Jennifer Parker

Regardless of whether the British PM has been behaving "like Churchill," I think it's abundantly clear that the president hasn't been behaving like FDR. Or, for that matter, the previous Roosevelt to hold the office, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for helping to end the Russo-Japanese War.

Today in 1904, Theodore Geisel, better known to the world as Dr. Suess, was born. He wrote sixty books. And I will read them here, I will read them there, I will read them anywhere. Because I love to read, I do indeed.

"The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone," an oil painting by Thomas Moran currently on display at the US Capitol.

Today in 1872, Yellowstone became the world's first national park.

So the US asked Germany if it was real. Ironically, if Germany had disavowed it, the US might have stayed out of the war altogether. But the Germans hoped it would deter US entry and so confirmed its authenticity. And like a future strike intended to deter the US in 1941, it had the opposite effect.

Although it was unlikely to be actionable because Mexico was embroiled in its own civil war at the time, it stoked public outrage against Germany in the US. However, some people believed the British had forged it.

The Zimmerman telegram.

Today in history, the British gave the Zimmerman telegram to Wilson, which helped push the US into WWI. Geography meant the British had especially easy access to it. The shortest route for a transatlantic cable is between Ireland and Newfoundland, both of which were in the British Empire back then.

"History is often a matter of what what people [think] to be true rather than what the facts [convey]." - David H. Burton, "British-American Diplomacy 1895-1917."

Cover of the book "From Colony to Superpower: US Foreign Relations Since 1776." The top half shows a painting of three founding fathers; the bottom half shows a photograph of Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin at Yalta.

Recently started reading "From Colony to Superpower" by George Herring, and I must say that I don't think most Americans realize the amount of European meddling in US politics in the 1790s - including bribing congressmen and threatening war if Jefferson wasn't elected. #booksky

Two rows of palm trees lining a pedestrian path on the UC Riverside campus are silhouetted against the sunset.

Sunset in Riverside, California. I took this the evening of 10/31/2020. #BlueSkyArtShow

Recently finished "President McKinley: Architect of the American Century." For a different perspective on McKinley's willingness to go to war with Spain, see "The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the Rush to Empire, 1898" by Evan Thomas. #booksky

Militarily, the US was in a position to get what Polk originally wanted, but not politically. There was substantial domestic opposition to the war, and even some who supported it were uneasy with the idea of annexing either all or most of Mexico. Thus, Polk didn't get all of what he wanted.

A Spanish-language map indicating how much Mexican territory Polk initially wanted; under this scheme the US-Mexico border would have started at Tampico in the east and encompassed all of Baja California in the west.

Polk initially wanted even more Mexican territory, including Baja California. However, when negotiators pointed out that this would result in a hostile American presence on three sides of Mexico, it was agreed that Mexico could retain Baja California in exchange for the cession of San Diego.

A Spanish-language map showing the borders of Mexico shortly before the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Today in history, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in 1848, ending the Mexican-American War. Mexico ceded 55% of its territory to the US in exchange for $15 million; below is the map that was used during the negotiations.

While reviewing my past reading, I came across a quote I had jotted down describing America as a nation "...always deliriously teetering on the brink of self-awareness. Or self-annihilation," and thought it was interesting enough to share here.

It's from "American Eve" by Paula Uruburu. #booksky

Unbelievable that he's invoking "prestige" when Trump and prestige go together about as well as matter and antimatter.

If it's a civilian aircraft, it becomes Executive One.

NATO has done far more for the US than this lunatic ever has or ever will. So has Denmark. This shouldn't be allowed to go any further.

Probably. But it would have more impact in California, the 3rd largest state by area and the largest by population. And things could get interesting because in cases of doubt, anything a state does is presumed constitutional but anything the national government does is presumed unconstitutional.

The cover of "President McKinley: Architect of the American Century." It shows McKinley's face.

Recently began "President McKinley: Architect of the American Century" by Robert W. Merry. #booksky

Recently finished "Our Man in Charleston," which shed more light on Anglo-American relations during the US Civil War, and I would recommend it. If you're interested in this topic, I would also recommend "A World on Fire" by Amanda Foreman and "The Cousins' Wars" by Kevin Phillips. #booksky

Today I learned that English not only says that "flammable" and "inflammable" are synonyms but also that "candescent" and "incandescent" are synonyms. I wonder if there are any more of these pairs.

We already have complete access to Greenland, including unfettered freedom of navigation into the Arctic.

We have a military base. We have early warning radar systems in place that will integrate with the “dome.”

And we have allies to help defend it. We don’t need Greenland.

Cover of the book "Our Man in Charleston" which shows the Confederate flag on one side and the British Union Jack on the other.

Recently finished "A Magnificent Obsession" and found it very interesting. I'm currently working on "Our Man in Charleston: Britain's Secret Agent in the Civil War South" by Christopher Dickey. #booksky

JUST IN: The heads of the central banks in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, the Eurozone, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom have issued a rare statement of support for the Federal Reserve and Chair Jerome Powell!

The cover of the book "A Magnificent Obsession: Victoria, Albert, and the Death that Changed the British Monarchy." The cover is purple and has a picture of a castle and a brooch on it.

Just finished my second book of the year. So far, I have completed "The Making of Biblical Womanhood" by Beth Allison Barr and "Vicksburg" by Donold L. Miller. The next book I have planned is "A Magnificent Obsession" by Helen Rappaport. 📚💙 #booksky

An orange cat in a red harness is sitting on a low outdoor slate wall.

Marmalade enjoys going out on his harness, unlike my previous cat.

Trying to equate the latest purchase attempt to the Alaska or Louisiana purchases is outrageous. It would only be similar if the US had threatened to go to war with Russia or France if they didn't sell. Which would have been equally stupid and counterproductive. (3/3)

The difference between all of the previous attempts and the current one is that each time Denmark responded that Greenland was not for sale, the US dropped it without making militaristic threats. Doing so now has forever tainted not just this offer, but all future offers. (2/3)

It's true that the US has been interested in purchasing Greenland at least since the 1860s, when Secretary of State Seward - the same one who negotiated the Alaska purchase - wanted to buy Greenland and Iceland from Denmark. The US also expressed interest several times during the 20th century. (1/3)

Source: "The Future History of the Arctic," by Charles Emmerson.