User-Supported News Commentary Hosted by Craig Crawford
May The Fourth Be With You
Edited by Craig Crawford, Performed by Bill Barker as Jefferson
and from Jace …
Author: craigcrawford
Trail Mix Host. Lapsed journalist, author & retired pundit happily promoting nothing but the truth for Social Security checks.
View all posts by craigcrawford
Happy birthday US. Looking out over the Emerald Coast. Predicted “feels like” temp is 105 today. Will sweat in the sun, eat bbq and beer and watch fireworks.
“One of the hardest things to do is to look back in time without a filter created during the last two hundred and fifty years.”
bb, especially if you are a native american. interesting goings on today in Massachusetts:
The canoe and her crew arrived from Martha’s Vineyard Friday, greeted by dozens of people, including members of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, who have been the state’s original inhabitants for more than 12,000 years.
“In this day and age, we know that it can be confusing about what is meaningful. But this is. This gathering, this togetherness is historical and we will speak of it for generations to come,” said Chief Vernon “Silent Drum” Lopez, a 94-year-old elder of the Mashpee Wampanoag, during the arrival ceremony.
“We’re looking forward to the next few days learning about this sacred place and all the wonderful people and sharing that with others back home,” said canoe captain Bruce Blankenfeld.
…The crew attended the Mashpee Wampanoag’s 95th annual powwow on Saturday….The Native American event is filled with traditional songs, dances, cultural ceremonies and other intertribal activities.
btw, kudos to you and your colleagues helping out at the celebration… hope the event is uneventful for the red cross, the cops and all the other homeland heroes helping out. wave to us if you get a chance…you’ll be the one in the rc vest, right? 🙂
Nature’s fireworks have been going on since late, last night. I’ve never heard thunder rumble for so long; it’s constant. At least the pool won’t feel like bath water later today.
One of my ancestors was loyal to the crown, the rest were not. Was he really loyal, or was he just complacent?
“We must always take sides. Neutrality serves the oppressor…” -Elie Wiesel
patd – yes, I will be the one in the Red Cross vest. Mine is stylish grey with a big red cross, but, we do have special vests for events like the Fourth and inaugurations. Those are usually stylish grey with a big red cross, or they maybe the red version. Personally I have a summer vest, red with lots of mesh, and for the rest of the year, grey with side vents. We used to have heavy canvas vests, fine in the cold, sweat chamber in the heat.
One more course, Psychological First Aid, to complete and I become a supervisor in the American Red Cross. We are almost a total volunteer organization. Although focused on disaster service and relief, we have many non-field positions. Want to spend a couple hours each month doing something other than watching television, volunteer to help others. We teach what you need to know too. The Join In button is at the bottom of the page.
The Fourth of July brings many memories; an afternoon in the square of Chariton, Iowa, a carnival spread on three sides. On the fourth side is where the local fire departments played a game reminiscent of tug of war, except they trained the hard stream of water from the nozzles of their fire hoses on a beer keg strung on a line, high above all, trying to shoot it to the other end, over their opponent. Of fireworks in the ball park, sitting on the hill, walking home in the warm night air of summer.
So far I have not found any ancestors who were supportive of the King. Several did fight him though. Cheers to them. I also salute our friends across the Pond, the French. Without whom we would not have formed a most perfect union. It is a good day.
Anyone have ancestors from the Fairfield, Connecticut area? Learned this while climbing the family tree years ago: Loyalists tended to live in the Redding part of Fairfield. And memories ran deep in the families who had divided loyalties.
I have a book that reprinted testimony given by Revolutionary War vets when applying for Pensions. Their stories are heartbreaking. One was from a relative who was taken prisoner & spent six months on a British POW ship anchored on Long Island Sound. When released he walked home to Fairfield. A short distance before he got home he met his brother, who had a new set of clothes for him to change into. He was so covered in lice that they had to bury the clothing he had been wearing. He was also ashamed to have his Father see him in such a condition. Everything this young man went through…
Exactly two weeks to the start of the Republican Convention. Somebody somewhere will be taking names of who attends, who doesn’t. No Profiles in Courage here: they reap what they sowed.
Given the nativist attitude that dominates the Republican party and is also sneaking around Democratic gatherings.
It is a good day to explore “what is American?”
Rooster sauce
You can’t get any more American then that.
Sriracha Is a Quintessentially American Flavor
Let the rooster into your life
Huy Fong sriracha is an American product that reinterprets a traditionally Thai sauce and was created by an ethnically Chinese man born and raised in Vietnam. It is not an “authentic” representation of what is served with seafood in Si Racha, but it is authentic to Tran, a former South Vietnamese army major who made chili sauces with his family to pay for their way out of Communist rule. Authenticity, like nostalgia, is rooted in origin stories that don’t necessarily exist. It’s a word I’ve largely eliminated from my lexicon, because it attempts to wrangle things as complicated and fluid as tradition and experience into a binary of acceptable or unacceptable. The company name, the rooster insignia that marks Tran’s Chinese zodiac sign, the time spent formulating the recipe in the months spent waiting for asylum to be granted — sriracha is an incredibly personal document of trauma. The “rich man’s sauce at a poor man’s price” was made for all, but none more than David Tran himself. It doesn’t get any more authentic.
All of my ancestors courtesy of my mother on this side of the pond fought the king as most of them were related to the settlers of Maryland who migrated to Virginia and then what became Kentucky. The ones on the other side of the pond courtesy of my father had already been mad at the British for several hundred years and didn’t get here until 1926.
Jace… good to know you love your new home. I love visiting the desert… but have wondered how anyone lives without trees in their surroundings. But then again… there’s those beautiful red rocks.
Pogo… had to google the emerald coast. Never been that far up in Florida… looks wonderful… enjoy!
The Patriotic Dog + the Country Bumpkin Donkey is a preferable choice over anything the Republicans can offer. The Trail Mix Ticket ?
****
whskyjack,
Twenty years ago my neighborhood was a drug riddled gang controlled mess. Houses literally couldn’t be given away. Then the immigrants started moving in: good people from Yemen, Vietnam, Burma, Somalia. This is now the hot area to live in. Refurbished houses, clean lots, flowers in the yard. The property values have doubled. Our newest Americans made all the difference.
sjwny – My early arriving English ancestors came into Maryland, Delmarva, and for a few Virginia during the 1600’s and 1700’s. The ones from VA rapidly moved to Maryland letting me think they were indentured servants, or other than the correct religion for VA.
A couple of ancestors went up to Boston for some period of time in the mid-1700’s to just before 1776. Why? I have not found anything yet, but I would hazard a guess they were not helping write greetings cards to George.
I am grilling a peppered sockeye salmon slab on cedar wood, and laying lemon and lime slices all over it. It won’t be red white and blue, and neither will the coleslaw, potato salad, or Schell’s Firebrick beer.
The Hoffmans are hosting from 11am to 5pm CDT. I figure it’ll all be eaten by 1:30pm. After that we’ll have to survive on beer. How soon can you get here ?
Happy 4th all! Sounds like some fun things going on. We’re going to party with a friend who has a rooftop deck for clear viewing of the national mall fireworks. Not as good as Disney’s but still fun to watch.
We did our Fourth yesterday afternoon. It worked out well with multiple grills going on the porch, fueled by wood charcoal, roasting corn, doing hot dogs, and fixing burgers. Very nice. Inside we had green bean salad, excellent rolls, potato salad, and my special Korean rice. Sue made a nice peach cobbler that we topped with Publix organic vanilla ice-cream.
I don’t believe that we talked about partisan politics at all. I discussed our early American ancestors from Thomas who arrived in 1636 to my grandmother, Jeanie, who joined-up in 1906. And, together, we put into context how their emigration and arrival in this land reflects the courage and optimism that makes America great.
My aunt’s memorial service will be Thursday afternoon. I’ll drive to Cleveland then leave almost immediately. I’ll make a longer visit for my uncle’s 100th birthday in September. I am told that he is coping well. To put that in context, yesterday my grandson’s significant other observed, “Grandpa, you look happy!” I corrected her, “Ashley, please understand, I don’t think I’ll ever be happy; but I am content.”
Hope everyone has a nice 4th of July.. I’m having a nice get together with family and friends visiting from Michigan and Connecticut. Hanging out at the pool and BBQ time..
My ancestors may have employed yours as the McCubbin crowd were among the founders of MD along with the Carrol, Duvall, and Howard families. They didn’t go broke until the Civil War when the McKeehan branch backed the wrong side and ended up in Texas. So basically they got one war right and another one wrong.
celebrating today with visiting old family friends’ daughter & her family: i served all finger food (fun for the kids), hebrew national hot dogs, smoked sausage dogs, slaw, baked beans, watermelon and fresh pineapple slices …. . tonight in keeping with e pluribus unum there’ll be shrimp stir fry and apple pie a la mode-d with home made ice cream.
ny times; On Tuesday, Mrs. Clinton will join Mr. Obama for the ride from Washington to Charlotte on Air Force One, a potent symbol of the president’s support for the woman he hopes will succeed him. [….] In a sign of the coming fight there, Mr. Trump has plans for his own rally on Tuesday in Raleigh to criticize Mr. Obama’s tenure and portray a Clinton presidency as four more years of the status quo.
For decades, white voters with at least a bachelor’s degree have favored the Republican nominee over the Democrat in U.S. presidential elections, although not by as much as working-class whites.
The 2016 presidential election is turning that dynamic on its head. Polling shows that while presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump is the clear choice among white voters without a college education, whites who’ve completed college prefer Clinton. It’s a trend analysts say is especially apparent among women, and may become more pronounced between now and November.
[….]
Less clear is what impact the dynamic may have in other swing states with less educated white voters but significant black voting bases — such as Pennsylvania, No. 30, or Michigan, No. 35. Vice President Joe Biden will make his debut for Clinton on July 8 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, his birthplace. The Clinton campaign, as Obama did in 2008, sees Biden as a way to appeal to working-class white voters.
Happy birthday US. Looking out over the Emerald Coast. Predicted “feels like” temp is 105 today. Will sweat in the sun, eat bbq and beer and watch fireworks.
“One of the hardest things to do is to look back in time without a filter created during the last two hundred and fifty years.”
bb, especially if you are a native american. interesting goings on today in Massachusetts:
The canoe and her crew arrived from Martha’s Vineyard Friday, greeted by dozens of people, including members of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, who have been the state’s original inhabitants for more than 12,000 years.
“In this day and age, we know that it can be confusing about what is meaningful. But this is. This gathering, this togetherness is historical and we will speak of it for generations to come,” said Chief Vernon “Silent Drum” Lopez, a 94-year-old elder of the Mashpee Wampanoag, during the arrival ceremony.
“We’re looking forward to the next few days learning about this sacred place and all the wonderful people and sharing that with others back home,” said canoe captain Bruce Blankenfeld.
…The crew attended the Mashpee Wampanoag’s 95th annual powwow on Saturday….The Native American event is filled with traditional songs, dances, cultural ceremonies and other intertribal activities.
btw, kudos to you and your colleagues helping out at the celebration… hope the event is uneventful for the red cross, the cops and all the other homeland heroes helping out. wave to us if you get a chance…you’ll be the one in the rc vest, right? 🙂
Happy Independence Day to all.
Nature’s fireworks have been going on since late, last night. I’ve never heard thunder rumble for so long; it’s constant. At least the pool won’t feel like bath water later today.
One of my ancestors was loyal to the crown, the rest were not. Was he really loyal, or was he just complacent?
“We must always take sides. Neutrality serves the oppressor…” -Elie Wiesel
Have a safe & happy one.
patd – yes, I will be the one in the Red Cross vest. Mine is stylish grey with a big red cross, but, we do have special vests for events like the Fourth and inaugurations. Those are usually stylish grey with a big red cross, or they maybe the red version. Personally I have a summer vest, red with lots of mesh, and for the rest of the year, grey with side vents. We used to have heavy canvas vests, fine in the cold, sweat chamber in the heat.
One more course, Psychological First Aid, to complete and I become a supervisor in the American Red Cross. We are almost a total volunteer organization. Although focused on disaster service and relief, we have many non-field positions. Want to spend a couple hours each month doing something other than watching television, volunteer to help others. We teach what you need to know too. The Join In button is at the bottom of the page.
The Fourth of July brings many memories; an afternoon in the square of Chariton, Iowa, a carnival spread on three sides. On the fourth side is where the local fire departments played a game reminiscent of tug of war, except they trained the hard stream of water from the nozzles of their fire hoses on a beer keg strung on a line, high above all, trying to shoot it to the other end, over their opponent. Of fireworks in the ball park, sitting on the hill, walking home in the warm night air of summer.
So far I have not found any ancestors who were supportive of the King. Several did fight him though. Cheers to them. I also salute our friends across the Pond, the French. Without whom we would not have formed a most perfect union. It is a good day.
Happy Fourth to you all
blueINdallas, blue bronc –
Anyone have ancestors from the Fairfield, Connecticut area? Learned this while climbing the family tree years ago: Loyalists tended to live in the Redding part of Fairfield. And memories ran deep in the families who had divided loyalties.
I have a book that reprinted testimony given by Revolutionary War vets when applying for Pensions. Their stories are heartbreaking. One was from a relative who was taken prisoner & spent six months on a British POW ship anchored on Long Island Sound. When released he walked home to Fairfield. A short distance before he got home he met his brother, who had a new set of clothes for him to change into. He was so covered in lice that they had to bury the clothing he had been wearing. He was also ashamed to have his Father see him in such a condition. Everything this young man went through…
Exactly two weeks to the start of the Republican Convention. Somebody somewhere will be taking names of who attends, who doesn’t. No Profiles in Courage here: they reap what they sowed.
Given the nativist attitude that dominates the Republican party and is also sneaking around Democratic gatherings.
It is a good day to explore “what is American?”
Rooster sauce
You can’t get any more American then that.
How about independence from garbage?
Four Year’s Trash: One Jar, zero waste
🙂
now this did make me smile
All of my ancestors courtesy of my mother on this side of the pond fought the king as most of them were related to the settlers of Maryland who migrated to Virginia and then what became Kentucky. The ones on the other side of the pond courtesy of my father had already been mad at the British for several hundred years and didn’t get here until 1926.
mediaite: John Oliver Reminds You What America Gave Up When ‘Kicking Britain Unceremoniously Out’
Happy 4th of July!
Jace… good to know you love your new home. I love visiting the desert… but have wondered how anyone lives without trees in their surroundings. But then again… there’s those beautiful red rocks.
Pogo… had to google the emerald coast. Never been that far up in Florida… looks wonderful… enjoy!
Everyone stay safe…
patd,
The Patriotic Dog + the Country Bumpkin Donkey is a preferable choice over anything the Republicans can offer. The Trail Mix Ticket ?
****
whskyjack,
Twenty years ago my neighborhood was a drug riddled gang controlled mess. Houses literally couldn’t be given away. Then the immigrants started moving in: good people from Yemen, Vietnam, Burma, Somalia. This is now the hot area to live in. Refurbished houses, clean lots, flowers in the yard. The property values have doubled. Our newest Americans made all the difference.
sjwny – My early arriving English ancestors came into Maryland, Delmarva, and for a few Virginia during the 1600’s and 1700’s. The ones from VA rapidly moved to Maryland letting me think they were indentured servants, or other than the correct religion for VA.
A couple of ancestors went up to Boston for some period of time in the mid-1700’s to just before 1776. Why? I have not found anything yet, but I would hazard a guess they were not helping write greetings cards to George.
No revolutionaries here earliest Crackers were in Rhode Island in the early 1900 they owned a kosher shop selling noodles and dairy products
I am grilling a peppered sockeye salmon slab on cedar wood, and laying lemon and lime slices all over it. It won’t be red white and blue, and neither will the coleslaw, potato salad, or Schell’s Firebrick beer.
That color selection doesn’t mean that I don’t love the USA. It just means I’m inclusive.
XR,
What time do we eat?
Jace,
The Hoffmans are hosting from 11am to 5pm CDT. I figure it’ll all be eaten by 1:30pm. After that we’ll have to survive on beer. How soon can you get here ?
XR,
Alas not that soon.The last cross country trip I took was three and a half days in a truck.
Have fun!
Happy 4th all! Sounds like some fun things going on. We’re going to party with a friend who has a rooftop deck for clear viewing of the national mall fireworks. Not as good as Disney’s but still fun to watch.
Craig, you’re probably safe from gators on the rooftop.
Happy 4th of July, all you patriots !
We did our Fourth yesterday afternoon. It worked out well with multiple grills going on the porch, fueled by wood charcoal, roasting corn, doing hot dogs, and fixing burgers. Very nice. Inside we had green bean salad, excellent rolls, potato salad, and my special Korean rice. Sue made a nice peach cobbler that we topped with Publix organic vanilla ice-cream.
I don’t believe that we talked about partisan politics at all. I discussed our early American ancestors from Thomas who arrived in 1636 to my grandmother, Jeanie, who joined-up in 1906. And, together, we put into context how their emigration and arrival in this land reflects the courage and optimism that makes America great.
My aunt’s memorial service will be Thursday afternoon. I’ll drive to Cleveland then leave almost immediately. I’ll make a longer visit for my uncle’s 100th birthday in September. I am told that he is coping well. To put that in context, yesterday my grandson’s significant other observed, “Grandpa, you look happy!” I corrected her, “Ashley, please understand, I don’t think I’ll ever be happy; but I am content.”
Hope everyone has a nice 4th of July.. I’m having a nice get together with family and friends visiting from Michigan and Connecticut. Hanging out at the pool and BBQ time..
Giving Clinton Her Due
Charles Blow
(((Kavin #RiseUp))) @stylistkavin
Little rough and off-the-cuff; but, from my #ImWithHer
A very touching Hillary video Tweet from seems like a wonderful supporter..
Nice stars and stripes
Jace
Nice to see your settling in and the move is behind you.. Enjoy the day…
BB
My ancestors may have employed yours as the McCubbin crowd were among the founders of MD along with the Carrol, Duvall, and Howard families. They didn’t go broke until the Civil War when the McKeehan branch backed the wrong side and ended up in Texas. So basically they got one war right and another one wrong.
Flatus – Safe travels.
celebrating today with visiting old family friends’ daughter & her family: i served all finger food (fun for the kids), hebrew national hot dogs, smoked sausage dogs, slaw, baked beans, watermelon and fresh pineapple slices …. . tonight in keeping with e pluribus unum there’ll be shrimp stir fry and apple pie a la mode-d with home made ice cream.
sjwny, and let’s not forget our feline friends on the fourth
patd,
I love how cats look right through us. No bs gets past them.
RebelliousRenee,
Watching a show about New Hampshire & thought about you. Visited once; one of the prettiest places on earth.
We celebrated 2 holidays today. Got a tardy Canada Day in, and a timely Independence Day. I ate heartily for both holidays. Oink.
G’night, Mr. 2.0.
ny times;
On Tuesday, Mrs. Clinton will join Mr. Obama for the ride from Washington to Charlotte on Air Force One, a potent symbol of the president’s support for the woman he hopes will succeed him.
[….]
In a sign of the coming fight there, Mr. Trump has plans for his own rally on Tuesday in Raleigh to criticize Mr. Obama’s tenure and portray a Clinton presidency as four more years of the status quo.
Bloomberg:
For decades, white voters with at least a bachelor’s degree have favored the Republican nominee over the Democrat in U.S. presidential elections, although not by as much as working-class whites.
The 2016 presidential election is turning that dynamic on its head. Polling shows that while presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump is the clear choice among white voters without a college education, whites who’ve completed college prefer Clinton. It’s a trend analysts say is especially apparent among women, and may become more pronounced between now and November.
[….]
Less clear is what impact the dynamic may have in other swing states with less educated white voters but significant black voting bases — such as Pennsylvania, No. 30, or Michigan, No. 35. Vice President Joe Biden will make his debut for Clinton on July 8 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, his birthplace. The Clinton campaign, as Obama did in 2008, sees Biden as a way to appeal to working-class white voters.
new thread