vices

Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, As to be hated needs but to be seen; Yet seen to oft, familiar with her face, We first endure, then pity, then embrace.

Of all the causes which conspire to blind Man's erring judgment, and misguide the mind; What the weak head with strongest bias rules,- Is pride, the never-failing vice of fools.

A liking for truth at any cost is a passion that spares nothing and that nothing resists. It's a vice, at times a comfort, or a selfishness.

It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.

Here's Abraham Lincoln's incredible journey to become the sixteenth president of the United States of America! 1809 - Born February 12 in a log cabin in the backwoods of Hardin County (now Larue County), Kentucky 1816 - He worked to support his family after they were forced out of their home. 1818 - His mother, Nancy Hanks, died. 1831 - Failed in business. 1832 - Defeated for Illinois House of Representatives. 1832 - Lost his job, couldn't get into law school, worked odd jobs. 1832 - Chosen captain of company of volunteers which did not see battle in the Black Hawk War. 1833 - Grocery business failed. Declared bankruptcy, yet paid off the money he borrowed from friends to start his business. 1834 - Elected to Illinois state legislature and served four successive terms (until 1841). 1836 - Obtained license as an attorney. 1837 - Became law partner in Springfield, Illinois, with John T. Stuart. 1838 - Defeated in becoming speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. 1840 - Defeated in becoming elector. 1842 - Married Mary Todd on Nov. 4. They had four sons. 1843 - Defeated for US House of Representatives. 1847 - Served one term in US House of Representatives as a Whig. 1849 - Defeated for US House of Representatives. 1849 - Rejected for the position of Commissioner of the General Land Office. 1849 - Retired from politics. 1855 - Defeated for US Senate as a Whig. 1855 - Became a Republican. 1856 - Considered for vice-president (got less than 100 votes in convention). 1858 - Nominated as the Republican candidate for US Senator from Illinois. 1858 - Challenged Stephen A. Douglas. The seven debates became famous. 1858 - Defeated for US Senate as a Republican, he had made his mark. 1860 - Selected as the Republican candidate for president. 1860 - Elected president of the United States with a minority of the popular vote. 1861 - Inaugurated March 4. 1861 - Seven states had seceded by the time of his inauguration. 1861 - On April 12, Fort Sumter was fired upon and the Civil War had begun. 1863 - Issued Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1. 1864 - Elected to second term as president by a great majority. 1865 - On April 9, Gen. Robert E. Lee and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant signed the terms of Confederate Surrender. 1865 - On April 14, Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending a performance at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC. He died the next morning.