Monday, February 07, 2022

Near Sunset


 

13 comments:

  1. It occurred to me to wonder if there has been any recent progress in locating the location of the Battle of Agincourt. The fact remains that there is no significant archeological evidence at the purported site, but examination of the old records supports a location a mile or two to the north. Alas, there has been no archeological examination there either. Well, maybe some day.

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    1. I took a tour of the area by Google camera car, and it is basically open and gently rolling countryside with villages and farms, lacking in distinct physical features. In addition, it is my impression that metal detecting is far from the popular hobby it is in the UK.

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  2. In Vermont, the question is not whether to teach about the a Holocaust in schools, but how to do it well.

    Vermont senators want to ensure lessons of the Holocaust are being taught
    https://vtdigger.org/2022/02/06/vermont-senators-want-to-ensure-lessons-of-the-holocaust-are-being-taught/

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    1. I don't recall it being taught in grade school, but it was much more recent history in those days--nearly contemporaneous. Probably considered too shocking for children to be taught in schools. It was easy enough to learn about it, though. Let's see--when I was in 8th grade I would have been 14 years old, and the WWII had ended only 15 years before. Fifteen years ago was 2007; George Bush The Younger was Preznit. WWII is as remote in time for an 8th-grader of today as 1880 was for people of my age--almost beyond living memory. I think it was in 8th Grade, although it might have been in 7th Grade, that our social studies teacher (Mrs. Logan) announced that starting that year the words "under God" would be interpolated into the Pledge of Allegiance. There was no discussion of the reason for it; it was only quite some time later that I learned it was largely the result of lobbying by the Knights of Columbus, who sought to show thereby that Italians were patriotic Americans.

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    2. Italians and Catholics, I should have said.

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    3. I don't think the Holocaust need be taught in grade school. Young children should not be burdened with such horror. Grade school can be where basic decency is shown and taught, where young ones discover the good of respecting the dignity of every human being. Give them fairy tales and legends from around the world that honour courage and kindness. That will prepare them for the harsh stories yet to be learned about in middle and especially high school.

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    4. The words "under God" were added to the Pledge of Allegiance, 6 months before I was a twinkle in my father's eye.

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    5. I'd say high school, but child psychologists should assist the curriculum committees in any event.

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    1. I'm very interested to see how Canada deals with this mess. It's not an easy fix. Whatever they do is going to anger some people. They need a King Solomon solution, that stops activities that are destructive while honouring valid free speech.

      It seems that anyone who is causing harm should be arrested.

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  4. Trump Is Obsessed With Being a Loser [Click] “His electoral defeat has pulled him into a deep, dark place.”

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  6. I was reading about the New Madrid Earthquake[s] [Click] learned a bit more. The first of the earthquakes began as The Great Comet of 1811 [Click] was fading from the sky. Not surprisingly, the comet, followed by the earthquake, caused a lot of people to get religion. No small numbers of people in retrospect considered the comet a premonition of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. [Click] Wine of 1811 vintage was held to be particularly good.

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