Newt and I have talked three or four times today and he stated that this is not catastrophic - we will continue to learn and grow. Remember that it was only a few months ago that pundits and the press declared us dead after the paid consultants left. They declared that the decision not to compete in the Ames Straw Poll would mean that Iowans would ignore us. Some will again state that this is fatal.
Newt and I agreed that the analogy is December 1941: We have experienced an unexpected set-back, but we will re-group and re-focus with increased determination, commitment and positive action. Throughout the next months there will be ups and downs; there will be successes and failures; there will be easy victories and difficult days - but in the end we will stand victorious.
To help achieve that outcome we each need to spend the next 24 hours enjoying our families and friends as much as possible. Enjoy their company. Be grateful for them. Gather strength from them. The promise of a better future for our family and friends is the reason we are committed to rebuilding the America we love.
What did you guys get for Christmas today? We got this. (via Cheat Sheet, TPM)
The Washington Post has a great slideshow sampling the various ways newspapers played Pearl Harbor on that fateful day in 1941. Here are two; there are a bunch of others, too. (images via the Newseum collection)
Preserving Pearl Harbor Documents
Service jacket and salvaged service record, with Navy envelope, of William Wells. Wells enlisted at Kansas City, Mo. on Jan. 1, 1940, and died Dec. 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor after achieving the rank of Signalman 3rd class. Also lost that day was his brother, Raymond Virgil Wells. They were one of 23 sets of brothers on the Arizona who died that day.
One of the most important decisions a conservator can make is not how to complete a treatment, but when NOT to treat. An important example of this can be found in the records salvaged from the U.S.S. Arizona after it was bombed on Dec. 7, 1941. These service records, which were held one level below the main deck, were not submerged in water but were subjected to heat, fire, and high humidity. Salvaged by the Navy and sealed in envelopes which contained the damaged documents, the records came to NARA in the 1950s and are now housed at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis.
Note: This is the first in a series of posts on conservation of Pearl Harbor documents.
This has to be amongst the coolest Tumblrs we didn’t know about. A tumblr from the National Archives about preserving historical letters and such? That’s awesome!
wnyc:
(Audio fixed.)
Listen: Seventy years ago today.
A word to listeners, your city station WNYC will remain on air for an indefinite period tonight, to bring New Yorkers news, emergency public service messages, and special announcements and orders from Naval and Army authorities in the city area. This is New York City’s own station, WNYC
In case you didn’t hear, today is the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Here’s WNYC’s take on the incident. We’ll post a couple other things like this before the morning’s out.
The real fault with (Transformers 2) is that it ran into a mystical world. When I look back at it, that was crap. The writers’ strike was coming hard and fast. It was just terrible to do a movie where you’ve got to have a story in three weeks.Michael Bay • Blaming the writers’ strike for the awfulness that is “Transformers 2.” Bay has previously taken credit for how bad the movie was, but he’s never gone so far as to call the film crap. Next up: Bay will atone for the sins of “Pearl Harbor.” Or not. source (via • follow)
Here’s to you, sir: America’s last living man to have served in World War I has died. Frank Buckles, born February 1st, 1901, not only served in the first World War (where he fervently wanted to be on the front lines, but never made it), but also survived three years of imprisonment in a Japanese camp, captured while working for a U.S. shipping company just weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. What benefits did he receive for his service to his country? According to him, he received free membership at the YMCA. That’s all. Frank Buckles was 110 years old. source
Pearl Harbor, in train form (minus the bombs … and the island): Pearl Harbor happened in Hawaii, on an island. Yesterday, near Los Angeles, on a train … they tried to relive the moment, complete with actors. Fascinating. source
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