I'm reading a great book right now called "April 1865," which is about that pivotal month in American history (end of the Civil War, Lincoln's assasination, beginning of Reconstruction). One of the main points in it is how the United States developed in the years prior to the Civil War as a "federation" more than a nation, with "federation" being based in the Latin word "fides" and leading to an interpretation of the country as a group of states working together and cooperating with each other. Secession was always an option to the states, and in fact, the Founding Fathers viewed it as a real possibility (most of them viewed the whole nation-building process as not much more than an experiment in progress, and definitely did not foresee it lasting more than a few decades at most).

The United States was always viewed by its citizens as a plural--"The United States are..." What the Civil War did (in Shelby Foote's immortal words) was "turn us into an 'is.'" After the war, the phrasing rather quickly became "The United States is..." and has remained so to this day.

t /ends history lecture for the day

Yay, juliana both thinks I'm smart and likes me!

juliana thinks you're BRILLIANT and adores you. And I love the idea of a cosuin in Israel.

The United States was always viewed by its citizens as a plural--"The United States are..." What the Civil War did (in Shelby Foote's immortal words) was "turn us into an 'is.'" After the war, the phrasing rather quickly became "The United States is..." and has remained so to this day.

Funnily enough, I'm currently reading The Causes Of The Civil War, which is a collection of writings (essays, newspaper columns, speeches, debates) on the War, spanning from the 1840s up to present-day. It's very interesting tracking the shift in the conception of the states and the nation.

Mathy Buffistas might enjoy this silly video created by psychology graduate students at the University of Oregon.

[link]

I warned you that it was silly.

I'm playing hooky from work too!

I'm camped out in Starbucks trying to rewrite an unreadable report (it's supposed to be understandable to the average 10th-grader, and since I can't understand it, it needs some work), hiding from my work email.

The fact that I get free unfiltered wifi down here is just gravy. No, really. I'm already way more productive than I would be in my office.

the ick is moving around in my upper body region! EXPEL IT!!!

That video is great, Rick.

Hmm. I'm having one of those days where I've got too much stuff to do, and so I'm sitting here trying to decide which I should do first, rather than actually doing any of it. The major things I've got to do are laundry, cleaning my kitchen, and preparing some lesson plans. I think I'll do the kitchen first, then the lesson plans, but I'm still just stuck in this loop where, when I start to clean the kitchen, I start thinking, "But wait! I've got lesson plans to do!" And then, if I start to do the lesson plans, same thing happens.

If you were once a Bronzer, please click: [link]

The fact that I get free unfiltered wifi down here is just gravy. No, really. I'm already way more productive than I would be in my office.

I'm actually being more productive too, in between bouts of supervising Ozzie/perkins interactions, and making sure Ozzie isn't going into insuilin shock.

juliana makes me blush madly.

turn us into an 'is.'

Kathy, that's so interesting. Thanks for sharing!

No, really. I'm already way more productive than I would be in my office.

Suela, that means that they should let you goof around online at your office, too. Right?

Hil, can you think about the lessons while cleaning the kitchen? Then, if you have a really great idea or soemthing, you can just take a short break, write it down, and go back to kitchening, right?

Rick, I liked the movie.

msbelle, I hope the ick is expelled as it deserves.

Actually, my battery was dying and I had to pee, so I've relocated back to the office--but I'm in a corner conference room which still, somehow, gets free Wifi. Yay!

Okay, back to my unreadable document.