Queen Elizabeth II
Here are the guest list and the menu, because, shockingly, we weren’t invited to hob and nob with Queen Elizabeth II.
When I think about it, I preferred watching 24, shopping for new kitten items for tomorrow, and eating my Irish Stew. While writing.
Spring pea soup with fernleaf lavender
Chive pizzelle with American caviar
Newton Chardonnay Unfiltered 2004———
Dover sole almondine
Roasted artichokes, pequillo peppers and olives [shouldn’t that be “artichokies”??–ed.]
Saddle of spring lamb
Chanterelle sauce
Fricassee of baby vegetables
Peter Michael Les Pavots 2003———
Arugula, Savannah mustard and mint romaine
Champagne dressing and trio of farmhouse cheeses
“Rose Blossoms”
Schramsberg Brut Rose 2004
Well, at least this time when the British were in the White House they didn’t loot and burn it down . Amazing what a difference 195 years can make.
First Lady Dolley Madison
When you watch the video linked above, you’ll learn First Lady Dolley Madison, wife of President James Madison, had to evacuate the White House as the British invaded. She risked her life to save the portrait of President Washington. It makes one wonder, would Hillary Clinton have risked her life for a portrait of Washington? To save anything of importance to this nation? When you have the answer to that you know why she can never be president. The fact that she even dares to place herself as a candidate is outrageous.
Laura Bush, on the other hand, is a woman who puts this nation above her own self interest. Which portrait would she choose to save? I would be conflicted between two; I believe there are only two men in this nation’s history who were divinely placed and without whom we would not exist–President Washington and President Reagan.
One could argue President Lincoln belongs on that list, but it is arguable that someone like Grant would have found power in that sort of vacuum much earlier than he originally did. Without Washington, this nation would not have been founded, and without Reagan, after we suffered through Nixon, Ford and Carter, no one else could have lifted our nation’s soul back up, let alone defeated the scourge of the Soviet Union at the same time. No one.
So whose portrait would I save? I would choose Washington, because without him we would not have had Reagan. Without Washington, we would have had nothing. All that exists rests on the shoulders of the divine influence and existence of that one man. Whose would you save from the marauding British?
You didn’t know what a hero Dolley Madison was, did you? There are American women who deserve to be in the White House, including in the capacity of president. I hope someday soon there will be one on the horizon–a woman like Mrs. Madison.
Related Links:
That menu and guest list does not do much for me. If I were there I’d like to pull Peyton Manning and Chief Justice John Roberts aside and talk football with them and order a pepperoni pizza to munch on. Now that would be a fantastic dinner party. With a spot of tea of course. Teri
Dolly Madison was truly a brave woman to do what she did,with the British forces closing in. And what happened next was,I believe,Divine intervention. I took this excerpt from an article in Roanoke.com from August 26,2006
………………………………………..
But that hurricane was not the most infamous weather occurrence that made an impact in the War of 1812.
In 1814, the same year the fictional subject of Jimmy Driftwood’s song was taking his “little trip” with future President Andrew Jackson, Washington, D.C., came under assault in August. The British burned much of the city, including the early Capitol and the presidential mansion, then occupied by James Madison, to the ground.
On Aug. 25, 1814, as British troops occupied a burning Washington, D.C., a powerful thunderstorm hit the city. According to many sources, that severe thunderstorm spawned a tornado that would plow through the heart of Washington.
An online excerpt from the book “Washington Weather” by authors Kevin Ambrose, Dan Henry and Andy Weiss, perhaps best describes what happened next.
“The tornado tore through the center of Washington and directly into the British occupation. Buildings were lifted off of their foundations and dashed to bits. Other buildings were blown down or lost their roofs. Feather beds were sucked out of homes and scattered about. Trees were uprooted, fences were blown down, and the heavy chain bridge across the Potomac River was buckled and rendered useless.
“A few British cannons were picked up by the winds and thrown through the air. The collapsing buildings and flying debris killed several British soldiers. Many of the soldiers did not have time to take cover from the winds and they laid face down in the streets. One account describes how a British officer on horseback did not dismount and the winds slammed both horse and rider violently to the ground.”
There has been some disagreement over the years about whether the Washington storm of 1814 was a tornado, strictly a severe thunderstorm, or perhaps even some kind of tropical system. However, the descriptions of the storm and the manner of its destruction seem most consistent with a tornado, so this has become a widely accepted account of the storm.
The account in “Washington Weather” also tells of a British admiral who asked a local woman whether the storm was typical of the weather “in this infernal country.” The lady told him that it was a storm specially sent by God “to drive our enemies from the city.” The admiral retorted that it was sent to help the British destroy Washington.
I’ll leave the divine meaning to your interpretation. But, nevertheless, British troops wasted no time in abandoning Washington after the storm hit. And they haven’t been back.
…………………………………………
I believe that God sent that storm to drive the British out of Washington and it also helped to extinguish the fire that was spreading across the Capitol city. About 50 years earlier,another miraculous event took place near present-day Manhattan:
WASHINGTON’S PROVIDENTIAL ESCAPE FROM BROOKLYN HEIGHTS IN AUGUST 1776
ROGERS, J. David and WATKINS, Conor, Dept. of Geological Sciences And Engineering, University of Missouri – Rolla, 129 McNutt Hall, 1870 Miner Circle, Rolla, MO 65409, [email protected]
Following a costly defeat at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, General Charles Lee retreated to Brooklyn Heights, where his Americans were out-numbered three-to-one. British General William Howe ordered his men to dig in and bring his canon into range. George Washington arrived to take command on August 27th, and began overseeing the construction of new fortifications on the Heights. A serendipitous downpour made further British attacks unlikely. The next day additional troops arrived to boost the number of men under Washington’s command to 9,000.
Washington soon realized that he had placed his forces in a trap by splitting his troops between Manhattan and Long Island, as the waterways were controlled by British warships. The British Navy could cut off Washington’s forces by moving their ships from the New Jersey Shore to the East River. At this juncture, unusual weather conditions intervened. Unfavorable northeast winds prevented the British from moving their ships up New York Bay to encircle the American position. This mile wide channel was Washington’s only possible path of retreat. The rain continued and on the night of August 29th an unusual northeast breeze began. The seagoing soldiers of John Glover’s Marblehead Massachusetts Regiment were called on to ferry the American troops across the East River to Manhattan, and the exodus began at 9 PM. The wind ceased at Midnight, and Glover’s men muffled their oarlocks. After an hour of calmness a gentle southwesterly breeze erupted, which allowed the Marblehead men to hoist sails, increasing the rate of transport by four-fold. By this time the sky had cleared and the moon was shinning brightly.
When first light appeared, the evacuation of 9,000 American troops was far from complete, the oarsmen needed at least three more hours. The soldiers occupying the front line trenches and huddled along the beach, worried that they would be spotted or left behind. Then, rising out of the wet ground and off the East River came a dense fog, which covered the entire river. When the sun rose the miraculous fog did not lift! The entire Army was extracted, except for the heaviest caliber canon. Just as the last boat pulled into the channel with General Washington aboard, the fog began to lift and dissipate. 9000 men had been saved from certain capture or destruction, and the American cause preserved.
I have pondered your question for 15 min. I can not think of anything Hill would risk her life for. What am I missing here? Did you mean another G Bush President – she already has that!
Ummm…I think one could argue she might just want to take her husband’s portrait. And not because of their marital status. Too little in the textbooks of what Madison did BEFORE he was even elected president. We owe him a gigantic amount of gratitude.
Oh, no question that Hillary would save her own sorry butt and leave the presidential portraits (and Bill himself) to burn. The exception would be her bedside portrait of Vladmir Lenin. I wouldn’t be surprised if she would start the fire herself.
I agree with you 100% on Washington and Reagan. But I also would put Lincoln up there. He, too, was in the position to lead at a very vulnerable point and we have the history by which to judge. However, I will present my argument that Grant emerged DURING the Civil War and indeed was a leader totally trusted by Lincoln. From what I do recall of Grant’s history, the Civil War is where he ‘found’ himself after years of battling his own demons personally and professionally. Perhaps his involvement in the war is where those ‘demons’ were put to rest.
When we examine the dire circumstances which literally brought the nation to a crossroads, I believe Lincoln was placed in office by The Divine. Because of the fracturing of the major parties and division of the country, it was made possible for Lincoln to win. Where some historians have viewed Lincoln’s election as a fluke or accident, I view it as ‘diviine intervention’ paving a way for Lincoln to serve in the time he did.
There’s a reason we’ve heard the phrase ‘The Party of Lincoln’ from past Republican voices. That torch has since been passed to ‘The Party of Reagan’ – and rightly so.
This is how I view it: Washington was definitely the Father of our nation, Lincoln guided her to preservation and Reagan re-kindled her spirit. There was a reason for each of these honorable men and a reason they were in office for the time they served. And we are the beneficiaries of their wisdom, service and love for this country.
To answer your question: tough call, but I, too, would save the Washington portrait. Without Washington, there would have been no America for Lincoln to preserve and no place for a Reagan revolution.
The Clintons already looted the Whitehouse.
Hill would go for the silverware. She might not
even know that portrait is Washington. Just the
guy they put on the money.
Nice post Tammy. Really nice! Thank’s