State Mottos

Every state in America has a state motto. They tend to be inspirational catchwords, brief yet powerful, no doubt meant to inspire the populace to greatness.

The mottos are heavy on truth, justice and the American way – much like Superman without the blue tights, red cape and the need to masquerade as a mild-mannered reporter.

The most famous state motto is New Hampshire – “Live free or die.” It leaves little doubt where the citizens of the Granite State stand on various issues. Being a wimpy outsider in New Hampshire is a lot like going to a clown convention in full costume and accidentally showing up at a Sicilian funeral for a guy named Big Tony the Enforcer – you tend to be noticed.

The smallest state in the Union, Rhode Island, has the shortest motto – “Hope." There's nothing wrong with being small or short, however calling yourself an island when you are surrounded on two sides by land is either a sign of ignorance or a sign of wishful thinking, also called hope.

Massachusetts, the state with the most letters in its name, has the longest motto – “By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.” It is also a Kickapoo Indian (Native American) term meaning "Pale Face arrive from across big pond and teach us to be Pale Face."

At least one state hasn’t caught up with political correctness yet. Maryland – “Manly deeds womanly words.” Obviously, the good citizens of Maryland have gender identity issues. Too many transvestites.

The most confusing state motto is Connecticut – “He who transplanted still sustains.” Apparently, the people of Connecticut understood the deeper meaning, that he who has not transplanted no longer sustains, and adopted it as their state motto. Backwards it reads “Sustains still transplanted who he” which pretty much means the same thing. In Latin, it reads, “Qui transtulit sustinet.” Even though I know nothing about Latin, except that Latin America is somewhere south of Texas, it somehow makes more sense than the English version.

I’ve asked several reasonably intelligent people to explain this motto but all I get is a look of bewilderment and a request to go away. Then again, I often get that sort of reaction whenever I mingle with real people.

To the citizens of Connecticut, here are some suggestions on a new state motto.

• The gateway to Rhode Island
• So close to New York, you can smell it
• No loitering
• Live free or move to New Hampshire
• Sustains still transplanted who he
• Size isn’t everything

Some of the redneck states in the Deep South tend to be high on machismo.

Alabama – “We dare defend our rights.”

Mississippi – “By valor and arms.”

They're still upset by the outcome of the Civil War way down yonder in the land of cotton, where old times there are not forgotten.

Other southern states are more reflective,

Georgia – “Wisdom, justice and moderation.”

I know a couple of guys from Georgia and the word moderation is not in their vocabulary. Live hard, drive fast and die young is more their style. I lived in Georgia for a couple of years when I was in the Army. I never did notice much wisdom -- but then again, I was in the Army.

Only two states have the word “people” in their motto.

Missouri – “The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law.” It’s not very slick or thought-provoking, but neither are the folks in Missouri. It is also known as the "Show Me" state. A word of caution however -- if it is not raining in Missouri, do not ask a man in a trench coat to "show me."

The state motto of Arkansas is “The people rule.” This seems like a reasonable proposition. If we must be ruled, people would be my first choice as opposed to non-people. I’m not quite sure what the alternatives would be. Perhaps raccoons or possums. Armadillos would also be a possibility but they tend to be late for budget meetings.

Some suggestions for a new state motto for Arkansas.

• Non-people cannot rule
• Rivers, Razorbacks and Rednecks
• No shoes, no shirt, no big deal
• He who transplanted is still transplanted
• Where road-kill is legal tender
• Very few Texans
• Wisdom, justice and moonshine
• Lots of guys named Billy Bob and Bubba
• Free ticks and chiggers

For better or worse, Arkansas is where the people rule -- the raccoons and possums find it all very amusing.

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Quote for the Day – "Start off every day with a smile and get it over with." W.C. Fields

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Bret Burquest is the author of 12 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a few dogs and where the people rule.

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The Mysterious Death of Vince Foster

Vince Foster was born in Hope, Ark., and had been a childhood friend of Bill Clinton. Later, he worked at the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock with Hillary Clinton.

When Bill Clinton became President of the United States, Foster became White House Deputy Council and overseer of various Clinton legal entanglements.

On July 23, 1993, six months after Bill Clinton became President, Vince Foster told his secretary he would be right back and walked out of his office.

Foster's sister and her daughter were to arrive from Little Rock later that day, and the three of them were planning to tour the White House.

That was the last time Foster was seen alive.

Several hours later, Foster was found dead in Fort Mercy Park just outside of Washington D.C. in a Virginia suburb.

In spite of countless suspicious circumstances, the death was subsequently ruled a suicide. 

Those who ruled it a suicide would have you believe that Vince Foster drove to a park he had never been known to visit, parked his car, hiked several hundred yards from the parking lot (without a trace of park dirt on his shoes), sat down on the damp ground (there was dew on the ground at the time of death), put a revolver in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

Why not just kill himself in his car or sitting on a park bench or in his own home?

Even though Foster supposedly placed the barrel of the gun in his mouth, there was a lack of blood at the scene, no skull fragments and no fingerprints on the gun. Even if he had died instantly, his heart would have remained pumping blood out of the wounded area.

There was only a trickle of blood from the mouth and nose -- but one of the trickles appeared to have flowed upward, suggesting the body had been moved prior to discovery.

Gunshot residue was found on Foster's palm, not the back of the hand which would have been consistent with the body positioning. Perhaps it was on the palm because he was trying to repel an attacker.

Neither of Foster's hands was on the handgrip when the weapon was fired.

The U.S. Park Police had legal jurisdiction of the case. Before they could arrive to seal Vince Foster's office for evidence, Margaret Williams (Hillary Clinton's Chief of Staff) carried several boxes of papers out of Foster's office.

Bernard Nussbaum was also seen searching Foster's office. When the Park Police arrived, Nussbaum showed them Foster's briefcase, opening and upending it to demonstrate it was empty.

This is the very same briefcase where Foster's supposed suicide note turned up, three days later, torn into 28 pieces, with one piece missing, completely void of fingerprints and containing no signature.

The "suicide note" read as follows:

"I made mistakes from ignorance, inexperience and overwork. I did not knowingly violate any law or standard of conduct. No one in The White House, to my knowledge, violated any law or standard of conduct, including any action in the travel office. There was no intent to benefit any individual or specific group. The FBI lied in their report to the AG. The press is covering up the illegal benefits they received from the travel staff. The GOP has lied and misrepresented its knowledge and role and covered up a prior investigation. The Ushers Office plotted to have excessive costs incurred, taking advantage of Kaki and HRC. The public will never believe the innocence of the Clintons and their loyal staff. The WSJ editors lie without consequence. I was not meant for the job or the spotlight of public life in Washington. Here ruining people is considered sport."

It doesn't exactly read like a suicide note.

And how do you tear a note into 28 pieces without leaving a fingerprint?

Furthermore, it was declared to be a forgery by three of the world's leading handwriting experts:

• Prof. Reginald Alton (manuscript authenticator)
• Ronald Rice (chief handwriting expert for the American Board of Forensic Examiners)
• Vincent Scalice (certified handwriting examiner).

There are many other disturbing inconsistencies that seem to suggest foul play.

For example, Vince Foster was well over 6 feet tall, yet his car seat was in the forward position, suggesting being driven by a much shorter person.

Even though Foster's pockets were thoroughly searched by investigators at the scene, the car keys could not be found, yet the keys later turned up at the morgue.

The positioning of the body and lack of damage to teeth from the .38 recoil are inconsistent with suicide.

And so on and so on.

With so much contradictory evidence, one would expect his longtime friend and boss, the President of the United States, to insist upon further investigation.

To the contrary, a rather puzzling event took place -- on July 21, the very next day after the "suicide," Bill Clinton retained David Kendall, a prominent criminal attorney.

The ghost of Vince Foster does not haunt Fort Mercy Park – it haunts a nation that believes in justice.

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Quote for the Day –"It depends on what the word 'is' is." Bill Clinton

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Bret Burquest is the author of 12 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a few dogs and an imaginary girlfriend named Tequila Mockingbird.

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Amazing Synchronicities

A synchronicity is a meaningful coincidence of events that are not connected, often involving a metaphysical overtone. It's a psychically conditioned relativity of time and space.

An Internet website recently had an interesting list of amazing coincidences. However, they seem more like synchronicities to me -- like a shot of destiny to wake up the soul.

JAMES DEAN'S CAR

On September 30, 1955, movie actor James Dean (1931–1955) was driving his Porsche 550 from Los Angeles to Salinas in northern California for a race car event.

Along the way, a car driven by a 23-year-old college student crossed into Dean's lane causing a head-on collision.

Dean was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

• The Porsche was towed to a garage where the engine slipped out onto a mechanic, shattering both legs.

• The engine was installed in a race car. The driver was killed in a race shortly thereafter.

• The driveshaft was installed in another race car and that driver was killed in the same race.

• The Porsche was later repaired and restored. The garage it was in was destroyed by fire.

• Later, while on display in Sacramento, the car fell off it's mount and broke someone's hip.

• The trailer the car was mounted on slipped from its tow bar and crashed through the front of a shop.

• Finally, while resting stationary on steel supports, the car mysteriously broke into 11 pieces in 1959.

TWIN BOYS

Two identical boys born in Ohio were separated at birth and adopted by different families.

• Unknown to each other, they were each named James.

• Both were trained in law-enforcement.

• Each married a woman named Linda.

• One named his son James Alan and the other named his son James Allen,

• Both divorced and married a woman named Betty.

• Both had a dog named Toy.

• At age 40, they finally met for the first time.

FALLING BABY

In the 1930s, a man named Joseph Figlock was walking down a street in Detroit when a baby fell from a high window, falling onto the unsuspecting Figlock who broke its fall. Neither were hurt.

• A year later, Joseph Figlock was walking down the same street when the same baby fell from the same window, falling onto the unsuspecting Figlock, once again, who broke its fall.

• Neither were hurt.

TWO BROTHERS AND A TAXI

In 1975, a man riding a Moped in Bermuda was struck and killed by a taxi.

• One year later, the man's brother, riding the same Moped, was struck by the same taxi, driven by the same taxi driver, carrying the same passenger that was the passenger in the first incident.

THE CABIN BOY

Edgar Allen Poe wrote "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym," a story about four survivors of a shipwreck, adrift on a lifeboat for days. Three of them killed and ate the cabin boy named Richard Parker.

• Many years later, in 1884, the yawl Magnonette went down and there were only four survivors.

• On open waters for many days, the three senior members of the crew killed and ate the cabin boy, whose name was Richard Parker.

THE KING'S DOUBLE

King Umberto of Italy went to a small cafe in Monza, Italy, and noticed how much he resembled the cafe owner.

• Ironically, each was born on March 14, 1844 in the same town.

• They each married a woman named Margherita and Umberto was crowned King of Italy the same day the owner opened his cafe.

• On July 29, 1900, the cafe owner was shot and killed.

• While expressing his regret of this incident to a throng of people, on the very same day, King Umberto was assassinated by an anarchist in the crowd.

THE BULLET OF DESTINY

In 1883, Henry Ziegland broke up with his girlfriend, who subsequently committed suicide.

The girlfriend's enraged brother shot Ziegland, then turned the gun on himself and took his own life.

However, the bullet only grazed Ziegland alongside his head and lodged in a nearby tree.

• Years later, Ziegland decided to cut down the tree where the bullet had lodged.

• The tree was quite large so Ziegland blew it up with some dynamite.

• The explosion dislodged the bullet from the tree and propelled the bullet into Ziegland's head, killing him.

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You can't make this sort of thing up. Well, actually you can but the amount of synchronicity in store for you if you did would be extremely heavy.

Many people believe everything happens for a reason.

What seems accidental comes from the concept of destiny, a predetermined course of events. There is no such thing as chance. These types of synchronistic events promote spiritual growth, through intuitive knowledge, giving meaning to our lives.

A synchronicity is a hint to look more deeply into your existence.

May the Force be with you.

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Quote for the Day – "It all depends on how we look at things." Carl Jung

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Bret Burquest is the author of 12 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a couple of dogs and occasional amazing synchronicities.

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