Category: currentevents

This may end up being a fairly brief entry as I’ve been crazy-busy at work lately :-/. In any case, I was pleased to learn that the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal regarding Fallwell.com. In case you haven't heard of the case, it was brought by Rev. Dr. Jerry Falwell (one “L” in the middle) about the domain Fallwell.com which parodies him (with two “Ls” in the middle).

In its ruling against Falwell, the lower court wrote, "After even a quick glance at the content of the website … no one seeking Reverend Falwell's guidance would be misled by the domain name http://www.fallwell.com into believing that Reverend Falwell authorized the content of that website."

Falwell has long been a vocal opponent of human rights for gays and is well-known for taking his arguments and reasoning to laughably absurd lengths. Shortly after the terrorist attacks of 2001, for example, Falwell blamed the attacks on gays and lesbians, among others, on Pat Robertson's 700 Club program. He later denied saying what everyone heard him say and finally issued an apology several days later. […]

Well, yay 1st Amendment :).

The University of Louisville in Kentucky recently surveyed a panel of presidential scholars and asked for their opinions on the worst presidential mistakes. To be sure, they also surveyed members of the general public to get their take, but I respected their decision to focus on experts in the field.

Now, before anyone gets dismayed (or excited, depending on your point of view), I’ll reveal that George Bush isn’t on the list (neither “W” nor “H.W.”). As it turns out, the most recent president on their is Clinton, and he’s down at number 10 (for the Lewinsky thing).

History wasn’t really my strong suit in school, but I got by. All the same, some of the “great mistakes” that they mentioned were only on my periphery of knowledge. Take this one, for example:

#7: Thomas Jefferson: Embargo Act of 1807

“His embargo almost destroyed the American economy, and in attempting to enforce it he was the only president ever to use the US army against the American people. The embargo's effect was that of a flea trying to stop a dog-fight by threatening suicide.”

— Forrest McDonald

[…]

Um, there was an embargo in 1807? Ooh-kay — so noted. (Then again, maybe that partly explains why scholars placed that event at #7, while the public placed it at #9.) In all, the list and the accompanying commentary made for an interesting read.