Chrysanthemums, Mums, and Their Society

National Chrysanthemum Society USA

"The mission of the National Chrysanthemum Society is to: (1) educate by researching, teaching, and disseminating procedures for the propagation and cultivation of the chrysanthemum (2) improve the standard of excellence of the chrysanthemum (3) promote a wider interest in the cultivation of the chrysanthemum (4) encourage a greater use and display of the beautiful blooms of the many cultivars of the chrysanthemum and (5) increase the bonds of fellowship among growers of the chrysanthemum...."
("About Us" National Chrysanthemum Society USA)

Want to learn about chrysanthemums? This looks like a pretty good place to start.

They even have a page for you, if you want to start a chapter in your area.

I'll admit to liking these perennials: but not enough to get involved.

But, they're nice to look at. And I approve of decorative plants that are tough enough to come back more than two years in a row.

Matin Luther King Day: Yeah, It's Kind of a Big Deal

This post isn't going to be your usual epideictic oratory, praising Martin Luther King. Quite a few people have done that over the decades.

Instead, I'll offer a sort of 'good news/bad news' pair of articles from the news.

First, the bad news:

"Martin Luther King children in court over estate case"
CNN (September 15, 2009)

"A judge has ordered the children of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to meet in their capacity as the sole shareholders of the corporation that manages their iconic father's estate.

"King's children were in Fulton County, Georgia, Superior Court Monday in a dispute over their parents' estates.

"Two children of the civil rights icon are suing their brother, accusing him of wrongfully taking money from their parents' estates...."

I appreciate it when families are able to sort out differences among themselves: but sometimes that doesn't work. Maybe they've resolved the problem by now: or had it resolved for them.

Sad as this is for the family, I don't see that it affects what Martin Luther King Jr. did, decades ago. He was a wonderfully capable orator: possibly one of the best in the English-speaking world during the 20th century. His "I have a Dream" speech has been required reading for a reason.

"Most blacks say MLK's vision fulfilled, poll finds"
CNN (January 19, 2009) (That's right: January, about a year ago)

"More than two-thirds of African-Americans believe Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision for race relations has been fulfilled, a CNN poll found -- a figure up sharply from a survey in early 2008.

" The CNN-Opinion Research Corp. survey was released Monday, a federal holiday honoring the slain civil rights leader and a day before Barack Obama is to be sworn in as the first black U.S. president.

"The poll found 69 percent of blacks said King's vision has been fulfilled in the more than 45 years since his 1963 'I have a dream' speech -- roughly double the 34 percent who agreed with that assessment in a similar poll taken last March...."

Melanin-deficient Euro-Americans like me weren't, in general, so optimistic - but you can read the story yourself.

Barack Obama, by the way, is also - to the best of my knowledge - the first Hawaiian American president. Well, he's Hawaiian the way I'm a Minnesotan. Someday, I think that the history of Hawaii will get more attention in America than it does now. But that's another topic.

I remember the fifties and sixties - and 'the good old days' they were not. I think there's been improvement in America since then, in some respects - and I'll leave it at that.

The Lemming wants to assure you: the next post will not be terribly serious. Or, in all probability, important.

America's Survival Guide (That's "Survival," not "Survivalist")

If you think Code Pink is a centrist group, skip this post.

"America's Survival Guide"
Yes: The philistines want you to buy the book.

"Contrary to popular wisdom, the most serious threat to America does not spring from overseas adversaries. Because the threat is from within, it is much more subtle and ignored. Our self-evident truths have become neither. Our history and First Principles have been cast aside and denigrated by the public, educators, mainstream media, legal profession, and politicians...."

This is about as political as the Lemming is likely to get.

"America's Survival Guide" claims to be chock-full of fuddy-duddy foolishness: ideas like

• The rule of law
• Equality
• The Social Compact
• Unalienable rights
• Limited government
  • It doesn't have to be an oxymoron

Hopelessly Old-Fashioned, and Probably Some Kind of Plot

The author quotes some dead white guy, who said "Our nation is founded on the principle that observance of the law is the eternal safeguard of liberty and defiance of the law is the surest road to tyranny."

Just days after saying that, this American president invaded Mississippi and forced a university there to - - -. Oh. Right. Never mind. (Go ahead, look it up: the Meredith v. Fair case is one of those wonderfully equivocal spots in history.)

From a rather extensive sample, in pdf format, I gather that the book is riddled with that sort of talk.

In my opinion, if ideas like this spread around, there's a very real possibility that America might change. Whether you think that's a good idea or not is up to you.

A Blogging Blog for Bloggers

"Blogging Blog Blogging for the love of it"

This looks like a fun blog.

The first few posts include talk-up of

• OneWebDay (September 22) modeled on Earth Day
• Blog Action Day (October 15) "bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment." Everyone!
• The W Magical List of Women Bloggers
• Female Bloggers Getting Harassed
• No Integrity for Some Bloggers

The last item is about the very debatable practice of paid reviews.

In the sidebar is my personal favorite: "blogging for a cause / Bloggers Unite / blogging for hope," BlogCatalog's online campaign to stop abuse. What makes the BlogCatalog campaign stand out is that the specific kind of abuse to be addressed is left up to the individual. As someone who isn't "everyone," I find that refreshing.