Pretty crazy. After all, how fringe do you have to be to criticize Justice Scalia's views on gun control? Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, said Sunday that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was wrong to assume that the government had the right to place limits on the Second Amendment. "He was not speaking from a constitutional perspective," Pratt … Read More
Martin Luther King On Gun Control
You know you're barking up the wrong tree when you have to dig up Martin Luther King, put words in his mouth, and then say, "See??? Dr. King agrees with me!" That's practically what Larry Ward did. Larry Ward, chairman of Gun Appreciation Day, appeared on CNN on Friday to defend his event. When confronted with the fact that Gun … Read More
RIP George McGovern
The last real progressive, before Clinton came along and moved liberalism to the center. Ed Gilgore remembers what-could-have been, the Nixon-McGovern presidential campaign race of 1972, and how it changed politics forever: It's hard to overstate how shocking the 1972 results were to a lot of Democrats, particularly impressionable young folk like I was at the time. The adjective most … Read More
It Was 50 Years Ago Today
On October 5, 1962, a 45rpm single was released called "Love Me Do," with "P.S. I Love You" on the B-side. It was the very first Beatles single, and it peaked at #17 on the British pop charts. The song went to #1 in the U.S. two years later. The song, written by teenagers John Lennon and Paul McCartney years … Read More
Jesus Had A Wife?
A historian of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School has identified a scrap of papyrus that she says was written in Coptic in the fourth century and contains a phrase never seen in any piece of Scripture: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife …’ ” Read the whole thing…. And read from the doubters.
Mona Lisa’s Smile Covered With Dirt And Stuff
AFP: FLORENCE: Archaeologists on Tuesday unearthed a skeleton in a rare state of preservation in Florence in what they believe may be a crucial step towards unravelling the mystery of the identity of the woman with the most enigmatic smile in the world. Several bodies have been discovered in the hunt to find the mortal remains of Lisa Gherardini, the … Read More
Why Is Today Like No Other Day
Because this happened 55 years ago today: The Quarry Men skiffle group played, fronted by a guy named John Lennon. And another guy showed up to hear him. That other guy was Paul McCartney. I remember coming into the fete and seeing all the sideshows. And also hearing all this great music wafting in from this little Tannoy system. It … Read More
9/11 Was Avoidable
For history's sake, let's be clear about this: A new trove of previously classified CIA documents were publicly released for the first time yesterday, shedding new light on the run-up to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The documents, which were obtained by the National Security Archive through the Freedom of Information Act, point to missed opportunities by intelligence agencies to … Read More
How Far Right Has The GOP Gone?
Too far, says… wait for it… Jeb Bush. The former Florida governor praised President Obama on education policy, hot on the heels of Romney delivering a speech condemning Obama's education policy. Bush also said his party is being "short-sighted" on tax and immigration policies, which is not what the GOP mainstream wants to hear. This morning, Jeb Bush went further, endorsing Obama's … Read More
40 Years Ago Today
This was one of the iconic photos of the Vietnam War. Learn about what happened to Kim Phuc (the girl in the photo burning from napalm) here. Spoiler Alert:
Happy Birthday, Fenway!
If you are in the stands behind home plate, you are actually 6 feet closer to the batter than the pitcher is. Great ballpark! Be sure to visit the Boston Globe's slideshow of pictures of iconic moments from the past century. Oddly, no pictures of Bucky F. Dent or Bill Buckner. And this afternoon, the Red Soz play the Yankess … Read More
But Don’t Tell Them Jack And Rose Are Fictional
Here are a bunch of people on Twitter who didn't real the Titanic sinking is historical truth:
Titanic, 1912
A boy plays aboard the deck of the Titanic A Queenstown vendor sells irish lace aboard the Titanic A U.S. doctor inspects passenger's eyes Major Frank Brown Members of the Titanic crew pose with lifejackets Passengers from steerage settle on deck aboard the Titanic The bedroom in the Browne suite aboard the Titanic The gymnasium Waiting for job possibly transferring … Read More
Titanica
One hundredth anniversary approaches and National Geographic has a nice story and pictures of what the sunken vessel looks like today, including never-before-seen photo composites of the ship as a whole.. like this look at the bow: I particularly liked this shot of the Turkish bath (as it is today, and as it was then):
If The Titanic Could Twitter
Follow the Titanic 100 years ago by following its Twitter account: https://twitter.com/#!/TitanicRealTime There are a few things up now, but I have a feeling that the account is going to get very busy on April 14-15.