Daily history

Good morning,


Quote of the day:

"Ridicule is the tribute paid to geniuses by the mediocre."

                              Oscar Wilde

Ex-Presidential candidate James Edwards admitted that it was indeed he that knocked-up the photographer Reille Hunter. He also admitted that he is the father of the Reille's most recent baby. This admission came just days before one of Edwards' campaign aides was preparing to release a book stating that Edwards had approached him to claim that it was he that knocked-up Reille not Edwards. As y'all may or may not know Edward's wife had breast cancer in the past and it went into remission and than it came back on her with a vengeance and is now terminal.

On Wednesday night the police broke into a house on Lenhart Drive here in Greenville, SC and knocked over a high states poker game. They arrested 26 people and gathered up $64,000. The people involved said it was just a "friendly" poker game. The cops did not buy it. I wonder what happened to all that cash?

Here in Greenville a 17 year old boy and his mother were threatened with death because the boy wanted drop out of a gang named "Gangster Disciples" and go to college. They were threatened by 17 and 18 year old brothers and a 23 year old woman. The brothers, the 23 year old woman and a unnamed juvenile were arrested and are in the joint as we speak. Gangs? Here in a small town in the bible belt where everybody has a hog-leg? It is hard to believe.

Early Wednesday morning a routine Greenville police patrol sighted a naked woman trying to wave them down. The woman claimed that she had been beaten and raped by two men in room 224 of the nearby Relax Inn. The cops go to the room and there is indeed two men in the room. The men were arrested and the cops go to the motel owner and interview her. She said that she was surprised to hear about any violence in her place because she tried to run a clean place. She did say that she was familiar with the alleged victim and had banned her from the premises. There is little doubt that the victim was a Hooker but beating and rape is not part of the contract.

This date in history January 22

1819    On this date the Spanish minister Don Luis Onis and the United States Secretary of State John Quincy Adams sign the Florida Purchase Agreement in which Spain cedes Spanish holdings in what is now Florida to the United States. The ownership of Florida has a checkered past that began with the establishment of the Spanish colony of St. Augustine in 1565. The colonists at St. Augustine enjoyed several years of serenity until the Native Americans got fed up and established a consistent routine of attack and withdrawal. Along with that, in the early 17th century the irascible English colonists north of St. Augustine joining with the Indians hoping to drive the Spanish out of Florida. Then Spain made a mistake when it sided with France in the French and Indian War which the French lost and that indiscretion cost Spain its interests in Florida and Great Britain assumed ownership. Great Britain kept control for about 20 years then they lost the American Revolution and part of the treaty ending the War was that Great Britain had to give ownership of Florida back to Spain in 1783. This was Spain’s reward for recognizing (along with France) American independence earlier. There was several border and some time violent confrontations between the American settlers in southern Georgia and the Spanish in Florida, then John Quincy Adams pulled off this coup by gaining ownership of Florida for nearly nothing. All we had to do was assume the debt of about $5 million in suits that had filed against Spain by American interests. The US government appointed Andy “Old Hickory” Jackson as governor of The Florida Territory in 1819. Florida entered the fold of American states in 1845 as a slave state.

1847    On this date the American army numbering 5,000 under the command of General Zachary “Old Rough and Ready” Taylor is cornered near Angostura Pass in Mexico by Mexican General Santa Ana and his army of 15,000. Santa Ana sent a messenger to Taylor demanding his surrender. Taylor had been ordered to invade after the United States had declared war on Mexico. The US had annexed disputed lands in what is now Texas and sent in troops commanded by Taylor to protect the border. Santa Ana sent in several raids on the disputed land which prompted the attack on Mexico. Anyway, after receiving the order to surrender Taylor sent the messenger back to Santa Ana telling him to “Go to hell”. The next day Santa Ana attacked. Taylor sent the cream of his artillery to protect the right flank (Stonewall Jackson had command of one of these batteries) and he sent Jefferson Davis and his group of sharpshooters to protect the left flank. After daylong attacks and being repulsed, Santa Ana began to withdraw. The engagement was known as the Battle of Buena Vista. That’s right folks, the Jefferson Davis that I am talking about became the Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce in 1853 and the President of the Confederate States of America in 1861.

1777    On this date Georgia Patriot leader Archibald Bulloch dies under mysterious circumstances. Bulloch was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1730 to a Scottish father and a Puritan mother. He was well educated and practiced law in South Carolina for a while then he moved to Savannah, Georgia and in 1764 he married a woman named Mary de Veaux. He became active in Savannah and Georgia politics and became an acknowledged leader of the “Liberty” party which advocated independence of the colonies. He went to the Continental Congress in 1775. When it became obvious that the British were going to invade Georgia the state legislature appointed Bulloch as governor and gave him almost dictatorial powers to do what was necessary to repel the Redcoats. Within hours of the passing of this resolution, Bullock was dead. To this date no one knows what killed Archie but poison is the prime suspect. The motive is still unknown also. Bulloch was acknowledged to be a great leader in this country’s fight for freedom and was the great-great grandfather of one of my heroes, Theodore Roosevelt. Teddy’s son Archibald and Bulloch County Georgia is named in his honor.

1864    On this date Confederate Cavalry commander General Nathan Bedford Forrest routs a Federal army twice the size of his. Earlier US General William T. Sherman was heading east from Vicksburg intending to destroy the Confederate supply depots. He was successful in the destruction of the Confederate depot in Meridian, Mississippi and was headed toward a known depot in Selma, Alabama. Sherman was suppose to meet US General William Sooy Smith and his cavalry unit coming southeast from Memphis at a point near West Point, Mississippi. Smith’s unit was intercepted north of West Point by CSA Colonel Jeffrey Forrest (Nathan’s younger brother) and a small cavalry unit. Jeffrey’s job was to suck Smith and his cavalrymen into a trap south of West Point where his older brother Nathan and a large CSA cavalry unit awaited. Smith followed Jeffrey south of West Point but smelled the trap in the nick of time and with the combined forces of Nathan and Jeffrey hard on his ass he hauled ass back north and tried to make a stand north of West Point. A sharp battle ensued in which Jeffrey was killed but the Confederates had sealed off Smith’s access to West Point. This meant that he would not make the rendezvous with Sherman and more support so he disengaged and headed back to Memphis. Word was sent to Sherman about this turn of events and he turned around and headed back to Meridian. After the war was over even General William T. Sherman said that Nathan Bedford Forrest was “the greatest cavalry officer ever foaled”. Forrest was not the only superb cavalry officer in the Confederacy, there was Turner Ashby, J.E.B. Stuart, John S. Mosby, Fitzhugh Lee, Wade Hampton III, John Hunt Morgan, Joe Wheeler and many others. The Confederacy could not fight a war of attrition and logistics and that is exactly what happened.

1918    On this date Montana passed a law that was the largest violation of Constitutional rights in American history, they past the “Sedition Act.” Not only that, the Federal Government passed a similar law modeled after the Montana abomination. The United States was at war with Germany in WWII and Montana had a large population of German immigrants. This, and the fact that many of the mine workers unions in Montana were radical and had no problem with raising hell about local, state and federal government operations and were fervently anti-war made the Montanans very nervous and they were afraid of spying and sabotage by their German settlers. The “Sedition Act” forbade anyone from speaking adversely about any government agency in the time of war. It also forbade peaceful assembly in a demonstration of displeasure against any government agency. The even arrested people that spoke badly about the Red Cross. This law was not struck down until the war was over but it got the job done by crushing those radical unions. You would have thought that the United States would have learned from this raping of the people’s rights, but they didn’t. About 20 years later after the attack on Pearl Harbor, we locked up thousands of people of Japanese descent even if some of them were third and forth generation Americans. We did this because the attack on Pearl Harbor was perpetrated by Japan and out federal government was afraid of spying and sabotage by anyone that had yellow skin and almond shaped eyes. Like I have said in the past, I guess we all need someone to hate and the Constitution guarantees us that right.

1980    On this date a bunch of United States college kids playing ice hockey in the Olympics knocks over the four time world champion Russian professional hockey team. It was known as the Miracle on Ice. I remember watching it to this day. With about 20 seconds to go the American announcer Al Michaels was about to pee his pants. The Russians had the puck but it was stolen by the US team and they just skated around until the clock ran out. With about 3 seconds to go Al Michaels screams “Do you believe in miracles, YESSSSS!” What an exciting moment it was for us all.

Born today:

1788    German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. He said “Every man assumes that his field of vision is the limits of the world.” Art, this is not exactly true, some people live in even smaller cocoons that that.

1819    US writer James Russell Lowell. He said “In creating, the only hard thing is the start; it is no harder to create a blade of grass as it is an oak tree.” Jim, you left out creating an amicable relationship with a bitterly divorced woman.

1864    French writer Jules Renard. He said “Love is like an hourglass, with the heart filling up as the brain empties.” That’s right Jules; everything is focused on what is below.

1892    US writer Edna St. Vincent Millay. She said “Life is not just one damned thing after another, it is the same damned thing over and over.” Boredom is a bitch, Edna.

1900    Mexican filmmaker Luis Bunuel. He said “Thank God, I am still an atheist.” Luis, shut the hell up.

1932    US senator Edward Kennedy (MA). When speaking about George W. Bush he said “I hate to see young men get ahead just because of a famous family name.” Hey Eddie, can you spell hypocrite?

1962    Australian naturalist Steve Irwin. He said “Crikey mate, it is safer to deal with Australian crocodiles or western diamondback rattlesnakes than those executives and producers and the other sharks in that big MGM building.” Steve is gone, killed by an accidental sting ray barb to the heart. I miss him.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow.