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Name your three top American Revolution Heroes

A team of European scientists has deliberately triggered electrical activity in thunderclouds for the first time, according to a new paper in the latest issue of Optics Express, the Optical Society’s (OSA) open-access journal. They did this by aiming high-power pulses of laser light into a thunderstorm. At the top of South Baldy Peak in New Mexico during two passing thunderstorms, the researchers used laser pulses to create plasma filaments that could conduct electricity akin to Benjamin Franklin's silk kite string. No air-to-ground lightning was triggered because the filaments were too short-lived, but the laser pulses generated discharges in the...

Doomsayers who relish every opportunity to announce the demise of America's educational system need look no further than the protest Tuesday at the Georgetown University Law Center. Five hooded students turned their backs on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the guest speaker, and held up a banner: "'Those who would sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither.' Ben Franklin." They were objecting to the Bush administration's surveillance practices, conducted with Mr. Gonzales' blessing. One would expect students at one of the nation's most prestigious universities to know that when you quote a source, you are obligated to do so precisely. What Mr....

Benjamin Franklin, Londoner. The U.S. founding father lived in the British capital for almost two decades before the American Revolution, working to bridge the widening gap between the colonies and the crown. After decades of neglect and a $5.3 million restoration, his house was unveiled to the public Tuesday as a museum dedicated to a revolutionary who spent years trying to keep Britain and its American colonies united. "He wasn't very successful, but he sowed the seeds of the Anglo-American special relationship," said Marcia Balisciano, director of the Benjamin Franklin House museum. U.S. Ambassador Robert H. Tuttle and Foreign Secretary...

The confirmation of Samuel Alito will contribute towards a total reorganization of this form of government. The Rehnquist era started the shift of the power to the states and away from the federal government - away from the Congress, away from the federal agencies, away from the regulatory system created to protect employees, consumers, investors - the people of America The Roberts-Scalia-Alito-Thomas-Kennedy Court will not only continue the work of the Rehnquist Court and make the rightward turn more dramatic - it will also preside over the expansion of presidential powers in ways never before imagined. But even more importantly,...

Above, Pastel portrait of Benjamin Franklin from the late 18th century, attributed to French artist Jean Valade and based on a portrait by Joseph-Siffred Duplessis. A scientific genius, inventor, postmaster, printer, statesman par excellence, and a man of wit and wisdom, Benjamin Franklin is arguably the most accessible Founding Father. More books have been written about him than nearly any other figure of the American Revolution. On Jan. 17, we will celebrate the 300th anniversary of his birth, and The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino is marking the occasion with the display one of...

Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary "Dr. Franklin's Profile," by Red Grooms, is on view in Philadelphia. PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 14 -There was something insufferable about Benjamin Franklin, and many of his contemporaries knew it. John Adams wrote, "Had he been an ordinary man, I should never have taken the trouble to expose the turpitude of his intrigues, or to vindicate my reputation against his vilifications and calumnies." Franklin could change positions when they seemed unpopular, compromise on principles and turn statecraft into a matter of personality. snip... In other contexts, Franklin's treatment of family could have made Poor Richard blush through his...

WASHINGTON -- Benjamin Franklin was a passionate writer, especially in the cause of the democracy he helped found, but even such a prolific man of letters may have had second thoughts about posting too-hasty words, according to an exhibit for the 300th anniversary of Franklin's birth. "Look upon your hands! They are stained with the Blood of your Relations!" Franklin wrote indignantly to an old English friend at the outbreak of the American Revolution. "You and I were long friends; You are now my Enemy, and I am Yours." Perhaps Franklin thought better of that letter because he never sent...

<p>Benjamin Franklin was a passionate writer, especially in the cause of the democracy he helped found, but even such a prolific man of letters may have had second thoughts about posting too-hasty words, according to an exhibit for the 300th anniversary of Franklin's birth.</p>

Even today, sources on inventions list six by Franklin that are still in active use today. One of those sits in my back hall, cheerfully and economically heating the back of my home – the Franklin stove. Another sits on the bridge of my nose as I write this – a pair of bifocals. But this is about Franklin’s greatest invention, one that the lists never mention because it is mere words, not a physical object. Franklin made seven trips to Europe, as a diplomat and scholar. He was welcomed into all the learned societies that existed in Europe then....

2 feet of water and the Orleans Parish School Board announced that it may not open any schools this year, Franklin's employees, parents and students sprang into action. Their efforts will pay off Jan. 17, on their namesake's 300th birthday. From her mother's home in Amite, Carol Christen, principal of Ben Franklin High School, could only imagine the kind of damage that Hurricane Katrina had wreaked on her Lakefront school. "I was watching the news and reading the paper just like everyone else," said Christen, who has served as Franklin's principal for the past six years, assistant principal for 16...

Dear Franklin Parent: We are pleased to announce that Benjamin Franklin High School is re-opening on January 17, 2006, which is our namesake’s 300th birthday. As you may know, we opted to pursue charter school status in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Our charter was completed in early October and unanimously approved by the Orleans Parish School Board on October 28, 2005. Our new designation does not alter our academic and intellectual focus, and our admission process remains unchanged. We are offering a full academic schedule this spring, in addition to electives and extracurricular activities including athletics. We will offer...

“There is a tradition that in the planting of New England, the first settlers met with many difficulties and hardships, as is generally the case when a civiliz’d people attempt to establish themselves in a wilderness country. Being so piously dispos’d, they sought relief from heaven by laying their wants and distresses before the Lord in frequent set days of fasting and prayer. Constant meditation and discourse on these subjects kept their minds gloomy and discontented, and like the children of Israel there were many dispos’d to return to the Egypt which persecution had induc’d them to abandon. “At length,...

AN event that occurred 250 years ago today stands as a singular reminder that the war between faith and science in America did not start in Dover, Pa., where several school board members who promoted the teaching of intelligent design were voted out of office last week, or even in that Tennessee courthouse in 1925 where John Scopes was tried for teaching evolution. It has been a recurring theme in our history since the very seedtime of the republic. In the early hours of Nov. 18, 1755, the most destructive earthquake ever recorded in the eastern United States struck at...

The Hill is a specialized publication, mostly for Members of Congress and those whose living depends on Congress. Still, an article in The Hill today (Wednesday) is typical of the media coverage of the Senate vote yesterday to require “reports” to Congress on the progress of the Iraq War. The title is “Needed: An Exit Strategy from Iraq.” It is written by Rep. Jane Harmon (D. Calif) and its lede includes these paragraphs. "There is now a strong bipartisan consensus that we need an exit strategy. But yet to emerge is the content of that strategy. "We have two overriding...

Dateline, 17 September, 2005, National Capitol It is self-evident that this new constitution is fatally flawed. It is unlikely to be ratified. And even if it is, it will fail in practice. Begin with ratification. One province is so opposed that it refused to take part in the drafting. The governors of two provinces refused to sign the document and are committed to its defeat. There is a hotbed of opposition in another province. One of the leaders there walked out of the drafting, and returned home to lead the effort to defeat the constitution, taking a majority of his...

Rules for Making Oneself a Disagreeable Companion (RULES, by the Observation of which, a Man of Wit and Learning may nevertheless make himself a disagreeable Companion.) Your Business is to shine; therefore you must by all means prevent the shining of others, for their Brightness may make yours the less distinguish'd. To this End, 1. If possible engross the whole Discourse; and when other Matter fails, talk much of your-self, your Education, your Knowledge, your Circumstances, your Successes in Business, your Victories in Disputes, your own wise Sayings and Observations on particular Occasions, &c. &c. &c.; 2. If when you...

"Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition."--Thomas Jefferson Ever wonder how dependent the American people have become on the federal government compared to, say, a generation ago? Now, thanks to The Heritage Foundation's new study, "The 2005 Index of Dependency," we can answer that question -- but be forewarned; the data doesn't paint a pretty picture. This informative study explores the degree, nature and effects of our dependence on government, examining five broad categories of socio-economic federal intervention: housing assistance, healthcare and welfare assistance, retirement income, post-secondary education...

On April 17, 1790, American statesman, printer, scientist, and writer Benjamin Franklin dies in Philadelphia at age 84. Born in Boston in 1706, Franklin became at 12 years old an apprentice to his half brother James, a printer and publisher. He learned the printing trade and in 1723 went to Philadelphia to work after a dispute with his brother. After a sojourn in London, he started a printing and publishing press with a friend in 1728. In 1729, the company won a contract to publish Pennsylvania's paper currency and also began publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette, which was regarded as one...

'It would be a hard government that should tax its people one-tenth part of their income. -Ben Franklin

Dear Jon, So “America (the Book)” was named Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly. More than successful, it’s a cultural phenomenon. I had to see what the shouting’s about. If your goal was money and self-promotion, congratulations. If you had a higher goal, close but no cigar. Begin with the Foreword “by” Thos. Jefferson. Ol’ Tom was one of the greatest political thinkers in history. I’m not going to pick on deliberate falsehoods or fake quotes. Nor brevity, nor attempts at humor. Just flat-out, factual errors. You have Jefferson say “we” composed “the Declaration and the Constitution.” You credit...

On the 27th of August, I went in print and in electrons to predict that the Kerry Campaign was over. Most other political pundits, except those whose income depends on the pretense that Kerry has a chance, have since reached the same conclusion. In the meantime, Dan Rather has ceased to exist (though no one has told him yet), and CBS and the “old media” may also go down in flames. But that’s not what I came to talk about. I came to talk about the election of 2008. Last weekend I was sitting on a dock by a TVA...

Will George Orwell's 1984 Become A Reality In 2004? By Chuck Baldwin Food For Thought From The Chuck Wagon December 30, 2003 The current edition of Insight magazine features an article in which the former commander of the military's Central Command, Gen. Tommy Franks, warns that constitutional government could be subject to a sudden demise if another major terrorist attack took place in America. Insight declares, "Gen. Tommy Franks says that if the United States is hit with a weapon of mass destruction that inflicts large casualties, the Constitution will likely be discarded in favor of a military form of...

"A nation of well informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the region of ignorance that tyranny begins." -- Benjamin Franklin

When he wrote the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson took a little editorial liberty with the phrase "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Consequently, if we modern Americans are to fully understand our own personal rights and liberties, this requires a little explanation. Back in the days of the Founding Fathers, every family was said to have two well studied books in their library. The most important best seller around 1775, of course, was "The Bible." The second best seller in the Colonies was "Blackstone's Commentaries on The Law," then a new three volume set on English common law....

Other men may have reached a higher level of popularity in America’s history than Benjamin Franklin, but none have had such tremendous influence on the American way of life. Throughout the annals of history, few names live on to such a status of greatness as the name of the American Sage, Benjamin Franklin. Not only did Franklin achieve that level, but he did so by rising from commonality. That a child, born into poverty and uneducated, could rise to such nobility, set a precedent for what would become, the American dream. Benjamin Franklin set a standard of excellence for this...

Journalism History History Quiz 1 Answers 1. Who did Benjamin Franklin replace as postmaster for Philadelphia Pennsylvania? Hint: The two were rivals for virtually every field of publication. ANSWER: Andrew Bradford. Franklin was appointed postmaster when Bradford was fired. 2. Benjamin Harris is best known for printing the first newspaper in the colonies of North America. Publick Occurrences both Foreign and Domestick was printed on September 25, 1690. The most lasting contribution Harris made to the media in America, however, could be his book published in the same year. It is often referred to as "The Little Bible of New...