Good morning,
Quote of the day:
"Life is partially what we make of it, and partially what is made of it by the friends we choose."
Anonymous
Back in the 1740's Long Cane creek was the buffer between the British colonies and the Cherokee nation. This landmark is roughly 7 miles north of present day McCormick, South Carolina near the small town of Troy. The British used this landmark to persuade the Cherokees to drive the French settlers west of this creek. After the French were driven out, a parcel of land was given as a land grant by the King of England to be used by English and Irish settlers, mostly the Calhoun, Norris, and Pickens extended families. A settlement was established on the banks of Long Cane creek. The Cherokees were not pleased. They thought the act of driving out the French would secure their borders, they were wrong. A series of harassment raids on the settlement led to about 150 settlers giving up. They packed up their oxcarts and headed to Augusta, Georgia to get away from the fierce Cherokees. They had gone just a few miles when they were bogged down fording a creek, then a Cherokee raiding party of about 100 mounted warriors fell upon them. There were about 40 mature males among the settlers but their weapons were packed in the oxcarts. 26 of the settlers were killed outright, 68 were captured and nothing was ever found about them to this day. Several adolescents ran into the woods and escaped to be rescued a week or two later. One 5 year old girl name Anne Calhoun was kidnapped and lived with the Cherokees for 12 years before being released. She was able to marry a settler and spent the rest of her days with her husband in the Augusta, Georgia area. One of the survivors of this massacre was 17 year old Andrew Pickens. This man started a war of vengeance against the Cherokees that was unmatched in ferocity and brutality . Andrew Pickens later on became a much heralded Revolutionary War hero. The Pickens name is well know in northwestern South Carolina if not the entire 13 original colonies.
Over in rural Lancaster County, South Carolina there had been a long simmering family feud. On Christmas night it all came to a head when 33 year old Ronnie Wallace was attacked by four other men wielding sticks and 2 X 4's. The blows were effective and Ronnie was killed. The police ran down two of the attackers and the other two turned themselves in....Peace on earth and goodwill toward men.
Over in Cowpens, South Carolina a 30 year old man got in an argument with his 70 year old mother. He finally grabbed her by her wrists and threw her on her bed whereupon Mom unlimbered a .357 Mag and shot her boy in the hind leg. The boy is taken to the local hospital with the cops patting their feet waiting for him to be released. He was eventually released and the cops immediately arrested him and he is at this moment cooling his heels in the joint. Peace on Earth..........
Good news:
Back in 2006 Cassy Rivera from New York City noticed a blurriness in her right eye and soon thereafter in her left eye. A while later she was totally blind. She never saw her child that was born soon after she went blind. The doctors told her that there was a very risky operation for her disease but the cost was $57,000. She found out that her Medicaid would only pay for half of the cost. Her condition was made known to a famous eye surgeon. He went for a visit to Cassy and offered to give her the operation and his clinic would spring for whatever Medicaid would not cover. The day before Christmas the doctor slowly took off the gauze from around her eyes. Cassy held her eyes closed for at least 10 minutes afraid of what she would see...or not see. She finally opened her eyes and let out a scream heard in Yonkers. She could see. Waiting for her in the waiting room was her two year old daughter that she had never seen and the rest of her family. She grabbed her little girls face and they stared into each others eyes. Cassy said that this is the greatest present anyone could ever get...I agree...Peace on Earth and good will toward men.
This date in history December 30
1916 Earlier Czar Nicholas of Russia and his wife the Czarina Alexandra fell under the spell of a holy man named Rasputin. The Czar and Czarina had a son that was a hemophiliac and had suffered a cut and no one could stop the bleeding. Rasputin was called and somehow he was able to stop the bleeding and saved the boy’s life. From this time on Rasputin was in favor with the royal family. In addition to being a holy man, Rasputin was known to be a heavy drinker and skank chaser. Well, the best possible thing happened for Rasputin. Czar Nicholas was called away to a foreign war. This left the Czarina in control of Russia and Rasputin in charge of her. Eventually the other member of royalty got fed up with Rasputin and decided to cap this bastard. A group of them invited Rasputin to dinner in a fancy mansion. What Rasputin did not know was that his food and drink had been heavily poisoned but he swallowed everything with great relish with no apparent ill effects so they shot him. Rasputin falls and as the other try to drag him out of the room, Rasputin gets up and knocks one of them out and then runs outside trying to escape. He was shot once again and fell face down. The others jump on top of him, tied his hands and feet and threw him in a near freezing river never to be seen again. The Czarina was heartbroken at the loss of her lover but the Czar was ecstatic.
1853 Earlier the United States Secretary of War under Franklin Pearce, Jefferson Davis (later to become the President of the Confederate States of America) sent the Ambassador to Mexico named James Gadsden to visit with the President of Mexico, General Santa Ana. Gadsden’s job was to settle the squabbles the United States had been having with Mexico about the lands in the southwestern area of the present day United States. Gadsden and Santa Ana set down with a map and drew up a new border for northern Mexico and the southwestern United States that formed the area known as the Gadsden Purchase and that map became the present day southern border of Arizona and New Mexico. We offered Santa Ana $12 million that was later lowered to $10 million. The United States felt that this strip of land was vital for the development of a transcontinental railroad. In 1861 the “big four” in railroading, Collis Huntington, Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins and Charles Crocker got together and decided that a railroad was to be built on the newly acquired land and make it a branch of the Central Pacific Railroad known later as the immortal Southern Pacific Railroad.
1862 Earlier the United States ironclad U.S.S. Monitor had dueled with the Confederate ironclad C.S.S. Virginia (originally known as the Merrimac) on the James River near Hampton Roads. They battled to a draw but this duel signaled the end of wooden warships. The Monitor was used also to support U.S. General George B. McClellan’s ill fated Peninsular Campaign. The Monitor was effective in the relatively clam waters of bays and rivers, but it was decided that it would be very effective in the attempt to capture the city of Charleston, South Carolina so they started towing it down the east coast with the side wheeler U.S.S. Rhode Island. Very early on the Monitor started leaking around its turret but the onboard pumps were adequate to keep her afloat. Then they ran across a storm near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina and the leaks got worse to the point that the pumps were overcome and the Monitor began sinking. On this date Captain Bankhead of the Monitor signaled the Rhode Island that they were going to abandon ship so the Rhode Island pulled as close as safety allowed and started taking aboard the crew of the Monitor. But there were 16 sailors aboard the Monitor that were not about to get up on the pitching deck of the Monitor and they went to the bottom with the Monitor. A few years ago the remains of the Monitor was located and photographed.
1803 One of the most important but least known Patriots in America dies on this date. Francis Lewis was born in Llandaff, Wales and immigrated to the colonies when he was 22. He started a very lucrative business supplying provisions to the British army in the colonies. He was an aide to General Hugh Mercer during the Seven Years War and was captured by the Oswego Indians and sent to France as a prisoner of war. Upon his return he was granted 3,000 acres by the New York Government as a reward for his services. In 1765 he sold his mercantile business and retired to Whitestone, Long Island. His retirement gave him a lot of time to get involved in the Revolution. He was a member of Congress, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, a member of those wild and crazy guys, the Sons of Liberty who made themselves famous at the Boston Tea Party. He served as a member of the Continental Congress until 1779 when he resigned and became a commissioner of the Board of the Admiralty. His patriotism came at a tall price, however. In 1776 the British destroyed his estate on Long Island and captured his wife and kept her as a prisoner of war. The problem with this was that George Washington had no British women to trade for Mrs. Lewis. It was reported that the British kept her without a change of clothes or a bath for some time and it affected her health. The destruction of his estate adversely affected Francis Lewis financially from which he never recovered completely. The time his wife spent as a prisoner of war affected her health to a point that she never completely recovered.
Born today:
1822 US theologian William Alger. He said “A man makes up in wrath what he lacks in reason.” That is a deep truth, ya’ll.
1895 English writer L.P. Hartley He said “Memory is a foreign country, they do things differently there.” Indeed they do.
1982 Canadian actress Kristin Kreuk. She said “Just because I don’t do bad things does not mean that I don’t have bad thoughts.” I have bad thoughts all the time, Kristin.
Died today:
1970 US Boxer Sonny Liston. He said “Newspaper men ask dumb questions. They squint at the sun and ask if it is shining.” Sonny was not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
2003 US writer John Dunne. He said “Writing is like hard labor of the mind, like laying pipe.” I am going to let this one alone.
2006 Iraqi despot Saddam Hussein. After he was caught he said “If you want to execute me, I will bring my own f---k---g rope.” He did not have to, the US provided one.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
"There is one outstanding fact about Spaceship Earth, it did not come with an instruction book."
Buckminster Fuller
Two weeks ago two men launched a boat in Baldwin County, Alabama to go squirrel hunting in the Tensaw/Mobile river delta. I have launched at that very same ramp to go fly fishing for bream and bass in the branches of the Tensaw River. The water in that area is like you might suspect it is smooth, languid and black with tannin. It reminds you of the Okefenokee swamp. In short, it is nearly impenetrable jungle if you get out of the boat. These two squirrel hunters never returned from their trip and not a scrap of them was ever found, not even the boat. It is unlikely they will ever be found because if they are dead the damp and fetid air would promote decomposition. Not only that there are black bears and alligators and various other predators and parasites throughout the area. Not only that, if one or both of them wanted to disappear off the face of the earth that would be a top notch place for the trail to end.
Along those lines, many years ago while Lake Hartwell on the South Carolina/Georgia border was filling up after the dam was closed, there were a few homesites that were partially underwater and were magnets to SCUBA divers and snorkelers. A group of divers were taken to one of the homesites to explore. One of the divers was in serious financial trouble. The home site was on the top of a hill that was partially submerged and when the divers went over the side, this man in financial trouble swan around to the opposite side of the hill and got aboard a waiting boat and off he went. Later on the dive master did a head count and discovered that he had a missing diver. An extensive search was initiated but nothing was found. Near to the homesite was a section of the lake that went down to 160 feet. It was reasoned that if the diver had got into trouble and drowned over that spot they would never find him since he had a weight belt on. The local law enforcement was not satisfied and they kept up the search. It took a couple of years but the man was found by tracking his SSN and profession. It was a good plan but he was nailed.
The indigenous peoples of North America (Indians) have begun to buy up huge tracts of land and donating it to the Federal Land Trust. This means the land cannot be build upon nor even homesteaded. The Indians want to keep some of the lands that their ancestors lived on before it was stolen from them by the US Government by treaties us honkies never honored. The Indians have been waiting patiently for us to do the honorable thing but it has never happened so they are doing it on their own. It is mostly the Winnebagos, Pawnee, Cheyenne, Rosebud Sioux and Nez Perce but there are others involved. It seems that the Indians are using the profits from their casinos to buy these lands so that makes us honkies paying for the Indians to recover that lands that were theirs in the first place. God works in mysterious ways.
The Good News section below mentions the town of Six Mile, SC. Here is the legend that brought about that name.
Before and during the American Revolutionary War there was a large Cherokee village in northwestern South Carolina named Keowee. There was a Cherokee princess that lived in the village named Isaqueena. This princess had a British soldier as a boy friend and she learned that the local mititia was planning an attack on Star Fort located ninety-six miles south-southwest of Keowee. Her boyfriend was stationed at that fort. One night Isaqueena mounted a horse and rode to Star Fort to warn her lover of the attack. The route she took is known to this day as The Isaqueena Trail. The trail is marked by distances from Keowee. There is the town of Six Mile, 12 mile creek, 18 mile Creek, 23 mile creek, 26 mile creek, etc. and the location of the Star Fort is known to this day as Ninety-Six, SC. Supposedly Isaqueena was able to arrive ahead of the militia and the British soldiers were prepared for the attack. This is just a legend but these landmarks got their names somehow.
Good news:
There is a good story about a man that really cares about his neighborhood. Aaron Smith has deeply involved himself into his community affairs in the small town of Six Mile, South Carolina. Six Mile is almost as far as you can go in northwestern South Carolina without being in North Carolina or Tennessee. It is also the location of one of South Carolina's nuclear power plants. This man recently won a run off election for a seat on the Six Mile city council. This not the first foray into politics for Aaron. He has already served his community on the city planning commission, he is a member of the Six Mile Volunteer Fire Department and is involved with the city of Seneca, South Carolina Sheriff's Explorer Program. He is attending Tri-County Tech taking a course in mechanical design and plans to attend Clemson and take courses that will make him an architect. Aaron is 18 years old.
This date in history December 29
1778 On this date British Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell and an army of between 2,500 and 3,600 launched a surprise attack on the city of Savannah , Georgia . Included in the army were the 71st Highlanders, some New York Loyalists and a group of Hessian mercenaries. Savannah was defended by Patriot Major General Robert Howe and a rag tag army of 650-900 infantrymen. Howe saw that he did not have a chance and ordered the evacuation of the city then he ordered the withdrawal of the Patriot troops. The Georgia Brigade was cut off and nearly annihilated with the killing of 83 and the capture of 483. After the completion of the withdrawal the British had suffered 3 killed and 10 wounded. The British occupied Savannah and left only because they wanted to in July of 1782. The majority of the residents of Savannah were Loyalists anyway making their occupation much easier. The Patriots tried to kick the British out of Savannah once in 1779 when they established a siege but it didn’t work so the Patriots said to hell with it and just sealed off the city so no one came or sent except by sea. What was peculiar was that Savannah was a hotbed of Loyalists (Colonists loyal to the King of England) in fact; the entire state of Georgia was more than 50% Loyalist. That is really peculiar because right next door in South Carolina was full of firebrands for independence from Great Britain . Maybe ya’ll don’t know the reason why there is a Georgia in the first place. The state of Georgia was formed by England at the behest of the wealthy plantation owners in South Carolina to be a buffer between their plantations and the bloodthirsty Spanish slave traders coming up from Spanish-owned Florida. This meant that the people that settled in Georgia were owing to the British crown for the lands that were given to them. I suppose that is where the Loyalist syndrome came from. It sucked, in any event.
1890 On this date one of the most damnable acts ever committed by the US Army happened. The plains Indians had been vanquished and sent to reservations, especially the fiery Lakota Sioux. The last remnants of this once proud and independent tribe were sent to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota . Due to the corruptness of the US officials, the Sioux on the reservation were not getting the food that was promised to them and starvation was staring them in the face not to mention the abominable living conditions. The killing of the chief medicine man, Sitting Bull, further inflamed the situation. Before he died, Sitting Bull had told his follower that if they resurrected the ritual of the Ghost Dance, they could regain their strength and power that they had in the past. So the ritual of the Ghost Dance was begun. This ritual would not have made any difference but it did give the Sioux the hope and belief that they could prevail therefore the Ghost Dance was forbidden by the US authorities. On this date, on the banks of Wounded Knee Creek, a group of Sioux were doing the Ghost Dance when a group of US Cavalry shows up to try to put a stop to it. During the confrontation a cavalryman and an Indian get into a scuffle and a shot was fired. No one knows who fired the shot but immediately the cavalrymen opened fire and in a matter of seconds 146 Lakota Sioux were dead more than half were women and children. This Massacre at Wounded Knee is the last armed conflict between the US army and Native Americans. There is a book titled Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee authored by Dee Brown that all should read; I promise you it will give you pause about what we Americans are all about.
1170 Earlier Henry II had seen to it that Thomas Becket was made the Archbishop of Canterbury in the hope that Becket would help him get the church out of state business. But almost as soon as Becket assumed the position, he said that he supported the Church taking part in state business. There were several heated conversations between Henry and Thomas but with no resolution to the problem. In a moment of anger Henry says “What parcel of fools and dastards have I nourished in my house, and not one of them will avenge me of this upstart clerk?” Well, four of Henry’s knights saw this as Henry wanting Becket dead. On this date, the four knights enter Canterbury Cathedral and killed Thomas. The Christian world is in an uproar that a man of the cloth is killed in the house of God. Henry caught a large ration of shit about this and in 1174 he was forced to do penance at Thomas Becket’s tomb. Not only that, England had to endure the church meddling in state affairs until Henry VIII came along and put a stop to it. The church canonized Thomas Becket meaning he was made a Catholic Saint. In 1220 Becket’s remains was re-buried in Canterbury Cathedral (been there).
1862 Earlier US General Ulysses Grant had planned a two pronged assault on Vicksburg , Mississippi . He assigned one prong of the attack to US General William Sherman and Grant would direct the other one. It was a good plan except for one thing. CSA Generals Nathan Bedford Forrest and Earl Van Dorn and their respective cavalry units were out there roaming the countryside. Forrest and Van Dorn found Grants supply dump and destroyed it. This forced Grant to delay if not scratch the attack but he did not get word to Sherman in time. The Rebs only had 6,000 troops dug in to face Sherman and his army of 37,000. But within just hours of the attack the Rebs received an additional 6,000. On this date, Sherman attacked as planned but his attack was across open country and anticipated. With Grant not attacking and providing a diversion, the dug in Rebs crushed the attack before it had got started. Sherman learned from this experience and never again attacked across open ground and always inflicted more casualties than he received.
1940 Earlier in July the countries of Holland , Belgium , Norway and France had fallen to the onslaught of the German army. In August Hitler put Operation Sea Lion into effect. This was the plan to defeat England and complete his domination of Europe. Hitler was assured by Herman Goering that England could be defeated by air power alone. So the German air force began the bombing of RAF air bases and radar sites. The German’s sent 1,500 bombers over in a single day. Nothing worked except the German air force began losing many, many aircraft to the RAF fighter pilots. The enraged Hitler ordered that to hell with the RAF bases, bomb the hell out of English cities especially London in the hopes of breaking the English morale. That didn’t work either but in this date, the worst air attack yet came. The Germans rained incendiaries on London starting conflagrations that burned for two days and nights. The upside of this was that the RAF bases were spared attack and were able to repair and recover. The result was that on the next air attack, 56 German aircraft went down in a matter of minutes. After this, Hitler said to hell with Operation Seal Lion.
Born today:
1809 British Prime Minister William Gladstone. He said “No man becomes good or great except through great and many mistakes.” If this is true, I must be 10 feet tall and bulletproof.
1936 US actress Mary Tyler Moore. She said “Sometimes it takes you to really know someone to realize that you are really strangers.” Tack onto that “especially if you have been married three times and had two live-ins”
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
"There is one outstanding fact about Spaceship Earth, it did not come with an instruction book."
Buckminster Fuller
Two weeks ago two men launched a boat in Baldwin County, Alabama to go squirrel hunting in the Tensaw/Mobile river delta. I have launched at that very same ramp to go fly fishing for bream and bass in the branches of the Tensaw River. The water in that area is like you might suspect it is smooth, languid and black with tannin. It reminds you of the Okefenokee swamp. In short, it is nearly impenetrable jungle if you get out of the boat. These two squirrel hunters never returned from their trip and not a scrap of them was ever found, not even the boat. It is unlikely they will ever be found because if they are dead the damp and fetid air would promote decomposition. Not only that there are black bears and alligators and various other predators and parasites throughout the area. Not only that, if one or both of them wanted to disappear off the face of the earth that would be a top notch place for the trail to end.
Along those lines, many years ago while Lake Hartwell on the South Carolina/Georgia border was filling up after the dam was closed, there were a few homesites that were partially underwater and were magnets to SCUBA divers and snorkelers. A group of divers were taken to one of the homesites to explore. One of the divers was in serious financial trouble. The home site was on the top of a hill that was partially submerged and when the divers went over the side, this man in financial trouble swan around to the opposite side of the hill and got aboard a waiting boat and off he went. Later on the dive master did a head count and discovered that he had a missing diver. An extensive search was initiated but nothing was found. Near to the homesite was a section of the lake that went down to 160 feet. It was reasoned that if the diver had got into trouble and drowned over that spot they would never find him since he had a weight belt on. The local law enforcement was not satisfied and they kept up the search. It took a couple of years but the man was found by tracking his SSN and profession. It was a good plan but he was nailed.
The indigenous peoples of North America (Indians) have begun to buy up huge tracts of land and donating it to the Federal Land Trust. This means the land cannot be build upon nor even homesteaded. The Indians want to keep some of the lands that their ancestors lived on before it was stolen from them by the US Government by treaties us honkies never honored. The Indians have been waiting patiently for us to do the honorable thing but it has never happened so they are doing it on their own. It is mostly the Winnebagos, Pawnee, Cheyenne, Rosebud Sioux and Nez Perce but there are others involved. It seems that the Indians are using the profits from their casinos to buy these lands so that makes us honkies paying for the Indians to recover that lands that were theirs in the first place. God works in mysterious ways.
The Good News section below mentions the town of Six Mile, SC. Here is the legend that brought about that name.
Before and during the American Revolutionary War there was a large Cherokee village in northwestern South Carolina named Keowee. There was a Cherokee princess that lived in the village named Isaqueena. This princess had a British soldier as a boy friend and she learned that the local mititia was planning an attack on Star Fort located ninety-six miles south-southwest of Keowee. Her boyfriend was stationed at that fort. One night Isaqueena mounted a horse and rode to Star Fort to warn her lover of the attack. The route she took is known to this day as The Isaqueena Trail. The trail is marked by distances from Keowee. There is the town of Six Mile, 12 mile creek, 18 mile Creek, 23 mile creek, 26 mile creek, etc. and the location of the Star Fort is known to this day as Ninety-Six, SC. Supposedly Isaqueena was able to arrive ahead of the militia and the British soldiers were prepared for the attack. This is just a legend but these landmarks got their names somehow.
Good news:
There is a good story about a man that really cares about his neighborhood. Aaron Smith has deeply involved himself into his community affairs in the small town of Six Mile, South Carolina. Six Mile is almost as far as you can go in northwestern South Carolina without being in North Carolina or Tennessee. It is also the location of one of South Carolina's nuclear power plants. This man recently won a run off election for a seat on the Six Mile city council. This not the first foray into politics for Aaron. He has already served his community on the city planning commission, he is a member of the Six Mile Volunteer Fire Department and is involved with the city of Seneca, South Carolina Sheriff's Explorer Program. He is attending Tri-County Tech taking a course in mechanical design and plans to attend Clemson and take courses that will make him an architect. Aaron is 18 years old.
This date in history December 29
1778 On this date British Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell and an army of between 2,500 and 3,600 launched a surprise attack on the city of Savannah , Georgia . Included in the army were the 71st Highlanders, some New York Loyalists and a group of Hessian mercenaries. Savannah was defended by Patriot Major General Robert Howe and a rag tag army of 650-900 infantrymen. Howe saw that he did not have a chance and ordered the evacuation of the city then he ordered the withdrawal of the Patriot troops. The Georgia Brigade was cut off and nearly annihilated with the killing of 83 and the capture of 483. After the completion of the withdrawal the British had suffered 3 killed and 10 wounded. The British occupied Savannah and left only because they wanted to in July of 1782. The majority of the residents of Savannah were Loyalists anyway making their occupation much easier. The Patriots tried to kick the British out of Savannah once in 1779 when they established a siege but it didn’t work so the Patriots said to hell with it and just sealed off the city so no one came or sent except by sea. What was peculiar was that Savannah was a hotbed of Loyalists (Colonists loyal to the King of England) in fact; the entire state of Georgia was more than 50% Loyalist. That is really peculiar because right next door in South Carolina was full of firebrands for independence from Great Britain . Maybe ya’ll don’t know the reason why there is a Georgia in the first place. The state of Georgia was formed by England at the behest of the wealthy plantation owners in South Carolina to be a buffer between their plantations and the bloodthirsty Spanish slave traders coming up from Spanish-owned Florida. This meant that the people that settled in Georgia were owing to the British crown for the lands that were given to them. I suppose that is where the Loyalist syndrome came from. It sucked, in any event.
1890 On this date one of the most damnable acts ever committed by the US Army happened. The plains Indians had been vanquished and sent to reservations, especially the fiery Lakota Sioux. The last remnants of this once proud and independent tribe were sent to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota . Due to the corruptness of the US officials, the Sioux on the reservation were not getting the food that was promised to them and starvation was staring them in the face not to mention the abominable living conditions. The killing of the chief medicine man, Sitting Bull, further inflamed the situation. Before he died, Sitting Bull had told his follower that if they resurrected the ritual of the Ghost Dance, they could regain their strength and power that they had in the past. So the ritual of the Ghost Dance was begun. This ritual would not have made any difference but it did give the Sioux the hope and belief that they could prevail therefore the Ghost Dance was forbidden by the US authorities. On this date, on the banks of Wounded Knee Creek, a group of Sioux were doing the Ghost Dance when a group of US Cavalry shows up to try to put a stop to it. During the confrontation a cavalryman and an Indian get into a scuffle and a shot was fired. No one knows who fired the shot but immediately the cavalrymen opened fire and in a matter of seconds 146 Lakota Sioux were dead more than half were women and children. This Massacre at Wounded Knee is the last armed conflict between the US army and Native Americans. There is a book titled Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee authored by Dee Brown that all should read; I promise you it will give you pause about what we Americans are all about.
1170 Earlier Henry II had seen to it that Thomas Becket was made the Archbishop of Canterbury in the hope that Becket would help him get the church out of state business. But almost as soon as Becket assumed the position, he said that he supported the Church taking part in state business. There were several heated conversations between Henry and Thomas but with no resolution to the problem. In a moment of anger Henry says “What parcel of fools and dastards have I nourished in my house, and not one of them will avenge me of this upstart clerk?” Well, four of Henry’s knights saw this as Henry wanting Becket dead. On this date, the four knights enter Canterbury Cathedral and killed Thomas. The Christian world is in an uproar that a man of the cloth is killed in the house of God. Henry caught a large ration of shit about this and in 1174 he was forced to do penance at Thomas Becket’s tomb. Not only that, England had to endure the church meddling in state affairs until Henry VIII came along and put a stop to it. The church canonized Thomas Becket meaning he was made a Catholic Saint. In 1220 Becket’s remains was re-buried in Canterbury Cathedral (been there).
1862 Earlier US General Ulysses Grant had planned a two pronged assault on Vicksburg , Mississippi . He assigned one prong of the attack to US General William Sherman and Grant would direct the other one. It was a good plan except for one thing. CSA Generals Nathan Bedford Forrest and Earl Van Dorn and their respective cavalry units were out there roaming the countryside. Forrest and Van Dorn found Grants supply dump and destroyed it. This forced Grant to delay if not scratch the attack but he did not get word to Sherman in time. The Rebs only had 6,000 troops dug in to face Sherman and his army of 37,000. But within just hours of the attack the Rebs received an additional 6,000. On this date, Sherman attacked as planned but his attack was across open country and anticipated. With Grant not attacking and providing a diversion, the dug in Rebs crushed the attack before it had got started. Sherman learned from this experience and never again attacked across open ground and always inflicted more casualties than he received.
1940 Earlier in July the countries of Holland , Belgium , Norway and France had fallen to the onslaught of the German army. In August Hitler put Operation Sea Lion into effect. This was the plan to defeat England and complete his domination of Europe. Hitler was assured by Herman Goering that England could be defeated by air power alone. So the German air force began the bombing of RAF air bases and radar sites. The German’s sent 1,500 bombers over in a single day. Nothing worked except the German air force began losing many, many aircraft to the RAF fighter pilots. The enraged Hitler ordered that to hell with the RAF bases, bomb the hell out of English cities especially London in the hopes of breaking the English morale. That didn’t work either but in this date, the worst air attack yet came. The Germans rained incendiaries on London starting conflagrations that burned for two days and nights. The upside of this was that the RAF bases were spared attack and were able to repair and recover. The result was that on the next air attack, 56 German aircraft went down in a matter of minutes. After this, Hitler said to hell with Operation Seal Lion.
Born today:
1809 British Prime Minister William Gladstone. He said “No man becomes good or great except through great and many mistakes.” If this is true, I must be 10 feet tall and bulletproof.
1936 US actress Mary Tyler Moore. She said “Sometimes it takes you to really know someone to realize that you are really strangers.” Tack onto that “especially if you have been married three times and had two live-ins”
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
"I spent 90% of my money on women and booze, the rest of it I wasted."
George Best, Soccer Pro
My years as an air traffic controller makes me a poor proof reader because we tended to absorb only the necessary information as quickly as possible. So you may see a few typographical eorrers form tmie to tmie.
For the third week in a row somewhere in the Continental United States there is a kick-ass blizzard underway. The latest one blasted the central plains and is presently dumping feet of snow along with howling winds on the northeastern US. If anyone will please look at the forecasted temperatures for the Carolinas and Georgia for the next week and then convince me that Nobel prize winner Al Gore has made the right assumptions about the climate. It may seem to be a bit short-sighted but the history of this planet shows several ice ages have occurred and then retreated. No one can convince me that the icing and warming of North America is not cyclic. If not, then I am all ears for an explanation, not an opinion, an explanation accompanied by factual evidence. I can prove that a sheet of ice covered the majority of the US and then retreated (melted) within the last 25,000 year, a blink of an eye in geological time.
I guess all of you have read by now that a jackass towelhead Muslim from Nigeria tried to light off an incendiary device aboard a Delta Boeing 777 landing at Detroit. This reeking loser admitted that the device was received from the al-queda in Yemen. It would not have done for me to have been aboard that plane and see that bastard trying to light that thing off. He apparently wanted to die so I would have accomodated him with a forearm across the trachea and waited for silence. I do not know if I could have contained myself and I am sure there are plenty of others out there like me. Where are we going to send that enemy of our country? Guantanomo? Our Democrats don't want that. How about the county jail in Mariposa, Arizona for 30 years? What a wonderful life he would lead grabbing his ankles.
Good news:
The good news for me is that the survivors of my family unit are still closely tied and there is an inescapable feeling of love among all of us. I am very, very fortunate to have been one of the children of Paul and Myrdice Campbell, they instilled into all of us an iron clad unit structure and responsiblity for each other. We are a tight clan, y'all, and I am glad for it.
This date in history December 27
1780 Earlier Patriot General Daniel Morgan ordered Patriot Colonel William Washington, George Washington’s cousin, and approximately 275 troops to neutralize the British /Loyalist presence near present day Mountville , South Carolina . The Loyalists led by British Colonel Thomas Waters had been harassing the Patriots in and around that area for some time. On this date Washington arrives with 75 cavalry under his direct command and 200 infantry under the command of Lt. Colonels Joe Hayes and Jim McCall. The area under scrutiny in particular was the area on Bush River near Fairforest Creek. Colonel Washington found the British/Loyalist camped near Hammond ’s Store near Mountville. Mountville is about 8 miles south of present day Laurens , SC. Hammond ’s Store was a blacksmith/trading post which Washington surrounded and launched a surprise attack. After a four day siege, of the 250 British/Loyalists, 150 were killed or wounded, 45 captured and rest scattered through the harsh South Carolina underbrush. The troops chose of burn Hammond ’s Store. This area had only been occupied by Europeans since the early 1760’s and had been under almost continuous attack by the native Cherokees. There had been many cases of murder, rape and plunder by both the Europeans and the Cherokees against each other, not to mention the outlaws that attacked both sides. It was during this time period that this area was considered ungovernable because of all the different prejudices that had been instilled by the hostilities. As you might suspect, it took a limited war against the Cherokees and Choctaws to put and end that that problem. As soon as that was finished there was a short break of 14 years and then we chose to start a fight against those Colonists loyal to the British and the British themselves for our independence from Great Britain . It looks to me that they love of the sting of battle and is in our blood, especially the Scots and the Irish, and we have proven it time and time again. By the way, the exact location of Hammond ’s Store has been lost to history.
1831 On this momentous day the HMS Beagle sailed from England for a five year voyage of discovery with a scientist named Charles Darwin aboard. The ship spent a lot of time on the east coast of South American continent before traversing Cape Horn over the west coast. The ship spent several months in the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Peru . It was during this time period that Darwin developed the theory of evolution that he called “natural selection.” This theory is further described as the “survival of the fittest.” In other words, only the strong survive. After he had made all of his experiments and observations, almost apologetically Darwin wrote the immortal book “Origin of Species”. His book shook the scientific world to it roots, especially paleontology. What caused the turmoil was that this book and the one that followed, “The Descent of Man” tracked homo-sapiens back to sub-humans such as gorillas and chimpanzees. Needless to say the human elitists and the clergy hit the roof because it was adverse to what was taught in the Bible. But Darwin ’s logic was impeccable and was almost bullet-proof and except for later changes made genetics and molecular biology his theory is valid today. To NOT believe what he found and deduced requires a leap of faith, not vice versa.
1979 Earlier in Afghanistan a devout communist named Hatzullah Amin had taken control of Afghanistan in a bloodless coup and began the installation as a hard–nosed, take-no-prisoners type communist government. Well, the well known Afghani warlords called bullshit on that and began a well armed revolution. Then another more moderate communist named Barack Karmal began an attempt to take control, except this time Russia sent in 75,000 troops to help Karmal gain control. Needless to say, Hatzullah was assassinated post haste and Karmal assumed control. The only problem here was that the waspish Afghani warlords were not happy with that either and escalated their attacks, especially against the Russian army. Ten years later, the Russians were no closer to vanquishing the Afghani rebels that at the beginning and had lost over 100,000 troops and this war had put Russia on the cusp of bankruptcy so they did the honorable thing. They gathered up their shit and went back to the house.
2004 Yesterday at about 3:00A Indonesian time an earthquake that read 9.3 on the Richter scale struck the ocean floor near the southern tip of the Indonesian archipelago. One part of the ocean bottom thrust upward by more than 15 feet displacing over 7 cubic miles of ocean. I guess we all remember the movies of the resulting tsunami that came ashore in Indonesia , Sumatra , India and even in Somalia in east Africa . There was even a tsunami in Alaska . This earthquake was the second strongest ever recorded since the Richter scale came into existence. Geologists tell use that the entire earth moved a centimeter or two as a result of this event. The strange thing is that the animals knew what was happening. Many of the dogs in some of the villages along the Indonesian coast began whining and ran to high ground and would not return. In some of the cities along the Indian coast, rats swarmed together in huge packs and ran down the streets in broad daylight. Some of the rats swarmed over the edge of wells and jumped in. It must have seemed like the end of the world. It was the end of the world for over 230,000 people.
1846 Earlier an American military unit led by US General John Wool had began an invasion of the state of Chihuahua in the Mexican War. On this date General Wool decided to withdraw when he found out that his wheeled vehicles could not be used in the desert. After this, US Colonel Alexander Doniphan and his arm of about 1,000 infantry began an attack on the Mexicans near El Paso , Texas . This rag-tag group of volunteers was known as “Doniphan’s Thousand”. He was facing an army of about 4,000 Mexicans. On his initial assault Doniphan’s wild men pierced the Mexican lines and kept going all the way to the sea of Cortez where they were picked up by ship and taken to New Orleans and discharged. This engagement proved that the Mexican Army was not as formidable as previously thought and US General Winfield Scott took an army into Mexico City which forced the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 in which Mexico ceded vast lands that stretched from Texas to the Pacific coast and up to Oregon .
Quotable quotes:
Upon meeting Henry James, William Faulkner said “He is one of the nicest old ladies I’ve ever met.”
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow.
Quote of the day:
"I spent 90% of my money on women and booze, the rest of it I wasted."
George Best, Soccer Pro
My years as an air traffic controller makes me a poor proof reader because we tended to absorb only the necessary information as quickly as possible. So you may see a few typographical eorrers form tmie to tmie.
For the third week in a row somewhere in the Continental United States there is a kick-ass blizzard underway. The latest one blasted the central plains and is presently dumping feet of snow along with howling winds on the northeastern US. If anyone will please look at the forecasted temperatures for the Carolinas and Georgia for the next week and then convince me that Nobel prize winner Al Gore has made the right assumptions about the climate. It may seem to be a bit short-sighted but the history of this planet shows several ice ages have occurred and then retreated. No one can convince me that the icing and warming of North America is not cyclic. If not, then I am all ears for an explanation, not an opinion, an explanation accompanied by factual evidence. I can prove that a sheet of ice covered the majority of the US and then retreated (melted) within the last 25,000 year, a blink of an eye in geological time.
I guess all of you have read by now that a jackass towelhead Muslim from Nigeria tried to light off an incendiary device aboard a Delta Boeing 777 landing at Detroit. This reeking loser admitted that the device was received from the al-queda in Yemen. It would not have done for me to have been aboard that plane and see that bastard trying to light that thing off. He apparently wanted to die so I would have accomodated him with a forearm across the trachea and waited for silence. I do not know if I could have contained myself and I am sure there are plenty of others out there like me. Where are we going to send that enemy of our country? Guantanomo? Our Democrats don't want that. How about the county jail in Mariposa, Arizona for 30 years? What a wonderful life he would lead grabbing his ankles.
Good news:
The good news for me is that the survivors of my family unit are still closely tied and there is an inescapable feeling of love among all of us. I am very, very fortunate to have been one of the children of Paul and Myrdice Campbell, they instilled into all of us an iron clad unit structure and responsiblity for each other. We are a tight clan, y'all, and I am glad for it.
This date in history December 27
1780 Earlier Patriot General Daniel Morgan ordered Patriot Colonel William Washington, George Washington’s cousin, and approximately 275 troops to neutralize the British /Loyalist presence near present day Mountville , South Carolina . The Loyalists led by British Colonel Thomas Waters had been harassing the Patriots in and around that area for some time. On this date Washington arrives with 75 cavalry under his direct command and 200 infantry under the command of Lt. Colonels Joe Hayes and Jim McCall. The area under scrutiny in particular was the area on Bush River near Fairforest Creek. Colonel Washington found the British/Loyalist camped near Hammond ’s Store near Mountville. Mountville is about 8 miles south of present day Laurens , SC. Hammond ’s Store was a blacksmith/trading post which Washington surrounded and launched a surprise attack. After a four day siege, of the 250 British/Loyalists, 150 were killed or wounded, 45 captured and rest scattered through the harsh South Carolina underbrush. The troops chose of burn Hammond ’s Store. This area had only been occupied by Europeans since the early 1760’s and had been under almost continuous attack by the native Cherokees. There had been many cases of murder, rape and plunder by both the Europeans and the Cherokees against each other, not to mention the outlaws that attacked both sides. It was during this time period that this area was considered ungovernable because of all the different prejudices that had been instilled by the hostilities. As you might suspect, it took a limited war against the Cherokees and Choctaws to put and end that that problem. As soon as that was finished there was a short break of 14 years and then we chose to start a fight against those Colonists loyal to the British and the British themselves for our independence from Great Britain . It looks to me that they love of the sting of battle and is in our blood, especially the Scots and the Irish, and we have proven it time and time again. By the way, the exact location of Hammond ’s Store has been lost to history.
1831 On this momentous day the HMS Beagle sailed from England for a five year voyage of discovery with a scientist named Charles Darwin aboard. The ship spent a lot of time on the east coast of South American continent before traversing Cape Horn over the west coast. The ship spent several months in the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Peru . It was during this time period that Darwin developed the theory of evolution that he called “natural selection.” This theory is further described as the “survival of the fittest.” In other words, only the strong survive. After he had made all of his experiments and observations, almost apologetically Darwin wrote the immortal book “Origin of Species”. His book shook the scientific world to it roots, especially paleontology. What caused the turmoil was that this book and the one that followed, “The Descent of Man” tracked homo-sapiens back to sub-humans such as gorillas and chimpanzees. Needless to say the human elitists and the clergy hit the roof because it was adverse to what was taught in the Bible. But Darwin ’s logic was impeccable and was almost bullet-proof and except for later changes made genetics and molecular biology his theory is valid today. To NOT believe what he found and deduced requires a leap of faith, not vice versa.
1979 Earlier in Afghanistan a devout communist named Hatzullah Amin had taken control of Afghanistan in a bloodless coup and began the installation as a hard–nosed, take-no-prisoners type communist government. Well, the well known Afghani warlords called bullshit on that and began a well armed revolution. Then another more moderate communist named Barack Karmal began an attempt to take control, except this time Russia sent in 75,000 troops to help Karmal gain control. Needless to say, Hatzullah was assassinated post haste and Karmal assumed control. The only problem here was that the waspish Afghani warlords were not happy with that either and escalated their attacks, especially against the Russian army. Ten years later, the Russians were no closer to vanquishing the Afghani rebels that at the beginning and had lost over 100,000 troops and this war had put Russia on the cusp of bankruptcy so they did the honorable thing. They gathered up their shit and went back to the house.
2004 Yesterday at about 3:00A Indonesian time an earthquake that read 9.3 on the Richter scale struck the ocean floor near the southern tip of the Indonesian archipelago. One part of the ocean bottom thrust upward by more than 15 feet displacing over 7 cubic miles of ocean. I guess we all remember the movies of the resulting tsunami that came ashore in Indonesia , Sumatra , India and even in Somalia in east Africa . There was even a tsunami in Alaska . This earthquake was the second strongest ever recorded since the Richter scale came into existence. Geologists tell use that the entire earth moved a centimeter or two as a result of this event. The strange thing is that the animals knew what was happening. Many of the dogs in some of the villages along the Indonesian coast began whining and ran to high ground and would not return. In some of the cities along the Indian coast, rats swarmed together in huge packs and ran down the streets in broad daylight. Some of the rats swarmed over the edge of wells and jumped in. It must have seemed like the end of the world. It was the end of the world for over 230,000 people.
1846 Earlier an American military unit led by US General John Wool had began an invasion of the state of Chihuahua in the Mexican War. On this date General Wool decided to withdraw when he found out that his wheeled vehicles could not be used in the desert. After this, US Colonel Alexander Doniphan and his arm of about 1,000 infantry began an attack on the Mexicans near El Paso , Texas . This rag-tag group of volunteers was known as “Doniphan’s Thousand”. He was facing an army of about 4,000 Mexicans. On his initial assault Doniphan’s wild men pierced the Mexican lines and kept going all the way to the sea of Cortez where they were picked up by ship and taken to New Orleans and discharged. This engagement proved that the Mexican Army was not as formidable as previously thought and US General Winfield Scott took an army into Mexico City which forced the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 in which Mexico ceded vast lands that stretched from Texas to the Pacific coast and up to Oregon .
Quotable quotes:
Upon meeting Henry James, William Faulkner said “He is one of the nicest old ladies I’ve ever met.”
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
"Life is the whim of several billion cells that decided to be you for a while."
Author unknown
Well it appears that I have survived the orgy of food, drink and Christmas music for another year. I am presently fortifying myself in anticipation of next weekend's avalanche of even more food and drink and wall-to-wall football. I sure am glad that I am not working.
In the last few days I said something that turned out to be hurtful to someone else. In retrospect I wish I had never uttered those words because cultivating amiable relationships is much more desired than making an enemy or causing a tense atmosphere. As I have said before, you cannot un-ring a bell so I am going to just have to deal with the backflow.
Back in 2006 an employee of a nearby Wal-Mart fondled a 13 year old girl while she was shopping. The girl's parents raised almighty hell with the local store and the corporate office in Bentonville, Arkansas. It seems that the employee was a registered sex offender which left Wal-Mart with very little ground to stand on. But with their battery of lawyers doing a lot of dancing they delayed a decision until last week. Just before a trial was to begin, Wal-Mart settled with the family for an undisclosed amount. The result of all of this was that Wal-Mart stiffened their background checks of potential employees, especially watching out for creeps.
Our two crack US Senators from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint, have sworn to their constituents that the proposed health care bill recently approved by the US Senate is by no means a done deal. A committee from the Senate and one from the House will have to get together and hammer out the differences between the two versions. One of the major snags is determining who pays for voluntary abortions. That lights a religious fire with the Catholics who frown on abortion under any circumstance. They do not want their tax money to be used for that purpose. Both Graham and DeMint do say that some of the money spent on present day health care will be reduced because the indigent will no longer use hospital emergency rooms for non-emergency situations as they do now. I was witness to this situation not long ago. My nephew got hit in the face by a screaming baseball which spread his nose all over his face. While sitting in the emergency room, a lady came in and sat down beside my brother who who could not see any visible problem with her and asked why was she there. She said that she had "pink eye". It was then that all of us realized that there are people out there that use emergency rooms as their family doctor. The question is what happens to those that are in a real emergency. It is not a pretty picture.
A couple of days ago a Pensacola woman stole some stuff from a Wal-Mart close to I-10. She jumped in her car and was soon hauling ass westbound on I-10. The Pensacola Sheriff's deputies who were soon joined by some state troopers in close pursuit. The state troopers radioed ahead to the Baldwin County Alabama Sheriff's Department and described the thief's car and asked for the deployment of spike strips to stop this broad. The Deputies complied and sure enough the thief ran across the strips which blew out the two front tires and she coasted to a stop. The only problem is that the thief was going so fast that the string used to withdraw the strips was broken and the strips nailed three more cars before the deputies could dash out and retrieve the strips. Who makes reparation for the tires that were blown accidentally? Would it be the thief, Baldwin County or the variety of Florida cops in pursuit? Interesting to contemplate.
For a brief period I became a friend with a man on Facebook at the recommendation of another friend. This guy would scour the media looking for "politically incorrect" cartoons and construct some of his own and post them on Facebook. The bad part of the deal was that you "must" send in a positive comment on the cartoons and if you didn't, he would delete you from his friends list. To me that is extortion. Reading, including cartoons, is entertainment not a college classroom assignment like he is trying to orchestrate. It was either that or he has to have reinforcement to prop up his ego. I dropped out.
Good news:
Recently Nevada Energy signed an agreement to use a United Technology's system on the desert near Tonapah to generate electricity. This is a system I have never hear of but the principal is obvious. The system uses sunlight to heat up molten salt and coils full of water are circulated through the amalgam producing steam which is used in a steam turbine turning a dynamo. The best part is that the molten salt can be stored and it will preserve the temperature high enough to produce steam for an extended period. This would make up for the days with rain or clouds. The first unit will be able to serve 75,000 homes with an addition to follow that will service another 30,000.
This date in history December 26
2004 On this date at 8:06a Indonesian time a large slip in the earth’s crust occurred when a continental plate southwest of the Indonesian archipelago, dropped about 15 feet for a length of about 50 miles. This event generated an enormous amount of energy that spread rapidly throughout the Indian Ocean and displayed itself as one of the most devastating series of tsunamis or tidal waves in recorded history. The hardest hit was several different beaches in Thailand which was just a short distance north and east of the tectonic event. Then the waves traveled across the Indian Ocean and came ashore on the east coast of India and Bangladesh and traveled on to the east coast of Africa to a lesser extent. There were many home movies made at the resorts in Thailand and it was scary to watch as the water on the beaches retreat to the horizon and then come storming back with a vengeance in three or four waves. I have a mental image a little kid on the beach after the water had disappeared and then when the tsunami arrived it washed that kid inland like a rag doll. She did not survive. I fact there was in the vicinity of 350,000 deaths attributed to these tsunamis world wide. We will never know exactly because the small villages up and down the coast that simply disappeared. One strange thing was the people on the beaches in Thailand saw their dogs, cats and even goats and cattle run for high ground even before the water retreated. They knew what was going on.
1908 On this date the first black American Jack Johnson wins the World Heavyweight boxing title by knocking out Canadian Tommy Burns in 14 rounds near Sydney Australia. Johnson held the title until 1915 and was hated and reviled by boxing fans in the United States because he did not fit in the typical “Jim Crow” image Americans had of the back man. Johnson drove fancy cars and wore fancy clothes and had a white wife, flashed gold teeth and had several overlapping affairs with different women, all white, which further inflamed the prejudiced. Johnson was born in Galveston, Texas in 1878. He dropped of the school in the fifth grade and began working on the docks in Galveston. Not long thereafter he began his career as a boxer. In those days boxing was divided into black and white divisions and Johnson became the “Black Heavyweight Champion” on 1903. In 1904 Johnson issued a challenge to the White Heavyweight Champion, Jim Jefferies. Jefferies was not interested. It was not until 1908 that White Heavyweight Champion Tommie Burns granted Johnson the match in Australia which Johnson won. It wasn’t long before the sports reporters began writing about a “Great White Hope” to get the Heavyweight Championship back into white hands. Johnson was one of the best defensive boxers in history. He was also a devastating slugger when the opportunity presented itself. In 1910 Jim Jefferies agreed to come out of retirement and challenge Johnson. Johnson was the only boxer that Jefferies ever faced that knocked him off his feet. In the 15th round Jefferies’ corner threw in the towel and it was all over. Johnson faced several challengers and defeated them all. In 1912 Johnson was convicted of transporting an unmarried woman across state lines for “immoral purposes”. This law was implemented to stop prostitution and white slavery not to stop a night club owner and World Champion from taking his white secretary out for a weekend tryst. This was clearly an instance of law enforcement using the law for their own prejudicial purposes. Johnson was released pending an appeal. Johnson decided to get the hell out of Dodge and fled to Europe where he lived in exile for seven years and continued to defend his title in Europe and he became a very rich man. In 1915 he fought Jess Willard in Havana and was defeated. Some thought that he had thrown the match hoping the charges against him would be dropped. He returned to the United States into the waiting arm of U.S. Marshals. He did a year of hard time in a prison in Kansas then he was released he tried boxing again but he had lost a step and was not effective. His fortune went away and he ended up working in carnival side shows. He died in an automobile accident in 1945. He was 67 years old. I don’t know what lesson we can learn from this man’s life except “Don’t flaunt it and take the money and run.”
1861 Earlier Confederate States of America representatives James Mason and John Slidell had boarded the British mail ship Trent for a trip to England to try to gain support for the Confederacy from the British. The ship was stopped in the Bahamas by the United States warship U.S.S. San Jacinto and Mason and Slidell were taken off and sent to Boston. British authorities raised almighty hell for this act which was nothing short of piracy. They sent a message to Abe Lincoln to release Mason and Slidell immediately and issue a letter of apology to Great Britain or risk war yet again with the England. Abe ignored this warning for a while but when England sent 11,000 combat troops to Canada Abe got the message. Abe knew he could not fight the Confederacy and Great Britain simultaneously and succeed at either one. Abe demurred and ordered the release of Mason and Slidell. This event proved two things. It showed Abe the animosity that England had for the United States and to what ends he would go to avoid a war with them at this point in time.
1609 On this date Count Gyorgy Thurzo pays a visit to the castle of Countess Elizabeth Bathory in Hungary. He was sent there by the King Matthias of Hungary. The King had been getting reports from some titled people in the area of the Countess’ castle had some young girls had been showing up missing and he sent Thurzo to look in to it. What Thurzo found was a genuine chamber of horrors. The good Countess got off on torturing young girls for days and then killing them in the most demented ways. This girl believed that the drinking of human blood, especially young girls, would keep her youthful appearance. She was not above biting a chunk out her victims either. She would drive needles under her victim’s fingernail and toenails. On one occasion she made one of her victims cook a piece of her own flesh and serve it to the Countess. Finally she would coat he victims with honey and stake them out on the lawn and leave them to the ants and bees. She had much of staff scouring the countryside looking for young girls to bring to the Countess for her fun and games. Count Thurzo was stunned at what he found and executed over 80 people but he could not execute the Countess because she was of royalty. So he imprisoned her in a room in the castle that had only tiny slits for air and food. She survived for three years but was found dead. I wonder what happened with her body waste. I am going to let that alone.
1820 Previously a man named Moses Austin had opened a lead mine in what is now Missouri. He did well for about ten years but the ravages of the War of 1812 bankrupted him. He then decided to take advantage of his good relationship with the Spanish. On this date he meets with Spanish officials in San Antonio and asked for permission to bring 300 families into Spanish territory and establish a settlement. Initially the Spanish refused but after further persuasion by Austin they agreed to grant 200,000 acres for this settlement. Delighted, Austin went back into the United States and began recruiting families to his settlement which was in the lower reaches of the Colorado and Brazos rivers. Unfortunately, Moses died before he could get back to his proposed settlement so his son Stephan F. Austin stepped in and continued fulfillment of his fathers dream. The first settlers arrived in December of 1821 and within a decade the settlement numbered 25,000 people. As you might suspect, the settlers had no love for the Spanish and in 1836 they became part of the Republic of Texas and eventually one of these United States. By the way, the settlement is now the Texas state capitol of Austin.
1944 On this date tank units of General George Patton’s 3rd Army break through the German army encirclement of the Belgian city of Bastogne. This city was a major objective of the German Army when they launched a surprise assault out of the Ardennes Forest that later became know as the Battle of the Bulge. The city was defended by 18,000 Americans mostly of the 101st Airborne. During the encirclement the troops defending Bastogne eventually ran very nearly out of food water and ammunition at the same time. They also were ill-dressed for the bitterly cold weather. After the breaking of the siege the long hard task of pushing the Germans back to where they came from began. Patton pulled off one of the greatest maneuvers in military history. His army was driving east toward Germany 100 mile south of Bastogne when the German assault began out of the Ardennes. Patton was able to turn his army 90 degrees to the left and attack the German encirclement of Bastogne. That was an amazing feat considering the logistics involved making that happen. In spite of the brilliance of Patton in rescuing the 101st many of those proud paratroopers said “We did not need to be f----k---g rescued”. By the way, if I am not mistaken, the leader of the tank column that broke through to the city was Colonel Creighton Abrams, later to become a four star General.
Born today:
1792 English mathematician Charles Babbage. He said “Errors committed because of inadequate data are much less than those using no data at all.”
1893 Chinese leader Mao-Tse Tung. He said “When awakening a sleeping tiger, use a long stick.” When disappointing a woman on PMS, use an even longer one.
1930 Us writer Frank Hubbard. He said “It will be interesting to see how long the meek hold onto the Earth after they inherit it.” Me too.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
"Life is the whim of several billion cells that decided to be you for a while."
Author unknown
Well it appears that I have survived the orgy of food, drink and Christmas music for another year. I am presently fortifying myself in anticipation of next weekend's avalanche of even more food and drink and wall-to-wall football. I sure am glad that I am not working.
In the last few days I said something that turned out to be hurtful to someone else. In retrospect I wish I had never uttered those words because cultivating amiable relationships is much more desired than making an enemy or causing a tense atmosphere. As I have said before, you cannot un-ring a bell so I am going to just have to deal with the backflow.
Back in 2006 an employee of a nearby Wal-Mart fondled a 13 year old girl while she was shopping. The girl's parents raised almighty hell with the local store and the corporate office in Bentonville, Arkansas. It seems that the employee was a registered sex offender which left Wal-Mart with very little ground to stand on. But with their battery of lawyers doing a lot of dancing they delayed a decision until last week. Just before a trial was to begin, Wal-Mart settled with the family for an undisclosed amount. The result of all of this was that Wal-Mart stiffened their background checks of potential employees, especially watching out for creeps.
Our two crack US Senators from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint, have sworn to their constituents that the proposed health care bill recently approved by the US Senate is by no means a done deal. A committee from the Senate and one from the House will have to get together and hammer out the differences between the two versions. One of the major snags is determining who pays for voluntary abortions. That lights a religious fire with the Catholics who frown on abortion under any circumstance. They do not want their tax money to be used for that purpose. Both Graham and DeMint do say that some of the money spent on present day health care will be reduced because the indigent will no longer use hospital emergency rooms for non-emergency situations as they do now. I was witness to this situation not long ago. My nephew got hit in the face by a screaming baseball which spread his nose all over his face. While sitting in the emergency room, a lady came in and sat down beside my brother who who could not see any visible problem with her and asked why was she there. She said that she had "pink eye". It was then that all of us realized that there are people out there that use emergency rooms as their family doctor. The question is what happens to those that are in a real emergency. It is not a pretty picture.
A couple of days ago a Pensacola woman stole some stuff from a Wal-Mart close to I-10. She jumped in her car and was soon hauling ass westbound on I-10. The Pensacola Sheriff's deputies who were soon joined by some state troopers in close pursuit. The state troopers radioed ahead to the Baldwin County Alabama Sheriff's Department and described the thief's car and asked for the deployment of spike strips to stop this broad. The Deputies complied and sure enough the thief ran across the strips which blew out the two front tires and she coasted to a stop. The only problem is that the thief was going so fast that the string used to withdraw the strips was broken and the strips nailed three more cars before the deputies could dash out and retrieve the strips. Who makes reparation for the tires that were blown accidentally? Would it be the thief, Baldwin County or the variety of Florida cops in pursuit? Interesting to contemplate.
For a brief period I became a friend with a man on Facebook at the recommendation of another friend. This guy would scour the media looking for "politically incorrect" cartoons and construct some of his own and post them on Facebook. The bad part of the deal was that you "must" send in a positive comment on the cartoons and if you didn't, he would delete you from his friends list. To me that is extortion. Reading, including cartoons, is entertainment not a college classroom assignment like he is trying to orchestrate. It was either that or he has to have reinforcement to prop up his ego. I dropped out.
Good news:
Recently Nevada Energy signed an agreement to use a United Technology's system on the desert near Tonapah to generate electricity. This is a system I have never hear of but the principal is obvious. The system uses sunlight to heat up molten salt and coils full of water are circulated through the amalgam producing steam which is used in a steam turbine turning a dynamo. The best part is that the molten salt can be stored and it will preserve the temperature high enough to produce steam for an extended period. This would make up for the days with rain or clouds. The first unit will be able to serve 75,000 homes with an addition to follow that will service another 30,000.
This date in history December 26
2004 On this date at 8:06a Indonesian time a large slip in the earth’s crust occurred when a continental plate southwest of the Indonesian archipelago, dropped about 15 feet for a length of about 50 miles. This event generated an enormous amount of energy that spread rapidly throughout the Indian Ocean and displayed itself as one of the most devastating series of tsunamis or tidal waves in recorded history. The hardest hit was several different beaches in Thailand which was just a short distance north and east of the tectonic event. Then the waves traveled across the Indian Ocean and came ashore on the east coast of India and Bangladesh and traveled on to the east coast of Africa to a lesser extent. There were many home movies made at the resorts in Thailand and it was scary to watch as the water on the beaches retreat to the horizon and then come storming back with a vengeance in three or four waves. I have a mental image a little kid on the beach after the water had disappeared and then when the tsunami arrived it washed that kid inland like a rag doll. She did not survive. I fact there was in the vicinity of 350,000 deaths attributed to these tsunamis world wide. We will never know exactly because the small villages up and down the coast that simply disappeared. One strange thing was the people on the beaches in Thailand saw their dogs, cats and even goats and cattle run for high ground even before the water retreated. They knew what was going on.
1908 On this date the first black American Jack Johnson wins the World Heavyweight boxing title by knocking out Canadian Tommy Burns in 14 rounds near Sydney Australia. Johnson held the title until 1915 and was hated and reviled by boxing fans in the United States because he did not fit in the typical “Jim Crow” image Americans had of the back man. Johnson drove fancy cars and wore fancy clothes and had a white wife, flashed gold teeth and had several overlapping affairs with different women, all white, which further inflamed the prejudiced. Johnson was born in Galveston, Texas in 1878. He dropped of the school in the fifth grade and began working on the docks in Galveston. Not long thereafter he began his career as a boxer. In those days boxing was divided into black and white divisions and Johnson became the “Black Heavyweight Champion” on 1903. In 1904 Johnson issued a challenge to the White Heavyweight Champion, Jim Jefferies. Jefferies was not interested. It was not until 1908 that White Heavyweight Champion Tommie Burns granted Johnson the match in Australia which Johnson won. It wasn’t long before the sports reporters began writing about a “Great White Hope” to get the Heavyweight Championship back into white hands. Johnson was one of the best defensive boxers in history. He was also a devastating slugger when the opportunity presented itself. In 1910 Jim Jefferies agreed to come out of retirement and challenge Johnson. Johnson was the only boxer that Jefferies ever faced that knocked him off his feet. In the 15th round Jefferies’ corner threw in the towel and it was all over. Johnson faced several challengers and defeated them all. In 1912 Johnson was convicted of transporting an unmarried woman across state lines for “immoral purposes”. This law was implemented to stop prostitution and white slavery not to stop a night club owner and World Champion from taking his white secretary out for a weekend tryst. This was clearly an instance of law enforcement using the law for their own prejudicial purposes. Johnson was released pending an appeal. Johnson decided to get the hell out of Dodge and fled to Europe where he lived in exile for seven years and continued to defend his title in Europe and he became a very rich man. In 1915 he fought Jess Willard in Havana and was defeated. Some thought that he had thrown the match hoping the charges against him would be dropped. He returned to the United States into the waiting arm of U.S. Marshals. He did a year of hard time in a prison in Kansas then he was released he tried boxing again but he had lost a step and was not effective. His fortune went away and he ended up working in carnival side shows. He died in an automobile accident in 1945. He was 67 years old. I don’t know what lesson we can learn from this man’s life except “Don’t flaunt it and take the money and run.”
1861 Earlier Confederate States of America representatives James Mason and John Slidell had boarded the British mail ship Trent for a trip to England to try to gain support for the Confederacy from the British. The ship was stopped in the Bahamas by the United States warship U.S.S. San Jacinto and Mason and Slidell were taken off and sent to Boston. British authorities raised almighty hell for this act which was nothing short of piracy. They sent a message to Abe Lincoln to release Mason and Slidell immediately and issue a letter of apology to Great Britain or risk war yet again with the England. Abe ignored this warning for a while but when England sent 11,000 combat troops to Canada Abe got the message. Abe knew he could not fight the Confederacy and Great Britain simultaneously and succeed at either one. Abe demurred and ordered the release of Mason and Slidell. This event proved two things. It showed Abe the animosity that England had for the United States and to what ends he would go to avoid a war with them at this point in time.
1609 On this date Count Gyorgy Thurzo pays a visit to the castle of Countess Elizabeth Bathory in Hungary. He was sent there by the King Matthias of Hungary. The King had been getting reports from some titled people in the area of the Countess’ castle had some young girls had been showing up missing and he sent Thurzo to look in to it. What Thurzo found was a genuine chamber of horrors. The good Countess got off on torturing young girls for days and then killing them in the most demented ways. This girl believed that the drinking of human blood, especially young girls, would keep her youthful appearance. She was not above biting a chunk out her victims either. She would drive needles under her victim’s fingernail and toenails. On one occasion she made one of her victims cook a piece of her own flesh and serve it to the Countess. Finally she would coat he victims with honey and stake them out on the lawn and leave them to the ants and bees. She had much of staff scouring the countryside looking for young girls to bring to the Countess for her fun and games. Count Thurzo was stunned at what he found and executed over 80 people but he could not execute the Countess because she was of royalty. So he imprisoned her in a room in the castle that had only tiny slits for air and food. She survived for three years but was found dead. I wonder what happened with her body waste. I am going to let that alone.
1820 Previously a man named Moses Austin had opened a lead mine in what is now Missouri. He did well for about ten years but the ravages of the War of 1812 bankrupted him. He then decided to take advantage of his good relationship with the Spanish. On this date he meets with Spanish officials in San Antonio and asked for permission to bring 300 families into Spanish territory and establish a settlement. Initially the Spanish refused but after further persuasion by Austin they agreed to grant 200,000 acres for this settlement. Delighted, Austin went back into the United States and began recruiting families to his settlement which was in the lower reaches of the Colorado and Brazos rivers. Unfortunately, Moses died before he could get back to his proposed settlement so his son Stephan F. Austin stepped in and continued fulfillment of his fathers dream. The first settlers arrived in December of 1821 and within a decade the settlement numbered 25,000 people. As you might suspect, the settlers had no love for the Spanish and in 1836 they became part of the Republic of Texas and eventually one of these United States. By the way, the settlement is now the Texas state capitol of Austin.
1944 On this date tank units of General George Patton’s 3rd Army break through the German army encirclement of the Belgian city of Bastogne. This city was a major objective of the German Army when they launched a surprise assault out of the Ardennes Forest that later became know as the Battle of the Bulge. The city was defended by 18,000 Americans mostly of the 101st Airborne. During the encirclement the troops defending Bastogne eventually ran very nearly out of food water and ammunition at the same time. They also were ill-dressed for the bitterly cold weather. After the breaking of the siege the long hard task of pushing the Germans back to where they came from began. Patton pulled off one of the greatest maneuvers in military history. His army was driving east toward Germany 100 mile south of Bastogne when the German assault began out of the Ardennes. Patton was able to turn his army 90 degrees to the left and attack the German encirclement of Bastogne. That was an amazing feat considering the logistics involved making that happen. In spite of the brilliance of Patton in rescuing the 101st many of those proud paratroopers said “We did not need to be f----k---g rescued”. By the way, if I am not mistaken, the leader of the tank column that broke through to the city was Colonel Creighton Abrams, later to become a four star General.
Born today:
1792 English mathematician Charles Babbage. He said “Errors committed because of inadequate data are much less than those using no data at all.”
1893 Chinese leader Mao-Tse Tung. He said “When awakening a sleeping tiger, use a long stick.” When disappointing a woman on PMS, use an even longer one.
1930 Us writer Frank Hubbard. He said “It will be interesting to see how long the meek hold onto the Earth after they inherit it.” Me too.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Daily history
Good morning,
THIS WILL BE MY LAST LESSON UNTIL AFTER CHRISTMAS....MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL.
Quote of the day:
"Experience is a wonderful thing. It allows you to recognize a mistake when you make it again."
Mark Twain
The police down around Dawsonville, Ga. have been searching hard for Paul and Jennifer Budrawich. The couple has been missing for several days. This past Monday the couple was found after their car was found in the parking lot of an IGA store over in Pickens county. They both had been killed. A security camera at the store caught two men getting out the car and departing the area in a nearby pickup truck. The men were identified as the 40 year old stepfather of the missing woman and the stepfather's nephew. Both are in the joint with no bail available. By the way, Jennifer's stepfather is the father of one of her children. What a wonderful guy.
Here is a little something that will instill faith in the US political party with the majority in the legislature. That's right folks, in order to get the final Democratic vote to get the Health bill passed they allowed nothing short of extortion when they persuaded Rep. Bill Nelson to vote for the bill by writing into the bill that the people in Nebraska (Nelson's home state) would be allowed to pay less for coverage than anyone else in America. At least that is the way I read it. I would not doubt the rottenness of this administration. Senator Lindsay Graham has asked Henry McMasters, South Carolina's Attorney General, to look into that trick with Nebraska as being unconstitutional under the "equal protection the law" statute. How rotten are these people?
Back in 2004-05 Jim Campus of Gulf Breeze, Florida was working for the Mitchell Development Company. It was Jim's job to find undeveloped property for Mitchell to buy and develop. Jim found a nice piece of property over on the Bagdad peninsula near Pensacola but told the owner that Mitchell was not interested. Then four months later Campus and a man named Jim Young formed a partnership and bought that very same piece of property for $1.2 million. About a year later Campus suggested that Mitchell buy this property for $3.3 million and they did. Then Mitchell's attorneys found out that Campus had a financial interest in the property and sued. Campus counter-sued and the battle was on. The day before the case was going before the judge, Campus agreed to paying Mitchell the difference between the $1.2 million and the $3.3 million paid out by Mitchell. Campus forked over the cash and Mitchell severed all ties with Campus and I don't blame them.
Freshman US Representative Parker Griffith (D-Al) has sent notice that he is going to change over to the GOP. This is going to put the Demos even closer to losing the majority in the House next November. Nearly everyone that I talk with nationwide declares that they expect the Democrats will suffer a bloodbath in the mid-term elections in 2010. I certainly hope so. But I am not sure about those folks in central Texas, how about it Dotty?
Good news:
Over in Independence, Missouri a single father named Howard Kimble was raising three children. They are 15 year old Vanessa, 14 year old Hanna and 9 year old Jessy. In the span of two years Howard had suffered two heart attacks, had a motorcycle wreck, brain surgery and had a cancerous kidney removed. Need less to say he was out of work for a considerable length of time. Howard found out that the house he was renting had been sold and he was given a certain length of time to move out. On the day before he was to move him and his family to a homeless shelter, there was a knock on the door. it was Jim Basler and John Salisbury, the people that had bought the house. They told Howard that he was indeed going to have to move, but it was going to be into one of Jim and John's other rental houses that was newer and larger and the rent was going to be lowered. Jim and John said thaey just could not see themselves putting a family in a homeless shelter just so they could make a profit. Howard called it a miracle, but it was an act of kindness at the last possible moment. By the way, Jim and John bought the members of family Christmas presents.
This date in history December 23
1944 In January of this year a man named Eddie Slovik was drafted into the United States Army. Slovik was originally rejected for the draft because he was a convicted felon (grand theft auto) but the standards were changed when more manpower was needed. Slovic was trained as a rifleman and in August of 1944 was assigned to the 28th Division which had taken a beating in the last few months both in France and in Germany. Slovic vowed that he would never fight because he hated guns but in October he arrived in France and went in search of the 28th Division during a ferocious battle and got lost. He found a Canadian outfit and they took him in. Eventually the heat of the battle abated and the Canadians took him to 28th Division Headquarters. It was not unusual for replacement troops to get lost in the midst of a major battle so Slovic’s tardiness was overlooked. Slovic again told the personnel at Division Headquarters that he hated guns and would not fight and would run away if forced to. He was ignored until the next day and Slovic showed up missing. A day later he came back in but still told his superiors that he would not fight. His commanding officer was fed up and told him he had a choice. Grab a rifle and go into combat immediately or face a court martial. He reminded Slovic that the United States Army in general and the 28th Division in particular was not in a forgiving mood because of all the casualties they had suffered. Slovic still refused and sure enough a court martial was convened. He was found guilty of desertion and given the death penalty and Slovic was “to be shot to death by musketry”. A stunned Slovic appealed to General Eisenhower for leniency. On this date General Eisenhower signed the order for the execution of Private Slovic. Eisenhower was in no mood for mercy either because of all the American casualties and the “Battle of the Bulge” was well under way where thousands of Allied solders were being slaughtered. In January of 1945 Private Slovic was stood up before a squad of 12 riflemen and shot to death. None of the riflemen even flinched because they believed that Slovic was getting what he deserved. He was the first American soldier executed for desertion since the Civil War.
1783 After the signing of the Treaty of Paris which declared the United States as a separate and sovereign nation General George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief of the American Army. He told his men this:
"Happy in the confirmation of our independence and sovereignty, and pleased with the opportunity afforded the United States of becoming a respectable nation, I resign with satisfaction the appointment I accepted with diffidence; a diffidence in my abilities to accomplish so arduous a task; which however was superseded by a confidence in the rectitude of our cause, the support of the supreme power of the Union, and the patronage of Heaven.”
George Washington wished to go back to his plantation and live the life of a gentleman planter but his country called again when he was elected our first President. As I have said before, we were very fortunate to have the group of Patriots that we had on our side during this time frame. It almost seems like an act of Providence for all of these things to come together as they did when they did.
1862 On this date the President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis declares US General Benjamin Butler a felon. This meant that if Butler was captured by Confederate forces he would be hanged on the spot. What happened was that the city of New Orleans was captured by US forces and Butler was made military governor. Butler’s leadership had nothing to do with the capture; it was the expertise of the US Navy commanded by David Porter. Anyway, Butler was a complete horse’s ass during his tenure. He allowed his troops to plunder the civilians personal effects. He also allowed his brother to set up shop in New Orleans and sell contraband that General Butler let him steal. And finally he issued General order No. 28. This abomination stated that if any lady insulted any of his troops, the lady would be assumed to be a prostitute and treated accordingly. In these days the ladies of the South were treated with great respect and honor. This order by Butler was the ultimate insult and President Davis essentially put a bounty on the head of Benjamin Butler.
Born today:
1896 Italian writer Giuseppe Lampedusa. He said “If you want things to remain as they are, they there will have to be some changes.” Huh?
1908 Armenian photographer Yousef Karsh. He said “There is a secret in every man and woman. It is my task as a photographer to reveal it if I can.”
Died today:
1834 English economist Edward Malthus. He said “Population, when unchecked, makes a geometrical progression of such a nature as to double itself every twenty-five years.” That is spooky, ya’ll, but this was before the”pill”.
1959 English politico Edward Halifax. He said “True merit, like a river, the deeper it is the less noise it makes.” Good thinking, Ed.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow.
THIS WILL BE MY LAST LESSON UNTIL AFTER CHRISTMAS....MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL.
Quote of the day:
"Experience is a wonderful thing. It allows you to recognize a mistake when you make it again."
Mark Twain
The police down around Dawsonville, Ga. have been searching hard for Paul and Jennifer Budrawich. The couple has been missing for several days. This past Monday the couple was found after their car was found in the parking lot of an IGA store over in Pickens county. They both had been killed. A security camera at the store caught two men getting out the car and departing the area in a nearby pickup truck. The men were identified as the 40 year old stepfather of the missing woman and the stepfather's nephew. Both are in the joint with no bail available. By the way, Jennifer's stepfather is the father of one of her children. What a wonderful guy.
Here is a little something that will instill faith in the US political party with the majority in the legislature. That's right folks, in order to get the final Democratic vote to get the Health bill passed they allowed nothing short of extortion when they persuaded Rep. Bill Nelson to vote for the bill by writing into the bill that the people in Nebraska (Nelson's home state) would be allowed to pay less for coverage than anyone else in America. At least that is the way I read it. I would not doubt the rottenness of this administration. Senator Lindsay Graham has asked Henry McMasters, South Carolina's Attorney General, to look into that trick with Nebraska as being unconstitutional under the "equal protection the law" statute. How rotten are these people?
Back in 2004-05 Jim Campus of Gulf Breeze, Florida was working for the Mitchell Development Company. It was Jim's job to find undeveloped property for Mitchell to buy and develop. Jim found a nice piece of property over on the Bagdad peninsula near Pensacola but told the owner that Mitchell was not interested. Then four months later Campus and a man named Jim Young formed a partnership and bought that very same piece of property for $1.2 million. About a year later Campus suggested that Mitchell buy this property for $3.3 million and they did. Then Mitchell's attorneys found out that Campus had a financial interest in the property and sued. Campus counter-sued and the battle was on. The day before the case was going before the judge, Campus agreed to paying Mitchell the difference between the $1.2 million and the $3.3 million paid out by Mitchell. Campus forked over the cash and Mitchell severed all ties with Campus and I don't blame them.
Freshman US Representative Parker Griffith (D-Al) has sent notice that he is going to change over to the GOP. This is going to put the Demos even closer to losing the majority in the House next November. Nearly everyone that I talk with nationwide declares that they expect the Democrats will suffer a bloodbath in the mid-term elections in 2010. I certainly hope so. But I am not sure about those folks in central Texas, how about it Dotty?
Good news:
Over in Independence, Missouri a single father named Howard Kimble was raising three children. They are 15 year old Vanessa, 14 year old Hanna and 9 year old Jessy. In the span of two years Howard had suffered two heart attacks, had a motorcycle wreck, brain surgery and had a cancerous kidney removed. Need less to say he was out of work for a considerable length of time. Howard found out that the house he was renting had been sold and he was given a certain length of time to move out. On the day before he was to move him and his family to a homeless shelter, there was a knock on the door. it was Jim Basler and John Salisbury, the people that had bought the house. They told Howard that he was indeed going to have to move, but it was going to be into one of Jim and John's other rental houses that was newer and larger and the rent was going to be lowered. Jim and John said thaey just could not see themselves putting a family in a homeless shelter just so they could make a profit. Howard called it a miracle, but it was an act of kindness at the last possible moment. By the way, Jim and John bought the members of family Christmas presents.
This date in history December 23
1944 In January of this year a man named Eddie Slovik was drafted into the United States Army. Slovik was originally rejected for the draft because he was a convicted felon (grand theft auto) but the standards were changed when more manpower was needed. Slovic was trained as a rifleman and in August of 1944 was assigned to the 28th Division which had taken a beating in the last few months both in France and in Germany. Slovic vowed that he would never fight because he hated guns but in October he arrived in France and went in search of the 28th Division during a ferocious battle and got lost. He found a Canadian outfit and they took him in. Eventually the heat of the battle abated and the Canadians took him to 28th Division Headquarters. It was not unusual for replacement troops to get lost in the midst of a major battle so Slovic’s tardiness was overlooked. Slovic again told the personnel at Division Headquarters that he hated guns and would not fight and would run away if forced to. He was ignored until the next day and Slovic showed up missing. A day later he came back in but still told his superiors that he would not fight. His commanding officer was fed up and told him he had a choice. Grab a rifle and go into combat immediately or face a court martial. He reminded Slovic that the United States Army in general and the 28th Division in particular was not in a forgiving mood because of all the casualties they had suffered. Slovic still refused and sure enough a court martial was convened. He was found guilty of desertion and given the death penalty and Slovic was “to be shot to death by musketry”. A stunned Slovic appealed to General Eisenhower for leniency. On this date General Eisenhower signed the order for the execution of Private Slovic. Eisenhower was in no mood for mercy either because of all the American casualties and the “Battle of the Bulge” was well under way where thousands of Allied solders were being slaughtered. In January of 1945 Private Slovic was stood up before a squad of 12 riflemen and shot to death. None of the riflemen even flinched because they believed that Slovic was getting what he deserved. He was the first American soldier executed for desertion since the Civil War.
1783 After the signing of the Treaty of Paris which declared the United States as a separate and sovereign nation General George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief of the American Army. He told his men this:
"Happy in the confirmation of our independence and sovereignty, and pleased with the opportunity afforded the United States of becoming a respectable nation, I resign with satisfaction the appointment I accepted with diffidence; a diffidence in my abilities to accomplish so arduous a task; which however was superseded by a confidence in the rectitude of our cause, the support of the supreme power of the Union, and the patronage of Heaven.”
George Washington wished to go back to his plantation and live the life of a gentleman planter but his country called again when he was elected our first President. As I have said before, we were very fortunate to have the group of Patriots that we had on our side during this time frame. It almost seems like an act of Providence for all of these things to come together as they did when they did.
1862 On this date the President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis declares US General Benjamin Butler a felon. This meant that if Butler was captured by Confederate forces he would be hanged on the spot. What happened was that the city of New Orleans was captured by US forces and Butler was made military governor. Butler’s leadership had nothing to do with the capture; it was the expertise of the US Navy commanded by David Porter. Anyway, Butler was a complete horse’s ass during his tenure. He allowed his troops to plunder the civilians personal effects. He also allowed his brother to set up shop in New Orleans and sell contraband that General Butler let him steal. And finally he issued General order No. 28. This abomination stated that if any lady insulted any of his troops, the lady would be assumed to be a prostitute and treated accordingly. In these days the ladies of the South were treated with great respect and honor. This order by Butler was the ultimate insult and President Davis essentially put a bounty on the head of Benjamin Butler.
Born today:
1896 Italian writer Giuseppe Lampedusa. He said “If you want things to remain as they are, they there will have to be some changes.” Huh?
1908 Armenian photographer Yousef Karsh. He said “There is a secret in every man and woman. It is my task as a photographer to reveal it if I can.”
Died today:
1834 English economist Edward Malthus. He said “Population, when unchecked, makes a geometrical progression of such a nature as to double itself every twenty-five years.” That is spooky, ya’ll, but this was before the”pill”.
1959 English politico Edward Halifax. He said “True merit, like a river, the deeper it is the less noise it makes.” Good thinking, Ed.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
"Moving on is an easy thing, what you leave behind is hard."
Dave Mustaine
Back in January of 2006 a 63 year old South Carolina attorney was whooping it up with some of the "good ole boys" in a local strip club called Chastity's Gold Club in Columbia, SC. Dewaine Herrin had chosen to take "sofa dance" with one of the dancers in a private room. The dancer sent a silent signal when things appeared to be getting out of hand and the bouncer and the owner, John Johnson, Jr., opened the door and there was good ole Dewaine standing there naked as a jaybird. Dewaine was given a minimum amount of time to get some clothes on and the owner and the bouncer unceremoniously threw him out. On his way out Dewaine promised to kill someone for this "outrage". Dewaine retrieves a handgun from his car and fires a few rounds through the door, one of which struck the owner in the head killing him instantly. In 2007 Dewaine went on trial and was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in the joint. His attorneys appealed the trial and sentence stating that the dancer had put a "date rape" drug into his drink which led to his bizarre behavior. This week the South Carolina Supreme Court rejected Dewaine's appeal and sustained his sentence of 30 years. What lesson can we learn from this guys? Do not go out with a group of "good ole boys" to a strip joint? Do not go to a "sofa dance"? Do not take off all your clothes at said "sofa dance"? Do not pack a hog-leg in your car without taking a course in anger management? All the above? By the way, Dewaine has been disbarred and is working part time as a bouncer at Chastitiy's. Just joking.
A couple of months ago a Baptisit minister from Lavonia, Georgia named Jonathon Ayers was seen in Toccoa, Georgia dropping off a known drug merchant. After dropping her off, the preacher went to a convenience store. Georgia drug enforcement agents blocked Ayer's car. Ayers went into reverse and rammed one of the cars and started moving toward another one. One of the agents opened fire and Ayers was killed instantly. Monday a Grand Jury confirmed that the Ayer's shooting was justified. What can we learn here? It is that even preachers can be "mules" or junkies.
I went to lunch with a friend on Monday afternoon to a fancy-schmantzy steakhouse near my house. As far as I am concerned the best dish in the house is their pot roast and that is what my friend and I had for lunch. Later on that afternoon I attended the meeting of the 4 o'clock Club at another location. After a while I decided to go home but to stop by the steakhouse and get something to take home with me. I placed my order and waited...and waited...and waited. I was reassured by the waiter several times that my order was on the way. After waiting for at least 30 minutes I told the waiter that I was leaving and he again reassured me that my order was just seconds from arrival. About15 minutes later there was still no food so I got up and walked out. It is Justin's Steakhouse, y'all. I will not go there again for dinner...I will return for the lunch. The food is great...but the dinner service sucks.
Good news:
Up in Wellsville, NY near Buffalo, a woman of about 60 walked into Hart's jewelry store and bought 10 pieces of fine jewelry. The owner asked her where she was from and she said "The North Pole". He said "No, really, where are you from?" She said "The North Pole, Santa sent me." She then turned and gave two upscale rings to customers in the store, hugged them and wished them a Merry Christmas and left in a shiny new Mercedes. Everyone believes it is the same woman that gave a restaurant waitress a check for $50,000 in place in northern Pennsylvania last week. Christmas spirit is alive and well, y'all.
This date in history December 22
1984 On this date a 45 year old white man named Bernard Goetz is surrounded by four young black men on a New York subway car. The thugs demanded money from Goetz. Instead Goetz whipped out a .38 caliber revolver and opened fire wounding three of them and the fourth was cowering in a doorway when Goetz said “You don’t look too bad, here’s another” and shot him in the back severing his spinal cord. This eighteen year old black man was named Darrell Cabey who was paralyzed from the waist down and had brain damage. Goetz fled the scene but turned himself in eight days later at a police station in New Hampshire. In the subsequent interview that was videotaped Goetz admitted that he was scared and when the four smirked at him he wanted to “kill them all” but felt he has just protecting himself and pled innocent to attempted murder at his arraignment. Goetz’s actions was racially motivated according to the District Attorney but many people in New York and around the country agreed with Goetz and money flowed in for his defense. Goetz’s act was very divisive to the city of New York where racial tensions were very high at the time. In 1987 Goetz went to trial and was acquitted of attempted murder and assault but was convicted of a violation of New York’s Sullivan Law that forbids unlicensed firearms in the city. He served a little over eight months in prison for that indiscretion. After his release he was sued in a civil suit by Darrell Cabey for damages to the tune of $14 million. Goetz promptly declares bankruptcy and disappears into the woodwork. I can assure you that if that scenario happened here in Greenpatch I doubt that the shooter would be arrest but if he was, he would be released on his own recognizance. If it happened to me, I would shoot first and take whatever heat comes later. I will not be mugged by some undisciplined jackasses that had rather rob someone rather than work. They are nothing but pimples on the ass of society.
1894 On this date a French Army Captain named Alfred Dreyfus is arrested and charged with treason for giving military secrets to the Germans. Four months later Dreyfus was convicted on the flimsiest of evidence and sent to infamous Devil’s Island Prison on the north coast of South America. Captain Dreyfus was guilty of nothing but being Jewish. The French military hierarchy was vehemently anti-Semitic. Two years later newly found evidence pointed to a French Captain Esterhazy as the culprit in giving secrets to the Germans. The French Military had no choice but to put Esterhazy on trial who was acquitted in four hours. The French military was not about to admit that they had made a mistake with the Jew Dreyfus. When this trial was made public the famous novelist Emile Zola printed an article in a Paris newspaper labeled “L’Accuse” accusing the French courts of being under the thumb of the French military. This caused a division in the French people. The nationalists and the Catholic Church supported the military and the Republicans, socialists and those interested in religious freedom for just as opposed and lined up to support Dreyfus. In 1898 A French Captain named Hubert Henry who originally found the evidence against Dreyfus admitted he had forged most if not all of it and then committed suicide. Esterhazy had log since fled the country. The French Military brought Dreyfus back for another trial and again convicted him and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. But this time a new administration was in place and they immediately pardoned Dreyfus. In 1906 the French courts overturned his original conviction. This whole debacle brought social reform and a reduction to the power of the military. Formal laws were passed that provided the permanent separation of church and state which in my opinion, was the main problem all along.
1775 On this date the Continental Congress votes to form a Continental Navy commanded by Esek Hopkins as commander of the fleet. This fledgling navy only had four vessels, the Alfred, Columbus, Andrea Doria and the Cabot. They had four captains, Dudley Saltonstall, Abraham Whipple, Nicholas Biddle and John Burrows Hopkins. They had only 8 lieutenants but one of which was to become a national hero in John Paul Jones. Esek Hopkins was an interesting man; he was also a very wealthy man from Rhode Island. He married a very wealthy woman but he made a fortune during the Seven Years War. He bought a boat with his wife’s money and became a privateer sailing up and down the east coast. As a privateer he was essentially a pirate working for whoever paid him the most or allowed him to keep a majority of the booty he captured. The Continental Congress wanted him to continue this enterprise working for the Colonies and again offered him a percentage of the take. What they were really after was warships and that is exactly what Hopkins and company did, especially John Paul Jones. They would sneak aboard British warships, assassinate the Captain and any of the crew that objected and sail the ship into Continental waters and take command. Our navy did not begin in an auspicious manner but look at us now. In this case, crime paid.
1978 On this date a man named John Wayne Gacy confesses to murdering about 24 young men and boys and burying their bodies under his suburban Chicago house. Law enforcement officials did indeed find the bodies. Gacy was tried and convicted and sentenced to death. Gacy spent 14 years on death row where he painted pictures of clowns that sold for thousands of dollars. Gacy was a clown in charity events from time to time, if you can believe that. Finally after all of his appeals were exhausted he was executed by lethal injection in the prison in Joliet, Illinois and hell rejoiced at the new arrival. For a while Gacy was the worst serial killer in American history until George Ridgway, also known as the Green River Killer, was caught and convicted of killing over 48 women that were mostly prostitutes in the Pacific Northwest. He is visiting John Wayne Gacy as we speak.
1884 Earlier a mover and shaker in the old west John Chisum is born in Tennessee in 1824. When he was six, his family moved to Paris, Texas. After he grew up he became involved in construction for a while then he decided that he wanted to raise cattle and started a cattle ranch on the Pecos River in Lincoln County, New Mexico. Chisum was very successful and was soon running over 80,000 head. The problem was that running a herd that large over such a wide range invited cattle rustlers and it soon became apparent that Chisum was losing about 10,000 head a year to rustlers. Chisum found that this unacceptable and tracked down the culprits. The culprits were a group running a mercantile establishment known as “The House” in Lincoln County. The House was really not a mercantile business; it was a clearing house for rustled cattle that were sold to the US Cavalry under exclusive contract meaning that Chisum and the other large ranchers were undercut by The House. Tensions flared and one of the employees of Chisum shot and killed one of the employees of The House. This shooter was Billy the Kid. After this shooting a war broke out between the large ranchers and The House forever known as the Lincoln County War. The war raged for several months but it became apparent that The House would prevail because they had the backing of the US Cavalry and the war ended. Devastated by the Lincoln County War and the continued loss of cattle, John Chisum moved to Eureka Springs, Arkansas to retire. He died three months later. Even then he left an inheritance of over $500,000 indicating the enormous wealth he had accumulated.
Born today:
1639 French writer Jean Racine. He said “Often it is fatal to live too long.” That stupid statement sounds like a Frenchman doesn’t it?
1912 First Lady Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson. She said “Children are likely to live up to what you believe in them.” Lady Bird was a class act.
1945 US Journalist Diane Sawyer. She said “I guess the one lesson I learned was that there is no substitute for paying attention.” Indeed, Diane, indeed.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
"Moving on is an easy thing, what you leave behind is hard."
Dave Mustaine
Back in January of 2006 a 63 year old South Carolina attorney was whooping it up with some of the "good ole boys" in a local strip club called Chastity's Gold Club in Columbia, SC. Dewaine Herrin had chosen to take "sofa dance" with one of the dancers in a private room. The dancer sent a silent signal when things appeared to be getting out of hand and the bouncer and the owner, John Johnson, Jr., opened the door and there was good ole Dewaine standing there naked as a jaybird. Dewaine was given a minimum amount of time to get some clothes on and the owner and the bouncer unceremoniously threw him out. On his way out Dewaine promised to kill someone for this "outrage". Dewaine retrieves a handgun from his car and fires a few rounds through the door, one of which struck the owner in the head killing him instantly. In 2007 Dewaine went on trial and was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in the joint. His attorneys appealed the trial and sentence stating that the dancer had put a "date rape" drug into his drink which led to his bizarre behavior. This week the South Carolina Supreme Court rejected Dewaine's appeal and sustained his sentence of 30 years. What lesson can we learn from this guys? Do not go out with a group of "good ole boys" to a strip joint? Do not go to a "sofa dance"? Do not take off all your clothes at said "sofa dance"? Do not pack a hog-leg in your car without taking a course in anger management? All the above? By the way, Dewaine has been disbarred and is working part time as a bouncer at Chastitiy's. Just joking.
A couple of months ago a Baptisit minister from Lavonia, Georgia named Jonathon Ayers was seen in Toccoa, Georgia dropping off a known drug merchant. After dropping her off, the preacher went to a convenience store. Georgia drug enforcement agents blocked Ayer's car. Ayers went into reverse and rammed one of the cars and started moving toward another one. One of the agents opened fire and Ayers was killed instantly. Monday a Grand Jury confirmed that the Ayer's shooting was justified. What can we learn here? It is that even preachers can be "mules" or junkies.
I went to lunch with a friend on Monday afternoon to a fancy-schmantzy steakhouse near my house. As far as I am concerned the best dish in the house is their pot roast and that is what my friend and I had for lunch. Later on that afternoon I attended the meeting of the 4 o'clock Club at another location. After a while I decided to go home but to stop by the steakhouse and get something to take home with me. I placed my order and waited...and waited...and waited. I was reassured by the waiter several times that my order was on the way. After waiting for at least 30 minutes I told the waiter that I was leaving and he again reassured me that my order was just seconds from arrival. About15 minutes later there was still no food so I got up and walked out. It is Justin's Steakhouse, y'all. I will not go there again for dinner...I will return for the lunch. The food is great...but the dinner service sucks.
Good news:
Up in Wellsville, NY near Buffalo, a woman of about 60 walked into Hart's jewelry store and bought 10 pieces of fine jewelry. The owner asked her where she was from and she said "The North Pole". He said "No, really, where are you from?" She said "The North Pole, Santa sent me." She then turned and gave two upscale rings to customers in the store, hugged them and wished them a Merry Christmas and left in a shiny new Mercedes. Everyone believes it is the same woman that gave a restaurant waitress a check for $50,000 in place in northern Pennsylvania last week. Christmas spirit is alive and well, y'all.
This date in history December 22
1984 On this date a 45 year old white man named Bernard Goetz is surrounded by four young black men on a New York subway car. The thugs demanded money from Goetz. Instead Goetz whipped out a .38 caliber revolver and opened fire wounding three of them and the fourth was cowering in a doorway when Goetz said “You don’t look too bad, here’s another” and shot him in the back severing his spinal cord. This eighteen year old black man was named Darrell Cabey who was paralyzed from the waist down and had brain damage. Goetz fled the scene but turned himself in eight days later at a police station in New Hampshire. In the subsequent interview that was videotaped Goetz admitted that he was scared and when the four smirked at him he wanted to “kill them all” but felt he has just protecting himself and pled innocent to attempted murder at his arraignment. Goetz’s actions was racially motivated according to the District Attorney but many people in New York and around the country agreed with Goetz and money flowed in for his defense. Goetz’s act was very divisive to the city of New York where racial tensions were very high at the time. In 1987 Goetz went to trial and was acquitted of attempted murder and assault but was convicted of a violation of New York’s Sullivan Law that forbids unlicensed firearms in the city. He served a little over eight months in prison for that indiscretion. After his release he was sued in a civil suit by Darrell Cabey for damages to the tune of $14 million. Goetz promptly declares bankruptcy and disappears into the woodwork. I can assure you that if that scenario happened here in Greenpatch I doubt that the shooter would be arrest but if he was, he would be released on his own recognizance. If it happened to me, I would shoot first and take whatever heat comes later. I will not be mugged by some undisciplined jackasses that had rather rob someone rather than work. They are nothing but pimples on the ass of society.
1894 On this date a French Army Captain named Alfred Dreyfus is arrested and charged with treason for giving military secrets to the Germans. Four months later Dreyfus was convicted on the flimsiest of evidence and sent to infamous Devil’s Island Prison on the north coast of South America. Captain Dreyfus was guilty of nothing but being Jewish. The French military hierarchy was vehemently anti-Semitic. Two years later newly found evidence pointed to a French Captain Esterhazy as the culprit in giving secrets to the Germans. The French Military had no choice but to put Esterhazy on trial who was acquitted in four hours. The French military was not about to admit that they had made a mistake with the Jew Dreyfus. When this trial was made public the famous novelist Emile Zola printed an article in a Paris newspaper labeled “L’Accuse” accusing the French courts of being under the thumb of the French military. This caused a division in the French people. The nationalists and the Catholic Church supported the military and the Republicans, socialists and those interested in religious freedom for just as opposed and lined up to support Dreyfus. In 1898 A French Captain named Hubert Henry who originally found the evidence against Dreyfus admitted he had forged most if not all of it and then committed suicide. Esterhazy had log since fled the country. The French Military brought Dreyfus back for another trial and again convicted him and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. But this time a new administration was in place and they immediately pardoned Dreyfus. In 1906 the French courts overturned his original conviction. This whole debacle brought social reform and a reduction to the power of the military. Formal laws were passed that provided the permanent separation of church and state which in my opinion, was the main problem all along.
1775 On this date the Continental Congress votes to form a Continental Navy commanded by Esek Hopkins as commander of the fleet. This fledgling navy only had four vessels, the Alfred, Columbus, Andrea Doria and the Cabot. They had four captains, Dudley Saltonstall, Abraham Whipple, Nicholas Biddle and John Burrows Hopkins. They had only 8 lieutenants but one of which was to become a national hero in John Paul Jones. Esek Hopkins was an interesting man; he was also a very wealthy man from Rhode Island. He married a very wealthy woman but he made a fortune during the Seven Years War. He bought a boat with his wife’s money and became a privateer sailing up and down the east coast. As a privateer he was essentially a pirate working for whoever paid him the most or allowed him to keep a majority of the booty he captured. The Continental Congress wanted him to continue this enterprise working for the Colonies and again offered him a percentage of the take. What they were really after was warships and that is exactly what Hopkins and company did, especially John Paul Jones. They would sneak aboard British warships, assassinate the Captain and any of the crew that objected and sail the ship into Continental waters and take command. Our navy did not begin in an auspicious manner but look at us now. In this case, crime paid.
1978 On this date a man named John Wayne Gacy confesses to murdering about 24 young men and boys and burying their bodies under his suburban Chicago house. Law enforcement officials did indeed find the bodies. Gacy was tried and convicted and sentenced to death. Gacy spent 14 years on death row where he painted pictures of clowns that sold for thousands of dollars. Gacy was a clown in charity events from time to time, if you can believe that. Finally after all of his appeals were exhausted he was executed by lethal injection in the prison in Joliet, Illinois and hell rejoiced at the new arrival. For a while Gacy was the worst serial killer in American history until George Ridgway, also known as the Green River Killer, was caught and convicted of killing over 48 women that were mostly prostitutes in the Pacific Northwest. He is visiting John Wayne Gacy as we speak.
1884 Earlier a mover and shaker in the old west John Chisum is born in Tennessee in 1824. When he was six, his family moved to Paris, Texas. After he grew up he became involved in construction for a while then he decided that he wanted to raise cattle and started a cattle ranch on the Pecos River in Lincoln County, New Mexico. Chisum was very successful and was soon running over 80,000 head. The problem was that running a herd that large over such a wide range invited cattle rustlers and it soon became apparent that Chisum was losing about 10,000 head a year to rustlers. Chisum found that this unacceptable and tracked down the culprits. The culprits were a group running a mercantile establishment known as “The House” in Lincoln County. The House was really not a mercantile business; it was a clearing house for rustled cattle that were sold to the US Cavalry under exclusive contract meaning that Chisum and the other large ranchers were undercut by The House. Tensions flared and one of the employees of Chisum shot and killed one of the employees of The House. This shooter was Billy the Kid. After this shooting a war broke out between the large ranchers and The House forever known as the Lincoln County War. The war raged for several months but it became apparent that The House would prevail because they had the backing of the US Cavalry and the war ended. Devastated by the Lincoln County War and the continued loss of cattle, John Chisum moved to Eureka Springs, Arkansas to retire. He died three months later. Even then he left an inheritance of over $500,000 indicating the enormous wealth he had accumulated.
Born today:
1639 French writer Jean Racine. He said “Often it is fatal to live too long.” That stupid statement sounds like a Frenchman doesn’t it?
1912 First Lady Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson. She said “Children are likely to live up to what you believe in them.” Lady Bird was a class act.
1945 US Journalist Diane Sawyer. She said “I guess the one lesson I learned was that there is no substitute for paying attention.” Indeed, Diane, indeed.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Monday, December 21, 2009
Daily History
Good morning,
Back in February in the Brownsville section of Pensacola, Florida, 26 year old Antonio Landrum and 20 year old Travis Maders hold up a man and his 13 year old daughter while they were walking down the sidewalk in broad daylight. They used a BB gun that had the shape, size and color of a Glock 9 MM handgun. A short while later Antonio and Travis approached a woman in a car that was stopped at a red light. They pointed the BB gun and robbed her of her purse. They went on trial last week where a jury convicted them of two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon and one count of aggravated assault. The judge set January 14 for a sentencing date. There is little doubt that Antonio with get life without parole be cause this is his third felony conviction which in Florida means a mandatory life sentence. What sentence Travis will receive was not discussed but I'll bet he is just holding his breath. How freaking stupid can you be to rob someone in broad daylight with a BB gun? It apparently does not matter if the weapon is deadly or not, all that appear to matter is that the victim thinks it is a deadly weapon. Anyway, dumbass Antonio and Travis will be spending a lot of time in that hell on Earth known as the Florida State Correction Facility (prison) at Raiford.
Saturday afternoon here in Greenville 30 year Illya Salter decided to shoplift a few things at a Wal-mart on the west side. The security people in the Wal-mart see Illya with the goods and call the cops. In the meantime Illya decides to make good his escape by carjacking. Up until the carjacking Illya was only guilty of a misdemeanor, now it was a felony. The cops show up and Illya hauls ass out of the parking lot with Greenville's finest in close pursuit. Now it is two felonies, not stopping for a blue light and evading. Illya cannot negotiate a tight left turn and hits a tree trapping himself in the car. That is three felonies, the destruction of property. Illya jumps into the back seat and finally gets a door open and starts running but is caught very soon thereafter and starts fighting. That is four felonies, resisting arrest. One of the cops got fed up and hit Illya with Taser and he immediately surrendered. It started out with a misdemeanor and maybe just a fine and now Illya will be doing some serious time in the joint. He must be related to those jackasses Antonio and Travis down in Pensacola. Then again, maybe the "hell on Earth" at Raiford is not as hellish at the one in Bishopville, McCormick, Greenwood (home of the infamous Susan Smith) SC, or one of several other "correction facilities" know for their cruelty here in the land of women in big hats and hooped skirts and people who say "y'all" and speak with a tempo of cold molasses.
Under normal circumstances college football players are forbidden from taking money. The exception is if the team is going to a bowl game then they can. What is normally done is each player is given a certain amount of money to make his way to city where the bown game is being played and find their way to the stadium and meet up with their team mates. The head coach of the Alabama Crimson, Nick Saban, told his team captains to get with the team and decide what they wanted to do. The team decided to reject the concept of everybody going individually to Pasadena and to go together as a team. With that spirit, they will be hard to beat.
This date in history December 21
1761 Revolutionary War hero and hard-core Patriot Robert Barnwell was born in Beaufort, South Carolina. This boy joined his local militia at the age of 16 and was promptly engaged in the Battle of Mathew’s Farm on John’s Island near Charleston. During this battle young Robert received 17 separate wounds. He had his equipment taken from him and was left for dead. He was taken from the field by a slave to the plantation home of his aunt which was nearby. He spent several months in recovery and eventually rejoined his militia and was given the rank of lieutenant. Unfortunately, soon thereafter Charleston, South Carolina was captured by the British including Lieutenant Barnwell. Barnwell was put aboard the British prison ship Pack Horse anchored in Charleston Harbor where he spent 13 months before being exchanged. During the Revolutionary War, Barnwell rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After the War Barnwell was elected a member of the South Carolina legislature and was sent to Washington as a member of the South Carolina delegation to ratify the US Constitution He spent two years in Washington as a member of the US House of Representative and then returned to his beloved South Carolina and rejoined the South Carolina legislature. He stayed in the legislature along with serving on the board of directors of Beaufort College until his death on October 24, 1814. Strangely enough his son Robert Woodward Barnwell was a passionate advocate of South Carolina secession from the Union. His son was trying to tear apart what his father had spent most of his life putting together.
1861 Earlier in November of this year a United States warship had stopped and boarded the British mail ship Trent in the Bahamas and captured two Confederate representatives on their way to England and took them prisoner. On this date British Secretary Lord Lyon met with United States Secretary of war William Seward about this event, Lord Lyon assured Secretary Seward that the British crown thought of this act as one of piracy and was worthy of a declaration of war if the Confederate representatives, James Mason and John Slidell, were not released immediately. Seward took Lyon’s words to Lincoln. Lincoln stalled for a few days until he found out the there were 11,000 British troops on the way to Canada. Soon thereafter, Mason and Slidell were released and the US promised to observe the sovereignty of British ships in the future. Lincoln could not risk having to fight a war on two fronts.
1975 On this date in Vienna, Austria, a terrorist named llich Ramirez Sanchez led a group of fellow terrorists into a meeting of OPEC and kill three guards and capture 16 OPEC members. This was not the first, nor the last, act of terrorism committed by a man that had been labeled Carlos the Jackal. He made a demand for a bus and an airplane which the Viennese government provided. Carlos directed the plane to Algeria where all aboard were released, Carlos was born into a wealthy Marxist family in Caracas, Venezuela, He was educated at Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow. He chose a life of terrorism at an early age. No one really knows why he chose a life on the run but he was an accomplished terrorist. He had practiced his craft for over 25 years without capture, However in 1994, French undercover agents tracked him down to the Sudan and kidnapped the son-of-a-bitch back France. The French government chose to not announce his capture for three years when finally he was put on trial for killing two French counter-intelligence agents in 1975. He got life without parole. Not enough, as far as I am concerned.
1866 In 1861 the United States signed the “Treaty of Laramie” with the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians ceding the Indians the lands that contained the Bozeman Trail, but soon after this treaty was signed, gold was discovered on the Indian lands and gold seekers resume using the Bozeman Trail once again much to the displeasure of the Indians in general and the Cheyenne chief Red Cloud in particular. The US Government not only allowed the breaking of the treaty, they built army forts along the Bozeman Train to protect the travelers. The most obnoxious one to the Indians was the fort on the Little Piney named Fort Phil Kearney. This fort saw very few days without some kind of attack by Red Clouds warriors. During all of this, the fort had to have timber for heat and sent out wood cutting groups on a regular basis. On this date, Red Cloud was waiting and killed all but one of the wood cutting crew. Red Cloud sent seven or eight warriors in view of the fort and when the fort fired a round of artillery the Indians ran away in fear….or so they thought. A Lieutenant Fetterman requested permission from the camp commander to chase down the Indians that had ran away in fear and the permission was granted. Fetterman took 45 cavalryman and 45 infantry and left the fort. Fetterman had instructions to not go out of sight of the fort but soon after leaving the fort Fetterman spotted 7 or 8 Indians running over a hillside and chased after them. As soon as all the troopers were over the hill, Red Cloud and 2,000 of his warriors fell upon the hapless troopers and annihilated them to a man. Not only that, not one of the troopers was found in one piece. They had all been mutilated. Soon after this the United States decided to abandon Fort Phil Kearney. After the troopers left the fort, it was set afire by Red Cloud before the troopers were three miles away. This is one of the very few victories the Indians enjoyed.
Births and deaths:
1892 US Golfer Walter Hagen is born. He said “I don’t want to be a millionaire; I just want to live like one.” Me too, Walter, me too.
1909 US ambassador to the United Nations George Ball is born. He said “Nostalgia is a seductive liar.”
1937 US actress Jane Fonda is born. She said “Working in Hollywood does give one a certain expertise in the field of prostitution.”
1945 US General George Patton dies. He said “It is not the object of war to die for your country it is to make the other poor bastard die for his.”
Quotable quotes:
“I have an inferiority complex, but it is not a very good one.”
Stephen Wright
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Back in February in the Brownsville section of Pensacola, Florida, 26 year old Antonio Landrum and 20 year old Travis Maders hold up a man and his 13 year old daughter while they were walking down the sidewalk in broad daylight. They used a BB gun that had the shape, size and color of a Glock 9 MM handgun. A short while later Antonio and Travis approached a woman in a car that was stopped at a red light. They pointed the BB gun and robbed her of her purse. They went on trial last week where a jury convicted them of two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon and one count of aggravated assault. The judge set January 14 for a sentencing date. There is little doubt that Antonio with get life without parole be cause this is his third felony conviction which in Florida means a mandatory life sentence. What sentence Travis will receive was not discussed but I'll bet he is just holding his breath. How freaking stupid can you be to rob someone in broad daylight with a BB gun? It apparently does not matter if the weapon is deadly or not, all that appear to matter is that the victim thinks it is a deadly weapon. Anyway, dumbass Antonio and Travis will be spending a lot of time in that hell on Earth known as the Florida State Correction Facility (prison) at Raiford.
Saturday afternoon here in Greenville 30 year Illya Salter decided to shoplift a few things at a Wal-mart on the west side. The security people in the Wal-mart see Illya with the goods and call the cops. In the meantime Illya decides to make good his escape by carjacking. Up until the carjacking Illya was only guilty of a misdemeanor, now it was a felony. The cops show up and Illya hauls ass out of the parking lot with Greenville's finest in close pursuit. Now it is two felonies, not stopping for a blue light and evading. Illya cannot negotiate a tight left turn and hits a tree trapping himself in the car. That is three felonies, the destruction of property. Illya jumps into the back seat and finally gets a door open and starts running but is caught very soon thereafter and starts fighting. That is four felonies, resisting arrest. One of the cops got fed up and hit Illya with Taser and he immediately surrendered. It started out with a misdemeanor and maybe just a fine and now Illya will be doing some serious time in the joint. He must be related to those jackasses Antonio and Travis down in Pensacola. Then again, maybe the "hell on Earth" at Raiford is not as hellish at the one in Bishopville, McCormick, Greenwood (home of the infamous Susan Smith) SC, or one of several other "correction facilities" know for their cruelty here in the land of women in big hats and hooped skirts and people who say "y'all" and speak with a tempo of cold molasses.
Under normal circumstances college football players are forbidden from taking money. The exception is if the team is going to a bowl game then they can. What is normally done is each player is given a certain amount of money to make his way to city where the bown game is being played and find their way to the stadium and meet up with their team mates. The head coach of the Alabama Crimson, Nick Saban, told his team captains to get with the team and decide what they wanted to do. The team decided to reject the concept of everybody going individually to Pasadena and to go together as a team. With that spirit, they will be hard to beat.
This date in history December 21
1761 Revolutionary War hero and hard-core Patriot Robert Barnwell was born in Beaufort, South Carolina. This boy joined his local militia at the age of 16 and was promptly engaged in the Battle of Mathew’s Farm on John’s Island near Charleston. During this battle young Robert received 17 separate wounds. He had his equipment taken from him and was left for dead. He was taken from the field by a slave to the plantation home of his aunt which was nearby. He spent several months in recovery and eventually rejoined his militia and was given the rank of lieutenant. Unfortunately, soon thereafter Charleston, South Carolina was captured by the British including Lieutenant Barnwell. Barnwell was put aboard the British prison ship Pack Horse anchored in Charleston Harbor where he spent 13 months before being exchanged. During the Revolutionary War, Barnwell rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After the War Barnwell was elected a member of the South Carolina legislature and was sent to Washington as a member of the South Carolina delegation to ratify the US Constitution He spent two years in Washington as a member of the US House of Representative and then returned to his beloved South Carolina and rejoined the South Carolina legislature. He stayed in the legislature along with serving on the board of directors of Beaufort College until his death on October 24, 1814. Strangely enough his son Robert Woodward Barnwell was a passionate advocate of South Carolina secession from the Union. His son was trying to tear apart what his father had spent most of his life putting together.
1861 Earlier in November of this year a United States warship had stopped and boarded the British mail ship Trent in the Bahamas and captured two Confederate representatives on their way to England and took them prisoner. On this date British Secretary Lord Lyon met with United States Secretary of war William Seward about this event, Lord Lyon assured Secretary Seward that the British crown thought of this act as one of piracy and was worthy of a declaration of war if the Confederate representatives, James Mason and John Slidell, were not released immediately. Seward took Lyon’s words to Lincoln. Lincoln stalled for a few days until he found out the there were 11,000 British troops on the way to Canada. Soon thereafter, Mason and Slidell were released and the US promised to observe the sovereignty of British ships in the future. Lincoln could not risk having to fight a war on two fronts.
1975 On this date in Vienna, Austria, a terrorist named llich Ramirez Sanchez led a group of fellow terrorists into a meeting of OPEC and kill three guards and capture 16 OPEC members. This was not the first, nor the last, act of terrorism committed by a man that had been labeled Carlos the Jackal. He made a demand for a bus and an airplane which the Viennese government provided. Carlos directed the plane to Algeria where all aboard were released, Carlos was born into a wealthy Marxist family in Caracas, Venezuela, He was educated at Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow. He chose a life of terrorism at an early age. No one really knows why he chose a life on the run but he was an accomplished terrorist. He had practiced his craft for over 25 years without capture, However in 1994, French undercover agents tracked him down to the Sudan and kidnapped the son-of-a-bitch back France. The French government chose to not announce his capture for three years when finally he was put on trial for killing two French counter-intelligence agents in 1975. He got life without parole. Not enough, as far as I am concerned.
1866 In 1861 the United States signed the “Treaty of Laramie” with the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians ceding the Indians the lands that contained the Bozeman Trail, but soon after this treaty was signed, gold was discovered on the Indian lands and gold seekers resume using the Bozeman Trail once again much to the displeasure of the Indians in general and the Cheyenne chief Red Cloud in particular. The US Government not only allowed the breaking of the treaty, they built army forts along the Bozeman Train to protect the travelers. The most obnoxious one to the Indians was the fort on the Little Piney named Fort Phil Kearney. This fort saw very few days without some kind of attack by Red Clouds warriors. During all of this, the fort had to have timber for heat and sent out wood cutting groups on a regular basis. On this date, Red Cloud was waiting and killed all but one of the wood cutting crew. Red Cloud sent seven or eight warriors in view of the fort and when the fort fired a round of artillery the Indians ran away in fear….or so they thought. A Lieutenant Fetterman requested permission from the camp commander to chase down the Indians that had ran away in fear and the permission was granted. Fetterman took 45 cavalryman and 45 infantry and left the fort. Fetterman had instructions to not go out of sight of the fort but soon after leaving the fort Fetterman spotted 7 or 8 Indians running over a hillside and chased after them. As soon as all the troopers were over the hill, Red Cloud and 2,000 of his warriors fell upon the hapless troopers and annihilated them to a man. Not only that, not one of the troopers was found in one piece. They had all been mutilated. Soon after this the United States decided to abandon Fort Phil Kearney. After the troopers left the fort, it was set afire by Red Cloud before the troopers were three miles away. This is one of the very few victories the Indians enjoyed.
Births and deaths:
1892 US Golfer Walter Hagen is born. He said “I don’t want to be a millionaire; I just want to live like one.” Me too, Walter, me too.
1909 US ambassador to the United Nations George Ball is born. He said “Nostalgia is a seductive liar.”
1937 US actress Jane Fonda is born. She said “Working in Hollywood does give one a certain expertise in the field of prostitution.”
1945 US General George Patton dies. He said “It is not the object of war to die for your country it is to make the other poor bastard die for his.”
Quotable quotes:
“I have an inferiority complex, but it is not a very good one.”
Stephen Wright
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Daily history
Good morning,
Today will be a bio and past history.
We here in Greenville, SC dodged the bullet Friday. We got a lot of rain and sleet but 50 miles north in Black Mountain, NC there was 10 to 12 inches of snow.
Daniel Morgan
Super Patriot
Daniel Morgan was born in Lebanon Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey in 1735. He was the fifth of seven children; his father was an iron worker in a forge. When he was sixteen he got into an argument with his father and ran away and worked his way across Pennsylvania and on down into the Shenandoah Valley taking on small jobs along the way. Daniel was big, rough-cut man who had rather drink, gamble and fight that study. He finally settled in Charles Town in present day West Virginia. This is not to be confused with Charleston, WV. Daniel showed a capacity for hard work by clearing land and being a teamster. After a year he had accumulated enough money to buy his own team. He had been involved in the French and Indian War and was captured by British General Burgoyne’s troops and given 300 lashes which would have been fatal to most men but Daniel survived but the hatred of the Recoats was permanently, indelibly etch in his memory.
When the American Revolutionary War began in 1775 the Continental Congress asked that the middle states send reinforcements to break the siege of Boston. The Virginia House of Burgesses authorized two rifle companies one of which was led by Daniel Morgan. Morgan gathered his troops in Winchester, Virginia in July of 1775 and set out for Boston arriving there in 22 days. Morgan had a superb group of snipers known as “Morgan’s Sharpshooters.” Later on Congress authorized the invasion of Canada, Montreal and Quebec in particular. The attack on Quebec was led by American Colonel Robert Montgomery and Colonel Benedict Arnold. Daniel Morgan and his men were aligned with Arnold’s forces. The Americans attacked in two thrusts, Arnold from the north and Montgomery from the west. After the attack was under way, Colonel Arnold went down with a leg wound and Morgan assumed command. He led the troops over the wall into the city but Montgomery’s attack from the west had stalled because Montgomery had been killed. The commander of the British troops saw this and swung around and got behind Morgan and his forces were forced to surrender piecemeal. Morgan was held prisoner but was exchanged in 1777. After rejoining Washington he found that he had been promoted to Colonel because of his actions at Quebec. His orders were to organize and recruit the 11th Virginia Regiment. He rounded up 400 riflemen but there was one test he gave them all. He put boards with the heads of known British officers painted on them and his recruits had to hit the head with the first shot at 100 yards. This tale reached England and the British military was appalled. It was considered ungentlemanly to single out officers and downright treacherous to single out one individual officer and from then Morgan was considered a war criminal. Morgan and company were present at some of the most important battle of this war for independence. They were at Saratoga, Freeman’s Farm and Bemis Heights to name a few. A funny thing happened at Freeman’s Farm. The British infantry advanced with the officers in the fore and after the first exchange of fire, every one of the British officers were down. I wonder where that came from. On another occasion during the heat of battle Colonel Arnold rode up to Morgan and pointed to a British Colonel that was in command of an infantry regiment and said to Morgan “That man is worth a regiment dead”. No sooner than he finished that statement than Morgan called over one of his snipers named Timothy Murphy and pointed to the British Colonel. Thirty seconds later the British colonel was history and the British infantry began to retreat in disarray. After these engagements Morgan became disgusted with the politics within the military seeing that those with less experience and less skilled were being promoted over him because he was not well connected, he was a pure warrior. He was allowed to resign and he moved to his home in Winchester, Virginia. He was asked to come out of retirement more than once by General Horatio Gates but refused. It was only after Gates’ disastrous defeat at the Battle of Camden that he did indeed come out of retirement. He was tasked with sweeping the back country of the Carolinas clear of the Redcoats by his new commander General Nathaneal Greene. While moving down from Virginia his movement was discovered by British General Charles Cornwallis and he sent the infamous Colonel Banastre Tarleton and 1,100 troops to intercept Morgan. Morgan had interviewed as many troops as he could that had fought against Tarleton so he could get some idea of his tactics. Finally, Morgan decided to make a stand near Cowpens, South Carolina. Morgan sent a few out a few militias to hunt for Tarleton and to lure him back into a bowl shaped meadow in a dense forest. Morgan had his troops hidden in the forest. The impulsive Tarleton immediately ordered his men to chase down the militia who led them into the center of the bowl shaped meadow. Then Morgan ordered a double envelopment and almost surrounded the British/Loyalists and they capture or killed all but about 200 of Tarleton’s troops. Tarleton escaped however but the victory for Morgan was complete. His execution of this double envelopment is considered on of the best in military history. This victory and the annihilation of British Colonel Charles Ferguson’s infantry unit at the battle of King’s Mountain, North Carolina rang the death knell for the Redcoats in the Carolinas.
Morgan began to suffer bodily from all the tribulations of warfare and retired to his home in Charles Town and instead of clearing land; he began buying up land and eventually owned 250,000 acres. He sold his property and built a house in Winchester, Virginia in 1782. He eventually served as a US Representative from Virginia for a number of years before dying at his daughter’s house in Winchester in 1802. He was 66 years old. He is buried in the Mount Hebron Presbyterian Church cemetery in Winchester. There are many counties, cities and places all over America named in his honor and deservedly so. I put him in the same arena with those men and women that were in the right place at the right time for this great nation to propagate. It was no accident.
This date in history December 20
1862 On this date Confederate General Earl Van Dorn makes a successful raid on US General Ulysses Grant’s supply depot in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Grant was on his way to Vicksburg, Mississippi to capture this final Confederate bastion on the Mississippi River. Grant was approaching Vicksburg from the east and US General William Sherman was approaching from the north. This two pronged attack depended greatly on being supplied on a regular basis. The Confederates knew they could not survive a coordinated attack but they also knew that the Yankees needed their supplies. The Confederates decided to send Van Dorn with a fairly large cavalry unit from Grenada, Mississippi up to Holly Springs. Van Dorn easily ran off the small US infantry unit that was protecting the depot. He gathered up as many supplies that he could carry off and destroyed the rest. This attack caused Grant to delay the attack on Vicksburg until more supplies could be brought in. This was the high point in Van Dorn’s military career because he had been defeated in his last two engagements. Van Dorn was a notorious boozer and womanizer and five weeks from this date he was caught in bed with a married woman and her husband unceremoniously shot and killed him.
1860 On this date the South Carolina state legislature votes to secede from the United States in protest of the election of Abraham Lincoln as President because Lincoln was a Republican. This political party was formed in 1850 for the sole purpose of the abolition of slavery. Soon after South Carolina’s secession, six other states seceded and they formed the Confederate States of America. After the first shots were fired, four other states joined the Confederacy.
1986 On this date three black men were driving from Brooklyn to Queens, New York when their car broke down. They walked several miles to the pre-dominantly Italian neighborhood of Howard Beach and went into a pizza parlor to use a phone to call for help. They were told that there was no phone available so they ordered a pizza. Afterward they left and a gang of white teenager was waiting outside. The whites attacked and one of the blacks ran out into the street and was struck and killed by an automobile. One of the other blacks was able to run away but the other was not and was severely beaten but survived. This event stirred racial tensions in New York to a fever pitch that attracted national attention. The Reverend Al Sharpton organized a protest march and demanded a special prosecutor to look into this outrage because the District Attorney of Queens could not be trusted to be unbiased. Governor Mario Cuomo agreed and appointed Charles Hynes as special prosecutor. Hynes finally was able to convict three of the teenagers for the fatality. This was not the end of it. In 2005 three other black men were attacked by a group of white teenager wielding baseball bats. Two of the men escaped unscathed but one was beaten. Racial tensioned flared again. The state of New York passed severe penalties for hate-crimes and things calmed down…for now.
1987 On the day before the ferry Doma Paz had departed an Island near Leyte in the Philippines headed for Manila. The ferry was rated for 1,400 passengers but the demand for the 375 mile trip was great since it was near Christmas so they crammed about 4,000 passengers aboard. After the ferry was out in the open most of the veteran crew was drinking and watching TV with a rookie helmsman at the wheel. The ferry was approaching a busy straight when the 8,000 barrel oil tanker Victor loomed out of the darkness and the two ships collided and a violent explosion and fire ensued. Rescue ships arrived on the scene but were unable to get anywhere near because of the intense heat. There were only 23 survivors mostly from the tanker. For weeks scorched and burned bodies washed up on beaches up and down the Philippine Sea. It was the worst marine disaster in history.
1836 On this date President Andrew Jackson introduced to Congress a treaty that he had negotiated with Ioway, Fox, Sac, Sioux and Omaha Indian tribes. The tribe had agreed to move to lands designated by the US to make room for settlers. However, the US had negotiated over 400 treaties with the Indians most of which were ignored or broken by the US depending on the financial considerations. These events are a black mark on the history of this great nation.
Born today
1865 Irish Patriot Maud Gonne. She said “The English may batter us to pieces but they will never break our spirit.” Hang in there, Maud. We Americans kicked their ass twice in fifty years.
1894 Australian Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies. When chastised about his superiority attitude he said “Considering the company I keep in this place, it is hardly surprising.” The world hates snobs, Bob.
1902 Chicago mayor Richard Daley. He said “We shall reach greater and greater platitudes of achievement.” Dick, you were a dumb-ass, a very powerful dumb-ass, but still a dumb-ass.
1579 English writer John Fletcher. He said “I find the medicine worse than the malady.” John, you must know Doc Hammond.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow.
Today will be a bio and past history.
We here in Greenville, SC dodged the bullet Friday. We got a lot of rain and sleet but 50 miles north in Black Mountain, NC there was 10 to 12 inches of snow.
Daniel Morgan
Super Patriot
Daniel Morgan was born in Lebanon Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey in 1735. He was the fifth of seven children; his father was an iron worker in a forge. When he was sixteen he got into an argument with his father and ran away and worked his way across Pennsylvania and on down into the Shenandoah Valley taking on small jobs along the way. Daniel was big, rough-cut man who had rather drink, gamble and fight that study. He finally settled in Charles Town in present day West Virginia. This is not to be confused with Charleston, WV. Daniel showed a capacity for hard work by clearing land and being a teamster. After a year he had accumulated enough money to buy his own team. He had been involved in the French and Indian War and was captured by British General Burgoyne’s troops and given 300 lashes which would have been fatal to most men but Daniel survived but the hatred of the Recoats was permanently, indelibly etch in his memory.
When the American Revolutionary War began in 1775 the Continental Congress asked that the middle states send reinforcements to break the siege of Boston. The Virginia House of Burgesses authorized two rifle companies one of which was led by Daniel Morgan. Morgan gathered his troops in Winchester, Virginia in July of 1775 and set out for Boston arriving there in 22 days. Morgan had a superb group of snipers known as “Morgan’s Sharpshooters.” Later on Congress authorized the invasion of Canada, Montreal and Quebec in particular. The attack on Quebec was led by American Colonel Robert Montgomery and Colonel Benedict Arnold. Daniel Morgan and his men were aligned with Arnold’s forces. The Americans attacked in two thrusts, Arnold from the north and Montgomery from the west. After the attack was under way, Colonel Arnold went down with a leg wound and Morgan assumed command. He led the troops over the wall into the city but Montgomery’s attack from the west had stalled because Montgomery had been killed. The commander of the British troops saw this and swung around and got behind Morgan and his forces were forced to surrender piecemeal. Morgan was held prisoner but was exchanged in 1777. After rejoining Washington he found that he had been promoted to Colonel because of his actions at Quebec. His orders were to organize and recruit the 11th Virginia Regiment. He rounded up 400 riflemen but there was one test he gave them all. He put boards with the heads of known British officers painted on them and his recruits had to hit the head with the first shot at 100 yards. This tale reached England and the British military was appalled. It was considered ungentlemanly to single out officers and downright treacherous to single out one individual officer and from then Morgan was considered a war criminal. Morgan and company were present at some of the most important battle of this war for independence. They were at Saratoga, Freeman’s Farm and Bemis Heights to name a few. A funny thing happened at Freeman’s Farm. The British infantry advanced with the officers in the fore and after the first exchange of fire, every one of the British officers were down. I wonder where that came from. On another occasion during the heat of battle Colonel Arnold rode up to Morgan and pointed to a British Colonel that was in command of an infantry regiment and said to Morgan “That man is worth a regiment dead”. No sooner than he finished that statement than Morgan called over one of his snipers named Timothy Murphy and pointed to the British Colonel. Thirty seconds later the British colonel was history and the British infantry began to retreat in disarray. After these engagements Morgan became disgusted with the politics within the military seeing that those with less experience and less skilled were being promoted over him because he was not well connected, he was a pure warrior. He was allowed to resign and he moved to his home in Winchester, Virginia. He was asked to come out of retirement more than once by General Horatio Gates but refused. It was only after Gates’ disastrous defeat at the Battle of Camden that he did indeed come out of retirement. He was tasked with sweeping the back country of the Carolinas clear of the Redcoats by his new commander General Nathaneal Greene. While moving down from Virginia his movement was discovered by British General Charles Cornwallis and he sent the infamous Colonel Banastre Tarleton and 1,100 troops to intercept Morgan. Morgan had interviewed as many troops as he could that had fought against Tarleton so he could get some idea of his tactics. Finally, Morgan decided to make a stand near Cowpens, South Carolina. Morgan sent a few out a few militias to hunt for Tarleton and to lure him back into a bowl shaped meadow in a dense forest. Morgan had his troops hidden in the forest. The impulsive Tarleton immediately ordered his men to chase down the militia who led them into the center of the bowl shaped meadow. Then Morgan ordered a double envelopment and almost surrounded the British/Loyalists and they capture or killed all but about 200 of Tarleton’s troops. Tarleton escaped however but the victory for Morgan was complete. His execution of this double envelopment is considered on of the best in military history. This victory and the annihilation of British Colonel Charles Ferguson’s infantry unit at the battle of King’s Mountain, North Carolina rang the death knell for the Redcoats in the Carolinas.
Morgan began to suffer bodily from all the tribulations of warfare and retired to his home in Charles Town and instead of clearing land; he began buying up land and eventually owned 250,000 acres. He sold his property and built a house in Winchester, Virginia in 1782. He eventually served as a US Representative from Virginia for a number of years before dying at his daughter’s house in Winchester in 1802. He was 66 years old. He is buried in the Mount Hebron Presbyterian Church cemetery in Winchester. There are many counties, cities and places all over America named in his honor and deservedly so. I put him in the same arena with those men and women that were in the right place at the right time for this great nation to propagate. It was no accident.
This date in history December 20
1862 On this date Confederate General Earl Van Dorn makes a successful raid on US General Ulysses Grant’s supply depot in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Grant was on his way to Vicksburg, Mississippi to capture this final Confederate bastion on the Mississippi River. Grant was approaching Vicksburg from the east and US General William Sherman was approaching from the north. This two pronged attack depended greatly on being supplied on a regular basis. The Confederates knew they could not survive a coordinated attack but they also knew that the Yankees needed their supplies. The Confederates decided to send Van Dorn with a fairly large cavalry unit from Grenada, Mississippi up to Holly Springs. Van Dorn easily ran off the small US infantry unit that was protecting the depot. He gathered up as many supplies that he could carry off and destroyed the rest. This attack caused Grant to delay the attack on Vicksburg until more supplies could be brought in. This was the high point in Van Dorn’s military career because he had been defeated in his last two engagements. Van Dorn was a notorious boozer and womanizer and five weeks from this date he was caught in bed with a married woman and her husband unceremoniously shot and killed him.
1860 On this date the South Carolina state legislature votes to secede from the United States in protest of the election of Abraham Lincoln as President because Lincoln was a Republican. This political party was formed in 1850 for the sole purpose of the abolition of slavery. Soon after South Carolina’s secession, six other states seceded and they formed the Confederate States of America. After the first shots were fired, four other states joined the Confederacy.
1986 On this date three black men were driving from Brooklyn to Queens, New York when their car broke down. They walked several miles to the pre-dominantly Italian neighborhood of Howard Beach and went into a pizza parlor to use a phone to call for help. They were told that there was no phone available so they ordered a pizza. Afterward they left and a gang of white teenager was waiting outside. The whites attacked and one of the blacks ran out into the street and was struck and killed by an automobile. One of the other blacks was able to run away but the other was not and was severely beaten but survived. This event stirred racial tensions in New York to a fever pitch that attracted national attention. The Reverend Al Sharpton organized a protest march and demanded a special prosecutor to look into this outrage because the District Attorney of Queens could not be trusted to be unbiased. Governor Mario Cuomo agreed and appointed Charles Hynes as special prosecutor. Hynes finally was able to convict three of the teenagers for the fatality. This was not the end of it. In 2005 three other black men were attacked by a group of white teenager wielding baseball bats. Two of the men escaped unscathed but one was beaten. Racial tensioned flared again. The state of New York passed severe penalties for hate-crimes and things calmed down…for now.
1987 On the day before the ferry Doma Paz had departed an Island near Leyte in the Philippines headed for Manila. The ferry was rated for 1,400 passengers but the demand for the 375 mile trip was great since it was near Christmas so they crammed about 4,000 passengers aboard. After the ferry was out in the open most of the veteran crew was drinking and watching TV with a rookie helmsman at the wheel. The ferry was approaching a busy straight when the 8,000 barrel oil tanker Victor loomed out of the darkness and the two ships collided and a violent explosion and fire ensued. Rescue ships arrived on the scene but were unable to get anywhere near because of the intense heat. There were only 23 survivors mostly from the tanker. For weeks scorched and burned bodies washed up on beaches up and down the Philippine Sea. It was the worst marine disaster in history.
1836 On this date President Andrew Jackson introduced to Congress a treaty that he had negotiated with Ioway, Fox, Sac, Sioux and Omaha Indian tribes. The tribe had agreed to move to lands designated by the US to make room for settlers. However, the US had negotiated over 400 treaties with the Indians most of which were ignored or broken by the US depending on the financial considerations. These events are a black mark on the history of this great nation.
Born today
1865 Irish Patriot Maud Gonne. She said “The English may batter us to pieces but they will never break our spirit.” Hang in there, Maud. We Americans kicked their ass twice in fifty years.
1894 Australian Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies. When chastised about his superiority attitude he said “Considering the company I keep in this place, it is hardly surprising.” The world hates snobs, Bob.
1902 Chicago mayor Richard Daley. He said “We shall reach greater and greater platitudes of achievement.” Dick, you were a dumb-ass, a very powerful dumb-ass, but still a dumb-ass.
1579 English writer John Fletcher. He said “I find the medicine worse than the malady.” John, you must know Doc Hammond.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow.
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
"Be still if you have nothing to say; but if genuine passion moves you, say what you have to say and say it hot."
D.H. Lawrence
Professor of archaeology David Moore of Warren Wilson College near Black Mountain, NC and a volunteer group have uncovered a what was one of the largest Indian villages in eastern America near Morganton, NC. The most unusual find on the most recent expedition was what was clearly a Spanish fort that they discovered war known as Fort San Juan. They discovered that the leader of this expedition was Juan Pardo and the fort was built about 1570. The Indian village was populated by Catawbas. It is believed that Pardo's expedition was the farthest inland by the Spanish ever penetratated. The bad news was that Pardo's troops brought small pox with them for which the Indians had no immunity. This resulted in the annihilation of the Catawbas in the area and changed the demographics forever. This was not the first place in the Americas where the Europeans brought diseases to the natives with the same results.
Back in mid-November in Black Mountain, North Carolina a homeless man named Barry Cordell set up his camp under the on ramp off I-40 to Highway 9. The temperature was in the low 40's and it was raining. Barry was homeless because he was an alcoholic. His profession was automobile mechanic and his past employers said he was a good one but he just could not stay off the sauce. The director of the Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministries was familiar wilh Barry. She had paid for Barry to stay in a motel room during very severe weather. She also had found homes for him to stay in but he was kicked out several times when he got back on the sauce. The SVCM is desperately looking for the money to build a shelter for the homeless in the Black Mountain area estimated to be about 20 but that is tough to do in these days and times. The day after Barry got his camp set up, another homeless man found him dead. The coroner said that Barry died from exposure. His body was soaking wet when he was brought in and the overnight temperature was 38 degrees. Yes, he was drunk. If there had indeed been a shelter he probably would have survived, drunk, but alive.
Good news:
Dorothy James had just adopted a dog from the pound. The dog resembled a Walker fox hound and was named Wesley. Dorothy and Wesley were out taking a walk when all of a sudden Wesley starts running hard down the street with Dorothy in tow. The dog runs straight to an infant laying on a lawn not breathing while its mother was screaming that the baby had almost drowned in the bath tub. Dorothy was an RN and had no trouble reviving the baby with CPR. Mother, child, Dorothy and especially Wesley are doing fine. By the way, Wesley was in training in child rescue and had flunked out, that is why he was in the pound. Does anyone out there think it is possible that Wesley was sent to that spot at that particular point in time by design...or was it a coincidence? Talk to me.
This date in history December 19
1776 General George Washington and what is left of his army is camped on McKonkey’s farm across the Delaware River from Trenton , New Jersey . He had been kicked out of New York and New Jersey after losing New York City . Not only that, nearly 11,000 of his troops had deserted and went home to their families and the large majority of what was left of his army had their enlistments ending on December 31. On this date Thomas Paine published American Crisis. Included in this pamphlet were these immortal words:
“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldiers and the sunshine patriots will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he who stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered, yet we have this consolation, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the victory.”
Washington and Paine knew the Continental Army was in serious trouble and something had to be done to resurrect a fighting spirit. Washington himself gathered his army around him and read Paine’s word to them. The words had the desired effect and the spirit of the army rose. But just to make sure, Washington planned an attack on Trenton on Christmas Day. He brought his army back across the Delaware River and attacked the Hessian (German mercenaries) encampment in Trenton . The hung-over Hessians were no match for the inflamed Continentals and resulted in a near annihilation of the Hessians. Then on January 2 Washington and his now fired up army met the British army led by General Earl Cornwallis in Princeton , New Jersey and delivered a severe ass-kicking. These two victories and Paine’s words brought more and more recruits into the Continental army which saved our ass.
1998 On the is date the United States House of Representatives hands down a bill of Impeachment against Bill Clinton, the sitting President of the United States. This was only the second time that a Bill of Impeachment had been issued in the history of the United States . Clinton was convicted of lying to a Federal Court and the obstruction of Justice. This came as a result of a sexual liaison Clinton had with an unpaid intern in the White House named Monika Lewinsky. There is no question that Clinton had at least 11 encounters with Monika. After many of the encounters Monika called white house staffer Linda Tripp and told her in detail about her experiences with Slick Willie. Even with all of this, William Jefferson Clinton was able to complete his term as President of our United States .
1817 James Archer is born in Harford County , Maryland . He attended Princeton and Boston College before joining the US army and fought with distinction during the Mexican War and was indeed brevetted Colonel. After the beginning of the Civil War Archer offered his services to Confederacy. He was assigned to The Army of Northern Virginia in John Bell Hood’s Texas Brigade. He fought with valor at Seven Pines and at the so-called Seven Days. Later on he was assigned to Harry Heth’s division in A.P Hill’s corps. It was Archer who led the attack on the center of US General John Buford’s dismounted cavalry on Seminary Ridge at Gettysburg . Archer’s attack was so effective and his penetration of the Union lines was so deep that his unit was cut off and captured. Archer himself was captured and on his way to the rear he was met with an old comrade in arms, US General Abner Doubleday. Doubleday saw Archer and said that he was glad to see him. Archer responded with “Well, I am not glad to see you, not by a damned sight.” Archer went to a prison camp for about 15 months and was exchanged. He went back to duty and was assigned duty in the trenches in and around Petersburg . The stay in the prison camp had weakened him and he finally died in the trenches in October of 1864. He was a recognized as a superior field commander by both sides. There is a plaque on McPherson’s Ridge at Gettysburg dedicated to General Archer’s division, I have been there. Every American should go there to feel the restlessness of the spirits lying in that field between McPherson’s Ridge and Cemetery Ridge. It would give you a deeper understanding of courage and dedication.
1978 On December 3 the police in Des Plaines , Illinois had received a complaint about child abuse against a man named John Wayne Gacy. They did not have enough evidence to arrest Gacy so they staked out his house. On this day, Gacy’s neighbors complained about a “funky” smell coming from Gacy’s house. The police obtained a warrant and entered the house and were met with an overwhelming stench of rotting flesh. Further investigations found several bodies buried in the crawlspace under the house. The police finally found that Gacy had been responsible for the murders of over 25 people, mostly adolescents, in several states. Gacy is recognized as one of the worst serial killers in United States history. This animal was sentenced to death but was able to appeal his case for 14 years. He eventually met his maker with needles in his arms. I can think of many more rewarding ways for this beast to depart this earth, don’t get me started.
Births and deaths:
1778 British educator Henry Brougham is born. He said “Education makes people easy to lead, hard to drive, easy to govern and impossible to enslave.”
1906 Us writer H. Allen Smith is born. Upon tasting his first American beer he said “Put it back in the horse!”
1910 French writer Jean Genet is born. He said “To achieve harmony in bad taste is the epitome of elegance.”
Quotable quotes:
“When we talk to God, we are praying, when God talks to us we a re schizophrenic.”
Lily Tomlin
When asked about the virtues of the presidency, John F. Kennedy said “The pay is good and I can walk to work.”
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
"Be still if you have nothing to say; but if genuine passion moves you, say what you have to say and say it hot."
D.H. Lawrence
Professor of archaeology David Moore of Warren Wilson College near Black Mountain, NC and a volunteer group have uncovered a what was one of the largest Indian villages in eastern America near Morganton, NC. The most unusual find on the most recent expedition was what was clearly a Spanish fort that they discovered war known as Fort San Juan. They discovered that the leader of this expedition was Juan Pardo and the fort was built about 1570. The Indian village was populated by Catawbas. It is believed that Pardo's expedition was the farthest inland by the Spanish ever penetratated. The bad news was that Pardo's troops brought small pox with them for which the Indians had no immunity. This resulted in the annihilation of the Catawbas in the area and changed the demographics forever. This was not the first place in the Americas where the Europeans brought diseases to the natives with the same results.
Back in mid-November in Black Mountain, North Carolina a homeless man named Barry Cordell set up his camp under the on ramp off I-40 to Highway 9. The temperature was in the low 40's and it was raining. Barry was homeless because he was an alcoholic. His profession was automobile mechanic and his past employers said he was a good one but he just could not stay off the sauce. The director of the Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministries was familiar wilh Barry. She had paid for Barry to stay in a motel room during very severe weather. She also had found homes for him to stay in but he was kicked out several times when he got back on the sauce. The SVCM is desperately looking for the money to build a shelter for the homeless in the Black Mountain area estimated to be about 20 but that is tough to do in these days and times. The day after Barry got his camp set up, another homeless man found him dead. The coroner said that Barry died from exposure. His body was soaking wet when he was brought in and the overnight temperature was 38 degrees. Yes, he was drunk. If there had indeed been a shelter he probably would have survived, drunk, but alive.
Good news:
Dorothy James had just adopted a dog from the pound. The dog resembled a Walker fox hound and was named Wesley. Dorothy and Wesley were out taking a walk when all of a sudden Wesley starts running hard down the street with Dorothy in tow. The dog runs straight to an infant laying on a lawn not breathing while its mother was screaming that the baby had almost drowned in the bath tub. Dorothy was an RN and had no trouble reviving the baby with CPR. Mother, child, Dorothy and especially Wesley are doing fine. By the way, Wesley was in training in child rescue and had flunked out, that is why he was in the pound. Does anyone out there think it is possible that Wesley was sent to that spot at that particular point in time by design...or was it a coincidence? Talk to me.
This date in history December 19
1776 General George Washington and what is left of his army is camped on McKonkey’s farm across the Delaware River from Trenton , New Jersey . He had been kicked out of New York and New Jersey after losing New York City . Not only that, nearly 11,000 of his troops had deserted and went home to their families and the large majority of what was left of his army had their enlistments ending on December 31. On this date Thomas Paine published American Crisis. Included in this pamphlet were these immortal words:
“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldiers and the sunshine patriots will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he who stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered, yet we have this consolation, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the victory.”
Washington and Paine knew the Continental Army was in serious trouble and something had to be done to resurrect a fighting spirit. Washington himself gathered his army around him and read Paine’s word to them. The words had the desired effect and the spirit of the army rose. But just to make sure, Washington planned an attack on Trenton on Christmas Day. He brought his army back across the Delaware River and attacked the Hessian (German mercenaries) encampment in Trenton . The hung-over Hessians were no match for the inflamed Continentals and resulted in a near annihilation of the Hessians. Then on January 2 Washington and his now fired up army met the British army led by General Earl Cornwallis in Princeton , New Jersey and delivered a severe ass-kicking. These two victories and Paine’s words brought more and more recruits into the Continental army which saved our ass.
1998 On the is date the United States House of Representatives hands down a bill of Impeachment against Bill Clinton, the sitting President of the United States. This was only the second time that a Bill of Impeachment had been issued in the history of the United States . Clinton was convicted of lying to a Federal Court and the obstruction of Justice. This came as a result of a sexual liaison Clinton had with an unpaid intern in the White House named Monika Lewinsky. There is no question that Clinton had at least 11 encounters with Monika. After many of the encounters Monika called white house staffer Linda Tripp and told her in detail about her experiences with Slick Willie. Even with all of this, William Jefferson Clinton was able to complete his term as President of our United States .
1817 James Archer is born in Harford County , Maryland . He attended Princeton and Boston College before joining the US army and fought with distinction during the Mexican War and was indeed brevetted Colonel. After the beginning of the Civil War Archer offered his services to Confederacy. He was assigned to The Army of Northern Virginia in John Bell Hood’s Texas Brigade. He fought with valor at Seven Pines and at the so-called Seven Days. Later on he was assigned to Harry Heth’s division in A.P Hill’s corps. It was Archer who led the attack on the center of US General John Buford’s dismounted cavalry on Seminary Ridge at Gettysburg . Archer’s attack was so effective and his penetration of the Union lines was so deep that his unit was cut off and captured. Archer himself was captured and on his way to the rear he was met with an old comrade in arms, US General Abner Doubleday. Doubleday saw Archer and said that he was glad to see him. Archer responded with “Well, I am not glad to see you, not by a damned sight.” Archer went to a prison camp for about 15 months and was exchanged. He went back to duty and was assigned duty in the trenches in and around Petersburg . The stay in the prison camp had weakened him and he finally died in the trenches in October of 1864. He was a recognized as a superior field commander by both sides. There is a plaque on McPherson’s Ridge at Gettysburg dedicated to General Archer’s division, I have been there. Every American should go there to feel the restlessness of the spirits lying in that field between McPherson’s Ridge and Cemetery Ridge. It would give you a deeper understanding of courage and dedication.
1978 On December 3 the police in Des Plaines , Illinois had received a complaint about child abuse against a man named John Wayne Gacy. They did not have enough evidence to arrest Gacy so they staked out his house. On this day, Gacy’s neighbors complained about a “funky” smell coming from Gacy’s house. The police obtained a warrant and entered the house and were met with an overwhelming stench of rotting flesh. Further investigations found several bodies buried in the crawlspace under the house. The police finally found that Gacy had been responsible for the murders of over 25 people, mostly adolescents, in several states. Gacy is recognized as one of the worst serial killers in United States history. This animal was sentenced to death but was able to appeal his case for 14 years. He eventually met his maker with needles in his arms. I can think of many more rewarding ways for this beast to depart this earth, don’t get me started.
Births and deaths:
1778 British educator Henry Brougham is born. He said “Education makes people easy to lead, hard to drive, easy to govern and impossible to enslave.”
1906 Us writer H. Allen Smith is born. Upon tasting his first American beer he said “Put it back in the horse!”
1910 French writer Jean Genet is born. He said “To achieve harmony in bad taste is the epitome of elegance.”
Quotable quotes:
“When we talk to God, we are praying, when God talks to us we a re schizophrenic.”
Lily Tomlin
When asked about the virtues of the presidency, John F. Kennedy said “The pay is good and I can walk to work.”
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)