Brent Nyitray
Fairlington Blade
Let the mutherfuker burn!
jnc4p
Kevin S. Willis
Michigoose
lmsinca
markinaustin
Arcanaut
novahockey
quarterback
ScottC
yellojkt1992 – Boston Celtic great Larry Bird announces his retirement after a 13 year career. A 3-time NBA champion, 2-time NBA Finals MVP, and 3-time season MVP, Bird’s long-time rivalry with Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers is largely credited with reviving the moribund NBA of the 1970’s and propelling it to new found heights of popularity. I had never been an NBA follower, but found myself in Boston at the height of the Celtics success during the 1980’s and became a huge Bird and Celtic fan. He was a wonder to watch, both because of his talent and the arrogant self-confidence he exuded, typified by the story of his participation in the inaugural 3-point shooting contest at the 1986 All-Star game. Apparently all of the participants had been gathered in the locker room just prior to the event for a meeting with NBA officials, and Bird had not yet arrived. Finally he walked in, looked around the room and announced “Who’s coming in second?” One of my favorite Bird moments below. (BTW, check out those shorts.)
1991 – With the Soviet Union slowly disintegrating as a result of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms, hard-line communists within his administration along with the heads of the Soviet army and the KGB launch a coup, placing Gorbachev under house arrest his Crimean vacation villa. Gorbachev refuses their demand for his resignation, and a state of emergency is declared with vice president Gennady Yanayev attempting to seize control of the government. The coup was thwarted in large part when Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who himself was inexplicably not detained, calls for a general strike to protest the coup, and rallies the people of Moscow to gather at the Russian White House. Major Evdokimov, chief of staff of a Tamanskaya tank battalion declares his loyalty to Yeltsin, providing Yelstin with a base to resist the coup. The coup eventually falls apart and Gorbachev is restored to power, but it accelerates the dissolution of the Soviet Union, with the emboldened Yeltsin asserting Russian independence, followed by most of the rest of the Soviet Republics. Within 5 months, the Soviet Union will officially cease to exist.
1963 – James Meredith becomes the first African American to graduate from the University of Mississippi. Meredith had one year earlier become the first African American admitted to the university, the result of a court order which had to be enforced over the objections of the university by US marshals sent to the school by President Kennedy. While Meredith’s enrollment was accompanied by violent protests including 2 deaths, his graduation ceremony was reported to be uneventful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHIuSiip20U
1920 – The 19th amendment to the US Constitution, guaranteeing the right to vote to women, officially becomes law when Tennessee becomes the 36th state to ratify the amendment. Women had already gained the right to vote in only 15 states, and the ratification marks the culmination of nearly a century of the women’s suffrage movement. Susan B. Anthony, a major force behind the movement from the middle of the 19th century, did not live to see this day, having unfortunately died in 1906.
1872 – The first ever mail order catalog is issued by Aaron Montgomery Ward. The first catalog is a single 8″ by 12″ piece of paper, but within a decade it will grow into a 500 page book with over 20,000 items for sale.
Filed under: This Day in History |
All Things in Moderation 
If health insurance is a right, and you can be fined for not having it, why aren’t we fined for not voting or not owning a gun?
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Oh my, shots fired:
@KatrinaTrinko: . @SenRandPaul on @GovChristie “there’s room for people who believe in bigger government in our party.”
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This dude’s serious.
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3719818
Really.
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George, what is wrong with the idea of not talking in platitudes? One of my granddaughters came home from Montessori preschool talking about light skinned and dark skinned kids. Her Mom leapt to “we are all the same underneath our skin” which is obviously untrue to a literal minded 4 1/2 YO. Later I asked my grandkid whether she noticed how different kids were. Both girls started a laundry list of differences. Tall, short, dark, light, fat, thin, blonde, dark hair, boys and girls. Then more: talks a lot, quiet, funny, runs fast, weak, not nice, cries.
Little kids are into differences, which they naturally accept.
If health insurance is a right, and you can be fined for not having it, why aren’t we fined for not voting or not owning a gun?
Shh, I think Australians get fined for not voting. I could be next.
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McWing:
If health insurance is a right, and you can be fined for not having it, why aren’t we fined for not voting or not owning a gun?
This guy is truly a menace to the nation. You have to wonder whether he really believes the idiotic drivel that come out of his mouth, or whether he is simply indifferent to the consequences of the abuse of language and concepts that he, and the left in general, tries to sell to the electorate.
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George, what is wrong with the idea of not talking in platitudes?
Nothing I suppose, but platitudes are the oils that tends to lubricate social interactions and also serve as The Something Said, when Something Needs to be Said.
As far as what the author of the article wrote, I do not believe in original sin in this context. The platitudes are meant as a lesson in not judging others on superficialities. By your reasoning, The Golden Rule should not be taught to youngsters as it is, by now, a platitude.
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By your reasoning, The Golden Rule should not be taught to youngsters as it is, by now, a platitude.
I think it is good to teach kids to treat other kids the way they want to be treated. And to avoid kids who don’t treat them well. I have never thought that was a platitude. My girls are pretty good about this one. And I have heard them have what passes for a heart-to-heart about it.
A lot of what she wrote was some sort of white guilt trip that she was reflecting, sure.
I was focusing on trying to tell a little kid something that is literally untrue, and I accept her hypothesis that saying “we are all the same under the skin” is of no meaning to a 4 YO, and seems to be wrong to them. My girls talked about light and dark skin at 3 not b/c they did not know any dark skinned kids but b/c they did. They already knew they liked some dark skinned kids and didn’t like some light skinned ones and vice versa. My daughter’s leap to “we are all the same under the skin” was an answer looking for a question that was not asked.
I see your point, though. Platitudes are shorthanded morality lessons and we must use them, often. I should have limited my first response to this particular platitude and pre-schoolers, who are so very literal minded.
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Scott, I remember the steal by Bird – and the pass. The pass is what made it so much more than just a steal. Instant knowledge of the floor and the situation. A transcendent moment.
I compare it to Jeter crossing the infield to cut off a throw and flip it to the plate which also took perfect instant knowledge of the game.
http://wapc.mlb.com/play?content_id=3134880
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Mark:
Good comparison to Jeter. In fact Jeter’s was even more amazing because there was no reason for him to have been in that place on the field, unless he knew what was going to happen before it happened.
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Yes – as someone who played baseball I have never been more astounded by a play. No reason for Jeter to back up a cutoff on that side of the infield except instinct.
Maybe he knew his RF would overthrow the intended cutoff at 2b from experience. No matter, it was freaky.
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Obviously Steinbeck didn’tt want, or was afraid to disparage Roosevelt.
http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2013/08/did_galbraith_a.html
Which is more interesting?
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There is a statue of James Meredith on the grounds of Ole Miss behind the main administration building.
Out front on the ellipse is their Confederate War memorial
The campus of the University of Mississippi is stunningly beautiful, especially in the spring.
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