Berlin Wall “falls” 18 years ago today November 9, 2007
Posted by relantel in History, germany.add a comment
Today marks 18 years since the Berlin Wall opened its gates, just a little over two years after Ronald Reagan asked “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” in June 1987.
Extended post on Isaac’s storm in forums September 21, 2005
Posted by relantel in History.add a comment
I’ve placed an extended post on the hurricane of September 8-9, 1900 that struck Galveston, Texas over in the history channel forum.
As the story goes, even though Isaac Cline was absolved by the US Weather Service, he felt he bore responsibility for not seeing the signs in time to have evacuated Galveston Island. Losing is pregnant wife didn’t help him any, and he left Galveston permanently for New Orleans.
Another anecdote from a story I mentioned in the forums is below, indicitive of Cline’s resolution to never see Galveston repeated:
The U.S. Weather Service office disagreed and urged him to rescind that warning and continue with flood warnings that omitted any forecasts on flood levels. He disobeyed orders and continued to forecast such high water.
The levees at New Orleans were not high enough to keep the Mississippi River in its banks were the river to hit 21 feet. Cline urged the Levee Board to raise the levees, if only temporarily, to avoid the disaster that would follow if the river overflowed into the city.
Though he met resistance in the beginning, he was persistent, and the Levee Board agreed to construct a temporary levee of sandbags and raise the levee from two to four feet – and as high as five feet in some places.
This temporary levee prevented the river from flooding the city for some four weeks, with the river cresting at 20.7 feet.
“He really made his mark with his work on the Mississippi River floods,” Vorus Williams said.
Extended post on Isaac’s storm in forums September 21, 2005
Posted by relantel in History.add a comment
I’ve placed an extended post on the hurricane of September 8-9, 1900 that struck Galveston, Texas over in the history channel forum.
As the story goes, even though Isaac Cline was absolved by the US Weather Service, he felt he bore responsibility for not seeing the signs in time to have evacuated Galveston Island. Losing is pregnant wife didn’t help him any, and he left Galveston permanently for New Orleans.
Another anecdote from a story I mentioned in the forums is below, indicitive of Cline’s resolution to never see Galveston repeated:
The U.S. Weather Service office disagreed and urged him to rescind that warning and continue with flood warnings that omitted any forecasts on flood levels. He disobeyed orders and continued to forecast such high water.
The levees at New Orleans were not high enough to keep the Mississippi River in its banks were the river to hit 21 feet. Cline urged the Levee Board to raise the levees, if only temporarily, to avoid the disaster that would follow if the river overflowed into the city.
Though he met resistance in the beginning, he was persistent, and the Levee Board agreed to construct a temporary levee of sandbags and raise the levee from two to four feet – and as high as five feet in some places.
This temporary levee prevented the river from flooding the city for some four weeks, with the river cresting at 20.7 feet.
“He really made his mark with his work on the Mississippi River floods,” Vorus Williams said.
William Cushing, 3rd CJOTUS? September 21, 2005
Posted by relantel in History, Supreme Court.add a comment
As I had some excerpts on the forum side, I thought I would make some extended comment over the story today on law.com that argues that John G. Roberts, Jr. will be the 18th Chief Justice of the United States and not the 17th as mentioned in his formal nomination to the Senate.
Briefly, Justice William Cushing was one of the original appointments to the initial 6-man Supreme Court, whose justices also had to ride circuit (forerunner to today’s eleven appeals courts), acting as an appeals court composed of two Justices of the Surpreme Court and the district judge where the appeal was heard, with the caveat that the district judge could not rule on appeal on a case he heard originally. There was no such pre-emption on Supreme Court justices.
This “riding circuit” would last well past Cushing’s tenure on the court (his death in 1810 ended it), and it was often a reason for short tenures on the court. As it stood, Cushing was the only original Justice to make it into the John Marshall era. (until reading the law review article, I had not realized that Adams had originally appointed the first CJOTUS, John Jay, to the position again upon Ellsworth’s resignation. The Senate confirmed Jay, but he declined, resulting in Adams’ nomination of John Marshall)
A few excerpts below:
Cushing soon sent a letter to Washington, in which he returned the commission, citing his “infirm & declining state of health.” By Feb. 5, the minutes of Court proceedings lumped Cushing in with the “associate judges.” He continued serving as associate justice until he died in 1810, at age 78.
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1127207113073
If John Rutledge, a recess appointee to CJOTUS that was rejected by the Senate, is among the recognized for a four month period, then any time served in that official capacity ought to be recognized. I have not yet read Ross Davies’ 76 page paper, but have found the link on the University of Toledo Law Review Website (thank google for making it easy). In short, the table of contents for the article PDF indicate that Mr. Davies lays out what it takes to be CJOTUS, and what oaths Mr. Cushing took.
He goes on to examine contemporary appointments, and the use of resigned vs. declined in their nomination and confirmations. He presents evidence that both George Washington and the Senate considered Cushing CJOTUS — as his replacement’s, Oliver Ellsworth, nomination mentioned Cushing’s resignation.
In short, Davies presents a compelling argument as to why Cushing should be remembered as the nation’s 3rd Chief Justice, even if only for two days. A bill to effect such recognition was proposed in 1857, but lacked the documentary record Mr. Davies has amassed.
Nunquam Obliviscar — I will Never Forget September 11, 2005
Posted by relantel in History.add a comment
Image from Polipundit/Byrd Droppings.
It is my considered opinion that the Photos and videos from 9/11 are not shown enough. We as a nation have become numbed to the events of 9/11. It’s as if the media as a whole have decided not to show such images.
Sure, there is a line between showing images respectfully and overshowing them, but clearly, they are undershown right now. It has been four years, and still the WTC site has not been rebuilt. Sure, the Pentagon got rebuilt in record time, but NYC cannot agree on how to proceed with the WTC site. For once, I am saddened that NYC has not listened to Donald Trump’s plan for two new 115-story towers on the site. That project will best honor those who gave up their lives on the site. How? Because anything less than a complete restoration of the economic use of the site hands a victory to the Al Qaeda terrorists.
The latin in the title is the motto of the Clan MacIver — “Nunquam Obliviscar” translates to “I will never forget”.
Nunquam Obliviscar — I will Never Forget September 11, 2005
Posted by relantel in History.add a comment
Image from Polipundit/Byrd Droppings.
It is my considered opinion that the Photos and videos from 9/11 are not shown enough. We as a nation have become numbed to the events of 9/11. It’s as if the media as a whole have decided not to show such images.
Sure, there is a line between showing images respectfully and overshowing them, but clearly, they are undershown right now. It has been four years, and still the WTC site has not been rebuilt. Sure, the Pentagon got rebuilt in record time, but NYC cannot agree on how to proceed with the WTC site. For once, I am saddened that NYC has not listened to Donald Trump’s plan for two new 115-story towers on the site. That project will best honor those who gave up their lives on the site. How? Because anything less than a complete restoration of the economic use of the site hands a victory to the Al Qaeda terrorists.
The latin in the title is the motto of the Clan MacIver — “Nunquam Obliviscar” translates to “I will never forget”.
