The Treatment of an American Queen

NO WAY TO TREAT A QUEEN

She was really the only queen ever to be born a queen on what became a state in the U.S. She was Queen Lili'uokalani of Hawaii. On this day, Hawaii became a territory and the fate of the beloved queen was sealed:

(from Wikipedia)

Liliʻuokalani was arrested on January 16, 1895 (several days after a failed rebellion by Robert Wilcox) when firearms were found in the gardens of her home, of which she denied any knowledge. She was sentenced to five years of hard labor in prison for this and fined $5000, but the sentence was commuted to imprisonment in an upstairs bedroom of ʻIolani Palace, where she composed many famous songs. After eight months, she abdicated her throne in return for the release (and commutation of the death sentences) of her jailed supporters, including Minister Joseph Nawahi, Robert Wilcox, and Prince Kuhio. The charge of treason for which they were sentenced to death by the Provisional Government was the same charge that Lili'uokalani had insisted be held against the Committee of Safety for their act of deposing her. She entered claims against the U.S. totaling $450,000 for property and other losses, claiming personal ownership of the crown lands, but was unsuccessful. The territorial legislature of Hawaii finally voted her an annual pension of $4,000 and permitted her to receive the income from a sugar plantation of 6,000 acres (24 km²). She went home to Washington Place, where she lived until her death in 1917 due to complications from a stroke. She was 79.

She was shabbily treated. Hawaii now reveres her as it would a patron saint.

It should

Bush for Four More Years? Now THAT'S a Real Friday 13th Horror Story!

Stock up on your voodoo candles today!

Just who or what do you fear on this day?

The word is paraskavedekatriaphobia - the fear of Friday 13th. Up to 20 million people in the U.S. are influenced so much by this superstition - many people fearing to fly or even get out of bed! - that it is estimated that this fear costs $800-900 million in business.

What do you consider a Friday the 13th kind of day? A black cat crossing your path? Some people believe that the number 13 became evil because it went beyond the "perfect" number twelve. Example, since Jesus had twelve apostles at the last supper (making the total 13), some people are afraid to have the host and guest list number thirteen because one of the people will surely die.

Who will Friday the 13th strike? SOMEONE in this country is going to be killed today, be it in a car crash, or a gang fight, or a gay bashing. But unlike those who are so paralyzed by superstition as to not even get out of bed, most of us have to face the day and laugh at the superstition. Reason has to prevail... doesn't it? And reason tells us that trying to limit the causes of accidents and violence would almost eliminate superstition.

But America does not operate on "reason" these days. Thomas Paine is passe and Aristotle is too difficult to understand (at least as taught by our regressive school system). I'm currently reading the book, The Age of American Unreason, by Susan Jacoby. It paints our culture as "dumbed down" by Reconstructionist authoritarians like Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Tony Perkins, et al.

So, I ask again, who or what will Friday 13th strike?

Will the price of gas go up to $6.66?

Will China call in its loans?

Will George Bush be struck dumb? (isn't that some kind of oxymoron?)

Will John McCain be forced (by voodoo) to tell us what he really thinks of televangelists?

You'll have to get out of bed today to find out.

This is my cat, Katie Scarlett. This picture was caught in one of her more pensive moments, but most of the time she is playing a rough house (that's rough on the house) game of "tag" with her sister, Chloe. She crosses my path a hundred times each day and she only brings me good fortune, joy and love.

Like Dickens' cat, she's beginning to like it when I read to her. And the only demands she makes of me are cat treats and attention (Oh, and that includes wiggling the "cat dancer" in front of her while the stereo's playing ABBA's Dancing Queen.)

Years ago, she would have been feared as a sign of doom or as a familiar to a witch. Years ago? Ooops, I forgot that the same preachers so horrified by Harry Potter books, would probably consider Katie some form of demon.

Katie, let's go out today and make some preacher's day - a real Friday the 13th!

The more I study religions, the more I am convinced that
man never worshiped anything but himself.
-Sir Richard Francis Burton

They Called Him Mad, But He Gave His All for Tourism!!

Hell, You'd Be "Mad" Too If You Saw The Price Tags!!

Ludwig II of Bavaria lived in a time of Romance - to the extreme. The repressed Victorian England element traveled as far as Bavaria and it affected young Ludwig greatly. There were songs about love and plays about majesty - and operas. And Richard Wagner.

Wagner was far more than an inspiration to Ludwig. He was almost his raison d'etre. To Ludwig, the right of kings was absolute. The Ring of the Niebeling, Valhalla, Siegfried and Brunhilde was not just legends: they were HERITAGE!

So to the consternation of his parents, Ludwig dreamed - and built. The three most photographed sites in all of Germany today are his work: Herrenchiemsee, Neuschwanstein and Linderhof.

Herrenchiensee was built as a tribute the the most "absolute monarch" Louis XIV and his Versailles. It's hall of mirrors is longer. It has hundreds of gilded rooms. Ludwig lived in it exactly 3 days.

Linderhof was a bizarre conglomeration of fantasies: topped by Atlas holding up the world, there was an underground grotto with frescoes on the ceilings and shell-shaped boats.

But it was Neuschwanstein that caught everyone's imagination: it was the epitome of romance and legend. It MUST have been Disney's inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's castle!

Ludwig's fantasies obviously strained Bavaria's economy - he was held prisoner in Linderhof and was visited only by a psychiatrist. He escaped his captors and was found dead on this day, June 13 (our Friday the 13th!) at 11:30PM in the lake.

"A Silly Little Monkey"

God sons
Originally uploaded by Vincenzo Pioggia

An interesting piece of art, this is. On today's date, Mussolini met Hitler in Venice, afterwards describing him as "a silly little monkey". I doubt somehow that that description ever reached Hitler. If it did, he probably thought that he needed Mussolini at the time - a lot more than Mussolini needed him. By that time, Mussolini had been in power almost a decade. He wanted to build a New Roman empire. He thought he was a latter-day Caesar. Actually, he was more like Caligula and just as "silly" as Hitler. The portrayal of Mussolini by Jack Oakie in Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" was priceless.

Happy Fourth of July to: Bush, Cheney, Blackwater, Condaleeza Rice and Jack Abramoff

America - Land of the Political Meal Ticket and Home of Lobbyists and Independent Contractors!(ya gotta love it!)

From The Washington In dependent June 10, 2008, by Mike Lillis:

John Kerry (in a letter not responded to as yet to Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice):

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) today is asking Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice for information, not only about the Blackwater contract, but also about how it came to be that the nation's military can hardly function any longer without the services of private companies. From the June 10 letter to Rice: Taken together, the apparent dearth of private sector security options and Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy's recent statement that, "[i]f the contractors were removed, we would have to leave Iraq," suggest that the U.S. government's hands are effectively tied in Iraq. What, in your opinion, were the driving forces that resulted in the U.S. government needing to rely so heavily upon private security contractors? In the future, does State intend to rely less, as much, or more on private security contractors in high-risk areas? If, in your view, State's reliance is likely to decline, what steps does it plan to take to reduce its dependence on such contractors?

Will Madam Secretary answer in detail? We think not. If a response doesn't come sometime today, then we'll know that Rice is mulling it over to answer it or not. It's a question that asks more than it reads: is the United States of America beholden to private interests in such a way that it cannot defend itself without them? How is it that the United States has come to this position? What other entities are we beholden to? Who really decides upon "no bid" contracts?

It seems that there was, in our history, only one other entity to which we were obligated: Great Britain, and we cut off ties with them because those links were detrimental to our lives.

Today is the 232nd anniversary of the idea of the Declaration of Independence. The Continental Congress assigned the job of drafting one up to Jefferson, Franklin and Madison. What a task! But to Jefferson (who wrote most of it) it was a simple job of listing all the reasons why we had to break with Britain and King George.

I read the Declaration last night, and there were particular words that struck home - especially with the current administration. Here:

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. (Like King George of Britain, our current king George has never paid attention to that "consent of the governed" stuff - after all, he was elected by God, not the common rabble!)

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. (Supreme Court Appointees, anyone?)

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. (With George, the harassment is just another unfortunate result to the war on terror - also called wire-tapping)

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury: (Guantanemo?)

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation. (Not exactly to us, but certainly for the enrichment of Blackwater)

Yeah, I know this kind of reasoning using old, time-honored testaments is rather trite, but the current administration lacks appreciation of anything new and is highly suspicious of it. You have to bludgeon them with old platitudes and show them how they were intended to be in our self-interest (don't get me off on the first Amendment or I'll be here chained to this computer for several years!).

So, to whom do we (the U.S.) owe money or debts of gratitude/favors (by Senators and Congressman to lobbyists) ? The list is waaay too long, but here are the top four:

China - Blackwater - Merck - Halliburton

Isn't it time we wrote another Declaration of Independence?

Would you sign it?

Judy Garland Lives On

Frances Gumm didn't know what was in store for her at Metro when they signed her up, but not her two older sisters. She would start an entire industry of fans: people wanted to see her (actually to hear her sing) in upbeat roles. She was the pretty (but not beautiful) spunky girl cast opposite Mickey Rooney - the two who always wanted to say "hey, gang, let's put on a show!" As a young lady, she charmed us in movies like "Meet Me in St Louis" and "The Pirate."

Few people ever saw her as a serious actress, however, and her one great role as a witness in Judgment at Nuremberg, has always been set aside - far from the Judy we want to see.

Anyway, thank you, Judy Garland, for making life a little better.

James Madison Bunks in with Carry Nation, Mohammed and Johnny Depp

Lighting candles in mourning for Mohammed

Oh Hell - It's Just Another Day!

Today was one of those days when there were so very many topics to choose from that not one particular thing really dominated the news. I didn't want to write about Obama-McCain. There are more than 145 days left to the campaign and I'm already feeling a pinch of boredom. Besides, there will always be links to them, to Democrats, Republicans, politics. In a way, it's too easy. Then in another way, it's difficult because there is so much stuff to wade through to get to your point when writing about the campaign. Everyone's writing about it in one way or another. I'm going to give it a rest for several days, unless something pressing presents itself.

Looking at the left sidebar, I couldn't help feel the presences of birth and death. Unusual combinations of people in those categories.

Birth: Frank Lloyd Wright, Michael J. Fox, Cole Porter, Johnny Depp, Donald Duck and, in a very real sense, The Bill of Rights.

Death: Nero (suicide), Mohammed, Charles Dickens, Thomas Paine, Carry Nation.

In one day out of 365, we have people and concepts who changed the world (O.K., I won't claim that about Fox or Depp, but I think Donald Duck is still a major figure in world affairs - he's a politician who has never, ever been seen with his pants on!). Today there are people remembering Mohammed and Dickens in reverential ways. Frank Lloyd Wright, too. I lived near his first design - a small angelic-looking water fountain in Oak Park, IL (where he lived). Carry Nation will always be seen as a kind of blip in American sensibilities: she campaigned vehemently against demon liquor with Bible in hand. Unfortunately, she died before she could see the Volstead Act enacted. Which is just as well, because it inadvertently took lawbreaking to a new level: that dour old lady's ways with an hatchet spawned speakeasies and the mob.

Is there anyone reminiscing about Cole Porter? I think so. Some are even fanatics about his music and play it night and day (sorry, I couldn't resist it).

Michael J. Fox has become an accidental icon, a spokesperson for Parkinsons Disease. He has become a symbol of courage in the midst of a chronic illness. Johnny Depp? Well, he's an icon of - what else? - iconoclasm. He's forged his own way in movies - a way that says "take it or leave it." There is also courage in independence.

And the birth of the Bill of Rights? Shouldn't James Madison's idea receive recognition in the form of a public holiday? Thomas Paine might have thought of it as something very fitting. His work, The Age of Reason, will never be on par with the Bible - simply because too many fundamentalists want to ban it.

Depp, Nero, Fox, Bill of Rights, Dickens, hatchets, reason.

Like I said, it's just another day.