Monday, October 22nd, 2007
How many you got? Mine are in bold.
1. Patch a radiator hose
2. Protect your computer
3. Rescue a boater who has capsized
4. Frame a wall
5. Retouch digital photos
6. Back up a trailer
7. Build a campfire
8. Fix a dead outlet
9. Navigate with a map and compass
10. Use a torque wrench
11. Sharpen a knife
12. Perform CPR
13. Fillet a fish
14. Maneuver a car out of a skid
15. Get a car unstuck
16. Back up data
17. Paint a room
18. Mix concrete
19. Clean a bolt-action rifle
20. Change oil and filter
21. Hook up an HDTV
22. Bleed brakes
23. Paddle a canoe
24. Fix a bike flat
25. Extend your wireless network
Posted by Smithers at 8:45 pm in Miscellaneous | Permalink | 16 Comments »
Monday, October 22nd, 2007
BKW visits OoO.
Posted by Smithers at 8:11 pm in Cycling Biz | Permalink | No Comments »
Monday, October 22nd, 2007
On December 24, 1860 the state of South Carolina seceded from the United States of America. By February 9, 1861 six additional states joined and by April 15 a total of 11 states had removed themselves from the US. If each of these states had simply remained a sovereign entity, separate but equal to the United States, history may have perhaps taken a different course.
What instead occurred was that these states established the Confederate States of America, appropriated US federal forts and other properties within their boundaries, created the Confederate Army and attacked the United States at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861.
While subsequent law has rendered secession from the United States unlawful unless there is consent from the other states, there was a legitimate debate at the time to determine if the states had a right to secede from the Union. My question is, did these seceding states have the right to join together as a confederation and oppose the United States. Was this treason?
I ask this question following my return from Richmond Virginia this past weekend. There is a road in Richmond called Monument Avenue. Along this road are sculptures of Robert E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart, Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis. The first of these sculptures, Lee, was commissioned just 11 years following the end of the Civil War and was unveiled at the intersection of Monument and Allen Avenue. All the remaining sculptures would be unveiled over the next 30 years.
Taking into account the relative short amount of time between the end of the Civil War and the installation of these monuments, it seems that the city of Richmond was not just celebrating the citizens of Virginia that took part in the war. It appears that Richmond was celebrating the southern heros of the Civil War. Were these monuments celebrating treason against the United States of America? Davis himself was indicted for that very charge in 1866 but the case was dropped in 1869.
At this point the monuments are here to stay in Richmond and I am not arguing otherwise. I don’t think most people give them a second thought past the history. My wife asked me the other day if I thought states would ever again secede from the union and I said that I didn’t think so because no one really gives a crap anymore.
Posted by Smithers at 4:04 pm in Politics | Permalink | 7 Comments »
