Ah, Saturday. The best day of the week, and the only day where you not only don’t have to go to work, but you don’t have to worry about going to work tomorrow, either. As a result, I typically sleep in on Saturdays, and today is no exception. I stayed in bed ’til damn near 5:30. But it’s a big day today, so it’s time to get cracking. We’re heading out to the sticks to look at a place away from suburbia (and neighbors). A while back, after I’d written about the unemployment in Syracuse, somebody commented that it was a shame what was happening in the “small towns” upstate. I thought that was pretty funny, ‘cuz while it’s far from Manhattan, Syracuse isn’t exactly Mayberry, either. Well, the place we’re looking at today is actually a five minute drive to Mayberry (and a half hour drive – about 23 miles – to where I work). So, we’ll see how it goes. I sure would be happy to thumb my nose at the neighbors on my way out the door, but I’d really miss all my brand new appliances.
Sleeping late on Saturday is a cherished activity. Of course I define sleeping late a lot later than 5:30, unless that is 5:30 PM.
PJ, didn’t you just do lots of work on your kitchen and bathroom? And now you wish to move? This is the kind of thing hubby would do and I would start screaming. But, I do understand the idea of not having to be involved with neighbors. Sometimes I think that is easier in the city where although you have thousands of neighbors, you don’t know each other and you don’t care what they do any more than they care what you do. There is anonymity in big cities that is very complete.
In 1860, in the midst of tensions surrounding the Civil War, it was widely believed in the United States that Abraham Lincoln was Catholic. Coming on the heels of decades of anti-Catholic sentiment, the rumors seem to have had two roots: The first was the ambiguous nature of Lincoln’s upbringing in Illinois, where Jesuits were very active, leading to the notion that Lincoln had been baptized a Catholic; the other was that Lincoln represented a prominent critic of the Church. The rumors were widely repeated by Lincoln’s political opponents.
In 1940, in the midst of tensions surrounding World War II as well as economic hardship from the Great Depression, it was widely believed in the United States that Franklin Roosevelt was Jewish. Coming on the heels of decades of anti-Jewish sentiment, the rumors seem to have had several roots: The first was the ambiguous origins of Roosevelt’s earliest American ancestors, who came from Holland in the 17th century; the second was the abundance of Jewish appointees to Roosevelt’s administrations in New York and Washington. The rumors were widely repeated by Roosevelt’s political opponents.
In 2010, in the midst of tensions surrounding wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as economic hardship from the Great Recession, it is widely believed in the United States that Barack Obama is Muslim. Coming on the heels of decades of anti-Muslim sentiment, the rumors seem to have had several roots: The first is the ambiguous nature of Obama’s upbringing, in which his father was a Muslim and he spent formative time as a child in a Muslim country; the second is Obama’s vocal outreach to the Muslim world and his support of the rights of Muslim Americans. The rumors have been widely repeated by Obama’s political opponents.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-feiler/obama-a-muslim-lincoln-a-_b_688527.html
Gail Collins:
“I have lived the American dream,†said Rick Scott, an extremely wealthy candidate for governor, to a dinner crowd of Republicans at the Sarasota Yacht Club.
This week in Florida, I heard two stupendously rich men — one a billionaire — tell rooms full of voters that they lived the American dream. Didn’t the American dream used to be having a house of your own with a nice yard? When did it evolve into owning your own $9.2 million mansion? Isn’t this putting a little too much pressure on the nation, dream-wise?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/21/opinion/21collins.html?ref=todayspaper