Capricious
The Maundy Monday Newsletter - This Week in History April 4 -10.
Thank you for your continued support of Okay History.
We are in between trips to Kentucky. This recent trip was for work and a bit of fun, while this upcoming trip will be all fun and no work. We haven't spent this much time in Kentucky in quite a while. Our stomach has undoubtedly appreciated the amount of fried food we consumed over the past few days.
Oh. We also feel it's important to note that while we haven't officially ranked Kentucky yet, we already know the Commonwealth is ranked higher than South Carolina.
Thanks to everyone who chimed in about the latest state rankings, especially those who contacted us offline. We received a text that said our ranking process was infuriatingly inconsistent, arbitrary, and capricious. We had to look up what capricious meant. It's not a nice word. We thought we explained how we would approach this project. I guess not.
We can't wait for the next round! We have our dictionary ready!
This week we have exciting footnotes in the pages of history.
The Brooklyn Dodgers announced they signed Jackie Robison on April 10, 1947. Robinson would become the first African American to play in Major League Baseball.
Robinson was an exceptional ballplayer. He was Rookie of the Year in 1947, the Most Valuable Player in 1949, and helped the Dodgers won the World Series in 1955. He batted .313, hit 141 home runs, and drove in 761 runs while dealing with people who didn't particularly like him playing.
It was slightly worse than, say, people who think South Carolina should be ranked higher in our state rankings.
Okay, let's highlight what else happened this week. Here's what we got:
George Washington issued his first veto on April 5, 1792. Washington, born in Virginia, which is also ranked higher than South Carolina, vetoed the bill Congress passed that allowed for more representation for northern states, which all but Rhode Island is ranked higher than South Carolina.
Ulysses S. Grant defeated the Confederates at Shiloh on April 7, 1862. Grant, born in Ohio, which is also ranked higher than South Carolina, would go on to whip the rebels and three years and two days later accept Robert E Lee's surrender.
Arthur Ashe announced he had AIDS on April 8, 1992. The tennis legend announced he contracted the disease 153 days after Magic Johnson told the world that he too had AIDS. Ashe would pass away in 1993 at the age of 49.
The 30th anniversary of Ashe's announcement is a reminder of how much progress we have made in the advancement of treating AIDS.
AIDS was officially endemic on June 5, 1981, and was considered an immediate death sentence. While there is no cure, our investment in science and education has reduced annual infections from 134,000 in the mid-1980s to 34,000 in 2019. A little more than 1 million people in the U.S. live with AIDS.
We mentioned on Friday that we would have another announcement, but we will push it to a later date because of our busy schedule. Thanks for your patience!
Tonight North Carolina and Kansas play for the national title in men's college basketball. We have yet to rank either state, and where they end up, we do not know yet. But both are also ranked higher than South Carolina.
We would also like to congratulate the good folks at South Carolina for winning the women's college basketball tournament last night over a state which will also be ranked higher due to our capricious process.
Happy April, everyone. We have begun the second quarter of 2022. Let's get after it!
Have a great week!
Okay,
Chris
Look Brother, I was born in the Free and Independent Commonwealth of Kentucky and a proud Louisvillian. It never seceded from the Union, and that, plus mostly that I WAS BORN THERE, make Kentucky a requirement to be listed high on State rankings. Add to that that arguably our greatest President, Lincoln, was born there. A slam dunk!! (Basketball reference since that is the State Religion.
Have a wonderful week, OKAY??- HH from LKy
"Arbitrary" and "capricious" almost always go together. Usually rendered as "arbitrary and capricious." The fact that you got someone, with whom you may or may not live, to throw in extra pejoratives to earn an Oxford comma in the middle is really quite impressive.