History For Dummies
Why do Americans insist on electing people to Congress who can’t conceive of the concept of linear time, i.e. things could only be used or owned after they had been invented?
How long is it going to be before Congress understands that you need to weigh your words before making them part of the Congressional record?
Via Bark Bark Woof Woof you can see the latest Doonesbury cartoon, which is reason enough to visit, but below the cartoon is the “Say What?” feature that today is this gem:
“Could you picture Davy Crockett at the Alamo looking at his BlackBerry, getting a message from Congress? ‘Davy Crockett, we support you. The only thing is we are not going to send any troops.’ I am sure that would really be impressive to Davy Crockett.”
Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo.
David Crockett of Tennessee resigned in a snit after not being assured of re-election to Congress and with a group of 12 friends rode to the Mexican province of Texas to participate in a revolution. A group of 12 constitutes a squad in military terms, which would make Crockett a corporal, sergeant at most. He went to San Antonio where Lieutenant Colonel Travis was ignoring the order of his commander, Sam Houston, to destroy the fortifications of the Alamo. Houston knew he didn’t have the men or materiel to defend the site and was attempting to mass his forces for a major battle.
The Congress may have supported Crockett’s action, but as they were taking place in foreign country, the Congress was not about to send troops the US did not have to become involved in a battle that wasn’t supposed to happen.
While I will assume that Congressman Akin was aware that Blackberries didn’t exist at the time, it may come as a shock that Congress is not in the habit of sending messages to junior non-commissioned-officers in other people’s armies.
7 comments
Akin probably could have looked up the history on His Blackberry! What an idiot…but then most of the analogies of the right-wingers don’t make much sense.
I think members of Congress should be required to a standardized test on the American government and history. The results should be publicly posted so everyone can see how ignorant these people really are.
The best so far is Warren Chisum’s support for the Fixed Earth group and science education as a Semitic plot to negate the Bible…
http://rantsfromtherookery.blogspot.com/2007/02/warren-chisum-texas-state.html
I’m not certain how one can claim that there is a Jewish conspiracy to undermine the teachings of the Torah. This is the same as DonoWho referring to “secular Jews”. How can one be both “secular” and “Jewish”?
Because Jewishness is an ethnicity as well as a religion. I know a number of Jews who are not only secular, but also atheists. They still claim their Jewish roots.
Comedy gold, Bryan! But if I may paraphrase P.T. Barnum, nobody every went broke underestimating Americans’ ignorance of history–their own or anybody else’s.
The Soviets claimed that Jews were a nationality, Anya, but I have always considered it a religion. Without religion there isn’t a noticeable difference between Eastern Europeans, which is essentially the culture they are embracing.
Michael, this is “the best of times and worst of times” for historians, to paraphrase Boz. You learn these things in middle school, and it is certainly taught in Missouri. I want “No Congresscritter Left Behind” testing, although “Left Behind” has many meanings.