Here is a picture I took last week of Paul Revere’s grave. You can find this grave in the Granary Burying Ground which is part of Boston’s Freedom Trail. Revere lived 1734-1818. Here is information on Revere’s life. I had hoped the ghost of Paul Revere would rise to give my wife and I a tour of Boston.
No such luck.
Trinity Episcopal church (pictured above) dates back to 1733. The building is something to see if you are in Boston.
I’m not a church-goer, and I’m not likely to become one soon, but I don’t have a reflexive hostility to religion. Many on my side of the aisle would have a more favorable view of religion if churches made a real effort at including all people. Trinity provides a model statement on inclusiveness.
Here is the “Statement of Affirmation” from the well-known Trinity Church in Boston:
“Trinity Church of Boston welcomes and honors everyone,. In accordance with our baptismal covenant, we affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person, We strive to to include all persons without regard to sexual orientation, race,gender, family configuration, ethnic background, economic circumstance, difference in ability, culture, or age. Our love and acceptance of each other embody our commitment to unity with God and each other in Christ.”
There are places in the U.S. where you can’t turn around without seeing two or three Starbucks stores. When I stayed in the Westin hotel in Manhattan, there were five or six Starbucks within a couple blocks of the hotel. Is this a sign that Americans are cutting back on coffee, or is this a sign of a more general economic downturn?
There has been this dust up over Wesley Clark’s comments. So, I figured that I would go to CBS news and find out what he said.
So, what did General Clark say that was bad? General Clark is correct. Being in the Vietnam, doesn’t make anyone more qualified to be president of the US. I continue to say that the qualifications for president are written in our Constitution.
From Article II, section 1 -
No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
For this election, those are the qualifications. You don’t have to be in the military. You don’t have to believe in X, Y or Z.
I think that this is the republicans again trying to distract us for the “real” issues.
We are starting to get into Biblical events. Flooding. Tornados. Now, fires.
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From AP:
With hundreds of wildfires raging across remote, rugged parts of California for a second week, fire officials have been forced to strategically choose which to fight and which to leave to burn for weeks or even months.
The number of fires burning in central and Northern California — more than 1,000, according to state fire officials — means authorities can’t send firefighters to battle every blaze, Jason Kirchner, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, said Monday. (more…)
Congratulations, Glenn Greenwald. Glenn Greenwald challenged both Barack Obama and Keith Olbermann over this FISA legislation. The bottom line, as Glenn pointed out, was that Barack Obama stood firmly against immunity for the telecom companies during the primaries. Now that he is one step away from the White House, he appears to be playing politics, and backing off from this pledge.
Keith Olbermann did his homework, or rather, he had John Dean do his homework for him. Over the weekend, John Dean not only read the FISA legislation also looked at related statutes. He concluded that the telecom companies would be immune from civil lawsuits but not from criminal prosecution. Therefore, Barack Obama can vote for the FISA legislation and still pledge to prosecute any criminal activity of the telephone companies. This would be something. But for me, I would like to see Barack Obama say no telecom immunity. No! Then, follow up with a pledge that if criminal wrongdoing is found he would instruct the attorney general to prosecute.
With John McCain cranking up the rhetoric on Barack Obama’s campaign-finance “flip-flop,” I think it is important that he (Obama) takes a stand on principle. The Republicans are going to do what they’re going to do (lie and distort). Therefore, it is critical for Barack Obama to decide where he’s going to stand in this election.
Congratulations to Glenn Greenwald (Glenn’s Olbermann posts - here and here. Glenn’s original post on FISA and Obama here.) It is rare for a blogger to have any influence of the world on which he blogs. Glenn’s arguments are thoughtful and well researched. It is very hard to argue with Glenn… and win.
It is very hard as a freshman Senator to get anything of substance done in Congress but Senator Jim Webb of Virginia has done exactly that. He pushed the GI Bill through both houses of Congress. He attached the bill to other legislation and dared the President to veto it. Senator Jim Webb may be that rarest of politicians. One who has principles and sticks by them. He is someone who said that he supports the troops and then proved to EVERYONE that he, in fact, supports the troops.
From WaPo:
POLITICAL PROMISES are easy to make, harder to keep. So it is a testament to the tenacity of Sen. James Webb (D-Va.) and the justice of his cause that Congress has enacted a new GI Bill for war veterans. The freshman senator’s ability to work across party lines means that the men and women who risk their lives for America’s well-being will, in return, get expanded education benefits, along with opportunities for better futures.
The expansion of education benefits for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans is part of the $257.5 billion emergency spending bill that passed the Senate on Thursday. The House gave its approval earlier, and President Bush is expected to sign it this week. The timing is fitting, considering that 64 years ago last Sunday, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed into law the original GI Bill, which made a college education affordable for millions of World War II veterans. Today’s warriors are equally deserving, but the system, designed for a peacetime military, has not kept pace with the costs of college. Mr. Webb’s bill — The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act — is true to the original in providing full tuition, housing and living costs. (more…)
There are very few politicians that I admire. As I read more and more about these guys and gals, they really don’t resemble anything that I’m familiar with. Senator Jim Webb maybe that rare guy who promises that he will be over on Tuesday to help you built that back deck and on Tuesday he shows up to help.
I congratulate Senator Webb and Senator Hagel for getting this bill through. I also congratulate our troops for a job well done. Here’s their reward.
#3 - Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana who is vying for a VP spot on McCain’s ticket. He didn’t know that there were massive oil spills with Katrina.
#2 - Monica Crowly for being a moron.
#1 - William Kristol for stating that the Democratic party were sexists and completely forgetting his own sexist statement back in February of this year.
Errington C. Thompson, MD, is a surgeon, scholar, fulltime sports fan and part-time political activist. He is active in a number of community projects and initiatives. Through medicine, he strives to improve the physical health of all he treats...
