Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

The Daily F Bomb, Friday 10/4/13

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Interrogatories

Hard tacos or soft tacos?

Have you ever been to Mt. Rushmore? Do you admire it as a work of art and feet of engineering, or see it as the ruination of a perfectly lovely mountain?

Non-POC bombers: do you believe you are privileged?

What is your definition of a hero? Can someone be a hero to you if you are ideologically opposed in some ways?

The Twitter Emitter

On This Day

In 1582, the Gregorian Calendar was implemented by Pope Gregory XIII. In that year, October 4th was followed directly by October 15th in Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain.

In 1830, Belgium seceded from the Netherlands and became its own kingdom.

In 1883, the Orient Express began operation.

In 1927, the sculpting desecration of Mt. Rushmore by sculptor Gutzon Borglum began.

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, heralding the beginning of the Space Race.

In 1963, Eric Clapton was invited to join The Yardbirds.

In 2002, John Walker Lindh, “the American Taliban,” was sentenced to 20 years in jail without the possibility of parole.

Born on This Day

1515 – Lucas Cranach the Younger, German painter (d. 1586)

photo LucasCranachtheYounger.jpg

1550 – Charles IX of Sweden (d. 1611)

1622 – Abraham Lambertsz van den Tempel, Dutch painter (d. 1672)

photo AbrahamLambertszvandenTempel.jpg

1657 – Francesco Solimena, Italian painter (d. 1747)

photo FrancescoSolimena.jpg

1814 – Jean-François Millet, French painter (d. 1875)

photo Jean-FranccediloisMillet.jpg

1820 – François Etienne Musin, Belgian painter (d. 1888)

photo FranccediloisEtienneMusin.jpg

1822 – Rutherford B. Hayes, American politician, 19th President of the United States (d. 1893)

1832 – Josef Munsch, Austrian painter (d. 1896)

1841 – John Joseph Enneking, U.S. painter (d. 1916)

photo JohnJosephEnneking.jpg

1851 – Francesco Paolo Michetti, Italian painter (d. 1929)

photo FrancescoPaoloMichetti.jpg

1859 – Vittorio Mateo Corcos, painter (d. 1933)

1861 – Frederic Remington, American painter (d. 1909)

photo FrederickRemington.jpg

1880 – Damon Runyon, American author (d. 1946)

1895 – Buster Keaton, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1966)

1923 – Charlton Heston, American actor (d. 2008)

1928 – Alvin Toffler, American journalist and author

1941 – Anne Rice, American author

1943 – H. Rap Brown, American activist

1946 – Chuck Hagel, American politician

1946 – Michael Mullen, American admiral

1946 – Susan Sarandon, American actress

1948 – Duke Robillard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Roomful of Blues, The Fabulous Thunderbirds)

1952 – Jody Stephens, American drummer (Big Star)

1957 – Russell Simmons, American businessman, founded Def Jam Recordings and Phat Farm

1959 – Chris Lowe, English singer and keyboard player (Pet Shop Boys)

1965 – Skip Heller, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1967 – Liev Schreiber, American actor

1968 – Tim Wise, American activist and author whose message seems to get accepted since it’s a white guy saying it, though POC have been trying to get the same message out, only to be met with hostility from white audiences. (Not that Wise himself doesn’t get hostility from whites – the denial of privilege is deeply ingrained.)

1977 – Richard Parry, Canadian musician and songwriter (Arcade Fire and Bell Orchestre)

1979 – Rachael Leigh Cook, American actress and producer

Died on This Day

1497 – Benozzo Gozzoli, Italian painter (b. 1420)

photo BenozzoGozzoli.jpg

1582 – Teresa of Ávila, Spanish nun and saint (b. 1515)

1597 – Sarsa Dengel, Ethiopian emperor (b. 1550)

1660 – Francesco Albani, Italian painter (b. 1578)

1669 – Rembrandt van Rijn, Dutch painter (b. 1606)

photo Rembrandt.jpg

1688 – Philips de Koninck, Dutch painter (b. 1619)

1754 – Tanacharison, American tribal chief (b. 1700)

1816 – François Guillaume Ménageot, French painter (b. 1744)

1904 – Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, French sculptor, designed the Statue of Liberty (b. 1834)

1933 – Adolfo Tommasi, Italian painter (b. 1851)

photo AdolfoTommasi.jpg

1935 – Jean Béraud, French painter (b. 1849)

photo JeanBeacuteraud.jpg

1947 – Max Planck, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1858)

1951 – Henrietta Lacks, American patient, HeLa cells derived from her cervical cancer (b. 1920)

1958 – Ida Wüst, German actress (b. 1884)

1970 – Janis Joplin, American singer-songwriter (Big Brother and the Holding Company) (b. 1943)

1974 – Anne Sexton, American poet (b. 1928)

1975 – Joan Whitney Payson, American businesswoman and philanthropist (b. 1903)

1989 – Graham Chapman, English comedian and actor (b. 1941)

1999 – Bernard Buffet, French painter (b. 1928)

1999 – Art Farmer, American trumpet player (b. 1928)

2001 – John Collins, American guitarist (b. 1913)

2004 – Gordon Cooper, American astronaut (b. 1927)

Today is

World Animal Day

Cinnamon Roll Day (Sweden)

Vodka Day

World Smile Day

National Taco Day

National Diversity Day

National Frappe Day

National Golf Day


Categories: General.

/ 22 Comments

22 comments

  1. Floja Roja

    I just gave Lolly her Clavamox and Lilly her eye drop, and Poppy is feeling left out, she thinks she deserves something, too. Silly animal.

    My answers:

    I like soft tacos much more. I think they taste better AND they are easier to eat.

    I have never been to Mt. Rushmore. It is not that high on my list of places I want to see. I come down on the side of “why did they do that to a perfectly good mountain?” but I imagine it must be pretty cool to see it in person.

    I know I’m privileged. It’s something we don’t even notice, since we haven’t had the lack thereof to compare it to.  As a woman, I can see that I miss out on male privilege, and there have been times where I found myself being treated differently (in a bad way) from others, but that was always due to something I could change – clothes, hairstyle, etc.

    A hero is someone who acts unselfishly to help others, often at some kind of risk to him/herself.  Yes they can be a heroes if ideologically opposed, though it is disappointing.

  2. plf515

    Hard tacos or soft tacos?

    OR???? It’s hard tacos AND soft tacos!



    Have you ever been to Mt. Rushmore? Do you admire it as a work of art and feet of engineering, or see it as the ruination of a perfectly lovely mountain?

    No and both. It’s amazing they managed to do it, but that doesn’t mean they should have.

    Non-POC bombers: do you believe you are privileged?

    Non-POC? Would that be POW (People of Whiteness)?

    I’m privileged lots of ways; some related to race, some to income, some to the fact that I was born in the USA (and not, say, Sudan). But I am unprivileged (HA) in terms of religion and disability.

    What is your definition of a hero? Can someone be a hero to you if you are ideologically opposed in some ways?

    I have many good examples of heroes. Yes, they can be opposed to me in some ways.

    In terms of a definition, yesterday I defined obscenity as that which lessens others’ humanity. Heroism, then, is that which celebrates others’ humanity at some considerable risk or cost to the person.

    Some heroes (besides the usual gang that you can guess at):

    Irina Sendler

    Here is a dkos diary about some heroes

  3. Gee

    Hard tacos or soft tacos?

    Have you ever been to Mt. Rushmore? Do you admire it as a work of art and feet of engineering, or see it as the ruination of a perfectly lovely mountain?

    Non-POC bombers: do you believe you are privileged?

    What is your definition of a hero? Can someone be a hero to you if you are ideologically opposed in some ways?

    Hard tacos.  I don’t think I’ve ever tried a soft one, though.

    I have been there.  Probably both?  Now that you asked, you’ve got me wondering what the other side of the mountain looks like, and what kinds of animals live there, etc., etc.

    Definitely privileged, and I get severely ticked off at people who can’t see it.

    There are all sorts of heroism.  A person can be known for a particular momentary heroic act and be pretty miserable overall, I suppose.  Nobody’s perfect, eh?

  4. JanF

    I will venture into the questions today because one of them is a sore point with me: the definition of hero. I can tell you who is definitely NOT a hero to me: sports figures are not heroes, politicians are not heroes. They may be people who are admired (and admirable) but that is really not the same thing. A hero, to me, is someone who puts their life on the line to save another life; not metaphorically but physically. Period.

    There are two problems with calling everyone who you admire a hero. First, you dilute the meaning of the word and you allow for the non-sensical suggestion that Ted Cruz, for example, is a “hero” (as I am certain teapartiers believe). Second, assigning heroic attributes to a human being can cause hero worship which is a bad thing, especially in politics where it can lead to unreasonable expectations. Our country does not need political heroes, they need pragmatic politicians.

    I will be back later to read your tweets and hovers …

  6. Gee

    1622 – Abraham Lambertsz van den Tempel, Dutch painter (d. 1672)

    “Ha!  If you think a dog catching a frisbee is impressive, watch this!“

  7. JG in MD

    Hard tacos or soft tacos?

    Have you ever been to Mt. Rushmore? Do you admire it as a work of art and feet of engineering, or see it as the ruination of a perfectly lovely mountain?

    Non-POC bombers: do you believe you are privileged?

    What is your definition of a hero? Can someone be a hero to you if you are ideologically opposed in some ways?

    Oh, right, I guess there is such a thing as a soft taco.

    Never been to Rushmore but hey, why not?

    Privileged? Oh yes, born into a privileged family and my widowed grandma married a really rich guy. But I’m about to sell her 1911 engagement ring to pay bills, so I guess the privilege has kinda trickled away.

    Heroes: Sullenberger forever.

  9. JanF

    You forgot this Tweet:

    @Floja_Roja: House Republicans are foul, stinking, maggot-ridden, festering pools of bile and excrement. And that’s on a good day.

    This story is STILL stomping on my last nerve … it may break it off soon:

       Democrats now stacking the bodies of dead cancer kids to form a barricade to keep the vets away from the sights of Washington. Developing…

       – TBogg (@tbogg) October 2, 2013

    Joe Biden called the poor park ranger harangued by the Texas congressman:

    Vice President Joe Biden came to the defense of a park ranger after a GOP congressman confronted her about the WWII memorial being closed during the government shutdown.

    Biden told the ranger he was proud of her in a phone call, his office tweeted out after the call Thursday night. […]

    Video surfaced Thursday of Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) confronting a ranger by saying “The Park Service should be ashamed of themselves” for denying people access.

    The ranger said it was a difficult task, but “I’m not ashamed.”

    Neugebauer shot back, “you should be.”

    I wonder why Rep. Noogieboyo didn’t choose a male park ranger to bully and harass. Hmmm …

    Look … you got me all distracted!!

    This makes me laugh:

       Rick Perry: “I believe a woman must bring a baby to term no matter what, and that she must abort all her opinions before they’re viable.”

       – Top Conservative Cat (@TeaPartyCat) October 2, 2013

    I am sure that Gov. Perry telling people what his wife REALLY meant when she said (and repeated), pretty unequivocally “It is a woman’s choice” will go over well considering that women’s rights will be a big issue in next year’s campaign. Good ol’ boys being good ol’ boys … may not be as popular in Texas in 2014 as it has been in the past.

    Hovering …

    – Oh my gaud, it is a punathon today! Ewe can rest assured no one can match your hovering genius.

    Thanks, Floja Roja! Enough pottering around … now I must go urn a living.

  11. Avilyn

    Q&A:

    Hard tacos or soft tacos?  Both!  Though I have a soft spot for the hard tacos 😉

    Have you ever been to Mt. Rushmore? Do you admire it as a work of art and feet of engineering, or see it as the ruination of a perfectly lovely mountain?  Never been, and I never really thought about it, but probably both.

    Non-POC bombers: do you believe you are privileged?  Hells yeah.  Even growing up poor and being a woman, I’ve no doubt my whiteness has given me advantages.  For one thing, generational wealth.  My parents didn’t have a lot of money, but my grandparents were well off (not super rich, but they both had pensions, and some investments), so us grandkids never really had to go without.  I’ve been stopped for speeding before (though not in years) and let off with a warning.  I can curse or yell at work and not worry about the image I’m projecting.  

    What is your definition of a hero? Can someone be a hero to you if you are ideologically opposed in some ways?  When I was in high school, we had a guy come and talk to us about the dangers of drugs, yadda yadda.  But one of the things he said has stayed with me.  “How many people here consider Magic Johnson a hero?” [This was not long after Magic revealed that he had HIV and couldn’t remember all the women he’d had sex with over the years.]  Lots of hands went up.  Then he continued “I’ve always thought a good definition of a hero is someone you wouldn’t mind your kids growing up to be.”  Lots of hands went down.  Now, I don’t have kids, so maybe it’s not a perfect definition, but I like it.  I think someone can still be a hero even if you are ideologically opposed, so long as their ideology doesn’t involve degrading humanity in some way.  A hero should be someone who makes other people’s lives better.  

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