Presidential Quotes (12 of 16): James A Garfield

Today, we quote president James A. Garfield (1831-1881), who was president for a mere six months before being assassinated by a very troubled Charles J. Guiteau, who was executed by hanging for his crime though there was evidence of him being insane.

Here is our quote from Garfield, who was a Republican: "A brave man is a who dares to look the Devil in the face and tell him he is the Devil."

SIDEBAR: Today was a major day on Capitol Hill. No, there was no meaningful legislation passed, but three members of the House of Representatives announced they would retire and/or not seek re-election.

The first is Cong. Frank Wolf (R-Va), a man the blogger got to know when reporting for a newspaper in Woodstock, Va., which was then in Wolf's 10th district (it is now in Cong. Bob Goodlatte's sixth district). Wolf was one of the main champions of human rights on the Hill, and he even traveled to troubled countries, such as Sudan (and what is now South Sudan), to report on mass atrocities. Today, one of the people who praised Wolf was former Cong. Tom Perriello (D-VA), now a progressive activist, for Wolf's role in recognizing human rights.

Cong. Jim Matheson (D-Utah), who was arguably the most conservative Democrat in the House, which is understandable given that his district was very ultra-conservative. Matheson won his much- publicized last election over Mia Love, who is a rare African-American female Republican. Like Matheson, Love is a practicing Mormon, though she converted into the faith.

Late in the day, Cong. Tom Latham (R-Iowa), one of House Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) main allies in the House also announced he was stepping down.

http://www.millercenter.org/president/garfield

http://www.thehill.com

http://www.rollcall.com

DC Week (2 of 8): Tweets About the Nation's Capital and the Government Shutdown

With images of 1) Cong. Jim Matheson (D-Utah); 2) Mabry Mill, near Roanoke, Va., which has been closed due to the federal government shutdown; and 3) Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), we begin our first of two entries in this eight-entry series geared towards Washington, D.C.

"The Roanoke Times" reported that Mabry Mill, which is located on the Blue Ridge Parkway, could be reopen. Today, President Barack Obama said that states could re-open national parks with state funds. As a result, The Statue of Liberty, The Grand Canyon and Mount Rushmore are likely to re-open.

Cong. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) is considered to be the most conservative Democrat in the House, while Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is considered to be the most progressive Republican in the Senate. Both are reportedly working diligently to find the proverbial common ground to restart the federal government, which is now in Day 10 of a shutdown.

Here are the tweets:

1) Cong. Jim Matheson: "Glad Utah National Parks are open. Too bad we can't vote on a clean CR (Continuing Resolution) to operate rest of the government."

2) National Review (a conservative magazine): "Barack Obama can close our parks, but he's never block American enterprise."

3) The Hill: "Chris Christie (New Jersey's Republican governor): If I was in the Senate right now, I'd kill myself."

4) Embassy of Greece: "The Embassy and Consulate will be closed on Monday. Happy #ColumbusDay weekend."

5) Politico: "New York is donating $369,300 to have park service employees reopen the Statue of Liberty."

6) Bruce Bartlett (a Republican political aide): "David Frum: Will the Republican Moderates Please Stand Up."

http://matheson.house.gov/

http://www.roanoke.com/

http://thehill.com/

http://www.politico.com/

http://www.collins.senate.gov/public/

http://www.nationalreview.com/