Daily history

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

"Warriors should enter battle believing that they have no hope of surviving. They should believe that they are already dead then they can kill without mercy, without regret or remorse. All wars depend on it."

                         Lt. James Spears, US Army

There continues to be a feeding frenzy by the media about the Tiger Woods situation. Tiger admitted to his infidelity and issued an apology. He didn't have to do that, he owes no one an apology especially the media. The only ones that deserve and apology is his family. Our country is going to hell in a hand basket and the media is frothing at the mouth because Tiger Woods got laid. We are in serious trouble if that is all they have to report. Nike and Gatorade have already stated that they are staying with Tiger, the media be damned.

I don't know if any of y'all saw the boxing match a couple of days ago with Roy Jones, Jr. as one of the contestants. Roy is from Pensacola, Florida and went to high school with one of my daughters. He was the World Middleweight Champion at one time. In fact he held a number titles in his boxing career. In this latest match he got his brains beat out in the first round and his skills at boxing are a mere shadow of what they used to be. He has a record of 54 wins (40 by knockout) and 6 losses. I hope this most recent fight was his last. I certainly hope he doesn't end up like Muhammad Ali or Joe Louis. It is time to quit taking licks to the head, Roy. Get your ass back to that big house on Pensacola Bay and live the good life.

All of y'all that live in the Mobile, Alabama area and have Allstate homeowners insurance will be getting a letter in the mail soon. Allstate has decided to discontinue wind damage coverage in the two major counties around Mobile. "Are you in good hands" my ass.

Up in Tarboro, NC Michelle Brewer was opening her jewelry store when a deer came running down the street and went right beside her. Then there was whole herd of deer coming at her and she was bowled over and trampled. Michelle said that she just did not have time to get out of the way and one doe kicked her into the air and she remembered looking at the deer at eye level on the way down. She suffered a few scrapes, cuts and bruises that did not require hospitalization but what a tale this girl has to tell her grandchildren.

Good news:

About three weeks ago 15 ear old Vada Vasquez was walking home from her high school in the Bronx, NY when she was struck in the head by a stray bullet from a near-by shoot out between gangs. A couple of days later she opened her eyes and spoke "Mom". That alone was a miracle. Usually a wound of that type results in the loss of cognition and speech. Just a week later she could write and understand what was being said to her. It is likely that she will not remember being shot and it good that she won't. Her prognosis is that she will make a full functional recovery and be out of the hospital and into rehabilitation therapy by Christmas. What a great Christmas present for her family.

This date in history December 4

1872    On this date the British brig "Del Gratia", Captain David Morehouse commanding, spots the brigantine "Mary Celeste" moving erratically near the Azores in the eastern Atlantic. The "Mary Celeste" was under full sail and when the ship was hailed by Captain Morehouse he received no reply. He sent a small boat over to see what the problem was. There was not a soul aboard and they found nothing out of the ordinary aboard. There were a few normal navigation instruments and a life raft missing but other than that all was normal. The ships log showed that the ship left New York for Genoa, Italy on November 7 commanded by Captain Benjamin Briggs. Also aboard was his wife and two children with a crew of 8 carrying 1,700 barrels of crude alcohol. There were several feet of water in the hold but all the reserve food and water was intact as was the cargo. Even with several feet of water in the hold it was not enough to overwhelm the onboard pumps. The last entry in the ships log showed the ship 500 miles from where she was found by Captain Morehouse and apparently had been adrift for 11 days. The last log entry showed no abnormalities. Captain Briggs, his family and crew was never found and the reason for the abandonment was never determined.

1780    On this date General George Washington’s cousin Colonel William Washington fools Loyalist Rowland Rugeley resulting in the capture of Rugeley and his troops. Colonel Washington had been struggling with the fierce British Colonel Banastre Tarleton and was force to retreat into South Carolina. He was ordered by Patriot General Daniel Morgan to go to Camden, South Carolina and kill or capture the contingent of Loyalists know to be there led by Rugeley. Colonel Washington found Rugeley and his troops in Rugeley’s house in Camden. When Colonel Washington retreated into South Carolina he lost several artillery pieces and had none with him when he found Rugeley so he improvised. He had his troops cut down two trees that were the approximate diameter of an artillery piece barrel, stripped the bark off and painted them black and pointed the trees at the Rugeley house. He then went to the house and ordered the surrender of Rugeley and all of his troops or he would order his “artillery” to open fire. Rugeley and his troops surrendered without firing a shot. When British General Charles Cornwallis was informed of this debacle by Tarleton, Cornwallis assured Tarleton that Rugeley would never receive another promotion. Colonel Tarleton met with his own embarrassment when a few weeks later he was sucked into a trap by Patriot General Daniel Morgan near Cowpens, South Carolina. Tarleton’s troops were nearly annihilated and Tarleton had to run like a rabbit to keep from being captured. It was after this victory the Patriots first saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

1864    After 8 days of cavalry clashes in central Georgia, the final battle takes place near Waynesboro, Georgia between Union General Judson Kilpatrick and CSA General Joseph “Fightin’ Joe” Wheeler. Kilpatrick had been assigned the task of protecting US General Sherman’s left flank during the famous march to Atlanta. Even though Kilpatrick lost three times as many men as Wheeler his action was considered a success because Wheeler never made contact with Sherman’s main force.

1969    On this date two members of the Black Panthers, Fred Hampton and Mark Clark, are killed in their apartment in Chicago by the Chicago PD. The Chicago PD had gone to the apartment to arrest the two and was prepared for trouble if not anticipating it. According to the PD there was and “enormous” gun battle when they tried to arrest them. There were over 100 bullet holes in the apartment door and walls nearby. The trouble was that a forensic team came in and inspected the crime scene and found that only two shots were fired from the inside out and the rest were fired from the outside in. Needless to say heads rolled in the Chicago PD when a gigantic cover-up was discovered by the FBI.

1783    After 8 years of blood, sweat and tears, General George Washington calls his officers to Fraunces' Tavern in New York City to announce his resignation and return to civilian life. The Revolutionary was essentially ended over when British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered after being surrounded at the Battle of Yorktown. But it took almost two years before a formal Treaty was signed and slightly longer for all the British troops to get their greasy ass out of my country. As you all know, Washington was elected our first President. We were very fortunate to have a man of is caliber on our side during this period in time.

1942    On this date, in spite of the risk to their lives, a group of Polish Christians began offering help to the Polish Jews. Since the invasion of Poland by Germany in 1939, the Jews has been pushed into ghettos, sent to concentration/execution camps, murdered and their possessions captured by the Germans, etc. The Christians did the best they could but the rampage against the Jews, not only in Poland but Europe wide, remained unabated for the remainder of the war by the most bloodthirsty monsters in recorded history.

Born today:

1795    English writer Thomas Carlyle. He said “It is a mathematical fact that if I toss a pebble out of my hand it alters the center of gravity of the universe.” If that is the case, I wonder what effect it would have if Dolly Parton fell on her face.

1875    English writer Samuel Butler. He said “There is one thing certain, namely, that we can never have anything certain, therefore it is not certain that we can know anything for certain.” Sam, shut the hell up and quit ruining my life.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow