tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post1690395430293395238..comments2024-03-29T05:03:05.347+02:00Comments on Dispatches from Vilnius: Undersea MeanderJames Fergusonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-61358614780873522102010-12-15T05:54:42.121+02:002010-12-15T05:54:42.121+02:00Interesting article on the new Liberty Bell site. ...Interesting article on the new Liberty Bell site. This is a story that I have been transfixed by since visiting Philadelphia for the first time in 2005, or whenever that was. The Nash book on the Liberty Bell, by the way, is very good, although I'm not sure there's anything necessarily "new" in it. I still enjoyed it -- talking about how the bell became an icon.<br /><br />avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-70930625408287144272010-12-08T16:21:06.820+02:002010-12-08T16:21:06.820+02:00Re Jackie Kennedy, there are two books about her l...Re Jackie Kennedy, there are two books about her life in books coming out at about the same time, Reading Jackie and Jackie as Editor:<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/fashion/02JACKIE.htmlavrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-82511409238149761662010-12-08T08:51:10.280+02:002010-12-08T08:51:10.280+02:00Re: this day in history on John Lennon's death...Re: this day in history on John Lennon's death. They weren't returning to a hotel when he got shot. They were at the entrance to their home, The Dakota, where they owned a floor. <br /><br />I am as disappointed as ever in the give-away that Obama and the Republicans agreed upon. This is even bigger than the other compromises. Then he gave a press conference on Tuesday and gave a Martihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11341915969684349287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-10278972611081060932010-12-07T12:15:47.321+02:002010-12-07T12:15:47.321+02:00I get a kick out of how many hits Steamboat Willie...I get a kick out of how many hits Steamboat Willie continues to get in this forum. I assume these are others looking in on our forum.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-78754306475975333502010-12-07T09:14:07.287+02:002010-12-07T09:14:07.287+02:00Well, this latest move by Obama defies all creduli...Well, this latest move by Obama defies all credulity. What does he really hope to gain by giving into the Republicans on the tax cuts? There is no "compromise" here. The loss in revenue will only add to the deficit, and he will have a hard time explaining to federal employees why they should accept pay freezes at the expense of tax cuts to the wealthy.<br /><br />I suppose he felt it James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-1662874414548350402010-12-06T01:52:22.425+02:002010-12-06T01:52:22.425+02:00I just saw Inside Job about the collapse on Wall S...I just saw Inside Job about the collapse on Wall Street, and am simply stunned. It's not that he exposes anything particularly new, but he does an amazing job in telling the story, and showing how politics starting with Reagan all the way through Obama perpetuated what went on there. <br /><br />This is, alas, another one of those films that will probably just disappear without much of a avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-87830227421708056352010-12-02T13:17:18.997+02:002010-12-02T13:17:18.997+02:00I haven't read Blight's book. Must look f...I haven't read Blight's book. Must look for it.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01343768762996537750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-41184658632565735602010-12-02T10:24:06.315+02:002010-12-02T10:24:06.315+02:00This is the sad part, rick. The attempt by so man...This is the sad part, rick. The attempt by so many historians over the years to parse out the Civil War, push the issue of slavery into the background and essentially make it a "war over states' rights," or simply a history of the military campaigns, is appalling in my view. It gives intellectual credence to this long held Southern fantasy. David Blight discusses this very well James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-55747627529791455772010-12-01T18:46:46.155+02:002010-12-01T18:46:46.155+02:00For as long as the American Civil War has been a t...For as long as the American Civil War has been a topic of debate, there have been those who seek to accomplish intellectually what the Confederacy was not able to accomplish militarily. And oddly enough, they have been quite successful.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01343768762996537750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-32349986824516683842010-12-01T17:13:43.710+02:002010-12-01T17:13:43.710+02:00After thinking about it last night, I came to the ...After thinking about it last night, I came to the conclusion that, paraphrasing Robert, "where you sit is where you stand." <br /><br />Certainly from the South's perspective, the war was about "preserving our way of life" -- i.e., the right to keep enslaved labor. From the North's perspective, particularly as represented by Lincoln and his leadership -- and with avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-50507348041185766112010-12-01T08:45:36.721+02:002010-12-01T08:45:36.721+02:00Lincoln may not have wanted the war to be fought o...Lincoln may not have wanted the war to be fought over slavery, but it was. He tried everything to keep the border states in the Union, even later deferring the Emancipation Proclamation to those slave states that stayed in the Union until after the war. I guess you could have called it the 500 lb. elephant in the room.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-36351025282066608882010-12-01T06:47:34.866+02:002010-12-01T06:47:34.866+02:00From the article:
“The North did not go to war to...From the article:<br /><br />“The North did not go to war to end slavery, it went to war to hold the country together and only gradually did it become anti-slavery — but slavery is why the South seceded.” <br /><br />Robert may disagree with me on this, and he knows a lot more Civil War history than I do, but as I recall Lincoln was willing to compromise on all sorts of questions related to avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-66377216860802657762010-12-01T05:57:16.917+02:002010-12-01T05:57:16.917+02:00". . . it's my understanding that Lincoln...". . . it's my understanding that Lincoln did not threaten to fight a war over slavery. As I understand it from what I've read, he threatened war over secession."<br /><br />But if Lincoln was willing to fight a war over seccession, and since the southern states would not have seceded but for the issue of slavery, it seems to me that Lincoln was also willing to fight a war over Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01343768762996537750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-60480174052883661472010-12-01T05:29:07.701+02:002010-12-01T05:29:07.701+02:00The South used the same theory of its "rights...The South used the same theory of its "rights" to maintain Jim Crow laws and oppose the Civil Rights movement. The argument just doesn't hold up, in my opinion.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01343768762996537750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-81191819964974828392010-12-01T04:22:24.900+02:002010-12-01T04:22:24.900+02:00Actually, I would argue that to some extent -- not...Actually, I would argue that to some extent -- not states rights so much as anti-secession. This is where the nuances of history are so interesting, and historians have to be careful they don't ignore the facts to fit the accepted narrative. <br /><br />And this is where new books on Lincoln can shed some light (I hope Foner does). As much of an icon and hero he is in our history, it's avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-27596161182745398822010-12-01T00:48:33.314+02:002010-12-01T00:48:33.314+02:00Ouch! (I think Robert would probably argue that t...Ouch! (I think Robert would probably argue that the war was fought over states' rights.)Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01343768762996537750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-72910564243187781582010-11-30T21:20:53.185+02:002010-11-30T21:20:53.185+02:00It gets so tiresome. The South has been "cel...It gets so tiresome. The South has been "celebrating" the Civil War ever since "Redemption," during which they beat back Reconstruction. There are so many schmucks who still believe this was a war over states' rights and not slavery. There is nothing you can say to change their minds. It is truly hopeless.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-80971745673759781022010-11-30T17:56:33.710+02:002010-11-30T17:56:33.710+02:00A celebration of states' rights and secession ...A celebration of states' rights and secession -- this should give everyone pause:<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/us/30confed.htmlavrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-82344809959270170862010-11-25T07:44:47.585+02:002010-11-25T07:44:47.585+02:00Happy Thanksgiving!Happy Thanksgiving!Martihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11341915969684349287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-34652095403238030892010-11-24T13:36:27.277+02:002010-11-24T13:36:27.277+02:00Pynchon used the Transit of Venus in his book Maso...Pynchon used the Transit of Venus in his book Mason & Dixon,<br /><br />http://www.thomaspynchon.com/mason-dixon/extra/cape.html<br /><br />to introduce readers to the intrepid surveyors.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-80743648155446851872010-11-23T16:08:34.600+02:002010-11-23T16:08:34.600+02:00We needed a new meander.... Beautiful.We needed a new meander.... Beautiful.avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-5377051687153442452010-11-23T16:06:47.226+02:002010-11-23T16:06:47.226+02:00BBC did a nice special on Cousteau the other night...BBC did a nice special on Cousteau the other night, noting that he switched from aviation to sea life, following an accident that resulted in his honorable discharge from the French Air Force. One of life's fortuitous turns of events.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.com