Daily history

Good morning,


Quote of the day:

"It is not what you have, where you are, who you are or what your are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think of yourself."

                                       Oscar Wilde

The crack weathermen at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport are forecasting that ice, snow, freezing rain and general s--t is to befall my little niche in the planet beginning Friday afternoon and lasting until Saturday afternoon. To those of you that are not familiar with the Greenville, SC terrain this area is pretty damned hilly. This means that traveling on icy or snowbound roads is very much of an exciting adventure to get out there and mix it up with others who have no experience driving in slick environs either.

Down in Jay, Florida two thirty-year old female teachers plead no contest to having sex with three of their students. The guys were 17 years old and were considered "minors". I don't get it. I always thought the legal age of consent was 16. It is common for boys and girls to get married at the age of 16. How can sex be illegal at the age of 17? Perhaps I am being too pragmatic but I remain confused. Are they "minors" or are they not? They can't have it both ways. If a boy and girl at the age of 16 crawl in the back of a '75 Pontiac and a sex act occurs, was a crime committed? By whom? Who is the victim? Is statutory rape for females only? If it is, it ain't fair. Think about it.

Author J.D. Salinger has died. He lived in seclusion in a tiny house in a small town in New Hampshire. It was Salinger that gave us a milestone in American literature with "A Catcher in the Rye" that made him a fortune. It was a novel about a teenager named Holden Caulfield. Holden was a twisted young man going through the trial and tribulations of puberty and beyond. Holden saw the world as being full of "phonies" and mass unfairness. The book became almost a textbook for teenagers in the days of the "Cold War". It sold 30 million copies world wide. The evangelicals raised almighty hell about the book primarily because it described a rebellious and confused youth, masturbation was also briefly mentioned. That is what really inflamed the churchmen. They procalimed that the subject of self-gratifing sex is immoral and should not be brought into sunlight where the teen could read about it even though it is well known worldwide that it is a common practice, including the evangelicals. They did not say a thing about "The Graduate" where a young man is seduced by an older married woman. I don't get it. Apparently adultery is OK but masturbation is not. I will shut up now.

I heard that President Obama made a speech about the State of the Union. I think we all know the State of the Union.

This date in history January 29

1936 On this date the first baseball players were selected for the newly opened Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. They were Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson. Ty Cobb, to this day, is the most productive hitter to ever play the game. Babe Ruth was both an ace pitcher and a devastating home run hitter, Honus Wagner was a versatile infielder and a dependable clutch hitter, Christy Mathewson had the most wins in National League history up until that time and Walter “Big Train” Johnson is considered to be one of the most powerful pitchers in history. The Hall of Fame was supposed to have opened in 1935 but money was at a premium because of the Depression so the opening was delayed. The rumor was spread that Civil War General Abner Doubleday was the inventor of baseball in Cooperstown but that was bullshit. The local businesses fostered that idea to pump up business and they made contributions toward the building of the Hall. The Hall of Fame has about 350,000 visitors a year.

1820 After 10 years of a debilitating disease that lead to total insanity, King George III of England dies. King George was the chief antagonist of the American colonists that resulted in the American Revolutionary War. King George knew that he was not well and was desperately seeking someone that he could trust to take care of business in his behalf. He found one in Lord North and King George was very relieved. The problem was that England lost its most profitable colony in America and the English people were furious. In 1784 William Pitt the elder gained enough power in Parliament to take control. After this the King retired from active participation in government except for an occasional interference with major issues such as “Catholic Emancipation” which was defeated in 1801. I have not researched this issue but I will soon. King George had a long history of illness beginning in 1765 when he had a nervous breakdown and in the winter of 1788-89 he had a severe bout with mental illness. By 1810 he was permanently insane but he was cared for tenderly by his wife Charlotte Sophia. His son, the Prince of Wales, was named regent and assumed throne as King George IV when his father died in 1820.

1861 On this date Kansas was admitted to the Union as a “free state”. This act was one of the prime causes of the American Civil War. Kansas was bordered on the east by Missouri and on the south by Texas; both were slave-holding states. There were many bloody skirmishes on the Kansas-Missouri border in the struggle for and against slavery. The United States Congress brought Kansas in as a “free state” in order to show support of the anti-slavery factions in the state and it blew up in their faces when the war broke out a few months later. I am not suggesting that slavery is acceptable but just that is what happened. After the Civil War got cranked up the attacks on Kansas and Missouri reached a crescendo with many atrocities committed by both pro and anti slavery factions. An example of each was when the fervent anti-slavery leader John Brown went to a small community in Missouri and slaughtered five people with a broad sword because “he thought” they were pro slavery. Then a pro slavery Confederate guerilla leader named William Quantrill leads his troops into Lawrence, Kansas and that group killed over 150 men and burned the town to the ground. Hatred has no limits.

Born today:

1737 Super American Patriot Thomas Paine. He said “When we are planning for posterity, we must remember that virtue is not hereditary.” Paine was one of the greatest wordsmiths this country ever produced.

1862 English composer Fredrick Delius. He said “Music is an outburst of the soul”. Indeed Fred, indeed.

1874 US industrialist John D. Rockefeller, Jr. He said “A friendship based on business is better that a business based on friendship.” The Rockefeller dynasty began with the establishment of Standard Oil which eventually became Exxon.

1880 US comedian W.C. Fields. He said “My illness is due to my doctor insisting that I drink milk. It is a whitish fluid that they force down helpless babies.” Fields was a famous imbiber.

1923 US writer Paddy Chayefsky. He said “"Now listen to me, goddamnit! The Arabs are simplying buying us! A handful of gas, shahs, and emirs who despise this country and everything it stands for—democracy, freedom, the right for me to get up on television and tell you about it—a couple of dozen medieval fanatics are going to own where you work, where you live, what you read, what you see, your cars, your bowling alleys, your mortgages, your schools, your churches, your libraries, your kids, your whole life...!" Pay attention to Paddy, ya’ll, I could happen.

1939 Australian feminist Germaine Greer. She said “Freud is the father of psychoanalysis, it has no mother.” I agree, Germaine.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow