Wasted a whole morning - wasted, I tell you, wasted - on a fascinating website - http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/ftrials.html.
It is famous trials through out history. Read the Burr and Galileo trials this morning. And for further study, Socrates, John Brown, Wyatt Earp, Lizzie Borden, Oscar Wilde, Black Sox, Nuremberg, Clinton just to mention a few. But, wait, there's more. At the bottom there are links for more!
Today is the First Day of Spring. And on one of the morning shows, they told how being married makes you live longer. Once again, the fickle finger points toward love.. A stretch, I know, but what the heck. Brought to mind some tributes some weeks ago about one of y'all's (hey, a legitimate word with two apostrophies!) loves. Could not find them for reference, however.
Is there love at first sight? There certainly is.
And one of the best love songs is Rodolpho's to Mimi. Love at first sight.
“How cold your little hand is, let me warm it for you.
From time to time two thieves steal all the jewels
out of my safe, two pretty eyes.
They came in with you just now, and my customary dreams
my lovely dreams, melted at once into thin air!
But the theft doesn't anger me, for their place has been taken by hope!
Rodolph:Oh lovely girl, oh sweet face bathed in the soft moonlight.
I see you in a dream I'd dream forever!
Mimi:Ah! Love, you rule alone!
Rodolpho: Already I taste in spirit the heights of tenderness!
Love trembles at our kiss!
Mimi: How sweet his praises enter my heart.Love, you alone rule! If I came with you, I'd be near you!
Yesterday was James Madison's birthday. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Madison) He was born on 16 March, 1751. Little Jimmy is one of my favorite Founding Fathers. Put my Commonwealth flag out front for him. Taught at Woodberry Forest in Orange County a number of summers and really enjoyed all of the history there. Civil War (Wilderness is right near there) and the Revolution and the Constitution. Montpelier is just down the lane a piece. Saw it in the early stages of its renovation..
When you look at a list of accomplishments, Madison is a giant. Someone said “Never has so much mind been in so little matter” (Madison was only 5'4” and sickly.).
“Father of the Constitution”. Wrote most of it. Virginia's Constitution also.
“Father of the Bill of rights”. The first ten Amendments.
“Federalist Papers”. Major portion of them.
“Alien and Sedition Act”. Main opponent of this. This act was the most dangerous attack on the Constitution.
“War of 1812”. A serious threat. Madison stuck it out and we are not now a British territory.
“Fourth President of The United States.”
“First Lady”. Husband of Dolley, the first called First Lady.
“Madison was the most successful and possibly the most influential of all the Founding Fathers.” (http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/madison/essays/biography/9)
PBS is having its fund raising drive this week. And the other night they did Roy Orbison's “Black and White Night”. What a joy. "Black and White Night" is the best of all. Roy with Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, k.d. lang, Bonnie Aritt, Jackson Browne, Stephen Soles.
Lived in West-by-Gawd Texas for five delightful years. In Midland, down the road a piece from where Roy is from. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Orbison) It is a little town called Wink. It is pronounced wank, not wink. Things are not pronounced quite the same. Like Dumas is not dew-moss, more like dumb-ass. Notrees is right near Wink.
Roy is the greatest at those songs where he is shunned by love, Crying, Pretty Woman, Only the Lonely, Love Hurts.
Anyway, here is Roy.
Need to add this one, thanks to ET (http://ethunter1.blogspot.com/). Completely forgot the Traveling Wilbury's! Heavens.
OK. It is time to “discuss” the economy. Is Bush to blame? Am just a plain old citizen, not an economist. Have not researched the experts. But can still vent.
The National Debt can not help but be a major factor. The government gives us a few hundred dollars, which we will have to pay back anyway. But we are paying thousands per year per individual to pay the interest on the National Debt! Money which goes away from the U.S. of A. The biggest financial present our government can give us is to get out from under the crushing debt. And one of the major reasons is the cost of the Iraq War. It may be the government's debt but we pay.
And we all know about the effect of the cost of oil. Let's face it, the oil producing countries hate us. True, the same costs are paid by other oil consumers around the world. Whether they were part of The Colition or not. China is catching up on us but we are the biggest consumers. And OPEC is finally working together to hike up the cost, something they could not do before. And I can not help but think that we pissed them off. What could we have done to do that, I ask?
As a retiree on a fixed income, inflation is a huge unplanned expense. None of the retirement guidelines said it would hit so hard. And what are the causes of the inflation? It must be much more complicated than my meager abilities can comprehend. Can not balance my stupid checkbook. But how about the two above? They sure look like good causes to me. And add on the next one.
Support of the military industrial complex, the big donors to the Party – Republican and Democratic. Cheney's buddies get what they pay for. Ease environmental restrictions. Tax breaks. Etc. Etc. Ad infinitum. And it all costs us. The costs go up. The profits go up. The CEO's get bigger and bigger rewards. And the costs go up. We pay. And no one is acting as the cop on the beat.
* see the p.s. added below
Yes, damn it. Bush is to blame.
Will the next administration do better? My heart tells me they will but the old brain says to wait and see. These are politicians we are talking about here, after all.
ps. Need to mention the falling dollar. The lowest it has been in whtever they said in the news. Some benefits and some costs but most of all it shows the loss of respect that our country has suffered under this administration
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