Liberty Bell tolls to announce Declaration of Independence on July 06, 1776

Liberty Bell tolls to announce Declaration of Independence: On this day in 1776, a 2,000-pound copper-and-tin bell now known as the “Liberty Bell” rings out from the tower of the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, summoning citizens to the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. Four days earlier, the historic document had been adopted by delegates to the Continental Congress, but the bell did not ring to announce the issuing of the document until the Declaration of Independence returned from the printer on July 8.

In 1751, to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of Pennsylvania’s original constitution, the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly ordered the bell to be constructed. After being cracked during a test, and then recast twice, the bell was hung from the State House steeple in June 1753. Rung to call the Pennsylvania Assembly together and to summon people for special announcements and events, it was also rung on important occasions, such as King George III’s 1761 ascension to the British throne and, in 1765, to call the people together to discuss Parliament’s controversial Stamp Act. With the outbreak of the American Revolution in April 1775, the bell was rung to announce the battles of Lexington and Concord. Its most famous tolling, however, was on July 8, 1776, when it summoned Philadelphia citizens for the first reading of the Declaration of Independence.

As the British advanced toward Philadelphia in the fall of 1777, the bell was removed from the city and hidden in Allentown to save it from being melted down by the British and used to make cannons. After the British defeat in 1781, the bell was returned to Philadelphia, which served as the nation’s capital from 1790 to 1800. In addition to marking important events, the bell tolled annually to celebrate George Washington’s birthday on February 22 and the Fourth of July. The name “Liberty Bell” was first coined in an 1839 poem in an abolitionist pamphlet.

The question of when the Liberty Bell acquired its famous fracture has been the subject of a good deal of historical debate. In the most commonly accepted account, the bell suffered a major break while tolling for the funeral of the chief justice of the United States, John Marshall, in 1835, and in 1846 the crack expanded to its present size while in use to mark Washington’s birthday. After that date, it was regarded as unsuitable for ringing, but it was still ceremoniously tapped on occasion to commemorate important events. On June 6, 1944, when Allied forces invaded France, the sound of the bell’s dulled ring was broadcast by radio across the United States.

History Channel / Wikipedia / Encyclopedia Britannica / U.S. History.org / Constitution Center.org / National Parks Service / Philadelphia Encyclopedia.org / Liberty Bell Museum.org / Smithsonian / Liberty Bell tolls to announce Declaration of Independence on July 06, 1776 (YouTube)

This Day in History July 08

• 1099 Siege of Jerusalem (1099): Some 15,000 starving Christian soldiers begin the siege of Jerusalem by marching in a religious procession around the city as its Muslim defenders watch.

• 1497 Vasco da Gama sets sail on the first direct European voyage to India.

• 1709 Battle of Poltava: Peter I of Russia defeats Charles XII of Sweden thus effectively ending Sweden's status as a major power in Europe.

• 1889 The first issue of The Wall Street Journal is published.

• 1932 Dow Jones Industrial Average eaches its lowest level of the Great Depression, closing at 41.22.

• 1948 The United States Air Force accepts its first female recruits into a program called Women in the Air Force (WAF).

• 1960 Francis Gary Powers is charged with espionage resulting from his flight over the Soviet Union.

• 2011 The Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched in the final mission of the U.S. Space Shuttle program.

Understanding Military Terminology

Organic

(DOD) Assigned to and forming an essential part of a military organization as listed in its table of organization for the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, and are assigned to the operating forces for the Navy.

Joint Publications (JP 1) Doctrine for the Armed Forces of the United States

Organizational and Force Structure Construct

The standardized precepts for the digitization of hierarchical enterprise force structure data for Department of Defense-wide integration and use.

Also called OFSC.

Joint Publications (DODI 8260.03) DOD Instruction 8260.03

The Old Salt’s Corner

“The Odyssey”

Book VIX

And Ulysses answered, “King Alcinous, it is a good thing to hear a bard with such a divine voice as this man has. There is nothing better or more delightful than when a whole people make merry together, with the guests sitting orderly to listen, while the table is loaded with bread and meats, and the cup-bearer draws wine and fills his cup for every man. This is indeed as fair a sight as a man can see. Now, however, since you are inclined to ask the story of my sorrows, and rekindle my own sad memories in respect of them, I do not know how to begin, nor yet how to continue and conclude my tale, for the hand of heaven has been laid heavily upon me.”

“Firstly, then, I will tell you my name that you too may know it, and one day, if I outlive this time of sorrow, may become my there guests though I live so far away from all of you. I am Ulysses son of Laertes, reknowned among mankind for all manner of subtlety, so that my fame ascends to heaven. I live in Ithaca, where there is a high mountain called Neritum, covered with forests; and not far from it there is a group of islands very near to one another- Dulichium, Same, and the wooded island of Zacynthus. It lies squat on the horizon, all highest up in the sea towards the sunset, while the others lie away from it towards dawn. It is a rugged island, but it breeds brave men, and my eyes know none that they better love to look upon. The goddess Calypso kept me with her in her cave, and wanted me to marry her, as did also the cunning Aeaean goddess Circe; but they could neither of them persuade me, for there is nothing dearer to a man than his own country and his parents, and however splendid a home he may have in a foreign country, if it be far from father or mother, he does not care about it. Now, however, I will tell you of the many hazardous adventures which by Jove's will I met with on my return from Troy.”

“When I had set sail thence the wind took me first to Ismarus, which is the city of the Cicons. There I sacked the town and put the people to the sword. We took their wives and also much booty, which we divided equitably amongst us, so that none might have reason to complain. I then said that we had better make off at once, but my men very foolishly would not obey me, so they stayed there drinking much wine and killing great numbers of sheep and oxen on the sea shore. Meanwhile the Cicons cried out for help to other Cicons who lived inland. These were more in number, and stronger, and they were more skilled in the art of war, for they could fight, either from chariots or on foot as the occasion served; in the morning, therefore, they came as thick as leaves and bloom in summer, and the hand of heaven was against us, so that we were hard pressed. They set the battle in array near the ships, and the hosts aimed their bronze-shod spears at one another. So long as the day waxed and it was still morning, we held our own against them, though they were more in number than we; but as the sun went down, towards the time when men loose their oxen, the Cicons got the better of us, and we lost half a dozen men from every ship we had; so we got away with those that were left.”

Thence we sailed onward with sorrow in our hearts, but glad to have escaped death though we had lost our comrades, nor did we leave till we had thrice invoked each one of the poor fellows who had perished by the hands of the Cicons. Then Jove raised the North wind against us till it blew a hurricane, so that land and sky were hidden in thick clouds, and night sprang forth out of the heavens. We let the ships run before the gale, but the force of the wind tore our sails to tatters, so we took them down for fear of shipwreck, and rowed our hardest towards the land. There we lay two days and two nights suffering much alike from toil and distress of mind, but on the morning of the third day we again raised our masts, set sail, and took our places, letting the wind and steersmen direct our ship. I should have got home at that time unharmed had not the North wind and the currents been against me as I was doubling Cape Malea, and set me off my course hard by the island of Cythera.”

“The Odyssey” - Book VIX continued ...

~ Homer

Written 800 B.C.E

Translated by Samuel Butler

“The Odyssey” - Table Of Contents

“I’m Just Sayin”

“Other things may change us,

but we start and end with family.”

“The key to success is often the ability to adapt.”

“The most powerful ties are the ones to the people who gave us birth it hardly seems to matter how many years have passed,

how many betrayals there may have been,

how much misery in the family:

We remain connected,

even against our wills.”

~ Anthony Brandt

“Thought for the Day”

“Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what's right.”

“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.”

“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States,

and there has always been.

The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life,

nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”

~ Isaac Asimov

“What I Learned”

“A good liar must remember his lies.”

“Clever liars give details, but the cleverest don't.

but the cleverest don't.”

“The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money.”

~ Anonymous

Second Hand News: Articles from Week 28 - July 06, 2020 - July 12, 2020

FBI director: China seeks to become sole superpower 'by any means necessary' • Last words of Ohio police officer who was fatally shot during Independence Day weekend released • Seattle holds training session for white employees aimed at affirming 'complicity in racism' and 'undoing whiteness'

Justice Department unearths more notes from Peter Strzok and others in Flynn case • Number of Republican senators opting to skip Republican National Convention grows • House Democrats target Attorney General William Barr in spending bills that aim to hobble the Trump administration

MOST READ: “National dialogue about removing the statues:” Senator Tammy Duckworth condemns questioning her patriotism - Democratic response to protesters ripping down statues of historical figures such as Washington and Christopher Columbus • “F---, this is actually happening:” Book reveals how Robert Mueller was briefed about Russia

Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Chuck Grassley: U.S. Attorney John Durham will be too late if prosecutions begin after 2020 election • Portland protesters attack police and courthouses with explosives and machetes • Colin Kaepernick said it himself: His kneeling was meant to disrespect our nation itself Washington Examiner

Washington Post Claims America Post-1776 Remains Part Of An Extended Global System Of White Supremacy • Lincoln Project Tweeted ‘Manipulated Media’ Falsely Depicting President Trump’s Speech • Baltimore Protesters Topple Christopher Columbus Statue And Throw It Into The Harbor • Grieving Families Of Killed Children Call On ‘Black Lives Matter’ To Address Community Violence

VP Contender Senator Tammy Duckworth Thinks We Should Keep An Open Mind About Removing George Washington Statues • Should Supreme Court Justices Rule Along Party Lines? • Americans Refused To Let Coronavirus Cancel July 4 Fireworks This Year • American Girl Is Great Example Of Patriotic History Preserved

MOST READ: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: After 10-Week Decline In COVID-19 Deaths, It May Soon No Longer Be An Epidemic • New York City Councilwoman Freaks Out Over White Man Holding Black Child: ‘It Hurts People’ • Democrat Senator: Founding Fathers And American Heroes Are ‘Dead Traitors’ • Trump’s Independence Day Speech Was Not ‘Dark’ Or ‘Divisive,’ It Was American

Evil Coronavirus Rules That Force Americans To Die Alone Must Never Happen Again • Catholic Schools, Cut The ‘White Privilege’ Lectures And Teach About Marxism’s Evils • Marcellus Wiley: Painting ‘Black Lives Matter’ On NBA Courts Is A Bad Idea, Read BLM’s Mission Statement • You Know What’s The Ultimate ‘Place Of Privilege’? Living In The USA The Federalist

CORRUPTION CHRONICLES: Judicial Watch Sues State Department for Requests of Former U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power to Unmask Identities of U.S. Citizens

“Investigating the Investigators:” Left Effort to Ban Cops from Using Tear Gas Against Lawless Protestors Crushed by Court

Judicial Watch Sues Washington D.C. Government for First Amendment Access to Paint Message on D.C. Street

The Supreme Court’s Habeas Corpus Ruling & Border Security Judicial Watch

OUTING FAKE NEWS OMISSIONS and DISTORTIONS: CBS Edits Out Atlanta Mayor Saying Cops Blameless for Weekend Killing • Repulsive Liberal Media Spin Trump's Hope Speech into Hate Speech • MSNBC’s Al Sharpton Condemns Mount Rushmore as ‘Love Letter to White Supremacy’ • After Backing Harassment of Electors, ABC, CBS Censor Supreme Cour Ruling

After Weekend of Gun Violence, CNN Is Going Soft on Democrat Big-City Mayors • White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany Scolds Liberal WH Press for Ignoring Weekend Gun Violence • Even Twitter Calls Out NeverTrump ‘Lincoln Project’ for Misinfo • On Defund PBS: PBS Facebook Report Blurs Candace Owens with Extremists Who Killed a Black Cop News Busters

Mr. Answer Man Please Tell Us: Does the Amazon Rainforest Really Produce 20 Percent of the World's Oxygen?

Does the Amazon Rainforest Really Produce 20 Percent of the World's Oxygen?

No. Known as the “lungs of the world”, the Amazon basin in fact, under normal conditions (prior to human-caused fires) the Amazon [rain]forest is in a steady state. Oxygen is produced by photosynthesis and consumed by decay. If these were out of balance, then the mass of wood in the Amazon must change.

That means if the Amazon were to disappear today, instantly (e.g. we harvested all the wood and used it to build houses) then the oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would continue on at the same level. Until, that is, the wood rots. Then the carbon dioxide levels would increase.

Except for the biomass decrease from human-caused fires, the biomass of the Amazon has not been changing. That means that no net carbon dioxide is being removed from the atmosphere, so no net oxygen is being released from carbon dioxide.

Recently the Amazon biomass has been changing due to fires. When that happens, the wood and other carbohydrates in the trees combine with oxygen and produce CO2 and H2O. Thus the burning of the rainforests contributes to global warming.

But under normal situations, when the biomass of the Amazon is not changing, there is no net production of oxygen or carbon dioxide.

Incidentally, many writers who don’t understand this—and mistakenly think that the Amazon produces net oxygen - double their error by using a backward metaphor. They refer to the Amazon basin the “lungs of the world”, but lungs are the organ that remove oxygen from the air and replace it with carbon dioxide, not the other way around.

Where did the 20 percent figure come from? The best guess is that ecologists have calculated that 20 percent of the photosynthesis of the world takes place in the Amazon basin. But so does 20 percent of the consumption.

Rain Forest Foundation.org / Wikipedia / Encyclopedia Britannica / National Geographic / Quora / Science News.org / Does the Amazon Rainforest Really Produce 20 Percent of the World's Oxygen? (YouTube)

NAVSPEAK aka U.S. Navy Slang

NEC: The Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) system, of which the NEC coding system is a part, supplements the enlisted rating structure in identifying personnel on active or inactive duty and billets in manpower authorizations. NEC codes identify a nonrating wide skill, knowledge, aptitude, or qualification that must be documented to identify both people and billets for management purposes.

Night-Ops: The throwing of trash or other unneeded items overboard at night to avoid the longer process of properly getting rid of it.

NMOP: (Common on Boomer Subs) No More Patrols Ever. Some times worn on T-Shirts by sailors who are on the last patrol and getting out or going to shore duty. (see EAOS above and Short timer below.)

NON: “Needs of the Navy” a priority over anything to do with one's family or person; as in God, Country, Family.

NQP: “Non-Qual-Puke:” A non-qualified crewman who is not yet able to stand watch. Also applies in the Submarine Service to a crewman who is not yet qualified in submarines.

No Balls: An expression used to suggest that a person does not have the balls/guts to do what he (or she) is boasting he (or she) will do.

No Boat: The USS New Orleans (LPH-11).

No-Fuck, Vagina (pejorative) The city, rather than the base, of Norfolk, Virginia. For the base, see “Black Hole”.

No Load: A useless sailor. One who does not pull his share of the load. Named for the maintenance catapult shots where only the shuttle is moved down the track with no aircraft attached. Also possibly named to represent a generator that is providing no power to the system and therefore not taking on its share of the load. (Onboard Submarines, often used as part of the phrase “Air Breathing No Load”, meaning a useless sailor or rider who is using up resources and providing nothing in return.)

Wiktionary.org

Just for you MARINE

NJP: or Ninja Punch - Non-Judicial Punishment, a legal proceeding much like a court-martial of much smaller scope. A commanding officer is authorized to issue summary punishments at office hours (called Captain's Mast afloat) under Article 15, UCMJ, to punish offenses too serious to be dealt with by a mere rebuke, but not serious enough to warrant court-martial.

NMCI: Navy/Marine Corps Intranet, the program that outsources garrison information technology services for the Department of the Navy, sometimes jokingly referred to as “Non-Mission-Capable Internet”.

Wikipedia.org

Naval Aviation Squadron Nicknames

HSM-70 Helicopter Maritime Strike (HSM) Squadron SEVEN ZERO - nicknamed the “Spartans”

United States Navy Naval Air Station - Naval Air Station Jacksonville Florida / Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron - HSM-70: February 12, 2009 – present.

Where Did That Saying Come From?

“The exception that proves the rule:”

Meaning: Normally with these meanings and origins the meaning is well-understood or self-evident and the interesting aspect is how, where and when the phrase originated. This one is a little different - it's the meaning that is generally not understood.

So, and here the maxim 'a little learning is a dangerous thing' comes into play, it has been suggested that it's an alternative meaning of the word prove that is the source of the confusion. Prove can mean several things, including 'to establish as true' and 'to put to trial or to test'. The second option is what is used in 'proving ground', 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating', etc. It could be argued then that the phrase means 'it is the exception that tests whether the rule is true or not'. In our example the existence of a bird that can't fly would put the 'all birds can fly' rule to the test (and find it wanting).

That's all very well and most people would be happy to stop there. Unfortunately, when we go back to the legal origin of the phrase we see that it doesn't mean that at all. It's the word exception rather than prove that is causing the confusion here. By exception we usually mean 'something unusual, not following a rule'. What it means here though is 'the act of leaving out or ignoring'.

History: If we have a statement like 'entry is free of charge on Sundays', we can reasonably assume that, as a general rule, entry is charged for. So, from that statement, here's our rule:

“You usually have to pay to get in.”

Phrases.org.uk

Science & Technology

Stardust from red giants • New understanding of charge transport reveals an exotic quantum mechanical regime • Physicists image electrons flowing like water for the first time • Ice in motion: Satellites view decades of change Phys.org / MedicalXpress / TechXplore

Granny killer whales pass along wisdom - and extra fish - to their grandchildren • What’s creating thousands of craters off the California coast?d • Biologists think they know why this stunning Hawaiian plant is vanishing • Top stories: ‘Blue energy,’ monkey retirement, and the nitrogen crisis paralyzing the Dutch economy Science AAAS

Bizarre News (we couldn’t make up stuff this good - real news story)

Explaining the “tiger stripes” of Saturn's moon Enceladus

Source: University of California - Davis

Summary: Slashed across the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus are four straight, parallel fissures or “tiger stripes” from which water erupts. These fissures aren't quite like anything else in the Solar System. Researchers now think they have a model to explain them.

Saturn's tiny, frozen moon Enceladus is a strange place. Just 300 miles across, the moon is thought to have an outer shell of ice covering a global ocean 20 miles deep, encasing a rocky core. Slashed across Enceladus' south pole are four straight, parallel fissures or “tiger stripes” from which water erupts. These fissures aren't quite like anything else in the Solar System.

“We want to know why the eruptions are located at the south pole as opposed to some other place on Enceladus, how these eruptions can be sustained over long periods of time and finally why these eruptions are emanating from regularly spaced cracks”, said Max Rudolph, assistant professor of earth and planetary sciences at the University of California, Davis.

Rudolph and colleagues Douglas Hemingway of the Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington D.C. and Michael Manga of UC Berkeley now think they have a good explanation for Enceladus' erupting stripes. They used numerical modeling to understand the forces acting on Enceladus' icy shell.

Saturn's gravity exerts tidal forces on Enceladus, which cause heating and cooling of the tiny world. Those forces are strongest at the poles. As liquid water solidifies into ice under the outer ice shell, it expands in volume, putting pressure on the ice until it cracks.

Enceladus' surface temperature is about negative 200 degrees Celsius, so if a crack formed in the ice, you would expect it to freeze shut pretty quickly. Yet the south polar fissures remain open, and in fact reach all the way to the liquid ocean below.

That's because liquid water within the fissure is sloshed around by tidal forces produced by Saturn's gravity, releasing energy as heat, Rudolph said. That stops the crack from freezing shut.

The release of pressure from the fissures stops new cracks from forming elsewhere on the moon, such as at the north pole. But at the same time, water vented from the crack falls back as ice, building up the edges of the fissure and weighing it down a bit. That causes the ice sheet to flex, the researchers calculate, just enough to set off a parallel crack about 20 miles away.

“Our model explains the regular spacing of the cracks”, Rudolph said.

The work was based on data collected by the NASA/ESA Cassini mission to Saturn. Funding was also provided by NASA and the National Science Foundation.

Science Daily (12/09/2019)

Second Hand News: Articles from Week 28 - July 06, 2020 - July 12, 2020

Sailing into a storm: Two U.S. aircraft carriers and their F-18 fighters alongside a B-52 bomber conduct drills in South China Sea just days after Beijing threatened to destroy the strike group as tensions in region rise

UN claims Donald Trump broke international law with killing of Iranian General Soleimani because there was 'insufficient evidence he was behind an ongoing or imminent attack' • Donald Trump's CIA intelligence briefer makes rare public comments and suggests she didn't tell the president about Russian bounties because he was losing interest in what she was saying

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says U.S. is 'looking into' banning TikTok and other Chinese social media apps amid security concerns • Potential Joe Biden running mate mayor announces she has COVID-19 - a day after hosting press conference where she comforted parents of eight-year-old who was shot dead in Atlanta

Governor Brian Kemp declares State of Emergency in Georgia and deploys 1,000 National Guard troops to Atlanta saying protests have been 'hijacked by criminals' after eight-year-old girl was killed in weekend of shootings • NYPD commissioner slams Bill de Blasio for slashing police budget as gun violence in the city surges 130% and video emerges of a father being shot dead while holding his four-year-old daughter's hand • Trump goes after 'lack of political leadership' in NYC and Chicago after July 4 weekend violence and accuses 'Democrat-run' cities of letting 'criminal mobs take over'

Harvard University says ALL learning will be done remotely next year, but course fees will still be $50,000 - as international students are warned they will be forced to leave the U.S. if their schools go online • The richest deal in SPORTS HISTORY: Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes 'signs 10-year extension with the Chiefs worth up to HALF A BILLION DOLLARS' Daily Mail

LIFE LINCOLN - An Intimate Portrait    2 of 4    3 of 4    4 of 4   

Vicksburg: Grant's Campaign That Broke the Confederacy    2 of 8    3 of 8    4 of 8    5 of 8    6 of 8    7 of 8    8 of 8   

Gettysburg: The Last Invasion    2 of 8    3 of 8    4 of 8    5 of 8    6 of 8    7 of 8    8 of 8    John Batchelor (07/06/2020)