Happy Bill of Rights Day
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A friend on an SPJ mailing list
writes, “Today, Dec. 15, is the 212th anniversary of the Bill
of Rights. I haven’t seen any signs of public celebrations (though
there certainly should be!) but the day will certainly be honored here
in my office. Are any of you doing anything special to mark this day?”
Inspired, I decided to celebrate Bill of Rights Day this way:
1. Go to http://WhiteHouse.gov
2. Search for “Bill of Rights Day”
3. Get a list that begins:
Global Message
For Immediate Release December 12, 2003 Global Message In proclaiming
Human Rights Day (Dec. 10, 2003), Bill of Rights Day (Dec. 15, 2003),
and Human Rights Week, (beginning Dec. 10, …
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/12/20031215.html – 27.1KB
4. Click on first item and get this press release:
Facts About the New Iraqi Healthcare System
Dr. Khudair Abbas, the Iraqi Interim Minister of Health, and six other
physicians from Iraq, met with President Bush today to discuss recent
improvements in the Iraqi healthcare system….
5. Repeat test.
6. Repeat word “Huh?”
7. Settle for earlier proclamations:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/12/20031212-6.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/12/20021209-10.html
I do see one celebration after a quick Web search… but it isn’t
making huge headlines amid the liberal-bashing. Still, the New Yorker
probably will cover it…
http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=14572&c=206
The president did mention the topic of “rights” at his press conference this morning (I just skimmed the transcript):
“…when people begin to realize that the Saddam regime is gone
forever, and that the new society that will emerge will be a fair
society, it will protect people, and protect people from the — protect
them based upon their own religious views, for example, guarantee them
rights — is what I mean by “protect,” that it’s more likely people
will begin to sign on to the future of Iraq.”
At The Times
I thought I’d find a Bill of Rights theme or two at The New York
Times “Learning Network” for school teachers, but it is all Saddam
today… For a “historic front page” the
“On this day…” section uses the Battle of Verdun, followed
by the birth of J.Paul Getty and a Harper’s Weekly cartoon about press speculation on President Benjamin
Harrison’s cabinet. However, passage of the Bill of Rights heads a fascinating chronology under “On this date…”
1791 The Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to
the U.S. Constitution, took effect following ratification by Virginia.
1890 Sioux Indian Chief Sitting Bull and 11 other
tribe members were killed in Grand River, S.D., during a fracas with
Indian police.
1938 Ground was broken for the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.
1939 The motion picture ”Gone With the Wind” had its world premiere in Atlanta.
1944 A single-engine plane carrying bandleader Glenn
Miller, a U.S. Army major, disappeared over the English Channel while
en route to Paris.
1961 Former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death by an Israeli court.
1965 Two U.S. manned spacecraft, Gemini 6 and Gemini
7, maneuvered to within 10 feet of each other while in orbit.
1966 Movie producer Walt Disney died in Los Angeles.
1978 President Jimmy Carter announced he would grant
diplomatic recognition to Communist China on New Year’s Day and sever
official relations with Taiwan.
1989 A popular uprising began that resulted in the downfall of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.
1996 Boeing Co. announced plans to acquire rival
aircraft manufacturer McDonnell Douglas Corp. for $13.3 billion.
2000 First lady and senator-elect Hillary Rodham
Clinton agreed to an $8 million book deal with publisher Simon and
Schuster for her White House memoirs.
Quite a day for various freedoms, actually!
Elsewhere, The Times education site did have a “bill of rights” related lesson plan online from 1999 and several specifically related to the First Amendment.
And here are few interesting Bill of Rights posts found by Google:
The document itself at the National Archives
http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/bill_of_rights.html
and at the Library of Congress
http://memory.loc.gov/const/bor.html
The Bill of Rights Institute
http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/
Bill of Rights Day Dotcom?
http://billofrightsday.com/
Loveland, Colorado, observes the day:
http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1030004/posts
One national park…
http://www.nps.gov/sapa/pphtml/eventdetail5999.html
This site has a link that says it goes to other Bill of Rights
blog entries, but also mentions some technical problems today:
http://expatsagainstbush.typepad.com/home/2003/11/bill_of_rights__1.html
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