Wednesday, December 31, 2008

white house wiki: William McKinley

"Within five hours, McKinley had paid, out of his own pocket, for a railroad car full of food and other supplies to be sent to the miners."

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

white house wiki: Grover Cleveland

"When confronted with the emerging scandal, Cleveland's instructions to his campaign staff were: "Tell the truth."

Monday, December 29, 2008

white house wiki: Benjamin Harrison

"This served only to disappoint both factions."

Sunday, December 28, 2008

white house wiki: Grover Cleveland

"Cleveland had qualms about the hanging, but opted to carry out the duty himself."

Saturday, December 27, 2008

white house wiki: Chester Alan Arthur

"Morgan declined the offer twice, but Arthur submitted it to the Senate anyway, and Morgan was confirmed."

Friday, December 26, 2008

white house wiki: James Garfield

"Garfield's assassination is mentioned in the Johnny Cash tune, "Mister Garfield (Has Been Shot Down)" according to the album sleeve written by J. Elliot, released in 1965 by Columbia Records, and re-recorded for the 1972 album America - A 200 Year Salute in Story And Song; as well as in "Charles Guiteau" by Kelly Harrell & the Virginia String Band as included in the Anthology of American Folk Music."

Thursday, December 25, 2008

white house wiki: Rutherford B. Hayes

"He also intended to build the U.S. controlled Panama Canal, though he wasn't the one who actually did it."

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Christmas Beans

white house wiki: Ulysses S. Grant

"It was a two-sentence description that completely caught the essence of Ulysses S. Grant."

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

white house wiki: Andrew Johnson

"At the ceremony, Johnson, who had been drinking to offset the pain of typhoid fever (as he explained later), gave a rambling speech and appeared intoxicated to many."

Monday, December 22, 2008

white house wiki: Abraham Lincoln

"Lincoln later damaged his political reputation with a speech in which he declared, 'God of Heaven has forgotten to defend the weak and innocent, and permitted the strong band of murderers and demons from hell to kill men, women, and children, and lay waste and pillage the land of the just."

Sunday, December 21, 2008

white house wiki: James Buchanan

"Before Buchanan left office, seven slave states seceded, the Confederacy was formed, all arsenals and forts in the seceded states were lost (except Fort Sumter and two remote ones), and a fourth of all federal soldiers surrendered to Texas troops."

Saturday, December 20, 2008

white house wiki: Franklin Pierce

"His father put him in a wagon, drove him half way back to the academy, and left him on the roadside, never saying a word."

Friday, December 19, 2008

white house wiki: Millard Fillmore

"Utah now contains a city and county named after Millard Fillmore."

Thursday, December 18, 2008

white house wiki: Zachary Taylor

"He ran his administration in the same rule-of-thumb fashion with which he had fought Native Americans."

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

white house wiki: James K. Polk

"Polk's views on slavery made his presidency bitterly unpopular between proponents of slavery, opponents of slavery, and advocates of compromise."

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

white house wiki: John Tyler

"In 1862, after complaining of chills and dizziness, he vomited and collapsed during the Congress of Confederacy."

Monday, December 15, 2008

white house wiki - William Henry Harrison

"Harrison's doctors tried cures, applying opium, castor oil, Virginia snakeweed, and even actual snakes."

Sunday, December 14, 2008

white house wiki: Martin Van Buren

"According to Smith's grand-nephew, Van Buren said to Smith, 'Your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you; if I take up for you I shall lose the vote of Missouri.'"

Saturday, December 13, 2008

white house wiki: Andrew Jackson

"The executions, and Jackson's invasion of territory belonging to Spain, a country with which the U.S. was not at war, created an international incident."

Friday, December 12, 2008

white house wiki: John Quincy Adams

"He took the oath of office on a book of laws, instead of the more traditional Bible."

Thursday, December 11, 2008

white house wiki: James Monroe

"It is the only non-American capital city named after a U.S. President."

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

white house wiki: James Madison

"However, George Washington avoided a trade war and instead secured friendly trade relations with Britain through the Jay Treaty of 1794, a treaty that Madison tried but failed to defeat."

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

white house wiki: Thomas Jefferson

"Thomas Jefferson enjoyed his fish pond at Monticello."

Monday, December 8, 2008

white house wiki: John Adams

"Unlike others, Adams thought that the definition of a republic had to do with its ends, rather than its means."

Sunday, December 7, 2008

white house wiki: George Washington

there are 43 days left until GW Bush leaves office and Obama takes over. We'll commemorate each day of the countdown with a random wikipedia sentence about the 43 Presidents, leading up to President Obama.

"While Washington's role during the battle has been debated, biographer Joseph Ellis asserts that Washington rode back and forth across the battlefield, rallying the remnant of the British and Virginian forces to a retreat."

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

The Soldering Iron of Justice


Remember the good old days when you could walk around town with a gun on your hip and shoot anyone you wanted to? Remember when Aaron Burr murdered arguably the most talented person in America? Man, those where the good ol' days.

Well, good news! With a little hope, my great home state of Texas may do its part to bring 'em back. A Holstered Gun: So Shooting Yourself in the Leg can be a Daily Occurrence. It's just common sense, if you ask me. Plus, if more people had guns, no one would be dumb enough to then use it on somebody. Come on, that could get you shot! It's so logical it hurts.

Now, kids. If I could speak seriously for a moment. As a person who has literally been robbed at gunpoint before, I feel I have a pretty good grasp on this subject. Think, if only I had a gun on me at the time I would have been in such a better position. Instead of just giving them the $5 I had in my pocket and credit cards that I immediately canceled, I could have tried to grab my gun. Then I could have shot myself or been shot by the assailants in the process. I might (probably) would have ended up dead, but I would have had my dignity and my $5. And to think, if those fuckers hadn't of taken those $5, I could have used that money to buy the bullet the should have potentially ripped through body at some point.

All I know, is that if this country needs anything, it's more guns.