Fox Valley Models has made it’s latest announcement! The HO Scale & N Scale 1935 Milwaukee Road Hiawatha Project. This will be a beautiful train!

Click Here for HO Scale Info

Click Here for N Scale Info

Johnnykaje, fellow Globeblogger, started me thinking about something, when she commented on a piece by asking a hypothetical: Would it be good or bad, if the Blue Dog Democrats changed parties?

I began thinking about the frustration that many Democrats (not necessarily Johnnykaje) feel over the fact that, despite having rather large majorities in Congress (258 to 177 in the House, 58-40-2 in the Senate) and Barack Obama in the White House, conservatives—whether they call themselves Republicans or Democrats—still seem to be able to block legislation most Democrats want to see passed.

And while I share that frustration, the wrong thing to do would be to force out—through some kind of ideological litmus test—those Democrats who only marginally fit the traditional Democratic profile.  That would essentially guarantee conservative victories, so it’s a non-starter, as all the leaders in the Democratic Party realize, but it’s damned tempting.

But part of the Democratic frustration stems from the fact that historically, when Democrats enjoyed strong majorities, great things were done.  In 1935, Social Security was passed under Democratic leadership, not just in Congress, but in the person of Franklin Roosevelt. In 1965, Medicare was passed, again under strong Democratic leadership from Congress and Lyndon Johnson.

So, I looked at the composition of those Congresses from those two years, and here’s what I found: The Democratic majority in both houses was not just strong, but unassailable. 

Here’s a breakdown, keeping in mind there are 58 Dems in the current Senate and 258 Dems in the current House:

1935 U.S. Senate

Democrats 69       Republicans 25       Other 2     

[Missouri:  Democrats 2]

1935 U.S. House of Representatives

Democrats 322   Republicans 103    Other 10  

 [Missouri: Democrats 6  Republicans 1—Yes, it was the 7th District!]

1935 Legislative Highlights

Social Security Act, which included Aid to Dependent Children

National Labor Relations Act, which protected union organization

Rural Electrification Act

_____________________________________________________________

1965 U.S. Senate

Democrats 68   Republicans 32  

[Missouri: Democrats 2]

1965 U.S. House of Representatives

Democrats 295   Republicans 140 

[Missouri: Democrats 8  Republicans 2—7th District again]

Legislative Highlights

Medicare and Medicaid (Social Security Act of 1965)

Voting Rights Act

Freedom of Information Act

_____________________________________________________________

Interestingly, today’s Missouri delegation—1 Democrat and 1 Republican in the Senate and 4 Democrats and 5 Republicans in the House—is by 1935 and 1965 standards, grossly skewed in favor of the Republicans.

So, when one stops and considers how powerful the Democratic Party was in the eras when Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid were passed, some of us probably expected too much with the relatively small majorities the party has today, and we’re going to have to learn to live with the word “compromise.” 

Rev. Ashbel Green

A Igreja Presbiteriana chegou ao Brasil em 1859 com o jovem missionário americano Ashbel Green Simonton e, desde então, encontramos pequenos grupos de mulheres presbiterianas, surgindo cá e lá, para auxiliar no trabalho de cada congregação que ia sendo implantada. A Igreja crescia e se organizava. Ao mesmo tempo, também o trabalho feminino crescia e não demorou muito a organização em Sociedades Femininas, assim denominadas, ou funcionando sob outro título, mas sempre com o desejo de auxiliar cada igreja, cada congregação, consciente de seu papel como parte do Corpo de Cristo.

1ª SAF – A primeira Sociedade Feminina da qual se tem notícia e documentos comprobatórios é a do Recife, PE, criada em 11 de novembro de 1884, com o nome de “Associação Evangélica de Senhoras”, e tendo por finalidade realizar estudos bíblicos e arrecadar fundos para auxiliar os necessitados e a Igreja. Sua primeira  Presidente foi a Sra Carolina Smith.

2ª SAF – Surgiu logo a seguir, em Rio Claro, SP, no dia 08 de janeiro de 1885. Sua 1ª Presidente foi Eulália da Gama. Após estas, muitas outras foram sendo organizadas e, hoje, temos as SAFs em todos os rincões de nosso imenso Brasil.

1ª Federação (congregando as SAFs de um Presbitério)

Foi organizada em 24/ 05/ 1921, no Presbitério Sul de Minas, tendo sido, na época, denominada “Confederação de Senhoras”. Esta 1ª Federação era composta de 12 SAFs.

1ª Secretária Executiva do Trabalho Feminino

1932/ 1936 – Genevieve Marchant, eleita na reunião da Assembléia Geral da Igreja, realizada em Alto Jequitibá, MG. Para orientá-la foi nomeada uma  Comissão Permanente, que solicitou dos Presbitérios, onde ainda não havia Federação, a indicação de uma senhora da SAF local para manter correspondência com a Secretária Executiva e fazer o possível para as SAFs se organizarem em Federação, a fim de facilitar a difusão dos programas, das notícias do trabalho e das orientações gerais.

Manual do Trabalho Feminino

O Primeiro Manual começou a ser preparado em 1935 pela Comissão Permanente, mas só foi publicado pela Casa Editora Presbiteriana em 1937. Em todo o Brasil, o trabalho feminino foi uniformizado.  Hoje é adotado o Manual Unificado das Sociedades Internas, que dá esta unidade de funcionamento a todas as sociedades internas da IPB. 

Para saber mais sobre a SAF e a sua história entre no site: http://www.saf.org.br/

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(Foto extraída de la Red)

Los años 30 del siglo pasado son fundamentales para Tepetlixpa en más de un sentido. Tras la Revolución, los muchos acontecimientos que se dieron en la década representan el surgimiento de un nuevo orden no sólo público, sino privado y aún social para la configuración del ser tepetlixpenses y el planteamiento hacia el futuro de una comunidad.

Pero si hay una considerable cantidad de eventos propositivos (obra pública, construcción de espacios, reordenamiento urbano), también es época de conclusiones, y en este caso, según veremos, conclusiones violentas. Me referiré en los siguientes apartados a los violentos hechos suscitados en julio de 1935 que como parte del imaginario popular se conservan bajo el nombre de “El Zafarrancho”, y que en este trabajo, de manera provisional pues la investigación completa aún está elaborándose, les presento como primicias en la reconstrucción de nuestra historia.

El Zafarrancho consistió en la muerte violenta del entonces secretario del ayuntamiento, Manuel Mario Escalante, por parte de numerosos pobladores de Tepetlixpa. Es de mencionar que el propio Escalante, antes de morir, en el lugar de los hechos dio muerte a dos personas, aunque el saldo total arroje 4 muertos incluyéndolo a él.

Escalante ha pasado a formar una imagen mítica en pleno sentido. Para muchos, la idea “del Escalante” es llanamente la del matón. Entre los vecinos del lugar donde hace 74 años se registró el evento, Escalante es un fantasma, un alma que pena sin descanso eterno. Para los más, efecto de dispersión de la memoria, un hombre que murió hace muchos años.

En realidad Escalante fue una personalidad muy compleja, un “hombre fuerte” de la generación posrevolucionaria. Documentos oficiales (entre otros, oficios de la Sección de Gobernación, año de 1934) muestran aspectos muy variados de su labor política. Complejidad de labores administrativas, responsabilidades públicas, comisiones y sobre todo, aventuras políticas, dan por resultado a un hombre en la madurez de su edad que muchas veces, como muestran los documentos mencionados, desempeñó de facto el gobierno municipal.

Escalante era hombre alto, bien plantado y enérgico; funcionario de sombrero tejano, chamarra de piel y pantalón de casimir en un pueblo donde lo común era la ropa de manta, no era raro que estuviera armado. Sin embargo, yo creo que fue el estigma de ser fuereño lo que más pesó en su contra al momento de los sangrientos hechos.

El Zafarrancho tuvo como fondo dos eventos. El primero fue la elección de diputados locales del año 1935, que según la Ley Orgánica de Elecciones Políticas y Municipales fue convocada el 17 de mayo de ese año correspondía organizar al ayuntamiento. El segundo, más turbio por su dispersión en documentos oficiales, el surgimiento de un movimiento político local contrario a los intereses del Partido Nacional Revolucionario.

Our Gang

Our gang used to go off to North Dean Wood frequently – perhaps at times the big house parents suggested we should stay away from the gardens for a while. Sometimes we would drift along playing ‘truth-or-dare’ or talking about things too grown-up for me to understand, and I would always find time to shovel up handfuls of gravel, or road pebbles or an insect, as we moved along past the farm to the fence at the edge of the wood which was on a steep hillside. There were caves and other hollow places, encouraging the imagination into terror of ghosts, fierce tramps, wild animals and I know not what, all helped along by the many tales that were told about ‘Dead Man’s Cave’. Although I liked the trees very much (providers of acorns!) and the stony pathways, I was always uneasy in the wood, and still don’t like to be enclosed by banks or trees. At other times the boys would rush off to the wood leaving me to follow if I could and find them if I managed to get there: I can feel the awful lonely panicky panting fear still.

Maurice on our doorstep

So I was minding my own business reading a comic book and lo and behold a recipe tracks me down. This is a cake from A Wizard’s Tale, the story of a nice wizard who is supposed to be evil and reign terror on the village below his castle.

The wizard’s buddy (the toad) was cursed a long time ago because he stole the evil wizards club’s massive book of ev-il. Now the nice wizard is sent out on a mission to retrieve said book from the princess who was entrusted with it and beamed out of this dimension by the last beam of sunlight.

Our bumbling wizard travels too far forward in time and lands in NYC present day where the princess is a granny living in Queens. She serves him this sunshine cake at tea time and he’s hooked…

You’ll have to read the book to see what happens.

Ingredients:
6 egg yolks
6 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 lemon rind, grated
1 tsp almond extract
1/3 tsp cream of tartar
pinch salt

Sift flour, measure, sift 4X more. Measure and sift sugar. Beat yolks with rotary beater until light colored and thick. Gradually beat 1/2 of the sugar and the lemon rind and almond extract into the yolks. Set aside.

Now beat the whites with a wire whisk until frothy. Add cream of tartar. Beat until stiff enough to hold up in peaks, but not dry. Folk in remaining sugar. Cut and fold some of the white mixture into the yolk mixture. Fold and cut in the flour and salt, then the rest of the white mixture.

Place in an ungreased sponge-cake pan (with center tube). Bake 1 hour at 325 degrees. Invert pan; when cool, remove cake.

*** I would serve the cake with fresh whipped cream and berries.

“All is fair in love and war, and this is a revolution!” – Fred Astaire (Top Hat, 1935)

The actor, dancer, choreographer, and broadway sensation of the early 1900’s is the epitome of what a gentleman should be. Swift on his feet, kind in the heart, and one who made the lives around him graceful. Along with his adored scene partner Ginger Rogers, Astaire made classics; must see movies for my generation. Their collection of films showed the formalities that our current society should have. The timelessness of chivalry and the way both men and women displayed this as a daily routine. It seemed as if times were easier and more pleasant during the times of Astaire; regardless if these films showed the wealthier side of things.

So, my mother and I just decided to take ballroom dancing classes, I will keep you Boredists informed on where and how the classes go. Keep Posted!!

Risley