#Philadelphia Daily News

[thefictionaledition]

Number five is alive, and kicking bank robbers

Mystery robot

[authorkarimahg]

Condemned Building Used as Prison: The Story of Philadelphia's Detention Center

[blackkitchen]

Please view

[nasa]

NASA Inspires Your Crafty Creations for World Embroidery Day

It’s amazing what you can do with a little needle and thread! For #WorldEmbroideryDay, we asked what NASA imagery inspired you. You responded with a variety of embroidered creations, highlighting our different areas of study.

Here’s what we found:

Webb’s Carina Nebula

Wendy Edwards, a project coordinator with Earth Science Data Systems at NASA, created this embroidered piece inspired by Webb’s Carina Nebula image. Captured in infrared light, this image revealed for the first time previously invisible areas of star birth. Credit: Wendy Edwards, NASA. Pattern credit: Clare Bray, Climbing Goat Designs

Wendy Edwards, a project coordinator with Earth Science Data Systems at NASA, first learned cross stitch in middle school where she had to pick rotating electives and cross stitch/embroidery was one of the options.  “When I look up to the stars and think about how incredibly, incomprehensibly big it is out there in the universe, I’m reminded that the universe isn’t ‘out there’ at all. We’re in it,” she said. Her latest piece focused on Webb’s image release of the Carina Nebula. The image showcased the telescope’s ability to peer through cosmic dust, shedding new light on how stars form.

Ocean Color Imagery: Exploring the North Caspian Sea

Danielle Currie of Satellite Stitches created a piece inspired by the Caspian Sea, taken by NASA’s ocean color satellites. Credit: Danielle Currie/Satellite Stitches

Danielle Currie is an environmental professional who resides in New Brunswick, Canada. She began embroidering at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic as a hobby to take her mind off the stress of the unknown. Danielle’s piece is titled “46.69, 50.43,” named after the coordinates of the area of the northern Caspian Sea captured by LandSat8 in 2019.

An image of the Caspian Sea captured by Landsat 8 in 2019. Credit: NASA

Two Hubble Images of the Pillars of Creation, 1995 and 2015

Melissa Cole of Star Stuff Stitching created an embroidery piece based on the Hubble image Pillars of Creation released in 1995. Credit: Melissa Cole, Star Stuff Stitching

Melissa Cole is an award-winning fiber artist from Philadelphia, PA, USA, inspired by the beauty and vastness of the universe. They began creating their own cross stitch patterns at 14, while living with their grandparents in rural Michigan, using colored pencils and graph paper.  The Pillars of Creation (Eagle Nebula, M16), released by the Hubble Telescope in 1995 when Melissa was just 11 years old, captured the imagination of a young person in a rural, religious setting, with limited access to science education.

Lauren Wright Vartanian of the shop Neurons and Nebulas created this piece inspired by the Hubble Space Telescope’s 2015 25th anniversary re-capture of the Pillars of Creation. Credit:  Lauren Wright Vartanian, Neurons and Nebulas

Lauren Wright Vartanian of Guelph, Ontario Canada considers herself a huge space nerd. She’s a multidisciplinary artist who took up hand sewing after the birth of her daughter. She’s currently working on the illustrations for a science themed alphabet book, made entirely out of textile art. It is being published by Firefly Books and comes out in the fall of 2024. Lauren said she was enamored by the original Pillars image released by Hubble in 1995. When Hubble released a higher resolution capture in 2015, she fell in love even further! This is her tribute to those well-known images.

James Webb Telescope Captures Pillars of Creation

Darci Lenker of Darci Lenker Art, created a rectangular version of Webb’s Pillars of Creation. Credit:  Darci Lenker of Darci Lenker Art

Darci Lenker of Norman, Oklahoma started embroidery in college more than 20 years ago, but mainly only used it as an embellishment for her other fiber works. In 2015, she started a daily embroidery project where she planned to do one one-inch circle of embroidery every day for a year.  She did a collection of miniature thread painted galaxies and nebulas for Science Museum Oklahoma in 2019. Lenker said she had previously embroidered the Hubble Telescope’s image of Pillars of Creation and was excited to see the new Webb Telescope image of the same thing. Lenker could not wait to stitch the same piece with bolder, more vivid colors.

Milky Way

Darci Lenker of Darci Lenker Art was inspired by NASA’s imaging of the Milky Way Galaxy. Credit: Darci Lenker

In this piece, Lenker became inspired by the Milky Way Galaxy, which is organized into spiral arms of giant stars that illuminate interstellar gas and dust. The Sun is in a finger called the Orion Spur.

The Cosmic Microwave Background

This image shows an embroidery design based on the cosmic microwave background, created by Jessica Campbell, who runs Astrostitches. Inside a tan wooden frame, a colorful oval is stitched onto a black background in shades of blue, green, yellow, and a little bit of red. Credit: Jessica Campbell/ Astrostitches

Jessica Campbell obtained her PhD in astrophysics from the University of Toronto studying interstellar dust and magnetic fields in the Milky Way Galaxy. Jessica promptly taught herself how to cross-stitch in March 2020 and has since enjoyed turning astronomical observations into realistic cross-stitches. Her piece was inspired by the cosmic microwave background, which displays the oldest light in the universe.

The full-sky image of the temperature fluctuations (shown as color differences) in the cosmic microwave background, made from nine years of WMAP observations. These are the seeds of galaxies, from a time when the universe was under 400,000 years old. Credit: NASA/WMAP Science Team

GISSTEMP: NASA’s Yearly Temperature Release

Katy Mersmann, a NASA social media specialist, created this embroidered piece based on NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) global annual temperature record. Earth’s average surface temperature in 2020 tied with 2016 as the warmest year on record. Credit: Katy Mersmann, NASA

Katy Mersmann is a social media specialist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. She started embroidering when she was in graduate school. Many of her pieces are inspired by her work as a communicator. With climate data in particular, she was inspired by the researchers who are doing the work to understand how the planet is changing. The GISTEMP piece above is based on a data visualization of 2020 global temperature anomalies, still currently tied for the warmest year on record.

In addition to embroidery, NASA continues to inspire art in all forms. Check out other creative takes with Landsat Crafts and the James Webb Space telescope public art gallery.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[transit-fag]

Philadelphia-New York City is one of the most important corridors in the US as it is a pair of cities that are just 90 miles apart and are the 6th and 1st largest cities in the country respectively. And luckily they have good transit connections

The train travel times between the 2 cities varies between about an hour and 10 minutes and an hour and 50 minutes

Additionally there are a total of 48 amtrak trains that go between the 2 cities daily and 48 more NJ Transit Trains between NYC and Trenton where you can then transfer to a train from Philadelphia to Trenton that take about 2 hours and 30 minutes includingthe transfer.

Basically of all major city pairs in the US, none have better connectivity than Philadelphia and New York

[elierlick]

July 9, 1924 - Via The Daily Times, New Philadelphia, Ohio

[american-troubadour]

Phil Ochs performing at Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. December 23, 1966.

Philadelphia Daily News | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Fri, Dec 9, 1966:

Philadelphia Daily News | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Tue, Dec 13, 1966:

Asbury Park Press | Asbury Park, New Jersey | Fri, Dec 23, 1966:

The Philadelphia Inquirer | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Sat, Dec 24, 1966:

[sourcherryandsprinkles]

Could you do 30. ‘‘Each of my thoughts about you are improper.’‘ with Jess Mariano 😄

I haven’t written for Jess in so long. Hopefully this is good🤞

—

The smell of his pine aftershave lingered on you after you left his apartment, making you wish you were still tangled in the sheets with him. Soon, you'll be graduating and this back and forth driving to see Jess will come to an end.

You hadn't told anyone yet, but once college will be over, you'll be moving to Philadelphia and getting an apartment with Jess. His roommates had kindly offered you to stay with them, but you felt uncomfortable moving in with Matthew and Chris. They were very nice guys, you just wanted privacy.

‘’I don't want you to go,’’ Jess said against your shoulder, half-asleep.

It was Sunday and he knew what was coming.

You rubbed his back, his skin golden from the sun coming through the window, wishing Sundays weren’t a thing. Long distance relationship sucked.

‘’Can’t you stay until lunch? We could get breakfast at the café on 2nd street?’’

‘’The pancake place?’’

Jess hummed and began kissing your neck to make himself extra convincing.

Unfortunately, you had to decline. You had to go over your English paper for Monday one last time and finish your article for the Daily News. You had also promised Rory you would get coffee with her in the afternoon.

‘’Or we can stay in bed and…’’ His hand glided under the covers and down your body and slipped underneath your sleeping shorts, making you swallow a moan when his finger brushed over your clothed clit. 

Maybe coffee with Rory could be reported. She would understand, right?

You bucked your hips into Jess’s touch, asking for more. 

‘’So, is this a yes for the bed?’’ he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

You hit his arm. ‘’You’re such a horn-dog.’’

‘‘I can't help it. Each of my thoughts about you are improper.’‘ His lips crashed over yours and his fingers pulled aside your underwear.

—

All and more taglist: @spiokybirdstarfish @kenqki @liidiaaag @hawkegfs  @gillybear17   @areaderinlove @acornacreacure @black-rose-29 @fudge13

[thislovintime]

Onstage in Philadelphia, 1967. Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Out front [of the Civic Center Convention Hall in Philadelphia], thousands of fervent young bodies pushed avidly against each other, police and any passing black limousine hoping for a glimpse of the four men. Why? ‘Because I LOVE them,’ moaned 15-year-old Dee Darey, of 9220 Horatio Rd. ‘They’re so great. They’re my favorites. The Beatles? Oh, they’re so out, very below. They make a different impression.’ ‘Yeah!’ bellowed another girl behind her, ‘they turned into a bunch of nuts.’ […] ‘[The Monkees are] beautiful, they’re talented and they’re cute,’ said Pat Bookford, 14, of 7649 Elmwood Ave., tossing her long brown hair decisively. ‘And,’ said Janet O’Neill, also 14, of 7651 Elmwood Ave., ‘they don’t scream like some other dumb groups.’ ‘Yeah,’ said Pat, ‘the Beatles — they grew beards and mustaches and got creepy.’ ‘I still like them, though,’ said Janet. ‘I think the psychedelic bit is boss.’ The crowd grew and grew. Now and then one scream would rise above the others. ‘[Davy] Jones is gorgeous!’ ‘Peter Tork has a dimple!’” - article by Judy Oppenheimer, Philadelphia Daily News, July 24, 1967

[bimboficationblues]

2024 was a mixed bag. I spent a lot of it malding about my job, but fortunately I am no longer there and have a new one (family lawyer for DV survivors). Idk if I want to keep being a lawyer long term but rn I am making more money, doing more interesting (but potentially taxing) work, and hopefully it will level out to something either tolerable or useful.

long distance with my love is still sad, and we found that polyamory did not really alleviate those pressures, but we have taken some good steps towards a different approach, starting with a monogamy trial run. I found dating around mostly unpleasant despite some exciting possibilities throughout the year - very few people seem to really know what they want and act accordingly. ultimately poly started to feel like I was chasing after an ideal, and I do believe I’d enjoy that ideal. but when the process of pursuing it is so exhausting and unfun and crazy-making it just doesn’t seem worth it. the lesbian connections I found frequently ended because the other person started acting like an avoidant abject meow meow and I simply don’t have the patience.

as far as bringing the long distance to a close, I'm not sure how that’s gonna happen - I love Chicago and I don't want to leave my people. for the first time since maybe high school I do not feel fundamentally lonely and I think that's a feeling worth taking seriously. I've been really overjoyed by my various friendships, both near and far. but I miss my gf dearly. she has my heart. I don’t feel like I’ve ever loved or been loved like this. It’s a difficult situation.

I did get to travel a lot which was nice - this year in addition to regular Washington visits, including one to Olympic National Park, I also went to Barcelona, Toronto, Montreal, Cleveland, and Philadelphia. I am visiting my love's hometown currently and while I was kind of dreading it a bit it's turned out to be overall very pleasant and comforting and nice to see where she came from. Plus I did some visits to the family in SC.

speaking of which, I am feeling generally at ease with my parents. I feel like I've been able to accept that they are limited people, but not to such a degree that it makes being around them impossible, and they have also generally gotten cooler about a lot of things. we have a lot in common and it is generally fun to spend time with them despite their foibles. being able to do drugs together also helps. my dad turned 60 this year and my mom has been having health issues, which I do think has made entropy be on my mind a lot more to a troubling degree. dunno how I’ll handle that when it becomes a more pressing consideration but I guess that’s a problem for the future.

last January I made a conscious effort to approach my passions and hobbies more intentionally by making a daily schedule that roughly looked like this:

MONDAY - fiction reading; TUESDAY - history studies; WEDNESDAY - philosophy/political theory studies/writing; THURSDAY - working on music; FRIDAY - watching movies.

I also tried to get some daily activities going on top of all these - listening to at least one full album a day, regular walks, practicing guitar, yoga. keeping to this was inconsistent - sometimes I was locked in and sometimes I'd get derailed by other priorities (spending time with the love, seeing my lovely friends, getting stoned, travel). sometimes certain activities are just easier (reading comics is always fun and also minimally demanding of my energy, social media and doomscrolling is a tempting time-sink). I might try and revise this approach in some ways - I might want to take a harder tack with how much time I want to spend on each activity - but I do think that even just being deliberate and structured about how I spend my time made my mental state significantly stronger. so that is a positive development.

artistically I've made progress on the album, but I never feel like I have enough time to dedicate to it with work and everything else. but I also think my approach of trying to write all the songs first before recording them was the wrong one. so instead I think I'm going to start trying to get what I've roughly finished into a recorded form and in the process a stronger vision of the project will emerge which will help with future songs. this will require me to learn some new skills - I've always worked with a producer before - but that's not a bad thing. my friends and I are also doing a writing workshop so that will be nice to get feedback from people I love and trust.

social media has been real bad for me this past year in a kind of emotionally masochistic way - I found myself hatereading a lot more, which is bad. I’m hoping I can adjust that this year and stop getting brain damage from pissing myself off.

part of the reason for the above is that the political situation domestically and globally is dire and basically I just see cope or rationalization everywhere which, considering the urgency and scope and existential weight of what’s happening, is really infuriating to me. I feel like after a year of some of the most depraved inhuman butchery imaginable, as the ruling class takes refuge in obvious bad faith that is “all the more odious because it is less and less likely to deceive,” and with Hitleritis running rampant through civil society, we need a sober reflection on the challenge ahead of us as socialists. I do not want the ruling class to annihilate the rest of us with them or for capital to find new, intensified, and more insidious methods of shifting crisis around. this is partly why anti-intellectual, regressive forms of Marxism have been stuck in my craw lately, because it feels like psychological palliatives masquerading as politics. I’m not sure what the move is to really turn the tides of the war we are in, but doing away with self-deceiving political impulses seems like a start.

[ofmdrecaps]

07/11/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Erroll Shand; Nathan Foad; Vico Ortiz; Madeleine Sami; Ra Vincent; Dominic Burgess; Darby Family Foster Kittens; Rose City Comic Con; Adopt Our Crew's You Bear Fine Things Well; PA In Person Events; Fan Spotlight; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika.

== Rhys Darby ==

The Hungry Games: Alaska's Big Bear Challenge is live on Peacock! Rhys had several articles mentioning it-- as well as some great reviews you can check out below!

== Taika Waititi ==

Taika is out in Piazza del Popolo -- in Italy! He was directing the Indoor Garden Party there, featuring Russell Crowe, The Gentleman Barbers, and Lorraine O'Reilly!

Source: giorgiociccanti Instagram

Some behind the scenes of the show!

Source: RussellCrowe's Twitter

Annnnnnnd.....Another fun interview with Taika and Jemaine talking about their old friendship and Time Bandits!

Source: Cairn's Post

Special Note: Apparently Rachel is also in Time Bandits! I didn't know that either, I love how many of the AoNZ crew are!

Source: Rachel House's Instagram

And finally, below, a behind the scenes shot of Taika and Jemaine from Time Bandits!

Source: Fotc_fans Twitter

== Erroll Shand ==

A rare appearance of Erroll! This was from Day 1 of the script read through for Season 2 of 'The Twelve'!

Source: StevieCruzMartin's Instagram

== Nathan Foad ==

Some shots of Nathan from Jan - Jun this year!

Source: laurenecarse's Instagram

== Vico Ortiz ==

Season Finale of Date My Abuelita First Podcast is up! You can listen to all the episodes of Season 2 here!

Source: DateMyAbuelitaFirst Instagram

== Madeleine Sami ==

A few days old but this was a fun clip of Mads and the Deadloch Crew from the Season 2 announcement!

Source: PrimeVideo AuNZ

== Ra Vincent ==

A rare sighting of our dear Ra Vincent, showing some love for his previous and current projects<3 "Just when you thought you’d reached your favourite all time project another new favourite comes along. #timebandits #artdepartment #ourflagmeansdeath"

Source: Ra Vincent's Instagram Stories

== Dominic Burgess ==

Our good friend Dominic, Jeffrey Fettering, is up at a crazy hour! Hope you get some rest Dominic!

Source: Dominic Burgess' Twitter

== Darby Family Foster Kittens ==

More kittens! Rosie is keeping us appraised of these adorable foster babies!

Source: Rosie Carnahan Darby's Instagram Stories

== Rose City Comic Con ==

News from Rose City Comic Con! Rhys and Matthew will be joining Kristian and Vico! Will you be in Portland OR in September? For guest and ticket information check out:

rosecitycomiccon.com/guest

rosecitycomiccon.com/badges

Source: RoseCityComicCon's Instagram

== You Bear Fine Things Well ==

07/11 was the day all! The Hungry Games have gone live on Peacock! Our fantastic crewmates over at @adoptourcrew have been keeping up the hype with daily themes! "Day 3: Which fictional bear do you think would join the crew of the Revenge?" I'm a day behind on this but Rachel, aka bbviago on twitter was kind enough to submit Fozzie From Muppets Treasure Island! (someone I would have also submitted!)

Source: bbviago's Twitter

"Day 4: Vote for the Hungry Games Bear you think will win!"

The Bear Madness was busy all day over at @adoptourcrew headquarters and on twitter! It was close there for a while but Quad Mom won the day!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Twitter

== In Person / Online Fan Events ==

= Philadelphia PA: Calypso's Birthday =

Are you near Philadelphia, PA? Consider stopping by Tattooed Mom for games, crafts, and fun Saturday July 20th! 6-10 PM!

Source: FerventRabbit's Twitter

= PA: Spoken Word Porn-A-Thon Fundraiser =

CW: NSFW! Do you like NSFW fanfiction? Do you like helping out Queer Fundraisers? Well look no further! Some of our crewmates over at Harold & Maude's in Millvale PA will be writing smutty fanfiction (some OFMD, some not!) which will be read at an in-person/virtual event in return for donations to benefit the Queer Resource Center of Millvale! The event will take place at 7 PM on July 18th! Don't have the funds right now? You can also enter to win a pair of tickets for you and a friend by tagging a friend on Queer Witches instagram! Each tag is one entry into the raffle! The winner will be pulled on 7/13! Visit the QueerWitches website to purchase tickets!

Source: QueerWitches/Harold's Haunt/ @ringasunn on Instagram

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards =

And we're back with more cast cards from @melvisik! The first, Michael Heidemann is one of the English Seamen!

Second up we have another "Emmy submission, for Outstanding Music Supervision in a Series for Impossible Birds - AdoptOurCrew", Maggie Phillips!

Source: @melvisik's Twitter

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies, I have had a cold and have been swamped with work so I'm severely behind again with everything going on. I apologise for no personal love notes. I figured I'd share some more love from others, but know I'm thinking of you and hoping you're going into the weekend well crew. First is from the fabulously kind people over at @ positivelypresent

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dani DiPirro (@positivelypresent)

Source: positivelypresent's Instagram

Next is very wonderful affirmation from TheLatestKate -- when you're having a bad day, these are some good words to remember:

Source: TheLatestKate's Tumblr

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

Today's gif is courtesy of the lovely @snake-snack-stede <3 One of the best scenes from Fun and Games.

[butcherlarry]

Weekly Fic Recs 52

Fun fact! When I moved to the Philadelphia area in 2017, they won the Superbowl! Then, when I moved to the Kansas City area in 2023, they won (coincidently, they also played against the Eagles, the Philly team)! I'm not saying I'm lucky, but if any city with an NFL team wants me to move to their city, I have reasonable rates :)

Anyway, if you don't watch sports, here are some fics you can read instead! :)

Flatline by dragonpyre - Batfam, complete. While out on patrol, Jason gets dosed with a paralytic drug that also makes his heartbeat almost unnoticeable. The batfam finds him and FEELS ensue.

The Same Coin by SorryIWasAsleep - Superbat, wip. SOULMATES AU MY BELOVED. Identity porn and miscommunication for EXTRA FLAVOR.

Is This Real Life? by shanahane - Batfam, complete. Stories where Bruce takes his kids to get their wisdom teeth out. Shenanigans (and feels) ensue.

La clarté dans la confusion by thebatandtherobe - Superbat (with a side of Bruceman), wip. More Superbat and Bruceman shenanigans!

The Antithesis Of Magic by Ghxst_Bird - Batfam, wip. Jason adopts a 10 year old Bruce from an other dimension. Shenanigans ensue.

Luminosis, Tenebrarum by Chirobattery - Batcat, complete. WING FIC WING FIC WING FIC!!!!!!! Selina grooms Bruce's wings. Much feels ensue.

Banana Muffin by Mawiiish - Superbat, complete. A reread for me :D Bruce gets poisoned at a gala and calls for Superman for help. For some reason, this (handsome) guy named Clark helps him out.

echoes in the dark by inkstainedwretch - Batcat, complete. Featuring Battinson! Mostly PWP, but with many feels. MY FAVORITE :)

Uncharitable Trust by bitochondria - Superbat, complete. Identity Shenanigans! Clark doesn't trust that Bruce Wayne guy and thinks he's Batman. The Daily Planet team go to a Bruce Wayne gala and Shenanigans ensue (along with sexy shenanigans!). Both Clark and Bruce are gremlins, it's perfect :)

make a mercy out of me by InkDropMemories - Batfam, complete. BATMAN CAGE FIGHT?!?!?! TO PROTECT NIGHTWING AND FLASH?!?!? A MUST READ!!!!!!!!!!! (do it, pls)

Take Me Where I Cannot Stand by RenkonNairu - Superbat (both large and medium), wip. I love this concept! The fic did an Uno Reverse card on the doomed planets: Earth is destroyed by climate change, and the batfam (Bruce, Dick, Tim, and Damian) are on a ship to find a new home. They find Krypton. Many feels ensue, especially since Bruce didn't want to go, he want Alfred to be with the boys instead while he stayed on Earth :( SO GOOD!

Patchwork Pod by Ktkat9 - Superbat, wip. More of the mer Bruce fic!! Much drama happens when Tim's parents show up!

Champagne Problems by SalParadiseLost - Superbat and Batfam, wip. More of Himbo omega Bruce who is bad at math. The three kids who he adopted (kinda) are introduced!

Happy Reading!

[whencyclopedia]

George Washington's Farewell Address

George Washington's Farewell Address was published in a Philadelphia newspaper on 19 September 1796, near the end of his second and final presidential term. In it, Washington explains his reasoning for not seeking a third term and warns his countrymen against various dangers facing the United States, such as disunity, partisanship, and foreign entanglements.

George Washington's Farewell Address

George Washington (Public Domain)

Initially, Washington had hoped to retire at the end of his first term in 1792 but had been persuaded to serve a second term in order to deal with a series of crises facing the United States. These included the rise of partisanship within the nation itself (the nationalist Federalist Party against the populist Democratic-Republican Party), as well as the looming threat of getting pulled into the ongoing French Revolutionary Wars in Europe. By 1796, these crises were less pressing, leading Washington to decide that it was time to hand the reins of executive power to a successor. The address, originally penned by James Madison, was extensively rewritten by Alexander Hamilton ahead of its publication so that only a few sections of Madison's original draft remained in the final version. The address was not delivered verbally but was instead printed in the newspaper American Daily Advertiser. The Farewell Address remains one of the most significant and oft-cited addresses in the history of US politics.

Excerpts from the Address

Friends and Fellow-Citizens: The period for a new election of a citizen to administer the executive government of the United States being not far distant, and the time actually arrived when your thoughts must be employed in designating the person who is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made.

…The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in, the office to which your suffrages have twice called me have been a uniform sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty and to a deference for what appeared to be your desire. I constantly hoped that it would have been much earlier in my power, consistently with motives which I was not at liberty to disregard, to return to that retirement from which I had been reluctantly drawn. The strength of my inclination to do this, previous to the last election, had even led to the preparation of an address to declare it to you; but mature reflection on the then perplexed and critical posture of our affairs with foreign nations, and the unanimous advice of persons entitled to my confidence, impelled me to abandon the idea…I rejoice that the state of your concerns, external as well as internal, no longer renders the pursuit of inclination incompatible with the sentiment of duty…that in the present circumstances of our country you will not disapprove of my determination to retire.

The impressions with which I first undertook the arduous trust were explained on the proper occasion. In the discharge of this trust, I will only say that I have, with good intentions, contributed towards the organization and administration of the government the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment was capable. Not unconscious in the outset of the inferiority of my qualifications, experience in my own eyes, perhaps more still in the eyes of others, has strengthened the motives to diffidence of myself, and every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me more and more that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome…I have the consolation to believe that, while choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it.

In looking forward to the moment which is intended to terminate the career of my public life, my feelings do not forbid me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that debt of gratitude which I owe my beloved country for the many honors it has conferred upon me…if benefits have resulted to our country from services, let it always be remembered to your praise and as an instructive example in our annals that…the constancy of your support was the essential prop of the efforts and a guarantee of the plans by which they were effected. Profoundly penetrated with this idea, I shall carry it with me to my grave as a strong incitement to unceasing vows that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence; that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual; that the free constitution, which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained…

Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger natural to that solicitude, urge me on an occasion like the present to offer to your solemn contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments which are the result of much reflection…and which appear to me all important to the permanency of your felicity as a people. These will be offered to you with the more freedom as you can only see in them the disinterested warnings of a parting friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias his counsel…

The unity of government which constitutes you one people is now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad, of your safety, of your prosperity, of the very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that…much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national Union to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as the palladium of your political safety and prosperity…and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts.

…While then every part of our country thus feels an immediate and particular interest in union, all the parts combined cannot fail to find in the united mass of means and efforts greater strength, greater resource, proportionably greater security from external danger, a less frequent interruption of their peace by foreign nations; and…they must derive from union an exemption from the broils and wars between themselves which so frequently afflict neighboring countries…which their own rivalships alone would be sufficient to produce, but which opposite foreign alliances, attachments, and intrigues, would stimulate and embitter. Hence likewise they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which under any form of government are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty…

…In contemplating the causes which may disturb our Union, it occurs as matter of serious concern that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties by geographical discriminations – northern and southern – Atlantic and western; whence designing men may endeavor to excite a belief that there is a real difference of local interests and views. One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heart burnings which spring from these misrepresentations. They tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection…

…To the effacay and permanency of your Union, a government for the whole is indispensable…Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved upon your first essay by the adoption of a Constitution of government better calculated than your former for an intimate Union and for the efficacious management of your common concerns. This government…has a just claim to your confidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true liberty. The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions…but the Constitution which at any time exists, until changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all…

…All obstructions to the execution of laws, all combinations and associations under whatever plausible character with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction; to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common councils and modified by mutual interests. However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.

…I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baleful effects of the spirit of party, generally. This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness and is truly their worst enemy.

The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation on the ruins of public liberty.

Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight) the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and the duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which find a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another.

There is an opinion that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the administration of the government and will serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. This, within certain limits, is probably true – and in governments of a monarchical cast patriotism may look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon the spirit of party. But in those of the popular character, in governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged…

…It is important, likewise, that…those entrusted with confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one and thus to create…a real despotism…The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power…has been evinced by experiments ancient and modern, some of them in our country and under our own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them…

…Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness…let it simply be asked where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths…and let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.

…As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible…avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear…

…Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all…It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great nation, to give mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt that in the course of time and things the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary advantages which might be lost by a steady adherence to it?

…In the execution of such a plan, nothing is more essential than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations and passionate attachments for others should be excluded and that in place of them just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another an habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest…The nation, prompted by ill will and resentment, sometimes impels to war the government, contrary to the best calculations of policy…So, likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or justification…

…Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government. But that jealousy, to be useful, must be impartial; else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defense against it…The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connections as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop…

…In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope that they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish – that they will control the usual current of passions or prevent our nation from running the course which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. But if I may flatter myself that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good, that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism – this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare by which they have been dictated.

…Though in reviewing the incidents of my administration I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that my country will never cease to view them with indulgence and that, after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest.

Relying on its kindness in this as in other things, and actuated by that fervent love towards it which is so natural to a man who views in it the native soil of himself and his progenitors for several generations, I anticipate with pleasing expectation that retreat, in which I promise myself to realize without alloy the sweet enjoyment of partaking in the midst of my fellow citizens the benign influence of good laws under a free government – the ever favorite object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I trust, of our mutual cares, labors and dangers.

GEO. WASHINGTON

United States

19th September 1796

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Petition of John Cox and Others in Support of the Establishment of the Permanent Seat of the Government on the Delaware River

Record Group 46: Records of the U.S. SenateSeries: Petitions and Related Documents That Were Presented, Read, or TabledFile Unit: Petitions and Memorials and Resolutions of State Legislatures Submitted to the 1st Congress

To the President and Congress of the United States, The Freeholders and other inhabitants of a district of ten miles square, comprehending those parts of Pennsylvania & New Jersey which are situated adjacent to the Falls of Delaware River, so as to take within the lines, about five miles each size thereof; Conceiving it to be for the Honor and advantage of the United States, that there should be a permanent place of Residence for the General Government, wherein they can Exercise Sole Jurisdiction, agreeably to the principles of the Federal Constitution - and being informed that the Freeholders & Inhabitants of other Districts of ten miles square, in several of the States, are testifying their desire respect- ively to put themselves & their Estates under that jurisdiction, and that, in order to induce the Government to accept their Offers, they have adopted the Mode of Representing, by way of Memorial, the advantage peculiar to each Situation. They the Said Freeholders and other Inhabitants, Have, in pursuance of the Example set by others, appointed us the Subscribers hereto, a Committee on their behalf, to lay before you a Map of the said District; accompanied by a Request of the said Freeholders (illegible) that you will be pleased to Establish your Residence in this Tract of Country, which we flatter ourselves, will now, as it was by a Committee of the former Congress appointed to view this and other Sites, be thought the most Eligible of any in the United States, wherein to erect the Federal City; and in support of this opinion, we by leave to suggest a few, out of the many Reasons, that occur upon this Subject. First. This District is equally, if not more, Central, than any other part of the Continent; it lies directly in the line of Communication between the Eastern & Southern States, & also on a line of easy & practicable communication between the Western Waters of the United States and the Atlantic; the postal road running within fifty yards of the Center of the said District, at the Head of the Tide Water of Delaware, where it is navigable for Vessels of about sixty tons Burthen. Second. The River Delaware is navigable for Boats carrying from three to eight hundred bushels of Grain, for upwards of two hundred Miles above the Falls; and there are at this time, not less than Two hundred Boats employed daily in the transportation of produce and Merchandize to an from the Head of Delaware to Philadelphia [complete transcription at link]

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I think people are misinterpreting what I mean by "need a car" I was saying that in some cities it is possible to exist in areas of the city without a car and access most daily needs, I did not mean that it would be ideal to live without a car and I did not mean that travel outside the city would be easy, what I was saying is, in New York, Seattle, Boston, Chicago, the Bay Area, DC, Portland Oregon, or Philadelphia, you likely do not need a car to exist, not that that it would be the best life ever.