tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387878372011-07-29T17:26:04.708-04:00What would Lincoln do?Mairenoreply@blogger.comBlogger9551100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-43155266227687415152009-12-03T07:49:00.000-05:002009-12-03T07:49:00.594-05:00Looking back at Lincoln: On this day, 1861On this day in 1861, President Lincoln gave his annual message to Congress.December 3, 1861Fellow Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives:In the midst of unprecedented political troubles, we have cause of great gratitude to God for unusual good health, and most abundant harvests.You will not be surprised to learn that, in the peculiar exigencies of the times, our intercourse with Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-32613271843284796262009-10-09T07:58:00.001-04:002009-10-09T07:58:00.198-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On this day, 1861On this day in 1861, London Times reporter William Russell wrote this account in his diary after an encounter with President Abraham Lincoln at the residence of General George McClellan:"October 9Calling on the General (McClellan - commander of the Army of the Potomac) the other night at his usual time of return, I was told by the orderly, who was closing the door, 'The General's gone to bed Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-3828099448515225482009-10-05T04:53:00.001-04:002009-10-05T04:53:00.344-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On this day, 1818On this day in 1818, Abraham Lincoln's beloved mother Sarah Hanks died of the milk sickness in Spencer County Indiana (what was then the town of Little Pigeon Creek.) The milk sickness was caused by drinking the milk of a cow that has eaten the poisonous white snakeroot. Abraham Lincoln was 9 years old when his mother died. She was 34.Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-75134282259592831362009-08-27T00:38:00.001-04:002009-08-27T00:38:00.579-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On this day, 1842The 'Rebecca Letter' LETTER FROM THE LOST TOWNSHIPS. Dear Mr. Printer: Lost Townships, Aug. 27, 1842. I see you printed that long letter I sent you a spell ago [2]---I'm quite encouraged by it, and can't keep from writing again. I think the printing of my letters will be a good thing all round,---it will give me the benefit of being known by the world, and give the world the advantage of knowingMairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-77480964175211581552009-08-26T10:18:00.003-04:002009-08-26T10:36:01.205-04:00The lion is gone.We lost the 'lion of the Senate' today. I wonder who will take his place. I fear the answer is 'no one.'I was once a democrat -- I was raised a democrat. I still believe in the (former) ideals of the party; but I no longer believe that the party believes in them. The current demcratic party lacks a rudder -- lacks any real belief in the ideals that were once their strength against bullies, andMairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-74863397241504660582009-07-05T09:09:00.001-04:002009-07-05T09:11:39.253-04:00Sorry for the absenceFinally - I'm back in! I have a lot of catching up to do. Its a little daunting now, but I am going to try to do two posts a day until I have caught up... I even missed Gettysburg.Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-64745974297400551182009-07-04T07:25:00.002-04:002009-07-05T09:27:36.815-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On July 4, 1861On this day in 1861, Lincoln called Congress into special session (in order to receive permission to pay for the war) and explained his actions at the outbreak of the war, as well as the need to defend the Union and its ideal of equal opportunity.Lincoln made many revisions of this speech both before and after it was given, thus there are many, many footnotes in the Annotation section. Author Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-20327955990284981972009-06-16T01:04:00.001-04:002009-07-05T09:24:12.924-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On June 16, 1858On this day in 1858, Abraham Lincoln gave his famous 'House Divided' speech at the close of the Republican Illinois State convention (where he has just been nominated candidate for U.S. Senate.)June 16, 1858Mr. PRESIDENT and Gentlemen of the Convention.If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it.We are now far into the Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-53839846382072169492009-05-22T07:18:00.001-04:002009-05-22T07:18:00.951-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 22, 1849On this day in 1849, Abraham Lincoln was granted Patent No. 6469 by the U.S. Patent Office for a device he designed and intended for "Buoying Vessels Over Shoals." Lincoln is the only United States president to hold a patent.On May 22, 1849, Abraham Lincoln was granted Patent No. 6469 by the U.S. Patent Office on a device for "Buoying Vessels Over Shoals." As noted by the U.S. Patent and Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-29587701384392049202009-05-20T06:16:00.001-04:002009-05-21T02:48:22.321-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 20, 1862On this day in 1862, Lincoln signed the Homestead Act: which provided settlers with 160 acres of surveyed public land upon payment of a filing fee and five years of continuous residence.This bill was created to encourage western expansion; however the Homestead Act took 20 years to pass, due to fears in Northern cities that the lure of 'free land' would lower property values and reduce the cheapMairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-22007370470190138892009-05-19T10:57:00.000-04:002009-05-20T23:07:06.271-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 19, 1860On this day in 1860, Abraham Lincoln met with a delegation that had traveled all the way from Chicago to Springfield so that they could personally inform Lincoln that the Republican Convention had chosen him to be the party's candidate for President.Lincoln's response:Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I tender [to] you, and through you [to] the Republican National Convention, and all Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-87123322760923843602009-05-18T15:53:00.005-04:002009-05-20T13:49:06.300-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 18, 1864In one of the moves that remains controversial to this day - especially among the media - Lincoln ordered the arrest and military detainment of the editors and owners of two New York newspapers, after publications were printed that Lincoln held to be "of a treasonable nature, designed to give aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States, and to the rebels now at war against the Government,Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-53639194455235236942009-05-17T15:16:00.003-04:002009-05-20T13:49:36.619-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 17, 1864Concerning what came to be known as the 'Fort Pillow Massacre,' Lincoln wrote the following letter to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton; although according to the annotation, it doesn't appear that anything was actually done officially concerning this matter:Executive MansionWashington, D. C. May 17. 1864Hon. Secretary of War:Sir.Please notify the insurgents, through the proper military channels andMairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-22102841744241948442009-05-16T08:41:00.001-04:002009-05-20T13:50:10.303-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 16, 1862On this day in 1862, President Lincoln gave the following presidential address to Congress:Message to Congress on the History of Conspiracy of RebellionMay 16, 1862To the Senate and House of Representatives:The insurrection which is yet existing in the United States and aims at the overthrow of the Federal Constitution and the Union, was clandestinely prepared during the Winter of 1860 and 1861, Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-10529885482666988742009-05-15T06:42:00.003-04:002009-05-20T13:50:38.249-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 15, 1863Imagine Lincoln's frustration.The war was going badly for the North, and the Union death tolls were staggering. Meanwhile he was forced to deal with and intercede in political infighting between his generals, and ridiculous squabbles between politicians. His annoyance definitely shows in some of his telegraphed correspondences.Executive Mansion,Washington,May 15, 1863. [9 P.M.]Hon. H. T. BlowCMairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-26518676361129236652009-05-14T06:22:00.001-04:002009-05-20T15:20:56.138-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 14, 1863Its no wonder a grimly determined Bobby Lee and his brilliant commanders held off the Union for four long years, against superior numbers and with dwindling supplies. The Union army was bogged down in political infighting (to say nothing of ineptitude.)In January of 1863, Lincoln had written the following letter to his (current) commander of the Army of the Potomac, Joseph Hooker:EXECUTIVE Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-52871322866165398932009-05-13T11:07:00.003-04:002009-05-20T15:21:37.997-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 13, 1864On this day in 1864, Lincoln came to the rescue of a church in Memphis, Tennessee -- apparently for the second time-- from Union Army occupation.May 13, 1864I believe it is true that with reference to the church within named I wrote as follows:"If [2] the Military have Military need of the church building, let them keep it; otherwise let them get out of it, and leave it and it's owners alone, Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-91524123235281038842009-05-12T07:00:00.001-04:002009-05-20T15:22:16.072-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 12, 1864Poor Mr. Lincoln. More political difficulties on this day in 1864 --as if he needed that annoyance in the midst of the carnage that was taking place in the wilderness near Spotsylvania, where Grant and Lee had been slugging it out daily since late April. Over 14,000 Union soldiers were killed between May 8 to May 18 alone.In this obviously frustrated note to Kansas Senator Samuel C. Pomeroy, Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-3627785892559537342009-05-11T06:39:00.002-04:002009-05-20T15:22:50.169-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 11, 1862On this day in 1862, Lincoln received word that the Confederates had blown up the Merrimac (which had been defeated soundly at Hampton Roads by the new and diminutive ironclad Monitor,) and that the Monitor and other Union ships were proceeding unimpeded up the James river towards Richmond.In addition to her battles with Union warships Cumberland, Congress and the famous meeting with her Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-17854384629498855412009-05-10T08:34:00.001-04:002009-05-20T15:23:24.307-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 10, 1861A 1st Florida Cavalry/4th Florida Infantry battle flag, captured near Murfreesboro, Tennessee.On this day in 1861, Lincoln signed a proclamation which authorized the commander of Union forces along the Florida coast to suspend writ of habeas corpus "if he shall find it necessary;" meaning if any people in the vicinity were suspected to be a threat to United States forts still held by the Union. Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-52993155512319687972009-05-09T07:41:00.001-04:002009-05-20T15:24:04.607-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 9, 1862On this day in 1862, Lincoln and Secretary of War Stanton held a conference at Fortress Monroe, Virginia. While in Virginia they also - apparently - attempted to resolve a political dispute that had arisen between General McClellan and other officers in the Army Corps.Stanton sent out two telegrams (both written by Lincoln;) the first official, the second more personal in nature, addressed Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-21336820790078300842009-05-08T06:57:00.002-04:002009-05-20T15:26:01.636-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 8, 1863Lincoln is still leaning on General Joseph Hooker.On this day in 1863, after meeting with Brigadier General August Willich (who the Confederates had just released from Richmond's Libby Prison,) Lincoln wrote again to General Hooker. In short, Lincoln seems to be once again encouraging his general du jour, suggesting that Richmond isn't in a position to put up much of a fight (and thus with a bitMairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-12981482630618615302009-05-07T07:28:00.001-04:002009-05-20T16:06:01.560-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 7, 1863In the wake of the disastrous Union routing at the Battle of Chancellorsville (also known as Spotsylvania,) Lincoln wrote to his current Union commanding officer Joseph Hooker during a personal visit to the Army of the Potomac, asking the inevitable question: so what next?Head-Quarters, Army of the Potomac,May. 7 1863.Major General Hooker.My dear SirThe recent movement of your army is ended Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-45466815753836314852009-05-06T05:16:00.004-04:002009-05-20T16:05:16.483-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 6, 1863On this day in 1863, Lincoln received word of yet another Union defeat (and what would go down as one of Lee's greatest victories,) the battle at Chancellorsville; which was fought at and around the town of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, from April 30 through May 6.Lee - outnumbered more than two to one - did the unthinkable: he split his smaller army, sending 28,000 men under famed General Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-54024538909840287402009-05-05T11:13:00.009-04:002009-05-20T16:04:44.786-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 5, 1864Its a little hard to imagine in this day and age. Its hard to imagine that anyone would send - to the president - a pair of hand-knitted socks; even harder to imagine an era when the president, this particular president anyway, would likely wear them. Harder still to imagine that this president would sit down in the midst of a Civil War and write a personal note of gratitude. Oh for the days Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-787337663489922232009-05-04T09:26:00.018-04:002009-05-20T16:02:47.591-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 4, 1864 & 1865On this day in 1864 Lincoln sent a telegraph to General Sherman in Tennessee on behalf of residents complaining that 'Order No. 8' would require them to travel north of Nashville - to the rear of the army - when seeking provisions. My guess is that they feared there wouldn't be much in the way of food available behind the army, most if not all of it having already been consumed.At this point inMairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-10448329190756850862009-05-03T09:41:00.028-04:002009-05-04T09:13:26.560-04:00"Those cowboys, they came with a good horse."Its breeding and its trainingAnd its something unknownThat drives you and carriesYou home.Run for the Roses, Dan FogelbergThat 'something unknown' might include a diminutive Robin Williams-look-alike jockey with moves that Houdini would covet.(The quote in the blog title came from competing trainer Bob Baffert; understatement of the day.)This was the most satisfying Kentucky Derby I've ever seen;Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-38106589414988137442009-05-03T07:29:00.004-04:002009-05-20T16:02:01.407-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 3, 1864On this day in 1864, Lincoln called a cabinet meeting (requesting in advance, via Secretary of State Seward, that everyone be there) to discuss a government response to reports of a massacre at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.I recommend reading the (linked above) comprehensive and relatively balanced treatment of the battle in Wikipedia. It takes into account Confederate Major General Nathan Bedford Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-54081526670496606192009-05-02T11:06:00.000-04:002009-05-02T11:06:00.715-04:00Jon Stewart: Our Last 100 DaysI loved this segment! Jon's initial reaction to the news of the flu -- exactly how I felt. Pretty sure this is the first time in my life that I've ever been pissed off over a flu outbreak... or maybe its the media coverage. And nobody exposes the ghouls in the corporate media quite like Jon Stewart.Lincoln, I believe, would have loved this show. Humor, politics... and surgical satirizing of Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-73240626941737566772009-05-02T10:18:00.010-04:002009-05-20T16:01:12.080-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 2, 1863On this day in 1863, the Washington Chronicle published a hilarious example of Lincoln's off the cuff humor (my thanks to the Lincoln Log for this one!)I can only imagine how fun it must have been to work with Lincoln every day. Imagine being one of his aides - John Hay or John Nicolay - and enjoying daily doses of Lincoln's great wit, insights and compassion. They certainly had a front row Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-32021992229035212272009-05-01T18:21:00.005-04:002009-05-20T16:00:19.768-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On May 1, 1863Union troops in Gettysburg, PennsylvaniaOn this day in 1863 - and after two rather desperate telegrams from Pennsylvania Governor Curtin, who feared that an invasion of his state was imminent - Lincoln replied with the following letter, which appears to be a telegram:Executive Mansion, Washington,May 1. 1863. [10:55 P.M.]Gov. CurtinHarrisburg, Pa.The whole disposable force at Baltimore & Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-72967444557271228702009-04-30T08:51:00.008-04:002009-05-20T17:01:25.042-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 30, 1864 & 1865On this day in 1864, Lincoln reiterated his complete faith in General Ulysses S. Grant - a full year before the war was won - in the following letter:Executive Mansion Washington,April 30, 1864Lieutenant General Grant.Not expecting to see you again before the Spring campaign opens, I wish to express, in this way, my entire satisfaction with what you have done up to this time, so far as I Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-12228244393000079452009-04-29T13:32:00.004-04:002009-04-29T13:35:55.857-04:00Jon Stewart: Obama's first 100 days (of media circus)I am so grateful to Jon Stewart: he apparently watches this mindless media drivel so that the rest of us don't have to.The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10cHow to Judge a Guy in 100 Daysthedailyshow.comDaily Show Full EpisodesEconomic CrisisFirst 100 DaysMairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-33080857497501444452009-04-29T12:43:00.005-04:002009-04-29T13:08:29.663-04:00Liberal schmiberal: Torture is illegalI had to laugh when reading a recent Associated Press article about 'liberal democrats' (and the story made a point of pointing out that the Democrats were LIBERAL) who are calling for an independent investigation into Bush era torture procedures.WASHINGTON – Congressional Democrats turned up the pressure on the Obama administration Tuesday to start a criminal investigation by a special counsel Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-73843715773063767152009-04-29T06:45:00.004-04:002009-05-20T17:00:39.735-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 29, 1865While Lincoln lay in state at the rotunda of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, the first post-assassination Harper's Weekly was published on this day in 1865.The prose... well let's just say that we've come a long way from the days when news was also art.sonofthesouth.net has graciously posted all copies of Harpers Weekly from the Civil War era, so it is possible to read the paper in its Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-75803068134275424712009-04-28T09:30:00.005-04:002009-05-20T17:00:06.022-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 18, 1863On this day in 1863, Lincoln wrote the following memorandum concerning one Francis Capen, who claimed to be a "Certified Practical Meteorologist—& Expert in Computing the Changes of the Weather."Capen was seeking work with the War Department and claiming that he could predict the weather. Lincoln obviously was not impressed:April 28, 1863It seems to me Mr. Capen knows nothing about the weather, Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-19925353247381977942009-04-27T10:15:00.004-04:002009-04-27T10:24:27.157-04:00Obama re swine flu: Everybody stay calmI love this guy.The media is whipping this swine flu outbreak into the usual fear frenzy (as they did with the bird flu that was supposedly bearing down on us a few years ago.) But President Obama - as always - keeps his cool. Stay calm everyone. We're keeping an eye on it, but no need to panic.What an antidote he is... to the last eight years of 'be afraid.'Obama: Swine flu 'no cause for Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-28555765861570328892009-04-27T07:51:00.005-04:002009-05-20T16:59:18.143-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 27, 1861On this day in 1861, Lincoln authorized suspension of the writ of habeas corpus: if the need should arise, as troops moved into Washington to protect the city along a vital army travel line between Philadelphia and Washington. In other words... through troublesome but neutral Maryland.Many people have argued that because the now revered Abraham Lincoln authorized the suspension of habeas corpus Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-19235797390019005862009-04-26T19:59:00.003-04:002009-04-26T20:04:20.007-04:00Biting the bipartisan hand... has consequencesFile this under 'fool me once...' From the Huffington Post:In a meeting with House Republicans at the White House Thursday, President Obama reminded the minority that the last time he reached out to them, they reacted with zero votes -- twice -- for his stimulus package. And then he reminded them again. And again. And again.A GOP source familiar with the meeting said that the president was Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-87193873273059471052009-04-26T07:18:00.002-04:002009-05-20T16:55:21.680-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 26, 1861 & 1865On this day in 1861, Lincoln formally addressed the 'Frontier Guard;' a unit assigned to protect the White House itself. The Guard was composed mostly of Kansas men under the command of Kansas Senator James "Bloody Jim" Lane.On April 18th of 1861, Lincoln's aide John Hay recalled in his diary:"The White House is turned into barracks. Jim Lane marshaled his Kansas Warriors today at Willard's and Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-6248586523677092832009-04-25T06:54:00.001-04:002009-05-20T16:54:45.457-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 25, 1865The young Teddy Roosevelt and his brother Elliot watching the funeral procession from their grandfather's window.On this day in 1865, Abraham Lincoln's coffin was placed on a 14-foot long funeral carriage drawn by 16 horses, and carried through the streets of New York City in a grand funeral procession.This from a great website that documents the entire timeline of 'The Lincoln Express' and all Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-58951210271558925212009-04-24T06:34:00.004-04:002009-05-20T16:54:12.775-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 24, 1865The only known photo of Lincoln lying in state is from New York (Secretary of War Edwin Stanton had insisted that no photos be taken of Lincoln lying inside his coffin.)On this day in 1865, The Lincoln Express made the 86-mile trip from Philadelphia's Kensington Station, through New Jersey, and on to New York. It arrived in Jersey City at 10:00 a.m. (however the station clock hands were frozen Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-64152111609382143612009-04-23T07:29:00.002-04:002009-05-20T16:48:58.210-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 23, 1863On this day in 1863... I have to go with this one - its too bizarre to leave out.I found this in The Lincoln Log -- so it has to be true!President allegedly attends spiritualist seance in White House. Nothing happens until Lincoln leaves. Then spirits pinch Sec. Stanton 's ears and tweak Sec. Welles' beard. -- Elizabeth Lindsey, "Observance of the Lincoln Centennial," Lincoln Herald 59 (Fall Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-53372640679571849902009-04-22T06:56:00.005-04:002009-05-20T16:48:14.575-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 22, 1861On this day in 1861, President Lincoln met with approximately "twenty highly respectable citizens of Baltimore" who had traveled to see him in person at the White House to request that he halt all travel of Union troops through Maryland.According to the Evening Star [Washington, DC, 22 April 1861,] Lincoln responded that his goal was simply to secure the capitol of the Union and protect the Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-63756651045980055002009-04-21T06:42:00.005-04:002009-05-20T16:47:27.080-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 21, 1865On this day in 1865, Lincoln's body began the long trip home by train to Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried on May 4th.300 mourners rode the train called "The Lincoln Special," which carried the body of Lincoln and his dead son Willie through 180 cities and seven states, retracing the same route Lincoln took when he came to Washington to assume the presidency in 1861.Scheduled stops Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-80328842409428312462009-04-20T07:25:00.003-04:002009-05-20T16:46:52.908-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 20, 1861The 'Baltimore Riot' of 1865On this day in 1861, President Lincoln replied to embattled Baltimore mayor Brown - who had complained about the "fearful condition of affairs in this city. The people are exasperated . . . by the passage of troops, and . . . are decided in the opinion that no more should be ordered to come. . . . It is my solemn duty to inform you that it is not possible for more Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-67259048738649233032009-04-19T07:38:00.002-04:002009-05-20T16:36:09.982-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 19, 1865On this day in 1865, Lincoln's funeral procession was held in Washington, D.C. Hundreds of thousands of mourners lined the streets in an eerie silence as the presidents body was carried in a procession led by African American soldiers (and followed by many freed slaves,) on a hearse pulled by six white horses, from the White House to the Capitol building.The funeral was held shortly after noon onMairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-28754734002748276132009-04-18T07:16:00.002-04:002009-05-20T16:31:50.093-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 18, 1865From the May 16, 1865 edition of Harper's WeeklyOn this day in 1865, Lincoln's body lay in state in the East Room of the White House. The body would remain there until April 19th, when the formal funeral was held and a funeral procession carried the fallen president to a waiting catafalque in the rotunda of the Capitol Building.Mourners lined up outside White House, waiting for the 9:30 A.M. Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-61786183760395794562009-04-17T07:32:00.001-04:002009-05-20T16:31:17.345-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 17, 1865On this day in 1865, while the nation remained in an uproar over the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the largest manhunt in history - for John Wilkes Booth, David Herold and the other conspirators - continued in earnest under the direction of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.Conspirator Lewis Powell, the man who had attacked Secretary of State Seward in his bed (Seward survived,) was lost. Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-27097610451696118032009-04-16T06:49:00.008-04:002009-05-20T16:30:39.691-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 16, 1865On this day in 1865 - Easter Sunday - the nation was in a state of shock and mourning. All across the country, clergymen praised and eulogized the fallen president from the pulpit. In the April 19, 1865 Harper's Weekly - the first edition in print after the presidents' assassination - a remarkable account of the assassination, and the following dirge: A DIRGE.LOWER the starry flag Amid a Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-27193499439421375432009-04-15T03:00:00.003-04:002009-05-20T16:29:30.608-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 15, 1861 & 1865On this day in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln died in a bed at the Peterson boarding house across the street from Ford's Theater at 7:22 a.m., after being shot in the back of the head at close range by famous actor John Wilkes Booth. He was 56.Pandemonium broke out in Washington as the news of the attack on the president spread through the city. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton took over Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-65607357205235362612009-04-14T07:21:00.004-04:002009-05-20T16:25:08.169-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 14, 1865On this day in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by actor John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C., as he sat in the presidential booth watching the comedy 'Our American Cousin' with his wife Mary Todd Lincoln, and friends Major Henry R. Rathbone, and Rathbone's fiancee, Clara Harris.Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles was awakened to the news that Lincoln had been Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-84936744164409913972009-04-13T08:25:00.004-04:002009-05-20T16:24:25.438-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 13, 1861On this day in 1861, the newly elected President Abraham Lincoln replied to representatives of the Convention of the State of Virginia who formally requested that Lincoln lay out the "policy which the Federal Executive intends to pursue in regard to the Confederate States."Virginia didn't secede from the Union until the war had officially begun. The people of the historically significant state, Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-77643213077525951982009-04-12T04:30:00.004-04:002009-05-20T16:21:30.254-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 12, 1861 and 1865On this day in 1861, at 4:30 a.m., Confederates opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina; the first shots fired in the Civil War.Four years and hundreds of thousands of deaths later, Lincoln was negotiating with the 'Rebel Legislature' of Virginia after the conflict had officially come to an end with the surrender of Lee's army several days before.Lincoln wrote to General Godfrey Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-80133761755699069202009-04-11T07:58:00.004-04:002009-05-20T16:20:31.474-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 11, 1865Let us all join in doing the acts necessary to restoring the proper practical relations between these States and the Union; and each forever after, innocently indulge his own opinion whether, in doing the acts, he brought the States from without, into the Union, or only gave them proper assistance, they never having been out of it. - Abraham Lincoln, April 11, 1865On this day in 1865, Lincoln Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-59326907191563489812009-04-10T09:39:00.004-04:002009-04-10T09:43:41.373-04:00Classic Jon StewartI stand applauding -- absolutely classic.The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10cBaracknophobia - Obeythedailyshow.comDaily Show Full EpisodesEconomic CrisisPolitical HumorMairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-76232656894362163092009-04-10T07:56:00.002-04:002009-05-20T16:19:41.766-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 10, 1865On this day in 1865, Washington erupted in celebration with the news that Lee's army had surrendered in Appomattox Court House, Virginia on the previous day. The war was over; and Lincoln was a national hero.Throughout the day Lincoln was called upon to make brief speeches to joyful crowds (and he was apparently serenaded all day long!) In the morning he visited the Navy Yard and made a brief Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-47761312957330165792009-04-09T07:15:00.005-04:002009-05-20T16:18:58.472-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 9, 1865On this day in 1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Union forces at Appomattox Court House, Virginia - an act which officially ended the Civil War. It would be months before all of the Confederate armies would surrender to the Union (the last being the Confederate Cherokee Indian army in Oklahoma, which surrendered on June 23rd.)At dawn, April 9th, the conditions for Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-54394707873276242202009-04-08T19:37:00.006-04:002009-04-08T20:36:31.617-04:00The great betrayalI read the following commentary in Raw Story and frankly, I'm speechless. I will go as far as to say I feel utterly betrayed... and have removed my trust from the Obama basket.No wonder Obama won't investigate the Bush Administration. I'm remembering, quite rapidly, why I became an Independent in the first place. Both of these parties are simply two sides of the same corrupted coin. Obama isMairenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-83069037858497704962009-04-08T06:34:00.008-04:002009-05-20T16:18:10.082-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 8, 1865On this day in 1865 - the last day of the Civil War - Abraham Lincoln and Mrs. Lincoln traveled by train to Petersburg, Virginia. They spent the day visiting hospital camps and meeting with Union generals posted to the captured city.That evening, back on board the 'River Queen,' the Lincolns were treated to a farewell concert by a military band. According to the visiting Marquis de Chambrun, Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-81154838539381562282009-04-07T06:11:00.002-04:002009-05-20T16:17:30.068-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 7, 1865After a day spent reviewing the troops, Lincoln sent the following telegraph to General Grant in the field:City-Point,Head Quarters Armies of the United States, Lieut Gen. Grant.April 7. 11 AM. 1865Gen. Sheridan says "If the thing is pressed I think that Lee will surrender." Let the thing be pressed. A. LINCOLNTwo days later, Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.Grant pursued and Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-78517764331277505362009-04-06T09:38:00.003-04:002009-04-06T09:47:13.170-04:00Lincoln quote of the dayI found this Whitman quote while I was nosing around online today - and I confess - the very idea of a 'Hoosier Michaelangelo' caused me to burst out laughing. We Hoosiers are used to being maligned and laughed at (we can thank the Dan Quayles of history for some of these barbs;) but I suppose as this is the great Walt Whitman speaking with fondness of Lincoln... we'll take it.Poet Walt Whitman Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-56948889319754892202009-04-06T07:41:00.001-04:002009-05-20T16:16:47.604-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 6, 1865On this day in 1865, Mrs. Lincoln rejoined her husband on the 'River Queen,' in City Point, Virginia as Lincoln began preparations to return to Washington.The previous day, Lincoln received word from Secretary of War Edwin Stanton that Secretary of State Seward had been thrown from his carriage and seriously injured. Stanton - with whom Lincoln was in daily contact via telegraph while he was in Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-27165883298685300162009-04-05T07:36:00.004-04:002009-05-20T16:16:08.555-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 5, 1865A sketch of President Lincoln and his son Tad entering Richmond on April 4, 1865File this under 'ironing out the details' (progress on the battlefield ran well ahead of progress in the Confederate legislature.)On this day in 1865, President Lincoln met with Virginia's Judge Campbell to talk about how Virginia could be 'brought back into the Union' (seeing as it had already been re-taken by the Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-29327568034327481022009-04-04T06:57:00.001-04:002009-05-20T16:10:47.292-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 4, 1865On April 2, 1865 - two days after the Confederate army was driven out of Richmond by Ulysses S. Grant - President Abraham Lincoln, accompanied by his young son Tad, toured the former capitol of the Confederacy after visiting recently captured Petersburg. He was met on the streets as a liberator by freed slaves, and shunned by the white residents.Eye-witness Thomas Thatcher Graves (who served on Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-66736355205152509972009-04-03T07:44:00.009-04:002009-04-03T18:48:28.869-04:00April 1865 through Tad Lincoln's eyesOne of the last photos ever taken of Abraham Lincoln. The president with his son Tad, taken April 10th, 1865.What a bittersweet month this was for the Lincolns. The seemingly endless, brutal war was finally drawing to a victorious close -- everyone was so happy right before Lincoln was shot.Even now, nearly 150 years later, it seems so unfair. I've dreaded even writing about this month.I keep Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-91064813865081835712009-04-03T07:02:00.003-04:002009-05-20T16:09:14.330-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 3, 1865Federal Troops entering PetersburgOn this day in 1865, Lincoln and his son Tad visited General Ulysses S. Grant in recently conquered Petersburg, Virginia.At around 8 A.M., Lincoln sent a quick telegram to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, alerting him that Petersburg had been evacuated by the Confederates, and that he and Tad were leaving City Point 'in a few minutes' to travel there for a meetingMairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-24883470223494210692009-04-02T07:45:00.003-04:002009-05-20T16:08:29.238-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 2, 1865On this day in 1865, Lincoln waited out the Battle of Petersburg, Virginia at Grant's Army Headquarters in City Point, Virginia.A series of telegrams were sent between Lincoln and Grant, Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd (who had left for Washington aboard the steamer Monohasset,) and between Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, in Washington. Lincoln even spent part of the day watching the Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-89223860374746549392009-04-01T08:52:00.003-04:002009-04-01T09:04:12.054-04:00Latest food to avoid: pistachiosMy my my... what's next? I'm running out of foods to avoid.I wonder now - every time I shop - is this lettuce safe? How about the spinach... is it safe to buy it again? Should I simply avoid all non-local vegetables and shop at the local farmers market? Is it OK to buy peanuts again? How about pet food? So corn syrup contains... mercury? Can I actually find any cough syrup that doesn't Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-65331009467599828172009-04-01T07:31:00.003-04:002009-04-01T07:35:25.723-04:00Obama fires CEO of GM: A reaction from one Michigan residentA few thoughts, from a man who would know:Friends,Nothing like it has ever happened. The President of the United States, the elected representative of the people, has just told the head of General Motors -- a company that's spent more years at #1 on the Fortune 500 list than anyone else -- "You're fired!"I simply can't believe it. This stunning, unprecedented action has left me speechless for theMairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-23487747384536694462009-04-01T07:30:00.006-04:002009-04-01T08:51:41.076-04:00Seymour Hersh: Cheney's 'Executive Assassin Ring'Pulitzer prize winner Seymour Hersh is one of the last and perhaps best investigative journalists of our time.When I was growing up during the Watergate Era, I idolized Woodward and Bernstein: I hoped to one day become an investigative journalist myself -- one of the journalists that serve our democratic process by shedding much needed light into the dark places in our government.A free and Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-65372317286157742812009-04-01T07:10:00.001-04:002009-05-20T16:07:26.115-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On April 1, 1854On this day in 1854, Lincoln wrote a long response to an apparent relative in Tennessee, Jesse Lincoln. In his letter, Lincoln went into great detail about his own family history as he knew it; and seems to have had quite an interest in genealogy.Springfield, Illinois, April, 1, 1854.My Dear Sir: On yesterday I had the pleasure of receiving your letter of the 16th of March. From what you say Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-87465825849140854582009-03-31T22:48:00.003-04:002009-03-31T22:55:52.754-04:00The news media needed a poll to figure this out?This poll just in from the Washington Post: Shocking! We the People don't blame the new president (in office for less than three months) for the disastrous economy that he inherited!Imagine that!Good to know we're not as dumb as we look, eh? (Or as dumb as the news establishment owners would like us to be.)But can this really be... news? Does this drivel pass for news these days?Blame for Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-78867118653545137002009-03-31T07:53:00.002-04:002009-05-20T17:32:35.557-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 31, 1865(Sketch by Lt. Charles Wellington Reed at City Point, Virginia, 1865. Reed won the Medal of Honor for saving the life of Captain John Bigelow at Gettysburg.)On this day in 1865, Lincoln was said to have been depressed about an attack that Grant was planning to make on Petersburg, Virginia; a battle that would undoubtedly bring a high cost in lives ("Lincoln's last day: New facts now told for Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-56581008547742066922009-03-30T07:41:00.005-04:002009-05-20T17:41:28.575-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 30, 1865In March of 1865, President Lincoln, Mrs. Lincoln and their son Tad visited Grant's Headquarters in City Point, Virginia - near Petersburg, on the James River.The family arrived March 24th aboard the 'The River Queen,' and stayed (sleeping at night on the river boat) for two weeks. Lincoln frequently met with Grant and occasionally toured nearby battlefields as he anxiously awaited news from theMairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-72392882028423732902009-03-29T07:25:00.001-04:002009-05-20T17:40:38.299-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 29, 1863On this day in 1863, Lincoln - persistent in his determination to raise African American troops wherever possible, as he believed this was the secret to winning the war - wrote a letter to Major General Banks asking him to provide any assistance possible to General Daniel Ullmann who was endeavoring to raise a brigade of African American soldiers in Louisiana.Executive Mansion,Washington, March Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-37462760493397014692009-03-28T07:03:00.001-04:002009-05-20T17:50:27.655-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 28, 1861Here is another first-hand account of Abraham Lincoln - specifically his use of humor to diffuse difficult situations - from the diary of London Times reporter William Russell: "March 28In the conversation which occurred before dinner, I was amused to observe the manner in which Mr. Lincoln used the anecdotes for which he is famous. Where men bred in courts, accustomed to the world, or versed in Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-69447907114944656702009-03-27T05:21:00.004-04:002009-05-20T17:56:31.612-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 27, 1861On this day in 1861, a reporter from the London Times named William Russell wrote this rather amusing (although not terribly flattering) impression of newly elected president Abraham Lincoln in his personal diary:"March 27, 1861Soon afterwards there entered, with a shambling, loose, irregular, almost unsteady gait, a tall, lank, lean man, considerably over six feet in height, with stooping Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-83472354865165333242009-03-26T05:40:00.007-04:002009-05-20T17:57:24.243-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 26, 1863On this day in 1863, Lincoln wrote a letter to Tennessee's military governor Andrew Johnson - the same Andrew Johnson who would become Lincoln's running mate and Vice President in 1864 - and urged him to raise an African American regiment in Tennessee. Lincoln stressed that if an "eminent citizen of a slave-state, and himself a slave-holder" were to take such action (raising an African American Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-48072149005754384972009-03-25T04:29:00.007-04:002009-05-20T17:58:08.376-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 25, 1864On this day in 1864, Lincoln penned an extraordinary letter (demonstrating - in my opinion - almost zero tolerance for excessive power grabs by politicians within his administration.)The 'explanation' from B. B. French can be found, at length, in the annotation.Executive Mansion,March 25, 1864.PrivateHon. B. B. French Washington,My dear Sir:I understand a Bill is before Congress, by your Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-24327221332849907852009-03-24T01:23:00.007-04:002009-05-20T17:58:51.134-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 24, 1848On this day in 1848, Illinois Congressman Abraham Lincoln apparently took some time to inquire about his genealogy.He responded to a letter from Solomon Lincoln (Solomon Lincoln of Massachusetts had apparently written more than one letter inquiring into his family history.) In 1865, after Lincoln's assassination, Solomon Lincoln published his findings on the history of the Lincoln family in Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-31335430286125858662009-03-23T07:44:00.006-04:002009-05-20T17:59:34.540-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 23, 1863On this day in 1863, Lincoln wrote to newly elected Governor of New York Seymour Washington - a Democrat who had been publicly critical of Lincoln's handling of the war, and especially the Emancipation Proclamation - and extended a hand of friendship. In his letter, Lincoln stressed the need for a good working relationship between the office of president and governor of New York - in spite of Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-65210566966615720462009-03-22T06:31:00.006-04:002009-05-20T18:00:18.006-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 22, 1848On this day in 1848, Lincoln demonstrated his considerable debating skills and sharp logical reasoning in a response to one Usher F. Linder.Linder had accused Lincoln of undermining the soldiers who fought in the Mexican war whenever he criticized the war itself and President Polk's handling of the war.Lincoln answered every point masterfully, suggesting that Usher had fallen into "one of the Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-19147972781195191642009-03-21T07:07:00.002-04:002009-05-20T18:01:01.471-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 21, 1864On this day in 1864, President Lincoln responded to a letter from two young sisters, Clara and Julia Brown (aged 11 and 13) which had accompanied the gift of an Afghan. I am somewhat amused to report that today - this date, March 21 - Lincoln seemed to be universally succinct in his correspondences, and it does not appear that Lincoln gave any major speeches on this day, other than appearing Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-61173761990610576302009-03-20T07:16:00.007-04:002009-05-20T18:01:43.015-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 20, 1844On this day in 1844, at least according to the Illinois State Register and the Sangamo Journal, Lincoln 'utterly demolished' nearly every position taken by fellow debater John Calhoun.Lincoln took part in a series of debates, commencing on March 20th and continuing through the 25th, where representatives of both parties discussed (ie debated) the issues of the day in anticipation of an upcoming Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-90334091313662616362009-03-19T17:45:00.001-04:002009-03-19T17:46:25.536-04:00Relevant quote of the dayBanking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.- Thomas JeffersonMairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-51293790436245516592009-03-19T07:47:00.003-04:002009-05-20T18:02:28.654-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 19, 1862On this day in 1862, Lincoln wrote the following letter to Dr. Samuel Boyd Tobey of the 'Representatives of the Society of Friends for New England.' The wistfulness displayed in his words - a longing for peace - is evident.Lincoln never had the chance to be president without the Civil War either looming in the immediate future or barely having ended. How strange that this gentle man of peace Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-30417543990036282882009-03-18T09:37:00.007-04:002009-03-18T09:57:50.022-04:00Be the change you want to createWe voted for him. We voted to fix our country.Obama is going after the fat cats who bled us dry and into the poor house, and he's talking about more than simply recovery; he's talking about investing in our future by making real reforms.I think its a good budget. It may not be perfect, but he's stressing the right things - clean fuel, infrastructure, education, health care, and oversight. AIG Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-74908228450400600482009-03-18T07:13:00.005-04:002009-05-20T18:04:49.917-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 18, 1836On this day in 1836, Lincoln discovered that his horse was missing from a Springfield, Illinois stable. He took out a 'lost and found' ad in the Sangamo Journal (March 26, 1836,) as follows:Advertisement for a Lost Horse [1]March 26, 1836FROM a stable in Springfield, on Wednesday, 18th inst. [2] a large bay horse, star in his forehead, plainly marked with harness; supposed to be eight years old;Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-20550195855204316612009-03-17T14:41:00.004-04:002009-03-17T14:54:03.436-04:00AIG can suck an eggDear America:In their worst-ever advertising and self-promotion campaign, AIG has thrown rotten eggs at your homes, and laughed in your face while taking your money (all of it) because it was supposedly necessary to take YOUR money to clean up the egg mess. While busy not really cleaning up their mess... and repeatedly insisting that they need more money... AIG decided to use some of these moneyMairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-58629628340810824942009-03-17T07:30:00.003-04:002009-05-20T18:05:57.262-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 17, 1865On this day in 1865, John Wilkes Booth failed in his attempt to kidnap Abraham Lincoln enroute to a hospital near the Soldiers' Home.On March 17th, Booth heard that Lincoln would be attending a performance of the play Still Waters Run Deep at a hospital near the Soldier's Home where the Lincoln family often stayed.Booth set up his kidnapping team along the road that Lincoln would have traveled toMairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-24036593112361010752009-03-16T08:19:00.006-04:002009-05-20T18:06:39.531-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 16, 1861On this day in 1861, Lincoln recognized Luis Molina as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Nicaragua (the "Minister Plenipotentiary" was added as a token of respect and thanks.)March 16, 1861Mr. MOLINA: I am happy to receive the letters you present, and to recognize you, sir, as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Nicaragua near the United States.In conferring a Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-73111590131373514392009-03-15T07:10:00.002-04:002009-05-20T18:07:20.273-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 15, 1861On this day in 1861, Lincoln wrote a letter to each member of his cabinet - his 'team of rivals' - asking each man whether or not he would supply Fort Sumter, and why.He asked for their replies in writing.The annotations at the end of this letter to Secretary of State William Seward provide a snippet from each response. All of these letters and annotations can be found in the Collected Works of Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-69430823709214692142009-03-14T23:19:00.004-04:002009-03-14T23:30:39.460-04:00AIG handing out executive bonusesThis is unbelievable.A.I.G. Planning $100 Million in Bonuses After Huge BailoutBy EDMUND L. ANDREWS and PETER BAKERPublished: March 14, 2009WASHINGTON — Despite being bailed out with more than $170 billion from the Treasury and Federal Reserve, the American International Group is preparing to pay about $100 million in bonuses to executives in the same business unit that brought the company to theMairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-87977418181442827072009-03-14T07:06:00.002-04:002009-05-20T18:08:08.313-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 14, 1865On this day in 1865, Lincoln was sick in bed (as he had been on the day before.) According to an entry in the diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, the cabinet met in his bedroom - so he was apparently too ill to get out of bed.There is an interesting physical study of Lincoln (the book is The Physical Lincoln Complete, by John G. Sotos) that suggests that President Lincoln may have Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-84713891448845261252009-03-14T01:53:00.004-04:002009-03-14T01:59:12.928-04:00Jon Stewart: The Cramer Take-downAnd now the moment we've all been waiting for... Jon eats Cramer's lunch (after feeding him a steady diet of his own words.)Stewart is no longer just a fake newsman and comedian; he is a national voice of conscience. I love it when he rips the corporate media for their BS..cc_box a:hover .cc_home{background:url('http://www.comedycentral.com/comedycentral/video/assets/syndicated-logo-over.png') !Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-62841817073628711112009-03-14T01:43:00.005-04:002009-03-14T01:52:34.514-04:00Jon Stewart: The Week in CramerAh, what a week it has been! Culminating in an epic Jon Stewart take-down (I'll get to that in the next post.) But first... the week in Cramer..cc_box a:hover .cc_home{background:url('http://www.comedycentral.com/comedycentral/video/assets/syndicated-logo-over.png') !important;}.cc_links a{color:#b9b9b9;text-decoration:none;}.cc_show a{color:#707070;text-decoration:none;}.cc_title a{color:Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-27106722916086288462009-03-13T07:40:00.004-04:002009-05-20T18:08:55.590-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 13, 1862(A newly discovered photo that may show Lincoln riding on horseback. Look for the tall, dark stovepipe hat above the crowd and in the center top of the picture.)On this day in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln gave a short speech before a delegation from Massachusetts concerning the gift of a whip.Yes... a whip. It was apparently a very nice whip, but both gift and speech seem a little Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-79674433615667113092009-03-12T07:32:00.009-04:002009-05-20T18:09:37.176-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 12, 1864On this day in 1864, Lincoln issued General Orders No. 98, putting General Ulysses S. Grant in charge of the entire Union Army.As the annotation suggests (below, after the Orders,) Lincoln likely initiated this at General Halleck's request, although Lincoln was very excited about Grant's effectiveness in the West and undoubtedly believed his appointment would be the North's best chance for a Mairenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38787837.post-43870212682433973292009-03-11T07:02:00.004-04:002009-05-20T18:10:18.096-04:00Looking back at Lincoln: On March 11, 1862On this day in 1862, Abraham Lincoln relieved frustratingly cautious General George B. McClellan ("Little Mac") of his duties as General-in-Chief of the U. S. Army so that he could devote all of his time to the Army of the Potomac -- and hopefully win some battles for the beleaguered North.McClellan's subsequent performance in the Peninsula Campaign (the first Union operation against the South, Mairenoreply@blogger.com0