Daily history

Good morning,


I normally make the trip to and from Pensacola Beach, Florida a two day trip. I usually spend the night in either Opelika or Montgomery, Alabama. However, on the trip back yesterday I decided to go straight through to Greenville,SC. It took seven hours and 22 minutes. I was pretty tired but I was glad to be home. My Maxima was quick and fast as it normally is and I got 24 MPG. It would be a lot faster if I would clean out all the junk. I will make that my project for today. All that believe that raise their hand. Today will be a day of rest and recovery.

As all of you local people know by now that John Ludwig plead guilty of reckless homicide for speeding, losing control and running his car through a house and killing one of the occupants. The maximum sentence for that offence is 10 years in prison. Judge Williams gave Ludwig 3 years probation, 500 hours of community service and a fine. Ludwig settled with the family of the person he killed for $3 million. Solicitor Bob Arial who tried the case has asked the judge to reconsider his sentence as being way too light but it is unlikely that Ludwig will do any hard time.

I have a lot to say about politics but I will refrain from opening that can of worms. I am going to stick with my own credo and that is do not find fault or criticize without two possible solutions. I will say this, most of the news analysts say that there will be a "bloodbath" for the Democrats in next year's House of Representatives elections. I agree. I think the Democrats will lose the majority in the House.

Good news:

Don Ryder is the public safety director for for the city of Wausau, Wisconsin. He had read about the years long drought in the Maasai area of Africa. The drought was killing the cattle the Maasai tribesmen rely on, not to mention the Maasai women have to walk dangerous 15 miles to get drinking water for their families. Ryder belongs to the Franciscan Church, a branch of the Catholic church. He worried about the drought and according to him he went to the bible for a solution. He said he opened the bible and a phrase jumped out at him. It was Jesus said, "I was thirsty and you gave me water to drink." Ryder went on a fund raising campaign to get enough money to drill water wells at the cost of $45,000 to $65,000 each. The drillers found fresh water down 400 feet which provided enough water for a village of 5,000 plus their 100,000 cattle. So far they have drilled 4 wells to allow the tribesmen to plan crops and irrigate instead of having to rely on their cattle alone. For his efforts Don Ryder was awarded the prestigious National Franciscan Peace Award. This award has been previously awarded to Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II. There are some good people out there after all.

This date in history November 19

1942    Earlier in 1941 Adolph Hitler ordered his army to invade Russia is spite of a treaty that had been signed just a few months earlier. The German army dashed across the Russian plains delivering horrendous death and destruction. The Germans had unquestioned control of the skies and could bomb anything they felt like. The Germans had split their forces into three sections and very soon Moscow and Leningrad were under siege. Hitler ordered the 6th Army to attack and capture the great city of Stalingrad. The 6th Army was commanded by General Von Paulus and he had 250,000 troops. Von Paulus estimated it would take about 10 days to force the city to surrender. There was one thing that he neglected, the Russian winter. The German air force had bombed Stalingrad into rubble and Von Paulus thought he could set up a siege and Stalingrad would surrender. He was wrong. The Russians used the rubble to establish defensive strong points. This meant that the Germans would have to go in and dig the defenders out a few at a time. What happened after that was a battle that went down in history as one of the most ferocious ever fought. There were 15,000 to 16,000 casualties every day for an extended period. Finally the winter descended on the Germans that were not prepared for such bitter weather. Eventually the 6th army rolling stock came to a halt. On this date Russian General Zhukov orders a counter attack and he was able to cut the supply lines to the Germans. Between the cold weather and the Russians looking for revenge, Von Paulus surrendered. He only had 90,000 troops left with no help in sight. There were only 5,000 Germans that lived to see their homeland again.

1967    On this date Chaplain (Major) Charles Watters is recommended for the Medal of Honor. The Chaplain went in with the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry when they attacked the North Vietnamese regulars on hill 875 during the battle of Doc To. The Americans were taking a beating but the Chaplain moved among the troops administering first aid to those that he could reach. He went outside the perimeter on several occasions to retrieve soldiers that had been caught outside the perimeter and wounded. Chaplain Watters was on his knees giving the last rights to a dying soldier when an American fighter/bomber dropped a 500 pound bomb on the perimeter by mistake. Chaplain Watters was killed instantly. The Medal of Honor was given posthumously in a White House ceremony in 1969.

1977    On this date in an unprecedented move, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat visits Israeli President Menachem Begin in Jerusalem and makes a speech to the Israeli Knesset, or the equivalent of the House and Senate in the United States. Sadat was seeking peace with the Israelis after fighting on and off with them since 1948. It is needless to say that the rest of the Moslem world was outraged. The two went one step further the next year when they met in Camp David, Maryland under the sponsorship of US President Jimmy Carter and an accord was reached and signed by all parties concerned. This historic event cost Anwar Sadat his life when he was assassinated the next year. He was killed because he sought peace. The greater majority of Muslims don’t want peace.

1985    Earlier the petroleum giant Pennzoil made an offer to buy the family owned oil company of Getty Oil. Getty Oil agreed to the price and the deal was announced over the media. The problem was that there was not yet a signed agreement for the deal, so the even bigger oil giant Texaco step in and offered the Getty family twice as much as what Pennzoil had offered and they took the deal. Pennzoil raised almighty hell and initiated a lawsuit against Texaco. On this date a state court in Texas awarded Pennzoil a judgment of $10 Billion stating that even though there was not a written contract, there was indeed a contract. That just goes to show you that in Texas your word is a contract and that is the way it should be, except when you utter “I do”.

Born today:

1862    Evangelist Billy Sunday. He said “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.” Billy Sunday was the engineer of one of the greatest Christian revivals in American history.

1917    Indian politician Indira Ghandi. She said “There is not politician in India that is bold enough to say that cows can be eaten.” People in India are starving to death with a cow standing just outside the door. I don’t get it.

1938    US Zillionaire Ted Turner. He said “If I had a little humility I would be perfect”. The rumor is that Ted was really crushed when he and Jane Fonda split. It would not bother me at all.

1962    US actress Jody Foster. She said “Normal is something not to be sought after; it is something to be avoided.” Jodie is one of my favorites.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow.