Notable Obama Speech

Obama was notable for delivering comedic, well-received speeches.  In 2011, he famously roasted Donald Trump who attended the dinner.  Donald Trump did not attend any White House Correspondents' Dinners following the roasting during his time in office, breaking a long-standing tradition of presidential attendance.

Hey, Washington (D.C.): Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

A president who relishes attacking the news media is set to break his boycott of the White House Correspondents' Association black-tie dinner celebrating the news media on Saturday evening, April 25, 2026. What could possibly go wrong?

Convicts and Political Prisoners sent to America

Between 1615 and 1776, approximately 50,000 to 120,000 British convicts and political prisoners were sent to the American colonies as indentured servants, particularly to Maryland and Virginia, acting as a form of forced labor rather than a purely penal colony. This practice was formalized by the Transportation Act of 1718 to alleviate overcrowded English prisons. 

Convict Labor: Convicts were sold to planters for 7–14 years of labor in a system known as "His Majesty’s Seven-Year Passengers".

Scale of Migration: These transports comprised roughly 25% of all British immigrants in the 18th century, with 80% sent to Maryland and Virginia.

Reasons for Transportation: Rather than executing criminals under the "Bloody Code" (which made many crimes punishable by death), courts often sentenced them to deportation.

Political Prisoners: Beyond common criminals, Scotland's prisoners from the Battles of Dunbar and Worcester (1650s) were also shipped and sold into involuntary labor in New England.

End of Practice: The practice of sending convicts to America ended with the American Revolution, after which Britain began using Australia as a penal colony. 

"War is so terrible..."

"It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it," General Robert E. Lee's comment to Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, on seeing the immense slaughter of Union troops charging Marye's Heights in the Battle of Fredericksburg on 13 December 1862.  It serves as a commentary on the addiction to conflict and the need for humanity to be repulsed by its costs.

N 38 17.094 W 077 28.575 (Lee's Confederate Command Post atop a hill southwest of Fredericksburg)

Seconds thoughts (Cosmos vs Globus)

Even if I had felt well there was really not anything that interested me in Maui except possibly the Road Trip to Hana. The August 2023 wildfires in Maui devastated the historic town of Lahaina, destroying iconic, centuries-old landmarks, cultural sites, and popular tourist spots. Key losses included the landmark 150-year-old Banyon Tree (hopes it may still be saved), the 1834/1835 Baldwin House Museum, the Wo Hing Temple, historic 1823 Waiola Church, and The Pioneer Inn (1901).  The Old Lahaina Courthouse (1860) roof was completely destroyed.  It stands in the heavily damaged Lahaina Banyan Court Park. The Lahaina Heritage Museum and its collection were also destroyed.  The town was completely blocked to traffic. 

If I return to the Hawaiian Islands I will take the 13-day Globus Tour.   Big Mistake taking the cheaper 10-day Cosmos Tour.

Hawaiian Islands Tour ultimately a Disaster

From Jan 21 to Feb. 1, 2026 I island hopped on a Cosmos Tour from Oahu (saw the USS Arizona Memorial Site from afar, brief orientation tour of Honolulu, hosted a Geocaching Event at Starbucks, and had British Afternoon Tea) to Hawaii Big Island (Volcanoes Nat'l Park/Kilauea Crater, Black Sand Beach, Punaluu Bake Shop and Kailua-Kona) to the "Garden Isle" of Kauai (Waimea Canyon, Spouting Horn and Kapa'a) to Maui (two scoops of ice cream at Roselani in Paia Town, visited Iao Valley to view the Iao Needle pinnacle and watched "Below Deck" all day on television).  The last three days of the trip were a complete and utter disaster beginning with my checking in at the Outrigger Kaanapali Beach Resort in Lahaina.  It has taken me over a week to recover my health.

Rose Red's Latest Earthcaches in Pacific NW

I have been Geocaching since Oct. 2, 2004. I created three new Geocaching Earthcaches recently: Silver Point on the coast south of Cannon Beach, Oregon, Mitchell Tunnel in the Columbia River Gorge, and Oregon Rocks! East of The Dalles, Oregon.  I like having Earthcaches rather than Traditional Caches as I don't have to maintain caches.