The Holy Temple was built by King Solomon in the 10th century BCE, It acted as the center of the Jewish faith until it was destroyed by the Babylonians who sacked Jerusalem in 586 BCE. A second temple was authorized by Cyrus the Great, emperor of Persia. The finished second temple was dedicated in 515 BCE. In the 2nd century BCE, the Macabees liberated Jerusalem and a large part of Israel from the Seleucid Empire (the remnant of old Persia). When they recaptured the temple, the Macabees discovered that all the jugs of ritual olive oil had been profaned except for one. They used the oil to relight the altar fire and the oil miraculously burned for eight days.
Hannukah is an annual celebration of that dedication that takes place on the 25th day of Kislev (somewhere between the end of November and the end of December). The celebration includes the lighting of a menorah. Each night, a successive branch of the menorah is lit. (The menorah actually has nine branches. The center, tallest branch holds the shamash—the helper candle that is used to light the other eight candles.) The light can be from a candle or oil lamp. On the first night when the lights are lit, three blessings are prayed: sheheheyanu, hanerot halalu, and maoz tzur. On the remaining nights, only the latter two prayers are recited.
Jewish eschatology ties the construction of a third Holy Temple in Jerusalem with the coming of the messiah.
On December 7th, 1941, the Empire of Japan attacked the naval station at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, killing 2,402 and wounding another 1,282. This attack, along with Germany’s successive declaration of war despite any treaty obligations, swayed American public opinion away from isolationism toward direct involvement and intervention.
The event yielded 16 Medals of Honor, 51 Navy Crosses, 53 Silver Crosses, four Navy and Marine Corps Medals, one Distinguished Flying Cross, four Distinguished Service Crosses, one Distinguished Service Medal, and three Bronze Stars earned by American military personnel who distinguished themselves during the attack.
90,000 US servicemen lost their lives in the Pacific. Today is a day we remember their sacrifice.
Following a question The Holmberg asked on our forums, I thought a primer on how bills pass through the house and senate might help before Jeff, Darryl, and I talk health care and other pending issues.
Items Explained are…
Sponsored bills
Conference committees and reports
Concurrent resolutions
Super Majorities
Filibusters
Reconciliation
Senate Rule XXII
For additional information, I recommend Project Vote Smart. It has a lot of good information.
In October, my friend “Good Ken” Braun came to visit for a week. It was the first time he had been to New England and he picked the best time of year to do it. New Hampshire’s largest industry is tourism and September and October are our busiest months. That’s when people come to see the trees change color. (Regretably, this is called “leaf peeping,” extensibly making those that participate leaf peepers. Put that on a billboard why don’tcha.) There are a variety of ways to experience the north end of the Apalaichan Mountains and the majesty that is New Hampshire in autumn and we did a few (I clocked 1500 miles driving over the course of that week). The best among them is ziplining. We headed up to Lincoln, New Hampshire, to Alpine Adventures who provide this service (along with snowmobiling and other fun activities that I have partaken in and recommend). The concept is simple. Take a steel cable and run it from a tree on one mountain across to another mountain. Tie onto the cable and slide from one side to the other. Granted, you’re not “tied” on so much as clipped on with a pulley train, high-tensile harness, and crampons. It’s comparable to repelling but with a better view.
I also had the good sense to bring along a Flip video. Come along as we fly above New Hampshire in all its resplendency. (It was a cloudy day, but I have left the video untreated so you can see how awesome it is even when the sun isn’t out.) Something to think on as you watch, one hundred years ago New Hampshire was 94% deforested.
It can be a bit daunting discussing politics with two political management graduate students. Who am I? Just some guy that likes politics. Or am I? Having grown up in Missouri, perhaps I gained some type of political psychic power, foresight into election results.
From NPR’s Political Junkie, I won the contest for the 2009 election day results:
Just back from a post-election visit to Mom in Florida — she’s fine, thanks for asking! — it’s now time to announce the winner of our 2009 Election Contest!
I compiled a list of key elections — everything from the two gubernatorial and two congressional races, plus the same-sex marriage referenda in Maine, down to a handful of mayoral contests. You had to pick the winners in each.
But there was also a scoring system involved: ten points each for the gov. races in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the special congressional race in upstate New York. Five points each for the California 10 House race, the Maine referendum, and the New York City mayoral election. And one point each went to the other mayoral races.
We had a mechanism for breaking a tie, should that have been necessary.
It wasn’t.
Not only was Joe Selby of Nashua, N.H., the winner — he got every one right. He finished with 47 points … closely followed by Maureen Hogan of Phoenix, Ariz., with 46 points. Joe wins a pair of 1976 presidential campaign buttons from President Ford and Jimmy Carter.
In a link passed from Awawro on twitter, we get to see a You Tube video of the real-life Anne Frank.
There is the book, the movie, and the museum in Amsterdam, but to me, there’s something different about seeing the person. Why is that, do you think? You don’t hear her speak. You don’t get any greater sense of her character than what those few seconds provide. But it’s real. It’s not words on a page or a Hollywood interpretation. It’s her. She was real. And everything that happened was real. History living for the briefest of seconds.
Games are played by people and people have interests outside the game. Impolitic is a podcast about history, science, politics, religion, health, food, and finances. We hope we can engage you in those topics you enjoy and introduce you to those topics you may otherwise avoid. Thank you for giving us a chance.
Hannukah is an annual celebration of that dedication that takes place on the 25th day of Kislev (somewhere between the end of November and the end of December). The celebration includes the lighting of a menorah. Each night, a successive branch of the menorah is lit. (The menorah actually has nine branches. The center, tallest branch holds the shamash—the helper candle that is used to light the other eight candles.) The light can be from a candle or oil lamp. On the first night when the lights are lit, three blessings are prayed: sheheheyanu, hanerot halalu, and maoz tzur. On the remaining nights, only the latter two prayers are recited.
