"Very Bad Consequences"

July 24, 1959: Richard Nixon and Nikita Krushchev tangle on the merits of capitalism vs. communism in the “Kitchen Debate.” Visiting Moscow to open a national exhibition promoting American culture, vice-president Nixon joined Soviet leader Krushchev on a tour of displays of modern American homes. Krushchev dismissed the American wares as no better than their Soviet counterparts, and turned the conversation to politics when he slammed the U.S. Congress’s Captive Nations Resolution condemning Soviet influence in Eastern Europe. By the time they arrived at a model kitchen, the volume of the debate had spiked, with Nixon criticizing Krushchev’s constant threats about his nuclear arsenal, and Krushchev ominously warning of “very bad consequences.” As a rare outburst of genuine animosity in front of the world press, the debate made front-page news back home. [Image Source]

What I find revealing about this photograph is that Nixon is really debating Krushchev, while Krushchev is standing pugnaciously, eventually to warn of "very bad consequences."

It is the West which is always ready to "debate" and "negotiate." The rest of the world, if given the chance, simply wants to dominate.

And Brezhnev is in the background, watching, assessing, figuring out his American adversary.

Here's another:

Infused With Beauty

The last time went to the Fraunces Tavern Museum website (only about a week ago), I didn't notice this new acquisition:

Fraunces Tavern Museum is proud to announce the most recent acquisition, a terra cotta bust of George Washington. This bust is a 19th century draped a l ‘antique unsigned copy of the original bust made by Jean-Antoine Houdon in 1785.

I've written about this bust here and here. And, Larry Auster, whose admiration of the bust I shared, wrote about the bust, and made a post here on my commentary on the sculpture.

I wrote in the commentary Auster/Asrat: Interaction on Beauty:

Although Larry Auster didn't directly write about beauty, his work is infused with the desire to bring beauty back into our world.

One of the most memorable posts he did on art (and beauty) was his reaction to a bust of George Washington. The image of the bust he has posted is huge and takes up the whole screen, so that we, like him, can have as close a look at it as possible. [the rest of my post is here]

So, it is a nice surprise that a museum is bringing this piece into its collections.

Declaration of Independence

Tiberge's post at Gallia Watch reminded me that I have seen:

...a fair copy (clean, full-text version without corrections or alterations) of the Declaration of Independence in Thomas Jefferson's hand.

Here is information from the exhibition brochure, which took place at the New York Public Library's Celest Bartos Forum from June 27 to July 3, 2014:

The Declaration of Independence
At the New York Public Library
Thomas Jefferson’s Autograph Copy

The New York Public Library holds in its vast collections one of the rarest and most important documents in American history:an original copy of the Declaration of Independence handwritten by Founding Father Thomas Jefferson. In addition to being a cornerstone of American civilization, the Declaration of Independence is one of the great documents of the human intellect and has formed the foundation of democratic movements that have transformed the world for more than two centuries.

On June 28, 1776, the finished draft of the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson was submitted to the Continental Congress. Before it was ratified on July 4, a number of changes were made, the most significant of which was the removal of Jefferson’s lengthy condemnation of the slave trade, an excision intended to appease delegates from Georgia and South Carolina. Jefferson was distressed by these alterations, and in the days immediately following July 4, he handwrote several copies of the original text, underlining passages to which changes had been made. He then sent these documents to five or six friends. The New York Public Library is privileged to safeguard one of just two copies of this renowned historical document that remain intact.

Here is more on this copy, including:
- a pdf file
- the transcript
- and other interesting links

I took photographs of the exhibition, one of which I've posted here, and the rest can be viewed here, at my blog New York Reflections.

Here is a closer, legible view of the first paragraph:


And here is Larry Auster's commentary from July 3, 2012:

On every July Fourth since I was in my twenties I have read aloud the Declaration of Independence, no matter where or with whom I was, whether people shared the reading or I read it by myself.
How can I—how can anyone—read the Declaration aloud this year in honor of American existence and American liberty? The colonies that were acting in unison as “one people,” and in the act named themselves the United States of America, the free country that brought itself into existence with that Declaration on the basis of God-ordained limits on government power, has, as of June 28, 2012, officially come to an end. As a commenter at Lucianne.com has put it, “Think of Obamacare as the Declaration of Dependence.”

The Declaration of Independence no longer represents what our country actually is. It represents our past country, and, perhaps, a future country. If we are to read the Declaration together, it can only be in that spirit, as patriotism to a non-existent country. As I said on the morning of June 28, patriotism to the United States as it now actually exists “is simply subscription to, loyalty to, patriotism to, obedience to, a leftist unlimited state.”

Happy Fourth

When I travel into the US, on my long but wonderful bus ride across New York state, I often see the American flag hanging at the front porches of people's homes. It is wonderful to see that Americans still value their flag, and display it, paying no attention to those who try to vilify them with "far right racists" commentary.

Americans are becoming more and more apologetic about their wonderful flag, but here is a painting I posted in 2011 by an American painter, Hassam Childe, who titled this particular flag painting (he did several) he painted in 1916:

The Fourth of July, 1916 (The Greatest Display of the American Flag Ever Seen in New York, Climax of the Preparedness Parade in May)

I hope that Americans return to that bold, courageous, unapologatic love of their flag and their country.

Happy Fourth of July!

Childe Hassam (American, 1859–1935)

The Fourth of July, 1916 (The Greatest
Display of the American Flag Ever Seen
in New York, Climax of the Preparedness
Parade in May), 1916

From my post at Camera Lucida on July 4th, 2011:

About the painting:

In 1916 Hassam embarked upon the Flag series, based on the nationalistic displays of flags, banners, and bunting on the buildings that lined Manhattan streets in response to World War I. During an unusual summer visit to the city, Hassam created this exceptional canvas, one of only two sunny summer flag scenes. While he denoted the site as Fifth Avenue by showing its tall buildings and a green double-decker bus, he obscured the precise location, perhaps to imply that the entire length of the great boulevard was bedecked with flags.

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The links I provided in 2011 for the painting are no longer valid at the Metropolitan Museum's website.

Searching on-line, I found that the painting is actually from a private collection. The best explanation I can find is that the painting was on loan for a Childe exhibition at the Metropolitan in 2004. Here is some more information from the Met's website:

Childe Hassam: American Impressionist
June 10–September 12, 2004

And more here from Traditional Fine Arts Organization (their main website is here):

This spring [2004], The Metropolitan Museum of Art will offer Childe Hassam, American Impressionist, an unprecedented exhibition of about 120 of Hassam's finest oil paintings, watercolors, and pastels, and some 30 prints. Opening on June 10, the retrospective -- the first to appear in a museum since 1972 -- will celebrate Hassam's brilliant handling of color and light and will examine his responses to the advent of the modern era in view of his credo that "the man who will go down to posterity is the man who paints his own time and the scenes of every-day life around him."

And the painting is listed as one of the pieces to be exhibited.

Mystery solved!

The exhuberent display of flags by Americans

Happy Fourth of July!

America's the Greatest Land of All