If you watch the news....you know that the folks up in Massachusetts are having a problem with one candidate who hinted that she was 1/32nd Indian. There's more than enough evidence now to show that she probably isn't Indian at all.....and if she was.....1/32nd doesn't count for much of anything.
So I went looking. What is the level where you can claim Indian status?
Sadly, our Congress has never declared this. Almost every single Indian tribe has a different view on the deal. Some are serious enough to say that if you marry out of the tribe....your next generation is zero percent Indian, period.
Some tribes will say that they can officially adopt you.....thus making a 100 percent white dimwit.....into a 100 percent Indian dimwit.
You'd think in 200-odd years, that we would have worked this out and had some mathematical formula rigged up by MIT or Texas Tech.
My humble guess is that Congress and the Senate have been kept fairly busy on worthless but more important projects.....so figuring the Indian view on heritage just isn't that important.
My suggestion is this. If you want to run back and get back on par to some kinda status within an Indian tribe.....you need to give up civilization for twelve months....live in a teepee.....live off the land....prove you can ride a horse....and wear strictly leather clothing (no underwear) for the entire year.
Given a choice between Harvard status or Indian status.....I'm guessing most folks would prefer the Harvard status, and we could just skip this whole discussion on Indian status.
I always was humbled by the law that Indians adopted within a tribal setting. You lived a pure life.....earned your position in life by actual physical actions....and your words kinda meant something. I don't think any Indian would dare lower themselves to being a US Senator....if you ask me.
Tuesday, 15 May 2012
Lite Comments
My brother wanted to nudge me on this topic.....of the President and his updated bio over at WhiteHouse.gov.
The kindly folks at Commentary Magazine noticed this, and wanted to just put it out there for folks to note:
I sat and pondered over the commentary. First, it was interesting that he started with Calvin....not Warren G Harding. Warren, in case you were wondering....got around three years into his Presidency, before dying of a heart ailment. Most folks don't want to brag much on Warren.....except he dumped the massive taxation that had been handed over to his administration by President Wilson. The roaring twenties....were strictly because of what Warren did as a President.
Why skip Wilson, or Teddy, or Taft? Don't know. Maybe he realized that Wilson was one of the biggest racist Presidents of US history....that Teddy was a blow-hard who never passed up an opportunity to make America look ten times better than it was, or that Taft really was just a judge in a gentleman's suit.
Then you start to wonder....do you really need to compare yourself to previous Presidents? You basically put yourself up on some pedestal and say you are in their league. Most Presidents don't run around doing the league comparison thing. Its like Batman saying he was as good as the Flash. Or maybe some current Army general saying he was as good as Grant or Sherman. Or maybe Bill Gates saying he was at the same level as Thomas Edison.
When a guy starts talking like that....it's pretty short-sighted. It's like some TV actor thinking he was in the same league as John Wayne for acting. Or maybe having some wannabe journalist saying he was as good as Edward R Murrow. Or maybe having some Jersey Shore gal hint that she was as sultry as Marilyn Monroe. Or maybe some Fox News guy saying he was in the same league as Paul Harvey. It just ain't so.
So I end with this. George Washington stood up in 1789 and basically couldn't say a word of comparison to anyone.
He couldn't hint that he'd fixed the economy or blame the previous woes on anyone.
He couldn't talk negativity about the banks, because he kinda needed them to function.
He couldn't suggest some newspaper was out to get him or blame something off on the corrupt writers for the weekly newspaper out of Boston.
He couldn't run off to the View and whisper flattering comments to a couple of left-leaning gals.
He couldn't announce that he was against or for gay marriage.
He couldn't even find any bundlers who could package up $12 for his election campaign.
At the end of the day, you reach a moment where you realize this enormous plateau that George Washington stood on.....and just how far down we are in 2012. I guess it's best not to even mention his name.
The kindly folks at Commentary Magazine noticed this, and wanted to just put it out there for folks to note:
* On Feb. 22, 1924 Calvin Coolidge became the first president to make a public radio address to the American people. President Coolidge later helped create the Federal Radio Commission, which has now evolved to become the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). President Obama became the first president to hold virtual gatherings and town halls using Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, etc.
* In a 1946 letter to the National Urban League, President Truman wrote that the government has “an obligation to see that the civil rights of every citizen are fully and equally protected.” He ended racial segregation in civil service and the armed forces in 1948. Today the Obama administration continues to strive toward upholding the civil rights of its citizens, repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, allowing people of all sexual orientations to serve openly in our armed forces.
* President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare signed (sic) into law in 1965—providing millions of elderly healthcare stability. President Obama’s historic health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act, strengthens Medicare, offers eligible seniors a range of preventive services with no cost-sharing, and provides discounts on drugs when in the coverage gap known as the “donut hole.” On August 14, 1935,
* President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act. Today the Obama administration continues to protect seniors and ensure Social Security will be there for future generations.
* In a June 28, 1985 speech Reagan called for a fairer tax code, one where a multi-millionaire did not have a lower tax rate than his secretary. Today, President Obama is calling for the same with the Buffett Rule.
I sat and pondered over the commentary. First, it was interesting that he started with Calvin....not Warren G Harding. Warren, in case you were wondering....got around three years into his Presidency, before dying of a heart ailment. Most folks don't want to brag much on Warren.....except he dumped the massive taxation that had been handed over to his administration by President Wilson. The roaring twenties....were strictly because of what Warren did as a President.
Why skip Wilson, or Teddy, or Taft? Don't know. Maybe he realized that Wilson was one of the biggest racist Presidents of US history....that Teddy was a blow-hard who never passed up an opportunity to make America look ten times better than it was, or that Taft really was just a judge in a gentleman's suit.
Then you start to wonder....do you really need to compare yourself to previous Presidents? You basically put yourself up on some pedestal and say you are in their league. Most Presidents don't run around doing the league comparison thing. Its like Batman saying he was as good as the Flash. Or maybe some current Army general saying he was as good as Grant or Sherman. Or maybe Bill Gates saying he was at the same level as Thomas Edison.
When a guy starts talking like that....it's pretty short-sighted. It's like some TV actor thinking he was in the same league as John Wayne for acting. Or maybe having some wannabe journalist saying he was as good as Edward R Murrow. Or maybe having some Jersey Shore gal hint that she was as sultry as Marilyn Monroe. Or maybe some Fox News guy saying he was in the same league as Paul Harvey. It just ain't so.
So I end with this. George Washington stood up in 1789 and basically couldn't say a word of comparison to anyone.
He couldn't hint that he'd fixed the economy or blame the previous woes on anyone.
He couldn't talk negativity about the banks, because he kinda needed them to function.
He couldn't suggest some newspaper was out to get him or blame something off on the corrupt writers for the weekly newspaper out of Boston.
He couldn't run off to the View and whisper flattering comments to a couple of left-leaning gals.
He couldn't announce that he was against or for gay marriage.
He couldn't even find any bundlers who could package up $12 for his election campaign.
At the end of the day, you reach a moment where you realize this enormous plateau that George Washington stood on.....and just how far down we are in 2012. I guess it's best not to even mention his name.
A Woeful Tale
I occasionally find business stories that are tales of woe and sorrow. So here is one for today.
Once upon a time, there was LightSquared. They were to be the delivery vehicle for wireless across the nation. They were going to bring wireless internet to the heartland, to farms in Nebraska, to tractors roaming Kansas, to truckers crossing North Dakota, to beer delivery trucks in New Mexico, to fishing boats on the Tennessee River, to hunters in South Carolina, and even to right-wing extremists hiding out in Idaho.
They were literally going to blast the nation with wireless signals....which they had bought and were fully prepared to implement.
They went to the Obama team and ensured that various bundles of money were laid out in 2008's election. They had various insider connections and figured that they had every single issue lined up. The federal government would probably end up at some point even financing the implementation to all these remote areas of the nation.....to save LightSquared tons of capital.
Well....then these Air Force folks came along to suggest that signal that LightSquared had bought....was awful near the signal for GPS-type devices. Then they suggested that LightSquared would bleed over a bit....making all these GPS devices worthless. An entire new generation of GPS gadgets would have to be invented. LightSquared disagreed with this analysis in the beginning.....but later would say that the devices were so poorly manufactured.....that new devices were needed anyway.
This week.....LightSquared came around to file for Chapter Eleven bankruptcy. Those Harbinger Capital folks.....who had invested billions into LightSquared....were screwed.
The curious thing is that if the Air Force had just kept their mouth shut.....we'd all have LightSquared internet around every single corner of America. We'd also be complaining about our GPS devices being screwed up for some funny reason, and some odd company offering up a brand new technology of GPS.....to ensure no bleed-over.
We would have been operating our hay-baling operation and also watching Colombian soccer at the same time. We would have been fishing on some lake, and talking to some guy from China about his fishing troubles. We would have been driving to work, and watching some Irish soap opera straight from Dublin.
It all could have been.
Once upon a time, there was LightSquared. They were to be the delivery vehicle for wireless across the nation. They were going to bring wireless internet to the heartland, to farms in Nebraska, to tractors roaming Kansas, to truckers crossing North Dakota, to beer delivery trucks in New Mexico, to fishing boats on the Tennessee River, to hunters in South Carolina, and even to right-wing extremists hiding out in Idaho.
They were literally going to blast the nation with wireless signals....which they had bought and were fully prepared to implement.
They went to the Obama team and ensured that various bundles of money were laid out in 2008's election. They had various insider connections and figured that they had every single issue lined up. The federal government would probably end up at some point even financing the implementation to all these remote areas of the nation.....to save LightSquared tons of capital.
Well....then these Air Force folks came along to suggest that signal that LightSquared had bought....was awful near the signal for GPS-type devices. Then they suggested that LightSquared would bleed over a bit....making all these GPS devices worthless. An entire new generation of GPS gadgets would have to be invented. LightSquared disagreed with this analysis in the beginning.....but later would say that the devices were so poorly manufactured.....that new devices were needed anyway.
This week.....LightSquared came around to file for Chapter Eleven bankruptcy. Those Harbinger Capital folks.....who had invested billions into LightSquared....were screwed.
The curious thing is that if the Air Force had just kept their mouth shut.....we'd all have LightSquared internet around every single corner of America. We'd also be complaining about our GPS devices being screwed up for some funny reason, and some odd company offering up a brand new technology of GPS.....to ensure no bleed-over.
We would have been operating our hay-baling operation and also watching Colombian soccer at the same time. We would have been fishing on some lake, and talking to some guy from China about his fishing troubles. We would have been driving to work, and watching some Irish soap opera straight from Dublin.
It all could have been.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)