Rep. % Of Vote
|
Voter Turnout
|
R Vote (millions)
|
D Vote (millions)
|
|
Non-Hispanic White
|
60.2
|
64.1
|
55.5
|
36.7
|
African-American
|
6.1
|
66.2
|
1.1
|
16.4
|
Hispanic
|
27.6
|
48.0
|
4.2
|
11.0
|
Asian & Other
|
31.6
|
49.3
|
2.4
|
5.1
|
Popular Vote
|
63.1
|
69.1
|
||
%
|
47.7
|
52.3
|
||
Electoral College
|
206
|
332
|
"The devotees of the party in power are smug and arrogant. The devotees of the party out of power are insane."
(from patheos) 
(Gillen in Game of Thrones, Walsh in Blood Simple)
(From Deadspin, Sandy Koufax, far left, Shag Crawford, second from left, #27 Juan Marichal, John Roseboro falling to ground, Tito Fuentes #26)Both teams were left emotionally shaken. Fights that erupt under pennant pressure are not unusual, but they are always fist fights. Players, coaches and managers of both teams here could not recall ever seeing an attack with a bat.It was the greatest of all baseball rivalries, the Giants versus the Dodgers, both transplanted to California from New York in 1958.
(Marichal, Baseball Hall of Fame)
(Roseboro, ootpdevelopments)
(from San Francisco Chronicle)
"Koufax was constitutionally incapable of throwing at anyone's head, so I decided to take matters into my own hands."Roseboro threw the ball back to Koufax as hard as he could whizzing it by Marichal's face and ticking his ear. Marichal turned to Roseboro, words were exchanged and then Giants pitcher broke baseball's code - fighting is accepted, deliberately hitting anyone with a bat is beyond the pale of acceptable behavior, then and now.
"People would come up to us at dinner and say 'Please tell us about the fight with Marichal,' "At some point in the 1970s the two men met at an Old-Timers game, talked about the fight, shook hands and began a friendship that lasted until Roseboro's death in 2002. Marichal became eligible for baseball's Hall of Fame in 1980 but was not elected in his first two years on the ballot, a failure attributed by many to voters still disapproving of his conduct in 1965. John Roseboro decided to help out by making it clear that he forgave Marichal, acknowledging his own responsibility for triggering the fight and, at the invitation of Marichal, taking his family to the Dominican Republic and participating in Juan's charity golf tournament. Marichal was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1983.
(From capistranodispatch) 
(John Lackey)
(Carlos Martinez)
(Michael Wacha)
(Lance Lynn)
(Jaime Garcia) 
(Trevor Rosenthal)
(Kevin Siegrist)
(Carlos Villanueva) With runners in scoring position, St. Louis has allowed fewer hard batted balls, made evident by a lower line drive rate, a higher percentage of popups, and (in part because of the popups) fewer fly balls going over the fence.And, as Lindbergh notes, the sample size is now huge, more than two thirds of the season so it does not appear to be chance.
"… more than 30,000 emails. In fact, she handed over too many …"One thing Fournier left out was that we know the deleted emails included relevant information since when her advisor Sid Blumenthal turned over to Congress the emails he sent to Hillary to Congress it turned out they were not among the select emails Clinton decided to hand over to the State Department. By the way, did you know that when she turned over the emails she decided not to delete she did not do so electronically? There were 55,000 pages of paper copies, a tactic designed to thwart the electronic search of the documents.
Whoa, if true. Unfortunately, she didn't hand over enough.
More emails were deleted by Clinton than returned to government archives. Under political and legal pressure, she finally gave the FBI her server this week. Her attorney says it has been wiped clean. How convenient.
And if that's not exciting enough, here's news from Buzzfeed: Al Gore is considering getting into the race!
Last night Mickey Kaus tweeted about this photo:Al Gore no longer looks like Al Gore. He looks like the container for Al Gore.
Clowns to the left of meOr more like Pappy O’Daniel v Homer Stokes?
Jokers to the right
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you
Trying to make some sense of it all, but I see it makes no sense at all
- Stealers Wheel
These Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant, written as simply and straight forwardly as his battles were fought, couched in the most unpretentious phrase, with never a touch of grandiosity or attitudinizing, familiar, homely, even common in style, is a great piece of literature, because great literature is nothing more nor less than the clear expression of minds that have something great in them . . .
- William Dean Howells, author of Silas Lapham and known as "The Dean of American Letters"
On May 23 [1885], Grant decided to pay them the highest honor he could think of. "These volumes are dedicated to the American soldier and sailor" he wrote in his manuscript. Fred [his son], perplexed when he saw the addition, suggested his father specify "soldiers of the North."While THC certainly enjoys the campaign narrative what he finds himself reading and rereading again over time over the portions where Grant spends some time to reveal himself and his views of matters. It is there that his prose shines and the clarity of his writing is revealed.
"It is a great deal better that it should be dedicated as it is", Grant assured him. "The troops engaged on both sides are yet living. As it is the dedication is to those we fought against as well as those we fought with. It may serve a purpose in restoring harmony."
Generally the officers of the army were indifferent whether the annexation was
consummated or not; but not so all of them. For myself, I was bitterly opposed
to the measure, and to this day regard the war, which resulted, as one of the most
unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation.
The occupation, separation and annexation [of Texas] were, from the inception of the
movement to its final consummation, a conspiracy to acquire territory out of which
slave states might be formed for the American Union.
Even if the annexation itself could be justified, the manner in which the subsequent war
was forced upon Mexico cannot. The fact is, annexationists wanted more territory than
they could possibly lay any claim to, as part of the new acquisition. Texas, as an
independent State, never had exercised jurisdiction over the territory between the
Nueces River and the Rio Grande.
It is to the credit of the American nation, however, that after conquering Mexico, and
while practically holding the country in our possession, so that we could have
retained the whole of it, or made any terms we chose, we paid a round sum for the
additional territory taken; more than it was worth, or was likely to be, to Mexico.
To us it was an empire and of incalculable value; but it might have been obtained by
other means. The Southern rebellion was largely the outgrowth of the Mexican war.
Nations, like individuals, are punished for their transgressions. We got our
punishment in the most sanguinary and expensive war of modern times.
Under Spanish rule Mexico was prohibited from producing anything that the
mother-country could supply. This rule excluded the cultivation of the grape,
olive and many other articles to which the soil and climate were well adapted.
The country was governed for "revenue only;" and tobacco, which cannot be raised
in Spain, but is indigenous to Mexico,offered a fine instrumentality for securing this
prime object of government. The native population had been in the habit of using
"the weed" from a period, back of any recorded history of this continent. Bad habits
--if not restrained by law or public opinion--spread more rapidly and universally
than good ones, and the Spanish colonists adopted the use of tobacco almost as
generally as the natives.
The war had begun. . .
There were no possible means of obtaining news from the garrison, and information
from outside could not be otherwise than unfavorable. What General Taylor's feelings
were during this suspense I do not know; but for myself, a young second-lieutenant
who had never heard a hostile gun before, I felt sorry that I had enlisted. A great
many men, when they smell battle afar off, chafe to get into the fray. When they say so
themselves they generally fail to convince their hearers that they are as anxious as
they would like to make believe, and as they approach danger they become more
subdued. This rule is not universal, for I have known a few men who were always
aching for a fight when there was no enemy near, who were as good as their word
when the battle did come. But the number of such men is small.
The Mexicans have shown a patriotism which it would be well if we would imitate in
part, but with more regard to truth. They celebrate the anniversaries of Chapultepec
and Molino del Rey as of very great victories. The anniversaries are recognized as
national holidays. At these two battles, while the United States troops were victorious,
it was at very great sacrifice of life compared with what the Mexicans suffered. The
Mexicans, as on many other occasions, stood up as well as any troops ever did.
The trouble seemed to be the lack of experience among the officers, which led them
after a certain time to simply quit, without being particularly whipped, but because
they had fought enough.
On General Zachary Taylor (a clear role model for Grant)
If he had thought that he was sent to perform an impossibility with the means given him,
he would probably have informed the authorities of his opinion and left them to
determine what should be done. If the judgment was against him he would have gone
on and done the best he could with the means at hand without parading his grievance
before the public. No soldier could face either danger or responsibility more calmly than he.
These are qualities more rarely found than genius or physical courage. General Taylor never made any great show or parade, either of uniform or retinue.
In dress he was possibly too plain, rarely wearing anything in the field to indicate his rank,
or even that he was an officer; but he was known to every soldier in his army, and was
respected by all.
I had now been in battle with the two leading commanders conducting armies in a foreign
land. The contrast between the two was very marked. General Taylor never wore uniform,
but dressed himself entirely for comfort. He moved about the field in which he was
operating to see through his own eyes the situation. Often he would be without staff
officers, and when he was accompanied by them there was no prescribed order in which
they followed. He was very much given to sit his horse side-ways--with both feet on
one side--particularly on the battlefield. General Scott was the reverse in all these
particulars. He always wore all the uniform prescribed or allowed by law when he
inspected his lines; word would be sent to all division and brigade commanders in
advance, notifying them of the hour when the commanding general might be expected.
This was done so that all the army might be under arms to salute their chief as he passed.
On these occasions he wore his dress uniform, cocked hat, aiguillettes, sabre and spurs.
His staff proper, besides all officers constructively on his staff--engineers, inspectors,
quartermasters, etc., that could be spared--followed, also in uniform and in prescribed
order. Orders were prepared with great care and evidently with the view that they
should be a history of what followed. In their modes of expressing thought, these two generals contrasted quite as strongly
as in their other characteristics. General Scott was precise in language, cultivated a
style peculiarly his own; was proud of his rhetoric; not averse to speaking of himself,
often in the third person, and he could bestow praise upon the person he was talking
about without the least embarrassment. Taylor was not a conversationalist, but on paper
he could put his meaning so plainly that there could be no mistaking it. He knew how
to express what he wanted to say in the fewest well-chosen words, but would not sacrifice
meaning to the construction of high-sounding sentences. But with their opposite
characteristics both were great and successful soldiers; both were true, patriotic and
upright in all their dealings. Both were pleasant to serve under--Taylor was pleasant to
serve with. Scott saw more through the eyes of his staff officers than through his own.
His plans were deliberately prepared, and fully expressed in orders. Taylor saw for
himself, and gave orders to meet the emergency without reference to how they would
read in history.
On Fearing the Enemy (his first command during the Civil War in 1861)
The place where Harris had been encamped a few days before was still there and the
marks of a recent encampment were plainly visible, but the troops were gone. My
heart resumed its place. It occurred to me at once that Harris had been as much
afraid of me as I had been of him. This was a view of the question I had never taken
before; but it was one I never forgot afterwards. From that event to the close of the
war, I never experienced trepidation upon confronting an enemy, though I always felt
more or less anxiety. I never forgot that he had as much reason to fear my forces as
I had his. The lesson was valuable.
On The Relationship Between Grant & Lincoln
On The Causes of the Civil War
The cause of the great War of the Rebellion against the United States will have to be
attributed to slavery. For some years before the war began it was a trite saying among
some politicians that "A state half slave and half free cannot exist." All must become
slave or all free, or the state will go down. I took no part myself in any such view of
the case at the time, but since the war is over, reviewing the whole question, I have
come to the conclusion that the saying is quite true.
I would not have the anniversaries of our victories celebrated, nor those of our defeats
made fast days and spent in humiliation and prayer; but I would like to see truthful
history written. Such history will do full credit to the courage, endurance and soldierly
ability of the American citizen, no matter what section of the country he hailed from,
or in what ranks he fought. The justice of the cause which in the end prevailed, will,
I doubt not, come to be acknowledged by every citizen of the land, in time. For the
present, and so long as there are living witnesses of the great war of sections, there
will be people who will not be consoled for the loss of a cause which they believed
to be holy. As time passes, people, even of the South, will begin to wonder how it
was possible that their ancestors ever fought for or justified institutions which
acknowledged the right of property in man.
(Grant, Mt McGregor Cottage near Saratoga, NY, June 27, 1885)My family is American, and has been for generations, in all its branches, direct and collateral.
- first sentence of Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant
"Man proposes and God disposes"
- Preface to Personal Memoirs; written by U.S. Grant, July 1, 1885
The fact is that I am a verb instead of a personal pronoun. A verb is any thing that signifies to be, to do, or to suffer. I signify all three.On July 20, 1885 Ulysses S Grant laid down his pencil and quietly murmured that there was nothing more to do. It was his last campaign. Like his other great campaigns, Vicksburg (December 1862-July 1863) and the Overland (May 1864-April 1865) it had been long, arduous, marred by occasional setbacks but nonetheless achieving its goals and ending in triumph due to its commander's unflagging persistence. Grant's objective at the start of the campaign in the summer of 1884 had been to provide his family with financial stability after learning that the man he had trusted with his financial future was a con artist and had left he and his family financially ruined and being diagnosed with the terminal throat cancer that would slowly, and painfully, kill him the following year. The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant sold more copies than any non-fiction book in America during the 19th century other than the Bible, providing his family with financial security and continuously remaining in print for the past 130 years. It was a triumph dearly purchased as Grant died three days after its completion.
- U.S. Grant, handwritten note, July 1885
(Cover photo taken on day Grant completed his book)All articles of historical value and interest, shall at the General's death, or if you desire it, sooner, be presented to the government at Washington, where they will remain as perpetual memorials of his fame, and the history of his time.
(Vanderbilt from wikipedia)
(Twain from wikipedia)It was a shameful thing that man who had saved his country and its government from destruction should still be in a position where so small a sum - $1,000 - could be looked upon as a godsend.The accumulated weight of the financial pressure (and even more so the personal embarrassment of the fraud itself) along with the cancer diagnosis took its toll and by early December, Grant was in a state of depression and doing little writing. One of his aides wrote of watching him sit silently in his chair for hours that "It was like a man gazing into his open grave". But as always before, Grant began to pull himself together as he grimly determined to complete his task.
Grant stood by me when I was crazy, and I stood by him when he was drunk, and now we stand by each other.As the new year dawned, the general was in increasing pain but was back writing feverishly, sometimes up to 10,000 words a day. It now seemed the book would be completed and Twain was astonished at the quality of the writing, remarking that very few sentences required editing in any way.
be gratified to know that those whom he treated generously in the day of their sorrow remember him gratefully in his hour of tribulation.Grant suffered a medical crisis in late March which reporters were told he might not survive but once again he bounced back.
Grant "slowly and painfully" raised his hand in salute. A hush fell over the crowed. The army passed. Grant watched them go, knowing he was soon leaving them.By the time he reached the cottage, the general's voice was gone and in the remaining weeks he was reduced to speaking in a soft whisper. That is when he began communicating by note, including the quote used in the opening of this post. In those weeks he was doing some final writing (including the preface, the start of which is quoted above) and reviewing and editing galley proofs. One of his notes regarding the revisions reads:
I have been writing up my views of some of our generals, and of the character of Lincoln & Stanton. I do not place Stanton as high as some people do. Mr Lincoln cannot be extolled too highly.
(Grant cottage, from aboutfamouspeople)
Willett from thehuntforhenrietta)I am very sorry that I am unable to converse even in a whisper. I am reclining in bed as long as it rests me this morning, because yesterday I had a very trying day. My worst hours, most painful ones, are from 4 to 7 in the afternoon. Yesterday we had a number of particular friends call and stay through those hours. I had to converse incessantly with my pencil.It is hard even at this distance to read of Grant's pain and suffering in his last months but it makes his determination all the more remarkable and the quality of his writing astonishing. His self-effacement lasted until the end. As he lay dying in his bed underneath a portrait of Abraham Lincoln hanging above him one of his last whispered remarks was "I don't want anybody to feel distressed on my account".
About the close the Mexican editors called in a body and delivered a speech in Spanish that had to be translated and spoken in English. I replied. My speech was read in English, then translated and spoken in Spanish. Then there was a second speech and reply. By this time I was nearly exhausted. I am badly off this minute, because the doctor has been dressing my mouth, and that is always painful.
I feel very thankful for the kindness you did me last summer. I am glad to say that while there is much unblushing wickedness in the world there is a compensating grandeur of soul. In my case, I have not found republics are ungrateful, nor are the people.
As far as the eye could measure the avenue were massed the regiments in their brilliant uniforms their guns glistening in the sun, their colors draped, and their slow steps keeping time to the music of many dirges for the dead.
(funeral process from pbs)