Quote of the Day/Week-Lyndon B. Johnson

Today, we continue our quotes from American vice presidents or veeps, with Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973), whom like Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush, later went on to become president. Though the circumstances behind Johnson's ascendency to the president were quite tragic as it was in the aftermath of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Johnson was re-elected president in 1964 when he walloped Barry Goldwater, winning all but six states, including Goldwater's native Arizona. Among the state that Johnson are several states which have entrenched in red today, including Kansas, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Oklahoma and North Dakota.

Johnson was also the last president who had previously been a U.S. Senator (though Gerald Ford was a member of the House of Representatives) before the election of President Barack Obama, though many past and present Senators, including Al Gore, John Kerry and John McCain have attempted to become president in the years in between. Former Sen. Chuck Robb (D-Va.) was Johnson's son-in-law. Johnson, also known as LBJ, was the Senate Majority Leader from 1955-61.

The 36th president/37th veep, died in Johnson City, Tex., outside of Austin, where his presidential library is today.

Here is his quote:

"Every man has a right to a Saturday night bath."http://www.lbjlibrary.org

Image of the Day- Je Suis Tres Fatigue

Yes, we thought we owed you the blogging public a due explanation as to why we haven't been posting much lately. And, here is it is!

SIDEBAR:
We read this interesting tweet from "The Baltimore Sun" earlier in the week: "Who's better on gay rights, Mitt Romney or Barry Goldwater?"

Quote of the Day/Week-Barry Goldwater

Today, we continue our series of quips from men who tried to become American presidents, but didn't quite get enough votes to pull it off.

Barry Goldwater (1909-1998), the Republican candidate who lost to Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1964 presidential election is widely believed to be most conservative Republican to have ran for his office, though some may argue that Ronald Reagan, who was president from 1980-88 was just as or even further to the right.

Goldwater actually lost many states that Republicans have won in recent election cycles, including Oklahoma. Goldwater was a U.S. senator who represented Arizona.

One of the great political ironies is that Hillary Clinton, who came from a conservative family in suburban Chicago was a 'Goldwater girl.'

Here is his quote:

"It's a great country where everyone can grow up to be president except me."

Quote of the Day: Anton Chehkov

Los Angeles Theatre Works (LATW) is releasing an audio production of Anton Chehkov's very famous play "The Three Sisters" this week. The cast includes Jon Hamm from AMC's "Mad Men."



Here is the quote from the Russian legend:



"One usually dislikes a play while writing it, but afterward it grows on one. Let others judge and make decisions."



THE DON"T TRY THIS AT HOME DEPT: As someone who got into the bad habit of 'spying on the enemy' a few years ago, I actually get emails from right wing groups I hate and despise. One of these groups is the pompously-named Campaign for Liberty, based in Bristow, Va., outside Washington, DC. I got a chain email from the group leader John Tate, and I simply responded (and, I am not going to retract it!) by saying: "You bozos have moved so far right that Barry Goldwater would be a hippy now."



This actually made me realize that I wasn't sure how to spell hippy. The Urban Dictionary spells the term which is in reference to '60s era pot-smoking beatnicks 'hippie,' but both spellings exist at various places on the net.



SIDEBAR: I've definitely lived in a unique life as a human secularist with Muslim heritage (I am a Turkish-American) living in a very Christian fundamentalist part of North Carolina. But, during Ramadan, when Muslims have to go without food and water until sundown, I both appreciate what Muslim endure and I take delight in the fact that as a human secularist I am not subjected to their religious rituals. Of course, people like the Rev. Terry Jones, the Koran-burning minister in Gainesville, Fla., hates people like me just as much!



Last week, NPR's signature show "All Things Considered," reported that Omar Shahin, an imam (Muslim cleric) in Phoenix said that many people from his mosque were asking him if they could drink water given that it was 105 degrees outside. Shahin told NPR that if one was feeling sick from the dehydration, that it was indeed acceptable to go for the Dasani bottle.



In the same report, Johar Abdul-Malik, who is the director of an Islamic center in Falls Church, Va., near Washington, DC, said that he missed his soy tea green lattes at Starbucks.