Rehoboam and Nixon, Two Jerks!

It was cool and damp in Inverness, Florida this morning.
This is the first winter of my life that I came down to Florida to escape from the snow and ice of the northeast.
I think that was a good idea!
So I made hot coffee and settled down in my comfy chair to read for awhile.

I read from 1 Kings 12 where the people ask Rehoboam if he will rule over them less oppressively than his father Solomon had.
Rehoboam tells the people that his father chastised them with whips but he will chastise them with scorpions!
What the...?

That Rehoboam was a real jerk!

The ten northern tribes decided to rebel against Rehoboam and serve Jeroboam instead.
Rehoboam, whose jerkiness was only exceeded by his stupidity, sent the tax collector Adoram to the Northern tribes to collect tribute.
As anyone with half a brain might have predicted the tribes of Israel stoned Adoram with stones until he died....

So then the people of Israel were divided into the Northern kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
This happened about 930 BC.

Interesting story.

Then I read from Hunter S. Thompson's classic book about the presidential campaign of 1972.
This was the campaign where Nixon was reelected.
Nixon was kind of a jerk too.
He had so little respect for the law that he needed a pardon from Ford after he left office or he probably would have ended up in jail with several other members of his administration.

At least Nixon went peacefully in the end.
He was a jerk, but he did leave office peacefully....
Give him a little credit for that.

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{This is a great and crazy book about the 1972 presidential campaign. Definitely worth reading.
Please leave a comment to let me know what you thought of it.
https://amzn.to/3wKKtgp}

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