Daily history

Good morning,


Quote of the day:

"All of the those that have meditated the governing of mankind are convinced that the success of the empires depend on the education of the young."

                                         Aristotle

I have added the history of Halloween onto the end of this lesson.

The weather this morning here in paradise is cloudy with no rain but a little fog. The temperature is 75 and the wind is from the northeast at about 10 MPH. The Sound is relatively calm. For the last few days there has been a lot of pelican activity in shallow water. The fly over and all of a sudden fold their wings and dive into the water. I don't know what they are after but I suspect it is mullet that are schooling up and are on the move for the spawn.

A couple of days ago I told y'all about a Taylors, SC elderly couple that were missing and they found the husband Homer Staton about 30 miles away dead from blunt force trauma to the head with his car close by. They did not find the wife. Yesterday they found the wife when a man arrested by the Anderson County Sheriff's department led the cops to the body. She too had been killed with blunt force trauma to the head. Police said that a man named Matthew Fulbright was the culprit and robbery was the "initial cause" of the attacks. It is believed that Fulbright had done business with the Staton's in the past. It would not do for me to be the judge in Fulbright's trial.

Paul Moore the former finance director of finance for the South Carolina DSS (Department of Social Services) is expected to plead guilty to stealing over $5 million from that agency. Moore would write checks to different employees for doing nothing and the employee would cash the check, keep some of the money and give most of it back to Moore. He said the he spent most of the money on alchohol, gambling and exotic dancers. Moore is looking at 30 years in prison and a fine of $500,000. I suspect if he ends up in a South Carolina prison it will be he doing the exotic dancing.

Over in Mobile, Alabama a 23 year old mother at home with her two kids heard someone trying to break in retrieved a pistol that her father had given her and taught her how to use. The intruder finally got the door open and the mother opened fire and killed the no good bastard. The police think it was the woman's ex-boyfriend. Anyway, she capped his ass. I like it.

Last week I told y'all that Larry Langford, the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama was on trial for a 60 count indictment for corruption including take enormous bribes in the form of cash and expensive gifts like Rolex watches. What caught him was when he saw to it that a $7.1 million bond went to an investment banker named Bill Blount in Montgomery. Blount skimmed off some of the money and send it to a lobbyist named John LaPierre. LaPierre would keep some of money and sent the rest to Mayor Langford. It was a text book "kickback" scheme. Both Blount and LaPierre testified against Langford. The prosecution also had cancelled checks, bank account records, etc. The jury came back after four hours of deliberation with a guilty verdict on all 60 counts. Langford is now a convicted felon and was immediately removed as Mayor but he is free on bond until the sentencing hearing. After the trial Langford, who is black, brought up that tired and faded excuse that he was convicted because of racism. His wife Melva said "No black person can expect justice in Alabama, the Justice Department should investigate." He and Melva did not profess their guilt or innocence at all, just that same old tired stance that their guilt or innocence is not the issue it is their race that is the issue. Langford's attorney, also black, said that he had defended whites on corruption charges in the past and he saw no indication of prejudice in this case. He said the state just had overwhelming evidence and testimony. By the way, the jury had two latinos and three blacks any of which could have hung that jury if they thought Langford was innocent. Don't get me wrong, I am not prejudicial. I just gripes my ass when anyone commits a crime and tries to blame everbody else. Hey Larry, either you did it or you didn't do it, a jury of your peers said that you did. Act like man, shut the hell up and take your freaking punishment.

Good News:

Yesterday the Boeing Aircraft Company announced the bulding of an assembly plant in North Charleston, SC. They will be constructing the new Boeing 787. Meanwhile the management and the Union at Boeing's plant in Everett, Washington are at an impasse and work has slowed or stopped. I think I see a pattern here. South Carolina is a "right to work state". Boeing said that they would be an early need for about 700 workers but that would increase to about 1,200. There is little question that there will be a lot more jobs created on the perimeter. This comes at a time when unemployment in South Carolina is at its lowest ebb since the Great Depression. An interesting fact is that North Charleston, SC is fifth in the nation in murders per-capita. Maybe this windfall will change that.

This date in history October 30

1775    The Continental Congress decides that if they are going to war with England they will need more than two war ships to combat the mightiest navy in the world. So they decided to form a seven man committee headed by Esek Hopkins to do something about it. Esek and the others first start by trying to find naval commanders and crews with combat experience. This was a tall order because this young nation had never been at war before that required a navy. But they round up seven men with sailing experience including a young Scotsman named John Paul Jones that later became a hero of the upcoming conflict. They finally round up seven warships in the Alfred, Columbus, Andrea Doria, Cabot, Hornet, Wasp and the Fly. These vessels were in no way the equal of even the smallest British war ship but it was a start. The plan was to use these vessels to surreptitiously board British vessels, murder the captain and most of the crew and abscond with the warship. In other words, they were to utilized open piracy to advance the strength of their country’s navy. It was soon discovered that the best at this strategy was the young Scotsman John Paul Jones. After a time the fledgling Continental Navy had increased their navy to 40 warships and toward the end of the war were able to more than hold their own against the British warships one-on-one. After the war was over in 1781 these ships were decommissioned and the Captains and crews furloughed. It was not until 1798 that it was decided that a permanent United States navy would be required. This was caused by the constant harassment and capture of United States merchant ships by pirates off the west coast of Africa and in the Mediterranean Sea near the North African coast, especially near the coast of Tripoli. If you listen to the Marine Corps hymn and the phrase “to the shores of Tripoli”, this is the Tripoli they are talking about. That’s right; the ubiquitous Marines went ashore and took care of business. No more pirates.

1938    Communications genius Orson Welles and distinguished actor John Houseman formed a radio program named the Mercury Radio Theatre. They would put on weekly plays using guest actors and actresses. Keep in mind that Orson was still a teenager. At the beginning of the show on this date, Orson stated that everything the public heard in the following show was fiction and wished everyone a Happy Halloween. The show started with a mystery play and about five minutes into the show, a voice broke into the play and announced that he was a news reporter and was observing the following. An alien spaceship had landed on a farm in central New Jersey and was moving across the countryside vaporizing everything and everyone in sight. The US Army was on site and had nothing that could stop the space ship. It looked like it was the end of the world. He went on telling what carnage the ship was producing and how impotent the military was. Well, people from all over the country ran out of their houses screaming for divine intervention from this apparently unstoppable foe. After about 20 minutes of this nonsense the “reporter” bade his farewell to the audience because the spaceship was nearly on top of him and the “death ray” was coming his way. After this Orson came back on the air and said that he wished that all had enjoyed the program and wished them a good night. Only then did America realize it was a ruse. I am a loss for words at this, after all it was Halloween. It was Adolph Hitler who said “The more preposterous the suggestion, the more likely it is to be believed.”

1811    On this date one of the greatest novels ever written in Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen is published in England. Jane would not allow her name to be used as the author and the author was named as “a young lady”. Jane refrained from using her name because a woman writing novels was not considered “ladylike”. Even when she was writing at her desk and someone came in she would hide her manuscripts under the blotter. Jane also delivered to the world other masterpieces such as Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma. As for Jane not using her real name because of what she thought people would think of her. There are some of those female writers of “romance” novels out there need to stop generating that trash and go home, the 1st Amendment not withstanding. But that is just my opinion.

1735    One of the heroes of the American Revolution, John Adams, is born in Braintree, Massachusetts. Braintree is now a part if Quincy, Massachusetts. He was the third son of John and Susanna Adams and was recognized at an early age as an intellectual. He attended Harvard at the age of 16 and graduated at the age of 20. For a while he worked and studied in the law firm of James Putnam and taught school at Worchester, Massachusetts. He was admitted to bar at the age of 26 and married Abigail Smith at the age of 29. Abigail was the daughter of a Weymouth, Massachusetts congregational minister. From the start of the marriage John and Abigail developed a deep trust and respect for each others thoughts and opinions and Abigail was not afraid to express hers even if it was the opposite of John’s. John and Abigail were eyewitnesses to the Battle of Bunker Hill that was fought literally in their back yard. John became a ridgepole in the support of the cause for American independence. He was never in the military but his political guidance was instrumental in the machinations of our government. It was he that brilliantly mapped out the three branches of Federal Government; Legislative, Judicial and Executive. He also saw the Legislative branch with two sections (House and Senate). This man had incredible vision and ideas that are in practice to this day. He had a problem with the Federalists party under the leadership of Alexander Hamilton who wanted a Federal Government stronger than Adams had envisioned. But that problem dissolved when Hamilton was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr. It was said that Madison was an intellectual, Jefferson was the unquenchable idealist, and Franklin the most charming and versatile but is was Adams that was the most captivating of all of out founding fathers on most counts. Even though the Declaration of Independence was primarily drafted by Thomas Jefferson, Adams was among the group of people to offer help to Jefferson in the phrasing. The Declaration of Independence was introduced as a resolution to the Continental Congress by Richard Henry Lee and that resolution was seconded by John Adams. After the Revolutionary War he was elected as representative to The Court of St. James in 1787. This today is known as the Ambassador to Great Britain. Adams was responsible for beginning the healing of the wounds inflicted to both sides in the Revolutionary War that had ended in 1781 and establish a friendship and rapport between the United States and England that exists to this day. Adams played a very important role in establishing the United States as a major player in the world politic, especially in Europe and Holland in particular. The Dutch were major worldwide traders in those days and Adams saw the market for American goods being shipped on Dutch vessels as an advantage for both America and Holland. There are so many contributions that Adams made to his country, including the first Vice-President and the second President, that it would take a book to fully cover this man’s life and indeed there are many of them out there. It would be worth all of out times to read one about this giant in the history of the United States.

Births and deaths:

1751    English satirist Richard Sheridan is born. In an argument with his son about his academics, his son suggested that he should write “Room for rent” across his own forehead and Richard responded with “Write under that ‘unfurnished’”

1871    French satirist Jean Valery is born. He said “God made the world out of nothing, but the nothingness is showing through.”

1882    US Admiral William “Bull” Halsey is born. He said “There are no great men. Just great challenges that ordinary men like you and me are forced to meet.”

1894    French Biologist Jean Rostand is born. He said “My pessimism goes to the point of suspecting the sincerity of the pessimists.”

1915    US TV producer Fred Friendly is born. He said “The one thing the networks can be proud of is the news, the rest of it is crap….and they know it.” I concur, but include the news also.

1935    British writer Michael Winner is born. He said “A team effort is a lot of people doing exactly what I say.” Sounds like my brother.

1939    US rock singer and space traveler Grace Slick is born. She said “No matter how warm and soft your bed is, you have to get out of it once in a while.” Grace was lead singer with Jefferson Airplane and later Jefferson Starship. She was famous for carrying a firearm and would produce it at a moments notice. Somehow she survived in spite of the blizzard of cocaine she swam through.

1983    The mother of President Jimmy Carter, Lillian Carter dies. She said “Some times when I look at my children I say to myself, Lillian, you should have stayed a virgin.” Lillian was a vinegary old girl. She went into the Peace Corp at the age of 70.

The History of Halloween

This pagan celebration of Halloween goes back more that 2000 years to the ancient Celts of present day Ireland, England and northern France. The original name of the festival was Sawhain pronounced “sow-in” and was to celebrate the harvest and prepare for the upcoming harsh winter. The Celts celebrated November 1 as the beginning of a new year and the evening before became known as “All Hallow’s Eve” which was corrupted to Halloween. It was the only day of the year that the boundary between the living and the dead became clouded and on this night the dead walked the earth. It was also believed that only on this night could one person predict the future of another. This was very important because of the rigors of the upcoming winter did indeed kill many of them. Every house extinguished the fire in their hearth because the Celtic priests (Druids) would cut down a sacred tree and build a gigantic bonfire for this night’s celebration. It was believed that if they could get a scrap of burning wood from this sacred fire and bring it into their homes, it would keep them warm throughout the winter. When the Celts approached the sacred fire they were costumed in animal heads and skins for ritualistic reasons. Upon the arrival of the Romans the rituals changed somewhat and Roman rituals were introduced as being part of the ritual. One of these rituals was the celebration of the harvest also except here they would honor the Roman goddess of fruits and trees, Pomona. Pomona is represented by the symbol of an apple. I guess y’all see where this is going. That’s right; it is the bobbing for apples and trying to bite an apple while it is hanging from a string that was the result of paying homage to Pomona. During the 8th and 9th century the Roman Catholic Church tried their damnedest to eliminate this pagan festival and make it a church related event and instituted all Saint’s Day on November 1 hoping to sway the existing pagans back under the umbrella of the church. It did not work. This pagan festival continues to this day. There is no written evidence for the rise of the event known as “trick or treat” except that on All Hallow’s Eve some of the dead that walked the earth were mean, spiteful creatures. I suspect that ritual was really fostered by candy manufacturers and costume makers. Anyway the colors that are associated with Halloween as being orange and black have a meaning. Orange represented the changing color of the leaves on deciduous trees and black meant winter, shorter days and death was on the horizon for some. It bothers me somewhat for different churches to sponsor a Halloween event. It means that they are fostering a pagan festival. But maybe I am too old-fashioned. Bah Humbug.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow