I love studying the Founders.

To me, it is amazing that these men, representing 13 diverse colonies, had the guts to join together, match wits, discuss ideas and take what they knew about the history of the world to form such a brilliant structure for government: a representative government responsible to the will of the people, a Republic, not a direct Democracy, not a king, and not an oligarchy, but a Republic, whereby, cool heads could, at a distance from a direct majority, (which could quickly overwhelm a minority of citizens) render sound governance.

The three branches of government, separate but equal, and then, blessedly, the Bill of Rights.

But first, there was the Declaration, which read the riot act to King George.

In the above video, Too Late to Apologize: A Declaration there is subtle history interwoven throughout. King George eats grapes, which at the time was considered a fruit only for the rich.

There are glimpses of the bucolic American land, with Thomas Jefferson playing his violin up in the rafters of his barn, he was a farmer after all. There is the revolving silver tea service, foreshadowing a revolution with tea as its tipping point.

Then, of course, there is the musket held in the hands of the soldier. Not subtle, but it embodies the military force led by George Washington which fought against one of the best armies in the world and beat it.

The title, “Too Late to Apologize” which is a parady of “Apologize” by OneRepublic, a remix by Timbaland, has more than one meaning. The founders knew that by writing the Declaration that they had crossed the rubicon, that there was no going back, and they had to “hang together or hang separately.”

In the 21st century most Americans believe that there should be no going back to the days of taxation without representation and with the growth of the Tea Party movement, Democrats and Republicans who signed the stimulus and voted for big government are beginning to understand that it is, indeed, too late for them to apologize.

At the website of TJ and the Revo: Too Late to Apologize: A Declaration, there is an explanation of the goals of the video.

The following video is an anachronistic daydream asking the question, “If pop producer Timbaland had sought to build consensus around declaring independence, what might he have produced?”

They have succeeded.

Sissy Willis writes...

A must view. Rousing music, sublime production values and compelling performances blend 18th- and 21st-century perspectives into the perfect historically-aware antidote to the “ideas” of clueless North Carolina education “leaders” who are proposing to revamp the state’s 11th-grade curriculum by skipping the Revolution and Civil War and covering U.S. history “only from 1877 onward”:

There’s more.

Sissy responds in her comments to a cranky old man….

Music is surely a matter of taste, but your resistance may have caused you to overlook the rich mix of historical references, both musical and visual, in “Too Late to Apologize.”

A couple of examples: The music interweaves instruments and instrumentations of the two eras. You may have missed strains of the musical language used in the soundtrack of the HBO “John Adams” series.

Visually speaking, you may have missed the candlelit dining room’s dark green curtains, period molding and other direct references to Independence Hall as depicted in Howard Chandler Christy’s painting of the Signing.

Or how about that image (second one down in blogpost) of the fiddling Thomas Jefferson on a high cliff overlooking a picturesque American landscape in the manner of the Hudson River School, directly referencing Asher Durand’s Kindred Spirits?

Is it time for a new American revolution? One wonders. But a reminder of the glory of the first is definitely required.

Desperate Blanche Lincoln sought to distance herself from President Obama Wednesday in an “audience” (discussion) with Obama and Senate Democrats.

Lincoln, who faces a tough reelection fight, asked Obama to push back against “people at the extremes” of both parties, especially against Democrats “who want extremes.”

She also took a swipe at Obama’s White House, referencing a constituent who “fears that there’s no one in your administration that understands what it means to go to work on Monday and make a payroll on Friday.“

Blanche wants Obama to push back against extreme Democrats?

Dear me.

I’m wondering who in the White House gave Lincoln permission to go after Obama with her stinging payroll comments. A cynical minded person who has watched Lincoln’s not so centrist voting record has to consider the back story. It’s doubtful that her remarks were unscripted.

It’s ironic, actually, because Mrs. Lincoln has never had a job outside government her whole adult life.

Blanche Lincoln has also never had to make a payroll.

After graduating from college, Lincoln served as a staff assistant for U.S. Representative Bill Alexander, a Democrat from Arkansas’s 1st congressional district.[11] She remained in Alexander’s office until 1984.[8] In 1992, Lincoln defeated Alexander (who had become a major figure in the House banking scandal) in the Democratic primary, by a margin of 61 to 39 percent. She subsequently won the general election, beating Republican Terry Hayes with 70% of the vote. Her election to the House coincided with the election of fellow Arkansan, Bill Clinton, as President of the United States.

She was reelected to a second term under her married name, Blanche Lincoln, and served in the House of Representatives until 1997. Lincoln chose not stand for reelection in 1996; she was pregnant at that time.

In 1998, Lincoln returned to politics and ran for the Senate seat being vacated by incumbent Senator Dale Bumpers. She defeated her Republican opponent, Fay Boozman, the brother of future congressman John Boozman, by a margin of 55%-42%.

If Lincoln’s remarks were an attempt to win back the “boobus Arkansasus” she has very little hope.

But there will be change.

I was home, sick with a cold yesterday but I was still excited that snow was coming. Even though the weather forecasters were iffy about snow reaching the river valley I was convinced that we would have snow because I had seen the snow moon the other night.

This morning, after a crappy night of sleep, before I even opened my eyes, I could feel the snow. Snow causes a brightness in the atmosphere even on a cloudy day. I opened my eyes and jumped out of bed to see the white landscape out of the window.

I went out on the porch in my pajamas to capture the scene. Snow before coffee. Snow before internet. Snow and prayers, however. The verse, “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow”, came to mind and I was thankful for answered prayers. My grandson’s fever broke in the night, his pneumonia is better today.

Yes, the Christmas door decoration is still up. My husband asked me to leave it up until his birthday which is in mid February. We had five inches of snow yesterday, it’s still cold today so we should be able to enjoy the snow this weekend. The roads are really icy, there is very little traffic on our street. The serenity is sweet. So far, no power failure but if there is, we are prepared. My husband and I spent most of our adult lives in northern climes so we know snow. Unfortunately, the folks down here aren’t as experienced when driving on ice and snow and there were many accidents yesterday. More fender benders than serious situations, thankfully.

I’m currently reading Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe Series; yes, it’s all about soldiering and war and history but last summer when I was laid up, recovering from three surgeries, I picked up the first book in my husband’s collection of Cornwell’s books and was hooked. So, if we lose power, I will continue to read Sharpe’s Eagles while we have light.

A pretty good weekend despite a nasty cold. I’ve tried to stay away from the news but I did check it out a while ago and the news that Obama is taking on college football is really Clintonesque. By the time Obama is finished with the NCAA and the BCS we will not recognize American football. It will be larded up with the kinds of corruption we’ve seen in “ObamaCare.”
Orin Hatch will rue the day he ever attempted to legislate a playoff system.

Then, there is Obama’s attempt to snow the Republicans and the American people.

I’m going to go make a snow angel.

“Golden lads and girls all must, as chimney sweepers, come to dust,”

poem from Cymbeline

Oh, how the mighty have fallen and yet there are fathoms deeper, yet to fall. Poetry is still relevant when attempting to understand the human condition. The words of William Shakespeare are especially meaningful because he wrote of the tragic pride of kings.

So, now that Barack Obama’s world is crumbling, due to the election of Scott Brown of Massachusetts (and the earlier elections in Virginia and New Jersey) will he face the fact that the people have spoken loudly their objections to the direction he is leading us or will he double down on his goal of socialized medicine and spending us into oblivion?

The signs are not encouraging.

In a Massachusetts Miracle Scott Brown won tonight, handily defeating Martha Coakley for the Senate seat long held by the late Senator Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts. Think about it! A Republican won in Massachusetts! This has to be a huge body blow to Barack Obama and his agenda. ( as it should be)

My hearty congratulations to the people of Massachusetts; after forty years of Democrat/Kennedy rule, the seat has returned to the citizens.

I’ve been watching this race for quite some time, especially after Sissy Willis cast her light fantastic on Scott Brown’s campaign.

Will Brown’s win make Senator Blanche Lincoln regret her pathetic dithering and subsequent yes vote on the health care bill? Will Arkansas follow in Massachusett’s revolutionary footsteps?
Will Blanche also be defeated in November? (as she should be)

Thank you Scott Brown for your gutsy campaign. It gives hope to those of us in Arkansas who are sick and tired of the two gutless Democrat senators who have supported Obama’s agenda every step of the way and out of the other sides of their mouths have pretended to be moderates.

Just like Senator Scott Brown said tonight in his victory speech, we can do better.

Yesterday, if he had lived, Elvis Presley would have been seventy five years old. I was a child in the fifties and grew up with Jailhouse Rock ringing in my ears. My Dad had all of Elvis’ records and when he played them on the hi-fi I made him dance with me. My cousin Jeanne (on the right in the photo above) was five years older than me and the perfect age for Elvis fever. And Jeanne had the fever, big time.

When Elvis was drafted into the Army in March 1958 he got his ears lowered at the Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, Reception Center, which is near my hometown. My Uncle Max took my cousin, Jeanne out to Chaffee so she could have a closer look at Elvis. The barbershop where Elvis got his GI styling is now a museum.

Jeanne remained an Elvis fan and saw him in concert in Kansas City sometime in the mid seventies. By that time, he had bulked up but his voice was still rich. Jeanne and her husband, Junior had taken a tape recorder into the concert and still have that treasured audio tape of Elvis.

When I was nine years old our family made a pilgrimage to Elvis’ home, Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. I remember writing my name with a pencil on the Great Wall of Graceland surrounding the home and worrying that the pencil writing wouldn’t last. We were allowed onto the grounds and my Dad had his movie camera at hand but he was so excited to be at Graceland that all the movie footage he took was upside down. Later, when we watched the movie, our necks ached from holding our heads cocked in order to see it.

I remember gathering acorns from the estate while my Dad talked to a man who claimed to be Elvis’ Uncle. People still write their names on Elvis’ wall.

Elvis is still King of the South so it matters not that the North is bereft of hero musicians and California still suffers under the Michael Jackson regime.

Elvis still lives in the memory of those who love his music. In 1995 a friend and fellow teacher, Jan Honeycutt, sought to convince area leaders and officials that the old Fort Chaffee reception center (and barbershop) should be restored and made into a museum. She had discovered that building 803 was slated to be demolished after Fort Chaffee was to be closed in 1997.

Jan and her students began to lobby local officials to save the reception center and barbershop. They began to raise funds for the restoration. After over a decade of work, in August of 2008, the dream came true. The old Reception Center, where thousands of GI’s were processed on their way into the Army is now housing three museums, The Elvis Presley Barbershop, The Vietnam Veterans Museum, and a Doll Museum. The Chaffee Museum is on Twitter.

Happy Birthday Elvis. We miss you.

My niece, Maine, finally found a proper chair to sit in at the Manor House in Eniskillen, Northern Ireland. She traveled to Ireland with her boyfriend and his family to celebrate Christmas with the grandmoms, aunts and uncles who still live there.

Maine didn’t escape the typical marriage questions from her own family, “when are you and Daniel getting married?” She was peppered by that question by the female side of the Irish.

Maine is like a lion and when she roars everyone listens. She is a blogger now, as well as an artist, and an actor studying the art to earn a Masters in Fine Art in Austin at the University of Texas. We really missed her at Christmas and we are glad she is back for at least a little while.

Christmas was a whirlwind of cooking, wrapping presents, decorating the tree and watching the Christmas lights as we drove to visit family. SNOW! It snowed on Christmas Eve. It was glorious and made me remember what it was like to be a child.

The best Christmas gift is always an act of love and I was the recipient of a very sacrificial and loving gift from my daughter, Charlotte. When she found out that Sarah Palin was appearing at a bookstore in Norman, Oklahoma she stayed out all night the night before to get a ticket, (it was extremely cold) and then stood in line for four hours the next afternoon in order to see Sarah Palin and to get her to sign the book she had bought for me. Here she is, in line with a smile on her face as she is meeting Sarah. I’m halfway through her book and it is revealing the authentic Sarah Palin, a tremendously exciting American citizen with a rich and unique history and story.

When I read the letter Sarah wrote to her children and family about her soon to be born, baby boy,Trig it brought tears to my eyes. This is a gifted, intelligent, thoughtful and exemplary woman America has met and embraced, thanks to Senator John McCain. No wonder liberals and the Obama administration are going nuts over Sarah Palin. To which I say, you’ve got nothing, nothing, to counter an authentic, American like Sarah Palin. She has captured the imagination of the citizens of the United States who wish it to remain the United States of America, not the world.

So, Sarah is roaring and it is my deepest wish and aspiration to help her roar. The Republicans, the Tea Partiers and the American people need to be very proactive in our desire to stop the Obamanization of our country. 2010 is the time for all of us to roar our opposition to the socialization of our nations’ economy, health care system, banking system, and the Democrats plans to tax us all to death.

What does it say about Obama’s take on America’s national security that it took three days for Obama to make a statement about the Christmas terrorist and only four hours for his operatives to hit back at former Vice President Dick Cheney’s criticism of their anemic response? I prefer a lions’ response to the enemies of our nation, not the mousy little timid approach that the Obama administration gave us.

Who do you think is our nations’ enemy Mr. Obama?

So what did Charlotte do after she met Sarah Palin? She went to Hollywood to see the premier of Avatar.

Happy New Year! 2010 will be a year to remember. Just hide and watch.

Sissy Willis is roaring her opposition to Martha Coakley, the Ted Kennedy senatorial replacement candidate.

On the afternoon of Christmas Eve it was warm enough to sit on the front porch. After everyone got together for our traditional family Christmas eve gathering it started to snow and the roads very quickly got treacherous. Everyone in our family made it safely home and we awoke to a beautiful snow morning.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.

What do you do when you receive a gift that is wrapped so exquisitely you are hesitant to open it because you will damage the art?

The joy and ingenuity that went into the wrapping of the gift is quite evident. The message: sweet and touching.

I still haven’t opened the gift because I hate to destroy the wrapping. No staples went into the wrapping of the gift. Just glue. So a sharp letter opener might work and eventually I will open it…. very carefully.

I will.

The child who gave me this gift is one of my art students. Art teachers are not on the top of the list when parents and children buy presents for their teachers. I have never felt entitled to gifts anyway. The joy of teaching the students about art is gift enough for me and when I receive the drawings and artwork that they eagerly bring to me when they come to class it’s like Christmas every day. I keep their art and display it. Then I put it in a student art scrapbook.

None of my students will ever see their artwork cast into the trash. But that’s just me. When I first began to teach art I didn’t like it very much at all. I didn’t have patience and that was a major frustration. But as the years have gone by I have grown into a teacher who appreciates the talents and gifts that each child brings.

The student who gave me the beautifully decorated home made package is a very uniquely talented and whimsical child. I know that the gift inside the package will be as delightful as the packaging.

The anticipation is delicious.

UPDATE:

What is the true gift of Christmas? The eternal gift that Jesus gave to all of us.