A Book Review of "Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President"

by Nomad

The presidency of James Garfield is one of those chapters of American history that historians just tend to overlook. It's no surprise. It lasted only about seven months before ending with a ghastly assassination. And even that sensational aspect gets little attention, compared to the murders of Lincoln or Kennedy. 
Yet, as I soon discovered, it is a tale worth telling.

Historian Candice Millard takes up that challenge in her book, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President, which deals with this national tragedy, exploring both the colorful players and the events that led up to the murder and its dreadful aftermath.

How James Garfield got to be president at all is quite an extraordinary story in itself. In a search for a suitable nominee, the 1880 Republican convention in Chicago had become hopelessly deadlocked. The Stalwarts, a rebellious faction within the Republican party (much like the Tea Party conservatives of today) refused to budge. Their candidate of choice was Ulysses S. Grant who had already served two two terms as the eighteenth President of the United States (1869–1877).

Many at the convention thought two terms were quite enough for president Grant. During his administration, there were financial corruption charges or scandals in all federal departments; eleven scandals altogether One author, C. Vann Woodward in his article, The Lowest Ebb, observes (rather understatedly) that Grant had "difficulty in spotting corrupt individuals." 

In the eyes of corrupt individuals, Grant's blindness made him a perfect candidate to run for an unprecedented third term.

The Conservative Victory Fund Project: Has Karl Rove's SuperPAC Declared War on Tea Party Nuttery?

by Nomad

Recently Karl Rove’s American Crossroads group officially fired the first shot in the battle for the soul (such as it is) of the Republican party when he announced the creation of a new super-PAC, the Conservative Victory Fund Project.  
The mission of the SuperPAC is 

"to “recruit seasoned candidates and protect Senate incumbents from challenges by far-right conservatives and Tea Party enthusiasts who Republican leaders worry could complicate the party’s efforts to win control of the Senate.”

Take that, Tea Party Express.

According to the New York Times:

The group, the Conservative Victory Project,[CVF] is intended to counter other organizations that have helped defeat establishment Republican candidates over the last two election cycles. It is the most robust attempt yet by Republicans to impose a new sense of discipline on the party, particularly in primary races.

As Insane as it might sound, it appears that the Rove Republicans are now playing the role of the old guard of the Republican Party. And apparently, the defenders of the empire have had enough of the Tea Party rebels. After all that wooing and courting, and skillful manipulation of least intelligent and most rabid right wing voters in ;last two election cycles, the GOP has finally come to the conclusion (a bit late) that maybe stitching together this pouty, disobedient Frankenstein was not such a bright idea after all. 
We, on the sidelines, stuffing popcorn in our greasy-lipped mouths, have seen this coming, of course. Look at how they treated Tea Party queen Sarah Palin at the Republican Convention in Florida last year. It was "Sarah who?" For the GOP, Sarah became their own  political form of  "Fatal Attraction." She was the drunken tryst in the backseat of the Republican Oldsmobile nobody wants to remember.

Musical Sanity Break- Two by Urna Chahar-Tugchi

Here's something very different to inspire your spirit. Call a little restoration therapy.

The singer feature here is Urna Chahar Tugchi, known as Urna, and she is from the grasslands of the Ordos Plateau in Inner Mongolia. Of course I have no idea what she is singing about but the control she has over her voice  and her range are extraordinary, I think.

I hope you enjoyed the music as much as I did sharing it with you. 

New Mexico House Bill 206: When Abortion after Rape or Incest is Tampering with Evidence

by Nomad

Looks like one legislator in New Mexico got caught trying to pull a fast one on voters when it comes to abortion. 
Draft legislation in the New Mexico State Congress would  have made the bodies of every woman pregnant from rape or incest a crime scene. According to House Bill 206, any woman attempting to terminate the pregnancy would be charged with the third-degree felony of “tampering with evidence.”

The bill would have made a crime of “procuring or facilitating an abortion, or compelling or coercing another to obtain an abortion, of a fetus that is the result of criminal sexual penetration or incest with the intent to destroy evidence of the crime.” 

When news of the bill made headlines, the embarrassed sponsor of the bill found herself in the middle of a political storm.

Furious Backpedaling in Santa Fe
When details of the bill were made public, Republican Rep. Cathrynn N. Brown of Carlsbad, the sponsor of the bill, told reporters that:

“House Bill 206 was never intended to punish or criminalize rape victims. Its intent is solely to deter rape and cases of incest. The rapist — not the victim — would be charged with tampering of evidence.”

(Brown fails to mention that the original version of her draft did not include any provision that victims could not be charged. That addition and revision apparently came after the public outcry. To see the original version, click here: )

In the face of a public backlash, Brown was forced to add important clarifications ( From “ Whoever commits tampering with evidence shall be punished as follows:...” suddenly became “In no circumstance shall the mother of the fetus be charged.”)
But, since the bill doesn't define "procuring or facilitating"or "compelling or coercing" a 
careful re-reading also shows that anybody who encourages a woman to get an abortion after these crimes could be charged. Perpetrators of rape and incest are not exclusively specified.

Misplaced Priorities in Indiana: Bambi-Gate, Canned Hunting and the Zombie Deer Plague

by Nomad

Bambi-Gate

Here's a story by Mike Adams from InformationLiberation.com that provides some insight on perhaps why so many people hate so-called Big Government.

An Indiana couple saved a wounded baby deer and nursed it back to life, saving its life and giving it a home. They named it "Little Orphan Dani." When Indiana state officials got word of this courageous act of compassion, they ordered the deer euthanized. (Because government wants to kill everything you love.)

When the deer "escaped" right before it was schedule to be killed -- and yes, I think the couple probably set it free rather than have it killed -- the man and woman were charged with unlawful possession of a deer. 

They now face $2,000 in fines and 60 days in jail.

For more details about Bambi-gate, you can go to the ABC news story. Imagine being in jail and explaining to all the hardened convicts that you are behind bars for nursing a baby deer back to health.

Here's Something I Bet You Don't Know about Rush Limbaugh

by Nomad

Shaking the Limbaugh family tree and something amazing falls out.

Here's a story to brighten your mood a little. The satirical news site, The Daily Currant, has this hoax-story about Rush Limbaugh was denied service in a Mexican restaurant (due to his history of racial slurs against minorities) and was asked to leave the premises. In the fictional story, Rush lost his cool.
According to the story, Limbaugh bellowed to the owner how..

"My ancestors built this country while yours were sacrificing 10-year-olds to the Aztec gods. This isn't your country. It's our country. You're a guest here in America..."

Unfortunately, although it might sound plausible, the event never actually took place. Yet, there's always hope that somebody will have to courage to confront this man in such a way.

The Other Rush

Still it did get me curious about the Limbaugh family history. It was interesting to see how little in common Rush Limbaugh III has with his more honorable origins.

Rush Limbaugh, Sr., Limbaugh's grandfather and namesake, served on the Missouri Commission for Human Rights (MCHR) back in the late 1950s. The Commission was established in 1957, but was originally meant to gather information about discrimination and publish a report and recommendations after a two-year period and it is still in operation. (Last year, the commission investigated and closed nearly 1500 cases of employment discrimination in Missouri.)

NRA's Enemies List: Everybody's in the Cross-Hairs

by Nomad

This unintentionally amusing news story in TruthDig caught my attention.

The NRA Has an Enemies List and It’s Really Long

The NRA seems to have become an organization that has lately done all within its power to destroy whatever legitimacy it once had. 

Case in point. On its website, the NRA has posted a list of its enemies. who "“have lent monetary, grassroots or some other type of direct support to anti-gun organizations” and “have officially endorsed anti-gun positions.” 

An enemies list? Really? When Watergate was an evolving crisis in the Nixon administration, the president tried to use the same thing and it backfired then too. When the list was leaked, most people took it as a sign of the president's growing paranoia. 

Lots of groups publish such lists (ok, some do) in an effort to rally their supporters to mobilize.  The kind of people we're up against, that sort of thing.  Us and them. 

However, such a tactic is risky. Whenever powerful groups target individuals solely for their political positions, the fall-out can be unpredictable.  Nobody told the NRA. The problem  in this case  is that the kind of people the NRA is up against includes.. well, nearly everybody. (Click HERE to see the full list.)