birthers

Another monsoon cooled us off and wet the forest quite nicely. It wasn’t anywhere like yesterdays downpour, but it works. Clouds are still around so more is coming. So many of my non-Arizona friends still don’t get that we are above 7000’, and a whole lot cooler than Phoenix. Several out of state friends emailed me today to ask how was surviving the ‘extreme heat’. They had seen on TV that much of Arizona was under an ‘extreme heat warning’ meaning stay inside, drink lots of water, and don’t drive more than necessary. As I explained, I am in Northern Arizona where a really day is around 90° and we are having a nice monsoon season which keeps us much cooler than even that. I am reminded almost daily that, to many citizens in this country, Arizona is Phoenix. I remind them that when a tornado hit Fort Collins, Colorado last year, I didn’t ask my Denver friends if they saw it. It’s OK, even though these friends don’t know AZ, they know I live there and are concerned. That is good.

This ‘birther’ issue—is our President a natural-born citizen—is getting out of hand. First I should say, I have no question that he was born in Hawaii. When I retired and needed a passport, I couldn’t find the birth certificate I grew up with. I do remember it though. It was a very old copy. It was black with white type. It had an embossed seal. It was not an original birth certificate. [I digress. It was the one the State of Colorado produced for me after I was officially adopted. For whatever reason, the really original—with my birth name and at least birth mother’s name was locked up somewhere for no one to see. Not even me. Laws have changed, and I guess I could get a copy of it now—if I was interested. However this white writing on black paper said I was born. It said it was a live birth. It didn’t say I was a bastard—even though I was.] Back to point about Obama’s birth certificate. When the State of Colorado mailed me an official copy of my birth certificate, it was a nice computer print out. It didn’t show a lot of the information that was on the old certificate. Today, there was a news story about Obama’s birth certificate. It was held up by some official in Hawaii. I knew right away it wasn’t the original. It looked a lot like the one I now have. It’s clean, computer generated, and has a computer generated seal.

I’m not surprised that some conservatives don’t want to accept that certificate. Many of them don’t want anything that comes from a computer. They believe that computers are the beginning of the end. No computerized medical records is also part of their call. I am beginning to think many of the ‘birthers’ aren’t really sure that Hawaii is part of the United States. When they were in school, they learned about the Hawaiian King Kamehameha. Any person born in Hawaii may not be a natural born citizen.

Some Americans still aren’t sure that New Mexico is part of the US. Remember the Olympics mess when an Atlanta ticket seller wouldn’t sell America tickets to a family in Santa Fe, NM, because they had to go through their local embassy. Remember that many Americans who travel to New Mexico and/or Hawaii ask their travel agent the exchange rate in that area. We have many out there who just don’t understand.

Politicians will continue to cater to their constituency, and if the ‘birthers’ are loud enough, few of today’s politicians will stand up and tell these people to ‘get a life.’

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Random Fact…
Number of words in the first sentence of Bill Clinton’s memoir and in that of George W. Bush’s, respectively: 49, 5

Men get hiccups more often than women.

A house in Baghdad worth $15,000 before the Iraq war now sells for $120,000 to $150,000.

Crazy Stuff In The News…
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - A 93-year-old Illinois man says he is marrying his third-grade sweetheart after 85 years apart. Roland “Mac” McKitrick, 93, of Arlington Heights, proposed to Lorraine Beatty, 92, of Georgia, about three years after they reconnected following an 85-year interruption in their friendship, the Arlington Heights Daily Herald reported. “She was my third-grade sweetheart back in 1921,” McKitrick said. “We knew each other for about one year. Then, for all practical purposes, we lost contact for 85 years.” But McKitrick said both he and Beatty had brothers living in Connecticut who became friends, and the two reunited through their brothers. “I still picture her as my third-grade sweetheart. I’ve carried that in the back of my mind since that time,”
McKitrick said. He said he still has a photograph of himself with Beatty taken when they were children. “That snapshot stayed in my memory,” he said, “and her face stayed in my memory.”

July is…

…Air Conditioning Appreciation Month…Blueberries Month…Cell Phone Courtesy Month…Family Reunion Month…Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month…Nat’l Doghouse Repair Month…Nat’l Grilling, Nat’l Hot Dog, Nat’l Horseradish, and Nat’l Ice Cream Month…Smart Irrigation Month…Social Wellness Month…Tour de France Month…Women’s Motorcycle Month…
Week of July 27…
World Hacky-Sack Week

July 28…
209 days so far this year…156 days remain in 2009
National Milk Chocolate Day
*Peru: Independence Day [1821]
*Faroe Islands [1/2 way between Scotland & Iceland]: Olvasoka Eve [opens Parliament]



BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1165
Ibn al-'Arabi Muslim mystic/philosopher

1844
Gerard Manley Hopkins England, poet (The Windhover)
1866
Beatrix Potter England, children's author (Tale of Peter Rabbit)
1892
Joe E Brown Holgate Ohio, comedian

1901
Rudy Vallee Vt, singer
1907
Vivian Vance Cherryvale Ks, actress (Ethel Mertz-I Love Lucy)
1916
David Brown NYC, director (Jaws, Planet of the Apes)
1929
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis 1st lady
1945
Jim Davis cartoonist (Garfield)
1948
-Georgia Engel Wash DC, actress (Georgette-Mary Tyler Moore Show)
- Sally (Ann) Struthers Emmy Award-winning actress

IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…

1586
Sir Thomas Harriot introduces potatoes to Europe

1851
Total solar eclipse captured on a daguerreotype photograph
1862
Fort Bowie is established in the Apache Pass, in southeastern Arizona, by members of Brigadier General James Charlatan's California volunteers.
1865
The American Dental Association proposed its first code of ethics
1866
Metric system becomes a legal measurement system in US
1868
14th Amendment ratified, citizenship to ex-slaves

1900
Hamburger created by Louis Lassing in Connecticut
1915
US forces invade Haiti, stays until 1924
1931
Congress makes "The Star-Spangled Banner" our 2nd national anthem
1943
Pres FDR announces end of coffee rationing in US
1959
Hawaii's 1st US election sends 1st Asian-Americans to Congress
1999
Federal Regulators from the SEC have given until August 1st for Brokerage firms to prove compliance with Y2K or a court order will be obtained to close them down on December 31st.


Category Puzzle

Each of the three words can be made into a common word or two word phrase

Example: play, beef, rocky
Answer: ground

1. Off, crow, tactics
2. Reading, stick, fat
3. Hook, jelly, bowl
4. Hay, smoke, up
5. Dog, frog, fighter
6. Weight, fly, sand
7. Above, floor, walk
8. Watch, house, gone
9. Hard, under, up
10. Fitting, land, free
*Bonus: salt, melon, white

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Answers
1. Scare
2. Lip
3. Fish
4. Stack
5. Bull
6. Paper
7. Board
8. Dog
9. Cover
10. Form
*Bonus: Water
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