HISTORICAL CLIP
On 'January 31, 1950' U.S. President Harry S. Truman publicly announced his decision to support the development of the hydrogen bomb, a weapon theorized to be hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during World War II..
Then, on November 1, 1952, the United States successfully detonated "Mike," the world's first hydrogen bomb, on the Elugelab Atoll in the Pacific Marshall Islands. The 10.4-megaton thermonuclear device instantly vaporized an entire island and left behind a crater more than a mile wide.
Three years later, on November 22, 1955, the Soviet Union detonated its first hydrogen bomb on the same principle of radiation implosion.
I saw this image on Facebook --
Liked it. Copied it. Pasted it here.
Liked it. Copied it. Pasted it here.
But at other times I feel a feeble spark of defiance and begin to tap, tap, tap the patiently waiting letters, numbers, and symbols of my keyboard.
There is an old tried and true principle known to the once ubiquitous door to door salesmen that pestered harried housewives during the mid-twentieth century know as the foot-in-the-door ploy. And I wonder if the newest generation of supposedly informed citizens (voters) of the United States are familiar with that principle: getting a foot in the door is the first step to making a sale. Canny salesmen knew that. So the most successful sales persons did just that; they slipped their foot in the doorway as soon as the customer heard them knock and innocently opened the door.
Politicians and elected officials know and use that principle. You can bet on that -- take it to the bank, as it were.
Dedicated liberals such as President Obama and the leaders of the Democratic Party know that in a dispute with conservative congress-persons (the Republican Party) they, the liberals, must ask for the moon and seemingly settle for a crumb of cheese. Why? Because with the passage of time that crumb (foot in the door) will (by accretion) grow until it is as massive as the moon which was originally sought.
WORD FOR TODAY
accretion [un-KREE-shun]
Noun
1.
a. Growth or increase in size by gradual external addition, fusion, or inclusion.
b. Something contributing to such growth or increase.
2. Biology The growing together or adherence of parts that are normally separate.
3. Geology
a. Slow addition to land by deposition of water-borne sediment.
b. An increase of land along the shores of a body of water.
4. Astronomy An increase in the mass of a celestial object by the collection of surrounding interstellar gases and objects by gravity.
Passing a law that restricts gun ownership by banning certain types of guns is, on the surface, apparently a common sense act. But wait! Perhaps this is not common sense at all. Perhaps it is one of those crumbs of cheese.
History shows that additional laws will follow. It is inevitable. Eventually private citizens, the people of the United States, will no longer be allowed to own a gun of any kind. Only the enforcers, the members of the police and the military will be allowed to carry and use a firearm. And by then, the president may no longer be as meek and mild as Barach Obama. The future president will be (by accretion of power) more on the order of Orwell's Big Brother. Or worse.
Once, a rag-tag army of freedom-loving militia men rebelled and followed committed leaders in a war against King George of England. Those leaders knew what it would take to win such a war. And that is the reason that the following phrase appears in the U.S. Constitution:
The Right Of The People To Keep And Bear Arms Shall Not Be Infringed,
Born Jan 31, 1919
Died Oct 24, 1972
Died Oct 24, 1972
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was an American baseball player who became the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. As the first black man to play in the major leagues since the 1880s, he was instrumental in bringing an end to racial segregation in professional baseball,
In addition to his cultural impact, Robinson had an exceptional baseball career. Over ten seasons, he played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Championship. He was selected for six consecutive All-Star Games from 1949 to 1954, was the recipient of the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949—the first black player so honored. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
Born Jan 31, 1921
Age: 91 years old
Age: 91 years old
Carol Elaine Channing is an American singer, actress, and comedienne. She is the recipient of three Tony Awards (including one for lifetime achievement), a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination. Channing is best remembered for originating, on Broadway, the musical-comedy roles of bombshell Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and matchmaking widow Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello, Dolly!
Channing also appeared in a number of movies, The First Traveling Sales Lady (1956) with Ginger Rogers, the cult film Skidoo and Thoroughly Modern Millie, opposite Julie Andrews and Mary Tyler Moore. For Millie she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and was awarded a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture.
Born Jan. 31, 1937
Died Jan. 19, 2008
Died Jan. 19, 2008
Suzanne Pleshette was an American actress and voice actress. After beginning her career in the theater, she began appearing in films in the early 1960s, such as Rome Adventure (1962) and Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963). She later appeared in various television productions, often in guest roles, and played Emily Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show from 1972 until 1978, receiving several Emmy Award nominations for her work. She continued acting until 2004, four years before her death.
Born Jan 31, 1970
Age: 42 years old
Age: 42 years old
Amelia Fiona J. "Minnie" Driver is a British actress and singer-songwriter. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film Good Will Hunting, and an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for her work in the television series The Riches.
__________
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.
--Unknown
(Not M. Twain)
