Obama On Gen. Shinseki: "He Was Right!"

Obama's appointment of General Eric Shinseki to head the Department of Veterans Affairs is great news. He was one of the few in the high ranks of the military who were courageous enough to stand up to Rumsfeld and Bush publicly and say that 300,000 or more troops would be needed to invade Iraq. For his honesty and courage, Rummy pushed him out. I was outraged at the time. I can't think of anyone better suited for the job of serving our veterans. There's a sweet justice at play here with Obama's appointment of Shinseki, indicating a complete break with the Bush maladministration in the government's care and treatment of veterans.

Oh, Noooo!

The new monk is assigned to copy the old texts by hand. Noticing that he'll be copying from copies and not from the original manuscripts, he tells an elderly monk, "If there is an error in the first copy, that error would be continued in all the subsequent copies."

The elderly monk agrees and goes to the cellar with a copy to check it against the original. Hours go by and nobody sees him. Concerned, the new monk searches for him in the cellar. Hearing wailing, he finds the old monk leaning over one of the original books. Looking up, he sobs, "The word is celebrate."

From M. in Texas. (Not Mike)

By Popular Demand...

 

...of one. After all the fun with Lapin's picture, my sweet friend, Dennis, suggested that I post a picture of me as a girl. I do better than that. I give you the girl above, as a flower girl in my aunt's wedding, and the baby below, that I once was. My mother always fretted that the photographer did not puff my two sleeves in the same shape. I believe that ruined the picture for her.

By the way, that wallpaper is in my bedroom, and I hate it. I didn't really like it from the beginning. It was the last that I picked out, and I ran out of energy and picked any old thing. I've never bothered to change it, because the thought of the disruption to my life is more than I want to face. By the time I go to that sweet bye-and-bye, my house will be like Miss Haversham's.

The frames are antique, more antique than I am. My sister found them in her rovings in estate sales and antique shops. I had to take the pictures from an angle, so the flash would not be in the picture.

Check out the curl on top of the head in this one. Yes, it's in real old-timey sepia.

 

I Missed It! How Did That Happen?

From the Times-Picayune:
Louisiana Resisted Prohibition. [Comment: no surprise]

At least the southern parishes did. In 1918, the state senate considered ratifying of the 18th Amendment, which would outlaw the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors."
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Senators deadlocked 20-20, but during a special session in the heat of August, the "dries" found an extra vote, and Louisiana approved the ban on booze 21-20, the slimmest margin in any state.

Two years later, on Jan. 16, 1920, America outlawed alcohol. For 13 years, 10 months and 17 days, any bartender who sold a shot of whiskey violated the U.S. Constitution.

Friday, December 5, was the anniversary of the repeal of prohibition. How could I miss posting on that momentous occasion? Seventy-five years ago, on December 5, 1933, the state conventions ratified the 21st Amendment, which repealed 18th Amendment. Yay!

Prohibition was no more than an exercise in stupidity. As though people stopped drinking. They simply went underground to drink. Unfortunately, there were casualties.

But after 1920, the great bars of New Orleans vanished as liquor consumption went underground. The Sazerac House closed. The New York Times reported that Henry Ramos, who "won a suitcase full of World Fair prizes" for his frothy gin fizz, was then mixing paint and varnishes, giving them "names that once belonged to drinks that only gentlemen knew." The Old Absinthe House somehow stayed open but was later padlocked -- for a year.

Delmonico's restaurant was busted in 1921, and 20 gallons of wine, 75 bottles of "good liquor," one case of whiskey and two dozen bottles of beer were found. That same year Commander's Palace was raided.

"Count" Arnaud Cazenave tussled with Prohibition agents for years. The Quarter Club, which he leased, was raided in 1924. Maxime's, a bar he reportedly ran, was caught with bootleg booze in 1927 and the count's home on Esplanade Avenue was also searched. Finally, in 1930, Arnaud's restaurant itself got a visit from agents. A jury of good New Orleanians, however, refused to convict Cazenave.

The authorities in New Orleans cooperated as little as possible with the feds, and the city remained one of the wettest in the country. One hour after FDR signed the repeal of prohibition into law, the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans received its first legal order of whiskey. Days before the official legalization of alcoholic drinks, speakeasies began openly serving cocktails, with little fear of reprisals.

Seventy-five years ago today, according to The Times-Picayune, "for the first time in the past 13 years, the lights were turned out in one of the city's leading French restaurants as cafe brulot was prepared before an admiring group of patrons."

And tonight, waiters at Arnaud's, Antoine's, Galatoire's and Commander's Palace -- all restaurants founded before 1920 -- probably will once again dazzle diners with pots of flaming, brandy-spiked cafe brulot, keeping alive a connection to the years before Prohibition.

What kind of a country would prohibit serving café brûlot?

The Prophet Isaiah

DUCCIO di Buoninsegna - "Isaiah" - 1308-11

Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.

A voice cries out:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’

A voice says, ‘Cry out!’
And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’
All people are grass,
their constancy is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand for ever.
Isaiah 40:1-8

It's readings like the one above that draw me toward hope and expectancy in the season of Advent. Have I said that it's my favorite season of the church year?

Picture from the Web Gallery of Art.

Beware Of The Doghouse!

For your morning pleasure. Thanks to Doug for this one.

I believe I recognize a famous actress.

Renz And Susan S. Guessed Right!

 

Renz and Susan S. guessed right. I award them the prize of a shared trip to Jamaica (in New York), as soon as I can get the money together.

The picture is our own dear LapinBizarre, aka Roger, when he was a cute little boy, before he had grown into his bizarreness. With him is his sweet little dog, Trixie, who gave him part of his porn name in this contest.

I thought someone would guess. Did you truly believe that MadPriest would give me a picture of himself? His appearance remains a deep, dark mystery, except for what DP gave away in his comment. And he's met him! As I told Lapin, "What do I know? All Englishmen look alike to me."

Lapin and I had many laughs by email over the comments to the "Guess Who?" post, especially those who psyched out the personality from the boy's picture. I commanded him as firmly as I could not to spoil the game, especially after it got to be so much fun.

Thanks, Lapin, for the use of the adorable boy and dog picture and for the many other contributions that you make to my humble blog. Thanks to all of you who played the game.

Pearl Harbor - In Memoriam

From the Naval Historical Center:

The 7 December 1941 Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor was one of the great defining moments in history. A single carefully-planned and well-executed stroke removed the United States Navy's battleship force as a possible threat to the Japanese Empire's southward expansion. America, unprepared and now considerably weakened, was abruptly brought into the Second World War as a full combatant.

World War I, or The Great War, was to be the war that ended all wars, but - Alas! - it was not to be. The twentieth century was full of bloody wars. Early in 21st century, we were once again at war on two fronts. When will we ever learn?

World War I

World War II

Korean War

Vietnam War

Desert Storm

War in Afghanistan

War in Iraq



Prayer For Those in the Armed Forces of Our Country

Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Book of Common Prayer, p. 823)

Prayer for Peace

Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
(Book of Common Prayer, p.815)

Photo from Wiki.

Thought For The Day From A Friend Fran

George Bush is like the national Katrina. The aftermath is devastating beyond imagining.

I don't post email messages without permission. If the owner wants to claim this one, I shall acknowledge her.



Pictures from About.com.

Dog Logic

 

The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue. - Anonymous

 

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself. - Josh Billings

 

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking
your face. -Ben Williams

 

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person. - Andy Rooney

 

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man. -Mark Twain

From my brother-in-law, who would die for his Corgi, Zoey.