Much Needed Florida Getaway

I am away from my blog for a few days. I am in Florida with my bride of 37 years for Spring Training baseball and more. Be back to blog next week. Hope you'll come back around.

Picture of the Day

A great TV show. I like this guy.

Sound of the Day

And all God's people said.........Amen.

Some Great Cities of the World

San Fransico, CA

Paris

St. Petersburg, Russia

St. Louis, MO

NYC, NY

Venice, Italy

Brussells, Belgium

Picture of the Day

Inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln in front of the U. S. Capitol, March 4, 1861. (Construction of the Capitol still underway).

The Presidential Election of 1920

The Presidential election of 1920 was an interesting one. Franklin D. Roosevelt, a young Assistant Secretary of the Navy, was selected as the Vice Presidential running mate of Democratic nominee James Cox. Cox was a newspaper executive and Governor from Ohio. The campaign was dominated by the aftermath of World War I and a hostile response to the politics of President Woodrow Wilson.

The wartime economic boom had collapsed, there was war and revolution in Europe, and there was the question of America's entry into the League of Nations. At home, there were major strikes in meatpacking and steel plants and race rioting in Chicago and other cities.

The Republicans ran Warren Harding for President, another newspaper man from Ohio, and Calvin Coolidge as Vice President. They basically ignored Cox and Roosevelt and ran against Wilson and his policies. Harding and the Republicans won by one of the largest landslides ever, 60% to 34%. Harding's administration is considered by historians as one of the worst in American history. The policies of the 1920s were a precursor to the stock market crash in 1928 and to the Great Depression which ensued.

The above is a wonderful image of Cox and a young, pre-polio Franklin Delano Roosevelt, arriving at the White House for discussions with President Wilson. Roosevelt, of course, would proceed in later years, to lead America out of the Great Depression and create a safety net which would come to define America in the 20th century. And most importantly, historians tells us that Roosevelt, together with his alliance with Sir Winston Churchill, likely saved Western Civilization.

America and War

Much could be written about this exhibit. I am reminded of President Eisenhower's warning about the Military Industrial Complex which needs feeding. I am reminded of old gray haired wealthy men in Congress and the Executive branch sending young, poor American boys and girls off to fight their wars. I think of the sacrifice of those used in war and all of the victims of war. Think what you will about it. Comment below if you so wish. The thing I am sure of is that most Americans are tired of war.

Jobs and Gates

"In astronomy, a binary system occurs when the orbits of two stars are linked because of their gravitation interaction. There have been analogous situations in history, when an era is shaped by the relationship and rivalry of two orbiting superstars: Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr in twentieth-century physics, for example, or Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton in early American governance. For the first thirty years of the personal computer age, beginning in the last 1970s, the defining binary star system was composed of two high-energy college dropouts both born in 1955, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs." ~Walter Isaacson, "Steve Jobs - A Biography."

Thought For the Day

Stunning Vessels

Thought For the Day

It's been quite a week for a news junkie. The tragic Trayvon Martin killing in Florida, NFL Commissioner Goodell's very appropriate hammering of the New Orleans Saints and his one-year suspension of the Head Coach, the Romney 'etch e sketch' fiasco, the Tim Tebow trade to the Jets. And these are only the national stories that most intrigue me.

I have been engaged with following issues of the day since I was very young. When I was younger, I was interested and I was curious. As an older adult, I understand that it is important to try and have an impact on the direction of the community and of America. As an adult, I feel obligated to bring my sense of right and wrong, my attitude, values, opinions and beliefs to bear on issues in the public square. Social media and a blog are good places to do that. Attending public meetings, volunteering, supporting issues and positions, supporting candidates, and voting are all important.

I encourage all of us to be engaged with, and concerned with, the issues of the community and issues of the day. Only then can we help mold America, if only slightly, in our own image. Assuming we are well-anchored people, only then can we help move America to a better place.

Picture of the Day

Picture of the Day

Gorgeous site of Le Chateau in Autumn, Quebec City, Canada.

FDR

Nice portraits of a beloved American.

Thought For the Day

"The journey is the reward." ~ Steve Jobs

Barack Obama - "The Road We've Traveled"

Picture of the Day

Lt. John F. Kennedy, U. S. N., 1942

New Orleans - A Colorful, Cultural Mecca

Picasso

Thought For the Day

Someone once ask me if my adult children were 'happy'. 'Happy', as generally referred to in our culture, seems rather superficial. The term 'happy' has been trivialized in our culture to such an extent that I hesitate to use it as a measure.

In a more meaningful sense, to be 'happy', or to know 'joy', results from knowing and serving God. It results from trying to be the person God would have us be. The term 'happy', on the other hand, is too closely associated with the term 'pleasure' in our culture. Holy scripture distinguishes between 'joy' and 'pleasure'. The Greek word for 'pleasure' is the word from which we get the word 'hedonism', the philosophy of self-centered pleasure seeking.

'Joy' is the fruit of a right relationship with God. 'Joy' in the Christian's life is in direct proportion to his or her walk with the Lord. 'Joy' is the fruit of a spirit-led life (Galatians 5:22). The source of our 'joy' and strength is the Lord (Nehemiah 8:10). Our 'joy' results from walking our journey with God's presence, guidance, and direction. 'Joy' results from our struggling to live the life God would have us live, in his strength.

If 'happy' becomes a by-product, I guess that's not so bad.

Picture of the Day

du Midiin Chamonix, France - The highest point in Europe.

Picture of the Day

The President, the British Prime Minister, and their ladies.

The Kennedy Tragedy, November 22, 1963

These are rare and previously unpublished photos of JFK's funeral. They are Life Magazine photos. The assassination continues to be a mystery and a fascination. Those who believe Lee Harvey Oswald worked aloned are in a fantasyland.

My son and I met with Congressman L. Richardson Preyer before his death, in 1991, to discuss the assassination. Preyer was Chairman of the House Sub-Committee on the Kennedy Assassination in the 1970s. He was certain a shot was fired from the grassy knoll. My feeling is that the Fidel Castro employed the services of the New Orleans mafia, which was more that happy to cooperate. Substantial documentation exists to support this theory.

It was quite a time in America........such a tragic time. The events certainly engaged my full attention and awe.

Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, 1968