Disappointing History

[Jackalope]

I'm pretty miffed that no one recognizes my perfectly lawful claim to the Duchy of Normandy.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

The predictive failures of the pythias at delphi.  You kind of assume that to have been such an influential oracle you would at least have to be good at guessing...?

Not so much.

Fie on you, sir!  Croesus tested the oracles  throughout Greece and Delphi was the only one who passed.  Herodotus wouldn't fib about this.

Boru

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I'm pretty miffed that no one recognizes my perfectly lawful claim to the Duchy of Normandy.

It's the antlers, mate.  No one takes antlers seriously on a Duke.

Boru

[fredd bear]

Finding out that George Washington actually did tell lies.

Yup.

He also refused a salary a president, asking only for 'expenses'. These turned out to be detailed and exceedingly expensive.


"Sir, I beg leave to assure the Congress that as no pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to have accepted this arduous employment, I do not wish to make any profit from it. I will keep an exact account of my expenses. Those I doubt not they will discharge, and that is all I desire."

[i]"Congress drew up the pay for officers and privates. A private made $6 2/3 a month, a captain $20, and a major general $166. Seems to us Washington was giving up a decent sum in exchange for this promise of discharging these expenses. He was well-regarded for stonily taking this economic hit for the team.

By contrast, George easily followed that maxim because he wasn't funny at all. The man was so spectacularly unfunny that when P.M. Zall tried to write a book called George Washington Laughing in an effort to prove otherwise, he had to stop after only 52 pages. As if that weren't bad enough, most of these episodes describe jokes being told in Washington's presence rather than being uttered by the man himself. The President appears to have enjoyed pratfalls and seeing the hats of clergymen get blown into lakes, but rare was the day a witticism passed his lips. Surely, such a stoic, servile man would be content with meager rations. So Congress must have thought when it approved his expense account. Fortunately for posterity, a complete record of Washington's account exists. You can even look at scans of it, in entirety, online.[2] The father of the United States, it seems, was magnificent at padding his accounts."[/i]

[i]https://www.plaintruth.com/the_plain_truth/2011/09/george-washingtons-expense-account.html[/i]

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Finding out that George Washington actually did tell lies.

Yup.

He also refused a salary a president, asking only for 'expenses'. These turned out to be detailed and exceedingly expensive.


"Sir, I beg leave to assure the Congress that as no pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to have accepted this arduous employment, I do not wish to make any profit from it. I will keep an exact account of my expenses. Those I doubt not they will discharge, and that is all I desire."

[i]"Congress drew up the pay for officers and privates. A private made $6 2/3 a month, a captain $20, and a major general $166. Seems to us Washington was giving up a decent sum in exchange for this promise of discharging these expenses. He was well-regarded for stonily taking this economic hit for the team.

By contrast, George easily followed that maxim because he wasn't funny at all. The man was so spectacularly unfunny that when P.M. Zall tried to write a book called George Washington Laughing in an effort to prove otherwise, he had to stop after only 52 pages. As if that weren't bad enough, most of these episodes describe jokes being told in Washington's presence rather than being uttered by the man himself. The President appears to have enjoyed pratfalls and seeing the hats of clergymen get blown into lakes, but rare was the day a witticism passed his lips. Surely, such a stoic, servile man would be content with meager rations. So Congress must have thought when it approved his expense account. Fortunately for posterity, a complete record of Washington's account exists. You can even look at scans of it, in entirety, online.[2] The father of the United States, it seems, was magnificent at padding his accounts."[/i]

[i]https://www.plaintruth.com/the_plain_truth/2011/09/george-washingtons-expense-account.html[/i]

Actually, Washington did take a salary as President. What he declined was a salary as commanding general during the Revolution.  Smart as a whip, too - it's a helluva lot easier to pad an expense account as a soldier than as a statesman.

Boru

[Little lunch]

When I was a kid, my dad had a friend who not only taught at the same high school, his fellow teacher owned a movie theater. Everyso often my mom and I got free tickets to see movies. 

So one day she takes me to a nature documentary. I see a fawn being born from a mother deer. Problem is it was a profile shot, so I thought that the fawn was coming out of it's ass.

So the following Monday, on the school bus, I proudly proclaimed my "knowledge" of where babies come from, and the older kids on the bus laughed their asses off. It took the female bus driver, pulling me aside to correct me.

When I was little, I overheard some big boys talking about putting four fingers in between a girl's legs.
So naturally I assumed for a few years that girls had four holes.
One to pee, one to poo, one for babies and I was stumped about what the other was for. :-)

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Actually, Washington did take a salary as President. What he declined was a salary as commanding general during the Revolution.  Smart as a whip, too - it's a helluva lot easier to pad an expense account as a soldier than as a statesman.

Boru

Plus the Colonials were desperate to keep GW in command, so they just ignored his bullshit expenses.

[fredd bear]

Yup.

He also refused a salary a president, asking only for 'expenses'. These turned out to be detailed and exceedingly expensive.


"Sir, I beg leave to assure the Congress that as no pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to have accepted this arduous employment, I do not wish to make any profit from it. I will keep an exact account of my expenses. Those I doubt not they will discharge, and that is all I desire."

[i]"Congress drew up the pay for officers and privates. A private made $6 2/3 a month, a captain $20, and a major general $166. Seems to us Washington was giving up a decent sum in exchange for this promise of discharging these expenses. He was well-regarded for stonily taking this economic hit for the team.

By contrast, George easily followed that maxim because he wasn't funny at all. The man was so spectacularly unfunny that when P.M. Zall tried to write a book called George Washington Laughing in an effort to prove otherwise, he had to stop after only 52 pages. As if that weren't bad enough, most of these episodes describe jokes being told in Washington's presence rather than being uttered by the man himself. The President appears to have enjoyed pratfalls and seeing the hats of clergymen get blown into lakes, but rare was the day a witticism passed his lips. Surely, such a stoic, servile man would be content with meager rations. So Congress must have thought when it approved his expense account. Fortunately for posterity, a complete record of Washington's account exists. You can even look at scans of it, in entirety, online.[2] The father of the United States, it seems, was magnificent at padding his accounts."[/i]

[i]https://www.plaintruth.com/the_plain_truth/2011/09/george-washingtons-expense-account.html[/i]

Actually, Washington did take a salary as President. What he declined was a salary as commanding general during the Revolution.  Smart as a whip, too - it's a helluva lot easier to pad an expense account as a soldier than as a statesman.

Boru

 Didn't know that. However, he was still pretty slick, and a little dishonest.
 
Without meaning to start an argument; I have also read Abe Lincoln wasn't quite as perfect as some people like to think. He was though a pretty fair politician .

[The Valkyrie]

I'm pretty miffed that no one recognizes my perfectly lawful claim to the Duchy of Normandy.

You can have it when I take over.

Though, being part of France, it may become known as the Crater of Normandy.

But you can also have Hastings.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Actually, Washington did take a salary as President. What he declined was a salary as commanding general during the Revolution.  Smart as a whip, too - it's a helluva lot easier to pad an expense account as a soldier than as a statesman.

Boru

Plus the Colonials were desperate to keep GW in command, so they just ignored his bullshit expenses.

Here's a partial list:

1. Household Expenses Valley Forge Winter of 1777-1778: $2,000
   
2. Telescope from France: $1274
   
3. A light Phaeton (a “chariot”):$1,430 and a riding mare: $1248
   
4. Decorating house in Cambridge with “Bedstead & Curtains, Mattrass, Blankets…”:  $546
   
5. Damascus Cloth (probably table linen): $62.00
   
6. 20 lbs. of tea: $468
   
7. Household expenses (Nov. 21,1780-Sept.6,1781 including food like “pidgeons,” veal, eggs, “hurtleberries”, cork cask, 400 limes, Madeira wines: $20,800.
   
8. French cook (recurring): $58.50
   
9. Mrs. Washington’s traveling expenses: $27,665.30
   
10. Interest charges for what Washington laid out: $7,488.
    

What clearly leaps out is Martha's traveling expenses.  $27665 in 1776 was roughly three quarters of a million today.  Ok, that's spread out over eight years, but...fuck. Wherever she was travelling, it must have been in a coach drawn by unicorns and attended by the Colonial Boy's Choir.

Boru