Ex-Presidents
Al Carroll’s book has an appendix examining what presidents did after they were no longer president. Some presidents died in office or shortly after leaving office. Some, like Truman, lived decades after leaving office but didn’t do anything of note. Others accomplished quite a bit.
Continue readingWhat If
Carroll includes a fascinating section hypothesizing what would happen if different people had become president. Any of these scenarios would make for a fascinating alternate history novel.
For example, Jackson was nearly killed in the Creek War, but a Cherokee warrior named Junaluska saved his life. Had this not happened, John Quincy Adams would have been president instead and the Trail of Tears would not have happened.
Continue readingFranklin Roosevelt
Franklin Roosevelt did not allow Jewish refugees to the US, condemning many to death in the Holocaust. He also could have lessened the atrocity by attacking Germany sooner than he did. (Incidentally, Henry Ford owned the best selling newspaper in the country and used it to spread anti-Semitism. Ford Auto company was also a haven for Nazis and he promoted their views on company grounds. Ford even received a special award from Hitler.)
Continue readingBill Clinton
Clinton not only didn’t try to stop the Rwandan genocide, he pushed for the UN to withdraw and denied a genocide was happening. Clinton could have saved 300,000 to 600,000 lives if he’d sent just 5,000 US troops to intervene.
Right-wing terrorists murdered at least 288 people from 1995 to 2012 and attempted to assassinate Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama. Clinton’s mishandling of the Branch Davidians, Randy Weaver, and the Republic of Texas militia led to more recruitment for right-wing terrorists.
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When presidents of the United States are ranked from best to worse, they’re generally judged on subjective things like leadership, charisma, etc. and the lists end up merely being a popularity contest, often based on the politics of the person doing the ranking. George Washington is often listed as one of the best presidents, not because he did anything particularly noteworthy while president, but simply because he was the first.
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I quite enjoy Amazon’s short story collections, but I wish they’d publicize them more. I only found out about Trespass recently even though I’ve read these collections in the past. All of the stories this time around are worth reading. I think the theme that ties them together is each features human’s relationship with wildlife.
Continue readingContinuing my review of the Ang Aklatan…
We’re told three letters regarding Jesus Christ are included, but there appear to be only two and neither of them are written in the form of a letter.
The Gospel written by Angulu
Angulu was chosen of God at ten years of age, despite his father not being a believer in Christ. He’s told to go to Jerona. When he attains manhood at age twelve, he travels to Jerson. During the journey, he rests by the side of the stream Taborong and sees a rather Freudian vision of a rod of a tree sprouting up and a handmaiden taking hold of the rod. The rod of the tree divides a fertile land. A great tree, representing a prophet, arises out of the land, bearing fruit.
Continue readingContinuing my review of the Ang Aklatan…
The Book of Ahkman
The introduction tells us the remaining chapters of the Book of Ahkman have yet to be published, so we’ll have to stay tuned for that. Unlike Suran, this is written in the first person. It gives a list of children and grandchildren of Suran. Unlike the Book of Mormon, the daughters are named.
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Through a series of dreams, Elisha M. Enoc translated the Aklatan from a set of copper sheets he discovered after having a vision. The Aklatan contains a record of the ancient history of the Philippines, Taiwan, and Borneo and Christ’s visitation to the ancient people of these islands, just as the Book of Mormon describes the ancient history of America and Christ’s visit to those people. While all the books of the Aklatan have been translated, not all have been published yet.
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Maus takes the form of two parallel stories. In the present, Art Spiegelman is trying to learn about his father Vladek’s experience during the Holocaust. In the past, we see his father’s story come alive. The artwork depicts Jews as mice, Nazis as cats, Americans as dogs, and other nationalities as other animals.
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Mania Delight 