Notes from around the Human Experience…
AMERICA, RIP: The UPI article was routine, reporting that almost two-thirds of those surveyed oppose the GOP healthcare plan.
Bully For Them: As they should. The GOP plan is petty and vindictive, born not of any desire to do something good for our country, but done out of spite, to negate something simply because the Democrats did it.
Back On Message: The accompanying photo, however, was telling. It showed protesters carrying signs that said “Guaranteed Healthcare For Californians” and “Health Care Is A Human Right”.
Fly In The Ointment: No, medical care is not a human right. Medical care is a human need, of course, just like food, clothing and shelter are human needs, but medical care is not a human right.
Ladies And Gentlemen Of The Jury: Friends, we must start paying closer attention to what our government is doing to this once proud nation and ask ourselves:
How much do we want our government to do for us?
Because if we elevate medical care to the same plane as free speech and freedom of the press, what’s next? Our we going to let our government butt in to how we feed and clothe ourselves? What’s next, government provided shelter for everyone except the poor?
This Isn’t Official Daily Dose Policy, Is It?: Friends, the America of yesteryear is gone. Well, that’s not true. America is still here, but the American of yesteryear is gone. There was a time when, collectively, us Americans would not have tolerated government control of our lives like this, when all an American wanted our government providing was a chance to build a good life for ourselves.
That time, however, has passed We have accepted complete government meddling in medical care and we will probably accept whatever further chains our leaders choose to place on us.
The Bottom Line; The only thing government should be in charge of providing – under the supervision of a demanding and participating electorate, of course – is 24 hours every day to make something good happen for ourselves.
WHEN WILL A ROBERTO’S TACO SHOP MOVE IN?: The Mission San Diego de Alcala is founded in what is now San Diego, California by Father Junipero Serra on this date in 1769. Serra would ultimately found nine of the 21 missions built in California.
FunFact: The current church is the sixth to stand on the site.
Great Moments In US Capital Naming: President George Washington signs a bill establishing a new capital on the banks of the Potomac River on this date in 1790. The capital was then in New York City and the bill specified the capital would be moved to Philadelphia until the new federal district was ready.
Uh-Oh: The bill didn’t leave much margin for error, specifying the new capital was to be occupied by the first weekend in December, 1800 and, in fact, the new capitol building was not ready when Congress moved in.
Dry, Technical Matter: The new capital would be named after President Washington the following year.
The More Things Stay The Same, The More They Stay The Same: Congress back then wasn’t any different than Congress today, and no small amount of bickering went on about where a new capital would be located. However, unlike today, Congress back then was actually able to compromise and get something done.
Can We Go Bomb Somebody Now?: Mankind enters the Atomic Age on this date when the United States successfully tests the first nuclear bomb on this date in 1945 in New Mexico. The bomb left a crater five feet deep and twenty feet wide.
The government, of course, lied about what happened. When pesky civilians started inquiring about what the hell that bright light was, the Air Force was up to the challenge, issuing a statement saying a “considerable amount of high explosives and pyrotechnics exploded”.
FunFact: The Air Force actually had assorted press releases ready, depending on whether the test was successful or catastrophic.
3…2…1…Blastoff: Man’s greatest adventure begins on this date in 1969, when Apollo 11 blasts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to attempt man’s first landing on, and exploration of, the Moon. It came 3,340 days after President Kennedy had committed the United States to put men on the Moon before the end of the 1960’s.
Commanded by Neil Armstrong with Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, and spurred on by the tremendous applause of 3.6 billion Earthlings, Apollo 11 entered Earth orbit twelve minutes later and would begin heading toward the Moon after one-and-a-half orbits.
FunFact: The man who did the countdown – which is a brilliant example of knowing when to provide useful information and when to keep your yap shut – was NASA Chief of Public Information Jack King.
QuoteBook: Wait till I ‘m allowed to be wise after the event.– John le Carre, Our Kind of Traitor
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: Nelson Rockefeller was vice president of the United States under Gerald Ford. Like Ford, Rockefeller was nominated for the position under the terms of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Today’s Stumper: Which states contributed land for the new federal district that would become Washington, D.C.? – Answer next time!
