I think this poster to be a fitting theme for Independence Day. I don’t particularly want to be a subject of King Obama I any more. Neither should anyone else with a brain. Wake the eff up people!!!!
Oh, and WTF has this post not been saving for some bizarre reason? This is attempt #3 and it’s really pissing me off.
Yesterday, because it was too hot for me to spend more than a few seconds outside, I spent most of the day watching the History Channel’s series on the American Revolution, and I learned many interesting facts that either I had forgotten or that were hastily glazed over back when I studied American History in 7th grade. I have a new sense of admiration for George Washington and his perserverance after watching that series.
Ronald Reagan took office when I was in 7th grade, (January 20, 1981) which was probably the most memorable event of 7th grade for me, so suffice to say a lot of time has passed since then. I doubt if I had paid as much attention as I should have to history when I was 12 (I was probably paying more attention to Steve Perry than anything else at that time) but I probably remember more than most.
Now I really have to wonder about something. Why is it the three biggest holes that I have had the bad luck to visit- Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit- have the most corrupt, nut job politicians ever? Dennis Kucinich, until very recently, represented the Congressional district that includes Cleveland and the surrounding area. Granted, Cleveland is not the biggest hole on the planet – Chicago is worse, and Detroit is the worst by far- but why do they keep reelecting nut jobs that help ensure that their hole stays a hole?
The only explanation I have, at least in Ohio, is the fact that public employees are pretty much owned by their unions- the unions drove out almost all of the heavy industry years ago, and with the exception of the UAW and a few others in private industry, the bulk of forced unionism in Ohio involves public employees. So the unions have this huge base of campaign funding for their nut job candidates from their forced membership. Sadder yet, is that the large majority of public employees in Ohio buy all the garbage their union PACs try so hard to sell. Right to Work would solve some of the problem of high taxation and government waste and graft in Ohio, but with the captive audience and deep pockets the public employees’ unions have here, I hate to say there will be snowball fights in hell before that happens. I am sure that most public employees in Ohio would be delighted to know that they have funded (and are funding) the Obama campaign, and they paid for our friend, Dennis Kucinich’s long tenure in Congress as well.
Ok, Dennis, we know if we wear our foil hats the Visitors can’t read our brain waves. But Karl Marx still can. He seems to be communicating with you just fine.
I had to deal with bottle rockets in the Cougar Pool again. Now I think there’s a slow leak in the retaining ring that has caused most of the water to spill out too. Beauty. Ohio’s fireworks laws are really weird. You can buy almost any firework known to man in Ohio- and the rednecks in the Drunk and Domestics do- as long as you sign a form that says you’ll be setting them off out of state. Right…. These rednecks are going to go 100 miles in any direction to go across the border to set off their Roman candles, bottle rockets, etc. That’s not happening.
I like fireworks as much as the next redneck, but not in town, and not when it disturbs my dogs so deeply. I spent most of last night with a 65#, 101.6° bunkie, which was rather hot considering that it’s 95° outside at 10PM and the air conditioner is struggling to keep up.
Even poor Clara, the proud Malinois, is reduced to cowering up in Mommy’s bed when all that loud noise kicks in. Sheena, however, does not give a damn. She got all the pork rinds Jerry was giving out last night.
I wish Obama would stay out of Ohio. It might cool down a bit when he leaves.
I’ve heard enough, thanks. Go home.
ELYSIANHUNTER, ALWAYS INCITEFUL: 
Well, I love the title! Is this a write-your-own? ‘Cause if so, I’m gonna need a little time to think!
No, it zapped me about 3 times and didn’t save the post. Autosave my ass. But I finally got the gist of what I meant to say across.
There we go! Yeah, every now and then Word Press will get some weird glitch. For a time, I couldn’t put apostrophes in the captions of my photos. I contacted WP, they couldn’t find the problem, and then one day it disappeared.
I have no doubt that the facts you learned about Washington were NOT ones you forgot, but rather ones that had never been taught. I didn’t learn much at all about the Founding Fathers in high school, although I learned a little more in AP History. It wasn’t until I got to college (one of my degrees is in history) that I gained a better appreciation of the remarkable George Washington. I’m very lucky to have had the history education I did–my professors were, like most professors, largely liberal, but they were NOT revisionist. There were one or two exceptions (like Dr. Adnan Hagayegi, a poli-sci teacher, for whom I got could grades by writing papers insinuating that I was ashamed of my culture and upbringing), but without exception they were not granted tenure. I am so grateful to my professors for not asking me to parrot their opinions. From what I hear from people who in school now, that’s becoming exceedingly rare.
Regarding George Washington, all we’re really taught is that he was the first president, that he didn’t really chop down a cherry tree, and that his dentures were not wooden. They don’t often tell you that he could have been King George I if he wanted to, or that he shocked the world when he voluntarily ceded power back to the congress following the Revolution. The fledgling country was not unlike a rocket trying to leave the earth’s atmosphere–the first part is the hardest. We tend to forget that in another man’s hands–hell, ANY other man’s hands–the US as we know it most likely would not have happened.
So often there is the tendency to disregard previously-venerated presidents like Lincoln (although he’s had a resurgence of late, it seems) and Washington, and paradoxically to venerate fascists like Woodrow Wilson.
My 8th grade history teacher- whose job it was to teach us world history- was phenomenal. She was the kind of person who did spend a lot of time on the details and encouraged us to dig deeper. Her particular interest was WWII and the European Theatre but what I remember about her most is that she told us (in late 1981- early 82) that the Soviet Union would be done before the end of the decade, and that the real threat to the US was from the Middle East and Islamic jihadists. The woman was dead on target with her observations. Why? Perhaps her prognostications were partially lucky guesses, but they were educated guesses. Information that came from a deep knowledge and passionate study of history.
We ignore the lessons of history to our peril. And I agree with you about Woodrow Wilson. He brought us the scourge of income tax AND helped pave the way for Adolf Hitler and WWII,.