It has always seemed strange to me that in our endless discussions about education so little stress is laid on the pleasure of becoming an educated person, the enormous interest it adds to life. To be able to be caught up into the world of thought -- that is to be educated.
---Edith Hamilton, educator and writer (1867-1963)
Great Illusions!
In light of the "Ground Zero Mosque"...
In 1957 President and Mrs. Eisenhower attended the opening of the Islamic Center on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D. C. The President said:
"And I should like to assure you, my Islamic friends, that under the American Constitution, under American tradition, and in American hearts, this Center, this place of worship, is just as welcome as could be a similar edifice of any other religion. Indeed, America would fight with her whole strength for your right to have here our own church and worship according to your own conscience. This concept is indeed a part of America, and without that concept we would be something else than what we are."
Dear Deer
When President Obama addresses the nation on Iraq on Tuesday night, he will do so from newly redecorated digs. The look, which includes new and reupholstered furniture and new paint and wallpaper, is more modern and tends toward neutral hues of brown and taupe, rather than the gold and yellow tones favored by his predecessor, George W. Bush
New York Times: A New Look for the Oval Office
USAToday: Obama's Oval Office has new look
How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?
---
Satchel Paige, baseball great
Take a look at Tuesday night’s box score in the baseball game between New York and Toronto. The Yankees won, 11-5. Now look at the weather summary, showing a high of 71 for New York. The score and temperature are not subject to debate.
Yet a president’s birthday or whether he was even in the White House on the day TARP was passed are apparently open questions. A growing segment of the party poised to take control of Congress has bought into denial of the basic truths of Barack Obama’s life. What’s more, this astonishing level of willful ignorance has come about largely by design, and has been aided by a press afraid to call out the primary architects of the lies.
Timothy Egan: Building a Nation of Know-Nothings (New York Times)
16 out of 400 to come
Crews plant swamp white oak trees at the World Trade Center site.
They will grow 60 to 80 feet high.
After nearly nine years, life is returning to ground zero in a tangible way.
