Esoteric Meandering Shouting Into the Void

The “Dog Days of Summer” Are Named After the Star Sirius

When things heat up around July and August, you’ll inevitably hear the phrase “dog days of summer.” This doesn’t have anything to do with canines lying around panting in the heat — instead, the phrase is a celestial reference. Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, is nicknamed the “dog star” because it makes up the “eye” of the constellation Canis Major (Latin for “Greater Dog”). In Greek mythology, Canis Major is said to be a hunting dog who belongs to the legendary huntsman Orion. Cosmologically speaking, this relationship is fitting, because the three stars that make up the asterism Orion’s belt point to the “dog star” in the southern sky.

The phrase “dog days of summer” actually refers to a specific period on the calendar, from July 3 until August 11. The ancient Greeks and Romans believed these “dog days” occurred when Sirius appeared to rise with the sun, which always occurred during the summer. The idea was that the immense luminosity of Sirius along with the sun’s heat somehow created summer’s scorching temperatures. Of course, we now know this doesn’t make much sense. For one thing, Sirius is much farther away from Earth than the sun is — like 50 trillion miles farther — so the star has absolutely no effect on Earth’s climate. For another, the dog days of summer are relative to where you live on Earth, appearing earlier in the year for those living farther south and later for those in the north. Also, the position of Sirius is subject to Earth’s wobbly rotation — meaning that in 13,000 years, Sirius will rise in midwinter rather than midsummer. So, no, “dog days of summer” isn’t an allusion to our cuddly canines, but a vestigial phrase derived from some 2,500-year-old astronomy.

Abraham Lincoln Created the Secret Service on the Day He Was Assassinated

On April 14, 1865, just hours before he was tragically shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation creating the Secret Service. At the time, however, the new department’s purpose was not to provide presidential protection — it was to combat counterfeit currency.
By the end of the Civil War, nearly one-third of the U.S. currency in circulation was forged; the Secret Service was founded as a bureau within the Treasury Department to rehabilitate and safeguard the country’s monetary system. The night of Lincoln’s assassination, just one local police officer was assigned to escort the President from the White House to the theater, but the officer’s whereabouts at the time of the shooting are unknown. It was not until after the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901, when Vice President Theodore Roosevelt took over, that the Secret Service’s mandate was expanded to include the protection of the President.

Lyle Northey (Silent/Boomer)

The nation seems to be at the mercy of at least 6 members of the Supreme Court that can not make decisions of any worth. We would get better results from a monkey that learned how to smoke cigars through its ass. Over the years we have heard the what does if mean comments reference improprieties and we have heard people interview for a position on the court that stood proudly there under oath and lied like hell.
We need to clean the house and get rid of the fools wherever they are in the system. All the talk of Presidential Immunity and how if it is not all encompassing then the President is nothing more than a figurehead with no power. Crimes are crimes and not all of the governments of the world view them in the same way.
If it were not for immunity and a desire not to kill thousands more soldiers Truman would probably not use the atomic bomb. If it was not for immunity and the view other nations gave credit for it, Trump could have been arrested and tried in the world court for kidnapping when he ordered the children be taken from their parents on the border. He was in Europe and it would have been possible for that to happen.
Those things were not viewed favorably by everyone, but they were done with supposed good intentions for the national good. Overthrowing the election was an effort for personal gain and had nothing to do with the good of the nation, it was also paid for with campaign funds so it was a personal effort with the aid of some very misinformed people. Some of those that showed up may not have known that they were in fact breaking laws, but there was no excuse for the acts. Others knew what they were about and did it anyway and all are being treated as if they were aware and some of the poor little dears feel so violated because of it. Had no problem beating a policeman but now that they are having to pay the piper it just isn’t fair.
To the members of the highest court in the land, you are there and you were put there because your reputation gave you an edge over others that would have liked to be on that court. Your names will be in the history books of the future and what will they say? Will you be known as the Justices that stopped a mad man in his tracks to become a dictator or will you be known as traitors to your nation for the sake of that dictator? Your legacy will give your future family members a reason to separate themselves from you from shame or glory in your light because of pride. Your decision but if you give in to Trump and he does not win your fates are sealed because those of us that believe that Justice Matters will most likely require your tenure to end and perhaps your freedom to be taken away, your choice, choose carefully.

Thomas Jefferson Wrote His Own Epitaph and Didn’t Mention Being President

Before his death, Thomas Jefferson outlined a few specific instructions for his burial; for instance, he wanted the obelisk to be made of coarse stone. Always the writer, Jefferson also crafted his own epitaph highlighting the achievements for which he hoped to be remembered, and, as he put it, “not a word more.” It reads: “Here was buried / Thomas Jefferson / Author of the Declaration of American Independence / of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom / & Father of the University of Virginia.” 

Strangely, nowhere on this epitaph does Jefferson state that he was President of an entire nation; he also fails to mention that he served as governor of Virginia, secretary of state, and Vice President. It’s possible that Jefferson was more proud of his intellectual contributions than the moments he held power. In 1883, Jefferson’s descendants donated the original gravestone to the University of Missouri — a campus designed in a similar fashion to Jefferson’s University of Virginia and the first university in the region acquired by the Louisiana Purchase. Today, a new gravestone marks the founding father’s final resting place, but the epitaph remains the same — still omitting Jefferson’s time as the nation’s chief executive.

Dwain Northey (Gen X)

It’s Not Just Inflation — It’s Price Gouging

Corporations across industries, from housing to groceries and used cars, are juicing their profit margins even as the cost of doing business goes down. And they’re not hiding the ball.

For example, the Coca-Cola Company increased the price of its products by 11 percent over the course of 2022. The company’s chief executive said at the time that Coca-Cola had “earned the right” to hike prices for consumers. Coca-Cola’s rival, PepsiCo Inc., also significantly increased prices.

Please stop blaming the current administration for the prices. Biden and the current White House cannot control gas prices anymore than any other administration did. It’s all a matter of supply and demand and corporate greed and the supply is actually through the moon right now, but corporate greed is keeping the price is high.

President Biden is taking on corporate price gouging by banning hidden junk fees and calling on corporations to pass the savings from their reduced costs onto consumers. This is something the administration can do. Kroger raising grocery prices, Exxon increasing gas prices are things that are under corporate control and unfair to consumers but because we don’t live under an Authoritarian government can’t be regulated by the federal government. Maybe they should be but that isn’t the system we have.