A "MENSCH!"

1n 1964, I purchased at book at a Gettysburg antique shop.  It was one volume of the speeches by Abraham Lincoln before he became President of the United States.

I was impressed by the wealth of knowledge that he displayed and his empathy.  I've been a "Lincoln Cuckoo" ever since.

(mensch = a person of integrity and honor.

I just watched "Lincoln," a Stephen Spielberg film.  It is based somewhat on "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln" by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

It was a good lesson in how Congress interacts with a President and how a President's vast powers can control some Congressional activity.

The film goes deeply into how the 13th Amendment to the Constitution got passed.  

"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

At one point, Lincoln cites Euclid's first law:  "Things which are equal to the same thing are equal to each other."   "That's the thing." says Lincoln, "It works.. equality!"

I don't like to get political in my blog entries, but I have to mention what a Wisconsin Representative said recently:  "I know that -- is a Democrat because she plays video games, dyes her hair,  and has a nose ring,"

This guy probably thinks he belongs to the "Party of Lincoln" - no way!

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