#4 James Madison: the most libertarian of the Founding Fathers Jefferson was steeped in the readings of natural rights but had too much trust in majority rule and the will of the people to qualify for the title, I believe.
He turned against his erstwhile ally Alexander Hamilton when Hamilton was balancing power too far in favor of the national government versus the states. He was Jefferson's partner in organizing the Democratic-Republican party (some would say Jefferson couldn't have done it without him). Later, he argued for the power of a state to not enforce the unconstitutional Sedition Act, which made it a crime to criticize the president.
At 5'4, 100 pounds, Madison was our shortest president, and was physically frail, subject to epilepsy, and bookish. Besides Woodrow Wilson, Madison was arguably our most learned president - the Federalist Papers are as dense and thoughtful writings as anything I've read in school.
James was the first president to wear pants instead of knee breaches. His voluptuous wife, Dolly Madison, was the first real ceremonial first lady we had. During the War of 1812, the British attacked DC (ultimately burning the White House) and caused the politicians to flee. Dolly rode in on a horse at the last minute and rescued some valuable paintings. America's lack of preparedness for the war probably tarnished James' otherwise stellar career, which might be why Jefferson is remembered better (as seen by his likeness on our money and on our monuments). But the War of 1812 lacked the violation of civil liberties characterizing many of our wars. England was seizing ships and kidnapping sailors, and Congress declared war. Most private banks were in New England and opposed the war and the government could not compel them to lend money. There was no national bank, since Madison let it expire in 1811, not believing the elastic clause allowed it. He changed his mind after the war and signed a Second Bank of the US in 1816.
Madison had considered freeing his slaves when he died, but Dolly persuaded him not to because the spendthrift children were in debt.
It's a travesty that we don't have a national monument for James Madison. But perhaps things are turning around - Madison was apparently the most popular girl's name for infants last year.
***Last time, one of the important pieces of trivia I left out was that Jefferson supported the national assumption of state debts, a Hamilton proposal, in exchange for a capitol in the South. That's why the capitol was built on the swamp today known as D.C.
John Adams, Old Muttonhead, and the Creole Bastard John Adams was offered the job of writing the Declaration of Independence, but suggested the more popular Thomas Jefferson do it instead. When he negotiated the Peace Treaty ending the Revolutionary War, Adams, in the Massachusetts Puritanical tradition, was irked by the more fun-loving negotiator Ben Franklin. He was not a participant in the Constitutional Convention, because he was ambassador to Great Britain at the time. He was a Unitarian, but some argue he was really a Deist (as GW had been).
He was the first vice president and called GW "Old Muttonhead" behind his back.
He was the first president to live in the largely unfurnished White House.
Adams belonged to the Federalist Party but the real head of the party was Alexander Hamilton, who was barred from the presidency due to being born in the British West Indies. Hamilton feared what he viewed as Adams obstreperous demeanor* and independence of mind and secretly plotted to have the Electoral College elect the more pliable Thomas Pinckney. The plot backfired and resulted in Thomas Jefferson, the leader of the other political party, being vice president. Adams never forgave Hamilton, who he called "the creole bastard." Adams' corpulent appearance earned himself the nickname "His Rotundity." Hamilton had spies in Adams' cabinet and attempted to undermine him.
The 1790s was a highly partisan era; you might not attend the funeral of a friend or relative belonging to the other political party. Though he and Thomas Jefferson were once friends they were not on speaking terms during his administration. Years later, they wrote letters again.
As president he waged an undeclared war on French ships, which was seizing American ships. The Sedition Act made it a crime to criticize the presidents and the Alien Act allowed him to deport any "dangerous" immigrant. With higher taxes and censorship, he wasn't popular enough to be reelected. However, Adams worked hard to avoid a full-scale war with France, negotiated a peace when Napoleon came to power, and sought to be remembered for that on his tombstone.
On the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, July 4 1826, John Adams died, and his last words were "Thomas Jefferson lives." He didn't know that Jefferson died a few hours earlier the same day.
*"He is distrustful, obstinate, excessively vain, and takes no counsel from anyone."-Thomas Jefferson.
"He is as disinterested as the being who made him."-Thomas Jefferson
New Apartment Hunt Suddenly More Pressing My roommate/landlord gave me an expiration of lease notice today. I was noncomittal when he asked me about staying in June - I just had too many other things to think about. So he found a new renter to begin September. The West Hollywood location is a possibility but I'd really like a place with a dog that isn't my own responsibility.
Also, I found a subletter for July, so I'll need to find a place to stay July 15-22 and 28-31. If worse comes to worse, I'll rent a place myself.
In 1951, you might have gotten... Before massive lawsuits,
Radar Magazine reports that you could have gotten the
U238 ATOMIC ENERGY LAB!!! Complete with real U238 uranium and a comic book named "Learn how Dagwood Splits the Atom!"
No record of it hurting anyone, but wouldn't they worry about other countries learning about atomic secrets? I guess the comic book presented what they already knew.
ipod question At high quality, my ipod could only hold about 100 songs. At mpeg quality, it can hold a lot more, but you notice the quality difference right away. Is there some intermediate quality stage I can convert files to?
LA friends: Who wants to see Borat? I propose this Friday as a great day to make benefit for glorious nation of Kazakhstan. True, it will be crowded, being the second weekend, but the following weekend I know scottsch's infectious laughter will be in New Hampshire, and two weeks is Thanksgiving. Do you really want to put off the laughs for that long?
I know Kazakhstan will prefer to have us going back to the way we used to think about them (that is to say, not thinking about them at all), but why make them happy?
Santa Monica Sunset I moved out to California partly for the aesthetics and so far I've only seen one beach sunset. Is it realistic to make a 20 minute drive using backroads to Santa MOnica beach by 6:14 (from Culver City)?
Snooty schools Which high schools in LA and its immediate surrounding neighborhoods/towns - public and private - have kids with the richest parents? You know, the kind who will pay $80/hour for SAT prep and buy the kids cars for the 16th birthday?
How many unitarians does it take to screw in a light bulb? How many Christians does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Pentecostal : 10 One to change the bulb, and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness.
Presbyterians : None Lights will go on and off at predestined times.
Roman Catholic : None Candles only.
Unitarians : We choose not to make a statement either in favor of or against the need for a light bulb. However, if in your own journey you have found that light bulbs work for you, you are invited to write a poem or compose a modern dance about your light bulb for the next Sunday service, in which we will explore a number of light bulb traditions, including incandescent, fluorescent, 3-way, long-life and tinted, all of which are equally valid paths to luminescence.
Baptists : At least 15. One to change the light bulb, and three committees to approve the change and decide who brings the potato salad and fried chicken .
Episcopalians: 3 One to call the electrician, one to mix the drinks and one to talk about how much better the old one was.
Mormons : 5 One man to change the bulb, and four wives to tell him how to do it.
Methodists : Undetermined Whether your light is bright, dull, or completely out, you are loved. You can be a light bulb, turnip bulb, or tulip bulb. Bring a bulb of your choice to the Sunday lighting service and a covered dish to pass.
Nazarene : 6 One woman to replace the bulb while five men review church lighting policy.
Lutherans: None Lutherans don't believe in change.
d:>) \m/ Ever have one of those moments where you realize someone has implemented an idea you were mulling over and planning to implement one day? Chuck Klosterman (also author of Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs) has written an allegedly witty analysis of the metal subculture to which he belonged since 1983. I had thought about doing a cultural analysis of heavy metal at one point, held back by too many other unrelated projects. And these days, seems no culture critics will take your work seriously unless you put a Marxist ("workers' children angry about their low class") or Postmodern ("they hunger for power because power constellations are all around them and being used against it") spin on it. I think Cbuck goes beyond my high school teachers explanation: backlash against disco.
In Rome, British Cows do as the Romans do Since I didn't know the lay of the land in DC so well, I missed out on a lot of slurpees and Coldstone Ice Cream I would have gulped in Boston. I went to Coldstone twice and got vanilla and cookie dough, love it size, for 1400 calories. NO kidding - almost as much real food as zarex eats in a day. Do you think I lost weight?
I'm still 160 and I can still pinch about an inch standing up. Seems I stay the same either way.
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I used to tell people that although there was a Pravda bar in Boston and a People's REpublic of Cambridge in Cambridge, with communist artistic motiffs, but that they would never have a "Third Reich" bar with swastikas. But in India, a Hitler's Cross restaurant opened up, with pictures of the Fuher and all. Jewish Indians pressured the restaurant to change its name. Yahoo reports that "Hitler was a bad man, but what's wrong with having food here?" said Ashwini Phadnis, 22, a microbiology student as she tucked away a piece of chocolate cake.
Linguists believe British cows who spend more time with their British farmers moo with British accents. It is done to distinguish themselves from their less sophisticated peers.
Osamsa Bin Laden's former mistress said that he was obsessed with Whitney Houston, and liked the Wonder Years and Miami Vice. He joked about killing Bobby Brown and making Houston, a Muslim deep inside, join his harem. Of course - who knows how reliable this mistress is.
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Hot dogs are now coated in viruses that kill bacteria (bateriaphage! Six of them!).
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Tom and Jerry had some scenes with the animated characters smoking. But now those have been cut out. They can still chase after each other with chainsaws though.
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I'm about to buy a used DVD player from a guy whose email is "reeseseater" and whose real name (as listed by the email) is Monkey Brains and whose real real name is Arthur Reeses. And he's delivering it on a Friday night at 1:23 AM after a party he's been to. I trust this guy for a quality DVD.
Just bought it. Blond Polish guy with dreadlocks and a rainbow headband.
Behavior Styles Which of these best characterizes me? I found it really hard to pick one on many of the questions. If you want to do this for yourself, more instructions on how to use these choices are below.
Choice 1:
A. Spontaneous B. Planful C. Nice D. Direct
Choice 2:
A. Thoughtful B. Assertive C. Logical D. Informal
Choice 3:
A. Task oriented B. Relationship oriented C. Detail oriented D. Idea oriented
Choice 4:
A. Accepting B. Challenging C. Talkative D. Organized
Choice 5:
A. Flexible B. Disciplined C. Amiable D. Strong willed
Choice 6:
A. Detail B. Big picture C. My way D. Your way
Choice 7:
A. Competitive B. Cooperative C. Collaborative D. Controlled
Choice 8:
A. Accuracy B. Innovation C. People D. Results
Choice 9:
A. Active B. Reserved C. Dominant D. Amiable
Choice 10:
A. Too demanding B. Too flexible C. Too rigid D. Too nice
Choice 11:
A. Excitement B. Concensus C. Analysis D. Decisions
Choice 12:
A. I love working with people B. I am organized C. I love ideas D. I go after what I want
I know this is a really boring question, but can someone recommend a bank that has ATMs convenient to UCLA/Westwood/Palms and has no charge for a checking account (and ideally, the first few hundred checks!)?
LA people I should be arriving in LA at 8:30 PM on Saturday night. Any poker games or other fun festivities? Anyone feel like driving me from the airport to Palms in exchange for dinner?
massage therapy All of this sitting down at a computer has made me tense. Can anyone recommend a good massage therapist at Farragut NOrth or within 1 or 2 metro stops?
Nigerian Scammer Scammed Recently a friend sent a link to an account by an individual who said he had successfully scammed a Nigerian-type scammer.
It seems he had received a typical e-mail solicitation for help with funds and had replied by indicating that the inquiry had unfortunately come to him "during their busy season" as he and "his organization" were deeply involved in evaluating candidates for art school scholarships (the field being folk wood carving) ranging from $ 25000 to $150,000. He provided an official type organizational name and heading in his response so as to make his response seem more authentic.
Within a few days he had received an inquiry from the same locale from a supposedly different individual who had an interest in applying for the scholarship. Of course the scholarships were bogus but the playful anti-scammer played along, sending the "committee's requirements" and eventually getting actual wood carvings fed-exed to him.
The carvings he received were quite detailed but he was able to explain in the first instance that apparent "shrinkage" during shipment had disqualified the first. The letter theorized that humidity undergone during the passage had caused the carving to shrink from the "minimum requirement" of 10 inches to about 3--4 inches. He sent digitized photos back to prove the assertion. Of course he had used computer software to create the theoretical shrinkage. He did offer to send it back but when asked allowed for a second submission. The second carving was likewise rejected because apparently "an African hamster" of some type had burrowed into the carving and ruined it! The wood carving was a wooden version of a commodore 64--complete with all the keys, ports, logo, etc. Again a digitized photo of the "hamster hole" and the happy hamster was sent to Nigeria by way of explanation as to why no scholarship was forthcoming. Along the way, he had sent enough encouraging remarks to keep his correspondent hooked.
Amazingly, he has continued the relationship as his "victim" having recognized a "kindred" entrepreneur offered to go into business with him. The "Nigerian" scammer had spent over $ 150. sending products to the anti-scammer overall.
I really enjoyed reading through the correspondence, especially the part about the hamster and the Commodore 64. I don't know if the whole account is authentic or just the product of someone's imagination but whoever it is certainly had a lot of time on their hands!
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