My Old Kentucky Law

As opposed to the song, "My Old Kentucky Home."

Back on the 16th of this month, one of the history facts I came across had to do with the US state of Kentucky passing a law in 1838 that permitted girls to go to school "under certain circumstances." I further noted that Kentucky still has the bathing law on its books. Every resident of the state is required to bathe at least once a year, whether a bath is needed or not.

Well, Kentucky is at it again. It seems that, when you take an oath of office in Kentucky, you have to swear that you have not taken part in a duel with deadly weapon. This hails from the frontier days when Kentucky was seen as the place to go when you wanted to have a duel.

The part of the oath of office that mentions duels brings laughter, whether they are swearing in a governor or a town council member. So there is a move to have this part of the oath dropped.

I for one think maybe they should keep it. After all, every politician promises, with an oath, to do a great many things. Often it seems they say the words, then go and do the opposite -- go against the constitution they have promised to defend, for example. This way, at least in Kentucky, you know that every politician has told the truth in one part of the oath of office, even if every other part gets disregarded later.

Keep the one honest and truthful statement in the oath, Kentucky. It might be the only thing all of your politicians ever agree and tell the full truth on.


Today is:

Flag Day, Mexico

Gregorian Calendar Day

Inconvenience Yourself Day

Independence Day, Estonia

National Tortilla Chip Day

St. Matthias' Day

Swamp Cabbage Festival

Vasaloppet, Sweden (through the 26th)


Birthdays Today:

Billy Zane, 1966
Kristin Davis, 1965
Eddie Murray, 1956
Steven Jobs, 1955
Alain Prost, 1955
George Thorogood, 1950
Edward James Olmos, 1947
Joe Lieberman, 1942
James Farentino, 1938
Michel Legrand, 1932
Abe Vigoda, 1921
Chester W. Nimitz, 1885
Honus Wagner, 1874
Wilhelm Karl Grimm, 1786
Ibn Battutah, 1304
Emperor Toba of Japan, 1103


Today in History:

St. Francis of Assisi, age 26, receives his vocation in Portiuncula, Italy, 1208
In the first imperial coronation by a pope,Charles V is crowned by Clement V, 1530
Pope Gregory XIII, by decree, institutes what is now known as the Gregorian Calendar, correcting the older Julian Calendar, 1582
The US Supreme Court first declares a law unconstitutional (Marbury v Madison), 1803
London's Drury Lane Theatre burns to the ground, leaving owner Richard Brinsley Sheridan destitute, 1804
William Otis of Pennsylvania patents the steam shovel, 1839
The SS Gothenburg hits the Great Barrier Reef and sinks off the Australian east coast, killing approximately 100, including a number of high profile civil servants and dignitaries, 1875
China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty, 1881
Rudolf Diesel receives a patent for the diesel engine, 1893
The Voice of America begins broadcasting, 1942