Tuesday Tidbits

As election day approaches, here are some interesting facts for you:

The first black U.S. Senator was Hiram Revels, elected to his position in1870. In the state in which Mr. Revels lived, election to the United States Senate was not done by popular vote at the time, but rather those in the State congress elected a member of the State congress to represent them at the national level. Mr. Revels was elected to the State Senate, where he was at one time asked to lead the Senate in its opening prayer. The prayer was so eloquent and so moving that his colleagues decided to elect him to represent them on the national level. What state was he from? Mississippi, the Confederacy stronghold. Mr. Revels took the seat that once belonged to Jefferson Davis, who had abandoned it less than 10 years earlier to become the president of the Confederacy.

The first popularly elected black person into national office was Jefferson Long, a freed slave. Elected in 1870 to represent the people of the state of Georgia, which still held bitter sentiment about losing the Civil War. He served in Conress a short 3 months, fulfilling the term of a white colleague who had been forced to resign.

Isn't it interesting that the first two African Americans to fill national office were both from southern states?
___________________________________

"I have come to the conclusion that politics is much to serious a matter to be left to the politicians."

Charled De Gaulle
___________________________________

"The reason there are so few female politicians is because it is far too much trouble to put make-up on two faces."

Maureen Murphy
___________________________________

What do the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals have in common?

Neither have won a World Series in their new ball parks.

Go Cards!!!

Stumping Saturdays

I've decided on Saturdays, I'm going to stump for some particular issue. It might be funny; it might not. But this is my blog, so I'll do what I want. Expect an unpaid advertisement of some sort every Saturday.

That being said, I think I'm freakin' weird.

One of my favorite things to do is to read Miss Manners. I love it. She's so flippin' funny. And I learn all kinds of things.

For example, did you know that when somebody belches, even if it is just a little burp, one is supposed to say, "Excuse me." If one farts, however, even if it is something that the U.N. would consider levying sanctions against as a weapon of mass destruction, courtesy demands that everyone at ground zero pretend it did not happen.

At any rate, responding to anyone who says, "Excuse me," with, "You're excused," is considered rude. It is imperial, and assumes that you have the power not to excuse the person in question if you wish. In other words, by saying, "You're excused," you are assuming power over the person that you do not have.

The thing I enjoy most about Miss Manners is her way of killing people with kindness. For example, let's say that someone is a one-upper. No matter how many sets of twins in your family you may have, this person has that many and 3 sets of triplets. When she begins to one-up you, you can "up hers" by being extremely, kindly interested in her triplets names and birthdates, with sincere interest in to whom they belong, asking for addresses because you want to contact the families to see if there is anything you can do to help because having that many children must be extremely difficult. Kill 'em with kindness.

How about that person that always has a trite, slightly condescending remark to make upon hearing your profession? You simply stare at them when they make their remarks for only a couple of seconds. Don't smile. Don't respond. Then ask them what they do for a living, and make no comment at all about their profession.

I love it. You just stare at them! That's awesome. And it's polite.

Sneezing into a handkerchief: that's ok only if you are going to sneeze one time. If you feel a fit of multiple sneezes ready to attack, however, a tissue is what courtesy demands, for the simple reason that you don't have to put a soaked handkerchief back into your pocket. Ewwww!

The word courtesy, which is often related to "politeness" comes from the same root word as "court," and actually descends from the "courtesans" who attended the king and queen in the court. So, to be courteous is to be courtly. To be courteous is to demonstrate one's own dignity, and to respect the dignity of others. To be courteous puts us in the presence of kings and queens, and makes us noble.

So I think everyone should read Miss Manners on a regular basis. It might make us just a little more courtly to one another.

Flummadiddle For Your Friday

Famous last words:

“Either that wallpaper goes, or I do.” Oscar Wilde, d. November 30, 1900
______________________________________

An old superstition: If you want to keep an unpleasant guest from returning, sweep out the room in which the guest stayed immediately after they leave.

I’ve personally found that following them with the broom, sweeping wherever they happen to walk while they're still there is much more effective.
_____________________________________

Did you know that Attila the Hun died of a nosebleed on his wedding night?
_____________________________________

Speaking of which, with the world series getting underway (Go Cards!!!), there has only been one baseball player ever killed in the course of a game. In 1920, Raymond Johnson Chapman who played for the Cleveland Indians was hit in the head by a wild pitch. He was immediately taken to a hospital where he died one day later.
_____________________________________

Did you hear about the invisible man who married the invisible woman. The kids were nothing to look at either.
_____________________________________

Top 10 Things That Sound Dirty in Golf But Aren’t

10. Nuts, my shaft is bent.
9. After 18 holes I can barely walk.
8. You really whacked the heck out of that sucker.
7. Look at the size of his driver.
6. Keep your head down and spread your legs a bit more.
5. Mind if I join your threesome?
4. Stand with your back turned and drop it.
3. My hands are so sweaty I can’t get a good grip.
2. Nice stroke, but your follow through has a lot to be desired.
1. Hold up…I need to wash my balls first.
______________________________________

And finally, here’s my tip for the day:

If every morning when you wake up, the first thing you do is eat one live toad, then nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day.

I promise.

Thoughts for Thursday

Does what we do define who we are? Or does who we are define what we do?

The question, honestly, isn't an either/or situation.

We do good things because within us, part of our identity, is good. We are good, and so we do good things.

We do evil, bad things, however, because within us, part of our identity, is evil. We are evil, and so we do evil things.

Psalm 139 recognizes, "How wonderfully, beautifully you made me." Psalm 51 equally recognizes, "Oh see, in guilt I was born. A sinner I was conceived." Only by seeing both do we have an honest view of the human person.

We will never have integrity until we can recognize with honesty that there is something within us that inspires us to do things that are hurtful, not only to others but to ourselves. In the same light, we must recognize our own goodness.

Our choices can deepen our tendencies, however. As a person, we can choose to do evil or to do good. One choice, however, does not define us. No matter how extraordinarily good a particular, single choice may be, it is not enough to make us a good person. No matter how extraordinarily evil a particular, single choice may be, this choice does not make us an evil person.

In the end, it is our habitual choices that finally determine whether the good or the evil within us wins. We are, so we do, and the more we do, the more we become what we are. As Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher once wrote, "We are what we repeatedly do."

If we want to be good, then, we must make a consistent habit of doing the good. We must make it a habit of choosing moment-by-moment the good. If we do otherwise, we are evil.

Some Thoughts on Beauty to Start With

Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy. Anne Frank

Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself. Henry Miller

The first question I ask myself when something doesn't seem to be beautiful is why do I think it's not beautiful. And very shortly you discover that there is no reason. John Cage

When I'm working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong. R. Buckminster Fuller

The ability to see beauty is the beginning of our moral sensibility. What we believe is beautiful we will not wantonly destroy. Reverend Sean Parker Dennison

People often say that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder,' and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder. This empowers us to find beauty in places where others have not dared to look, including inside ourselves. Salma Hayek

A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases, it will never pass into nothingness. John Keats

And my personal favorite:

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Ecclesiastes 3:11