What Would Jimmy Do?

Today is considered the “longest running African-American holiday” — it’s been called “America’s second Independence Day.”  June 19th or “Juneteenth” is an important day in African American history. Juneteenth, often called “Freedom Day,” is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.

On June 19th, 1865 Union soldiers, led by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, arrived in Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that all slaves were free. If you’re paying attention, you’ll note that 1865 was 2½ years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, that became official on January 1, 1863. Obviously, the Emancipation Proclamation had very little impact on Texas. One reason is that there was a minimal number of Union troops available to enforce the new executive order in Texas — and — there were large crops that needed labor to harvest them. From the time Gen. Lee surrendered, in April 1865, until Gen. Granger’s regiment arrived with forces strong enough to overcome the resistance of white slave owners, 2½ years had passed….. it took 2½ years after the Emancipation Proclamation for all slaves to finally be free.

On January 1, 1980, Juneteenth became an official state holiday in Texas through the efforts of Al Edwards, an African American state legislator. The successful passage of the bill marked Juneteenth as the first emancipation celebration granted official state recognition. Edwards has since sought to spread the observance of Juneteenth across the nation. 

On June 15, 2021, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the bill that makes Juneteenth a legal public holiday. On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed into law Senate Bill 475 (S. 475) making “Juneteenth” a federal holiday.
There is a Juneteenth Flag of Freedom — it’s half red and half blue with a star in the middle. Each year a Juneteenth Flag raising ceremony in held in Galveston.

Juneteenth is a holiday commemorating the freedom of the slaves in the United States. Some people call it Emancipation Day or Freedom Day. It was a cause of celebration and jubilation in 1865 — should still be today.
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Every time the third Sunday in June rolls around, we celebrate Father’s Day. Most people know that Mother’s Day got its start from the efforts of a West Virginian — Anna Jarvis. It turns out that West Virginia was also instrumental in the creation of Father’s Day. On July 5, 1908, a small church in West Virginia held the first public event meant to specifically honor the fathers of their community. The day was held in remembrance of the 362 men who were killed the previous December in a mining explosion at the Fairmont Coal Company. Even though that specific day didn’t transform into an annual tradition in the town, it did set a precedent of reserving a day for dads everywhere.

The next year, in 1909, Spokane resident Sonora Smart Dodd was listening to a Mother’s Day sermon at her local church when she had the idea to attempt to establish a similar day to honor the fathers of the community. Dodd was the daughter of a widower and Civil War veteran named William Jackson Smart, who raised six children on his own after his wife died during childbirth. 
Dodd contacted local church groups, government officials, YMCAs, businesses and other groups hoping to gain community support to recognize fathers around the state of Washington. Her campaign eventually culminated in the first statewide Father’s Day celebration in 1910.
Dodd originally wanted “Father’s Day” to be observed on June 5 — her father’s birthday. But the mayor of Spokane and the local churches asked for more time to prepare for all the festivities involved and it was moved to the third Sunday in June — it has remained there ever since.
Officially, the first Father’s Day celebration took place on June 19, 1910.

It so happens that not everyone was happy with the idea of having two separate days to celebrate Mothers and Fathers. In the 1920s and 30s, there was a movement to join the two days as a unified Parents’ Day. The opponents of the separate days saw the two holidays as a “division of respect and affection” for parents, especially during the time when Father’s Day hadn’t been officially recognized nationwide. The movement to combine the two days died out in the 40s, but if it had succeeded, apparently we’d all be celebrating Parents’ Day every year with the slogan, “A kiss for mother, a hug for dad.”

After Father’s Day began to be celebrated in other regions of the country, not just Washington State, Woodrow Wilson commemorated it by unfurling an American flag in Spokane using a special telegraph — all the way from Washington D.C. in 1916. It’s interesting that Wilson had signed a proclamation to recognize Mother’s Day as a national holiday — he never signed the same paperwork for Father’s Day. 

It took until 1966 for President Lyndon Johnson to make a nationwide proclamation endorsing Father’s Day across the country. But nowhere in Johnson’s proclamation did it mention anything about what would happen on Father’s Day next year. The resolution specified “the third Sunday in June of 1966.” It wasn’t until President Nixon signed Public Law 92-278, in 1972, that Father’s Day was permanently recognized by the federal government. 

Father’s Day, or some form of the holiday, exists in 111 countries around the world. Many countries align with the U.S. and celebrate Father’s Day on the third Sunday of June, some choose to honor fathers on March 19, also known as St. Joseph’s Day. In some of those countries, the idea of Father’s Day stretches back to the feast established in the Middle Ages to honor St. Joseph. The original celebrations focused on Joseph — the foster father of Jesus — and eventually turned into a day to honor the institution of fatherhood in general. 

South Korea isn’t one of the 111 countries that observes Father’s Day — the days to honor moms and dads are combined into a Parent’s Day — held on May 8. Some people in the U.S. from the 1920s and 30s would be very pleased with that decision.

So it was a long road, but today it’s officially Father’s Day.
Celebrate appropriately. 
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I played golf yesterday and afterwards we stopped for a beer and to discuss world changing things that needed our attention. I’m not sure why, but for some reason we got onto the subject of worry. It basically involved talk about a couple of people we both know that always seem to worry about the wrong — or at least unimportant — things.

It reminded me of a “story” I once heard about worrying. It goes something like this…
There are only two things to worry about — either you’re healthy or you’re sick. If you’re healthy, then there is nothing to worry about. But if you’re sick, there are only two things to worry about — either you will get well, or you will die. If you get well, then there is nothing to worry about. But if you die, there are only two things to worry about — either you will go to heaven or to hell. If you go to heaven, then there is nothing to worry about. And if you go to hell, you’ll be so darn busy shaking hands with your friends you won’t have time to worry. 

We all worry, but I’ve heard it said that worry is like a rocking chair — it gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere….
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Today is Flag Day — June 14. On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution, stating “the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.”

 Then, more than 130 years later, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed June 14, 1916 as Flag Day. President Calvin Coolidge did the same in 1927. It was declared a national holiday in 1949 when it was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Truman. It is not a federal holiday, but it is celebrated across the country.

The flag has changed over the years with more stars being added as new states joined the union, but it should be just as sacred and important to American today as it was in 1777…..

Although Betsy Ross is often credited with creating the first American flag (in 1776,) there is no real proof to confirm that fact. Here’s how that story became popular — almost a century later, in 1870, Ross’s grandson, William Canby stated his grandmother was approached by three men, General George Washington, her relative Colonel George Ross and Revolutionary War financier Robert Morris, and was asked to design the flag. Betsy Ross’ daughter, niece and granddaughter submitted affidavits to back up Canby’s story. Taking into account her sewing skills and her relation to Colonel George Ross, who signed the Declaration of Independence, it’s possible that Betsy Ross was given that awesome responsibility.

Another school of thought says that New Jersey delegate and signatory of the Declaration of Independence, Francis Hopkinson designed the original flag. He had experience creating seals for the U.S, government and petitioned for his payment from producing the “flag of the United States of America.” His request was rejected because “he was not the only one consulted.”

So the designer of the original flag is questioned, but we know exactly who designed the present-day flag. In 1958, Alaska and Hawaii were both likely to become the 49th and 50th states. Bob Heft, a 17-year old Ohio high school student decided to design a 50-star flag for a history project during his junior year. He cut up his parents’ 48-star flag and used his mother’s sewing machine to create his design. He only receive a B- for his project, but he sent his flag to his congressman, Walter Moeller. When both Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the union in 1959, Moeller proposed Heft’s flag to President Eisenhower. Ike chose Heft’s design and invited him to Washington, D.C. for its first display on July 4, 1960.
Bob Heft’s teacher changed his grade to an A.

The colors of our flag have important meanings: red symbolizes hardiness and valor, white symbolizes purity and innocence, and blue represents vigilance, perseverance, and justice.
So today, on Flag Day, let’s remember the importance of our flag, and remember to always give it the respect it deserves.
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There’s been lots in the news lately about various groups’ rights. When I was growing up, I always had the impression that the United States kind of led the pack regarding human rights and people’s civil liberties. Obviously I was wrong. 

We were talking about voting a few days ago and the fact that women’s right to vote is a relatively recent thing. Actually, August of this year will mark the 103rd anniversary to the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, that guaranteed women the right to vote. 

At least 19 nations — including the U.S. — initially restricted the right to vote for women of certain backgrounds based on demographic factors such as race, age, education level or marital status. In the U.S., more than four decades passed between the ratification of the 19th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — that took aim at discriminatory state and local restrictions intended to prevent Black Americans from voting.

The United States was one of the early adapters of women suffrage, but it wasn’t any where near the first country to do so. The first nations to grant women the right to vote were nearly all in Europe, or in places dominated by European colonialism.
So who was first? In 1893, New Zealand enfranchised its female citizens — making it the first nation or territory to formally allow women to vote in national elections. As to where the U.S. is on the list… at least 19 other countries allowed women to vote prior to the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
The most recent countries, or territories, to allow women to participate in national elections are Bhutan, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Saudi Arabia allowed women to vote in local elections in 2015 — Saudi Arabia does not hold national elections.

Women may have only “recently” been able to vote, but they often turn out vote at higher rates than men. According to my extensive research, a study in 2016 by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance found that women’s voter turnout was higher than men’s in 21 countries. American women have turned out to vote at slightly higher rates than men in every U.S. presidential election since 1984.

Susan B. Anthony once said, “It was we, the people, not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union… Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less.”
So maybe we should do away with men’s rights and women’s rights, and just concentrate on human rights….
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Today’s blog is to my first wife Claire….

I’ve tried everything to make my birthday wishes to you original.
This year again, I’ve tried a lot.
And a poet, I’m not
But even though the words may not rhyme,
That’s all I could come up with at the time.
So my wishes for your birthday this year
continue to be heartfelt and sincere…..

Another number, another year
But no worries, my dear
Another year older is another year better
Forget the number — the important thing is we’re together.

To the wonderful wife of mine,
You are like an expensive fine wine.
You make me a better person every day.
I may not always be able to express or say
And I may not always let it show,
But I love you  more than you know.
A connection like ours is precious and rare
I thank God for the love we share.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Claire!!
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Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like the world is just growing more insane every day. Someone said they thought the Earth was God’s insane asylum — I’m beginning to think that’s true. 

I just heard on the news that more than 2 million liters of water from a reservoir in India was emptied on the order of an official who had dropped his smartphone into it while taking a selfie. 

Well, I figured this must be more “fake news” we hear every day. But I decided to check it out and so far as I can tell, it’s true. 
The official, Rajesh Vishwas, was picnicking with friends when he dropped his brand new phone into the Paralkot reservoir in Chhattisgarh State, where he lives. Now if that had happened to me, and if I’d looked at the options of considering it lost or draining the reservoir to retrieve it, I think I’d buy a new one. But not Mr. Vishwas, a government food inspector — he apparently decided that he had to have his phone back.

Initially, some villagers that Mr. Vishwas knew spent two days diving in the reservoir attempting to find the phone, but no luck. So he rented a diesel pump and drained about three feet of water from the reservoir — enough to irrigate about 1,500 acres of farmland.
Mr. Vishwas has been suspended from his job…. and the phone, when retrieved, didn’t work.
Heaven help us…..
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Someone used the phrase, “I came, I saw, I conquered” the other day. I remember hearing it most all my life. It’s origin is attributed to Julius Caesar. According to my extensive research, Caesar first used the phrase after his victory over King Pharmacies II at Pontus (an area located in the modern-day eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey.) 

So when Julius Caesar said, “I came, I saw, I conquered,” he came, he saw, and conquered — Turkey.
Of course Julius Caesar really said, “veni, vidi, vici” the Latin quote that translates to “I came, I saw, I conquered.” 
Today the phrase is used to mean someone totally succeeded at something…..
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Yesterday we talked about Alexander Hamilton and how he was one of the primary architects of the Constitution. The Constitution, as originally written, could never have been approved. I suppose that’s understandable, considering that we had just fought a revolution over “taxation without representation” — I guess I’d have been a little cautious about the new document.

As you know from your history classes, the Constitution was ratified by all thirteen states by 1790, but only after the addition of ten amendments to the document — known as the Bill of Rights. The states cherished their new freedom from British control and the Constitution couldn’t be ratified until the citizens’ rights and freedoms were guaranteed — the Bill of Rights was designed to do just that.

The debate over the original Constitution polarized the nation. Those that supported the Constitution were known as federalists and those that opposed its ratification were called antifederalists. The federalists supported a strong national government — to preserve order. The antifederalists favored strong state governments and believed that the national government created by the Constitution was too strong.

It’s basically the same argument we hear today about the proper balance between order and liberty. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay wrote a series of essays making a compelling argument in favor of ratification — those essay became known as the Federalist Papers. At the time, there were probably more antifederalists in America, but the federalists were better organized and controlled more newspapers and were generally in greater positions of power. The two sides finally reached an acceptable compromise when they agreed to add some amendments to the Constitution that protected individual liberties and rights. 

James Madison submitted twelve amendments to Congress. His intention was to answer the criticisms of the antifederalists. The states ratified all but two of the twelve amendments — one to authorize the enlargement of the House of Representatives and one to prevent members of the House from raising their own salaries until after an election had taken place. The other ten amendments made up the Bill of Rights and were ratified in 1791.

The compromise that created the Bill of Rights pretty much defined what Americans would come to cherish. Together with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, the Bill of Rights helps define the American political system and the government’s relationship to its citizens. 

I do find it interesting that the original Bill of Rights would have kept federal politicians from raising their own salaries…. if that amendment had been ratified, I wonder how it would have played out over the years……
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A few months ago, we had tickets to see the Broadway musical “Hamilton” at the Kennedy Center. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to go, but Claire, Kelly and Emily went. I’m sorry I missed it — I’m not a big fan of musicals, but I think history is interesting and Hamilton is one of the more interesting of our founding fathers. 

Most of us know that he was America’s first Secretary of Treasury, that he was Washington’s right-hand man in the revolutionary War, he was one of the primary architects of the Constitution and he died in a duel with Aaron Burr.
Hamilton is probably best known for his engineering of America’s financial system, but he was also a prolific writer and he founded a newspaper. He established the New York Post in 1801, and the paper is still publishing a daily paper today.

I didn’t see the musical, but I’m pretty sure it didn’t address all of Hamilton’s adventures — and — mis-adventures. 
One of the Hamilton stories that I ran across a few years ago sheds a bit of a different light on one of my favorite founding fathers…. although he was happily married to a daughter from a prominent New York family, he strayed from his marriage bed, when he began an affair with Maria Reynolds. Reynolds was a married woman, and her husband quickly turned the affair to his advantage by blackmailing Hamilton. 

Today, I think everyone is sick and tired of sleazy politicians and their activities. A lot of us yearn for the good old days of honorable leaders like our founding fathers. But, if you dig a little deeper than the fifth-grad history books…. well, maybe not….
Here’s the Hamilton story as I remember it.

When Hamilton was at the height of his influence and power — and happily married — he met Maria Reynolds. The young woman asked him for money, saying her philandering husband had abandoned her. (Hamilton later said he was touched by the poor woman’s story.) Apparently, he was touched enough to begin an affair with her. After several months, Maria’s husband showed up at Hamilton’s door. Hamilton expected the outraged husband to demand “satisfaction” — a duel to the death. But — to Hamilton’s relief — James reynolds only demanded $1,000 as compensation for husbandly pain and suffering. He paid up, and James generously granted Hamilton leeway to continue the affair with Maria — in return for future payments.
The relationship continued with Maria, who became more and more clinging, until he could wriggle out of her grasp. Hamilton knew he’d been taken by a husband and wife con team. But Hamilton considered himself lucky to only be a few thousand dollars poorer as long as he was rid of Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds.

Some time later, Hamilton received another disturbing visit — this time from three U.S. senators, including James Monroe. The senators told Hamilton about a rumor that he had given money and secret Treasury Department information to a petty swindler named James Reynolds. (At this time, James was currently residing in a Philadelphia prison.) When faced with these accusations, Hamilton came clean. He confessed to the affair, but denied giving away any secret information. The senators believed him and left. 

A few years later, Hamilton left the Treasury Department and started private law practice. His “scandals” remained hidden, and he was an influential figure in national politics — he even considered running for president in 1800. But a couple of years before the 1800 election, a pamphlet  dredged up the whole “Reynolds Affair.” The tale of sex and payoffs created a sensation. Hamilton suspected that James Monroe (or one of the senators who came to his office a few years earlier) had leaked the story. James Monroe was an ally of Hamilton’s potential competitor for the presidency — Thomas Jefferson. Of course, Jefferson probably had dirty laundry of his own due to his relationship with his slave Sally Hemings.

But anyhow, Hamilton decided to fight — he wrote a fiery essay admitting that he had sex with Maria, but denied any wrongdoing at the Treasury Department. Hamilton decided to let everyone know he was an unfaithful husband, but he was not a crook. His public career survived — just barely. His enemies continued to discuss the affair and there was no chance that he could run for president. Thomas Jefferson won the election of 1800.

In 1804, Alexander Hamilton fought a duel with Vice President Aaron Burr. The two men had long been political rivals, but the immediate cause of the duel was disparaging remarks Hamilton allegedly made about Burr at a dinner. After Hamilton’s dramatic death as a result of the duel, his long-suffering wife, Betsy, burned all her correspondence, so no one knows what she thought of her husband’s embarrassing behavior. 
An interesting note is that Maria Reynolds later had an affair with Aaron Burr, too.
Guess we have to just keep looking for those honorable leaders….
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