Why The War Between The States Was Fought
This content was originally published May 7, 2017. … Recently, Mr. Trump said something stupid about the War Between the States. After his comments began to filter into the marketplace of ideas, people began to react. There was a good bit of self righteous talk about how bad the Confederacy was. Maybe it is time for another point of view. This feature will have minimal research. Mistakes will be made. The reader is encouraged to do their own research.
When the colonies declared independence in 1776, nobody knew how things would turn out. First, Great Britain needed to be defeated. After that, the Articles of Confederation went into effect. “Under these articles, the states remained sovereign and independent, with Congress serving as the last resort on appeal of disputes. Congress was also given the authority to make treaties and alliances, maintain armed forces and coin money. However, the central government lacked the ability to levy taxes and regulate commerce…”
This arrangement was not working, and the Constitutional Convention was called. Originally, the CC was going to revise the Articles of Confederation, but wound up throwing the whole thing out, and creating the Constitution. This document called for greater federal authority. The issue of what powers to give to the states, and what powers to give to the central government, was contentious. It remains controversial to this day.
Had any group of autonomous states formed a federal union before? Usually, such a union is the result of a conquest, with one of the states ruling the others. It is unclear whether such a union had been attempted before, or how successful it was. When the “founding fathers” created the constitution, they probably did not foresee how it would play out. The current system, with a massive central government cat-herding the 50 states, would have been laughed off as a dangerous fantasy.
So the states start to have disagreements. One of the things they disagreed over was slavery. Yes, slavery was an important factor in the unpleasantness to come. Slavery also influenced a lot of the economic conflicts. The North wanted high tariffs to protect industry. The South wanted low tariffs, so they could sell cotton to Europe. There were many other ways for the states to not get along.
Finally, in 1861, the disagreements became too big to ignore. The south seceded, and the War Between The States began. The Confederate States of America was a looser union than the United States. The thought was that the states were more important than the federal union. Mr. Lincoln disagreed. (One popular name for the conflict was Mr. Lincoln’s war.) Many people say that Mr. Lincoln was not especially concerned about the slaves, but wanted to keep the union together. … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Dorothea Lange took the social media picture in February 1939. “Listening to speeches at mass meeting of Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers protesting congressional cut of relief appropriations. San Francisco, California”
©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah
Marilyn Truther
This content was originally published May 31, 2018. … Marilyn Monroe was photographed reading Ulysses, the famously difficult book by James Joyce. 63 years later, a man posted the picture on twitter, while promoting a study course on Ulysses. If Marilyn read it, then you can too! I said something uncooperative, and a brief twitter fight broke out. Since the study course promoter, and his tweeting buddy, did not give permission, they will not be quoted here. One exception, the titular “Marilyn Truther,” was coined by the promoter.
@chamblee54 “It was a joke, at one time, to give models a book to pose with. It was considered funny to give them a difficult book like “Ulysses”” · “Who needs to show a citation? I may be wrong. I asked Google, and found this. According to the photographer, Marilyn did not read it from start to finish. A more accurate answer is that Marilyn read parts of it. The story by Eve Arnold should not be taken as unchallenged truth, but it is all we have. I should have researched this before i spoke. Did you?” · “I had read that about other models. I also read numerous quotes, attributed to Marilyn, that proved to be phony. Photography is a medium open to manipulation, and creation of fantasy. Just because you see a picture, that does not mean it happened.” · “Eve Arnold … a woman … took that picture. How do we know Marilyn told the truth? Maybe Marilyn was just trying to make a good impression on the lady. Would Marilyn have said the same thing if the photographer was a man?”
I disputed that Marilyn Monroe had read Ulysses, and will never know for sure either way. I am not the first person to wonder about this. “Richard Brown, a Professor of Modern Literature at the University of Leeds with a special interest in James Joyce, was intrigued by Eve Arnold’s photos of Marilyn. Curious to know if Marilyn was indeed reading Joyce’s novel or if she was merely posing for the photo, Brown wrote Arnold a letter, which she replied on 20 July 1993. Unfortunately, I don’t have Arnold’s complete letter to show you … In any case, the excerpt from Arnold’s letter is interesting as she was telling Brown exactly what he wanted to know”:
“We worked on a beach on Long Island. She was visiting Norman Rosten the poet. … I asked her what she was reading when I went to pick her up (I was trying to get an idea of how she spent her time). She said she kept Ulysses in her car and had been reading it for a long time. She said she loved the sound of it and would read it aloud to herself to try to make sense of it — but she found it hard going. She couldn’t read it consecutively. When we stopped at a local playground to photograph she got out the book and started to read while I loaded the film. So, of course, I photographed her. It was always a collaborative effort of photographer and subject where she was concerned — but almost more her input. … I suggest to them that perhaps if Marilyn, with her busy schedule, could manage to read Ulysses, then there’s no excuse for them not to read and enjoy it, too.”
Marilyn is reading the 1934 Random House edition, with the dust jacket removed. This is the edition that was famously set from a pirate version containing numerous errors. This defect notwithstanding, the dust-jacket artwork and typographic design by Ernst Reichl constitute one of the great works in the history of book design.”
What does this say about a screen icon who died in 1962? Maybe she was smarter than your typical dumb blonde. Maybe not. Marilyn had an instinct for the camera, and looking good on the screen brought joy to millions of fans. Is this post mortem resurrection, as an intellectual philosopher, merely another fantasy concocted by well meaning fans? Pictures never lie, and there is a picture of Marilyn, reading Ulysses, with a serious look on her pretty face. Of course it is real! A fantasy involving Norma Jean Baker Marilyn Monroe? How absurd! As long as the merchandise is paid for, and the instagrammers inspired, should we even care?
The cult of Marilyn has shown up on chamblee54 before. “Someone told me that Marilyn Monroe once remarked that she enjoyed reading poetry “because it saves time.” I like this quotation so much that I’ve never dared to confirm it; I’d feel disenchanted to learn it was bogus.”
This search for authenticity led to a forum called Data Lounge … “get your fix of gay gossip, news and pointless bitchery.” The “Marilyn: Smart or Stupid” debate rages through 200 comments, reaching a peak at comment 196. “Yes MM said every one of those quotes by herself! … But I’m worried for her, cause She’s my main spirit guide and Saviour and she recently commanded me to share this message! … Comment 42 is also tasty. “MM on the set of GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES in conversation with Jane Russell on embryological parallelism. “Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny.” … Jane’s reply: “I was about to say the same thing.”
In 2014, a facebook notice appeared. It was promoting a blog post by known idiot Matt Walsh. “If you can’t accept me at my worst, then you don’t deserve me at my best.”… “the original quote is from Marilyn Monroe. It’s even more vapid and nauseating when taken in its full context: “I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.” Out of all the profundities ever uttered, what does it say about our society that THIS is the quote we’ve decided to take to heart?” The quote is disputed.
A link I cited above has a footnote: “1. Quoted in Richard Brown, “Marilyn Monroe Reading Ulysses: Goddess or Postcultural Cyborg?”, in R. B. Kershner (Ed), Joyce and Popular Culture, University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 1996, p. 174.” MMRUGOPC is available from a suspicious app. I did find an interview with Richard Brown. “I suggest to them that perhaps if Marilyn, with her busy schedule, could manage to read Ulysses, then there’s no excuse for them not to read and enjoy it, too.” … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Dorothea Lange took the social media picture in February 1939. “Listening to speeches at mass meeting of Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers protesting congressional cut of relief appropriations. San Francisco, California”
©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah
Patriots Burn The American Flag
This content was published May 12, 2009. … A few years ago, some lawyers took a case about flag-burning to the Supreme Court. The Justices decided that flag burning was not against the Constitution. The decision caused a lot of people to get upset. The case was Texas v. Johnson, the decision was issued June 21, 1989.
Many people like to display the flag. They leave it out in all kinds of weather, in direct sunlight, until the once proud flag is worn and tattered. At least when the flag is burned the damage is done quickly. As it is, the Red White and Blue becomes the Pink Gray and Lavender.
I was walking to WalMart today, and decided to record some examples of this slow moving desecration. It did not take long to find enough examples to illustrate this post. One site was the grave of a revolutionary war veteran.
The United States code has guidelines about respect for the flag. Many of these are routinely ignored, often by people who consider themselves patriots. … 174 (c) Inclement weather – The flag should not be displayed on days when the weather is inclement, except when an all weather flag is displayed. … 176 (i) The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever. … 176 (k) The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.
There was once a bumper sticker. It had the stars and stripes, and the words “Try Burning This One”. The vehicle was left in direct sun during the day. The sunlight wasted those colors.
There is a pledge of allegiance for the flag. The phrase “under God” is famously included. Is this a violation of the third commandment, regarding the proper use of sacred names? Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. The social media picture: “Unidentified soldier of the 34th Indiana Infantry Regiment in zouave uniform” ©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah
Truth Is Ugly
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Interpretation of Nietzsche’s “We have art in order not to die of the truth.”
How Israel’s war on Gaza has made Hajj an unreachable dream Sara Awad
Israel Evacuates 50,000 from Haifa — Missile Threat Too Great to Ignore
The Most Famous WALK-OFF In Talk Show History: Lester Maddox vs. Dick Cavett
dan gasaway · passed out · alcoholic · jeremy princetta · sin
ryan grim · radio chestnut · stefan paulus · darth buddha · stefan paulus · samheim
Today’s entertainment includes three stories from April 2008. In those days, I was required to clock out for a sixty minute lunch. I would often knock out a quickie post, and email it home for later posting · This is your monday morning reader for a glorious may monday. There is nothing new under the sun, and yet people always find things to say, and think that it is new · After hearing the gongs this weekend, I wanted to hear more. I went to the Internet Archive, and found this: stefan paulus stefan paulus samheim · This is the script for a guided meditation that was presented May 16. Any resemblance between this event, and a serious contemplative practice, is coincidental · “Why does grindr crash whenever the Republican National Convention come to town?” The spell check suggestion for grindr is grin. · We have art so that we shall not die of reality Friedrich Nietzsche · In section 822 of the Will to Power (ed. Kauffman), Nietzsche’s note from 1888 reads thus: “For a philosopher to say, ‘The good and the beautiful are one,’ is infamy; if he goes on to add, ‘also the true,’ one ought to thrash him. Truth is ugly. We possess art lest we perish from truth.” (Will to Power; Section 822) · Amazon ☆ review: “I bought this book as a gift. I was willing to pay the $50 because it was advertised as a first edition. When I opened the shipping box, all i found was a regular used book that I could have purchased for $3! · Profanity makes up only 0.3% to 0.5% of the average person’s daily verbal output, amounting to about 80 to 90 curse words a day. … a study ranked Maryland and Texas among the most profane states, while Arizona stood out as one of the most wholesome · so I saw this man on here. I hooked up with him a few years ago, but fell out of touch. He is eagar to come over, my roommate is out, so i invited him over. he sent texts saying he was on his way. 45 minutes later, i sent him a text asking where he was. there was an uncomfortable text exchange, then he invited me to his place. I declined. · Today is @WorldGothDay. To celebrate, chamblee54 is running pictures from the GSU library. The social media picture was taken March 25, 1961. “Order of the Eastern Star, Grant Park Chapter #178” · George H.W. Bush: “People say I’m indecisive, but I don’t know about that.” Richard Nixon: “Let me make one thing perfectly clear. I wouldn’t want to wake up next to a lady pipefitter.” Herbert Hoover: “Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.” · PLAYBOY: “Did you ever have the standard boyhood dream of growing up to be President?” DYLAN: “No. When I was a boy, Harry Truman was President; who’d want to be Harry Truman?” · Pictures today are from The Library of Congress John Collier Jr. took the social media picture in October 1941. “French-Canadian stevedores. Oswego, New York” ©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah · I disputed that Marilyn Monroe had read Ulysses, and will never know for sure either way. I am not the first person to wonder about this. “Richard Brown, a Professor of Modern Literature at the University of Leeds with a special interest in James Joyce, was intrigued by Eve Arnold’s photos of Marilyn.
Bob Dylan Is 85
Content below was previously posted May 24, 2024. … Hibbing MN is a cold place. At least it’s the birthplace of Robert Allen Zimmerman. That’s Allen, with an e, and double L, just like hell. He legally changed that to Bob Dylan, with no known middle name. The initials are BD. On May 24, 1941, the curly haired wonder boi arrived. Europe was in flames, and eyeing America as fresh cannon fodder. This was twelve years, eleven months, and eighteen days before I graced the planet. A twelve year old in Hibbing MN would have no reason to think of me.
Content below was previously posted May 24, 2024. … a decision was made to go to Nashville. Al Kooper played organ, and served as a music director. A bass player named Joseph Souter, Jr. would become famous a few years later as Joe South. Kris Kristofferson was the janitor. The second session started at 6pm and lasted until 530 the next morning. Mr. Dylan was working on the lyrics to “Sad eyed lady of the lowlands,” and the recording could not start until he was ready. The musicians played ping pong and waited. At 4am, the song was ready. …
Content below was previously posted May 24, 2024. … I met a lady once, who worked in an insurance office. One of the customers was Joe South. His driving record file was an inch thick. … Al Kooper had a life. The former Alan Peter Kuperschmidt produced the first three Lynyrd Skynyrd albums, sold that contract for a nice piece of change, and lived happily ever after. Mr. Kooper was playing a show. I sat in front of the stage. During a break between songs, I asked his friend “what time is it?”. Mr. Kooper heard me, and said it was 11:30.
Content below was originally posted May 28, 2010. … The first BD record that I got was “Blind Boy Grunt”. BBG was a bootleg, recorded in a New York hotel around 1961. … I saw BD with The Band at the omni in 1974, and was not impressed. I won tickets to see BD at the house of blues during the 1996 olympics, and could barely hear what he said, the sound was so bad. … Zimmerman is the birth surname of Ethel Merman. May 24 gave us Queen Victoria and Patti Labelle. On May 24, 1844, Samuel Morse sent the message ”What hath God wrought”
Content below was previously posted July 30, 2024. … “I think everybody’s mind should be bent once in a while. Not by LSD, though. LSD is medicine – a different kind of medicine. It makes you aware of the universe, so to speak; you realize how foolish objects are. But LSD is not for groovy people; it’s for mad, hateful orange haired people who want banana revenge. It’s for people who usually have heart attacks. They ought to use it at the Geneva Convention.” PLAYBOY: “Did you ever have the standard boyhood dream of growing up to be President?” DYLAN: “No. When I was a boy, Harry Truman was President; who’d want to be Harry Truman?”
Content below was previously posted July 30, 2024. … “The only thing I can tell you about Joan Baez is that she’s not Belle Starr.” … PLAYBOY: “Writing about “beard-wearing draft-card burners and pacifist income-tax evaders,” one columnist called such protesters “no less outside society than the junkie, the homosexual or the mass murderer.” What’s your reaction?” DYLAN: “I don’t believe in those terms. They’re too hysterical. They don’t describe anything. Most people think that homosexual, gay, queer, queen, faggot are all the same words. Everybody thinks that a junkie is a dope freak. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t consider myself outside of anything. I just consider myself not around.” …
Content below was previously posted July 30, 2024. … “I go down to Dallas. I get a job as a “before” in a Charles Atlas “before and after” ad. I move in with a delivery boy who can cook fantastic chili and hot dogs. Then this 13-year-old girl from Phoenix comes and burns the house down. The delivery boy – he ain’t so mild. The next thing I know I’m in Omaha. It’s so cold there, by this time I’m robbing my own bicycles and frying my own fish. I stumble onto some luck and get a job as a carburetor out at the hot-rod races every Thursday night.” … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. The social media picture: “Unidentified soldier in Confederate uniform with bouquet of flowers”
Potus Jokes
This content was originally published May 1, 2016. … After the ADHD WHCD, the Washington Post published The single best joke told by every president, from Obama to Washington. It was easier than finding anything coherent said by Kamala Harris.
The pickins are surprisingly slim, especially for the modern era. When everything you do is recorded, something has to be funny. Three recent Republicans show a liberal capacity for humor.
George H.W. Bush, 1989 Gridiron Club: “People say I’m indecisive, but I don’t know about that.”
Richard Nixon, in Ms. magazine, 1971: “Let me make one thing perfectly clear. I wouldn’t want to wake up next to a lady pipefitter.”
Herbert Hoover “Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.”
Warren Harding was a dog. … “referring to his penis, which he named Jerry, in a 1915 love letter to his mistress Carrie Fulton Phillips: “Jerry — you recall Jerry, whose cards I once sent you to Europe — came in while I was pondering your notes in glad reflection, and we talked about it.”
You have to go back over a hundred fifty years to get a serious laugh.
Andrew Johnson “Washington, D.C., is twelve square miles bordered by reality.”
Abraham Lincoln “If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?”
Franklin Pierce about duties after leaving office: “There’s nothing left. . . but to get drunk.”
Zachary Taylor when suggested that he run: “Stop your nonsense and drink your whiskey!”
John Tyler on his death bed: “Doctor, I am going. Perhaps it is best.”
James Madison on his death bed: “I always talk better lying down.”
I found a quote once about Alexander Hamilton, by John Adams. “His ambition, his restlessness and all his grandiose schemes come, I’m convinced, from a superabundance of secretions, which he couldn’t find enough whores to absorb!” A google search for verification led to a reddit page, Fake Founder Quotes, starring John Adams. Apparently, Mr. Adams said something similar to that in a letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush, sent January 25, 1806. According to this source, the letter was a satire of Jonathan Swift’s Tale of a Tub
George Washington in a 1788 letter congratulating the Marquis de Chastellux on his recent marriage: “Now you are well served for coming to fight in favour of the American Rebels, all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, by catching that terrible Contagion — domestic felicity — which like the small pox or the plague, a man can have only once in his life: because it commonly lasts him (at least with us in America — I don’t know how you manage these matters in France) for his whole life time.” Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. The social media picture was taken in summer 1938. “Tobacco workers. Florence County, South Carolina.” ©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah
Cuss Words
This content was published May 29, 2012. … There is a lively feature today, A brief history of four letter words. It deals with the evolution of profanity. HT to Andrew Sullivan. Examples will be used in this feature. If such language offends you, please skip the text, and enjoy the pictures.
“Golly! Zounds! Gadzooks! These are the kind of things Captain Marvel would say. Almost any other superhero would be too mature for such, childish silly words. And yet, during Shakespeare’s time, they made him one of the more edgy writers out there. They’re not just random sounds, but contractions, meant to make absolutely shocking sentiments less outright obscene. Golly, zounds, and gadzooks were, in order, God’s body, God’s wounds, and God’s hocks.”
The body of God, or Jesus, is a big deal to some varieties of Christians. When Shakespeare was in business, it was even more so. Religious profanity is less and less explosive, as bumper sticker’s about God’s last name might indicate. When Europe was fighting wars about the best way to worship, this talk about Godfrey Daniels was explosive.
The third commandment refers to the proper use of sacred names. It’s application is in the ear of the beholder. I think that a “Pledge of Allegiance” to a flag is not the proper use of a holy name. And I am notoriously non Christian.
The Whisper of the River is about a “raised right” young man who goes to college. A yankee neighbor says “good God a mighty”. The raised right young man calls him out about “using the name of the Lord in vain”. I used to work with an obnoxious “Pastor” who was fond of shouting GGAM.
Some people think they are being righteous by not using certain words. The truth is that profanity is a social standard. God has better things to worry about than what words people use to describe procreation. All of the Carlin seven appear in the Bible, in one of the many languages used.
Bitch and ass are two words that used to refer to animals. “Ass is actually two words blended together to become an obscenity. Ass, the swear word, started out as irs, which meant the back end of anything, not just animals. It became arse, and eventually rounded out and emerged as an ass. … Bitch started out as a female dog in breeding condition. From there its meaning expanded to anything female in breeding condition, and eventually it expanded to become promiscuous, angry women … or anything “especially disagreeable.” Sliding between the slightly sexual, the slightly referring to sexuality, and the literal meaning of the word got bitch into general conversation, and most television shows. It also helps that being “especially disagreeable,” rather than meek and accommodating has become a point of pride for both women and male homosexuals, and so even at its most insulting, the word has lost the power to shock as society has moved on.”
Both bitch and ass have become more acceptable. Ass is frequently attached to hole, which describes a (hopefully) functioning body part. This word is a serious insult. Names for genitalia also function, with remarkable versatility, as cuss words.
At the start of the Carlin seven is piss and shit. These were created using onomatopoeia … a word that sounds like what it describes. They refer to excretion, both as noun and verb. Excrete is seldom used as profanity, even though it means the same thing. As time goes down the toilet, both piss and shit have acquired multiple meanings.
Which brings us to the F bomb. It is similar to the German Ficken or the Dutch Fokken. It almost certainly is NOT an acronym. Technically it is not one of the Carlin seven. If it is, then mother is a super cussword. With a profitable holiday in May, mother will always be said on television.
There is a popular naughty word with six letters. It *triggers* people. If Mr. Carlin had used this word in his monolog, his career would have ended. This word was used by Mark Twain. It is used today by millions of people. Many people who use this word are described by it. Our culture might be better off without this word, but America is stuck with it.
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. The social media picture was taken “between 1896 and 1901”.“U.S.S. Brooklyn, “Hogan’s Alley”” These men swore like sailors.
©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah
Archons Cannot Approach
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“Interfered with by the state of the times” The Rothschild Archive …
Woman bitten on foot by venomous copperhead: ‘I’ve never felt pain like that’ | WSB-TV
Angine de Poitrine – Live at Electric Ballroom, London, 11/05/2026
Tenants, businesses scramble to regroup after Chamblee apartment fire
You guys warned me and It finally happened, be careful where you stay in Tennessee
Jesus Revealed 1 Metal Chosen Ones Must Wear Around Neck — Archons Cannot Approach
Civil society should be resisting Trump’s authoritarianism. It’s succumbing to it …
ב-1983 תבעתי את “טיים” עם שרון. התיק נגד “ניו יורק טיימס” קשה יותר
Jesus Revealed 1 Metal Chosen Ones Must Wear Around Neck — Archons Cannot Approach
morrison farms · oil · david lloyd george · clarence carter · ron hudspeth
noah church · angine de potrine · rex reed · deepak chopra · confederacy · chuck mccann
This is your monday morning reader for day 73 of Bibi’s Dream War. The stock market is up 38 points. The price of oil is $80.42 USD. The bottom has not fallen out. The orange haired idiot will find a way to make things worse. · The title of my monday morning reader is chosen more or less at random. It is usually a short phrase in on of the links. The social media picture is something that catches my eye for some reason. What is not planned is the way X tags the picture with the title. · “7. We are exhausted from having to defend our existence to strangers.” The problem is, people in Lebanon, Judea and Samaria, Gaza, and Iran are exhausted from having to defend their existence FROM strangers. I knew two things on October 7. 1 – Israel would exponentially over retaliate. 2- We are going to be hit with a tsunami of rhetoric. The Jewish homeland is doing horrific things right now. All the rhetoric in the world cannot change that. · The claim that the Paris branch of the Rothschild bank supported the Confederacy while the London branch supported the Union during the American Civil War is a topic often discussed in alternative history and financial conspiracy theories, but it is not fully supported by mainstream historical evidence.While the Rothschild family maintained banking houses in both cities, historical records suggest a more complex, largely neutral, or even cautionary approach to the conflict rather than direct, split, and opposing support.Key Historical Context:Neutrality over Sides: Rothschild family archives indicate they were generally cautious, avoiding significant direct investment in Confederate bonds, which were seen as high-risk, especially after the Union blockade began to work.Belmont’s Role: The Rothschilds’ main representative in the U.S. was August Belmont, based in New York. Though often associated with Southern interests, Belmont was a loyal Union Democrat who used his position to support the Union’s financial stability, fearing that a Union collapse would wipe out investments.European Interests: While the Confederacy attempted to obtain financial support from Europe (cotton bonds), and some European investors were involved, the main Rothschild houses in London (N M Rothschild & Sons) and Paris (de Rothschild Frères) were primarily concerned with the stability of their European investments and minimizing risks from the war.Accusations and Rumors: The Rothschilds have often been accused of trying to influence British and French governments in favor of the Confederate cause, largely due to the need for cotton in Europe, but the family’s actions were driven by business risk management, not a desire to see the U.S. divided.Some interpretations, as mentioned in literature like “The Suppressed History of American Banking” or online forums, argue the family “played both sides,” but this is often presented to fit a narrative of international bankers driving the conflict. Mainstream historians generally focus on their role as cautious investors navigating a crisis. · The lady asked the Buddha what would happen when she died. ‘These are not the things that you need to know. The thing that you need to know is how to deal with suffering, because at this very moment, what made you ask that question was suffering.” · are you keeping up with the news from west asia. The latest reports say that Israel trains German Shepards to rape Palestinian prisoners. … What you want to bet that there are some queens who think it would be hot to get raped by a German shepard? · Today’s entertainment includes three stories from April 2008. In those days, I was required to clock out for a sixty minute lunch. I would often knock out a quickie post, and email it home for later posting. · At this time, think of someone at random. Whoever the first person you think of, hold onto this person’s name. When I leave a silent space, softly say that person’s name. Breathe in … I want __ to be happy, Breathe in … I want __ to be healthy, Breathe in … I want __ to be prosperous, Breathe in … I want __ to be safe · I cannot fulfill this request. I am programmed to be a helpful and harmless AI assistant. My safety guidelines prohibit me from producing, displaying, or assisting with sexually explicit content. · From 2010 … The biggest winner of the US-Iraq war (aka World War W) is Iran. This new influence in Persia is very troubling to Israel, which is loudly rattling its nuclear saber. When Israel makes noise about Iran, it takes attention away from the Palestinian tragedy. · Next time the r-subject comes up, see how many times someone says talk, and how many times someone says listen. If anyone says listen at all. · “what do you even say at this point?” We knew DJT was a crook, with massive personality flaws, in 2016. · Democrats made the central issue of that campaign calling DJT a RACIST. And if you disagree, then you are a RACIST. DNC thought that was how to win. The were wrong. · It is as if God wanted to design a method for spreading disease with receptive anal sex. The agent stays warm, moist, and dark inside the body. · The world is so bright when i pull the mask off , like the sky is so clean after a rainstorm. 2026 is so sweet this time of year. It is light outside and the air is sweet after baking in the sun all day. The layer shirt is out of the bag, and will feel good as a barrier agains the chill breeze. Why do the letters look funny with a double tap, and how do i control it for my use. Maybe it is a useless bug feature, like the 3 second video on an iphone. · I finally got out the door at 10:12 drove up new Peachtree Road turned on to Buford Highway I’m going to take Buford Highway up to Buford decided that it would be a good idea to stop at a Raceway and get a cup of coffee I usually don’t drink coffee but this is I’m on vacation I’m going to do things a little different today my first entertainment is Billy Corgan talking to Penn jillette and I was going to turn it off at first but then I I stuck with it and then pin Gillette made the most amazing point about atheism and agnosticism he said that an atheist is an theological question and an agnostic is something another episode epistemic or something like that one of those happy words and that he said that the basic notion of of agnostic is that he quoted his Christopher Hitchens and he said that I don’t know and I don’t think you do either and it is open to the possibility of a God but basically not you just don’t know either way you don’t know and this is very close to what I think because I might notion is that you should say agree rather than believe and to base a God on believing in it is not what I want to do but what I will do want to do is go inside that racetrack and buy a cup of coffee and then get on the road · Pictures today are from The Library of Congress Russell Lee took the social media picture in May 1941. “Dancers at large dance hall in San Diego, California” ©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah
Sunday Morning Drabbles
This content was published May 18, 2025. … Today is May 18, 2025. I am going to write new material for my blog today, based largely on content from May 2008. This was the first year that chamblee54 was on WordPress. I was driving a truck in Marietta, and listening to am talk radio. The 2008 election was going on. John McCain was going to be the Republican candidate, and Barack H. Obama was the Democrat wannabe. The 2008 economic meltdown was a few weeks away. After the economic meltdown, I lost my job, and the election of Obama became inevitable.
Another shot in the arm deals with capital punishment. On May 6, 2008, Georgia was preparing to off a convict. … Semantic timeout. While hung, shot, or beheaded are obvious verbs for more archaic means of execution, what is the expression for “executed by lethal injection”? What do you call the process where a GDC employee shoots up a person with substances that will cause their demise? Injecticide? … With all the corruption, lawyers, and rampant egomania in the justice business, how can the death penalty ever be administered fairly? Was this practice ever intended to be fair?
There was a comment thread at a Christian blog. The topic of preaching at funerals came up: “I want to see God’s grace and name honored.” Preaching an unwanted message to grieving people does not honor God. Christians frequently do not respect non-believers. Christians feel that if they only repeat their message over and over that others will agree with it. However, many of us have made up our minds. The more you try, the more you alienate us. A heavy religious message at a funeral is an example of this. Many incontinent evangelicals are like dogs that will not quit barking.
Like many men of my degeneration/generation, I had long hair. The problem is, with a Georgiawhiteboi like me, hair turns into worms after about three centimeters. It is way too much work to take care of. So I bought a pair of clippers. It was the modern version of letting my freak flag fly … I was in the church’s fried chicken on Broad street downtown. The two drag queens were in front of me in line.They got their food and left. When I stepped to the counter, I heard this girl say to her friend ”Her hayyer is so preeiitee”
Tallulah Bankhead was making a movie, “Lifeboat”, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Some of the other actors commented that Miss Bankhead was not wearing panties. Mr. Hitchcock wondered if this was a matter for wardrobe or a matter for hairdressing … Did Mohawks really shave their heads except for a stripe of hair in the middle? That would seem to be a lot of trouble for pre-modern men living in upstate New York. A Mohawk haircut is high maintenance, just like many who display them. … When asked how long it takes to do her hair, Dolly Parton replies. “I don’t know I am not there”
A clean pair of socks is change you can believe in. … The intangibles include respect, good will, and trust. Semantic fine tuning aside, these words mean the same thing. … A man has to believe in something. I believe I will have a drink. W.C. Fields … Mr. Barnum once said “there is a sucker born every minute”. This belief served Mr. Barnum abundantly … Miss Teenage South Carolina gave a famous speech. The first three words were ” I personally believe” … Anyone can quote the Bible. To do so without the trust of the listener is to speak in vain.
Opinions are like a smelly, though productive, body part. What does this say about beliefs? … Believe is a seven letter word. The first two letters are BE. The next three letters are LIE … Cher had a hit song called “Believe” The hair is a wig, the plastic surgery is paid for, but do you believe. … John 3:16 has more than 22 words. That verse helps reduce Jesus to a scheme for life after death. … My opinions about G-d, the Bible, Jesus, and Life after Death are none of your business. … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. The social media picture: “Private Lucien Love of Co. D, 43rd Virginia Cavalry Battalion … Photo shows young identified soldier. Lucien Love is one of six Mosby Rangers executed by the Union in September 1864 near Front Royal, Virginia.”
Always Take Sides
This content was originally published May 15, 2019. … “Always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.” This meme, illustrated by the gnomic face of Elie Wiesel, turns up on facebook a lot. (Elie Wiesel is pronounced like Elly Mae Clampett) Some find it inspiring. Others think it is simplistic and manipulative.
There are two questions. Did Mr. Wiesel say that? What was the context? The quote appears in the acceptance speech for the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize. The next sentence is “Sometimes we must interfere.” We immediately go from the absolute always, to the conditional sometimes. That is progress, even if it does not fit on a bumper sticker.
“Elie Wiesel was born in Sighet, Romania, in 1928. … In May 1944, Wiesel was deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp along with his parents and his sisters. Wiesel and his father were slave laborers at Auschwitz. His father died in January 1945 during a forced march to another camp, Buchenwald, and his mother and younger sister were murdered as well. After the war, Wiesel moved to France, where he worked as a journalist.”
The Israel-Palestine problem was just as vexing in 1986 as today. Here is what Mr. Wiesel said in his speech. “More people are oppressed than free. And then, too, there are the Palestinians to whose plight I am sensitive but whose methods I deplore. Violence and terrorism are not the answer. Something must be done about their suffering, and soon. I trust Israel, for I have faith in the Jewish people. Let Israel be given a chance, let hatred and danger be removed from her horizons, and there will be peace in and around the Holy Land.”
Who is the oppressor in the Middle East, and who is the victim? Many sides can make a case for their cause. Who is the better at persuasion? Who is better at playing the shady game of influence, and money. Often, more noise encourages the tormentor. The answer to age old conflicts is seldom found in bumper stickers, or facebook memes.
“…to whose plight I am sensitive but whose methods I deplore.” “Always take sides” means that you pick one side in a conflict, and use the tools of rhetoric to promote that cause. It can be tough to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Simplistic rhetoric is *never* the answer.
In 1986, the Iran-Iraq war was raging. Hundreds of thousands of men died. Many said the war was allowed to go on intentionally. Allegedly, if Iran and Iraq were not fighting each other, they would be fighting Israel. The United States was allied with Iraq, while making arms deals with Iran. Israeli dealers participated in the United States-Iran arms trading. The profits from those deals went to supply terrorists in Central America. “Sometimes we must interfere.” … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Jack Delano took the social media picture in May 1940. “Interior of general store at Stem, Granville County, North Carolina, with high school boys dressed up because it’s Election Day.” ©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah
Anglo Persian Oil Company
This content was originally posted May 19, 2010. … People are talking about the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. TomDispatch has a paragraph about one of the key players, British Petroleum (BP): “Originally known as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (later the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, still later British Petroleum), BP got its start in southwestern Iran, where it once enjoyed a monopoly on the production of crude petroleum. In 1951, its Iranian holdings were nationalized by the government of Mohammed Mossadeq. The company returned to Iran in 1953, following a coup that put the Shah in power. It was finally expelled again in 1979, following the Islamic Revolution.”
If you look at the problems of the world in the last forty years, so many are affected by Iran. The 1953 revolution left great resentment, which became manifest in the 1979 revolution. Soon Iraq … whose border with Iran was clumsily drawn by the British … decided to attack Iran. A gruesome eight year war was the result, with the USA supporting both sides. The idea was, if they are fighting each other, they will leave Israel alone.
After this war is over, Iraq has a problem with Kuwait, in large part because of a war debt. Another war is the result, with the USA involved. Iraq is vanquished, but some in the USA are not satisfied, and after a few years the USA invades Iraq again. That war is still raging.
The biggest winner of the US-Iraq war (aka World War W) is Iran. This new influence in Persia is very troubling to Israel, which is loudly rattling its nuclear saber. When Israel makes noise about Iran, it takes attention away from the Palestinian tragedy.
Tom Dispatch is still publishing content. The situation with countries-that-start-with-I is worse than ever. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Arthur S. Siegel took the social media picture in August 1942. “Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 or more young musicians study symphonic music for eight weeks each summer. Couples dancing at a Monday night dance jamboree” ©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah
Siddhartha Gautama
This content was published April 21, 2023. … 43 minutes into “The Buddha”, Gautama Siddhartha (suh·DAAR·tuh GAU·tuh·muh) turned away from asceticism. He accepted a bowl of rice pudding from a lady, and was a step farther on the path to enlightenment.
Buddhism has always seemed “too asian” for an occidental to follow. There are some things, confirmed by this video, that I find appealing. The stories of Buddha are understood to be legends, with no one (that we know of) claiming them to be literal history. This is not like the book worship of Christians. Stories about Jesus are said to be literal truth. The ideas that Buddha taught are not changed by “mistakes” in telling his life story.
There is a story about Buddha seeing his ascetic buddies, after he ate the bowl of rice pudding. He got the ascetics to listen to him, until he won them over. From what I have seen of humans, especially spiritually charged ones, I find it tough to imagine these people listening that long. The average Jesus worshiper cannot be quiet long enough for you to finish a single sentence.
Christianity is obsessed with life after death. The Buddha of this show takes a different approach: “There are stories of people coming to the Buddha, and saying, “I am leaving your teaching because you have not told me about whether there is a life after death, or whether there is another world. And the Buddha says, ‘Did I ever say that I would give you the answers to these things?’ ‘No, Lord, you didn’t.’ ‘Why do you think that I ever said that I would give you the answer to these things? Because these are not the things that you need to know. The thing that you need to know is how to deal with suffering, because at this very moment, what made you ask that question was suffering.”
The focus is on the life of Buddha, not his death. The focus is on this life, not on life after death. Buddha lived to an old age, teaching up until his departure. Maybe if Jesus had been better at human relationships, he would not have been executed.
Maybe I am so scarred by/scared of Jesus that I cannot benefit from any other source of wisdom. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. The social media picture: “Private William Anthony Holland of Co. K, 10th Virginia Cavalry Regiment.” ©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah
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