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June 13, 2005

The Greatness Of History. [Dave at Garfield Ridge]

Do *you* know the events behind this painting?

You may recognize it as George Washington crossing the Delaware River. But when did he cross the river? And why?

Historical illiteracy is a shame, for not only is understanding our history vital to knowing who we are, but learning this history is incredibly satisfying.

I just finished David McCullough's latest, 1776. Since I'm a fairly avid reader of history, I didn't learn much in the book that I didn't know already. Yet, I still recommend it highly.

Not because it's definitive, nor because it's academically rigorous-- I recommend it because it's damn good reading.

I know how unusual it is to read a *book* review here at Ace's-- Highlights for Children being more his speed-- so why don't you come on over to Garfield Ridge and learn why I enjoyed McCullough's book so much. . .

Continue reading "The Greatness Of History."

posted by Ace at 11:32 PM

Comments

Interesting, will have to check it out. That painting is at the MFA in Boston, right?

Posted by: Karol on June 14, 2005 12:03 AM

Says here it's now at the Met.

Posted by: Dave at Garfield Ridge on June 14, 2005 12:07 AM

Ah, cool. When I was in college it was in Boston. It's really spectacular. Pictures don't do it justice.

Posted by: Karol on June 14, 2005 12:18 AM

Sneak attack on the German mercenary Hessians on Christmas eve in 177-something.

Posted by: Moonbat_One on June 14, 2005 12:35 AM

Night attack at Trenton, Christmas Eve of 1776.

Posted by: SGT Dan on June 14, 2005 12:44 AM

Caesar crossing the Rubix on elephants, Thanksgiving day, 1066.

Posted by: Louisa Bell Parker on June 14, 2005 01:47 AM

He was keeping the Continental Army from falling apart, drifting away and going home.

He was saving the Revolution, and saving America.

Kalroy

Posted by: Kalroy on June 14, 2005 02:00 AM

Louisa, good one! Well done!

(snort) hehe

Posted by: Lipstick on June 14, 2005 02:14 AM

Guess where the majority of those sailors were from.

My hometown bitches.

Posted by: fat kid on June 14, 2005 03:33 AM

Guess where the majority of those sailors were from.

My hometown bitches.

Posted by: on June 14, 2005 03:33 AM

He hopped a boat to Jersey?
It's a wonder we didn't end up speaking Frog.

Posted by: TC@LeatherPenguin on June 14, 2005 04:34 AM

Thanks for the recommendataion. I'd also like to recommend "The Day the American Revolution Began." I don't remember the author, but the book is about how word of Lexington spread throughout the colonies and over to England. Some good background info also.

Posted by: rabidfox on June 14, 2005 10:16 AM

His chicken was on the other side? Sorry, couldn't resist an opening like that.

Posted by: Enas Yorl on June 14, 2005 10:54 AM

"Highlights for Children"

rofl!

that was mean! hehe

Posted by: kyer on June 14, 2005 11:28 AM

DAVE - Funny you should post this book, I am reading His Excelleny about Washington. He is quite an interesting charachter. Of him it was said that: "[Patrick] Henry could be counted to say the magnificient thing, but Washington could be counted to do the right thing."

Washington is a tonic for these times and we should all look to him for succor. When talk of the Greatest American starts I always think of Washington, followed closely by Lincoln.

Posted by: 72 Things on June 14, 2005 12:37 PM

I know how unusual it is to read a *book* review here at Ace's-- Highlights for Children being more his speed

Yeah that's true! And certainly not the bible! I wonder if ACE reads anything more than the Sunday cartoons.

Posted by: 72 Items on June 14, 2005 12:44 PM

READ the Sunday comics? Well, no, probably not actually read them as such. More like look at them whilst Karol tells him what the squiggle marks in the balloons mean.

Posted by: Enas Yorl on June 14, 2005 02:47 PM

Speaking of history, if I had today's education I'd think the most important event in US history was when blacks revolted in the 1960's against the mean, hateful, cowardly white men who had kept them in bondage for 400 years, and who deserve to be in bondage (as they currently are) as payback!

Posted by: Shit from Shinola on June 14, 2005 03:18 PM

I live close to Washington Crossing, PA, and constantly run into people who have no idea of where or when that happened. It has been a very long time since schools taught any real history. The painting is in the Met, but I believe it is a copy by the artist himself of the one originally done for Marblehead.

Posted by: Jim on June 14, 2005 03:24 PM

David Hackett Fischer covered this in great detail in his recent book, "Washington's Crossing".

Posted by: Carl in N.H. on June 14, 2005 05:41 PM

but I believe it is a copy by the artist himself of the one originally done for Marblehead.

Jim gets it. Kind of.

I think what he's really referring to is another famous original housed in Marblehead: "the spirit of '76" - arguably one of the most famous paintings of the period.

Posted by: fat kid on June 14, 2005 06:42 PM

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Funniest thing I've read about the Virginia mess. Back when they were hustling the referendum through the assembly both Senators, Warner and Kaine, advised them to go slow and play by the rules. Louise Lucas said she respected them but didn't need advice from the "cuck chair" in the corner. The gerrymandering was overturned and Louise is heading for the big house. Edward G. Robinson voice "where's your cuck now?"
Posted by: Smell the Glove

I posted his post on twitter and it's gotten 25K views so far. Thanks, Smell the Glove

Chris
@chriswithans

"Ahhhhh ahh I put my career on the line for Louise Lucas and Jay Jones thinking they'd vault me into presidential contention and we ended up costing Democrats 20 House seats and unleashing a Reverse Dobbs ahhhhh ahhh"

Forgotten 80s Mystery Click That Sums Up the Democrat Communist Party Today
Something is wrong as I hold you near
Somebody else holds your heart, yeah
You turn to me with your icy tears
And then it's raining, feels like it's raining

TJM wonders about world building in stories, mostly The Hunger Games

"It's f**king f**ked."
-- reportedly a genuine comment offered by a "senior Labour source"
Correction: I wrote that Labour is losing 88% (now 87%) of the seats it is "defending." I think that's wrong. The right way to say it is the seats they are contesting -- that is, they don't necessarily already hold these seats, but they have put up a candidate to run for the seat. It's still very bad but not as bad as losing 87% of the seats they already held.

Basil the Great
@BasilTheGreat

🚨ED MILIBAND [a Minister in Starmer's government] SAYS KEIR STARMER WILL RESIGN AS PRIME MINISTER

He has reportedly reassured Labour MP's that Starmer will be resigning following the disastrous results tonight

It's over

"The end of the two party system in the UK" as first the Fake Conservatives and now Labour chooses political suicide rather than simply STOPPING THE INVASION
Incidentally, the only reason this didn't already happen in the US is because of the Very Bad Orange Man (who is right on 85% of all policy calls and extremely, existentially right on 15% of them)

No political party that is NOT also a doomsday religious cult would EVER choose a cataclysmic loss -- and possible extinction as a party -- to support a toxically unpopular favoritism of NON-CITIZEN ILLEGAL MIGRANTS over actual citizen voters.

Only a cult does this.

Now they've lost 84%.

Annunziata Rees-Mogg
@zatzi
If this continues Labour loses 2,148 seats tonight.

That is much worse than the worst case predictions I’ve seen.

Cataclysmic

Update: They've now lost 88% of the seats they're defending. As I mentioned earlier, I think I heard that London will not bail them out, as many of those Labour seats will probably flip to "Muslim Independent" or Green. Detroit's 5am vote will not save them.

Yup, Labour is losing 80% of its seats...

The British Patriot
@TheBritLad

🚨 BREAKING: Labour have lost 80% of all seats contested as of 2:25 AM.<
br> If this continues, Keir Starmer will be out of office next week.

Reform has surged and projected to pick up between 1700-2100 seats.

Wow, up to 1700-2100 seats. It's not incredible that this is happening. It's incredible that the Davos crowd is so absolutely determined to privilege Muslim "migrants" over the actual native population who elects them, no matter how loudly the natives scream that they want to be prioritized, that they will gladly self-extinguish as a party rather than simply representing the interests of their own voters. Astonishing.
Remember, when they call other people "cultists" -- they are the ones so imprisoned in their social reinforcement and discipline bubbles that they will choose political death rather than dare upset the Karen Enforcement Officers of their cult.
Update: Now they've lost 83% of the seats they were defending.

(((Dan Hodges)))
@DPJHodges

Reform are basically wiping Labour out in the North. It's not a defeat. It's not even a rout. Labour are simply ceasing to exist.

Nick Lowles
@lowles_nick

Tonight’s results are calamitous for Labour. Not just for Keir Starmer's leadership, but for the very future of the party

STARMERGEDDON: In early returns, Reform gains 135 seats, Labour loses 90, the Fake Conservatives lose 36 (and I didn't even know they could fall any further), the Lib Dems lose 4, and the Greens gain 6. Note that the only other party gaining seats is the Greens and they're only gaining a handful of seats.
Update: Reform now up 145, Labour down 98.
Labour projected to lose Wales -- where they've ruled for 27 years.
Fulton County Georgia just discovered 400 boxes of ballots for Labour
Update: REF +156, LAB -107, CON -45
Brutal: In four out of five council seats where Labour is defending, they've lost. 80%.
I'm sure it's not this simple, but Reform is straight taking Labour's and the "Conservatives'" seats. They've lost almost exactly what Reform gained. If understand this right (and warning, I probably don't), all of London's council seats are up for election, and Labour might lose hugely there, as their old voters abandon them for Reform, Muslim Indenpendents, and the Greens.
REF +190, LAB -134, CON -56.

Updates on the Labour collapse in council elections -- which wags are calling #Starmergeddon -- from Beege Welborne. There are about 5000 seats up for grabs, Labour is expected to lose 1,800, Reform will probably gain 1,580, up from... zero. So this would be more than that.
People claim that while Labour has adopted the Sharia Agenda to appeal to the million Muslims it allowed to migrate to the country, those voters are ditching Labour to vote for the Muslim Independent Party or the Greens. Delicious. This shadenfreude is going straight to my thighs.
Oh, and if Starmer loses about as badly as expected, Labour will toss him out of a window Braveheart style and replace him. He will announce he is resigning to spend more time with his Gay Ukrainian Male Prostitutes.

Media bias and senationalism are as old as, well, the media:

That was written by Denny O'Neill and illustrated by, get this, Frank Miller. Editor to the Stars Jim Shooter was in charge at the time.
I always thought the gag was original to the comic book, but in fact the "Threat or Menace" headline was a satirical joke about media bias and sensationalism for a long while. The Harvard Lampoon used it in a parody of Life magazine: "Flying Saucers: Threat or Menace?"

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