Category: history

Posted in American History, history

Mother’s Day

Posted on by sokorra

Happy belated Mother’s day to all the readers who are mothers.

I was trying to figure out something to write about today other than perhaps my evolving theories around Tony Stark’s mental state (which don’t sound so much as theory as rambles, so I threw that one out) and went to look at “This Day in history.”

On this day in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first national Mother’s Day.  So its only been a holiday for 82 years.  Some states had such a holiday for a couple of years, but Wilson made it into a national celebration, declaring it mother’s day every second sunday in May.

Another interesting note about the day is that one of the leading supporters of making a National day for people to celebrate their mothers, Anna Jarvis, eventually hated the holiday, feeling it had been removed from the initial idea of individuals using the day to celebrate their mother’s sacrifices into a day celebrating all mothers and commercialism.  I’m not sure how different celebrating all mothers is different then everyone celebrating their own mothers, but I do get why she might have felt it had become overly commercialized.

 

It seems to me that most holidays have lost their meanings in the rush of cards, candy and gifts.  Religious holidays like Christmas and Easter have almost completely separate secular ideology.  Some holidays like Veteran’s Day and Memorial day have just become picnic occasions and less about honoring our armed forces and their sacrifices.And it does seem like there are new holidays popping up to be an occasion to purchase a gift or a card for someone you care for.

Not that I mind the gifts or cards, but sometimes I think remembering the reason the holiday was put in place would be a good idea too.

Posted in film, history, movie reviews

Movie Review: Lady Jane (1986)

Posted on by sokorra

So I got netflix in the mail (Yes, I still use the DVD service) and it happened to be a movie with Helena Bonham Carter and Cary Elwes in it.  Always a good reason to watch a movie.  As I watched I also recognised a few actors I liked, although some I still refer to as their character from whatever I saw them in before.  Patrick Stewart was a surprise, playing Lord Grey,  Jane’s father.

From what I read on Wiki (doing a quick check of facts, nothing too indepth) the movie is an overly romanticsed story.  Jane may be the closest to her actual person, but Guilford is changed to be more the sweeping romantic hero.

As you can guess from a cast that has the three actors I mentioned, the acting was good.  The settings were also good, and so were most of the costumes (although some of Jane’s early costumes were not appealing on her, but alas that happens to us all).  Its just that the actual script is not so good.

For example, their idea of a intro conversation to a love scene is to talk about the differences in Prostantism and Catholicism.  Kind of a weird topic to inspire kissing.

And there is this scene where these two are going around making wishes, about how they want things to be better for the poor and the hungry and breaking their dishes to confirm the wish was sent.  I spent most of the time going “Don’t do that, someone’s going to end up bleeding and your servants are going to have to clean all that up and then what will you have to drink out of?”

While the two leads try to make it work and do seem to have some chemistry the awkwardness of the script and the real life storyline seem to fight them the entire way and it just seems…awkward.

So my final grade is a B-.  I managed to sit through it without pausing it it too much, and I didn’t even start to skip scenes till nearly the end. It just had too many awkward scenes.  Also I have found I can do without the word popary.

Posted in American History, essay, history, Politics

The Amendements: The Unratifieds

Posted on by sokorra

There are several amendments that have not passed congress.  There are amendments that passed but failed to ratify before their time was up.  And there is even one or two that are still floating around timeless from the 1700s.

Since there are several of them, I’m going to put them under a read more due to length.

Continue reading “The Amendements: The Unratifieds” →

Posted in American History, essay, history, Politics

The Amendments: Twenty-Seven

Posted on by sokorra

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of representatives shall have intervened.

(source)

This amendment is interesting.  It is the last amendment passed, yet it was one of the first suggested.  It was originally proposed in 1789.  That was 227 years ago.  It was only ratified in 1992, which was only 24 years ago.  James Madison proposed it, yet somehow it took (according to wiki) 202 years, 7 months, and 12 days to ratify.   Seven states ratified it by 1792 (almost half the states in the nation at that time).  However, the ratification process seemed to lag just behind the increase of states, requiring it to need more and more states.

There are currently only 4 states that have never ratified it.   Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, and Pennsylvania.  Not that they really need to – its already law.

It was a bit of a controversy when it finally became ratified, as Congress had never dealt with a 200 year old amendement.  Some wanted it reviewed for validity.  However the Supreme Court held that any amendment not given a ratification deadline can be ratified at any point.

 

 

Posted in American History, essay, history, Politics, Television shows

The Amendments: Twenty Six

Posted on by sokorra

This is a relatively easy amendment to talk about as it simply is that people, ages 18 years or older, are allowed to vote.

SECTION 1

The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.

SECTION 2

The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

The amendments spend quite a few words on reminding us that we have the right to vote.  Previous amendments have added that it doesn’t matter what our race, gender, or ability to pay fees are, we have the right to vote if we are an American Citizen.  This Amendment adds that as long as an American citizen is of age (18), they have the right to vote.

This is important, because for many 18 year olds this year, their first opportunity will be to vote.  If you are 18 (or new to voting) and wondering how to register and/or vote, here are a few links to help you out:

Register to Vote (USA.Gov)

This website can help answer your questions (including about Absentee Ballots, which may be important if you are going to college away from your polling area and can’t get back to vote on election day).

The link takes you to their page on registering, but it also has many informative pages on voting and elections.

CanIVote.com 

This website allows you search and find out if you are registered to vote.  I tried it out and it sent me to my state’s services which told me I am registered (although apparently not to the party I thought I was.

The Voting Information Project 

This website is put together by a group of organizations including Google, and state governments to help gather information to help voters inform themselves on items they find on their ballots.

You can also google your state and voting information to find out information that specific to your states.   Remember that some states (like my own) have Voter ID laws and other such specifications on how you register and/or verify your vote.

The first step to changing the way your government does things is to participate in voting.  On average, only 60% of eligible voters actually participate during Presidential elections.  Its even less during midterm elections (about 40%) and even less than that when you are in between those two election years.  We can’t complain about not being heard when we don’t take advantage of what is already there to hear us.

Please register to vote and take advantage of your right to participate in your government.

And you can always listen to Martin Sheen:

Posted in American History, essay, history, Politics, Television shows

The Amendments: Twenty-Five

Posted on by sokorra

For those of you who watched  West Wing (or you are up on your amendments), you may know what the 25th amendment is set up to do.  Several episodes of the television series mentions the amendment.  For those of you aren’t aware, The Twenty-fifth amendment deals with Presidential succession.

SECTION 1

In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.

SECTION 2

Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.

SECTION 3

Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.

SECTION 4

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

(Source)

 

Before this amendment was passed by Congress in 1965 (and ratified in 1967), the succession to president had been vague as far as the constitution went.  There were of course precedent since by this time 8 Presidents had died in office, and several times the Vice Presidency was vacant.

However, before this amendment it wasn’t known what the exact line was.  Article 1, Section II, Clause 6 specifies that the Vice President will recieve the duties, and if there isn’t a Vice President, then Congress had the duty of selecting an Acting President.

When William Henry Harrison became the first President to die in office, people debated if the Vice President was really a President, or just an Acting President.  John Tyler took the oath of office, making the “Tyler Precedent” for Vice Presidents becoming full fledged presidents upon assuming the powers of their predecessor.

The Twenty-Fifth amendment clarifies the line of secession, and what Congress can do should something happen.

Section One reiterates that should a President die, resign or be removed from office for some reason, the Vice President should assume the title and duties of the Presidency.  This was also stated in the 12th amendment

Section Two clarifies that should a vacancy appear in the Vice Presidency, the President must present Congress with a nomination for them to confirm.

Section Three and Four  get a little more involved.  The example in the West Wing is that Jed Bartlet’s daughter had recently been kidnapped.  Reasonably, Jed was overwealmed and decided he could not be a worried father and a President at the same time right then and drafted a notice to Congress that he felt unfit to uphold his duties.

However, right before this event they had been without a Vice President for awhile as Bartlet’s first Vice President had resigned after a sex-scandal.  Thus the job went to the Speaker of the House, Glenn Walken.

Basically this section of the amendment lists what should happen if over the course of the Presidents term he feels he can not hold up his job.  It could be something like Bartlet’s emotional tormirl or perhaps a serious surgery that might keep him out of work for an extended time period.  If this happens, the President can write in to Congress and temporary the Vice President will assume the role of Acting President till it is determined that the President can resume, by either writing another note to Congress.

The Vice President and the President’s senior officers can also write to congress and claim he is unfit for duty.  At this point the Vice President would become Acting President.  The President could refute this and Congress would then have a month or so to review and make a decision on whether the President really is ready to resume his duties.

Other sources:

Article 1, Section II, Clause 6 (WIKI)

Presidential Sucession Acts (WIKI)

Presidential Sucession Act of 1941 (Senate)

 

Posted in American History, essay, history, Politics

The Amendments: Twenty-Three

Posted on by sokorra

SECTION 1

The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as Congress may direct:

A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.

SECTION 2

The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

(Source)

This amendment allows the District of Columbia (Washington, DC) to have delegates in the electoral college when it comes to presidential elections.  It does not change anything else about the way DC is govern, which even today is debated. It is not a state, but a territoty.  It is governed by Congress, and has no representation that can vote within congress (It does have 1 unvoting representative in the House).

Currently DC has 3 electoral votes.

This was passed by Congress in 1960, and ratified in 1961.

 

Posted in American History, essay, history, Politics

The Amendments: Twenty-Two

Posted on by sokorra

SECTION 1

No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.

SECTION 2

This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.

(Source)

Continue reading “The Amendments: Twenty-Two” →

Posted in essay, history, Politics

The Amendments: Twenty-One

Posted on by sokorra

The 21st amendment (which I find hilarious considering the subject matter and the age people are allowed to drink legally in the US) has the unique situation of being the only amendment to full out repeal another.

SECTION 1

The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

SECTION 2

The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or Possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

SECTION 3

This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress

(Source)

The 21st amendment was ratified in December of 1933, having been passed by congress in February of that year.  So it came in well under the ratification deadline.  Its sole purpose really is to repeal the 18th amendment.

Section one is self explanatory, as that is where they tell you that the 18th amendment, prohibiting alcohol, was repealed.  Section two continues to hold up state rights in this manner, explaining that even if its now legal in the US to transport alcohol,if a State still prohibits it then its still illegal within that state’s borders.  This is how you get some states where you can purchase your alcohol at your gas station, while other states you have to purchase it at specially licensed stores and distributers.

Section three basically allows for this law to become active at a certian time after the ratification, and also gives it a limit on how long it could take.  Thus we don’t have to wait 100 years like we did on the 27th amendment (which we will of course get to).

So this amendment not only doesn’t actually edit the constitution, it actually only serves to repeal an earlier amendment.  It was the first (and only to my knowledge) amendment to do so.

 

 

Posted in general, history, space history, Uncategorized

And now for something completely Different

Posted on by sokorra

Well, at least from my usual posts as of late.  Its come that time of the election cycle when everything seems to be about politics. News stories outside politics and the brief glimpse into world news (which is usually politics also) are slim to be seen.  And my blog has gotten alot of government commentary lately too.

So I decided to take a break today and cover some interesting stories that have nothing to do with Trump, Clinton, Sanders or stupid choices being made in foriegn policies.

  • Hubble Space Telescope Aniversery

The Hubble telescope was launched into space on April 24, 1990.  As of tomorrow it will be 26 years old. That’s pretty old for a piece of technology when people regularly are told to trade in their computers every 3-7 years. NASA decided to release photage the telescope took of the Bubble Nebula.

The Bubble Nebula is located in the constilation Cassiopeia, about 7,100 light years from earth.  It was discovered in 1787 by William Hershel.

A fact I didn’t know till I read the article I’ve included below is that the Hubble Telescope is a project that NASA is doing in partnership with the European Space Agency. I would definately check out the link, because they animated some of the camera shots and it looks really neat.

Hubble Sees a Star ‘Inflating’ a Giant Bubble (NASA)

  • Chernobyl Anniversery

While Chernobyl is not necessarily a happy topic, It is an interesting one as it has become a study in how the Earth repairs itself after a nuclear tragedy.  I was only a few months old when it happened, so in a sense I’ve never lived in a world without this incident being a cautionary tale about nuclear power.

On April 26, 1986 operators at the plant were doing a systems check when a series of power spikes and a failed emergency shut down caused a rupture in the reactor.  The moderator was exposed to air and ignited, sending a plume of radioactive material.  The fallout area covered parts of Belurus, Ukraine and Russia. 31 people were killed directly, and estimates on the secondary deaths caused by the radiation exposure are still being made. The lowest number given is by UNSCEAR a UN oversight organization which places it at 64 as of 2008. Several other estimates are given, although one puts it at a million although it hasn’t passed peer review.

The area around Chernobyl has been blocked by various governments.  People wanting to study the area are given day passes as the radiation around the planet is still quite high 30 years down the road.  The exclusion zone is 19 miles in all directions.

Places around Europe are still finding lingering issues and radiation exposure in plant and animal life from the diaster.  Russia, Ukraine and Belerus still have good portions of their budget dedicated to containment and decontamination.

The other 3 reactors in the plant remained operational till one by one they were closed down.  The final reactor was closed in 2000.

At least 3 countries are now nuclear power free because of this disaster.  It is also considered the worst nuclear diaster,  considered a level 7 incident.  Fukushima Japan in 2011 is also given this distiction.  In the US,  the Three Mile Island Accident (1979)in Pennsylvania was rated level 5.

Chernobyl Diaster (Wikipedia)

The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is Argubly a Nature Reserve  (BBC)

Background on the Three Mile Island Accident (National Regulatory Commission)

Three Mile Island Accident (Wiki)

Chernobyl in Pictures (BBC)

  • A Coral Reef was found in the Amazon

In the Amazon river mouth, under the muddy waters scientists have found a coral reef as well as several new species of aquatic life.  It was previously thought that coral reefs would be smoothered in low light, low oxygen areas such as the sediment thick mouth of the Amazon.

Surprising, Vibrant Reef Discovered in the Muddy Amazon (National Geographic)