Through the wonders of Technorati I’ve discovered a blog dedicated to organizing opposition to our current governor, Rod Blagojevich: Blogging Blagojevich’s Blunders. I’m sure I’ll be checking in there from time to time.

I was skeptical about Blagojevich largely on republican and democratic grounds—I don’t care much for the relatives of politicians divvying up political positions amongst themselves. And he hadn’t shown any great talents as a Congressman (other than the ability to speak Croatian). But to be honest I think he hasn’t done as bad a job as I’d feared. Then my expectations weren’t very high.

Here’s what’s caught my eye this morning:

• Val Prieto of Babalu remembers
  the Brothers to the Rescue planes shot down by the Cuban military.
• An amusing (and apt) line from Bull Moose:
  

  Sorry, but “Workers of the world unite – you have nothing to lose but your chainstores” is not an attractive slogan for this battle.

• Virginia Postrel has suggestions
  on how to get more female scientists. I had no problems in this area in my younger days but I don’t think
  that’s what she means. My own prescription: subsidize basic research via a “Moon Landing”-type project.
  There aren’t that many jobs for hard scientists these days (except medical-related) and scientists who
  have jobs are holding onto them for dear life—there’s less room for younger scientists to get in (and that
  does mean women since nearly all of the hard scientist job were held by men thirty years ago). Higher pay would attract
  more people into the hard sciences, too.
• The Llama Butchers remind us that this is the birthday of the painter Winslow Homer.
• macroblog has
  a great post on dollar-dumping by foreign central banks.
• Paul Marks of Samizdata posts
  about strengthening defense, cutting taxes, and balancing the budget simultaneously—in 491 AD.
• There’s an interesting discussion going on over at Winds of Change about Syria.

That’s the lot.

What shared values were those again?

¹
Declaration of the Rights of Man, 1789
²
Declaration of Independence, 1776
³
U. S. Constitution, Amendment I

If you don’t read Tim Blair, you miss brilliant satire like this. (hat tip: VodkaPundit)

Here’s what’s caught my eye this morning:

• Abu Aardvark questions the view—commonly held in the States—that Al Jazeera
  advocates terrorism using their coverage of the recent Zawahiri video as an example.
• Ann Althouse doesn’t
  think that the federalism case for upholding Oregon’s assisted-suicide law (currently before the Supreme Court)
  holds water.
• Does Dennis the Peasant live in the Red State Lake Wobegone?
• Callimachus of Done With Mirrors
  tells us a little of his family history. Very interesting. And different from my own family history. My
  mom once characterized us as “the family that had been in America the longest without getting rich”.
  We never owned slaves; we never owned land; we never farmed; we lived by our wits. Shows you where that
  gets you.
• Little Miss Attila has a solid post (mostly) on
  immigration policy.
• Outside the Beltway tells us Breaking up is hard to do.
• The best pastiche of Hunter S. Thompson of the week from The Cheerful Oncologist:
  Fear and Loathing in the E. R. (hat tip: shrinkette).
• Sissy Willis traces the origins of the blog much,
  much farther back.
• Athena of Terrorism Unveiled writes
  on nuclear anti-terrorism measures.
• Huh?.

That’s the lot.

I swore I wouldn’t do it. I tried not to do it. But once I’d started watching The Best Years of Our Lives on TV last night I just couldn’t help myself. It’s Number 37 on the American Film Institute’s List of 100 Greatest American Films and I think it should be higher. It’s very nearly a perfect movie. Every single character is acted with near-perfect pitch. William Wyler’s direction is flawless. The cinematography is incredible. And it’s the truest motion picture I’ve ever seen. With the best-deserved Best Supporting Actor award-winning performance in the history of cinema by Harold Russell.

If you’ve never seen this picture, you owe it to yourself to see it unedited, uncut, and without commercial interruptions. I guarantee you’ll take something away from it.

As you may or may not already be aware, members of the Watcher’s Council hold a vote every week on what they consider to be the most link-worthy pieces of writing around… per the Watcher’s instructions, I am submitting my own post, “What can we expect from Bush’s Grand Tour?” for consideration in the upcoming nominations process.
Here is the most recent winning council post, here is the most recent winning non-council post, here is the list of results for the latest vote, and here is the initial posting of all the nominees that were voted on.

Here’s what’s caught my eye this morning:

• Bithead is asking a number of provocative questions today here,
  here, and here.
  I can’t say that I agree with his answers completely but they sure are interesting questions.
• Becker and Posner contemplate immigration reform this week.
  Honestly, I believe that they’ve both gone completely around the bend.
• I see that FuturePundit Randall Parker is
  on top of what’s probably the most important story of the day: avian influenza. Will it mutate into
  a human pandemic?
• Manolo expresses my feeling exactly.
• Powerline has a fine Washington tribute.
• Video gamers who are devout Catholics rejoice! The Curt Jester
  has just the thing for you. Included are two games: Grand Theft Theology and Eternal Doom.
• Kevin Drum of The Washington Monthly
  has an interesting post on malpractice insurance. I wish some of the econbloggers would weigh in on this.
• Chuck Timmins of You Big Mouth, You
  continues his informative series on what the future may hold in China.

That’s the lot.

He was called “the American Cincinnatus” after the ancient Roman dictator who, after the crisis had been averted, left his power behind and returned to plowing his field. And, yes, the city of Cincinnati (of Cincinnatus in Latin) was named for George Washington. The picture on the left is a reconstructed composite of his features based on sculptures, paintings, and a life mask that was made of him.

Perhaps we know lots about him. He was the Father of Our Country, he couldn’t tell a lie, he led the Army of the American Revolution, he chopped down the cherry tree, he crossed the Delaware, he threw a silver dollar across the Rapahannock River.

Maybe we don’t know that during the French and Indian War he was a charming, tall, handsome, strong young colonel of enormous physical courage: bullets passed through his clothing several times and several horses were shot from under him. He operated the largest distillery in the Colonies. He was a general when being a general didn’t mean you were a clever enough bureaucrat and politician to rise from the ranks of the other officers. In Washington’s time it meant that you were charismatic enough to raise an army, smart enough to lead it, and rich enough to provision it.

He was our first president. He could have been king (there was talk of it at the time). And had he not been the man he was we might have had no other presidents. For this he has been called “the indispensable man”.

By leaving office amicably after serving two terms as president he set the standard and tone for all future presidents. His is the benchmark by which the rest are measured. While our current president, George W. Bush, is in Europe both he and we could do well to recall what Washington said in his farewell address in 1796:

Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest. But even our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand; neither seeking nor granting exclusive favors or preferences; consulting the natural course of things; diffusing and diversifying by gentle means the streams of commerce, but forcing nothing; establishing (with powers so disposed, in order to give trade a stable course, to define the rights of our merchants, and to enable the government to support them) conventional rules of intercourse, the best that present circumstances and mutual opinion will permit, but temporary, and liable to be from time to time abandoned or varied, as experience and circumstances shall dictate; constantly keeping in view that it is folly in one nation to look for disinterested favors from another; that it must pay with a portion of its independence for whatever it may accept under that character; that, by such acceptance, it may place itself in the condition of having given equivalents for nominal favors, and yet of being reproached with ingratitude for not giving more. There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion, which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard.

Much of what we think we know of Washington are myths and fabrications, many of them by Parson Mason Locke Weems who wrote an early biography of Washington. If you’d like to read Parson Weems account, here it is. Let me warn you: it’s rough sledding—tendentious, preachy, and boring. But, like the Roman Cincinnatus, it’s impossible to separate myth from fact and we shouldn’t bother to try. We need our myths. Let them bind us together. I believe with all my heart that Washington chopped down his father’s favorite tree, couldn’t tell a lie, and threw a silver dollar across the Rapahannock.

As part of the official eulogy his friend and kinsman Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee, the father of Robert E. Lee, called Washington “first in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen”. Now you know. Remember him!