Author: NewMexiKen

Best line of the day

“First, implicit in this characterization of Franken is the notion of the Senate as a decorous gentlemen’s club. I doubt that club ever existed in reality; but in any case, these days the World’s Greatest Deliberative Body is, not to put too fine a point on it, chock full o’ nuts. James Inhofe: I rest my case.”

Paul Krugman commenting that Al Franken is a policy wonk.

“In fact, the only elected official I know who’s wonkier than Al Franken is Rush Holt, my congressman — and he used to be the assistant director of Princeton’s plasma physics lab. (The campaign’s bumper stickers read, ‘My Congressman IS a rocket scientist.’)”

When in the Course of human events

It was the Declaration of Independence that was approved by the Second Continental Congress on this date in 1776.

Independence itself was voted two days earlier. We celebrate the anniversary of the birth certificate, not the birth.

The signing of the embossed copy we recognize as THE Declaration of Independence began on August 2nd.

And some Independence Day geography trivia

Anyone can look these up. How well can you do from knowledge you already have? Answers are in comments (no peeking).

1. Of the 50 states, 24 meet the sea (or tidewater); that is, their lowest elevation is sea level (well, actually Louisiana (minus 8 feet) and California (minus 282 feet) go below sea level, but that’s irrelevant here). Of the remaining 26 states that do not meet sea level, which has the lowest elevation?

Special bonus question: Which has second lowest elevation?

2. Of the 50 states, the 13 westernmost states have elevations above 11,000 feet. Texas has the next highest elevation (8,749) followed by South Dakota (7,242). The next highest elevation is in a state east of the Mississippi River. Which state is it?

3. As we all know since Katrina, New Orleans has sections of the city that are below sea level (minus 8 feet is the lowest). Which of the 50 largest cities (by population) has the highest elevation? (As a point of reference, the 50th largest city is Wichita, Kansas, population 354,000.)

4. The mnemonic for remembering the Great Lakes is HOMES. Arrange the letters by the size of the lakes.

Special bonus question: Four of the lakes are within 32 feet of the same elevation. The other is 326 feet lower. What comes in between the lowest lake and the next one upstream?

5. Of the 50 states, which is the easternmost, southernmost, westernmost and northernmost?

Independence Day trivia quiz

  1. Based on their age when they took office, Theodore Roosevelt (42) is the youngest president the U.S. has had. John F. Kennedy (43) is the second youngest. Who is the third youngest president? Fourth youngest? (Both were 46 and some months. Barack Obama is fifth youngest.
  2. Who was the oldest president?
  3. Alaska is the largest state, Texas second. Which state is the third largest? Fourth largest? Fifth?
  4. Rhode Island is the smallest state, Delaware second. Which state is the third smallest? Fourth smallest? Fifth?
  5. The highest mountain in the eastern U.S. is in which state?
  6. The largest county in the U.S. is San Bernardino, California (20,105 square miles). The smallest county (26 square miles) is?
  7. The boundary with Mexico is 1,933 miles. The boundary with Canada is about (1) half as long, (2) the same as with Mexico, (3) half again as long as the boundary with Mexico, (4) more than twice as long as the boundary with Mexico?
  8. Three first ladies earned post-graduate degrees. Which three?
  9. True or false, the Liberty Bell cracked ringing to celebrate the Declaration of Independence.
  10. The monarch to whom the Declaration of Independence is addressed is (1) Louis XIV, (2) Elizabeth I, (3) Edward VIII, (4) George III?

Bonus question: Quick, without looking, are there more red stripes or white stripes in the American flag?

Answers in comments. No peeking.

Unintended sex ed

Imagine, you and your kid are watching what’s supposed to be a DVD retrospective of the past school year. The video shows children sharing stories, clapping, then … sex. And not just sex, but sex involving your kid’s fifth grade teacher.

“It goes from my son, straight to her on the couch,” recalled “Joe,” a parent who wished to remain anonymous. “My son’s reaction was, ‘Dad, is that Ms. Defanti?'”

Yes, it was.

It was, of course, just poor editing. The Scavenger has a few more details. Great photo.

Gettysburg, the third day

Having failed on July 2 to turn either of Meade’s flanks (Culp’s Hill and the Round Tops), Lee decided on the 3rd to assault the Union center. James Longstreet, who would command the attack, wrote later that he told Lee: “General, I have been a soldier all my life. I have been with soldiers engaged in fights by couples, by squads, companies, regiments, divisions, and armies, and should know, as well as anyone, what soldiers can do. It is my opinion that no fifteen thousand men ever arrayed for battle can take that position.” But Lee had made up his mind — and he had already issued the orders. Two divisions from A.P. Hill’s Third Corps and one — Pickett’s — from Longstreet’s First Corps were to make the advance. It’s known as Pickett’s Charge, but more correctly it is the Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble Charge.

Gettysburg Day ThreeTo prepare for the assault — to cripple the Union defenses — Lee order a massive artillery strike. The 163 Confederate cannons began firing at 1:07 PM. The Union artillery returned fire with nearly the same number. The Confederate aim was high and smoke curtained the targets. Little damage was done to the Union infantry. After a time, Union artillery commander Henry Hunt ordered his guns to cease firing — to save ammunition, cool the guns, and lure the rebels forward.

Forward they came, 14,000 men in a formation a mile wide, moving across open fields for three-quarters of a mile. The Union artillery opened on them with shot and shell and ultimately canister (shells filled with metal). At 200 yards, the Union infantry on the Confederate front opened fire, while other Union units moved out to attack both sides of the charge. Of the 14,000 in the advance, perhaps 200 breached the first Union line before being repulsed. Of the 14,000, half did not return.

Lee was defeated and withdrew from Gettysburg. While the war lasted 22 more months, the brief moment when the 200 reached the Union line was considered the high-water mark for the confederacy. Gettysburg totals: 25,000 Union casualties; 28,000 Confederate casualties.

Map: National Park Service

On the second day of July

… in 1776 the Continental Congress approved a resolution declaring independence. Twelve of the 13 colonies voted in favor. (New York did not approve independence until July 9th.)

Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.

That it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign Alliances.

That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the respective Colonies for their consideration and approbation.

The Declaration of Independence stating the reasons for independence was approved two days later (and not signed until August).

… in 1863 the second day of battle was fought at Gettysburg.

… in 1877 the Noble laureate Hermann Hesse was born.

… in 1881 Charles J. Guiteau assassinated President James A. Garfield.

… in 1908 Thurgood Marshall was born.

Thurgood Marshall, pillar of the civil rights revolution, architect of the legal strategy that ended the era of official segregation and the first black Justice of the Supreme Court, died today. A major figure in American public life for a half-century, he was 84 years old.

The New York Times (1993)

… in 1937 Amelia Earhart was lost.

Coast Guard headquarters here received information that Miss Earhart probably overshot tiny Howland Island because she was blinded by the glare of an ascending sun. The message from the Coast Guard cutter Itasca said it it was believed Miss Earhart passed northwest of Howland Island about 3:20 P.M. [E.D.T.], or about 8 A.M., Howland Island time. The Itasca reported that heavy smoke was bellowing from its funnels at the time, to serve as a signal for the flyer. The cutter’s skipper expressed belief the Earhart plane had descended into the sea within 100 miles of Howland.

The New York Times (1937)

American Heritage has a lengthy essay on Earhart: Searching for Amelia Earhart.

… in 1946 the Air Force says a weather balloon crashed near Roswell, New Mexico.

… in 1961 Ernest Hemingway committed suicide at his home in Ketchum, Idaho.

… in 1964 President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act.

Today is the day Richard Petty turns 72.

Today is the day Luci Baines Johnson, the younger daughter of President Lyndon Johnson, turns 62.

Larry David turns 62 today as well.

Lindsay Lohan is 23 today.

Top 100 Books: The Meta-List

“Declaring the best book ever written is tricky business. Who’s to say what the best is? We went one step further: we crunched the numbers from 10 top books lists (Modern Library, the New York Public Library, St. John’s College reading list, Oprah’s, and more) to come up with The Top 100 Books of All Time. It’s a list of lists — a meta-list. Let the debate begin.”

Newsweek Books | Newsweek.com

1. War and Peace
2. 1984
3. Ulysses
4. Lolita
5. The Sound and the Fury