Bloody Billboards Bully Brave Bostonians

Terror Alert Puppy
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Brave Bostonians - A Word From Terror Alert Puppy
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Living in this post 9-11 world has meant many changes for the land of the free and the home of the brave. The people of America have many new responsibilities like buying plenty of duct tape, and storing enough provisions to survive dirty bomb attacks.

I wanted to take this opportunity to remind everyone that our Department of Homeland Defense has introduced a nifty indicator of the Terror Level in the United States. People everywhere need to check the terror alert indicator daily to make sure it is safe to go to work, send their children to school, fly on planes, take trains, go poop, or visit big cities like Boston!
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Have You Checked Our Terror Alert Indicator Today?
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We all need to check our terror alert level several times each day! Think of it like brushing your teeth, or going poop - you do that every day right?
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Boston Responds - Two if by Land! One if by Sea!
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With the help of the Brave Bostonian Defenders League, and with God's help the terrorist plot to destroy the city of Boston was narrowly averted! A ring of highly destructive electronic billboards secretly placed around the city of Boston was discovered. All atomic, chemical, and biological weapons found have been taken to Iraq.

The evil doers who plotted the destruction of Boston have been found, and are now behind bars awaiting execution - I mean trial.

Let's all cheer yet the great victory of the Homeland Defense League over the evil doers!
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Hurray!
Hurray!
Hurray!
Now go take a poop!
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Sinister Billboards Had Wires And A Battery!
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Breaking News From CNN!

The devices displayed a "Mooninite" -- an outer-space delinquent who makes frequent appearances on the cartoon -- greeting passersby with an upraised middle finger. But the discovery of nine of the light boards around Boston and its suburbs sent bomb squads scrambling throughout the day, snarling traffic and mass transit in one of the largest U.S. cities.

"It had a very sinister appearance," Coakley told reporters. "It had a battery behind it, and wires."

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Bostonians Looked Into The Face Of Terror!
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Aqua Teen Hunger Force!
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Please Inform Yourself About This Gang!.

What's Good About Dogs - They're Loyal

Larry Sanders Show on Loyalty

I share this YouTube video of Jon Stewart's guest appearance on the fictional Larry Sander's Show. The series was just one more "gold nugget" pick that Dave of The11thhour turned me on to over the years.

For many years now I have wanted the show to return. I realize that this will never happen, but man was it funny!
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Hank Kissing Up To Possible New Show Host - Jon Stewart
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In the scene featured we see side kick "Hank" reacting to his concern that his boss and show host Larry Sanders, played by Gary Shandling. was preparing to leave the show. Hank wanting to impress on Jon Stewart that he could work with him, tries to subtly show that he can be loyal to Jon Stewart, but instead comes off looking like a cad.
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Rip Torn, Gary Shandling, and Jeffrey Tambor
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Hank, played by Jeffrey Tambor, was a never ending victim. He took his life, and role which he played as side kick way too seriously, and looked like a fool for it. He was a cad, but that allowed other characters to be cool. Do we know anyone who feels they have played the fool just to allow someone else to look cool?

"Hey Now!"
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Bob Odenkirk
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Bob Odenkirk
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Back at SIU-C, Dave of The11thhour, introduced me to Bob Odenkirk who was destined years later to play "Stevie" Larry's agent. I've been a fan of Bob Odenkirk ever since. He's an incredibly talented, and an incredibly funny guy.

A Hobbled Hubble on a Wing and a Prayer

HST Has Provided Humankind With A New View of the Universe

Hubble Space Telescope's main ACS wide field camera has gone dead, and it looks like it won't be revived until a planned maintenance mission in 2008. This from Space.Com

It was Hubble’s ACS camera’s wide field channel, for example, that allowed astronomers to generate Hubble’s Ultra Deep Field – the deepest view into the universe to date. But that ACS channel, and a high-resolution channel used to study stars surrounded by planet-forming material, are likely lost since the latest glitch has cut off power to their systems, Hubble managers said.

“We’re not optimistic at all that those will be restored,” said David Leckrone, NASA’s senior project scientist for Hubble at the GSFC. “The saving grace here is that we have a superb new wide field camera coming along that was originally designed, in fact, to be a back up for ACS in case ACS failed. It was designed to work in tandem with ACS if [it] was full alive.”

HST's other cameras are working, but the loss of the main wide field camera reduces Hubble's abilities significantly.
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HST - Cone Nebula
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A fourth service mission using the Space Shuttle is planned for 2008. The service mission entails five space walks to install a new wide field camera, gyroscopes, sensors, and batteries. However no plan yet exist to replace the now dead ACS. This from NASA.Gov

"It is too early to know what influences the ACS anomaly may have on Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission-4 planning" said Preston Burch, associate director/program manager for the Hubble Space Telescope. "It is important that the review board conduct a thorough investigation that will allow us to determine if there are any changes needed in the new instruments that will be installed on the upcoming servicing mission so that we can be sure of maximizing the telescope's scientific output. We are continuing to make excellent progress in our preparations for the servicing mission, which is presently targeted to fly in September 2008."

Let's hope NASA's Service Mission Four planning group decides to add servicing the ACS wide field camera to its SM4 in 2008! In my opinion the Hubble Space Telescope has benefited humankind by broadening our understanding, and appreciation of the place we all call home - the Universe. The HST has been worth every penny of taxpayer money spent which is more than we can say for most government funded programs.
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Photo Credits
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HubbleSite.Org Public Domain Images

Calling on the Cult of Dionysus!

Dionysus The Good Time god Of Wine!

My Take on Dionysus

Folks I know we live in a one God state, but some of the ancient Greek, and Roman gods sound kind of fun. Why does the modern Judeo-Christian-Islamic God have to be such a stuffed shirt? O.K., I'm not really asking for a reply, we're supposed to feel pain since we're all a bunch of sinners, but I feel we're way too serious here. Life is only so long, and if someone were to propose a parade with some music, poems, roast lamb, and lots of wine - I'd be into that.
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Dionysus - A Troubled Youth

Father - Zeus - who bore him from his own thigh!
Mother - Semele who died during Dionysus' conception!
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A god of What?

• Wine
• Intoxication
• Ecstasy
• Music
• Poetry

Also Known As

• Dionysus - Greece
• Liber or Baccus - Rome
• Osirus - Egypt

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Description

• Effeminate
• Fleshy
• Young
• Wearing Grapes
• Carrying a Wine Goblet

Accompanied By (who dance possessed and intoxicated around him)

• Satyrs
• Maenids
• Bassarids
• Also known as Bacchi

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Year Round Dionysus Festivals

• Processions
• Sacrifices
  
• Wine Tasting
• Theatrical Performances

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Sources

Here for ideas
Here for image

More Fake O'Hare UFO Photographs?

Is This A Photo Of The O'Hare UFO Or A Fake?
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The photograph above looks quite convincing. I'm labeling it the "American Airlines" O'Hare UFO photo. The photo above was also sourced to AboveTopSecret.Com. Who took this photograph? When was the photograph taken, and from where was it taken? The photograph stands alone without context. This image means next to nothing without answers to those questions.

I'd also like to have someone with some expertise on the layout of O'Hare International Airport review this photo to verify if it even could have been taken at O'Hare when the O'Hare UFO was alleged to have been spotted.

What is the provenance of the photo above? No one knows, and so for now the photo above is highly suspect no matter how good it looks.
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A Closer Look At The Above O'Hare "UFO"?
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Could an object described by eye witnesses as dark gray and metallic end up looking like a cloud? This close up of the image above suggest that it wasn't based upon what eye witnesses to the O'Hare UFO allegedly spotted. Despite this concern this photo might be legitimate, still we need for the individual who took the photo to step forward. If it was taken by someone who works at O'Hare International Airport then it is likely this photo is the real deal.
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O'Hare Control Tower UFO - An Easy To Spot Fake?
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Perhaps the photo above will turn out to be a real O'Hare UFO photograph, but I highly doubt it. See below for an assessment as to why most people are labeling this photo a blatant fake.
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Source Of O'Hare Control Towers UFO Photo?
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The photograph above was discovered on the Wikipedia page for O'Hare International Airport. It appears to be the source for the "UFO" photograph above it. There are many problems with the photo. The photograph above appears to have been taken during a sunny day which contradicts eye witness accounts of the O'Hare UFO sighting. The size of the UFO as presented in the photograph is much larger than what eye witness accounts have guessed it was. For these reasons, and the probability that it was created by photo editing software, the O'Hare Control Tower "UFO" photograph is most certainly a fake.
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My Own Totally Fake UFO Slide Show I Made In One Hour
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I decided to see how long it would take using a photo editor to make up my own totally fake O'Hare UFO photo. It took me longer than I thought it would, and I must admit it doesn't look that great. I also suspect that it would not stand up under any close examination. Then again it took about an hour to cook up the image. If I had spent longer working on it, I probably could have produced an image which would fool most people, but probably not the experts.

Yet my fake UFO slide show does show that anyone with some time, imagination, and proper software can make a fake UFO photograph with little effort. That's why it is so important that we ignore the images that are being released, and focus on getting the United Air Lines employees to go public. It is simply unbelievable in this day, and age, that citizens of the United States are being coerced to remain silent simply for spotting an unusual object in the sky!
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Also

See my previous O'Hare UFO post for a look at the "first" O'Hare UFO photograph.
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Credits
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O'Hare Control Towers UFO Fake Photo on AboveTopSecret.Com Discussion Boards

Where I found a mention of my prior O'Hare UFO Post, and a link to the "American Airlines" O'Hare UFO Image.

A Fake O'Hare UFO Photograph?

Time Will Tell - Is This An Actual Photograph Of The O'Hare UFO - Or Is It A Fake?
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I. Related Phenomena Hit Chicago, and Downstate Illinois Area!

Odd Light Flashes Over Chicago Prior to O'Hare UFO!
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• Unnatural Red, Green, and Blue Lightning flashes were observed over Chicago on October 2nd, 2006 one month before a disk shaped UFO was observed hovering over O'Hare airport!.

UFO Activity Didn't Stop Over Illinois On November 7th!
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• The eerie Red, Green, and Blue Lightning flashes seen over Chicago, Illinois on October 2nd, were once again observed three weeks later, this time to the south over Springfield, Illinois on the night of November 30th!

• Jerome, Illinois was visited by green, and red flashing clouds. Thunder over Jerome, Illinois accompanied the red, and green colored lightning..

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II. The Recently Unofficially Released O'Hare UFO May Be A Fake
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The photograph above may be the first look at the O'Hare UFO! I read about it first on Billy Booth's About Site (NYTIMES)!

Abovetopsecret.com rightly included a disclaimer which cast doubt on the photograph's authenticity. It just may be that some people are just getting bored waiting for any real images to be published of the O'Hare UFO, and have begun sharing some "artistic creations" of their own.

Below is an animated graphic file (also provided by AboveTopSecret.Com) which suggest to me that the UFO photo above was based upon a readily accessible image available on the Internet. In other words it is probably a fake. Notice that I did not suggest the O'Hare UFO incident was in any way fraudulent. I do however believe we need to be extremely careful about any images that pop up on the Internet. We live in the age of digital imagery, and digital editors.
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The Creation Of A Fake O'Hare UFO Photograph

The animated graphic below shows two source images, and several morph software created intermediate images. The two sources are allegedly authentic images of O'Hare International Airport. The first source image is allegedly of the O'Hare UFO (see upper right hand corner), and the second source image (which appears at the end of the morph series) is apparently portrays a multi-exposure of the landing of a commercial aircraft - with its landing lights on.

The similarity between the two source images is striking. Anyone with even some minor skills in photo editing could have used photo cloning tools to cover up the landing lights in the second source photograph, and then could have used brightness, and contrast controls to darken the image. With zoom, clone, and brush tools a small "UFO" could have been drawn into the upper right hand corner of the first source image.
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*Photo Confusion Discredits O'Hare UFO Sighting - Whether Valid Or Not
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III. Why The O'Hare UFO Photograph MAY Still Be Legitimate

An intelligence service may have covertly accessed the UAL pilot's images (very possible) and created the fake image without the UAL pilot's knowledge. Why? To create a sense of distrust, and uncertainty regarding the O'Hare UFO sighting. This process is called disinformation, and it's a common practice employed by intelligence agencies to create a sense of confusion about sensitive subjects - including UFOs. We'll need to await the actual publication of the O'Hare UFO photographs before we can make any decision about the photograph above. For now I'd label it suspect. Despite my skepticism, let's look at how easy it would be to discredit a real photograph, by making it look fake. See Below for links on Image Credits.
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Means: How To Discredit A Real O'Hare UFO Photograph

• Obtain Legitimate O'Hare UFO Photograph
• Erase UFO With Editing Software
• Add Fake Airliner Landing Lights
  
• Post The Fake Image with Earlier Dates on the Internet
  
• Discover the Fake Image
• Use Fake Image to Discredit the Real Image
• Create Sense of Confusion and Debate Over Entire Sighting
  

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Suspects: Who Have Motives To Discredit A Real O'Hare UFO Photograph

• CIA
• NSA
• Military Intelligence
• Certain Defense Contractors.
  

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Motive: Why Would A Real O'Hare UFO Photograph Be Discredited

• To Create Doubt About O'Hare UFO sighting
• To Cover Up Advanced Alien Technology
• To Cover Up Advanced Human Technology
• Money & Power

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Alternative Means - The Preemptive Strike

• Release A Fake O'Hare UFO Photo Now
• Discredit The Fake Photo
• Thereby Casting Doubt On Real Photos When Released.

Other Motivative - The Irrational

• The Sheer Fun of Creating A Fake UFO Photo (similar to thrill people get writing viruses). Creating a fake UFO photo, or discrediting a real UFO photo might have been done for no particular reason at all other than the thrill of doing it. Not all human behavior is rationally motivated.
  

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IV. We Need More Information to Make a Decision

It is still possible that the O'Hare UFO photograph is in fact the genuine article. We'll have to wait for additional information before being able to make such a judgement. We need to have the individuals who saw the O'Hare UFO to come forward, and confirm if this is what the UFO looked like. Most importantly we need those individuals who actually took photos of the O'Hare UFO to confirm whether the image in contention is one which they captured on November 7th, 2006 at O'Hare International Airport.
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Animated Photo Overlays Using Two Sources & Morphing Which Suggest Duplicity?
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V. An Appeal to UAL Employees Which Photographed O'Hare UFO
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This is a public appeal to those United Air Line employees which photographed the UFO (reports are that at least one pilot photographed the UFO). Please release the photographs which you took. Word has it that you are in negotiation to sell the photographs to a major news publication.

Despite your concern that you will have your career ruined with United Air Lines I implore you to do the right thing, and release the photographs which you took of the O'Hare UFO as soon as possible. United Air Lines, and the FAA have no legal right to encourage you to remain silent.
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VI. Reactions To This Post

I started noticing a significant increase in the number of visitors to my blog, and I soon watched as nearly five hundred people visited to read this post. Very exciting. Most were coming from two links (perhaps more) from the following sites:


The Anomalist.Com

Here's their lead in to this post...

A Fake O'Hare UFO Photograph? JeromeProphet

Less than 24 hours later...is the O'Hare photo doctored from a readily available image from the web?

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A Post At DailyGrail

Here's their lead in to this post...

• Submitted by Greg on Thu, 25/01/2007 - 11:23am. Alien Nation
• In the continuing saga that is the O'Hare Airport UFO sighting, more things worth noting. Firstly, as pointed out in today's news, a photo is being circulated around the Internet which is alleged to be a photo of the UFO. Take it all with a grain of salt until it is confirmed. On the flipside, Rob McConnell of 'The X-Zone' has written an indepth piece questioning the story, which he says has "more holes in it than a piece of Swiss cheese". It's a magical mystery tour at the moment...
• Update: The image appears to be a fake, based on this explanation.

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VII. THIS POST BECOMES PART OF AN ONLINE DISCUSSION.
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A Discussion about this blog post at HabitableZone.Com

By Lindy

"So let's pick a blogger (JeromeProphet) and shoot in his explanations, and ignore the expert David Biedney, who actually examined the cell phone photograph.

But, after careful examination of this Jerome Prophet on Google, there are no professional references to him, other than that very bad Marilyn Manson video he displays on his site. But, if you actually READ what he wrote, he has done a cursory first examination with the pros and cons.

He actually discusses WHY photographs following the initial one would be faked:

>"Obtain Legitimate O'Hare UFO Photograph, Erase UFO With Editing Software, Post The Fake Image with Earlier Dates on the Internet, Discover the Fake Image, Use Fake Image to Discredit the Real Image, Create Sense of Confusion and Debate Over Entire Sighting

Suspects: Who Have Motives To Discredit A Real O'Hare UFO Photograph
CIA
NSA
Military Intelligence
Certain Defense Contractors."

And he closes with a good argument neither pro or con for this phtograph.
So your title post Photo Debunked Here really holds very little water.
But I noticed your "student" was quick to breathe fire into it behind you.
Not surprised at that either".

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The above reply was to the following post Link

By TB

The blogger (JeromeProphet) at your link should have been clearer on the origin of the stock shot, and a bit better organized. The original photo is from http://www.ishilab.net/~ishihara/blog/media/1/, and is seen below:

I do not know if the photo originated with the owner of that site (it isn't in English) or somewhere else.

This is the UFO photo:

Making a picture like this pass a digital test is easy. You can crunch it through the pixel altering process enough to blur almost anything, including artifacts. Essentially, you convert the picture into a single, giant artifact. Of course, you can also print out your hoax picture, and with enough skill, simply photograph it with your cell phone.

On the other hand...

I did my own overlay, and noticed a couple of things:

The angles of the two photos are quite different, and a lot of tilting is necessary to match them. The UFO in the photo is actually off the margin of the stock picture, and someone would have had to create new background to match it. Not impossible, but no piece of cake, either. Nor, as the morph shows, do the lights in the distance match, and erasing those seems a bit weird. The exact match for the runway lights is not surprising. They never change. I noticed other things that would have to have been done to the photo to come up with the final that would also be difficult, like removing the planes. In addition, the lighting conditions of the sky are completely different, with one typical of a clear sky as dusk or dawn, and the other typical of overcast, with a range of brightness from top to bottom.

If one were going to do a hoax, why not start with a different obscure stock photo and simply lay the UFO in without having to alter all the rest of the picture?

I'm speaking as someone who makes a living, among other things, plugging artificial things into background shots and having to make it look like it was really there. If I ever decided to start farming out UFO photos, I'd be famous.

I'm cutting the UFO nuts some slack on this one, and stating that it is just as likely that this was two different pictures taken from a fixed observation point at the airport (my local international airport has only one small balcony where you can go outside to watch planes take off and land). This does not mean that the UFO picture is not a hoax, simply that it is probably not a processed version of that particular stock shot.

I didn't see the second photo on Lindy's link (below) at the Wikipedia site. Did I miss it, or has something been changed in Lindy's link?

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The above post was a response to an earlier post below Link

By Podrock

"Debunked Here (a link to this post) Link"
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JeromeProphet Note: It isn't my intent to debunk anything. I just feel it is a waste of time to try and debate the merits of the digit images that are floating around at this point. We need the United Air Lines Employees to step forward, and admit to what they saw.
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VIII. Image Source Links
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O'Hare UFO Image Obtained From: AboveTopSecret.Com
GIF Overlay Image Morph Obtained From AboveTopSecret.Com
**Airport Congestion Photo - May Be "Original" Internet Source For O'Hare UFO Image?

*My Is This The Fake (above) Slide Show Uses Edited Images From The Above Sources.

Special Note: The images included in this post are under great scrutiny within the UFO "believers", and "skeptics" community at this time. This is actually a very good sign.

State of the Union Response - Talk is Cheap

President Bush @ 2007 State of Union Address
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An Except from the 2007 State of Union Address:
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Extending hope and opportunity depends on a stable supply of energy that keeps America's economy running and America's environment clean. For too long our nation has been dependent on foreign oil. And this dependence leaves us more vulnerable to hostile regimes, and to terrorists -- who could cause huge disruptions of oil shipments, and raise the price of oil, and do great harm to our economy.

It's in our vital interest to diversify America's energy supply -- the way forward is through technology. We must continue changing the way America generates electric power, by even greater use of clean coal technology, solar and wind energy, and clean, safe nuclear power. (Applause.) We need to press on with battery research for plug-in and hybrid vehicles, and expand the use of clean diesel vehicles and biodiesel fuel. (Applause.) We must continue investing in new methods of producing ethanol -- (applause) -- using everything from wood chips to grasses, to agricultural wastes.

We made a lot of progress, thanks to good policies here in Washington and the strong response of the market. And now even more dramatic advances are within reach. Tonight, I ask Congress to join me in pursuing a great goal. Let us build on the work we've done and reduce gasoline usage in the United States by 20 percent in the next 10 years. (Applause.) When we do that we will have cut our total imports by the equivalent of three-quarters of all the oil we now import from the Middle East.

To reach this goal, we must increase the supply of alternative fuels, by setting a mandatory fuels standard to require 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels in 2017 -- and that is nearly five times the current target. (Applause.) At the same time, we need to reform and modernize fuel economy standards for cars the way we did for light trucks -- and conserve up to 8.5 billion more gallons of gasoline by 2017.

Achieving these ambitious goals will dramatically reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but it's not going to eliminate it. And so as we continue to diversify our fuel supply, we must step up domestic oil production in environmentally sensitive ways. (Applause.) And to further protect America against severe disruptions to our oil supply, I ask Congress to double the current capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. (Applause.)

America is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that will enable us to live our lives less dependent on oil. And these technologies will help us be better stewards of the environment, and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate change. (Applause.)
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A Response
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If President Bush had made his State of the Union proposals on reducing this nation's dependence upon imported oil in the days following 9-11 they would most certainly have received bipartisan support, and broad public support. The President chose instead to start an unnecessary, and costly war in Iraq based upon "cooked up" intelligence. Bush's invasion of Iraq has destabilized the entire Middle East equation, leading to higher oil prices, and possible disruptions in oil supplies from that region.

The President's meager proposals come too late from his lame duck administration to constitute a serious, or sincere response to the challenges which face this nation in an age of peak oil, and global warming.

Quite simply Mr. President, your insincere talk about energy independence is nothing more than a public relations ploy, and the world knows it. Two thirds of the electorate quietly await your departure from an office you have so systematically abused.
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Time's Jeffrey Klugar writes:
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What the president didn't do after all this ambitious call to arms was put forward any serious ideas — or even any unserious ones — about how to make it happen. Remember all that talk about hydrogen cars? Get yours'yet? No, and you're not likely to for a very long time either.

All of this would be a bold call for any president, all the more so for one who came so late to the conservation game. But again, the substance is lacking, at least so far. It's one thing to call for a 20% savings in fuel; it's quite another thing to demand the hard, politically costly choices to make that happen, such as a pump tax with real bite or a significant increase in mandatory mileage standards. Bush did call generally for fuel economy improvements, but if he really wants them he doesn't have to request them; he can, for practical purposes, regulate the new rules into being. If he doesn't, it's because he doesn't want to, at least not yet.

End Snippet-

The President won't request any changes in mileage standards, and he never made any specific proposals because he isn't sincere about moving the nation away from dependence upon oil. Talk is cheap.
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Credits
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Official Caption for Photo: President George W. Bush greets people, shakes hands and signs his autograph after delivering the State of the Union Address in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2007. White House photo by Paul Morse.
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Time Magazine Excerpt under copyright by Time Inc 2007. Portion used under free use rules.

Should United Air Lines Be Shut Down to Save Earth?

Video: Interview On O'Hare UFO Sighting
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Should United Air Lines Be Shut Down?
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• Flying Saucers don't exist, as they're just a weather phenomena.
• A flying saucer couldn't have hovered over O'Hare International Airport.
• People who make such claims are mistaken, or insane.
• Insane pilots may crash their aircraft into tall skyscrapers.
• Insane ground crew might be a threat to public safety.
• Can the public trust an airline company which fails to terminate UFO spotters?
  
• Should United Air Lines be shut down immediately?

Should You Write Your Congressman?

Please folk we can't have another 9-11!

If you truly care about your nation you may want to write your Congressman as soon as possible.

Your nation, and all life on planet Earth could depend upon your action!
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Possible Consequences of Your Action or Inaction
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Comet McNaughtt-Hartley Potentially Devastating to Life on Earth?

As Comet McNaughtt-Hartley swings around the sun on its return trip to the outer solar system a minor nudge could send it directly into Earth's path. The consequences would be devastating to all life on the planet.
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Is Earth Overdue For An Extinction Level Event?
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Should United Airlines Be Shut Down to Save Earth?

We could be in real trouble here, and we might not even know it. When the existence of an alien hovercraft over O'Hare International Airport was revealed by United Air Lines employees a major violation of trust may have taken place. This may have been the straw that broke the planet's back. Is life on Earth doomed? Could a simple gesture like closing down United Air Lines for revealing the UFO be enough to save life on Earth?.

As comet McNaught-Hartley swings around the sun to return to the outer solar system we must ask ourselves if we feel secure that we have done everything we could do to appease our alien overlords.
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Credits

Extinction Level Event Image
Space Needle and Comet McNaught-Hartley for Seattle Times

Growth Demands Acceptance

Growth Demands Acceptance of Possibilities Beyond the Ordinary
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People tend to limit the majority of their concerns to what that they feel is most important, and what could be more important than survival itself? Survival is the primary concern for the vast majority of humankind. Even the United States people find themselves focused on survival before anything else, which only makes sense.

With this primary motivation in mind, most people find themselves so driven by this one pursuit that there seems little time, or energy for anything else but making ends meet. Making a living becomes the great organizing pattern for the individual, and for society as a whole.

We have all heard of society being characterized as a ladder, or a rat race through a maze, or even a jungle. In each characterization the individual struggles to survive. We are told that this is the noble cause, to struggle for survival until we drop dead or end up in a retirement home.

Yet I believe that each, and every one of us knows that we are more than just a worker, a spouse, or a parent. We are more than just a money maker, a money spender, or a money saver. There just has to be more than that, and somehow we know it deep down.

We often find this realization in those little moments. We may see it in the eyes of our loved ones, or in a sunrise, or star filled sky. We may feel it at church, or on a walk. Sometimes it comes to us when we feel lonely, or sometimes when we are feeling elated. But that knowledge that we are more than the life we are living, that we are more than the roles that we are playing it appears to us even if we don't appreciate it, and it comes with a cost.

The cost of knowing that we are not complete as actors in this world is a feeling of separation from our true self. We feel incomplete even though we believe we should be happy. Everyone is telling us to feel happy because we should feel happy. We live in that nice home, and drive that nice automobile, and work in that nice office, and we believe we should feel complete. Yet, we are troubled deep down, for we know that there is something deeper that we aren't addressing.
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Graph: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
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Hollywood is filled with millionaire movie stars who haven't a care in the world when it comes to money. There's a million unhappy rich kids driving sports cars tonight. Drugs, sex, and alcohol seem to answer their questions for awhile, but even the pleasure of thrill seeking begins to wear thin after awhile. There is something more, and denying it only makes us feel unhappy.

How we find meaning is up to each, and every one of us. For some it is finding, and maintaining a link to God. For others it is service to mankind. The journey that each of us takes is up to us. That part is clear. We have a choice. We know there is something more, and we have a choice as to how we find it.

I am not here to tell you what it is that you already know is true within yourselves. I feel as confused, and vulnerable as the rest of you. I wish that I could open my hand, and out would fly a magical answer that would please each, and every one of you. Unfortunately, I can't do that.

I will say this, despite our limitations, we are not alone in this quest. We have every right to suspect that our sense of alienation isn't anything more than an illusion. The next time you attend church take a look around. Those are your sisters, and brothers. Those are the one's who are seeking the same answers as you - despite their claims to certainty.

For those of you that don't attend church you're only a Google search away from finding a community of others who also seek.

I've chosen to get serious in this post, and make myself vulnerable for one reason. Without revealing myself, without being vulnerable there can be no honest communication. And isn't that what we are all seeking out here in the blogosphere? Other than a good laugh?
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Even Homer Simpson Experiences the Existential Dilemma .
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Artwork
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My open hand is ready to either release, deny, or accept the magical. I hope you like it.
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Credits
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Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Graph
Homer Simpson's Munch Scream
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Marilyn Manson Is Dead

Marilyn Manson - Fight
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Marilyn Manson
Is
Dead
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by jp

Boredom anger plotting
lacking direction

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turning blue into black
without detection

slash us whip us mash us
antiresurrection

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revealing the hells
behind our smiling faces
that's your perfection

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- R.I.P. Marilyn Manson -
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-Fight-

Marilyn Manson

Nothing suffocates you more than
the passion of everyday human events
isolation is the oxygen mask
you make your children breath in to survive

I'm not a slave to a god that doesn't exist
I'm not a slave to a world that doesn't give a shit

When we were good
you just closed your eyes
so now we are bad
we'll scar your mind

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT
FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

You'll never grow up to be a big rock star
Celebrated victim of your fame
We'll just cut our wrists like cheap coupons
and say that death is on sale today

When we were good
you just closed your eyes
so now we are bad
we'll scar your mind

I'm not a slave to a god that doesn't exist
I'm not a slave to a world that doesn't give a shit

The death of one is a tragedy
The death of one is a tragedy
The death of one is a tragedy
The death of a million is just a statistic

I'm not a slave to a god that doesn't exist
I'm not a slave to a world that doesn't give a shit

I'm not a slave to a god that doesn't exist
I'm not a slave to a world that doesn't give a shit

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT
FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

A JeromeProphet Pick - Stupid Video of the Week

Punchy - But Not Drunk
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Video Find of the Week

I like this video!

Perhaps it's just the Chardonnay Sauvignon, but I like it a lot. In fact I'm going to have to crack open another bottle of vino just to test my hypothesis that it's the wine.
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Hypothesis

There will be a strong positive correlative relationship between amount of wine consumed, and the rating of the featured video.
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Confounding Variables
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Cheese, Crackers, and sheer fatigue.
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Star Trek XI Due For Release In 2008

StarTrek 2008 Poster

Just about the only glimpse so far into what the coming Star Trek movie will look like is this poster available at StarTrek.com. Rumors are bouncing around that the movie's plot may, or may not revolve around the early days of Kirk, and Spock, think Starfleet Academy. This has been denied, but not convincingly.

No title has been assigned yet, and so the movie is simply being referred to at this point as StarTrek XI.

Here is a link to Empire.com's StarTrek message board where much fan speculation abounds about possible story lines for the new movie.

It's a real secretive operation right now with only a few names having been released. The name of the director, and writers are known. The same crew that brought us Mission Impossible Three have been charged with the responsibility to bring the eleventh Star Trek movie into existence.
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Time (c) Star Trek XI Producer & Director JJ Abrams
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At this point there is little to go on, but I'm hoping for something different, and yet familiar.

My Tiger Sleeps Warmly on a Cold Winter's Eve

Priskers My Cat Sleeps Warmly On A Cold Winter's Eve

Sometimes when I look at my cats I know I would be happy being a house cat. All that sleep! Never having to worry about anything. No work. No bills! No deep questions about meaning. They have it made!

Notice I said I wouldn't mind being a house cat, because I would not want to be a cat living outdoors right now with the frigid temperatures, rain, snow, and ice. Anyone who leaves their cats outside in the Midwest at this time of year should be neutered.

I took the photograph (above) of Priskers my cat. She was in a little comforter rolled up, and sleeping. She had made herself comfortable all by herself. It was fifteen degrees outside, and I realized how lucky we all are for having a warm, and comfortable place to stay on a night so cold.

There a hundreds of thousands of homeless people living in the United States who don't have it as well off as Priskers, and that's a pretty sad fact. Some of those homeless people are camped outside of Lincoln Library in Springfield, Illinois freezing in the cold as I write this.

In addition to the homeless people making due anyway they can there are hundreds of thousands of discarded pets trying to survive tonight too.
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A society must judge itself not on how it treats those with wealth, power and fame, but in how it treats those at the lowest station in life. Future generations must surely look back upon this America and wonder how it is that we could have lived with ourselves knowing how others suffer.
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Associated Links

Ten Year Strategic Plan to End Homelessness in Springfield, Illinois
Springfield, Illinois' No Kill Animal Shelter - The APL.
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ESPN Champs Bowl Half Time Coverage Disappointing

ESPN(C-2006) Bands Take the Field During Champs Bowl Half Time in Orlando, Florida*

After several weeks I still can not understand why ESPN only aired about twenty seconds of the 2006 Champs Bowl half time field presentation. Somewhere down on that football field (see photo above) is my daughter, and I like thousands of viewers across the country tuned in just to see the bands play at half time. I am highly disappointed with ESPN's approach toward broadcasting the various bowl games. ESPN all but ignores the half time stadium entertainment in favor of talking heads.

Sending my daughter to Orlando for Christmas break cost the family around a thousand dollars. She had a great time at Universal City, but the Champs Bowl was our big chance to see our daughter on national television (albeit cable). We watched the entire broadcast, and enjoyed the game, but in all honesty I watched it for one reason - for the small possibility of seeing our daughter, or perhaps one of her band mates down on the field.

She sent back several photos, and videos which she captured with her cell phone, but I was hoping that ESPN would air a few minutes of the hundreds of band members playing at half time. The bands were representing high schools from around the nation. The event was a "big deal" to the kids, the schools, the parents, and relatives, and friends who tuned into ESPN just to catch a glimpse. I'm guessing tens of thousands of viewers were watching just for that reason alone.

Instead of giving any airtime to the bands what ESPN telecast were talking heads. ESPN seems committed to a tired 1970's format on half time telecasting. The cameras in the studio gave us exciting high definition color of the sportscasters good looking faces. When that wasn't enough there was the prerecorded snippets of games, and news about golf. I kept waiting for the video portion of telecast to switch over for a few shots of the bands, but it never happened until the final remaining seconds of half time.

My guess is that ESPN would rather see their own talking heads on the screen than anything else. Things need to change at ESPN. We are after all living in the age of broadband.

My belief is that with broadband at the price it is at, and constantly falling, that it would be easy to sell live feeds right off the ESPN nodes at the stadium so that viewers could pick, and choose which cameras they wanted to watch real time, and right over the Internet.

The cost to ESPN would be minimal, and they could could sell advertising on the ESPN website to finance the whole operation. Who wouldn't want to virtually look into the stands to see family members, watch the band, or other half time presentations, visit the locker rooms to listen to the coaches speak, or even a show up at a tail gate party? So many games begin to drag on, or become lopsided that it seems only sensible to give fans alternative means of maintaining interest. ESPN needs to look toward the future of stadium entertainment instead of holding onto the past. Fans need to be offered a more holistic experience of the sporting event in this Internet age.

The types of changes I believe must take place might not sit too well with the talking heads at ESPN, but it will offer ESPN, and other sports broadcasters new ways of generating, and maintaining interest in the events they telecast, and in so doing will generate additional revenue for ESPN.

The Photo above is a copyrighted image of an ESPN broadcast which I screen captured. Several of the grainy blips are presumably of South East Springfield High School Band Members.

*ESPN Image used through Free Use exception as part of a critique of the ESPN production.

Rosalind Franklin - Revealed DNA's Structure

Rosalind Franklin - Photographed DNA's Structure

"Who was Rosalind Franklin? The snippy, standoffish, supporting player? The brilliant, wronged woman? Or somebody else entirely? There are deeper mysteries in life than DNA, and some of them may never be solved". - Lev Grossman -

Rosalind Franklin discovered the existence of the A and B forms of DNA. Through her ingenious and meticulous use of X-ray crystallography she managed what no one else had done before, to produce clear x-ray diffraction patterns of DNA.
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Nobel Foundation (C) Crick, Watson, & Wilkins
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Rosalind Franklin's work was pivotal in the development of an understanding of how DNA works. Ms. Franklin died never knowing that the results of her work had been "informally communicated" to James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins who were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine (1962) "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material".

Rosalind Franklin died of Cancer in 1958 at the age of 37, possibly as a result of exposure to the X-rays she used in her research.

While Watson, Crick, and Wilson later credited Ms. Franklin's contributions as pivotal to the development of an accurate model of DNA, Ms. Franklin was never nominated or awarded the Nobel Prize as she had already succumbed from cancer. Nobel Prizes are not awarded posthumously.

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Rosalind Franklin's Photograph 51*

What role sexism played in her research materials being passed to other researchers without her knowledge is a matter of debate. It is known that her relationship with King's College, where she conducted her research, was considerably strained, and that this religious institution didn't even allow Ms. Franklin to eat in the same room as her male colleagues.

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Additional Reading

An article appearing on the New Humanist Website provides insight into Rosalind Franklin's struggle with her father, and with organized religion.

An excellent program which featured the Rosalind Franklin story appeared on PBS.

An article on BBC's website written by Rosalind Franklin's nephew appears here..
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The wikipedia article on Rosalind Franklin.
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Copyrighted Materials Used
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• Photograph of Crick, Watson, and Wilkins used via Free Use. Copyright retained by the Nobel Foundation.
• Lev Grossman Quote is from Time Magazine.
• I created the Photograph 51 Slide Show using images from PBS. For a description by Lexi Krock of the importance of the photograph, and how to interpret the slides, go here.
• General information adapted for this post were taken from several of the links provided above.

Horace Mann & Abraham Lincoln - The Connection

Craig Nall Holds Lincoln

Craig Nall, a Horace Mann Companies' employee, and an ALPLM volunteer, while reading David Herbert Donald's biography Lincoln, discovered a reference to an 1849 meeting between Lincoln, and Horace Mann.
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The Proposal

Lincoln, who at the time was a freshman member of Congress from Springfield, Illinois went to Horace Mann for assistance in drafting a proposal to end slavery in the nation's capitol. The plan entailed forcing slave owners in Washington D.C. to sell their slaves to the federal government which would then set the slaves free.

Both men were members of the Whig party. Horace Mann was filling in as a member of Congress for the recently deceased John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts. Horace Mann was a well known figure, and founder of the public education system.

Their proposal to free the slaves of Washington D.C. failed.

No one whom I have talked with about the Abraham Lincoln & Horace Mann connection had ever heard of it before. Having the Horace Mann Companies' Home Office, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum, situated directly across the street from each other is quite ironic.
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An Age Without Heroes

There certainly are quotes from each of these gentleman, which we would consider to be racist today. Neither man started out believing that all men were created equal despite their deepest held beliefs in the Declaration of Independence, and The Constitution. It was a time of learning for both men, and the country as a whole.

What is important to remember at this point in history is that both men experienced considerable growth on the subject of race, and risked their own political careers, and their very lives in opposing slavery. It's easy today to cast judgment on historical figures as being undeserving of our respect, and admiration, and for being less than what we would demand them to be today.

Despite their imperfections these men, and others like them, were remarkable for what they accomplished in furthering the creation of a more just society. For their bravery, commitment to higher ideals, and their sacrifices, they deserve to be honored today, and in all times.
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The Quote

"It was something to me at that time to have him so-for he was a distinguished man in his way and I was nobody" - Abe Lincoln -
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About The Photo

The photo was taken from the Northeast corner of Horace Mann Plaza on a beautiful early November day. Behind Craig Nall we see a portion of the east side of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum.