Do-dads, do-dads

I noticed that today is the 154th anniversary of the death of James K. Polk, and since my compatriot in this blog is a confirmed Polkian (or is it Polkite?) I thought I would invite him to tell us "Why J. K. Polk was a great American." Although I am drawn a bit more to Jackson and the ne'r-do-wells Pierce and Buchanan, I look forward to the explanation.

Did you see this latest bill in the House, forbidding tax write-offs to companies who do business at same-sex clubs? Can we put this at the top of the "doesn't government have anything better to do" list? We have crime, terrorism, and a bad economy, and two congressional buttinskys want to slap the hands of Augusta and the Elks Lodge?

What is the point of genealogy? I mean, what is the basic core of wanting to know about your ancestors, sometimes dozens of generations removed from yourself? I don't ask this critically but quizzically. It would seem the explanation comes down to three essential reasons: (1.) mere curiosity of how you got to this place at this point in time, and/or (2.) exploration of the self, in that you believe in "blood" and that characteristics can be passed down, and/or (3.) it makes you feel good about yourself (their glory rubs off on you, or you are so much more successful than them). So if Uncle Albert owned a successful haberdashery in the 1880s and met the president, you can say, "isn't that interesting," or "my ancestors were keen businessmen and political activists -- it runs in the family," or "well, you had a rich uncle who met the president once," or (even better) "our ancestors were dung gatherers, so it just goes to show you how far we have come."