THE REMNANT TRUST – WORDS THAT CHANGED HISTORY

I am not shy about my love of books. I have my own library of somewhere around 800 books, and I don’t intend to stop anytime soon. I love to stop in at Borders and browse the bargain books, and I rarely leave with purchases under $50.00. I journey to Hyde Brothers on Wells Street every now and then as well and search through old books for prizes to return home with me. So when I learned of a group of aged books set to come to IPFW, I was thrilled.

This coming January through April at IPFW, the Remnant Trust will make available a world-class collection of manuscripts, first- and early-edition works in original form, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Magna Carta, and the Federalist Papers. The Remnant Trust is comprised of over 900 manuscripts, books, pamphlets, and related documents on subjects related to individual liberty and human dignity.

Photo Credit: IPFW – The Remnant Trust

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The IPFW exhibit will include more than 50 manuscripts, books, pamphlets, and documents on subjects related to individual liberty and human dignity. The books will be available to actually hold, touch, and read.

As a prelude to the exhibit, IPFW is hosting four lectures – open to the public – tying the books to their particular time period as well as describing the roots of social and political ideas. The lectures not only focus on social and political ideas but also weave in period architectural styles.

I missed the first lecture two weeks ago, but I attended tonight’s lecture, and I will be attending the remaining two lectures in October. I totally enjoyed learning about the social and political ideas, but it was the idea of tying these age-old philosophies to architectural styles that really intrigued me.

The lecturers addressed the topic of “organic conservatism” and its impact on and relationship to classical architecture. I can’t wait until the next lecture on October 8th when the discussion will center around the concept of the “individualist conservative.”

But even more than the lectures and the knowledge gleaned, I cannot even imagine what it will be like to actually touch books the likes of the “Prince” by Machiavelli, the “Emancipation Proclamation”, and the “Rights of Men.”

Whether you are a book lover or not, or a reader or not, this opportunity should not be missed. The books can beheld in our hands – we can touch the leaves of the books and read the age-old words that, indeed, changed history.

McCAIN’S CAMPAIGN MANAGER TIED TO FREDDIE MAC

Well, here we go again. Another example of McCain touting his “holier than thou” credentials which can’t be backed up by facts.

Freddie Mac, one of the giant mortgage companies at the heart of the credit crisis, paid $15,000 a month from the end of 2005 through August to Davis Manafort, a firm owned by Sen. John McCain’s campaign manager, Rick Davis. However, McCain has defended his campaign manager by stating Rick Davis has had no involvement with the lobbying group for several years.

McCain’s campaign has been attacking Obama for ties to former officials of the mortgage giants, both of which have a long history of cultivating Democratic and Republican allies alike to fend off efforts to restrict their activities. Freddie Mac’s payments of roughly $500,000 to Davis Manafort began in late 2005, immediately after Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae disbanded an advocacy coalition that they had set up and hired Davis to run.

Photo Credit: Associated Press

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From 2000 to the end of 2005, Davis received nearly $2 million as president of the coalition, the Homeownership Alliance, which the companies created to help them oppose new regulations and protect their status as federally chartered companies with implicit government backing, according to the report.

So, let me get this straight. While McCain brandishes his efforts to regulate the mortgage giants to “save” the little people, his campaign manager was taking money to lobby against regulation? Oh, what a tangled web we weave.