Looking Back

Sometimes things pop up in my mind from years and years ago.  This is particularly astounding when often I can't walk from one room to the other without forgetting why I went there.  I was reminded of this yesterday, a particularly humid day.  I ran long early, with a medium-long bike ride.  Then I mowed the back yard and did some other yard work, trimming bushes/shrubs and trees and collecting the yard waste.  As the while, during my run, my ride, and my yard work, the "schweat" was just pouring off of me.  The humididity [sic] had to be near 100%.  Way back when, almost 50 years ago, when I worked road constructions, some of the old-timers (which, I guess, is what I am now?) would say on similarly humid days, "If it doesn't rain, it's missing a good chance."

Eventually we did get some rain, along with thunder and lightning.  The rain was about an hour long, if that.  And it appears we dodged a bullet.  A friend of ours, about 15 mins north, sent some photos of what the almost baseball-sized hail did to her house, yard, and cars.  Yep, she had a picture of the hail, in her hand.  It was larger than a golf ball.  It broke windows, dented (deeply) aluminium [sic] siding and her cars, and more, esp breaking the bottles of her wine tree.  Fortunately, she lost power only for a short while.  I read in the newspaper today that more than 200,000 utility customers were still without power overnight.  I may be called into clean-up service tomorrow, after the insurance adjuster visits.

I guess CNN says it's "complicated" to determine if Hamas is using Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as "human shields" to cover their rocket attacks on Israel.  Why is that "complicated?"  Hamas and other terrorist groups constantly use this strategy/tactic (I'd guess it would really be a strategic, but see where it could be considered a tactic).  They know the world, through the UN, with its lack of credibility, and the sissies in the US, will decry any Israeli retaliation that kills "innocent civilians."  Oh, the protests!  So, what are the Israeli's supposed to do?  "Well, I guess since Hamas is firing rockets at us from populated areas, we can't fight back and defend ourselves.  Oh we...."  "Complicated," says CNN.  I understand some people's concerns with Fox News and bias.  But why are there no similar concerns with CNN or, for instance, NPR and other news providers?

I received an interesting article/blog today from another historian.  It was about WW1 and, in particular, why it was a bad war in which to involve the US.  What was most interesting to me was the view of President Woodrow Wilson.  It was gratifying to see him portrayed as he really was, not how most historians and their books distort (lie?) about him.  "Wilson's ego...knew no bounds," reads the article.  Is that like me telling my students "Wilson was the most arrogant of elitists?"  The historians and their textbooks never let on about the bigoted and racist Wilson, his intolerance of opposition, etc.  And, for the most part, the deliberate (Doesn't it have to be deliberate, considering the intelligence of many historians?) deception/distortion (lies?) has worked.  It reminds me of how well the similar views of Franklin Roosevelt has succeeded.  Go ahead, try to tell someone that Roosevelt's New Deal, for instance, did not pull the US out of the Depression.  Use facts and statistics, such as unemployment rates, production levels, etc.  It won't matter.  Any challenge to the prevailing view that the New Deal was marvelously successful will be met with largely deaf ears.  For fun, try suggesting that the New Deal actually lengthened and maybe even deepened the Depression, as facts and statistics allow for arguing.  But, no......  The historians and their textbooks have spoken.  FDR has been anointed and there is no besmirching him, not even with facts.  I've tried this and people look at me with an expression that all but says, "And you're supposed to be a history teacher?"  This is with some college-educated people.  Hey, even teachers I worked with wouldn't listen to my nonsense.  Of course, many of them knew only what was in the textbook(s).  I suppose that's what makes it easier to perpetuate the distortions about Wilson, F. Roosevelt, and others.