Whats that in the X-Mess Tree

Thats my baby girl (ferret) Cleopatra. She likes to clime!

POISON CENTER

Are
The American Association of Poison Control Centers works to support the nation's 60 poison centers in the valuable work they do. America's poison centers are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help you. The Poison Help hotline at 1-800-222-1222 serves as a key medical information resource and helps reduce costly emergency room visits. More

Poison Exposure?Call Your Poison Centerat 1-800-222-1222.
Free, professional, 24/7/365Don’t guess, be sure…


Thanksgiving safety
By following a few simple steps, you can make sure that the only discomfort you feel on Thanksgiving Day comes from a full belly. More


Hand sanitizer safety
New! The start of flu season - and the spread of H1N1 - has consumers increasingly turning to hand sanitizers to help stop the spread of viruses. While ethanol-based hand sanitizers have the potential to be toxic, toxicologists and members of the American Association of Poison Control Centers say that with proper monitoring and guidance, the benefits of disease prevention outweigh the potential for ethanol poisoning. More.

Poison Centers at the front lines of H1N1 fight
The same reassuring voice on the telephone when you fear you've had a poisoning emergency may now be answering your questions about the H1N1 flu pandemic. The nation's poison centers are increasingly helping states respond to H1N1. More

Keep Kids Safe
A poison is something that makes you sick or hurts you if you eat, drink, touch or smell it. Poisons can be SOLID. Solid poisons can be chunky or chewy like pills, batteries, plants, and berries. More

Child Safty

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Childproofing and Preventing Household Accidents
KidsHealth> Parents> Pregnancy & Newborns> Home & Family Issues> Childproofing and Preventing Household Accidents
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When was the last time you crawled around your home on your hands and knees? As strange as it sounds, give it a go. Kids explore their everyday environments, so it's crucial to check things out from their perspective to make sure your home is safe.
And though we often think of babies and toddlers when we hear the words "babyproofing" or "childproofing," unintentional injury is the leading cause of death in kids 14 years old and under, with more than a third of these injuries happening at home.
Household injuries are one of the top reasons kids under age 3 visit the ER, and nearly 70% of the children who die from unintentional injuries at home are 4 years old and under. Young kids have the highest risk of being injured at home because that's where they spend most of their time.
Supervision is the best way to prevent injuries, in the home and out, but even the most watchful parents can't keep kids completely out of harm's way every second of the day.
Here are some simple ways to help prevent injuries in your own home.

Continue
Accidents That Can Happen at Home
The common causes of home-injury deaths are fire and burns, suffocation, drowning, choking, falls, poisoning, and firearms. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most home accidents happen where there's:
water: in the bathroom, kitchen, swimming pools, or hot tubs
heat or flames: in the kitchen or at a barbecue grill
toxic substances: under the kitchen sink, in the medicine cabinet, in the garage or garden shed, or even in a purse or other place where medications are stored
potential for a fall: on stairs, slippery floors, from high windows, or from tipping furniture
You can take precautions to make these places safer, but the most important thing to remember is to watch young kids at all times. Even if your home is childproofed, it only takes an instant for babies and toddlers to fall, run over to a hot stove, or put the wrong thing in their mouths. Your watchfulness is your child's best defense.
However, accidents will still happen, so it's important to be prepared. If you're expecting a baby or have kids, it's wise to:
1. Learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the age-appropriate Heimlich maneuver.
2. Keep the following near the phone (for yourself and caregivers):
poison-control number: 1-800-222-1222
doctor's number
parents' work and cell phone numbers
neighbor's or nearby relative's number (if you need someone to watch other kids in case of an emergency)
3. Make a first-aid kit and keep emergency instructions inside.
4. Install smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.
Check out these articles for more information:
Household Safety: Preventing Injuries From Falling, Climbing, and GrabbingHousehold Safety: Preventing Burns, Shocks, and FiresHousehold Safety: Preventing Strangulation and EntrapmentHousehold Safety: Preventing SuffocationHousehold Safety: Preventing ChokingHousehold Safety: Preventing PoisoningHousehold Safety: Preventing DrowningHousehold Safety: Preventing CutsHousehold Safety: Preventing Injuries in the CribHousehold Safety: Preventing Injuries From Firearms
Reviewed by: Kate M. Cronan, MDDate reviewed: December 2007
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EYE TEST

Having an eye test
On this page:
What happens in an eye test?
Questions to ask the optometrist
At the end of your eye test
Do I need extra tests as part of my eye test?
If you need extra help to get your eye test
Open Your Eyes
Other sources of help
What happens in an eye test?
When you go for your eye test you should take with you any glasses that you wear, the names of any tablets or medicine you are taking and the name of your doctor.
Eye tests should normally include the following but the order may vary:
Discuss the reason for your visit
It may be a routine eye test, you may have specific problems with your eyes and vision, or you may have been sent by your GP. Special demands on your eyes created by work and hobbies may also need to be addressed. The optometrist may also want to know about your general health and health of your family, including if someone in your family has an eye condition.
Checking your eye sight
You will be asked to read letters on a chart. For those who are not able to read, there are other tests such as identifying pictures or matching letters and pictures.
Checking your outer eye
A light will be shone on the front of your eyes to check their health and how well they react to light.
Checking your inner eye
An ophthalmoscope is used to check the back of the eyes. The light of the ophthalmoscope will be shone into your eyes to check their health and you will be asked to look in different directions.
Checking your eye muscles
Your optometrist will check that the muscles that control your eye movement are working well.
Checking to see if you need glasses
If you need glasses to improve your vision, the optometrist will work out exactly what prescription you need. They may shine a light in your eyes and then ask you to look at letters or colours on a chart through various lenses in a special frame or machine.
Questions to ask the optometrist
Do feel free to ask questions about any aspect of your eye test, for instance:
When do I need to wear these glasses?
What is the name of my refractive error?
How large is the error in my eyes?
Is my eye generally healthy, no signs of any eye condition?
When should I come back for another test?
How often do you think I should have my eyes tested?
Why do you want to send me on to the hospital or GP?
Do I need to tell anyone in my family to have their eyes tested?
At the end of your eye test
Your optometrist should discuss your eye test results and your eye health with you. If you don't need glasses then the optometrist will give you a statement that says this. If you do need glasses then they must provide you with a prescription for your glasses. This prescription can be used to buy glasses at any optometrist's practice, not just the one where you had your test.
Do I need extra tests as part of my eye test?
Some people may be at higher risk of eye diseases like glaucoma and diabetic eye disease. Extra tests ensure early detection.
If you over 40 years old (people over 40 are more at risk of developing glaucoma)
If you have a close relative with glaucoma (people who have or have had a close relative with glaucoma are more at risk of developing glaucoma themselves)
If you are of African or Caribbean origin (people of African or Caribbean origin are more at risk of developing glaucoma, and at a younger age.)
If you answer 'yes' to any of these, you should ask for:
the inner and outer eye tests
the field of vision test
the eye pressure test.
It is important to ask for all these tests. Together they detect signs of glaucoma more effectively than only one or two tests. When you make your appointment tell the optometrist that you will need these extra tests.
Do you have diabetes?
Diabetes can cause eye problems that may lead to sight loss if not treated. You should ask about the tests below and also about dilating eye drops.
The extra tests
The field of vision test
There are various different machines (most are computerised) that measure the field of vision. These tell how far around you can see. You will be shown patterns of lights and asked to say which ones you can see.
Each eye will be tested separately. This test can help to detect glaucoma and other problems.
The eye pressure test
An increase in eye pressure may be a sign of glaucoma. There are two ways to test the pressure. One uses eye drops to numb your eyes for a short while and then placing an instrument on the front of your eyes, and the other involves blowing at least three puffs of air at the front of each eye. Neither test hurts.
Dilating eye drops
If the optometrist needs to see the back of your eye more closely, drops will be put in your eyes that make your pupils larger. It takes up to half an hour for the drops to work properly. Some people find the drops make their eyes dazzled or their sight blurred. You should not drive or use heavy machinery for a few hours after the drops.
If you need extra help to get your eye test
If you are housebound, you should find out about having your eyes tested at home. Your local Primary Care Trust (PCT) will have details of optometrists providing this service.
People who have problems with language, with communicating or with understanding are entitled to an eye test, but may need more than one visit to the optometrist. Check that all of the parts of the eye test have been done.
Open Your Eyes
Our Open Your Eyes campaign aims to bring an end to preventable sight loss in the UK by 2020.
Thousands of people in the UK are needlessly losing their sight every year through treatable conditions like glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.
Thousands more are living with sight loss because they are simply wearing the wrong glasses or not seeking treatment for cataracts. A regular eye test checks your eye health as well as your sight. Don't put it off, book one today!
Other sources of help
For advice and support with coping with your eye condition and living an independent life, see our Sources of help pages.
Contact: eyehealth@rnib.org.uk
Last updated: 17 September 2009
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Having an eye test
After your eye test
Having an eye examination at home
Eye health
Eye conditions
Visiting an optician
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Looking after your eyes
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HEARING TEST

Hearing test
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
A hearing test provides an evaluation of the sensitivity of a person's sense of hearing and is most often performed by an audiologist using an audiometer. An audiometer is used to determine a person's hearing sensitivity at different frequencies. There are other hearing tests as well, e.g. Weber test and Rinne test.
Contents[hide]
1 Audiometer
2 Weber and Rinne
3 Other
4 References
//
[edit] Audiometer
An audiometer hearing test is usually administered to a person sitting in a soundproof booth wearing a set of headphones which is connected to an audiometer. Small foam insert earphones placed in the ears may also be used. The audiometer produces tones at specific frequencies and set volume levels to each ear independently. The audiologist or licensed hearing aid specialist plots the loudness, in decibels, on an audiogram. People having their hearing tested will convey that they have heard the tone by either raising a hand or pressing a button. As the test progresses, the audiologist or hearing aid specialist, plots points on a graph where the frequency is on the x-axis and the loudness on the y-axis. Once each frequency of hearing ability is tested and plotted, the points are joined by a line so that one can see at a glance which frequencies are not being heard normally and what degree of hearing loss may be present. Normal hearing at any frequency is a sound pressure of 20dBSPL or quieter; with worsening hearing as the number increases.[1]
[edit] Weber and Rinne
Main articles: Weber test and Rinne test
A complete hearing evaluation involves several other tests as well.[2] In order to determine what kind of hearing loss is present, a bone conduction hearing test is administered. In this test, a vibrating tuning fork is placed behind the ear, on the mastoid process. When the patient can no longer feel/hear the vibration, the tuning fork is held in front of the ear; the patient should once more be able to hear a ringing sound. If they cannot, there is conductive hearing loss in that ear. Additionally, the tuning fork is placed on the forehead. The patient is then asked if the sound is localised in the centre of the head or whether it is louder in either ear. If there is conductive hearing loss, it is likely to be louder in the affected ear; if there is sensorineural hearing loss, it will be quieter in the affected ear. This test helps the audiologist determine whether the hearing loss is conductive (caused by problems in the outer or middle ear) or sensorineural (caused by problems in the cochlea, the sensory organ of hearing) or neural - caused by a problem in the auditory nerve or auditory pathways/cortex of the brain.
[edit] Other
The audiologist or hearing aid specialist may also conduct speech tests, wherein the patient repeats the words he or she hears.
In addition, a test called a tympanogram is generally done. In this test, a small probe is placed in the ear and the air pressure in the ear canal is varied. This test tells the audiologist how well the eardrum and other structures in the middle ear are working. The ear canal volume indicates whether a perforation in the eardrum (tympanic membrane) may be present. The middle ear pressure indicates whether any fluid is present in the middle ear space (also called "glue ear" or "otitis media with effusion"). Compliance measurement indicates how well the eardrum and ossicles (the three ear bones) are moving.
The last test the audiologist may perform is an acoustic reflex test. In this test a probe is placed in the ear and a loud tone, greater than 70 dBSPL, is produced. The test measures the reflexive contraction of the stapedius muscle, which is important in protecting the ear from loud noises, such as a person's own speech which may be 90dBSPL at the eardrum. This test can be used to estimate the hearing thresholds in patients who are unable to perform normal pure tone audiometry and can also give information about the vestibular and facial nerves and indicate if a lesion may be present.
[edit] References
^ Audiometry - American hearing Research Foundation, Chicago, IL, USA
^ Yueh, B; Shapiro N, MacLean CH, Shekelle PG (April 2003). "Screening and management of adult hearing loss in primary care: scientific review". Journal of the American Medical Association (American Medical Association) 289 (15): 1976–1985. doi:10.1001/jama.289.15.1976. PMID 12697801. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/289/15/1976. Retrieved 2007-11-10.

The New RUBIK's Cube

I have always been a fan of the many different Rubik's Cubes. I recently got the newest one at Best Buy for $149.00. It was one of many birthday gifts that my late mother bought me for my birthday. This is the worlds very first touch cube. Fully electric with lights and sounds. Not for kids under 8 years old. You can choose between modern sounds effects or an actual recording of the original Cube's twist for a new or nostalgic Rubik's experience!

It's hard to believe it all started in Eastern Europe. Rubik's Cubes are now all over the globe.

ITS ALL PAID OFF

Just wanted every one to know that my mothers service is completely paid off in full today. And this was done all by my self. I am sorry I forgot to give credit to my aunt in NY for giving me $400.00 down payment back on June 2, 2008. And also $50.00 dollars paid by Jenn. Sad to think my mother had 2 sisters yet only one helped out! And out of all my mothers kids and one step daughter. I was the only one to pay the bill. But in all fairness to my brother John, he did offer to help. And my step sister has a large family, and is helping to take care of her sisters funeral bill. And what is Sperm donors excuse for not helping?

The final bill paid in full was for the amount of:
$2,764.82 Paid on 11/17/09
By Joseph E Hover

COLUMBUS DAY

Columbus, Christopher, Ital. Cristoforo Colombokrēstô'fōrō kōlôm'bō, Span. Cristóbal Colónkrēstō'bäl kōlōn', 1451–1506, European explorer, b. Genoa, Italy.
Early Years
Columbus spent some of his early years at his father's trade of weaving and later became a sailor on the Mediterranean. Shipwrecked near the Portuguese coast in 1476, he made his way to Lisbon, where his younger brother, Bartholomew, an expert chart maker, lived. Columbus, too, became a chart maker for a brief time in that great maritime center during the golden era of Portuguese exploration. Engaged as a sugar buyer in the Portuguese islands off Africa (the Azores, Cape Verde, and Madeira) by a Genoese mercantile firm, he met pilots and navigators who believed in the existence of islands farther west. It was at this time that he made his last visit to his native city, but he always remained a Genoese, never becoming a naturalized citizen of any other country. Returning to Lisbon, he married (1479?) the well-born Dona Filipa Perestrello e Moniz.

By the time he was 31 or 32, Columbus had become a master mariner in the Portuguese merchant service. It is thought by some that he was greatly influenced by his brother, Bartholomew, who may have accompanied Bartholomew Diaz on his voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, and by Martín Alonso Pinzón, the pilot who commanded the Pinta on the first voyage. Columbus was but one among many who believed one could reach land by sailing west. His uniqueness lay rather in the persistence of his dream and his determination to realize this Enterprise of the Indies, as he called his plan. Seeking support for it, he was repeatedly rebuffed, first at the court of John II of Portugal and then at the court of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Finally, after eight years of supplication by Columbus, the Spanish monarchs, having conquered Granada, decided to risk the enterprise.

Voyages to the New World
First Expedition
On Aug. 3, 1492, Columbus sailed from Palos, Spain, with three small ships, the Santa María, commanded by Columbus himself, the Pinta under Martín Pinzón, and the Niña under Vicente Yáñez Pinzón. After halting at the Canary Islands, he sailed due west from Sept. 6 until Oct. 7, when he changed his course to the southwest. On Oct. 10 a small mutiny was quelled, and on Oct. 12 he landed on a small island (Watling Island; see San Salvador) in the Bahamas. He took possession for Spain and, with impressed natives aboard, discovered other islands in the neighborhood. On Oct. 27 he sighted Cuba and on Dec. 5 reached Hispaniola.

On Christmas Eve the Santa María was wrecked on the north coast of Hispaniola, and Columbus, leaving men there to found a colony, hurried back to Spain on the Niña. His reception was all he could wish; according to his contract with the Spanish sovereigns he was made admiral of the ocean sea and governor-general of all new lands he had discovered or should discover.

Second Expedition
Fitted out with a large fleet of 17 ships, with 1,500 colonists aboard, Columbus sailed from Cádiz in Oct., 1493. His landfall this time was made in the Lesser Antilles, and his new discoveries included the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico. The admiral arrived at Hispaniola to find the first colony destroyed by the indigenous natives. He founded a new colony nearby, then sailed off in the summer of 1494 to explore the southern coast of Cuba. After discovering Jamaica he returned to Hispaniola and found the colonists, interested only in finding gold, completely disorderly; his attempts to enforce strict discipline led some to seize vessels and return to Spain to complain of his administration. Leaving his brother Bartholomew in charge at Hispaniola, Columbus also returned to Spain in 1496.

Third Expedition
On his third expedition, in 1498, Columbus was forced to transport convicts as colonists, because of the bad reports on conditions in Hispaniola and because the novelty of the New World was wearing off. He sailed still farther south and made his landfall on Trinidad. He sailed across the mouth of the Orinoco River (in present Venezuela) and realized that he saw a continent, but without further exploration he hurried back to Hispaniola to administer his colony. In 1500 an independent governor arrived, sent by Isabella and Ferdinand as the result of reports on the wretched conditions in the colony, and he sent Columbus back to Spain in chains. The admiral was immediately released, but his favor was on the wane; other navigators, including Amerigo Vespucci, had been in the New World and established much of the coast line of NE South America.

Fourth Expedition
It was 1502 before Columbus finally gathered together four ships for a fourth expedition, by which he hoped to reestablish his reputation. If he could sail past the islands and far enough west, he hoped he might still find lands answering to the description of Asia or Japan. He struck the coast of Honduras in Central America and coasted southward along an inhospitable shore, suffering terrible hardships, until he reached the Gulf of Darién. Attempting to return to Hispaniola, he was marooned on Jamaica. After his rescue, he was forced to abandon his hopes and return to Spain. Although his voyages were of great importance, Columbus died in relative neglect, having had to petition King Ferdinand in an attempt to secure his promised titles and wealth.

Historical Perspective
Columbus was not the first European mariner to sail to the New World—the Vikings set up colonies (c.1000) in Greenland and Newfoundland (see Leif Ericsson and Thorfinn Karlsefni)—but his voyages mark the beginning of continuous European efforts to explore and colonize the Americas. Although historians for centuries disputed his skill as a navigator, it has been proved that with only dead reckoning Columbus was unsurpassed in charting and finding his way about unknown seas. During the 1980s and 90s the long-standing image of Columbus as a hero was tarnished by criticism from Native Americans and revisionist historians. With the 500th anniversary of his first voyage in 1992, interpretations of his motives and impact varied. Although he was always judged to be vain, ambitious, desirous of wealth, and ruthless, traditional historians viewed his voyages as opening the New World to Western civilization and Christianity. For revisionist historians, however, his voyages symbolize the more brutal aspects of European colonization and represent the beginning of the destruction of Native American peoples and culture. One point of agreement among all interpretations is that his voyages were one of the turning points in history.

Bibliography
See J. M. Cohen, comp., The Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus (1969); biographies by S. E. Morison (1942), E. D. S. Bradford (1973), H. Koning (1982), and F. Fernández-Armesto (1991); J. Axtell, Beyond 1492 (1992); W. D. and C. R. Philips, The Worlds of Christopher Columbus (1992); M. Dugard, The Last Voyage of Columbus (2005).

The Columbia Encyclopedia. Copyright © 2001-09 Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

Wikipedia search results for: Christopher Columbus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christopher Columbus was a navigator, colonizer and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere. With his four voyages of discovery and several attempts at establishing a settlement on the island of Hispaniola, all funded by Isabella I of Castile, he initiated the process of Spanish colonization which foreshadowed general European colonization of the "New World." Although not the first to reach the Americas from Europe—he was preceded by at least one other group, the Norse, led by Leif Ericson, who built a temporary settlement 500 years earlier at L'Anse aux...more »

BREAST CANCER

The National Breast Cancer Foundation mission is to save lives by increasing awareness of breast cancer through education and by providing mammograms for those in need. NBCF accomplishes this mission through our initiatives, such as the National Mammography Program (NMP), Beyond the Shock educational video, MyNBCF online community, and the Early Detection Plan. NBCF programs provide women help for today and hope for tomorrow.


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HELP FOR OVER WEIGHT PEOPLE

I LEARNED ABOUT THIS PLACE ON DISCOVERY HEALTH CHANNEL

Brookhaven Rehabilitation & Health Care Center
The Best In Rehabilitation, Best In Health Care Caring Professionals

Brookhaven Rehabilitation & Health Care Center250 Beach 17th StreetFar Rockaway, NY 11691 Phone 718-471-7500 Fax 718-327-9074

INTERRACIAL RELATIONSHIPS

I found this online and thought it be a good read. Considering there is a lot of mixed people in my family.

Interracial Relationships: Acceptance by Gee

I have never been in an interracial relationship, but I wouldn't knock it at all. Why? Because we're all human with blue blood running through our veins (at least it's blue before it hits oxygen). It's no big deal…or at least it shouldn't be.

Humans have been mating with people outside their "race" for centuries. There are whole ethnicity's that were created as a result of interracial relationships, creating people who went on to do great things in the world. Why should it stop now?

Somehow, the black community, along with many other communities, have been brainwashed into believing that something is wrong with dating outside their race. I don't know exactly how bad it is with other races, but we have it bad.

Let it go, people. Let it go. There's over six million humans in the world and there's plenty of love for everybody, but many of us are too busy focusing on who someone else chooses to date all because of a skin color. It's not necessary.

I'm so sick and tired of the stick to "your own race" preaching as if we own one another. In all actuality, we don't. While we're all linked by race and maybe even similar genetics, we belong to none other but ourselves and whoever we choose to belong to. Who is anyone to tell another person who they should and shouldn't be with?

If a black person dates outside their race, we never once think that it's because they've fallen in love with a great person. It's always because 1) They're a sell-out that hates their own people, or 2) They're out to hurt some one's (particularly a certain group of people) feelings, or 3) They benefit from it more. Sure, some admit that it's because of one of those very reasons, but not everyone thinks this way.

I used to be the type of person who said that I believed interracial dating was ok as long as the couple wasn't doing it for the wrong reasons. As I matured and learned to focus more on myself, I began to care less as to whether or not the next person dated for the right or wrong reasons. If someone wants to date another person for shallow reasons, that's their business, not mine.
Lets say that Jonathan, a thirty year old black male, is "fed up" with black women for whatever stupid reason. After he becomes successful, he decides to date women who aren't black because they treat him better. His actions are clearly driven by stereotypes, which is a red flag. However, it's Jonathan's life. He should be able to live his life without people ridiculing him for who he chooses to date. Rather than getting all up in Jonathan's business, and putting all of our energy in attacking this man and whoever he dates, we need to be putting into our own relationships.

Our community has a problem with defining why a person chooses to date outside their race, as if it's their personal right to disturb the peace and put them under some sort of a microscope in the first place. For example: One of the most popular excuses as to why black men date white women is because they're supposedly "easy." Since we've heard this statement from "various" black men, we like to take that statement and apply it to all black male on white female relationships to justify our own insecurities.

How dare we? Don't you know that there are just as many decent white women as there are black women who deserve to be loved just as much as everyone else? Don't you know that there's black women out there who are just as easy? It's documented you know. Don't believe me? Ask Mr. Marcus. Lets not be so shallow.

Another stereotype that we need to get over is that black women date non-black men because they're fed up with black men, or that non-black men who go after black women do it for sexual reasons. Black women are more than just bodies, and there's plenty of non-black men who look past the physical. Again, lets not be so shallow.

It's great to see a successful black man marrying a successful black woman, but it's also great to see a successful person marrying another successful person in general. Why can't we be happy to see any successful marriage period (in the midst of high divorce rates across all backgrounds)? Lets not act like we're all going to sleep at night thinking "Wow…my life is so much better because a successful black man is married to a black woman." It just doesn't work that way.
We're somehow made to feel obligated to "stick with our own kind" to preserve the black race. If we don't, we're made to look as if we're out to terminate the image of the "black family." This belief needs to cease. There's nothing wrong with starting a life with someone who makes you happy…whether they're African, European, Asian, Hispanic, or Indian.

If there's anyone who feels that we need more positive images of a black family (and there's nothing wrong with that), then they should take it upon themselves to create that image themselves. It's very selfish to expect people to live their lives according to how we feel they should live it. We certainly wouldn't want that done to us, would we?
What is it about limiting love to a skin color? What if you came across a person who is everything you dreamed, except they were a different race than expected? Are you going to pass up a lifetime of happiness simply because of a skin color? If so, fine, but don't down others who choose to follow their heart.

Isn't it ironic how communities turn their noses up at interracial relationships, when in fact if it weren't for it, many of us wouldn't exist? I know for a fact that I wouldn't, as my grandfather was biracial. If one rewrote history to have everyone stay with their race, just imagine all the things that would be taken away from this earth.

To all the people who see interracial relationships as some sort of crime, stop the madness. The mean stares and bickering needs to cease. Once we elevate our minds, raise our self-esteem a little bit, and realize that not everyone is out to make us feel unworthy of being loved, we will be able to see the beauty in all relationships. Don't be so vain. It's not always about you.

FLU SEASON

Flu season is a regularly re-occurring time period characterized by the prevalence of outbreaks of influenza. The season occurs during the cold half of the year in each hemisphere. Influenza activity can sometimes be predicted and even tracked geographically. While the beginning of major flu activity in each season varies by location, in any specific location these minor epidemics usually take about 3 weeks to peak and another 3 weeks to significantly diminish. Individual cases of the flu however, usually only last a few days. In some countries such as Japan and China, infected persons sometimes wear a surgical mask out of respect for others. Three virus families, Influenzavirus A, Influenzavirus B, and Influenzavirus C are the main infective agents that cause influenza. During periods of cooler temperature, influenza cases increase roughly tenfold or more, resulting in the flu season. Despite higher prevalence of disease cases during the season, these viruses are transmitted

CLOROX PRODUCTS-H1N1 FLU VIRUS

Several Clorox Products Effective Against H1N1 flu virus

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) believes, based on available scientific information, that the currently registered influenza A virus products will be effective against the H1N1 virus and other influenza flu strains on hard, non-porous surfaces. These hard surface disinfecting products can help reduce the spread of influenza virus when used as directed:

INFORMATION ON FLU

Flu(Influenza)

Natural Cold & Flu Remedies Slideshow

Medical Author: Charles Davis, MD, PhDMedical Editor: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD
What is influenza?
What are the causes of the flu?
What are flu symptoms?
Is there any treatment for the flu?
Why must the flu vaccine be taken every year?
When should you receive the flu vaccine?
What is the bird flu?
Do antiviral agents protect you from the flu?
Where can I find additional information about the flu?
Flu (Influenza) At A Glance
Related flu articles on eMedicineHealth:Flu in adultsFlu in children
Pictures of Natural Cold & Flu Remedies - Slideshow
Patient Discussions: Flu (Influenza) - Symptoms You Experienced
What to Do if You Get the Flu
Medical Author: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MDMedical Editor: William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACRIntroduction text to the patients story. This is her story... -->
Influenza, or the "flu," is a illness of the breathing system (respiratory system) and muscles caused by a virus. While a vaccine is available to prevent the flu, its effectiveness varies according to the degree of match between the viral strains used to prepare the vaccine and those strains actually in circulation in a given year. Not everyone receives the flu vaccine, and even some of those who do can develop symptoms of the flu.
Mild cases of the flu may seem like common colds. But most cases of the flu can be distinguished from colds because the symptoms (cough, muscle aches and pains, sore throat, fatigue, and headache) are more severe than those of the common cold. Flu symptoms also tend to occur suddenly and include high fevers (temperatures of 101 degrees F or more). In children, fevers are typically even higher than those in adults.
The flu is a serious illness that can be fatal in people whose immune systems are weakened, the elderly, and those with chronic medical conditions. Even healthy people who develop the flu cannot work, attend school, or participate in normal activities for several days. Complications of the flu can develop in anyone and include pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, or bronchitis.
Find out about flu treatments »
Top Searched Flu Terms:symptoms, treatment, vaccine, swine flu symptoms

What is influenza?
Influenza, commonly called "the flu," is an illness caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract. Compared with most other viral respiratory infections, such as the common cold, influenza (flu) infection often causes a more severe illness with a mortality rate (death rate) of about 0.1% of people who are infected with the virus. Unusually severe worldwide outbreaks (pandemics) have occurred several times in the last 100 years since influenza virus was identified in 1933. By an examination of preserved tissue, the worst influenza pandemic occurred in 1918 when the virus caused between 40 to 100 million deaths with a mortality rate estimated to range from 2% to 20%.
Haemophilus influenzae is a bacterium that was incorrectly considered to cause the flu until the virus was demonstrated to be the correct cause in 1933. This bacterium can cause lung infections in infants and children, and it occasionally causes ear, eye, sinus, joint, and a few other infections, but not the flu.

What are the causes of the flu?
The flu (influenza) virusesInfluenza viruses are divided into three types, designated A, B, and C. Influenza types A and B are responsible for epidemics of respiratory illness that occur almost every winter and are often associated with increased rates of hospitalization and death. Influenza type C differs from types A and B in some important ways. Type C infection usually causes either a very mild respiratory illness or no symptoms at all; it does not cause epidemics and does not have the severe public health impact of influenza types A and B. Efforts to control the impact of influenza are aimed at types A and B, and the remainder of this discussion will be devoted only to these two types.

Influenza viruses continually change over time, usually by mutation (change in the viral RNA). This constant changing often enables the virus to evade the immune system of the host (humans, birds, and other animals) so that the host is susceptible to changing influenza virus infections throughout life. This process works as follows: a host infected with influenza virus develops antibody against that virus; as the virus changes, the "first" antibody no longer recognizes the "newer" virus and reinfection can occur. The first antibody may in some instances provide partial protection against reinfection with an influenza virus.

THE NIGHT MY MOTHER DIED

IT WAS ABOUT 11:47PM ON THURSDAY NIGHT WHEN THE HOSPITAL IN SPRINGFIELD HAD CALLED ME. I WAS AT MY MOTHERS SISTERS HOUSE IN UPSTATE NEW YORK. THEY TOLD US SHE HAD TAKEN A TURN FOR THE WORST AND BLOOD PRESSURE WAS DROPPING. SOME PEOPLE WILL ASK WHY HOSPITAL DID NOT CALL ANY ONE ELLS IN FAMILY TOO. I DIRECTED THEM NOT TO WITH OUT MY CONSENT. I FEARED THAT OTHERS WOULD PULL THE PLUG ON HER BEFORE I COULD BE THERE. MAINLY MY AUNT MARY.

SO I AND KRIS, LEFT ARE DAUGHTER WITH EILEEN. AND DROVE TO SPRINGFIELD MASSACHUSETTS,. ONCE WE WERE IN THE BERKSHIRES ON THE MASS TURN PIKE. WE PUT CALLS INTO MY FAMILY MEMBERS BY CELL PHONE. CALLS WENT OUT TO MARY,GENEVA, JENN, AND ANITA. THERE WAS NO WAY OF CONTACTING JAMES BY PHONE. WE DID NOT CALL JOHN. DUE TO HIS PREEXISTING MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES. GENEVA, SAID SHE WOULD GO TO THEM AND TELL THEM.

I AND KRIS ARRIVED AT HOSPITAL AROUND A LITTLE AFTER 1:00AM. MARY AND HER TWO DAUGHTERS ARRIVED SOME TIME AROUND 1:30AM. THE DOCTORS HAD TOLD US THERE WAS PRESSURE ON BRAIN STEM AND POSSIBLE BLEEDING. THAT THEY HAD RAN ALL THE NORMAL TEST AND MORE AT MY REQUEST. THERE SHOWED NO BRAIN ACTIVITY IN UPPER BRAIN AT ALL. AT THAT POINT MARY SAID ARE YOU READY TO ME. I SAID READY FOR WHAT? TO PULL THE PLUG. SHE'S GONE! SHE WAS NOT IN THE ROOM 10 MINUETS AND SHE WANTED MY MOTHER TAKEN OFF LIFE SUPPORT. I TOLD HER NO. NOT YET! GENEVA AND MY BROTHERS ARE NOT HERE YET. AT THAT POINT KRIS WENT TO CALL MY STEP SISTER TO SEE IF THEY WERE ON THEIR WAY. SHE RETURNED A FEW MINUETS LATER AND SAID, GENEVA AND THE BOYS ARE STAYING AT THE HOUSE. SO THEY WONT BE COMING. I KEPT WATCHING THE MACHINES AS THE NUMBERS FOR HER BLOOD PRESSURE GOT LOWER AND LOWER.

AT 2:05AM I GAVE THE DOCTORS THE OK TO TAKE MOM OFF LIFE SUPPORT. WE ALL LEFT THE ROOM FOR ABOUT 10 MINUETS AS THEY REMOVED THE TUBES AND STUFF. WE ALL WENT BACK IN THE ROOM AND STOOD BY MOM'S BED. SHE DIED AT 2:25AM FRIDAY MORNING. THE DOCTORS AND NURSES THERE WERE VERY KIND AND COMPASSIONATE TO MY MOTHER. THEY TREATED HER AS A PERSON NOT A NUMBER IN A BED. AS THE DOCTOR WAS ASKING ME QUESTIONS IN REGARDS TO WANTING A AUTOPSY, MARY INTERRUPTED WITH I WILL CALL FUNERAL HOME TO LET THEM KNOW. TALK ABOUT JUMPING THE GUN. THAT COULD HAVE WAITED TILL MORNING.

SO WHY WAS SHE IN SUCH A RUSH TO HAVE MOM DEAD? WAS SHE HURTING AND THIS IS HOW SHE WAS GRIEVING? WAS SHE MAYBE TIRED AND JUST WANTED TO GET HOME BACK TO BED? OR WAS SHE WANTING TO TAKE OVER MOM'S THROWN. THE ANSWER TO THESE QUESTIONS MAY NEVER BE ANSWERED. OR I SHOULD SAY ANSWERED HONESTLY! HAD I ALLOWED MY AUNT TO PULL THE PLUG WHEN SHE WANTED TOO. I AM SURE HAD MY BROTHERS AND STEP SISTER SHOWED UP AFTER THAT. I WOULD HAVE BEEN BLAMED FOR TAKING MOM OFF LIFE SUPPORT.

INTRO TO: THE NIGHT MY MOTHER DIED

As you all know from reading my blogs. That my family has been divide since my mother died. Many lies and stories have been told and wrote about by my aunt Mary and her husband Larry. Lies designed to hurt my self, and others in are family. This dose not include the many public and government institutions that they have miss informed and used to attack mine, and Jenn's, character integrity.

They will argue that I am lying, or it was not them. They will also argue that I'm attacking their character integrity. What I'm doing is not attacking them for personal gain, or to bring them harm. Every time they attack, I responded back with truth. I also publish facts on their shady character. My Cousin Anita, oldest daughter, of aunt Mary. Recently posted a false fact in regards to my mothers death. So thus I will now wright about that night she died, in the following blog.

WHAT ARE SEX OFFENDERS LEVELS?

Many people have asked me what are the levels of a Sex Offender. How many levels are there? And what is the difference between each level? Thus I have listed the 3 levels below. Warning to all my readers! Do not approach, confront, or harasses a Sex Offender. The proper way to handle a situation involving a Sex Offender. Contact your local Police department, Sheriffs department, or State Police. The laws protect all of us including the Sex Offenders!


Levels of Sex Offenders

Definitions of the Classification Levels for Sex Offenders
A sex offender is any person who resides, works or attends an institution of higher learning in the Commonwealth and who has been convicted of a sex offense, or who has been adjudicated as a youthful offender or as a delinquent juvenile by reason of a sex offense, or a person released from incarceration or parole or probation supervision or custody with the department of youth services for such a conviction or adjudication, or a person who has been adjudicated a sexually dangerous person or a person released from civil commitment on or after August 1, 1981.

There are 3 Levels of Sex Offenders in Massachusetts

Level 1 Sex Offenders

Where the Sex Offender Registry Board determines that the risk of re offense by an offender is low and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public by that offender is not such that a public safety interest is served by public availability, the Board shall give that offender a Level 1 designation. Information on Level 1 offenders will not be available to the public. Neither the police nor the Board have authority to disseminate information to the general public identifying a Level 1 offender. Information identifying Level 1 offenders may only be given to the Department of Correction, any county correctional facility, the Department of Youth Services, the Department of Social Services, the Parole Board, the Department of Probation and the Department of Mental Health, all city and town police departments and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for law enforcement purposes.

Level 2 Sex Offenders

Where the Board determines that the risk of re offense is moderate and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public is such that a public safety interest is served by public availability of registration information, it shall give a level 2 designation to the sex offender.
The public shall have access to the information regarding a level 2 offender through the Local Police Department and through the Sex Offender Registry Board.

Level 3 Sex Offenders

Where the Board determines that the risk of reoffense is high and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public is such that a substantial public safety interest is served by active dissemination, it shall give a level 3 designation to the sex offender.
The public shall have access to the information regarding a level 3 offender through the Local Police Departments and through the Sex Offender Registry Board.

WHO HAS TO REGISTER

MANY OF MY READERS, WHOM WHICH INCLUDE FAMILY AND FRIENDS. HAVE ASK ABOUT WHO AND WHAT LAWS REQUIRE A SEX OFFENDER TO REGISTER? THUS THE INFORMATION BELOW WILL HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND BETTER ABOUT WHO HAS TO REGISTER..

Who Has To Register

Pursuant to Chapter 6, section 178C of the Massachusetts General Laws, a person is required to register as a sex offender if he/she lives, works , or is enrolled as a student in an institution of higher learning in the Commonwealth and was:
convicted on or after August 1, 1981;

adjudicated a delinquent juvenile on or after August 1, 1981;
adjudicated a youthful offender on or after August 1, 1981;
released from incarceration on or after August 1, 1981;
released from parole or probation supervision on or after August 1, 1981;
released from the Department of Youth Services on or after August 1, 1981;
adjudicated a sexually dangerous person on or after August 1, 1981; or
released from civil commitment on or after August 1, 1981; or is required to register as a sex offender in another state.
For one or more of the following crimes: MGL
indecent assault and battery on a child under 14;
indecent assault and battery on a mentally retarded person;
indecent assault and battery on a person age 14 or over;
rape;
rape of a child under 16 with force;
rape and abuse of a child;
assault with intent to commit rape;
assault of a child with intent to commit rape;
kidnapping of a child;
enticing a child under the age of 16 for the purposes of committing a crime;
enticing away a person for prostitution or sexual intercourse;
drugging persons for sexual intercourse;
inducing a minor into prostitution;
living off or sharing earnings of a minor prostitute;
second and subsequent conviction for open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior, but excluding a first or single adjudication as a delinquent juvenile before August 1, 1992;
incestuous marriage or intercourse;
disseminating to a minor matter harmful to a minor;
posing or exhibiting a child in a state of nudity;
dissemination of visual material of a child in a state of nudity or sexual conduct;
possession of child pornography;
unnatural and lascivious acts with a child under 16;
aggravated rape; and
any attempt to commit a violation of any of the aforementioned sections pursuant to section 6 of said chapter 274 or a like violation of the laws of another state, the United States or a military, territorial or Indian tribal authority.

DISCLAIMER

I WANT ALL MY READERS OUT THERE TO UNDER STAND SOME THINGS ABOUT MY BLOGS. THERE ARE SEVERAL PARTS TO MY BLOGS. SOME OF MY BLOGS REPRESENT THE TRUTH BACKED UP WITH FACTS, ABOUT MY FAMILY. THERE ARE SEVERAL BLOGS THAT PROVIDE HELP FULL INFORMATION. THERE ARE SOME BLOGS WITH PHOTO'S OF MY FAMILY MEMBERS. SUCH TOPIC AS ALCOHOL AND DRUGS AND SEX OFFENDER. MAY OR MAY NOT REPRESENT MEMBERS OF MY FAMILY. I ADVICE ANY ONE WHO HAS ANY CONCERNS ABOUT THESE TOPICS. TO READ THE INFORMATION LINKS LOCATED IN THOSE SPECIFIC BLOGS. I HAVE PROVIDED THE INFORMATION TO HELP PEOPLE NOT TO BE USED TO HARASS ANY ONE!

ENFORCEMENT OF UNPAID CHILD SUPPORT

Enforcement of unpaid child support is one of the largest problems facing families in America today. An estimated 82% of the $122 billion of all child support payments go uncollected by the government. What this means is that millions of children suffer because they do not get their required amount of support.

Individual states have their own penalties to encourage enforcement of unpaid child support, such as garnishing wages, intercepting tax returns, and even revoking drivers licenses.

CHILD SUPPORT LAWYER

Child Support Lawyer

Along with child custody decisions comes child support matters and the process of concocting these agreements is often just as fierce. A child support lawyer is able to help calculate the factors that the courts will analyze, such as the financial status of the custodial and non-custodial parent, the needs of the child, etc. and can present an agreement that is fair to you.
Individual states have different rules governing the paying and allocating of child support. Your child support lawyer must understand that every situation has its own specific conditions, many of which are difficult to quantify in a court of law. He or she must work with you to present your economic situation to the court in order to demonstrate an appropriate level of child support. While this amount will depend on the number of children, financial wellbeing of both spouses, and unique conditions such as health and education deserve special consideration as well.
Child support lawyers are also used to pursue “deadbeat parents” and bring them to court. It is shameful when a parent refuses to acknowledge their responsibility when it comes to raising a child, but in the United States it is against the law to shirk the financial obligation of child support, and the penalties for this crime range from wage garnishment, to loss of driver’s or other state issued licenses, and even imprisonment in some cases.

Choosing the right child support lawyer can be the most important decision you ever make. Financial battles are not uncommon in even the most civil divorces, but those that center around children can be fraught with emotional overtones that can further complicate a separation. A dedicated and compassionate child support attorney will help you make sure that your situation will reflect the love you have for your children.

Contact an experienced child support lawyer today.

CHILD SUPPORT STATISTICS FOR THIS DECADE

Child support statistics for this decade:

84% of child support providers are men
60% of child supporters provide for one child, 30% support two, and 10% support three or more children
Almost 50% of the people who make child support payments are younger than 40
Men pay a medium of $3,600 annually to support their children, while women pay a medium of $2,400 each year.
The median income of a provider of child support is $42,000
76% of the child support payments are due to court order or child support agreement.
38% of child support providers are responsible for health insurance, medical bills, and other assorted health care costs.
17% of child support agreements make no provision for health care of children.
The most common ways of collecting child support are:
Wage withholding: 33.8%
Direct payment to parent: 31.7%
Direct payment to child support agency: 14.38%
Direct payment to the court: 17.7%
Other methods: 2.4%

Child support can make a world of difference in the lives of the children and families who need it. In order to grow up healthy, happy, and well adjusted, children need support and care throughout their lives, and if that chain of support is disrupted there is no telling how it could affect them. Make sure that your kids get the financial and emotional support that they deserve.

Gastro Bypass Surgery

One of my family members is working on their weight loss in order to have this surgery.
So I thought I post this blog with information on it.

Gastro Bypass Surgery

While gastro bypass surgery can be effective in helping morbidly obese people lose up to 80 percent of their excess body weight, it is a medical procedure that requires careful consideration. Gastro bypass surgery is not a miracle cure for obesity. Patients must learn to modify their diet and follow a regular exercise program if the wish to benefit from the procedure. People who have had gastro bypass surgery must also regularly visit their physician to assess their progress until they have achieved their weight loss goals.

Life after Gastro Bypass Surgery

After gastro bypass surgery, most patients will need to be hospitalized for about three days to monitor their condition. Once you are released from the hospital, you will need to continue your liquid diet until your physician determines that you are able to begin eating solid food. After about six weeks, you should be able to eat a small meal.

Obese people

Who have had gastro bypass surgery need to drastically modify their diet after the procedure. Gastro bypass surgery reduces the functional portion of your stomach, so you'll feel full after eating only a small amount of food. Eating more than necessary can cause significant discomfort or vomiting. Patients who have had gastro bypass surgery must learn to adequately judge portion sizes, and it usually doesn't take long to adapt to new eating habits.
Regular exercise is especially important for patients who have had gastro bypass surgery. Walking is a low-impact form of exercise that can help you gain muscle while you are losing weight. To avoid unnecessary strain, you should begin with short walks and gradually increase the distance you travel each day. If your job involves physical labor, you should be able to return to work roughly six weeks after your gastro bypass surgery.

Listed below are links to more information.

Gastric Bypass Surgery
Gastro Bypass Surgery
Bariatric Surgery
Bariatric Weight Loss Surgery
Gastric Banding
Gastric Banding Surgery
Gastric Bypass Doctor
Gastric Bypass Information
Gastric Bypass Operation
Gastric Bypass Procedure
Gastric Bypass Result
Gastric Bypass Success Story
Gastric Bypass Surgeon
Gastric Bypass Surgery For Obesity
Gastric Bypass Surgery Information
Gastric Bypass Testimonials
Gastric Lap Band
Lap Band Gastric Surgery
Lap Band Obesity Surgery
Lap Band Procedure
Lap Band Surgeon
Lap Band Surgery
Lap Band Vs Gastric Bypass
Lap Banding
Morbid Obesity
Morbid Obesity Help
Morbid Obesity Options
Morbid Obesity Surgery
Morbid Obesity Treatment
Obese Surgery
Obesity Surgery
Overweight
Pro And Cons Of Gastric Bypass
Roux En Y Gastric Bypass Surgery
Stomach Banding
Stomach Surgery For Weight Loss
Weight Loss Help
Weight Loss Options
Weight Loss Success
Weight Loss Surgery

CELEBRATING MOMS DEMISE

THIS IS A PICTURE AT A CELEBRATION PARTY HELD AFTER SPERM DONOR AND OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR FAMILY, RUINED MOMS FUNERAL SERVICE. THIS JUST GOES TO DEMONSTRATE HE DOES NOT MISS MOM OR CARE ABOUT HIS ACTIONS. HE HAS MONEY FOR BEER AND CIGARETTES, BUT HE CANT PAY HIS CHILD SUPPORT!! THUS WARRANTING THE TITLE DEAD BEAT DAD!!

Photo of William Pitt

William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham

This man also played a important part in Early American history. And also is connected to my family history.


William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
The Right Honourable The Earl of Chatham PC

Prime Minister of Great Britain
In office30 July 1766 – 14 October 1768
Monarch
George III
Preceded by
The Marquess of Rockingham
Succeeded by
The Duke of Grafton
Born
15 November 1708(1708-11-15)
Died
11 May 1778 (aged 69)Hayes, Kent
Political party
Whig
Alma mater
Trinity College, Oxford
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC (15 November 1708 – 11 May 1778) was a British Whig statesman who achieved his greatest fame as a Secretary of State during the Seven Years' War, as known in Great Britain and Asia (known as the French and Indian War in the U.S.A.) and who was later Prime Minister of Great Britain.
He is often known as William Pitt, the Elder to distinguish him from his son, William Pitt, the Younger. He was also known as The Great Commoner, because of his long-standing refusal to accept a title. The major American city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is named after him, as is Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and Chatham County, North Carolina; and the communities of Pittston, Pennsylvania, Chatham, New Jersey, Pittsburg, Pittsfield, and Chatham, New Hampshire; as well as Chatham University in Pennsylvania. Pitt Town, New South Wales, Australia was named after Pitt by Governor Macquarie in 1810.
Contents[hide]
1 Early life
2 Politics in the Commons
3 Rise into government
4 The Newcastle and Pitt ministry
5 The dissolution of the ministry
6 The Chatham administration
7 Later life
8 Legacy
9 Family and personal life
10 Titles from birth to death
11 See also
12 References
13 Notes
14 External links
//

[edit] Early life
Pitt was born at Westminster, the grandson of the governor of Madras, who was known as "Diamond" Pitt because he sold a diamond of extraordinary size to the Regent Orléans for around £135,000. It was mainly by this fortunate transaction that the governor was enabled to raise his family, which was one of old standing, to a position of wealth and political influence. The latter he acquired by purchasing the burgage tenures of Old Sarum.
William Pitt was educated at Eton College, and, in January 1727, was entered as a gentleman commoner at Trinity College, Oxford. There is evidence that he was an extensively read, if not a minutely accurate classical scholar; and it is noteworthy that Demosthenes was his favourite author, and that he diligently cultivated the faculty of expression by the practice of translation and re-translation.
A hereditary gout, from which he had suffered even during his school-days, compelled him to leave the university without taking his degree, in order to travel abroad. He spent some time in France and Italy, but the disease proved intractable, and he continued subject to attacks of growing intensity at frequent intervals until the close of his life. In 1727, his father had died, and, on his return home, it was necessary for him, as the younger son, to choose a profession. Having chosen the army, he obtained, through the interest of his friends, a cornet's commission in the dragoons. George II never forgot the jibes of 'the terrible cornet of horse'.
But his military career was destined to be short. His elder brother Thomas having been returned at the general election of 1734 both for Okehampton and for Old Sarum, and having preferred to sit for the former, the family borough fell to the younger brother by the sort of natural right usually recognized in such cases. Accordingly, in February 1735, William Pitt entered parliament as member for the rotten borough of Old Sarum. Attaching himself at once to the formidable band of discontented Whigs, known as the Patriots, whom Walpole's love of exclusive power had forced into opposition under Pulteney, Pitt became in a very short time one of its most prominent members.

[edit] Politics in the Commons
His maiden speech was delivered in April 1736, in the debate on the congratulatory address to George II on the marriage of Frederick, Prince of Wales. The occasion was one of compliment, and there is nothing striking in the speech as reported; but it served to gain for him the attention of the house when he presented himself, as he soon afterwards did, in debates of a party character. So obnoxious did he become as a critic of the government, that Walpole thought fit to punish him by procuring his dismissal from the army.
Some years later, he had occasion to vigorously denounce the system of cashiering officers for political differences, but with characteristic loftiness of spirit he disdained to make any reference to his own case. The loss of his commission was soon made up to him. The heir to the throne, as was usually the case in the House of Hanover, if not in reigning families generally, was the patron of the opposition, and the ex-cornet became groom of the bed-chamber to Prince Frederick.
In this new position, his hostility to the government did not, as may be supposed, in any degree relax. He had all the natural gifts an orator could desire—a commanding presence, a graceful though somewhat theatrical bearing, an eye of piercing brightness, and a voice of the utmost flexibility. His style, if occasionally somewhat turgid, was elevated and passionate, and it always bore the impress of that intensity of conviction which is the most powerful instrument a speaker can have to sway the convictions of an audience. It was natural, therefore, that in the series of stormy debates, protracted through several years, that ended in the downfall of Walpole, his eloquence should have been one of the strongest of the forces that combined to bring about the final result.
Specially effective, according to contemporary testimony, were his speeches against the Hanoverian subsidies, against the Spanish Convention in 1739, and in favour of the motion in 1742 for an investigation into the last ten years of Walpole's administration. In the speech against the Convention in the House of Commons on 8 March 1739 Pitt said:
When trade is at stake, it is your last entrenchment; you must defend it, or perish...Sir, Spain knows the consequence of a war in America; whoever gains, it must prove fatal to her...is this any longer a nation? Is this any longer an English Parliament, if with more ships in your harbours than in all the navies of Europe; with above two millions of people in your American colonies, you will bear to hear of the expediency of receiving from Spain an insecure, unsatisfactory, dishonourable Convention?[1]
The best-known specimen of Pitt's eloquence, his reply to the sneers of Horatio Walpole at his youth and declamatory manner, which has found a place in so many handbooks of elocution, is evidently, in form at least, the work, not of Pitt, but of Dr Johnson, who furnished the report to the Gentleman's Magazine. Probably Pitt did say something of the kind attributed to him, though even this is by no means certain in view of Johnson's repentant admission that he had often invented not merely the form, but the substance of entire debates.
In 1742, Walpole was at last forced to succumb to the long-continued attacks of opposition, and was succeeded as Prime Minister by Lord Wilmington, though the real power in the new government was divided between Lord Carteret and the Pelham brothers (Henry and Thomas, Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne). Pitt's conduct on the change of administration was open to grave censure. The relentless vindictiveness with which he insisted on the prosecution of Walpole, and supported the bill of indemnity to witnesses against the fallen minister, was in itself not magnanimous; but it appears positively unworthy when it is known that a short time before Pitt had offered, on certain conditions, to use all his influence in the other direction. Possibly, he was embittered at the time by the fact that, owing to the strong personal dislike of the king, caused chiefly by the contemptuous tone in which he had spoken of Hanover, he did not by obtaining a place in the new ministry reap the fruits of the victory to which he had so largely contributed.
The so-called "broad-bottom" administration formed by the Pelhams in 1744, after the dismissal of Carteret, though it included several of those with whom he had been accustomed to act, did not at first include Pitt himself even in a subordinate office. Before the obstacle to his admission was overcome, he had received a remarkable accession to his private fortune.

Pitt the Elder
When the Dowager Duchess of Marlborough died in 1744, at the age of eighty four, she left him a legacy of £10,000 as an "acknowledgment of the noble defence he had made for the support of the laws of England and to prevent the ruin of his country". As her hatred was known to be at least as strong as her love, the legacy was probably as much a mark of her detestation of Walpole as of her admiration of Pitt. It may be mentioned here, though it does not come in chronological order, that Pitt was a second time the object of a form of acknowledgment of public virtue which few statesmen have had the fortune to receive even once. About twenty years after the Marlborough legacy, Sir William Pynsent, a Somerset baronet to whom he was personally quite unknown, left him his entire estate, worth about three thousand a year, in testimony of approval of his political career.

[edit] Rise into government
It was with no very good grace that the king at length consented to give Pitt a place in the government, although the latter did all he could to ingratiate himself at court, by changing his tone on the questions on which he had made himself offensive. To force the matter, the Pelhams had to resign expressly on the question whether he should be admitted or not, and it was only after all other arrangements had proved impracticable, that they were reinstated with the obnoxious politician as vice-treasurer of Ireland. This was in February 1746.
In May of the same year, he was promoted to the more important and lucrative office of paymaster-general, which gave him a place in the privy council, though not in the cabinet. Here he had an opportunity of displaying his public spirit and integrity in a way that deeply impressed both the king and the country. It had been the usual practise of previous paymasters to appropriate to themselves the interest of all money lying in their hands by way of advance, and also to accept a commission of 1/2% on all foreign subsidies. Although there was no strong public sentiment against the practise, Pitt altogether refused to profit by it. All advances were lodged by him in the Bank of England until required, and all subsidies were paid over without deduction, even though it was pressed upon him, so that he did not draw a shilling from his office beyond the salary legally attaching to it. Conduct like this, though obviously disinterested, did not go without immediate and ample reward, in the public confidence which it created, and which formed the mainspring of Pitt's power as a statesman.
The administration formed in 1746 lasted without material change until 1754. It would appear from his published correspondence that Pitt had a greater influence in shaping its policy than his comparatively subordinate position would in itself have entitled him to. His conduct in supporting measures, such as the Spanish treaty and the continental subsidies, which he had violently denounced when in opposition, had been much criticized; but within certain limits, not indeed very well defined, inconsistency has never been counted a vice in an English statesman. The times change, and he is not blamed for changing with the times.
Pitt in office, looking back on the commencement of his public life, might have used the plea "A good deal has happened since then", at least as justly as some others have done. Allowance must always be made for the restraints and responsibilities of office. In Pitt's case, too, it is to be borne in mind that the opposition with which he had acted gradually dwindled away, and that it ceased to have any organized existence after the death of the prince of Wales in 1751. Then in regard to the important question with Spain as to the right of search, Pitt has disarmed criticism by acknowledging that the course he followed during Walpole's administration was indefensible.
All due weight being given to these various considerations, it must be admitted, nevertheless, that Pitt did overstep the limits within which inconsistency is usually regarded as venial. His one great object was first to gain office, and then to make his tenure of office secure by conciliating the favour of the king. The entire revolution which much of his policy underwent in order to effect this object bears too close a resemblance to the sudden and inexplicable changes of front habitual to placemen of the Tadpole stamp to be altogether pleasant to contemplate in a politician of pure aims and lofty ambition. Humiliating is not too strong a term to apply to a letter in which he expresses his desire to "efface the past by every action of his life", in order that he may stand well with the king.
In 1754, Henry Pelham died, and was succeeded at the head of affairs by his brother, the Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. To Pitt, the change brought no advancement, and he had thus an opportunity of testing the truth of the description of his chief given by Sir Robert Walpole, "His name is treason." But there was for a time no open breach. Pitt continued at his post; and at the general election which took place during the year he even accepted a nomination for the duke's pocket borough of Aldborough. He had sat for Seaford since 1747.
When parliament met, however, he was not long in showing the state of his feelings. Ignoring Sir Thomas Robinson, the political nobody to whom Newcastle had entrusted the management of the Commons, he made frequent and vehement attacks on Newcastle himself, though still continuing to serve under him. In this strange state matters continued for about a year. At length, just after the meeting of parliament in November 1751, Pitt was dismissed from office, having on the debate on the address spoken at great length against a new system of continental subsidies, proposed by the government of which he was a member. Henry Fox, who had just before been appointed Secretary of State, retained his place, and though the two men continued to be of the same party, and afterwards served again in the same government, there was henceforward a rivalry between them, which makes the celebrated opposition of their illustrious sons seem like an inherited quarrel.
Another year had scarcely passed when Pitt was again in power. The inherent weakness of the government, the vigour and eloquence of his opposition, and a series of military disasters abroad combined to rouse a public feeling of indignation which could not be withstood, and in December 1756, Pitt, who now sat for Okehampton, became Secretary of State for the Southern Department, and Leader of the House of Commons under the premiership of the Duke of Devonshire. Upon entering this coalition, Pitt said to Devonshire: "My Lord, I am sure I can save this country, and no one else can".[2]
He had made it a condition of his joining any administration that Newcastle should be excluded from it, thus showing a resentment which, though natural enough, proved fatal to the lengthened existence of his government. With the king unfriendly, and Newcastle, whose corrupt influence was still dominant in the Commons, estranged, it was impossible to carry on a government by the aid of public opinion alone, however emphatically that might have declared itself on his side. The historian Basil Williams has claimed that this is the first time in British history when a "man was called to supreme power by the voice of the people" rather than by the king's appointment or as the choice of Parliament.[3]
In April 1757, accordingly, he found himself again dismissed from office on account of his opposition to the king's favourite continental policy. But the power that was insufficient to keep him in office was strong enough to make any arrangement that excluded him impracticable. The public voice spoke in a way that was not to be mistaken. Probably no English minister ever received in so short a time so many proofs of the confidence and admiration of the public, the capital and all the chief towns voting him addresses and the freedom of their corporations (e.g., London presented him with the first ever honorary Freedom of the City awarded in history). Horace Walpole recorded the freedoms of various cities awarded to Pitt:
For some weeks it rained gold boxes: Chester, Worcester, Norwich, Bedford, Salisbury, Yarmouth, Tewkesbury, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Stirling, and other populous and chief towns following the example. Exeter, with singular affection, sent boxes of oak.[4]
From the political deadlock that ensued relief could only be had by an arrangement between Newcastle and Pitt (called "Broad Bottom Government").
After some weeks' negotiation, in the course of which the firmness and moderation of "The Great Commoner", as he had come to be called, contrasted favourably with the characteristic tortuosities of the crafty peer, matters were settled on such a basis that, while Newcastle was the nominal, Pitt was the virtual head of the government. On his acceptance of office, he was chosen member for Bath.

[edit] The Newcastle and Pitt ministry
A coalition with Newcastle was formed in June 1757, and continued in power until 1761. During the four years of its existence, it has been usual to say that the biography of Pitt is the history of England, so thoroughly was he identified with the events which make this period, insofar as the external relations of the country are concerned, one of the most successful from the imperial point of view. A detailed account of these events belongs to history; all that is needed in a biography is to point out the extent to which Pitt's personal influence may really be traced in them.
It is scarcely too much to say that, in the general opinion of his contemporaries, the whole glory of these years was due to his single genius; his alone was the mind that planned, and his the spirit that animated the brilliant achievements of the British arms in all the four quarters of the globe. The London Magazine of 1766 offered 'Pitt, Pompadour, Prussia, Providence' as the reasons for Britain's success in the Seven Years' War. Posterity, indeed, has been able to recognize more fully the independent genius of those who carried out his purposes. The heroism of James Wolfe would have been irrepressible, Clive would have proved himself "a heaven-born general", and Frederick the Great would have written his name in history as one of the most skillful strategists the world has known, whoever had held the seals of office in England.
But Pitt's relation to all three was such as to entitle him to a large share in the credit of their deeds. He inspired trust in his chosen commanders by his indifference to rules of seniority — several of 'Pitt's boys', like Keppel, captor of Gorée, were in their thirties — and by his clear orders. It was his discernment that selected Wolfe to lead the attack on Quebec, and gave him the opportunity of dying a victor on the heights of Abraham. He had personally less to do with the successes in India than with the other great enterprises that shed an undying lustre on his administration; but his generous praise in parliament stimulated the genius of Clive, and the forces that acted at the close of the struggle were animated by his indomitable spirit.
Pitt's particular genius was to finance an army on the continent to drain French men and resources so that Britain might concentrate on what he held to be the vital spheres: Canada and the West Indies; whilst Clive successfully defeated Siraj Ud Daulah, (the last independent Nawab of Bengal) at Plassey (1757), securing India. The Continental campaign was carried on by Cumberland, defeated at Klosterzeven (1757) and thereafter by Ferdinand of Brunswick, later victor at Minden; Britain's Continental campaign had two major strands firstly subsidising allies, particularly Frederick the Great and second financing an army to divert French resources from the colonial war and to also defend Hanover (which was the territory of the Kings of England at this time)
Pitt, the first real Imperialist in modern English history, was the directing mind in the expansion of his country, and with him the beginning of empire is rightly associated. The Seven Years' War might well, moreover, have been another Thirty Years' War if Pitt had not furnished Frederick with an annual subsidy of £700,000, and in addition relieved him of the task of defending western Germany against France: this was the policy that allowed Pitt to boast of having 'won Canada on the banks of the Rhine'.
Contemporary opinion was, of course, incompetent to estimate the permanent results gained for the country by the brilliant foreign policy of Pitt. It has long been generally agreed that by several of his most costly expeditions nothing was really won but glory: the policy of diversionary attacks on places like Rochefort was memorably described as 'breaking windows with gold guineas'. It has even been said that the only permanent acquisition that England owed directly to him was her Canadian dominion; and, strictly speaking, this is true, it being admitted that the campaign by which the Indian empire was virtually won was not planned by him, though brought to a successful issue during his ministry.
But material aggrandisement, though the only tangible, is not the only real or lasting effect of a war policy. More may be gained by crushing a formidable rival than by conquering a province. The loss of her Canadian possessions was only one of a series of disasters suffered by France, which included the victories at sea of Boscawen at Lagos and Hawke at Quiberon Bay. Such defeats radically affected the future of Europe and the world. Deprived of her most valuable colonies both in the East and in the West, and thoroughly defeated on the continent, France's humiliation was the beginning of a new epoch in history.
The victorious policy of Pitt destroyed the military prestige which repeated experience has shown to be in France as in no other country the very life of monarchy, and thus was not the least of the influences that slowly brought about the French Revolution. It effectually deprived France of the lead in the councils of Europe which she had hitherto arrogated to herself, and so affected the whole course of continental politics. It is such far-reaching results as these, and not the mere acquisition of a single colony, however valuable, that constitute Pitt's claim to be considered as the most powerful minister that ever guided the foreign policy of England.

[edit] The dissolution of the ministry
The first and most important of a series of changes which ultimately led to the dissolution of the ministry was the death of George II on 25 October 1760, and the accession of his grandson, George III. The new king was inclined to view politics in personal terms and taught to believe that 'Pitt had the blackest of hearts'. As was natural, the new king had counsellors of his own, the chief of whom, Lord Bute, was at once admitted to the cabinet as a secretary of state. Between Bute and Pitt there speedily arose an occasion of serious difference.
The existence of the so-called family compact by which the Bourbons of France and Spain bound themselves in an offensive alliance against England was suspected, and Pitt urged that it should be met by a pre-emptive strike against Spain's navy and her colonies. To this course Bute would not consent, and as his refusal was endorsed by all his colleagues save Temple, Pitt had no choice but to leave a cabinet in which his advice on a vital question had been rejected: "Being responsible, I will direct, and will be responsible for nothing that I do not direct."
On his resignation, which took place in October 1761, the King urged him to accept some signal mark of royal favour in the form most agreeable to himself. Accordingly he obtained a pension of £3000 a year for three lives, and his wife, Lady Hester Grenville, whom he had married in 1754, was created Baroness Chatham in her own right. Pitt's domestic life was happy.
Pitt's spirit was too lofty to admit of his entering on any merely factious opposition to the government he had quit. On the contrary, his conduct after his retirement was distinguished by a moderation and disinterestedness which, as Burke has remarked, "set a seal upon his character." The war with Spain, in which he had urged the cabinet to take the initiative, proved inevitable; but he scorned to use the occasion for "altercation and recrimination", and spoke in support of the government measures for carrying on the war.
To the preliminaries of the peace concluded in February 1763 he offered an indignant resistance, considering the terms quite inadequate to the successes that had been gained by the country. When the treaty was discussed in parliament in December of the preceding year, though suffering from a severe attack of gout, he was carried down to the House, and in a speech of three hours' duration, interrupted more than once by paroxysms of pain, he strongly protested against its various conditions. These conditions included the return of the sugar islands (but Britain retained Dominica); trading stations in West Africa (won by Boscawen); Pondicherry, (France's Indian colony); and fishing rights in Newfoundland. Pitt's opposition arose through two heads: France had been given the means to become once more formidable at sea, whilst Frederick had been betrayed.
However, there were strong reasons for concluding the peace: the National Debt had increased from £74.5m. in 1755 to £133.25m. in 1763, the year of the peace. The requirement to pay down this debt, and the lack of French threat in Canada, were major movers in the subsequent American War of Independence.
The physical cause which rendered this effort so painful probably accounts for the infrequency of his appearances in parliament, as well as for much that is otherwise inexplicable in his subsequent conduct. In 1763 he spoke against the obnoxious tax on cider, imposed by his brother-in-law, George Grenville, and his opposition, though unsuccessful in the House, helped to keep alive his popularity with the country, which cordially hated the excise and all connected with it. When next year the question of general warrants was raised in connexion with the case of Wilkes, Pitt vigorously maintained their illegality, thus defending at once the privileges of Parliament and the freedom of the press.
During 1765 he seems to have been totally incapacitated for public business. In the following year he supported with great power the proposal of the Rockingham administration for the repeal of the American Stamp Act, arguing that it was unconstitutional to impose taxes upon the colonies. He thus endorsed the contention of the colonists on the ground of principle, while the majority of those who acted with him contented themselves with resisting the disastrous taxation scheme on the ground of expediency.
The Repeal Act, indeed, was only passed pari passu with another censuring the American assemblies, and declaring the authority of the British parliament over the colonies "in all cases whatsoever"; so that the House of Commons repudiated in the most formal manner the principle Pitt laid down. His language in approval of the resistance of the colonists was unusually bold, and perhaps no one but himself could have employed it with impunity at a time when the freedom of debate was only imperfectly conceded.
Pitt had not been long out of office when he was solicited to return to it, and the solicitations were more than once renewed. Unsuccessful overtures were made to him in 1763, and twice in 1765, in May and June - the negotiator in May being the king's uncle, the Duke of Cumberland, who went down in person to Hayes, Pitt's seat in Kent. It is known that he had the opportunity of joining the Marquis of Rockingham's short-lived administration at any time on his own terms, and his conduct in declining an arrangement with that minister has been more generally condemned than any other step in his public life.

[edit] The Chatham administration
Main article: Pitt Ministry
In July 1766 Rockingham was dismissed, and Pitt was entrusted by the King with the task of forming a government entirely on his own conditions. The result was a cabinet, strong much beyond the average in its individual members, but weak to powerlessness in the diversity of its composition. Burke, in a memorable passage of a memorable speech, has described this "chequered and speckled" administration with great humour, speaking of it as "patriots and courtiers, King's friends and republicans; Whigs and Tories...indeed a very curious show, but utterly unsafe to touch and unsure to stand on." Pitt chose for himself the office of Lord Privy Seal, which necessitated his removal to the House of Lords; and in August he became Earl of Chatham and Viscount Pitt.
His principle, 'measures not men', appealed to the King whom he proposed to serve by 'destroying all party distinctions'. The problems which faced the government he seemed specially fitted to tackle: the observance of the Treaty of Paris by France and Spain, tension between American colonists and the mother country, the status of the East India Company. Choosing for himself freedom from the routines of office, as Lord Privy Seal he made appointments without regard for connections but perceived merit. Charles Townshend to the Exchequer, Shelburne as Secretary of State, to order American affairs. He set about his duties with tempestuous energy. Yet in October 1768 he resigned after a catastrophic ministry, leaving such leadership as he could give to Grafton, his First Lord of the Treasury. What had gone wrong?
By the acceptance of a peerage, the great commoner lost at least as much and as suddenly in popularity as he gained in dignity. One significant indication of this may be mentioned. In view of his probable accession to power, preparations were made in the City of London for a banquet and a general illumination to celebrate the event. But the celebration was at once countermanded when it was known that he had become Earl of Chatham. The instantaneous revulsion of public feeling was somewhat unreasonable, for Pitt's health seems now to have been beyond doubt so shattered by his hereditary malady, that he was already in old age though only fifty-eight. It was natural, therefore, that he should choose a sinecure office, and the ease of the Lords. But a popular idol nearly always suffers by removal from immediate contact with the popular sympathy, be the motives for removal what they may.
One of the earliest acts of the new ministry was to lay an embargo upon corn, which was thought necessary in order to prevent a dearth resulting from the unprecedented bad harvest of 1766. The measure was strongly opposed, and Lord Chatham delivered his first speech in the House of Lords in support of it. It proved to be almost the only measure introduced by his government in which he personally interested himself.
In 1767, Townshend produced the duties on tea, glass and paper, so offensive to the American colonists whom Chatham thought he understood.
His attention had been directed to the growing importance of the affairs of India, and there is evidence in his correspondence that he was meditating a comprehensive scheme for transferring much of the power of the East India Company to the crown, when he was withdrawn from public business in a manner that has always been regarded as somewhat mysterious. It may be questioned, indeed, whether even had his powers been unimpaired he could have carried out any decided policy on any question with a cabinet representing interests so various and conflicting; but, as it happened, he was incapacitated physically and mentally during nearly the whole period of his tenure of office.
He scarcely ever saw any of his colleagues though they repeatedly and urgently pressed for interviews with him, and even an offer from the king to visit him in person was declined, though in the language of profound and almost abject respect which always marked his communications with the court. It has been insinuated both by contemporary and by later critics that being disappointed at his loss of popularity, and convinced of the impossibility of co-operating with his colleagues, he exaggerated his malady as a pretext for the inaction that was forced upon him by circumstances.
But there is no sufficient reason to doubt that he was really, as his friends represented, in a state that utterly unfitted him for business. He seems to have been freed for a time from the pangs of gout only to be afflicted with a species of mental alienation bordering on insanity. This is the most satisfactory, as it is the most obvious, explanation of his utter indifference in presence of one of the most momentous problems that ever pressed for solution on an English statesman.
Those who are able to read the history in the light of what occurred later may perhaps be convinced that no policy whatever initiated, after 1766 could have prevented or even materially delayed the United States Declaration of Independence; but to the politicians of that time the coming event had not yet cast so dark a shadow before as to paralyse all action, and if any man could have allayed the growing discontent of the colonists and prevented the ultimate dismemberment of the empire, it would have been Lord Chatham.
The fact that he not only did nothing to remove existing difficulties, but remained passive while his colleagues took the fatal step which led directly to separation, is in itself clear proof of his entire incapacity. The imposition of the import duty on tea and other commodities was the project of Charles Townshend, and was carried into effect in 1767 without consultation with Lord Chatham, if not in opposition to his wishes. It is probably the most singular thing in connexion with this singular administration, that its most pregnant measure should thus have been one directly opposed to the well-known principles of its head.
For many months, things remained in the curious position that he who was understood to be the head of the cabinet had as little share in the government of the country as an unenfranchised peasant. As the chief could not or would not lead, the subordinates naturally chose their own paths and not his. The lines of Chatham's policy were abandoned in other cases besides the imposition of the import duty; his opponents were taken into confidence; and friends, such as Amherst and Shelburne, were dismissed from their posts. When at length in October 1768 he tendered his resignation on the ground of shattered health, he did not fail to mention the dismissal of Amherst and Shelburne as a personal grievance.

[edit] Later life

Arms of the Pitt family. Note that his family's coat of arms forms the template for that of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Soon after his resignation a renewed attack of gout freed Chatham from the mental disease under which he had so long suffered. He had been nearly two years and a half in seclusion when, in July 1769, he again appeared in public at a royal levee. It was not, however, until 1770 that he resumed his seat in the House of Lords.
As he realised the gravity of the American situation, Chatham re-entered the fray, declaring that 'he would be in earnest for the public' and 'a scarecrow of violence to the gentler warblers of the grove'. They, moderate Whigs, found a prophet in Edmund Burke, who wrote of Chatham that he wanted 'to keep hovering in the air, above all parties, and to swoop down where the prey may prove best'. Such was Grafton, victim of Chatham's swift swoop on behalf of 'Wilkes and Liberty'. Pitt had not lost his nose for the big issue, the smell of injustice, a threat to the liberty of subjects. But Grafton was followed by North, and Chatham went off to farm, his cows typically housed in palatial stalls.
Chatham's warnings on America went unregarded until the eve of war. Then brave efforts to present his case, passionate, deeply pondered, for the concession of fundamental liberties - no taxation without consent, independent judges, trial by jury, along with the recognition of the American Continental Congress - foundered on the ignorance and complacency of Parliament. In his last years he found again words to express the concern for the rights of British subjects which had been constant among the inconsistencies of his political dealings. In January 1775. The House of Lords rejected his Bill for reconciliation. After war had broken out, he warned that America could not be conquered.

The Collapse of the Earl of Chatham in the House of Lords, 7 July 1778. Painting by John Singleton Copley, 1779-80.
He had now almost no personal following, mainly owing to the grave mistake he had made in not forming an alliance with the Rockingham party. But his eloquence was as powerful as ever, and all its power was directed against the government policy in the contest with America, which had become the question of all-absorbing interest. His last appearance in the House of Lords was on 7 April 1778, on the occasion of the Duke of Richmond's motion for an address praying the king to conclude peace with America on any terms.
In view of the hostile demonstrations of France the various parties had come generally to see the necessity of such a measure. But Chatham could not brook the thought of a step which implied submission to the "natural enemy" whom it had been the main object of his life to humble, and he declaimed for a considerable time, though with diminished vigour, against the motion. After the Duke of Richmond had replied, he rose again excitedly as if to speak, pressed his hand upon his breast, and fell down in a fit. His last words before he collapsed were: 'My Lords, any state is better than despair; if we must fall, let us fall like men.' James Harris MP, however, recorded that Lord Nugent had told him that Chatham's last words in the Lords were: 'If the Americans defend independence, they shall find me in their way' and that his very last words (spoken to his son) were: 'Leave your dying father, and go to the defence of your country'.[5]
He was removed to his seat at Hayes, where his son William read Homer to him: the passage about the death of Hector. Chatham died on 11 May 1778. Although he was initially buried at Hayes, with graceful unanimity all parties combined to show their sense of the national loss and the Commons presented an address to the king praying that the deceased statesman might be buried with the honours of a public funeral. A sum was voted for a public monument which was erected over a new grave in Westminster Abbey. In the Guildhall Burke's inscription summed up what he had meant to the City: he was 'the minister by whom commerce was united with and made to flourish by war'. Soon after the funeral a bill was passed bestowing a pension of £4,000 a year on his successors in the earldom. He had a family of three sons and two daughters, of whom the second son, William, was destined to add fresh lustre to a name which is one of the greatest in the history of England.

[edit] Legacy
Dr. Johnson is reported to have said that "Walpole was a minister given by the king to the people, but Pitt was a minister given by the people to the king", and the remark correctly indicates Chatham's distinctive place among English statesmen. He was the first minister whose main strength lay in the support of the nation at large as distinct from its representatives in the Commons, where his personal following was always small. He was the first to discern that public opinion, though generally slow to form and slow to act, is in the end the paramount power in the state; and he was the first to use it not in an emergency merely, but throughout a whole political career.
He marks the commencement of that vast change in the movement of English politics by which it has come about that the sentiment of the great mass of the people now tells effectively on the action of the government from day to day–almost from hour to hour. He was well fitted to secure the sympathy and admiration of his countrymen, for his virtues and his failings were alike English. He was often inconsistent, he was generally intractable and overbearing, and he was always pompous and affected to a degree which, Macaulay has remarked, seems scarcely compatible with true greatness.
Of the last quality evidence is furnished in the stilted style of his letters, and in the fact recorded by Seward that he never permitted his under-secretaries to sit in his presence. Burke speaks of "some significant, pompous, creeping, explanatory, ambiguous matter, in the true Chathamic style." But these defects were known only to the inner circle of his associates.
To the outside public he was endeared as a statesman who could do or suffer "nothing base", and who had the rare power of transfusing his own indomitable energy and courage into all who served under him. "A spirited foreign policy" has always been popular in England, and Pitt was the most popular of English ministers, because he was the most successful exponent of such a policy. In domestic affairs his influence was small and almost entirely indirect. He himself confessed his unfitness for dealing with questions of finance. The commercial prosperity that was produced by his war policy was in a great part delusive, as prosperity so produced must always be, though it had permanent effects of the highest moment in the rise of such centres of industry as Glasgow. This, however, was a remote result which he could have neither intended nor foreseen.
Historians have described Pitt as "the greatest British statesman of the eighteenth century."[6]

[edit] Family and personal life
Pitt married Lady Hester Grenville (bef. 1727-3 April 1803), daughter of the 1st Countess Temple, on 16 October 1754. They had five children; Hester, Harriet, John, William and James:
Lady Hester Pitt (19 October 1755-20 July 1780), who married Viscount Mahon, later the 3rd Earl Stanhope, on 19 December 1774; three children, including the traveler and Arabist Lady Hester Stanhope.
John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham (1756–1835), who married The Hon. Mary Townshend; no issue.
William Pitt the Younger (1759–1806), who also served as Prime Minister; he never married.
Lady Harriet Pitt (bef. 1770–1786), who married The Hon. Edward James Eliot, oldest son of the 1st Baron Eliot, in 1785; one child.

[edit] Titles from birth to death
Mr. William Pitt (1708–1735)
Mr. William Pitt, MP (1735–1746)
The Rt. Hon. William Pitt, MP (1746–1766)
The Rt. Hon. The Earl of Chatham, PC (1766–1778)

[edit] See also
Grenvillite

[edit] References
After British General John Forbes occupied Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War, he ordered the site's reconstruction and named it after then-Secretary of State Pitt. He also named the settlement between the rivers "Pittsborough", which would eventually become known as Pittsburgh.
The correspondence of Lord Chatham, in four volumes, was published in 1838–1840; and a volume of his letters to Lord Camelford in 1804. The Rev. Francis Thackeray's History of the Rt. Hon. William Pitt, Earl of Chatham (2 vols., 1827), is a ponderous and shapeless work. Frederic Harrison's Chatham, in the "Twelve English Statesmen" series (1905), though skillfully executed, takes a rather academic and modern Liberal view. A German work, William Pitt, Graf von Chatham, by Albert von Ruville (3 vols., 1905; English trans. 1907), is the best and most thorough account of Chatham, his period, and his policy, which has appeared. See also the separate article on William Pitt, and the authorities referred to, especially the Rev. William Hunt's appendix i. to his vol. x. of The Political History of England (1905).
Barney Gumble and Wade Boggs discuss England's greatest Prime Ministers in a third season episode of "The Simpsons" entitled Homer at the Bat. In their heated discussion, Wade Boggs promotes Pitt the Elder, and Barney Gumble promotes Lord Palmerston. The scene ends with Barney punching out both Wade Boggs and Moe Szyslak, who he mistakenly believes also promotes Pitt the Elder.