Anniversary of the Confirmation of Thurgood Marshall to SCOTUS

Telegram from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Thurgood Marshall, June 13, 1967.

On June 12, 1967, Justice Tom C.Clark (native Texan and graduate of the law school at University of Texas) announced his retirement from the United States Supreme Court.  Earlier in the year, President Lyndon B. Johnson (also a native of Texas) appointed Justice Clark's son, Ramsey Clark, to serve as Attorney General. The potential father - son / judicial branch - executive branch conflict prompted Justice Clark to step down from the bench.  On the way down, Justice Clark enthusiastically advocated for the appointment of Thurgood Marshall, then solicitor general, as his replacement.  As retold by President Johnson, Justice Clark predicted that "the President would appoint someone who will fill my shoes to overflowing and possibly break them open."  After an unusually long delay (although not by today's standards), the Senate confirmed the appointment with a vote of 69 to 11.

Kongming: Ominous Omen or Pyrotechnic Phantasm

A good science project for kids and adults alike is creating a Sky Lantern.  But, with burn bans throughout most of Texas, this project should remain in its conceptual stage... EXTREME FIRE HAZARD, and the remains of the lantern are harmful to English cattle and sheep.

The Sky Lantern (or Kongming Lantern) is basically a small hot air balloon. The apocryphal origin of the sky lantern goes all the way back to the famous Chinese military strategist Zhuge Liang (also known by his honorific title of Kongming, 180–234 AD) who used the lanterns in the battle field to scare superstitious enemies.  Other inventions attributed to Zhuge Liang include landmines (could have done without those) and the repeating cross bow.

Zhuge Liang (more info) wrote down his philosophy of combat in a book which roughly translates to Thirty-Six Stratagems.  This is not to be confused with Robert Green's 48 Laws of Power, which is the second most popular book in American prisons.  Instead of catch phrases like "Crush your enemy totally!," which sounds like the maniacal rants of Steven who fishes everyday down by the river, Zhuge Liang offers more mysterious mantras.  Consider the following:
1) Deceive the Heavens to cross the Ocean.
12) Take the opportunity to pilfer a goat.
14) Borrow a corpse to resurrect a soul.