Mob rule cannot be allowed to override the decisions of our courts. With deep confidence, I call upon the citizens to assist in bringing an immediate end to all interference preventing the admission of Negro children to that school…Thus will be restored the image of America and all its parts as one nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President, 1953-1961
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
March 30
To sit back hoping that someday, some way, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last- but eat you he will.
Ronald Reagan, 40th President, 1981-1989
Ronald Reagan, 40th President, 1981-1989
March 29, 1790- Birthdate of John Tyler, Jr.
If the tide of defamation and abuse shall turn, and my administration come to be praised, future Vice-Presidents who may succeed to the Presidency may feel some slight encouragement to pursue an independent course.
10th President, 1841-1845, Died January 18, 1862
10th President, 1841-1845, Died January 18, 1862
March 28
Because we are now running out of gas and oil, we must prepare quickly for a third change, to strict conservation and to the use of coal and permanent renewable energy sources, like solar power.
Jimmy Carter, 39th President, 1977-1981
Jimmy Carter, 39th President, 1977-1981
March 27
I have seen the desperation and the despair of the powerless: how it twists the lives of children …how narrow the path is for them between humiliation and untrammeled fury, how easily they slip into violence and despair. I know that the response of the powerful…alternating between a dull complacency (or) unthinking application of force, of longer prison sentences is inadequate to the task.
Barack Obama, 44th President, 2009
Barack Obama, 44th President, 2009
March 26
The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.
John F. Kennedy, 35th President, 1961-1963- Remarks at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee at its 90th Anniversary Convocation, on May 18, 1963. Could you answer any of these questions? "Divide a vertical line in two equal parts by by bisecting it with a curved horizontal line that is only straight at its spot bisection of the vertical." (Question 28 of 30 from the State of Louisiana literacy test, for those who could not prove they had a fifth grade education.); or "Write every other word in this first line and print every third word in same line (original type smaller and first line ended at comma) but capitalize the fifth word that you write." (Question 29, Louisiana) When some Harvard students recently took the Louisiana test none of them passed. (http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/11/12/harvard-students-take-1964-literacy-test-black-voters-had-to-pass-before-voting-they-all-failed/); or "Any power and rights not given to the U.S. or prohibited to the states by the U.S.Constitution are specified as belonging to whom? ______________________________" (Question 68 in pre 1965 Alabama voter literacy test) In Mississippi, passing the "literacy test required a person seeking to register to vote to read a section of the state constitution and explain it to the county clerk who processed voter registrations...It excluded almost all black men, because the clerk would select complicated technical passages for them to interpret."(http://www.crf-usa.org/brown-v-board-50th-anniversary/race-and-voting.html) Even if potential voters passed these tests, they could also be required to pay a poll tax to vote in various states. The question of who has the right to vote had long been a point of intense contention in the United States. Non landowners, immigrants and women had struggled to gain the right to vote. Now, in 1963, Black Americans and Native Americans were involved in a civil rights struggle to see their right to vote recognized. As Kennedy addresses the students, he uses humor and holds forth a positive direction in which he would have them pursue: "Nearly 100 years ago Prince Bismarck said that one-third of the students of German universities broke down from overwork, another third broke down from dissipation, and the other third ruled Germany. I do not know which third of the student body of Vanderbilt is here today, but I am confident we are talking to the future rulers of Tennessee and America in the spirit of this university." He continues, "If the pursuit of learning is not defended by the educated citizen, it will not be defended at all. For there will always be those who scoff at intellectuals, who cry out against research, who seek to limit our educational system." He spurs them on by appealing to them as educated citizens, "But the educated citizen knows how much more there is to know. He knows that "knowledge is power," more so today than ever before. He knows that only an educated and informed people will be a free people, that the ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all, and that if we can, as Jefferson put it, "enlighten the people generally... tyranny and the oppressions of mind and body will vanish, like evil spirits at the dawn of day." On August 27, 1962, Congress had passed the 24th amendment to Constitution which would forbid the charging of a poll tax as a provision to vote in a federal election. It would be ratified by the states on January 23, 1964. On August 6, 1965, the Voting Rights Act, which prohibited racial discrimination in voting, was signed into law by Lyndon Johnson, almost two years after Kennedy's death. As part of his concluding remarks, Kennedy closes with the following statement, "No one can deny the complexity of the problems involved in assuring to all of our citizens their full fights as Americans. But no one can gainsay the fact that the determination to secure these rights is in the highest traditions of American freedom." (http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=9218)
John F. Kennedy, 35th President, 1961-1963- Remarks at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee at its 90th Anniversary Convocation, on May 18, 1963. Could you answer any of these questions? "Divide a vertical line in two equal parts by by bisecting it with a curved horizontal line that is only straight at its spot bisection of the vertical." (Question 28 of 30 from the State of Louisiana literacy test, for those who could not prove they had a fifth grade education.); or "Write every other word in this first line and print every third word in same line (original type smaller and first line ended at comma) but capitalize the fifth word that you write." (Question 29, Louisiana) When some Harvard students recently took the Louisiana test none of them passed. (http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/11/12/harvard-students-take-1964-literacy-test-black-voters-had-to-pass-before-voting-they-all-failed/); or "Any power and rights not given to the U.S. or prohibited to the states by the U.S.Constitution are specified as belonging to whom? ______________________________" (Question 68 in pre 1965 Alabama voter literacy test) In Mississippi, passing the "literacy test required a person seeking to register to vote to read a section of the state constitution and explain it to the county clerk who processed voter registrations...It excluded almost all black men, because the clerk would select complicated technical passages for them to interpret."(http://www.crf-usa.org/brown-v-board-50th-anniversary/race-and-voting.html) Even if potential voters passed these tests, they could also be required to pay a poll tax to vote in various states. The question of who has the right to vote had long been a point of intense contention in the United States. Non landowners, immigrants and women had struggled to gain the right to vote. Now, in 1963, Black Americans and Native Americans were involved in a civil rights struggle to see their right to vote recognized. As Kennedy addresses the students, he uses humor and holds forth a positive direction in which he would have them pursue: "Nearly 100 years ago Prince Bismarck said that one-third of the students of German universities broke down from overwork, another third broke down from dissipation, and the other third ruled Germany. I do not know which third of the student body of Vanderbilt is here today, but I am confident we are talking to the future rulers of Tennessee and America in the spirit of this university." He continues, "If the pursuit of learning is not defended by the educated citizen, it will not be defended at all. For there will always be those who scoff at intellectuals, who cry out against research, who seek to limit our educational system." He spurs them on by appealing to them as educated citizens, "But the educated citizen knows how much more there is to know. He knows that "knowledge is power," more so today than ever before. He knows that only an educated and informed people will be a free people, that the ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all, and that if we can, as Jefferson put it, "enlighten the people generally... tyranny and the oppressions of mind and body will vanish, like evil spirits at the dawn of day." On August 27, 1962, Congress had passed the 24th amendment to Constitution which would forbid the charging of a poll tax as a provision to vote in a federal election. It would be ratified by the states on January 23, 1964. On August 6, 1965, the Voting Rights Act, which prohibited racial discrimination in voting, was signed into law by Lyndon Johnson, almost two years after Kennedy's death. As part of his concluding remarks, Kennedy closes with the following statement, "No one can deny the complexity of the problems involved in assuring to all of our citizens their full fights as Americans. But no one can gainsay the fact that the determination to secure these rights is in the highest traditions of American freedom." (http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=9218)
March 24
Failure to accord credit to anyone for what he may have done is a great weakness in any man.
William Howard Taft, 27th President, 1909-1913
William Howard Taft, 27th President, 1909-1913
March 23
The only things worth learning are the things you learn after you know it all.
Harry S. Truman, 33rd President, 1945-1953
Harry S. Truman, 33rd President, 1945-1953
March 22
We do not need more intellectual power, we need more spiritual power. We do not need more of the things that are seen, we need more of the things that are unseen.
Calvin Coolidge, 30th President, 1923-1929
Calvin Coolidge, 30th President, 1923-1929
March 21
Our country’s honor calls upon us for a vigorous and manly exertion, and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world.
George Washington, 1st President, 1789-1797
George Washington, 1st President, 1789-1797
March 20
Let it (the Constitution) be taught in school, seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in primers, in spelling books and in almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, enforced in courts of justice. In short, let it become the political religion of the nation.
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President, 1861-1865
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President, 1861-1865
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
March 21
Our country’s honor calls upon us for a vigorous and manly exertion, and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world.
George Washington, 1st President, 1789-1797
March 20
Let it (the Constitution) be taught in school, seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in primers, in spelling books and in almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, enforced in courts of justice. In short, let it become the political religion of the nation.
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President, 1861-1865
March 19
Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President 1861-1865
March 18, 1837- Birthdate of Stephen Grover Cleveland
The lessons of paternalism ought to be unlearned and the better lesson taught that while the people should patriotically and cheerfully support their government, its functions do not include support of the people.
22nd President and 24th President, 1885-1889 and 1893-1897, Died June 24, 1908
March 17
An intellectual is man who takes more words than necessary to tell you more than he knows.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President, 1953-1961
March 16, 1751- Birthdate of James Madison
The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home.
4th President, 1809-1817, Died June 28, 1836
March 15, 1767- Birthdate of Andrew Jackson
Americans are not a perfect people but we are called to a perfect mission.
7th President, 1829-1837, Died June 8, 1845
March 14
The American, by nature, is optimistic. He is experimental, an inventor and a builder who builds best when called upon to build greatly.
John F. Kennedy, 35th President, 1961-1963
-from "The Strategy of Peace", By John F. Kennedy, Edited by Allan Nevins, 1960, Harper & Brothers. In the 1950's, Americans prospered and enjoyed the Allied victory in Europe and in the Pacific in World War II. Typical American life was portrayed in the popular TV series, "Happy Days" and movies such as, "Back to the Future" and "American Graffiti." However, in those happy, sleepy times in America, there were still many social and international problems simmering below the surface. Race and social justice would soon move to the forefront in the 1960's. More immediately, in the late 1950's and early 1960's, Kennedy believed the larger issue was "The Cold War" with Russia and stopping the advance of communism. Russia had been an ally in World War II but now sought become the world's dominant power. Russian leader, Nikita Khrushchev, had compared the United States to a worn-out runner living on its past performance and stated that the Soviet Union would out produce the United States by 1970. Presidential Press conference June 28, 1961, (http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=8209&st=&st1=). Also, Russia had launched Sputnik, the first man made satellite into orbit. It was perceived that the Russians could now launch inter-continental missiles against the United States and soon Americans were talking about building bomb shelters in their backyards. Kennedy wanted to re-assert to the world that the United States and its people, educational systems, and economic way of life were the best. He felt we could no longer afford to isolate ourselves from world affairs or competition. In his essay, written before he had become President, he states, "Instead, with the present administration...we have lapsed back into a frame of mind where we assume that we are at liberty to deal with domestic and foreign affairs separately. We assume that the Good Life we have been enjoying here at home is somehow the same as building the Good Society here at home and abroad...We have allowed a sort of sentimentalism to form in the atmosphere we breathe...(and) the desire to do good has become a substitute for tough-minded plans and operations- a substitute for a strategy...It is time once more to get on with the business of being true to the work of a Choosing People- a people who voluntarily assume the burden and the glory of advancing mankind's best hopes." In the 1960's, following Kennedy's vision, the United States lurched back into motion with great upheaval as the youth movement, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam conflict, and the Space Race captured the attention and imagination of the United States and all the world. Today, some of the issues, names, and threats have changed and we continue to have much "building" to do at home and abroad.
March 13
Whenever I hear someone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President, 1861-1865
March 12
Thanks to God that he gave me stubbornness when I know I am right.
John Adams, 2nd President, 1797-1801
March 11
After age 40 a man is responsible for his own face.
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President 1861-1865
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