This Week in History- Civil Rights Act is Signed into Law

On July 2nd, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the historic Civil Rights Act. The Civil Rights Act prohibited discrimination in employment and education and outlawed segregation in public places such as schools, buses, parks and swimming pools. Johnson relied heavily on the Party of Lincoln, the Republican Party, to get this important legislation passed. The fact that most of the support for this bill came from the Republicans has somehow been forgotten in the recent narrative. Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen and future President, Richard Nixon, both Republicans, were two of the bill's most ardent supporters. The chief opponents were Democrat Senators Sam Ervin, Al Gore Sr. and Robert Byrd. Byrd, a former Klansman, who was often called the "conscience of the Senate," filibustered against the legislation for 14 straight hours before the final vote. The House of Representatives passed the bill by 289 to 126, a vote in which 79% of Republicans and 63% of Democrats voted yes. The Senate vote was 73 to 27, with 21 Democrats and only 6 Republicans voting no.

Historical Site- Monticello

Located just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia, this historical landmark was the estate of Thomas Jefferson. It is also this Founding Father's burial place. The estate lies on the summit of an 850-foot-high peak in the Southwest Mountains south of the Rivanna Gap. The name "Monticello" comes from the Italian word for "little mountain." Jefferson designed Monticello, as well as the University of Virginia. With the exception of one two year period, Monticello has appeared on the back-side of nickels since 1938.

Some more quick facts...

- The main house is divided into 43 rooms.

- Jefferson's library would become the core of the Library of Congress.

- Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both passed away on Independence Day in 1826.

Bad Guy of the Week- Che Guevara

For this, the first entry under bad guy of the week, I thought it would be a good idea to shine some light on a darling of the left. Go to any college campus and probably any Hollywood set and you'll find this guy's likeness on tee shirts and posters. Those who would sport the likeness of Che Guevara are either ill-informed, misinformed or lovers of Marxist thugs and murderers. Che Guevara was not someone to be admired or worshipped. He was, plain and simple, a thug and a murderer. You would be very hard pressed to find a Cuban resident of the United States who thought otherwise. People in this country would never think that it was okay to wear the likeness of Hitler on their shirt. The only difference between the two was the measure of their depravity. Please let your kids know about this guy - and don't let them think that he is properly portrayed by Hollywood (Benicio Del Toro played the monster - in a favorable light - in a recent movie).

Below is a link to a more accurate portrayal.

Click here.

Good Guy of the Week - Israel

Our most important strategic partner in the global war against Islamofascism and a country that shares our values - individual rights, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, real human rights. It is imperative for the United States to stand shoulder to shoulder with the State of Israel - for our own national interest, for the survival of Israel and for freedom throughout the world.

Israel is forever demonized by the forces of anti-semitism throughout the world. It is important to remember that this small nation (just slightly larger than the State of New Jersey) is surrounded almost entirely by enemies sworn to their extinction. Israel's supposed partner in the "peace process," the Palestinian Authority, has elected a government, Hamas, which is a terrorist organization and has in it's charter sworn to destroy Israel. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place. Luckily for the people of Israel, there are and have been uncompromising leaders - men and women - like Benjamin Netanyahu, Golda Mier and David Ben Gurion leading the way. Since the creation of the State of Israel in the wake of the holocaust and WWII, the Israelis have been attacked by coalitions of Arab nations - their neighbors - no less than three times, in 1948, 1967 and 1973. Each time, the Israelis prevailed. Each time, they were blamed and criticized. Against all odds, they have succeeded and built a beacon of freedom in a part of the world that knows little. It is incumbent on us, the greatest country the world has ever known to continue to support them. They are the good guys of the Middle East. Make no mistake about it. Watch the attached video by Michelle Bachmann, United States Representative from Minnesota. She is a courageous and patriotic woman. We could do a whole lot worse than to have her or someone like her as our President.

Post Update

We're on Sanibel time, so stay tuned for two posts tomorrow.

Constitution Sundays

My blog partner and daughter, Molly (the kid), has questioned my commitment to this summer's effort. Beginning today, I'm all in. Each Sunday's post will be on the document that lays out the first principles on which our great nation was founded- the Constitution. Coincidentally, these first principles are the sole reason for our nation's exceptionalism. The United States is the greatest nation the world has ever known and the Constitution is, inarguably, the main reason. Not so coincidentally, our current problems stem from our collective ignorance (sometimes willful as in the case of Nancy Pelosi) of the principles delineated in the Constitution. Over the course of the next ten weeks or so, we will attempt to educate those of you who are eager or even just willing to increase your knowledge. Click here to read an article by Charles Kesler that appeared about a year ago in National Review. It is a primer of sorts and a great way to kick off Constitution Sundays.

John Paul Jones Quote

"Without a respectable Navy, alas America!" - John Paul Jones.

John Paul Jones, the Father of the American Navy, is most renowned for his valiancy during the Revolutionary War. His most famous line, "I have not yet begun to fight!" was spoken during the battle between his ship, the Bonhomme Richard, and the HMS Serapis.

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to our blog mentor/ father/ Pop/ new surf bum! We love you!

Captain Ingraham's Stand - 21 June 1853

On June 21st, 1853, a man of Hungarian descent named Martin Koszta was seized in Smyrna, Greece, by a party of armed Greeks who were employed by the Austrian Consul-General. He was then imprisoned onboard an Austrian warship in the port. This man Koszta had been a leader in an attempt to free Hungary from Austrian rule. The attempt obviously failed and the young man fled to escape execution. In 1850 as now, people who yearned for freedom came to our shores. Koszta became an importer by trade and took out his first citizenship papers. On the day that he was seized, his business had taken him to this Mediterranean port. As his good fortune would have it, a small American war sloop was berthed in that same port – the USS St Louis, commanded by CAPT Duncan Ingraham. When CAPT Ingraham heard of the imprisonment of Koszta, he sought intervention by the American Consul. The Consul, who apparently had much in common with his modern day brethren, washed his hands of the incident because Koszta had only taken out his first citizenship papers. Perhaps he was concerned about offending the aggressors. Ingraham, on the other hand, being a courageous and audacious man who fully understood his obligations and responsibilities as a US Navy Officer, believed that under his oath of office he owed this man the protection of our flag. He boarded the much larger Austrian ship and demanded to see the prisoner, and our citizen. He was in chains and badly beaten. He asked Koszta one question: Do you ask the protection of the American Flag? Koszta nodded and the Captain said: “You shall have it” and left the ship. Later that day, three more Austrian ships sailed into Smyrna and it became apparent that the four were preparing to sail. Ingraham sent a junior officer to the Austrian flagship to tell the Admiral that any attempt to leave the harbor with our citizen aboard would be resisted with the appropriate level of force. He then ordered the decks of St Louis cleared for action and all was made ready for an attack on Hussar, which was much superior in size and armament. Suddenly, the ship’s lookout called out that the Hussar was lowering a boat which then rowed Koszta over to the American ship. CAPT Ingraham then went below and wrote out his letter of resignation from the United States Navy saying: “I did what I thought my oath of office required, but if I have embarrassed my country in any way, I resign.” The Senate refused his resignation with these words: “This battle that was never fought may turn out to be the most important battle in our Nation’s history.”

There have been four US Navy ships named after this brave Navy Captain. The latest is USS Ingraham (FFG-61).

American Historical sites - The Pentagon

The Pentagon, home to the Department of Defense, is the largest office building in the world, totaling 6,500,000 square feet. Standing 77 feet high, it is a true symbol of American exceptionalism. One may guess that it took several years to construct the Pentagon. However, it took merely 16 months! Construction commenced exactly 60 years before the terrorist attack on September 11th and was completed on January 15, 1943. Pressure to complete the building was added after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The American architect George Bergstrom designed the Pentagon. Possible sites for the building included Arlington Farm, adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery, and the Washington Hoover Airport site. President Roosevelt eventually selected the Hoover Airport site, so as to not obstruct the view of D.C. from the Arlington Cemetery. The original chosen site was the Arlington Farms, which was the reason for the pentagonal design. On September 11, 2001, a day that will forever be remembered by Americans, five al-Qaeda members crashed an American Airlines plane into the Western side of the Pentagon, killing 184 Americans. The reconstruction, known as the Phoenix Project, was completed by August 2002. An indoor memorial covers the area of impact.

On this blog...

Monday posts will be about a good guy/ally.

Tuesday posts will focus on a bad guy.

Wednesday posts will discuss a historical site.

Thursday posts will be about a historical event.

Friday posts will cover a current event.

Saturday posts will simply be a relevant quote.

And Sundays will be all about the Constitution.

Bob Gets Buckets!