee became an armed camp as late as 1973 as militant American Indians battled federal officials one more time. Basically local Lakota called for an outside radical group to come straighten out things at Pine Ridge Reservation. Several people on both sides were killed and/or wounded. (see video link below)
Several posts and comments have been about the Souix and about Pine Ridge specifically. Many of the young people on that reservation have become involved with gangs. When one stops and thinks about the tragedy these people have seen, it is almost understandable. The Souix were programmed for a life of poverty by our government. The Souix were not all one big tribe, but a nation of various tribes. The Souix reservation was carved up into 5 smaller reservations. The Black Hills, sacred lands to the Lakota, were taken from them. Some of their lands were sold for a pittance. Children were sent off to boarding school, had their long hair cut off, were given white names and were not allowed to speak their own native language. Most of this history has happened since the Massacre at Wounded Knee.
My grandmother was born October 30, 1890. I knew her quite well. She was not an Indian but I often try to put things in time perspective. Somehow the fact that this massacre happened after her birth makes it harder to accept, hard to deal with as it certainly is not part of ancient history. In fact, 1890 is getting darn close to modern times. The auto had been invented and the airplane was only a decade or so off. How can things like this massacre happen in the United States of America?
The poverty on some of these reservations is simply unimaginable. These people are the real Native Americans, not us. Do we have an obligation to make certain that Native Americans and Native American culture survive? Can they survive in the extreme poverty that many who have not assimilated still live? What do we have to do?
Are American Indians often their own worst enemies? Are their spokespeople standing on principle rather than practicality? In 1980 the Supreme Court awarded the Lakota $106 million dollars for the Black Hills treaty violation. They refused to take the money. They wanted the land. At what point do they decide that they will never get the land back and to take the money? Are those who are standing on pride representing all the people? I can only imagine what $106 million dollars would do to help overcome some of the root problems on reservations.
Tuesday, December 8, Creston Owen, chairman of the newly formed Virginia Civil War Events Inc. presented his organization’s plan to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of First Manassas. His organization, made up of volunteers, has a 9 day plan to draw tourism to the area. His primary goal is to bring people to Manassas and Prince William County and to keep them coming back. The events sound grand. Also speaking to the board were Ed Clark, superintendent of Manassas National Battlefield Park and Brendon Hanafin, the county’s director of historic preservation who both added background information.
Funding will be the county’s primary obstacle. Many popular programs have already shut down or throttled back to bare-bones operations because of fiscal hard times. According to the Washington Examiner:
Still, funding presents an issue, even this early in the process. The cost per year for the county’s support and the events is estimated at $95,000.
All of the county’s financial support would have to come from the transient occupancy tax, said Budget Director David Tyerar. The TOT is a levy on tourist facilities such as hotels, motels and boarding houses that offer rented guest rooms for fewer than 30 consecutive days. Three of every five cents go toward tourism-related items in the county.
Creston Owen made a wonderful presentation to the board. His enthusiasm, knowledge, historical background made me want to write him a check on the spot. I am convinced he could sell ice cubes to Eskimos. The county chair warned that money was very scarce.
What if Manassas ponies up and the county does not? What if the county gives hard earned county money to this group? How loud will the hue and cry be from groups that support the Senior Day Care Center or transportation for the seniors to go to the senior citizens centers (different from senior day care)? It seems like the county is between a rock and a hard place.
They spent their childhood in the roaring 20’s. As teenagers they weathered the Great Depression of the 30’s. Reaching adulthood in the 40’s looked bright until that fateful Sunday afternoon in early December. Every one from the Greatest Generation remembers where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news, much like those who followed now can tell you where they were and what they were doing when they heard of the Kennedy assassination or 9/11.
Many people had no idea where Pearl Harbor was or that our Naval Fleet was berthed there. Yet upon hearing of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, most Americans were filled with rage and a sense of betrayal because of the sneak attack. The Greatest Generation would have their lives unalterably changed forever.
On December 8, 1941 they listened to their president, Franklin Roosevelt, make the following address to Congress:
To the Congress of the United States of America
Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with the government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.
Video of some of FDR’s Pearl Harbor Address to Congress:
Over 3,000 lives, both civilian and non-civilian were lost in the attack on Pearl Harbor. America had a decimated navy. The politics of war had kept FDR’s hand off the trigger and had kept us out of the war raging in Europe. All but one member of Congress voted to declare war on Japan and within a week war had been declared on Germany and Italy. The United States was fully at war, from the youngest child to the oldest citizen.
Every American went to war in some capacity. Children helped tend victory gardens, saved their pennies for Vicotry stamps and gathered scrap metal. Old ladies wrapped bandages for the Red Cross. Community volunteers, usually pretty young women, met trains carrying troops with coffee. cigarettes and snacks. Civilians watched planes. Women went into the work force by the millions, taking up jobs formerly held by men who had gone to war. Civilians were deprived of basic foods and staples like butter, sugar, beef, and were issued ration books. Gasoline was rationed. Silk used for stockings soon went to the troops, for parachutes. People were asked to donate their iron fences to the war effort. Most people bought war bonds to help finance the cause. Americans had air drill drills and practiced black outs at night.
There has been no war since WWII where Americans have been totally immersed in the war effort. We have not been asked to sacrifice in our every day lives like those of the WWII generation, unless one is a military family of course. In fact, we could go along quite easily and really never be bothered with our wars. We have had very little personal inconvenience. We have suffered no shortages,our gasoline flows, and often our school children don’t even know we are at war. Our wars are financed and paid for by the subsequent generations. There are no great drives for war bonds or to finance our causes.
Perhaps that is why the Greatest Generation, the term penned by Tom Brokow, was indeed the greatest. They gave their all with every ounce of their being. They were throw into a horrific war on December 7. Over 13 million Americans served. Approximately 500,000 lost their lives. Many suffered life-altering wounds. Many children grew up without a father. Many lie buried on foreign soil. Some came home with emotional battle scars that have crippled them. Others came home, went to college on the G.I. Bill and threw themselves back into normalcy. So many of the Greatest Generation would deny they were. Most felt they were just doing what was expected of them as Americans.
What made the Greatest Generation the GREATEST? Or was it the greatest? What sets that generation apart from others and especially those who followed?
Its that dreadful anniversary date again. 46 years ago John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated Friday, November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. To this day, conspiracy theories are still abound, with some folks believing that government forces assassinated the President, rather than Lee Harvey Oswald.
Oswald, in turn, was gunned down while in police custody by a small time thug named Jack Ruby. Without Oswald, there was little chance of ever sorting out the truth, despite the formation of the Warren Commission that studied and reported on this American tragedy.
Anyone of the age of reason when JFK was assassinated remembers exactly where they were and what they were doing when they found out about President being shot. No other incident save 9-11 brings about this instant freeze in time in the minds of Americans who are old enough to remember.
Much has happened since that fateful fall day in Dallas. Out of 9 children, only one of the Kennedy clan of that generation survives, Jean Kennedy Smith. Jackie Kennedy is dead. Teddy Kennedy died this past summer. John Junior died in a plane accident in 1999. Caroline and numerous cousins live on.
What do you remember about November 22, 1963? If this date was before your time, what dates do you remember that have been frozen in time. Please share.
For the past several days we have debated whether or not the massacre at Fort Hood was terrorism or not. Terrorism seems to differ in each person’s mind.
Tonight I looked at old footage for Veterans Day. The attack on Pearl Harbor continued to come up and it was intermingled with footage from 9-11. Was the attack on Pearl Harbor terrorism? How about the Marine Barracks attack in Lebanon in 1983?
We have no internationally agreed upon definition. In fact, within our own country there is no one defnition. Certainly there would be no question if most of those killed had been civilians.
If we use ‘terrorism’ too often does it detract from the horror? Does the sneak attack make Pearl Harbor terrorism? If troops are sleeping or doing other duties, are they non-combatants?
