1782 Alexander Hamilton

With the American revolution effectively won, Hamilton writes to a close and dear friend, John Laurens, informing him that he, Hamilton, has been chosen to join the Continental Congress, and he invites his friend to join him there.

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“Quit your sword, my friend, put on the toga, come to Congress. We know each other’s sentiments, our views are the same. We have fought side by side to make America free. Let us hand in hand struggle to make her happy.”

-- Alexander Hamilton

(Source: Ron Chernow, “Alexander Hamilton”)

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As it turns out, Mr. Laurens will be killed as one of the last casualties of the war, and it is not known if he got to read this letter beforehand.

Chloë Grace Moretz

To think: by the time she starts going into middle-age, I'll be utterly decrepit, if not fully dead. So, for me, she will be forever beautiful.

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The Case of Amy Bishop

Dick Cavett is writing about the gun issue lately. He mentions that women generally don't make the roster of mass-killers, but that there are exceptions, and he links to the fascinating case of Amy Bishop.

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Courtney Stodden

The wait is finally over!

Courtney Stodden, everybody's favorite teen bride, has just completed the music video for her debut single, "Reality," and we have your exclusive first look at the finished product.

Yep, after months of anticipation during which the 18-year-old wife of 52-year-old actor Doug Hutchison held a casting call to find a "hot nerd" as her costar as well as sharing scoop from the set, we can now all sit back, relax and enjoy this monumental moment.

Naturally, the video is everything (and more!) that you would expect from the blonde beauty.

Sure, we could go into more detail, but honestly, we'd hate to ruin it for the fans. (You know who you are!)

-- ONTD

Yeah, they definitely have my number. I suppose Lady Gaga is probably more talented, but I easily prefer this act, even though I imagine that they actually tone down the blatant sexuality in keeping it on this side of pornogaphy. This busty blonde is enough of a wankfest to keep me looking and wanting more, a lot more.

Nixon and Today's Debate on Assassinations

Leave it to good old Patrick Buchanan to give us some interesting perspective on our current debate over American policies on drones and assassinations. He notes what a squall was risen when Richard Nixon said in the David Frost interviews, “When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.” Buchanan argues that Nixon was talking about much less than what we are talking about today.

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When may Obama order an American killed?

According to a Justice Department “white paper,” any “informed high-level official” can decide a target is a ranking operative of al-Qaida who “poses an imminent threat of violent attack against the United States,” and if we cannot apprehend him, order him eradicated with a Hellfire missile.

As law professor Mary Ellen O’Connell argues: “For a threat to be deemed ‘imminent,’ it is not necessary for a specific attack to be underway. The paper denies Congress and the federal courts a role in authorizing the killings or even reviewing them afterwards.”

And they called Nixon the imperial president.

-- Patrick Buchanan, "Obama's License to Kill" at The American Conservative

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However, I think the difference is that Nixon was only looking to further his personal success in office, whereas we are talking about trying to secure America's defense against an active campaign of terrorism. This is not to say that we do not need checks and balances (and hence the debate), but there is a real difference.

February Drizzle

"No one is going out tonight," Monk tells the cats. The cats actually seem to understand him, because they are decidedly grumpy.

The weather started to get drizzly at about nine in the morning or so, and although it never truly rained, the drizzle was constant enough that it has left its wet stamp upon the grounds. That stamp is light enough, so that I could be tempted to let them out tonight, if only to give me a better chance to sleep, but we are expecting some real rain overnight.