Quote of the day:
A friend of mine who is a South Carolina Gamecock fan came into the local watering hole and ordered three beers to be put in an ice bucket. The ice bucket had a Clemson logo on it. My friend said "I am not going to drink a beer that comes out of a Clemson ice bucket!" They had to go get a Gamecock bucket for him. That is being a dedicated fan, y'all.
Good news:
66 year old Rex Saunders of Newfoundland was out hunting seals for his own use in his 18 foot boat. All of a sudden he ran up on an ice pan making the bow very high. He looked back and the stern and the motor was already under water and sinking fast. The boat quickly slid under the water and Rex crawled up on the ice pan and waited.....and waited. He took up his time by praying. Then he switched over to singing church hymns. A rescue helicopter showed up soon after it was evident that Rex was missing. Rex said that the chopper flew directly over him a couple of times but did not spot him. The rescue crew later admitted that they were looking for his boat. After spending two days and nights on that ice pan, the rescue team finally spots him and a Coast Guard cutter came close enough that they were able to get Rex aboard a rubber dingy and take him back to safety. Rex attributes his singing and prayers to his survival.
Greenpatch Grime:
Due to irresponsible parent who drop off their teens and sub-teens in the middle of downtown Greenville depending on the cops to baby sit them, the city council is closing in on a solution for the hundreds of kids that swarm the street on the weekends. Originally there was a curfew for the kids in the Fallls Park area of the city, but then they just moved a block away and continued with their gatherings, blocking sidewalks and fighting. It looks like that the city will initiate a curfew of 10:00p on Saturday and Sunday anywhere in the city after10:00p for anyone under 18 without an adult. That should do it. They are also considering arresting any parent that allows a sub-teen loose in the city unsupervised. That should do it too. The parents apparently don't realize what kind of beasts are on the prowl out there. Or maybe they don't really give a shit. They are are all really all full of shit.
A small town south of Greenville named Fountain Inn is struggling with how and when to serve alcohol at public events like concerts and play at their civic arena. They are considering the serving of booze at other city venues also. The people down there are very tense about booze in their town. The had rather come to Greenville (about 20 miles away) and knock back a few and then ride back home under the risk of blowing a .08 if they are stopped. When it is 9:30p in Greenville, it is 1955 in Fountain Inn.
We had a county councilman named Tony Trout that had been arguing with the head of the council. Tony chose to illegally tap into the man's Yahoo e-mail account and published his findings. The is a federal offense, y'all. He was tried and convicted and sentenced to a year and a day by Federal Judge Henry Floyd. Trout is appealing to the judge to allow him to stay out of jail while he appeals his case. The judge is reluctant because once Trout was caught, he tried to buy an M-16 with a silencer. He might be a danger to the community. Yes, indeed folks, there are a lot of creeps out there.
September 2nd
1969 Ho Chi Minh dies. You can say what you want but Ho was one of the most influential men in history. During WWII Ho and his followers entered into an agreement with the OSS whereby any American pilot that crashed or bailed out into Indo-China would be rescued and returned. The OSS was the precursor to what is now known as the CIA. After the war France wanted to re-instate colonial rule in Indo-China primarily for the oil and rubber and Ho and his boys said “I don’t think so.” And thus began a bloody 8 years of war against France. The struggle ended in 1954 with the surrender of the French troops at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. About 7 years later the first American military “advisor” arrives in Viet Nam. Horror ensued.
1862 President Abraham Lincoln restores Gen. George B. McClellan to command. Abe had previously fired George after he failed to take Richmond in the so called “Seven days”. In fact, George was so badly out-generaled by R.E. Lee that it was a total embarrassment. George essentially lost his nerve upon witnessing the horrible mangling of his troops during battle. So Abe took most of George’s troops and gave them to one Gen. John Pope and sent John out looking for Lee’s army. Lee and Stonewall Jackson found him first and John took an enormous ass-whipping at the Battle of Second Manassas. John Pope and his troops return to Washington with their collective asses in their hands. So now Abe is faced with a terrible problem. Neither John nor George is anywhere the equal of R.E. Lee and/or Lee’s lieutenants. So Abe goes back to George only because he is the better organizer and trainer. Abe had this problem until a scruffy Ohioan named Grant arrives on the scene.
1945 WWII ends with Japanese delegates signing the instrument of surrender aboard the USS Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay. US Gen. Douglas McArthur was in command of these proceedings and did so with much dignity and aplomb but the entire Japanese Delegation was sobbing uncontrollably. Men are strange critters when it comes to matters of honor. General McArthur had left General Wainwright in command of the Philippines while he went to Australia to organize a counter attack and for Wainwright to hold out as long as he could. Wainwright eventually had to surrender to the overwhelming Japanese forces. He and his forces surrendered and Wainwright was sent to a Japanese prison camp in Mongolia where he stayed over a year until rescued by the Russian army. It was just a couple of weeks before Wainwright was in attendance at the surrender ceremony aboard the Missouri. He was just barely skin and bone. When McArthur saw him he broke into tears. War is hell....
1945 The Eugene O’Neill play The Iceman Cometh opens on Broadway. It is a play about people in a bar coping with life. O’Neill was well versed on this aspect because he was a two fisted drinker himself. O’Neill was given a good education by his father. He went to a prestigious prep school and even went to Princeton. But after a while Gene said screw it, I am going to hit the road and hit the road he did. He went to South Africa hunting gold, haunted the bars in London, Buenos Aires, Liverpool and various other places. He started churning out some gritty short stories that were moderately successful but he really hit his stride being a playwright. Beside “The Iceman Cometh” he gave us “A Long days Journey into Night” among many others. O’Neill is recognized as America’s first major playwright. He died in Boston in 1953.
1957 The UN Court prosecutes for the first time someone for genocide. Jen- Pauls was the mayor of small town in Africa. He was responsible for the killing of at least 30,000 Hutu tribesmen. Most of them were killed by machetes in their beds while wounded. The number may have been as many as 500,000 but we will never know. It was a bloodbath of biblical proportions.
Born today:
1839 US economist Henry George. He said “How many men are there out there that have fairly made one million dollars?” Well Henry, there is Pac-man Jones, Tank Johnson, Senator Larry Craig of Idaho resigned in disgrace for hiding his homosexuality, Rep. Mark Foley from Florida who resigned in disgrace because he kept hitting on the senate pages and tried to hide his homosexuality, Ex-Governor Edwin Edwards of Louisiana who now is in a federal prison for corruption, Ex-Governor Don Seigelman of Alabama who is now in a federal prison for corruption, Ken Lay of Enron fame (deceased) was headed for a federal prison for corruption, Bernie Ebbers former CEO of WorldCom now in a federal prison for corruption, Senator (and US Navy ace pilot) Randall “Duke” Cunningham now in a federal prison for corruption, Arizona Governor Fife Symington is convicted of corruption in his real estate business and forced to resign, and finally there is Michael Vick headed to federal prison for torturing animals for fun and profit. I am being facetious, of course, but it sure is disgusting because I ain’t even scratching the surface.
Born today:
1866 US Governor (Ca.) Hiram Johnson. He said “The first casualty is war is truth.”
Died today:
1997 Austrian physicist Herman Frankl. He said “Since Auschwitz we know what men are capable of, since Hiroshima we know what is at stake.”
2002 US basketball coach Abe Lemon. He said “I don’t jog. When I want to die I want to be sick.” Way to go, Abe, me too.
Thanks for listening, I can hardly wait until tomorrow...
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