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  1. #1

    Lincoln's 200th Birthday

    Today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. For those who might be interested, the Library of Congress is beginning an exhibition today that runs until about mid May that includes many Lincoln artifacts.

    The LOC website has additional information.

  2. #2

    Don't forget Charles Darwin

    Amazing that two of the most famous men in history were born on the same day -- Feb. 12, 1809: Lincoln and Darwin.

    What can I saw about Lincoln that hasn't been said. I'm a history buff and the more you study famous people, the more human flaws you find and the more you usually temper your admiration with a understanding of their human frailties. Lincoln is an exception -- the more I read and studied him, the more admirable he became (although his did have frailties). His eloquence is well documented. Obviously we know the Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural. But reading the Lincoln-Douglas debates is awe-inspiring. His Cooper Union Address is an amazing piece of political rhetoric.

    I hate that some modern revisionist historians have cherry-picked Lincoln's words to make it seem like he didn't really care about slavery or that he thought blacks were inferior. Nothing could be further from the truth -- disgust at slavery was the foundation of his political career. He had actually quit politics until his outrage over the Dred Scott Decision brought him back into the game.

    But what we want to ignore is that this icon was a politician to his core. He could wheedle, spin and shade the truth with the best of them. While we admire his ability to lift the populace up with his soaring rhetoric, there were times when he pandered to the base nature of the crowd.

    His facility of manipulation was crucial for a president that had no real political base. Originally, the strong men of the party thought they could manipulate and control him ... instead, he bent them to his will.

    I will say this, IMHO there is no other American who could have saved the Union after the Southern Seccession in 1861. Oh sure, if the people had elected a Southerner in 1860, there would have been no rebellion in '61 ... but that would have merely postponed the inevtiable crisis. Once the split occurred, I can't think of another northern political leader who combined the iron will to restore the Union (indeed, many -- maybe most -- political leaders wanted to let the South go its own way) and the wiley intelligence to survive four years of frustrating blood-letting.

    When you consider Lincoln's background -- his childhood as poor white trash, his lifelong effort to educate himself ... his ability to overcome personal tragedy and his own psychological demons ... wow, he's the embodiment of everything that's great about America -- everything that was DIFFERENT about America.

    So happy 200th birthday, Abe from an unabashed Lincolnphile

    As for Charles Darwin ... I admire his brilliance and applaud his great discoveries, which have done so much to shape the modern world.

    Happy 200th birthday, Mr. Darwin.

  3. #3

    A big basketball birthday

    February 12th was also the birthday of Bill Russell, a big bday in the basketball world.

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