Daily lesson

Good morning,


I suppose all of you know about what happened at Fort Hood, Texas so I won't go there except to say the shooter was shot several times but did not die, dammit.  He is in a hospital somewhere.

Quote of the day:

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. What the world needs is people that have come alive."

                             Howard Thurman

Today's weather will be almost a carbon copy of yesterday's weather. Clear skies, low temps in the mid 50's and the high in the mid to high 70's. The difference is today the wind is pretty stiff from the northeast but a very pleasant day indeed here in paradise.

Thirty years ago a group of party goers in the "Spanish Town" section of Baton Rouge, Louisiana decided that the needed to have a Mardi Gras celebration and parade in their neighborhood. They organized and called themselves the Society for the Preservation of Lagniappe in Louisiana or SPLL. The 2010 edition will have as its king a good friend and deservedly so. If ever there was a dedicated Cajun and party goer it is King Tom. But I think they should rename the organization the PYAOFM. That stands for Party Your Ass Off For a Month.

Le Roi longtemps de phase Tom!

A couple of days ago a corpse inside a duffel bag was found floating in one of the bayous here in Pensacola. It turned out to be a 24 year old mother of a four year old. The mother's name was Samira Watkins. Samira was the manager of a McDonalds and was attending dental assistant classes at the local junior college. She was also two months pregnant. The last time anyone saw Samira she was headed out to see the father of her unborn child, a married man, who lives on the north side of town. The police have not revealed the cause of death nor named the father but he has been interviewed several times. The police are also looking hard for Samira's car which is missing. If had to guess, I would say it was the father that killed Samira because apparently he was the only person with a motive. According to the people that knew Samira she was a very amiable and friendly person. She also had some ambition. What a damned shame.

During the 9/11 disaster the New York police commissioner was Bernard Kerik. Kerik was given much praise for his leadership during that very trying time. He was interviewed for the Secretary of Homeland Security but withdrew his name when charges of corruption arose. On this past Wednesday Kerik plead guilty to eight charges of tax crimes by not including all of his income on seven tax returns and lying to the White House when he was interviewed. He agreed to a fine of $188,000 and filing amended tax returns for the years in question. This man could get 2 1/2 years in the joint. Can you imagine what kind of life a police commissioner would have in prison? But the judge said that Kerik had had a full life and had done much good. That tells me that the sentence Kerik will get will be a light one.

You South Carolinians should be proud of Senator Lindsey Graham. He and two Democrats are writing a bill that is suppose to deal with global warming. Global warming is not a new issue. I have said this before: 25,000 years ago there was a sheet of ice one mile thick that covered the Arctic and all the way down to central Illinois. Where is that ice now? It freaking melted, for crying out loud! There is evidence of the advance and retreat of glaciers and sheets of ice more than ten times in the earth's history. Lighten up Lindsey, for goodness sakes, this is just another part of the cycle of the Earth's weather and should not be a political football.

Good News:

I hope that teacher in Everett, Washington reads this. That jackass said that Boeing should not move an assembly plant to South Carolina because the work force would be the equivalent of a Wal-Mart greeter. There are two high school seniors from the Greenville, South Carolina area that scored a perfect 2400 on their SAT tests meaning they will qualify for any university in the land. They are Natasha Deshpande of Mauldin High School and Hannah Chen of Riverside High School. I don't know about Mauldin but Riverside is on the previledged and monied side of Greenville.

This date in history November 6

1528    Earlier Spanish conquistador Alva Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and his army of 300 had been exploring north Florida but insects, disease and persistent attacks by the Indians drove them into the sea with only 80 to 90 men left. They built five flimsy boats and set sail westward. They suffered from the lack of food and water and when they tried to land to acquire fresh water and food they were driven back into the sea because the ubiquitous Indians were watching them all the while. On this date, they crashed on a beach in what is now Texas, probably near Galveston. These were most likely the first white men to see Texas. They were immediately captured by the Indians and made virtual slaves. But with Cabeza’s rudimentary knowledge of medicine, he was able to attain the title of medicine man and he and his survivors were released after two years. By now they were down to only Cabeza and three others left out of the 300. Cabeza and the others set out traveling west across New Mexico and Arizona heading for Mexico City that was by now under the control of the men left by the Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortez. After a torturous trek, they ran across a Spanish unit out hunting for slaves. This meeting took place near Sinaloa, Mexico. With help of these men, Cabeza finally arrived in Mexico City and told his tale of survival that enthralled all that heard it. The unbelievable story of Cabeza and his men made its way to Europe and the rest of the world. But his story of the inhospitable lands and hostile Indians did not deter anyone and soon a flood of honkies began arriving in the America. Now this flood of honkies is accompanied a deluge of the progeny of the Spanish conquistadors. Their ancestry goes back to the Maya, Inca, Olmecs and Aztecs but they do not speak Quechua or any other language of their ancestors, they speak the language of their conquerors, Spanish. It is kind of funny that at no time was there ever more than 600 Spanish soldiers in one place at one time but the Natives could not kick them out. The Spanish had a few things that made a difference. They had shoulder fired weapons, war dogs, armor and horses. The natives had never seen a horse before the arrival of the Spanish. The Spanish also had natural immunity to measles, small pox, tuberculosis, etc. that he natives did not. It was disease that conquered them; it was not the military expertise of the Spaniards.

1906    On this date United States President Theodore Roosevelt departs on a diplomatic mission to Panama and Puerto Rico. This is the first time that a sitting United States president had departed the contiguous United States on a diplomatic mission. He really went to Panama to visit the Panama Canal that was still under construction and to Puerto Rico it being a United States possession. Remember that citizens of Puerto Rico can vote in elections and have representatives in Congress. I have a friend of mine that lives in eastern Pennsylvania that says the local Puerto Ricans are the one complaining the loudest about the flood of illegals into their “hood” and have “discouraged” them on more than one occasion. Anyway, Teddy Roosevelt as far as I am concerned, is the best president we have had since A. Lincoln. I have some “unreconstructed” friends out there that are breathing smoke out their ears upon hearing this, but had it not been for Lincoln we would be two, maybe four, nations rather than one. We are better off united. Everyone knew where Teddy stood on any issue and all had respect and confidence in him. He was what I call “a stand up guy”. You knew where he was coming from all the time and you could believe anything he said as being the truth. Those virtues are few and far between since him. I might have said the Dwight Eisenhower would have been except he lied about the Francis Gary Powers spy flight that he later recanted. Harry Truman was close but he was a politician first and a patriot second. We need more like Teddy. Teddy contracted Malaria while on the trip to Panama and it contributed to his demise at relatively young age. Whatever happened to “stand up guys”?

1861    Jefferson Davis is elected president of the Confederate States of America in Montgomery, Alabama. Like A. Lincoln he was born in Kentucky but in the year of 1808. He attended West Point and graduated in1828 and fought in the Black Hawk War. In 1832 he married Sarah Taylor who was the daughter of General (and future President) Zachary Taylor. Davis and Taylor remained close friends though out the rest of their lives. Soon after Davis and his new bride Sarah settled on Brierwood Plantation in Mississippi. Just a short time Sarah came down with malaria and died from it. In 1845 he married Varina Howells. After the southern states began seceding Davis thought that they may come to him for the Presidency. After his election Davis made this statement “Upon my weary heart was showered smiles, plaudits and flowers. But beyond this I see troubles and thorns innumerable.” Indeed Jeff, indeed.

1887    Land near Toccoa, Georgia was bought for the purpose of building a Christian and Missionary College. An earthen dam was built across Toccoa Creek creating a small but deep lake with the college downstream of the dam. On this date in 1997 an examination of the dam was made and declared safe. Just hours later, the dam failed and a wall of water moving at 120 MPH arrives at the College. There were 38 students and teachers drowned and many injured. One teacher grabbed hold of a passing roof truss and held on and was washed a mile downstream. Her two children were not so lucky and were included in the 38 victims. Two days later First Lady Rosalyn Carter showed up and offered any assistance she could. I do not know what happened to the dam inspector.

Births and deaths:

1943    US humorist Jon Carroll is born. He said “Everyone should live to be 92 years old, have an orgasm and drop dead.” That is cold, y’all.

1955    US royalty Maria Shriver is born. When introducing her husband Arnold Schwarzenegger to her uncle Ted Kennedy she said “Think of him as a Republican and the man I love, if that doesn’t work think of him as a man that can crush your ribs.”

1836    French King Charles X dies. He said “It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.” What can you do with that rock hard logic?

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow