Daily history

Good morning,


Hey Jim in Birmingham, there is a section in this lesson for you.

Quote of the day:

"God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the ones I can, and the wisdom to know they are all me."

                                 Reinhold Neibuhr

On this date in 1941 the Japanese navy task force is about 1,000 miles from Hawaii and still undetected. I am talking about four aircraft carriers and associated cruisers, tankers, destroyers, submarines, etc. The crack American military leadership in Hawaii in the form of US General Short and US Admiral Kimmel had been warned by Washington that an attack by Japan is probable in the very near future. General Short responds by gathering all the military aircraft on the four airfields into small groups so they can be guarded more easily against sabotage because he was aware of all the people of Japanese ancestry in the islands. It evidently did not cross this jackasses mind that one bomb in each bunch would destroy them all. Admiral Kimmel responds by increasing the destroyer patrols in the mouth of Pearl Harbor. This is where most of the might of the US Navy Pacific fleet is stacked like cord wood. It evidently did not occur to either one of these Bozos that an attack could come by aircraft. So Kimmel and Short did the honorable thing, they planned a golf outing for Sunday December 7, 1941.

A couple of days ago a woman driving on a fairly busy street in the Greenville area, crossed over the center line and crashed head on with an oncoming vehicle. This woman was killed, the passengers in the other car were minimally injured primarily because all of them were wearing seat belts. It seems that this woman driving while eating a hamburger and french fries and WAS NOT WEARING A SEAT BELT! I am sorry y'all, I feel no sympathy. She could have killed someone due to what I think is criminal negligence.

Then there was a man driving northbound on I-85 near exit 19 in South Carolina (This exit is known as the Clemson exit to the natives) when he ran into the rear of a semi and was killed instantly. The SCHP stated that the car was traveling over 100 MPH and did  not have his seat belt fastened at the time of the collision. I have no sympathy for him either.

A five month old baby girl was brought to the Oconee Medical Center near Seneca, SC bleeding from the mouth and bruised from ear to ear. This was reported to the Oconee Sheriff's department who arrested the baby's father, 22 year old Bryan Epperson. It seems that Bryan was babysitting overnight and had the baby in bed with him. The baby woke up about 7:00a and started crying. Bryan chose to clamp his hand over the baby's mouth and hold it there until she shut up. I feel no sympathy for Bryan either even though we all know what will happen to him in jail once it is found out he mistreated a child.

Good news:

Back in June a man walked into a deli in Long Island, New York and tried to rob it. He did not know that the deli owner had a shotgun behind the counter. When the owner produced the shotgun, the robber began begging for his life saying that he had to get some food for his family. The deli owner dropped the shotgun and gave the man 40 dollars and a loaf of bread if he promised to not try robbery again and would say a prayer with him. The robber complied, joined in a prayer and left with the money and the bread. Two days ago the deli owner received a letter from the robber. There was a check for $40 and a brief note thanking the deli owner and saying that the robber was now deeply involved in religion. Sometimes kindness disarms.

This date in history December 5

1907    In 1883 the Norfolk and Western Railroad expanded their network into southwestern West Virginia which opened up the previously untapped coal fields in that area. The area was soon flooded with European Immigrants and African-Americans seeking work. Small towns mushroomed almost overnight. On this date a thunderous explosion occurred down in the Fairfield Coal mine near Monongah, West Virginia, killing 365 miners and injuring 500. It was the worst mining disaster in American history. After this the public became aware of the danger in underground mines and safety precautions began to be incorporated into the operation of the mines and deaths and injuries began to subside. But it was the organization of the United Mine Workers led by John L. Lewis that insisted upon better and safer conditions and had the power to make it stick.

1917    Due to World War I the port of Halifax, Nova Scotia was jammed with ships going to and coming from the ports in Europe delivering the tools of war to the allies. The French freighter "Mont Blanc" and the Norwegian freighter "Imo" were two of them. The Mont Blanc was laded to the scuppers with picric acid (very flammable), 23 thousand tons of gasoline and an almost equal amount of TNT and gun cotton. Well, the "Mont Blanc" and the "Imo" scraped sides and the "Mont Blanc" was holed and began leaking picric acid. The force of the collision sent the French freighter back toward the dock it had just left and almost simultaneously the picric acid caught fire. The fire was hot enough that it set the dock on fire and the seamen aboard the "Mont Blanc" immediately abandoned ship knowing what was in the hold. They did not even stop long enough to warn the other ships. People from the town gathered on the piers to watch this spectacular fire. Finally the fire reached the gasoline and TNT and the mightiest explosion in the pre-nuclear age was detonated. The 1,800 people on the pier were killed instantly and 9,000 were injured including 200 that were blinded by the sun-like brightness of the explosion. The light from the explosion was visible for 50 miles and the sound was heard hundreds of miles away, not to mention 1,600 homes in Halifax and surrounding neighborhoods that were flattened.

1865    On this date the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified when the state of Georgia voted for ratification. The 13th Amendment outlawed slavery in the United States and its possessions. At the beginning of the Civil War many northern politicos were against the expansion of slavery into additional states but were ambivalent about banning it where it already existed. After the US victory at Antietam, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which freed the slaves in “those states in rebellion”. Well, it was obvious that that proclamation could not be enforced and was merely symbolic. After the severe ass-kicking he the US Army received at the 1st and 2nd Battles of Manassas, the political climate in the north leaned toward letting the south have their own country and stopping the slaughter. But Lincoln prevailed and the war leaned away from feeing the slaves to preserving the Union. The only law that could be enforced at this time was when Lincoln ordered that any slave that became attached to a US army unit would then and forever be free. This caused some of the US army units a hardship by having to oversee several hundred slaves that had attached themselves to the units when passing by.

1868    In May of 1868 the very first train robbery occurs in Seymour, Indiana by the Reno brothers, Frank, William and Simeon. In the act of the robbery they shot one of the train guards. On this date the train guard dies and the outraged citizens of Seymour pay a visit to the local jail, snatched all three of the brother out of their cells and take them outside for a “necktie party”. In other words they were going to hang all of them. Frank and William go peacefully but Simeon fights like a wildcat and in the struggle knocks out three men before being overwhelmed. They strung old Simeon up but did not have the rope in the right place and when he dropped it did not break his neck, and he died of strangulation. It took about 20 minutes for Simeon to expire. It was not a pretty sight. But the citizens of Seymour went a few steps further and allowed some of the citizens to have their photo made with the corpses...for a price. The money went to charity. Then they sold pieces of the hangman’s rope...for a price. That went to charity also. At least the Reno brothers were responsible for a positive contribution to the community.

1941    On this date Australian coast watchers spot a fleet of Japanese warships traveling down the Malaysian Peninsula and speculated that they were on their way to invade Thailand. It was a diversion, ya’ll. The actual fleet of warships was about 800 miles northwest of Hawaii heading southeast staying inside of a squall line to avoid detection. They were headed for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Born today:

1898    US lyricist Ira Gershwin. He said “One can be very happy without demanding others agree with them.”

Died today:

1889    Former CSA President Jefferson Davis. He said “Neither current events nor history has proven that the majority rules, or ever has ruled”

1995    Scottish Journalist James Reston. He said “As society advances, the standard of poverty rises.”

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow