Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Presidential Quote (6 of 8): Andrew Jackson

Greetings to our blog readers in Ireland, Italy and Israel.

Today, we continue with our presidential quotes by quoting Andrew Jackson, the seventh* American president and the second Democrat to become prez, after Thomas Jefferson.

There is actually a dispute as to whether Jackson was born in North Carolina or South Carolina as he has born on an estate near the border, but most historians say he was born in South Carolina. Today, there is a high school in Kershaw, SC, which bears his name.

Jackson represented Tennessee at the time of his election to the presidency, and his historic home The Hermitage in Nashville, Tenn., is open for tourists. Jackson, Mississippi, and the town of Mont Jackson, Va., two hours south of Washington, DC, are among the cities and towns named after 'Old Hickory.

Here is his quote:

"Take the time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in."

http://www.thehermitage.com

*- We initially stated that Jackson was the sixth president of the USA; that distinction actually belongs to John Quincy Adams. I assume that the folks at The Hermitage and Mental Floss magazine will hold us accountable!

http://www.mentalfloss.com

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Presidential Quotes, Cont'd: Jimmy Carter

Greeting to our blog readers in the Netherlands, Croatia and Uzbekistan.

Today, we are continuing our series of presidential quotes with a quip from Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer from Georgia who upset other Democratic candidates in the 1976 primaries and then defeated incumbent President Gerald Ford, whom Carter later became good friends with, to become president of the United States.

Other quotes in the series can be found on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire" http://www.nocturnalguys38.blogspot.com

Interestingly enough, the Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck also ran for president in 1976; we think he got more votes than Ralph Nader.

Here is the quote:

"America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense, human rights invented America."

http://www.carterlibrary.gov

http://www.cartercenter.org


Saturday, July 6, 2013

Presidential Quotes: James Madison

Greetings to our blog readers in Belgium, Portugal and New Zealand, today's quote comes from James Madison, the fourth president of America and an author of the U.S. Constitution. James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., is named after him, and he is frequently discussed on the public radio program "Your Weekly Constitution" ( http://www.montpelier.org/center/radio ) produced at WETS-FM in Johnson City, Tenn. (http://www.wets.org)

His home Montpelier in Orange County, Va., is also relatively close to Monticello, the mansion of Thomas Jefferson, America's third president, in Charlottesville.

Here is Madison's quip:

"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."

http://www.jmu.edu

http://www.montpelier.org

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Presidential Quotes: George HW Bush

Greetings to our blog-readers in Lithuania, Libya and Lebanon and a last minute Fourth of July to everyone here in les etats unis.

We will be quoting former President George H.W. Bush soon, but before we do, we thought we'd write a quick paragraph with some items which are trending on the web page for "The Washington Post" (we Aquaman to make it more interesting):

"The nation's capital celebrated the 4th of July as Egypt is in a major political crisis with a performance by Barry Manilow at the National Mall; Cong. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) was among those in attendance. Meanwhile in New York, competitive eater Joey Chestnut won his seventh world hot dog eating championship. He ate 69 hot dogs, yeah, don't try that at home. And, a 10-year-old boy in Seattle wore his new Aquaman pajamas at a local Burger King to merely impress his friends."

On a more somber note, we are saddened to hear that John E. Grogan, 78, the mayor of Eden, North Carolina, a small near Greensboro, which borders Virginia, passed away today.

Here is our quote from Bush 41:

"You have to understand that people that are hurting are going to criticize you."

http://www.washingtonpost.com

http://www.bushlibrary.tamu.edu

http://www.ci.eden.nc.us


Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Presidential Quotes, John Adams

Our quote from John Adams, America's second president who was made more famous by actor Paul Giamatti's portrayal of him for an HBO mini-series, reflects some irony as his son John Quincy Adams became prez too:

"I must sudy politics and war so that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy."

We gather that today John Adams is busy fly-fishing in Montana and Wyoming with Dick Cheney (yes, that is a joke).

Presidential Quotes: George W. Bush

Well, we sort of goofed as this was supposed to be a blog entry with a quote from George Washington, but we're George W. Bush will understand (forgive the political humor). We imagine that the 43rd president is busy reading "Funky Winkerbean" and his wife Laura is working on a cooking book.

Here is one of his quotes:

"You teach a child to read, and he or her will be to pass a literacy test."

http://www.funkywinkerbean.com

Wow! This is our 2,400th blog entry....

Monday, July 1, 2013

For Canada Day, a Quote from Martin Short

Greetings to our readers in Tanzania, Turkey and Tahiti, our regrets that your soccer lost to Spain by a score of 10-0  during Confederate Cup play in Brazil.

Today, our neighbors to the north are celebrating Canada Day, so with that, we have a quip from Martin Short, 63, the former "SCTV" star and character actor, who hails from Hamilton, Ontario:

"I know if I were to drop dead now, people would probably write nice things about me."

SIDEBAR: In case you are wondering, a can of Blue Sky Root Bear has 170 calories in it. The company that was started in Santa Fe, N. Mex., is now based in California.

http://www.secondcity.com

http://www.bleuskysoda.com