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I wonder what agenda NAProject has? Is he truly interested in setting the historical record straight or does he object to any president using the phrase “so help me God” and is trying to prove that it is a tradition that started after Washington so that the claim that the phrase is not original and should be banned can be pushed.I do not know the historical record on this issue well but it strikes me as being eminently plausible that Washington would append some such religious phrase to the Oath of Office at his inauguration. It is established that the founding fathers were all deeply religious men so why then would it be out of place for our first President to beseech the Lord upon taking office as our first President? Further one account is not definitive and I find it hard to believe that their is only one eyewitness account of the inauguration. Were there no American or foreign newspapers present in New York during the first inauguration? NAProjects assertion is full of holes and he only presents negative evidence while trying to discount any positive evidence, I detect that he desires a certain outcome and will ignore any evidence that is contrary to what he wants the truth to be.Once again, I want to know NAProject's agenda in seeking to supposedly straighten out the historical record. The website he quotes is sponsored by the Nonbeliever Antidiscrimination Project which immediately makes me suspect his agenda. It would be prudent for all of us to take anything said there and by him with a grain of salt and demand independent verification before accepting any claims he makes.
I got to see that statue when I was in Rome a few years ago and it is quite small. For some reason I always thought it was fairly large, but in reality it is made to be pretty close to life sized. It is interesting that the age of the statue is now disputed though, I thought it's age was well-established.
What about the depiction of Pickett's Charge in Gettysburg? I think it is an outstanding depiction of Civil War combat.
I have never claimed they are blameless. I simply think they are our natural ally and less odious than any of the alternatives available as allies in the region.
Yes, but the disadvantage is policies can be stalled indefinitely! Immigration anyone?
Great point!! ;D 😀
I chose other because while I dont buy global warming and think that there must be a grain of truth to evolution. I cant choose religion because I dont think it is a scam, I do however think that some people use religion for evil purposes, terrorists and Televangelists come to mind. The biggest scam is definitely the one we don't know about, it might even turn out that democracy is the biggest scam by convincing us all that we have a say in the running of the country when in fact, the elites of old are either still in power or have only been replaced by a new elite; the second is the theory I favor. We have replaced the aristocracy of birth with the aristocracy of wealth as the definer of who rules the world.
There is a guerrilla component to most wars. I think it constrains thinking to try to define warfare too narrowly. The Napoleonic Wars were mostly fought conventionally but the Peninsular campaign was largely a guerrilla campaign punctuated by pithed battles. There was also a large irregular component to the Russian campaign of 1812.Mao perhaps says it best when he claims that unconventional tactics are used as a prelude to open battles for dominance. It is only when the opponents feel they can win a pitched battle that one is fought. The 100 years war was mostly fought as a series of raids as well.
Ken,I keep waiting for you to mention the Protocols of the Elders of Zion in your anti-Israeli rants. I realize you think that American support for Israel harms us but what I still dont get is who you think would make a better ally in the region. Please enlighten me here. I have said it before and I will say it again there is no other country in the Middle East that even begins to share the democratic value of the US as closely as does Israel, they are our natural ally. You don't simply abandon your friends because they are unpopular, which is what you seem to advocate.
I dont think it is that surprising. All it takes is a look at the present state of the US to see that democracy has plenty of flaws. I think it is the best practical form of government in terms of allowing the most freedom for all but it is not ideal by any means.
wouldnt the throw weight and velocity be limited by the material structure of the trebuchet itself. I would imagine that you could get some pretty impressive distances if modern materials were used to modify/improve the basic design.
I am on vacation before I PCS to Germany. My dad has kept me pretty busy at the family farm helping him out with big projects and I am heading to Boston by way of Gettysburg next week before flying to Germany on the 29th. I just managed to steal some computer time today because of rain.
I was speaking of the Western Empire. Rome did not collapse overnight is the point I was trying to make. I have not mentioned Byzantium as that is a separate animal entirely.
Indeed, that statue was used to emphasize the point that even during the so-called dark ages Europe was still influenced by the rest of the world, if even only to a minor degree. Europe has never been as closed minded as some academics would have us believe. Europe has probably been the most open and inquisitive society and culture throughout history. That is one of the reasons that Europeans achieved the cultural dominance that they did.
