Headlines!

Maybe it's a sign of the times; maybe it's a sign that the Apocalypse is nearing.  This AM's headline, main headline, didn't have to do with the election, didn't have to do with the spate of murders in Detroit, didn't even have to do with the Tigers or Lions.  Nope, it had to do with none of them.  It was something about the issue of a new I-Pod/I-Pad or whatever it is called...the main headline.  OK, I guess I am something of a 20th and 21st Century Luddite, but that seems a bit much to me, yet another paean to the god of Technology.

I was listening to Clarence Thomas today and he mentioned the Articles of Confederation and its difficulties.  He said, "The congress wasn't working."  There were some quick titters in the audience before everyone caught on and burst into laughter.  Justice Thomas merely smiled and said, "That was inadvertent."  I found something he said to be quite worth consideration.  We should keep Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, etc. "close at hand to remind us of our obligations" to freedom and democracy.  Yes, we should.  I know people are critical of Justice Thomas, notably his supposed lack of intelligence.  Bologna/Baloney!!!!!!  He is one of us, down-to-earth and common sensical.  He sounded very intelligent to me all evening, discussing a variety of topics related to the Constitution--its writing, its meaning, its authors, its time, etc.

I also watched Julie (Nixon) and David Eisenhower this evening.  They were discussing their recent book on his grandfather and another author's new biog on Eisenhower.  It was nice to see them.  They both look pretty good.  He sounded quite knowledgeable and I picked up a few things about, if not Ike, then about Harry Truman.  I self-congratulated myself, without breaking my arm, when I heard some Yale history professor explain the relationship between the Gettysburg Address and Declaration of Independence in terms that I use in class--the exact same ones.  Hmmm....  I think I am older than that guy, at least I think I look it, so I will still claim I "invented" that explanation.

How cool!  I just noticed I haven't yet done the Saturday Stumper, the Sat crossword that is much more difficult than the Sun NY Times crossword--as is the Sat NY Times crossoword.  Out to give that one a shot....