Good morning,
Some of you may not know this but each "lesson" ends up on a blog site that is available world-wide. If any of you have anything to say within reason, I will be glad to include it on my daily blog.
Quote of the day:
“To love another person is to see the face of God".
Victor Hugo
In spite of having a wife and kids Ricky Martin has proclaimed that he is gay. Who the hell is Ricky Martin and who gives a shit?
I have really become concerned with my hearing and sight. Back when Barak Obama was campaigning for President he said that the best way to provide for the security of this nation was to withdraw our troops from Afghanistan. Then I saw him on TV recently making a speech in Afghanistan saying that America was in Afghanistan "for the long haul". Surely it must be my ears and eyes that must be failing because no one could be that blatantly a two-faced liar and be President of the United States.
Over in Spartanburg, South Carolina a judge sentenced a man named Paul Elliot to 10 life terms without the possibility of parole. Here is what his rap sheet indicates:
10 counts of first degree burglary; 9 counts of second degree burglary; 17 counts of grand larceny; 6 counts of petty larceny; 3 counts of obtaining property under false pretenses; 2 counts of receiving stolen goods; safecracking; forgery; attempted burglary; possession of burglary tools; malicious injury to personal property; assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and failure to stop for a blue light with serious bodily injury. The way he got this charge was he hijacked a car with a mother and two small children inside and then tried to outrun the cops and eventually wrecked the car injuring the small kids. This monster perpetrated all these crimes in Spartanburg County but he expanded his area to include Polk County where he burglarized a home and was arrested by the Polk County cops. He escaped using a stolen gun and that is when he hijacked the car. He apologized to everyone he had victimized and incredibly asked the judge for leniency. The mother of the kids that was injured in the hijacking testified at the sentencing and after she heard the sentence she said “I hope his apology keeps him warm at night because both of my children have permanent scars because of him.” How can an obvious career criminal with a rap sheet of 20 pages stay preying on the public for this many times? By the way, two of the deputies in the Polk County Sheriff’s department resigned and one was fired because of Elliot’s escape and hijacking.
A few days ago a woman was in an elevator in a building on the Spartanburg Medical Center campus. She was in there by herself with a man. As the doors closed the man suddenly grabbed her and tried his best to smooch her. She was able to fight him off until the doors opened then the erstwhile lover-boy broke and ran. The woman was shown a photo array by the cops and she picked out Jimmy Henderson, Jr. who was quickly arrested. This was not the first time that Jimmy had tried these shenanigans. I think he had been watching too many romantic movies or reading those trashy love novels. That is why I don’t read fiction (Dan Brown excluded) because it poisons the mind. In retrospect, maybe Dan Brown does too.
Monday night a young lady called the Greenville, South Carolina city cops were called to a service station where she said that she had been kidnapped by two men, taken to a house and raped several times. The cops tried to get a written statement but the girl was drunker than Cooter Brown and was unable to write. The cops decided to wait for the girl to sober up and then get a written statement. The next morning the cops approached the girl for a written statement and she confessed that she had indeed had sex with two men but it had been consensual. She lied about it because she was engaged and this tryst was an embarrassment. Why did she say anything at all? Anyway, she was arrested for filing a false police report, fined and released.
Down in Gulf Breeze, Florida a freak accident occurred. There is a three mile long bridge that crosses from Pensacola, Florida to Gulf Breeze, Florida. A couple of days ago a passenger car was traveling north on the bridge when a canopy support rod on an approaching motor home blew off, penetrated the car windshield and severely injured a passenger in the car. What are the odds of that happening? That rod had to come off at precisely the right instant and the car had to be precisely in the right position for this to happen. It is the same mystery about the airplane that killed a jogger while making an emergency landing on a Hilton Head, South Carolina beach. If the jogger had left home 10 seconds earlier or later he would not have been killed. All of this is pretty spooky to me.
This date in history March 31
1776 On this date Continental Congressman John Adams’ wife Abigail writes him a letter saying in part “I long to hear that you and the others have declared an independency. By the way, in the new code of laws I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you to remember the ladies and be more favorable and generous to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws which we do not have any voice or representation,” Let us recap at this point. John Adams and the Continental Congress are gathered together in Philadelphia on the cusp of creating a new nation the likes of which the world has never seen. They are doing this knowing that the mightiest army and navy on the planet will bring all their forces to the fore to prevent this from happening. Then one of our greatest leaders is reminded to remember gender parity under the threat of a “rebellion”. Abigail Adams was a brilliant person and was as devoted to John as John was to her but to threaten a “rebellion” at this point was nothing short of harrassment. This country was facing the most important decision in world history and Abigail is worried about gender parity! Abigail, this ain’t the time to start nagging about that, for crying out loud! It is at least shortsightedness if not a total lack of vision. On second thought, maybe Abigail had extraordinary vision because it took just short of 150 years for the United States Congress to enact the 19th Amendment allowing women to vote. Abigail Adams and Barbara Bush are the only two women to be wives and mothers to two American presidents.
1492 On this date, at the direction of the Catholic Church in Spain, all Jews are ordered to become Christians or leave the country. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face, a great majority of the Jews did indeed leave rather than give up their heritage. They took with them huge amounts of money, skills and business connections with many of the countries in the Mediterranean, Europe and Scandinavia. But some of the Jews stayed and held secret Jewish ceremonies while claiming to be Christians. It didn’t help any; the Jews claiming to be Christians were treated like shit anyway. Then the Catholic Church in Spain stepped on its tongue once again and declared that all Moors (Moslems) in Spain must become Christians or leave the country also. One would think that the loss of such a money making and tax paying segment would bankrupt a country. But it didn’t. Spain remained one of the major players in Europe and the world for over 300 years afterward. They took a small dip in power when the Spanish navy was crushed by the English navy in the mid-1500’s. They took another hit when they joined with France and Napoleon Bonaparte and again were crushed by the British navy in the late 1700’s. But Spain reaped an enormous fortune from the “new world” by their conquistadors enslaving the natives in Central and South America and bringing literally tons of gold, silver and precious gems back home.
1999 On this date a 22 year old woman is found running down a dirt road in New Mexico naked except for a padlocked metal collar around her neck. She tells a fascinating tale about being kidnapped three days ago by a man named David Ray and a woman named Cynthia Hendy and being taken to a mobile home and raped and tortured. The police find out that David Ray is an employee of the Elephant Butte State Park located near the mobile home. The woman escaped from Ray and Hendy when Ray left for work and the woman stabbed Hendy in the back of the neck with an ice pick. After an investigation the police believe that this woman is not the only victim of Ray and Hendy. There was and unsolved case of a woman disappearing from an Elephant Butte bar a few years earlier and after the news came out about this event, several woman came forward and said that they had been victims of Ray and Hendy but to ashamed to report it. Needless to say, the attendance at Elephant Butte State Park went to hell.
Born today:
1844 Scottish writer Andrew Lang. He said of one of his competitors “He uses statistics as a drunken man uses a lamppost, for support not illumination.”
1914 Mexican writer Octavio Paz. He said “Deserve your dream,” That is heavy, ya’ll.
1915 TV personality Henry Morgan. He said “A careful driver is one that blows his horn as he runs a red light.” I have seen this happen.
1925 US writer Leo Buscaglia. He said “I do not have wisdom. I can only teach you what ignorance is.” I know plenty of students for you, Leo.
1948 US politico Al Gore. He said “A leopard cannot change its stripes.” Al is a piece of work. Pretty dumb for someone that invented the internet.
Died today:
1631 English writer John Donne. He said “Wicked is almost the same as discreet.” I prefer discreetly wicked.
1898 English born writer Eleanor Marx. She said “By the time your life had ended, you have learned enough to live it well.” She is right, dammit.
1931 US Football legend Knute Rockne. He said “Prayers work best when you have the biggest players.”
1998 US representative Bella Abzug. She said “The establishment is made up of little men, very frightened.”
Speaking of little men, I saw a short news blurb about someone interviewing Dennis Koslowski the ex-president of the giant company Tyco. This jackass stripped millions of dollars from his company to provide his personal aggrandizement. He had homes on Central Park with $50,000 shower curtains, etc. On his wife’s birthday he flew his entourage consisting of 65 people to Sardinia on a chartered jumbo jet for her birthday party, all charged to the company. He was tried and convicted of a variety of illegal acts and was in the slammer mopping floors for $1.00/day. It gives me the warm fuzzies.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Daily history
Good morning
Quote of the day:
“It is just as important to learn how to let love in as it is to give love out.”
Morrie Schwartz
My final scary experience in Alaska involved a duck hunting trip. Three of my friends and I decided to go out on the mud flats south of Anchorage where ducks were swarming like mosquitoes in anticipation of heading south for the winter. We all had on hip waders and on the way out the third round in our shotguns was a slug in case we ran across a big predator, mostly bears. This was in late September and most, but not all, of the bears were in hibernation but we did not want to take a chance. We slogged our way out onto that muskeg (swamp) until we were in the clear. The water was about knee deep when we went out. After couple of hours of productive hunting we started back to the car but a strange thing was happening. The water was getting deeper. It never occurred to us that the mud flat water depth would rise and fall with the tide and the tide was coming in…and fast. We figured that if we did not get out of that area soon we would drown because it would flood our waders. We walked as fast as we could in knee deep water with a sticky mud bottom. The inevitable happen when the water got high enough it filled my waders when I was about 30 yards from high ground. The obvious answer was to take off the waders. That cannot be done because of the fit of the shoe part and the water pressure on the outside of the boot. I struggled and dragged myself to an embankment and started crawling up to high ground. I finally reached the peak of the embankment and I had to lie down and rest because I was exhausted. Finally I held my legs up as high as I could to try and drain the waders because I had about 70 yards to walk to the car. The ground was so rough I knew I had to have foot protection to even walk the 70 yards. This meant that I had to keep the waders on. I did not get all of the water out of the waders and had to struggle to the car carrying all the extra weight. When I finally got to the car I lay down on the tarmac and took off those waders with my hip joints on fire. There is a reason for me to be alive today because I should have been killed on that day near Anchorage, Alaska. By the way, we went duck hunting again the next day.
All of y’all know that President Barak “The Poser” Obama showed up unannounced in Afghanistan and immediately had a hush-hush conference with the Afghani President. We don’t exactly know what was said but I can guess that Obama want the Afghani Army to take a bigger role in killing the Taliban.
I saw something I thought I would never see on CNN. The news anchor went into a tirade about the promises Obama made about “transparency” in his administration including C-SPAN participation just to get elected and once he was elected it was one secret meeting after another. The news anchor parroted what thousands of people have been saying and that is “I just hope that everyone remembers this deception in the mid-term elections in November.” Not to worry.
About 4:30a Monday morning down in Belton, South Carolina two men broke into a house on Lewis Drive. They beat and robbed the two residents and left in a black Crown Victoria. Very soon thereafter the Belton cops spotted the car and a short chase ensued. Finally the car stopped and four men bailed out of the car and ran. The cops brought in the dogs and by 9:30a the four men were in custody. One of them is a documented gang member. I can assure you that if I detect someone attempting to break in or actually breaks in on me they will be in the cemetery soon thereafter. I am armed to teeth all the time I am home including in bed. Those people in those bullshit gangs that want to feed off the rest of us do not deserve to live.
Two women suicide bombers walked into a Moscow train station and lit off their self contained explosives killing many and wounding over 100. The Russian police thinks the women were from Chechnya who has been at war with Russia for many years. Chechnya borders with Russia and it has been Russia’s policy for many years that all border countries will be under Russian control. Obviously the people from Chechnya take exception to that. By the way, there was not enough left of the bombers to be identified.
This Date in History March 30
1775 On this date King George III of England endorses the so-call Restraining Act. Parliament had proposed this abomination and the King liked it. Now ya’ll listen to this. This act declared that the colonies must trade exclusively with Great Britain and that ain’t all, the Act forbade the American fishing fleet from fishing in the North Atlantic. Are you mad yet? This meant that all the most eaten fish in the colonies such as cod and salmon would have to be bought from Great Britain even though the Danes and Dutch fished the North Atlantic also and the American fleet had no problem with supplying its people with these fish. The British Prime Minister, Lord North, knew that this act would stir up a hornet’s nest in the colonies and tried to calm things down by stating that if a colony paid the salary of the Royal Governor of their Colony, they would be taxed less. But Lord North knew this would have little or no effect and sent the Military Commander General Thomas Gage to Boston to become Governor of Massachusetts. This was just the first step toward martial law and the colonists knew it. In July Gage sent a British regiment to destroy a cache of arms and ammo known to be in Concord, Massachusetts and arrest firebrand Patriots Samuel Adams and John Hancock. It was during this event that the first shot was fired at the British in anger and the Revolutionary War was under way. Considering what humiliation burdens the British put on the colonists, I am amazed it did not start before now.
1825 Samuel Bell Maxey is born in Kentucky. Maxey went to West Point and graduated next to last in his class of 59 in 1846. As with many West Point officers of this era, he went to fight in the Mexican War. Maxey resigned his commission after the war and moved to Kentucky to practice law. In 1857 he moved to Texas. After the outbreak of the Civil War he offered his services to the Confederacy and helped organize the 9th Texas Infantry. The 9th Texas was sent to fight in Mississippi with Maxey in command as a Brigadier General. Maxey was present at the battles of Vicksburg, Port Hudson and Chattanooga. It was here that Maxey was promoted to commander of the Indian Territories. Maxey began to train Cherokee, Creek and Choctaw Indians into Confederate combat troops. Maxey’s Indian troops attacked a Union wagon train near Poison Springs, Arkansas that was driven by a Black Kansas regiment. The Union troops were routed and many fled, but of those black troops that surrendered or were wounded there were no survivors. Maxey’s troops killed them all. After the war Maxey continued to support the Native Americans and as a United States Senator he introduced legislation in behalf of them. He died in 1895.
1980 In the stormy North Sea the oil companies provided apartments for the drilling platform workers on their off time. The apartment had room for about 220 workers and was afloat on gigantic pontoons. On this night while most of the workers were watching a movie with a gale howling outside, a gigantic rogue wave estimated to be over 100 feet high slams into the apartment and capsizes it. Most of the workers were Norwegian but there were a few Brits and Americans aboard. The apartment was about 220 miles from Dundee, Scotland and soon Royal and Norwegian helicopters were on site but the gale was still howling and rescue was difficult if not impossible. Of the 208 that were aboard the apartment, 123 of those that were unable to reach a life boat were drowned. Eight years later there was a fire and explosion on a drilling rig in the North Sea took the life of another 167. The oil platform workers make a lot of money but it isn’t worth the risk.
1855 On this date the first legislative election is held in the state of Kansas. The only problem was that the so-called “Border Ruffians” were interfering with election. The Border Ruffians were pro slavery advocates from Missouri near the Kansas border. Kansas came into the Union as a “free” state meaning slave free and Missouri came in as a slave state. Even though more votes were counted than were registered voters and a pro-slavery legislation was elected, the Governor of Kansas ratified the election to avoid more bloodshed. It did not help that much because there was continued fighting between the pro and anti slavery advocates until the end of the Civil War in 1865. There was so much fighting in Kansas that it became known as “Bleeding Kansas”.
1867 On this date the United States Secretary of State William Seward coughs up $7.2 million dollars and gives it to Russia for what is now Alaska. Seward caught a large ration of shit for this deal. His detractors called Alaska a “huge stump of ice “or “Seward’s Icebox.” Little did they know what a plethora of minerals lay underground including gold, silver, coal, and iron ore not to mention oil. I would say that the $7.2 million was a good investment for these United States.
Born today:
1135 Spanish philosopher Moses ben Maimon. He said “The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of no decision.” I think we all agree to this.
1880 Irish writer Sean O’Casey. He said “The world is just a stage and we are woefully unrehearsed.”
Died today:
1986 US writer John Ciardi. He said “Early to bed early to rise usually indicates unskilled labor.” I guess that means the majority of us.
Quotable quotes:
“The Cardinal rule of politics is don’t get caught in bed with a live man or a dead woman”. Larry Hagman How about a semi-dead woman, Larry?
“Any party that takes credit for the rain should not be surprised if their opponents blame them for a drought." Dwight D. Murrow
“If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.” Harry Truman...I have known several, Harry.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
“It is just as important to learn how to let love in as it is to give love out.”
Morrie Schwartz
My final scary experience in Alaska involved a duck hunting trip. Three of my friends and I decided to go out on the mud flats south of Anchorage where ducks were swarming like mosquitoes in anticipation of heading south for the winter. We all had on hip waders and on the way out the third round in our shotguns was a slug in case we ran across a big predator, mostly bears. This was in late September and most, but not all, of the bears were in hibernation but we did not want to take a chance. We slogged our way out onto that muskeg (swamp) until we were in the clear. The water was about knee deep when we went out. After couple of hours of productive hunting we started back to the car but a strange thing was happening. The water was getting deeper. It never occurred to us that the mud flat water depth would rise and fall with the tide and the tide was coming in…and fast. We figured that if we did not get out of that area soon we would drown because it would flood our waders. We walked as fast as we could in knee deep water with a sticky mud bottom. The inevitable happen when the water got high enough it filled my waders when I was about 30 yards from high ground. The obvious answer was to take off the waders. That cannot be done because of the fit of the shoe part and the water pressure on the outside of the boot. I struggled and dragged myself to an embankment and started crawling up to high ground. I finally reached the peak of the embankment and I had to lie down and rest because I was exhausted. Finally I held my legs up as high as I could to try and drain the waders because I had about 70 yards to walk to the car. The ground was so rough I knew I had to have foot protection to even walk the 70 yards. This meant that I had to keep the waders on. I did not get all of the water out of the waders and had to struggle to the car carrying all the extra weight. When I finally got to the car I lay down on the tarmac and took off those waders with my hip joints on fire. There is a reason for me to be alive today because I should have been killed on that day near Anchorage, Alaska. By the way, we went duck hunting again the next day.
All of y’all know that President Barak “The Poser” Obama showed up unannounced in Afghanistan and immediately had a hush-hush conference with the Afghani President. We don’t exactly know what was said but I can guess that Obama want the Afghani Army to take a bigger role in killing the Taliban.
I saw something I thought I would never see on CNN. The news anchor went into a tirade about the promises Obama made about “transparency” in his administration including C-SPAN participation just to get elected and once he was elected it was one secret meeting after another. The news anchor parroted what thousands of people have been saying and that is “I just hope that everyone remembers this deception in the mid-term elections in November.” Not to worry.
About 4:30a Monday morning down in Belton, South Carolina two men broke into a house on Lewis Drive. They beat and robbed the two residents and left in a black Crown Victoria. Very soon thereafter the Belton cops spotted the car and a short chase ensued. Finally the car stopped and four men bailed out of the car and ran. The cops brought in the dogs and by 9:30a the four men were in custody. One of them is a documented gang member. I can assure you that if I detect someone attempting to break in or actually breaks in on me they will be in the cemetery soon thereafter. I am armed to teeth all the time I am home including in bed. Those people in those bullshit gangs that want to feed off the rest of us do not deserve to live.
Two women suicide bombers walked into a Moscow train station and lit off their self contained explosives killing many and wounding over 100. The Russian police thinks the women were from Chechnya who has been at war with Russia for many years. Chechnya borders with Russia and it has been Russia’s policy for many years that all border countries will be under Russian control. Obviously the people from Chechnya take exception to that. By the way, there was not enough left of the bombers to be identified.
This Date in History March 30
1775 On this date King George III of England endorses the so-call Restraining Act. Parliament had proposed this abomination and the King liked it. Now ya’ll listen to this. This act declared that the colonies must trade exclusively with Great Britain and that ain’t all, the Act forbade the American fishing fleet from fishing in the North Atlantic. Are you mad yet? This meant that all the most eaten fish in the colonies such as cod and salmon would have to be bought from Great Britain even though the Danes and Dutch fished the North Atlantic also and the American fleet had no problem with supplying its people with these fish. The British Prime Minister, Lord North, knew that this act would stir up a hornet’s nest in the colonies and tried to calm things down by stating that if a colony paid the salary of the Royal Governor of their Colony, they would be taxed less. But Lord North knew this would have little or no effect and sent the Military Commander General Thomas Gage to Boston to become Governor of Massachusetts. This was just the first step toward martial law and the colonists knew it. In July Gage sent a British regiment to destroy a cache of arms and ammo known to be in Concord, Massachusetts and arrest firebrand Patriots Samuel Adams and John Hancock. It was during this event that the first shot was fired at the British in anger and the Revolutionary War was under way. Considering what humiliation burdens the British put on the colonists, I am amazed it did not start before now.
1825 Samuel Bell Maxey is born in Kentucky. Maxey went to West Point and graduated next to last in his class of 59 in 1846. As with many West Point officers of this era, he went to fight in the Mexican War. Maxey resigned his commission after the war and moved to Kentucky to practice law. In 1857 he moved to Texas. After the outbreak of the Civil War he offered his services to the Confederacy and helped organize the 9th Texas Infantry. The 9th Texas was sent to fight in Mississippi with Maxey in command as a Brigadier General. Maxey was present at the battles of Vicksburg, Port Hudson and Chattanooga. It was here that Maxey was promoted to commander of the Indian Territories. Maxey began to train Cherokee, Creek and Choctaw Indians into Confederate combat troops. Maxey’s Indian troops attacked a Union wagon train near Poison Springs, Arkansas that was driven by a Black Kansas regiment. The Union troops were routed and many fled, but of those black troops that surrendered or were wounded there were no survivors. Maxey’s troops killed them all. After the war Maxey continued to support the Native Americans and as a United States Senator he introduced legislation in behalf of them. He died in 1895.
1980 In the stormy North Sea the oil companies provided apartments for the drilling platform workers on their off time. The apartment had room for about 220 workers and was afloat on gigantic pontoons. On this night while most of the workers were watching a movie with a gale howling outside, a gigantic rogue wave estimated to be over 100 feet high slams into the apartment and capsizes it. Most of the workers were Norwegian but there were a few Brits and Americans aboard. The apartment was about 220 miles from Dundee, Scotland and soon Royal and Norwegian helicopters were on site but the gale was still howling and rescue was difficult if not impossible. Of the 208 that were aboard the apartment, 123 of those that were unable to reach a life boat were drowned. Eight years later there was a fire and explosion on a drilling rig in the North Sea took the life of another 167. The oil platform workers make a lot of money but it isn’t worth the risk.
1855 On this date the first legislative election is held in the state of Kansas. The only problem was that the so-called “Border Ruffians” were interfering with election. The Border Ruffians were pro slavery advocates from Missouri near the Kansas border. Kansas came into the Union as a “free” state meaning slave free and Missouri came in as a slave state. Even though more votes were counted than were registered voters and a pro-slavery legislation was elected, the Governor of Kansas ratified the election to avoid more bloodshed. It did not help that much because there was continued fighting between the pro and anti slavery advocates until the end of the Civil War in 1865. There was so much fighting in Kansas that it became known as “Bleeding Kansas”.
1867 On this date the United States Secretary of State William Seward coughs up $7.2 million dollars and gives it to Russia for what is now Alaska. Seward caught a large ration of shit for this deal. His detractors called Alaska a “huge stump of ice “or “Seward’s Icebox.” Little did they know what a plethora of minerals lay underground including gold, silver, coal, and iron ore not to mention oil. I would say that the $7.2 million was a good investment for these United States.
Born today:
1135 Spanish philosopher Moses ben Maimon. He said “The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of no decision.” I think we all agree to this.
1880 Irish writer Sean O’Casey. He said “The world is just a stage and we are woefully unrehearsed.”
Died today:
1986 US writer John Ciardi. He said “Early to bed early to rise usually indicates unskilled labor.” I guess that means the majority of us.
Quotable quotes:
“The Cardinal rule of politics is don’t get caught in bed with a live man or a dead woman”. Larry Hagman How about a semi-dead woman, Larry?
“Any party that takes credit for the rain should not be surprised if their opponents blame them for a drought." Dwight D. Murrow
“If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.” Harry Truman...I have known several, Harry.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Monday, March 29, 2010
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“Anyone who has lifted a cat by its tail knows five or six things more than someone who hasn’t.”
Mark Twain
I was watching a TV show about the state troopers in Alaska. It brought to mind an incident that occurred while I was there a long time ago. There was a guide leading a group of three hunters around a small hill. The guide was in the lead and was not in sight for about a minute. When the hunters rounded the bend in the trail they found the guide dead as fried chicken. Apparently a grizzly bear was aware of the hunting party and had laid hidden awaiting a chance to ambush. The bear had struck the guide one blow to the side of the head nearly decapitating him and then disappeared into the underbrush. The hunters said that they did not hear a thing until the bear ran away.
My roommate decided that he wanted to go moose hunting and checked out a 30.06 rifle with 6 rounds of ammo. Also included was a .357 magnum S&W revolver plus ammo for protection from the bears. He succeeded in killing a moose. The law in Alaska at that time was that moose meat had to be packed out and given to the Wildlife Authority if it was not wanted. The meat went to charitable organizations. Anyway, he figured that he had about 600 pounds of meat after the moose was field dressed. He cut/sawed the carcass into four sections and began taking it out on his pack board. It was about 1 ½ miles to his truck so it took him quite a while to make the round trip. The moose was in thick cover and he could not see it until he was right on top of it. On his third trip back to the carcass he walked up on a grizzly feeding on the moose. The bear charged and my roomie turned and ran (bad move) but at the same time with one hand he pointed the rifle back toward the bear and fired. The bullet hit the bear in the mouth killing it instantly. It just wasn’t my roomie’s time to go.
A few days ago a 32 year old man was rejoicing in the beauty of the female body at a local strip joint called Platinum Plus. There was some question about the identification this man presented at the bar and a security officer (bouncer) was called over. I personally think that a 32 year old man would appear old enough to drink, but what do I know. I have heard that it is pretty dark in there. Apparently there was a confrontation and the man was escorted to the front door and unceremoniously ejected. A short while later the cops were called along with EMS, the man that was ejected was found dead just outside the door. This past weekend the county coroner determined that the man has died of asphyxiation. This guy was essentially strangled and he also had a few bruises on his head. It is possible that the bouncer had a grip on this man’s throat while walking him to the door. It is possible for the throat to continue to constrict if enough pressure is applied and then released. The bouncer is in deep doo-doo.
This date in history March 29
1776 On this date General George Washington assigns the task of the protection of New York and its waterways to General Israel Putnam. If ever there was a true warrior it was Israel Putnam. He was a lieutenant under George Washington during the French and Indian War. He was captured and tortured by the Caughanawega Indians but eventually escaped. This man was a fire-breathing Patriot from the git-go when the British began with their enactment of laws trying to suppress the colonist’s rebellionishness. He was a founding father of the infamous Sons of Liberty. It was this bunch that was the hosts at the so-called Boston Tea Party. Israel was there. After hostilities really got under way, Israel joined the Continental Army with gusto. He was with Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen at their victories at Ticonderoga and Montreal. After taking command of the troops in New York, he suffered two defeats in a row at Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton in 1777. After these two losses, Washington’s faith in Israel Putnam began to fade. He continued to serve in the Continental Army until he had a career ending stroke in 1779. It is unfortunate that such a warrior ended his career in disrepute. Putnam was raised in Salem, Massachusetts and it was some of his ancestors that were responsible for execution by various means of “witches and warlocks” during the infamous Salem witch trials in 1692.
1951 Earlier nuclear physicist Klaus Fuchs was arrested in England by British authorities with the assistance of the FBI. Fuchs worked on the A-bomb project both in England and the United States during the development period. He was arrested for espionage in a conspiracy to give atomic secrets to the Russians. Fuchs readily admitted to the conspiracy and pointed his finger at his “mule” Harry Gold. Gold had been the go-between to deliver the paperwork to the Russians. Gold was arrested and admitted to being the “mule” but said he knew of someone with a hell of a lot more knowledge about the inner workings and pointed to David Greenglass. Greenglass was also arrested who worked at the laboratory at Los Alamos with his sister and brother-in-law Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Greenglass named Ethel as the brains of the conspiracy and Julius was the activator. All four went on trial were convicted. Greenglass and Gold got prison sentences. On this date the Rosenbergs were sentenced to death for treason in spite of the fact that Russia was an ally at the end of WWII. But the “fear” of atomic attack from the Russians was a real one for several years. What condemned the Rosenbergs was that Greenglass and Gold gave almost identical testimony against the Rosenbergs in separate hearings. Julius and Ethel were executed in 1953 in the electric chair in Sing Sing yelling that they were innocent to the very end.
1973 Two weeks after the signing of the peace agreement between North Vietnam and the United States, the last American combat troops leave South Vietnam and the last of the American POW’s (allegedly) are released. After a seven bloody years, the Vietnam War is over for the United States. Within a matter of hours the North Vietnam army enters Saigon and renames it Ho Chi Mien City and Vietnam is one country once again. The mightiest military force the world has ever seen was unable to keep the country split into two nations at the cost of about 70,000 American lives. Thank God that nightmare is over, but another may have replaced it.
1806 On this date the United States Treasury donates $30,000 for the surveying a road beginning near Cumberland, Maryland and headed west to aid in the western expansion of the United States. The road was well received and soon thousands of wagons, horses, cattle and oxen had beaten a well discerned path westward. This road was originally known as the Cumberland Trace but then it became known as the National Road. The road ended in Vandalia, Illinois. It was built between 1806 and 1840 with the US Treasury investing $6 million overall. Eventually, the maintenance of the road was left to each state that it passed through. It was your friend and mine Henry Ford was able to persuade Congress to continue to contribute to the building of roads and highways throughout America. Congress agreed and began collecting taxes to make it work and it was Eisenhower that initiated the US Interstate Highway system which was the death knell to small town America.
1878 Earlier the Boers, or Dutch settlers in Africa, were driven from Natal by the British. In the way was the nation of the Zulu. The Zulus were renowned for their ferocity in battle. The British tried to remove the Zulus but soon found that they had a tiger by the tail and the so-called Zulu Wars began. The British got their ass handed to them on two successive battles, however on this date 2,000 British troops routed about 20,000 Zulus and the conquest of South Africa by Great Britain was complete when the province of Natal was absorbed in the Republic of South Africa.
Born today:
1819 US entrepreneur Edwin Drake. When proposing to his investors that he was going to drill for oil. His investors said “Drill into the ground and expect to find oil! Are you crazy?” I would have said the same thing.
1918 US billionaire Sam Walton. He said “Capital is not scarce; vision is.” Sam was a true visionary.
1959 US singer Peter Farrell. He said “Sometimes to find out that you are well, someone has to come along and hurt you.” I think Peter might be a masochist
Died today:
1885 US writer Anna Strong. She said “I normally do not know where my journey is going until just before I arrive.” I like this girl’s attitude.
1957 English writer Joyce Cary. She said “How unfortunate love is, it is always too much or too little.” That is true except with a dog. They give unconditional love.
2004 English commentator Alistair Cooke. When speaking about Greta Garbo he said “She gave you the impression that, if your imagination had to sin, it could at least congratulate itself on impeccable taste.”
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
“Anyone who has lifted a cat by its tail knows five or six things more than someone who hasn’t.”
Mark Twain
I was watching a TV show about the state troopers in Alaska. It brought to mind an incident that occurred while I was there a long time ago. There was a guide leading a group of three hunters around a small hill. The guide was in the lead and was not in sight for about a minute. When the hunters rounded the bend in the trail they found the guide dead as fried chicken. Apparently a grizzly bear was aware of the hunting party and had laid hidden awaiting a chance to ambush. The bear had struck the guide one blow to the side of the head nearly decapitating him and then disappeared into the underbrush. The hunters said that they did not hear a thing until the bear ran away.
My roommate decided that he wanted to go moose hunting and checked out a 30.06 rifle with 6 rounds of ammo. Also included was a .357 magnum S&W revolver plus ammo for protection from the bears. He succeeded in killing a moose. The law in Alaska at that time was that moose meat had to be packed out and given to the Wildlife Authority if it was not wanted. The meat went to charitable organizations. Anyway, he figured that he had about 600 pounds of meat after the moose was field dressed. He cut/sawed the carcass into four sections and began taking it out on his pack board. It was about 1 ½ miles to his truck so it took him quite a while to make the round trip. The moose was in thick cover and he could not see it until he was right on top of it. On his third trip back to the carcass he walked up on a grizzly feeding on the moose. The bear charged and my roomie turned and ran (bad move) but at the same time with one hand he pointed the rifle back toward the bear and fired. The bullet hit the bear in the mouth killing it instantly. It just wasn’t my roomie’s time to go.
A few days ago a 32 year old man was rejoicing in the beauty of the female body at a local strip joint called Platinum Plus. There was some question about the identification this man presented at the bar and a security officer (bouncer) was called over. I personally think that a 32 year old man would appear old enough to drink, but what do I know. I have heard that it is pretty dark in there. Apparently there was a confrontation and the man was escorted to the front door and unceremoniously ejected. A short while later the cops were called along with EMS, the man that was ejected was found dead just outside the door. This past weekend the county coroner determined that the man has died of asphyxiation. This guy was essentially strangled and he also had a few bruises on his head. It is possible that the bouncer had a grip on this man’s throat while walking him to the door. It is possible for the throat to continue to constrict if enough pressure is applied and then released. The bouncer is in deep doo-doo.
This date in history March 29
1776 On this date General George Washington assigns the task of the protection of New York and its waterways to General Israel Putnam. If ever there was a true warrior it was Israel Putnam. He was a lieutenant under George Washington during the French and Indian War. He was captured and tortured by the Caughanawega Indians but eventually escaped. This man was a fire-breathing Patriot from the git-go when the British began with their enactment of laws trying to suppress the colonist’s rebellionishness. He was a founding father of the infamous Sons of Liberty. It was this bunch that was the hosts at the so-called Boston Tea Party. Israel was there. After hostilities really got under way, Israel joined the Continental Army with gusto. He was with Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen at their victories at Ticonderoga and Montreal. After taking command of the troops in New York, he suffered two defeats in a row at Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton in 1777. After these two losses, Washington’s faith in Israel Putnam began to fade. He continued to serve in the Continental Army until he had a career ending stroke in 1779. It is unfortunate that such a warrior ended his career in disrepute. Putnam was raised in Salem, Massachusetts and it was some of his ancestors that were responsible for execution by various means of “witches and warlocks” during the infamous Salem witch trials in 1692.
1951 Earlier nuclear physicist Klaus Fuchs was arrested in England by British authorities with the assistance of the FBI. Fuchs worked on the A-bomb project both in England and the United States during the development period. He was arrested for espionage in a conspiracy to give atomic secrets to the Russians. Fuchs readily admitted to the conspiracy and pointed his finger at his “mule” Harry Gold. Gold had been the go-between to deliver the paperwork to the Russians. Gold was arrested and admitted to being the “mule” but said he knew of someone with a hell of a lot more knowledge about the inner workings and pointed to David Greenglass. Greenglass was also arrested who worked at the laboratory at Los Alamos with his sister and brother-in-law Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Greenglass named Ethel as the brains of the conspiracy and Julius was the activator. All four went on trial were convicted. Greenglass and Gold got prison sentences. On this date the Rosenbergs were sentenced to death for treason in spite of the fact that Russia was an ally at the end of WWII. But the “fear” of atomic attack from the Russians was a real one for several years. What condemned the Rosenbergs was that Greenglass and Gold gave almost identical testimony against the Rosenbergs in separate hearings. Julius and Ethel were executed in 1953 in the electric chair in Sing Sing yelling that they were innocent to the very end.
1973 Two weeks after the signing of the peace agreement between North Vietnam and the United States, the last American combat troops leave South Vietnam and the last of the American POW’s (allegedly) are released. After a seven bloody years, the Vietnam War is over for the United States. Within a matter of hours the North Vietnam army enters Saigon and renames it Ho Chi Mien City and Vietnam is one country once again. The mightiest military force the world has ever seen was unable to keep the country split into two nations at the cost of about 70,000 American lives. Thank God that nightmare is over, but another may have replaced it.
1806 On this date the United States Treasury donates $30,000 for the surveying a road beginning near Cumberland, Maryland and headed west to aid in the western expansion of the United States. The road was well received and soon thousands of wagons, horses, cattle and oxen had beaten a well discerned path westward. This road was originally known as the Cumberland Trace but then it became known as the National Road. The road ended in Vandalia, Illinois. It was built between 1806 and 1840 with the US Treasury investing $6 million overall. Eventually, the maintenance of the road was left to each state that it passed through. It was your friend and mine Henry Ford was able to persuade Congress to continue to contribute to the building of roads and highways throughout America. Congress agreed and began collecting taxes to make it work and it was Eisenhower that initiated the US Interstate Highway system which was the death knell to small town America.
1878 Earlier the Boers, or Dutch settlers in Africa, were driven from Natal by the British. In the way was the nation of the Zulu. The Zulus were renowned for their ferocity in battle. The British tried to remove the Zulus but soon found that they had a tiger by the tail and the so-called Zulu Wars began. The British got their ass handed to them on two successive battles, however on this date 2,000 British troops routed about 20,000 Zulus and the conquest of South Africa by Great Britain was complete when the province of Natal was absorbed in the Republic of South Africa.
Born today:
1819 US entrepreneur Edwin Drake. When proposing to his investors that he was going to drill for oil. His investors said “Drill into the ground and expect to find oil! Are you crazy?” I would have said the same thing.
1918 US billionaire Sam Walton. He said “Capital is not scarce; vision is.” Sam was a true visionary.
1959 US singer Peter Farrell. He said “Sometimes to find out that you are well, someone has to come along and hurt you.” I think Peter might be a masochist
Died today:
1885 US writer Anna Strong. She said “I normally do not know where my journey is going until just before I arrive.” I like this girl’s attitude.
1957 English writer Joyce Cary. She said “How unfortunate love is, it is always too much or too little.” That is true except with a dog. They give unconditional love.
2004 English commentator Alistair Cooke. When speaking about Greta Garbo he said “She gave you the impression that, if your imagination had to sin, it could at least congratulate itself on impeccable taste.”
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“The reason most people are not happy is because they see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is and the future less resolved than it will be.”
Marcel Pagnol
I saw a recent picture of one of my favorite actors Dennis Hopper today and I almost did not recognize him. He was almost skeletal in appearance because prostate cancer is eating him alive. What a damned shame.
I was diagnosed with this illness a few years ago and went through 38 radiation treatments and year on hormones. After all of this my doctor tested me every 6 months for 2 years and on the last one he said that he could find no reason for me to come in anymore. When I walked out of the doctor’s office on that day there were tears in my eyes, y’all know why.
To all you sports fans that are tracking the NCAA basketball tournament, West Virginia beat Kentucky and Butler beat Kansas State, for crying out loud. The freaking sky is falling.
This is a notice to the “Four O’clock Club”. I will be taking a leave of absence until I achieve a goal that I have set for myself. This also means that you will have to elect another “scout”. The “Copper River” on Haywood Road has been suggested. There are several ways to get out of there and go north but all are a pain in the ass.
One of my favorite women is sponsoring a “Tea Party” in Harry “The Jackass” Reid’s home town in Nevada. That’s right y’all, it is Sarah Palin. I have not figured out what Sarah’s long term agenda is but I am sure it is something political. I wonder where she gets the money to do all this traveling, but with that body who cares?
Saturday afternoon down in Simpsonville, SC about 4:30p, a man not yet identified was knocking back a few at “The Zone Bar and Grill”. Evidently this loser had one too many and threatened to blow up the bar claiming he had plastic explosives and an M-16 rifle outside in his dog-s--t Ranger pickup. The owner immediately called the cops and the remainder of the bar customers “detained” this braggart until the cops arrived. The loser was screaming the whole time that everybody had better leave him alone because he had a “military” background, that is until the cops walked in with a police dog on a leash. All of sudden this loser became very timid. His Ranger was searched by the cops and the dog and nothing was found except a big pile of bulls—t. 10 minutes later the yellow cordon around the entrance to the bar was removed and the customers resumed their merry gathering.
This date in history March 28
1979 On this date began a comedy of errors resulted the worst nuclear accident in United States history at the recently built Reactor #2 at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant. This particular power plant was built on an island in the middle the Susquehanna River about 10 miles from the Pennsylvania capitol of Harrisburg. There was a slight overpressure in the reactor and a pressure relief valve opened as it was supposed to, the only problem was that it failed to close back and cooling water began to escape. The emergency relief pumps began to operate automatically as they were suppose to. If the plant operators had let this safety system work as designed, nothing would have happened. But the newly trained plant workers could not figure out what the hell was going on. With the cooling water leaking out onto the floor of the containment building the reactor core temperature began to rise. For reasons known only to the plant operators, they chose to shut down the emergency relief pumps. There is no need for me to tell you what happened to the core temperature. Pennsylvania Governor Thornburgh was between a rock and a hard place. After being appraised of the situation, he had to so something but he did not want to cause a panic. He sent out a notice that everyone with a 10 mile radius of Three Mile Island to stay indoors. Then the next day he advised that pregnant women should evacuate. Then word leaked out that radioactive steam had escaped and a small amount of radioactive water had leaked into the Susquehanna River. All of this was true but it was not that much of a risk but a panic began and over 100,000 people near the plant evacuated. By now the core had reached a temperature of 4,000 degrees which is within 1,000 degrees of a complete meltdown. Eventually experts from Metropolitan Energy and the reactor designer (Babcock and Wilcox) arrived and figured out what the problem was and the emergency pumps were restarted and the core temperature began to fall. In an attempt to lessen the panic, United States President Jimmy Carter went to the plant. Carter was a Naval Academy trained nuclear engineer and had dealt with damaged cores in the past. This was probably in a nuclear submarine. But he was not there to offer expertise but to restore the confidence of the population. Everyone thought the problem had been solved but two days later a hydrogen bubble was discovered in the top of the containment building and there had been a small explosion but the containment building held. It was determined that the hydrogen bubble was not a threat. By the way, it was an explosion of a hydrogen bubble that destroyed the Russian power plant at Chernobyl but the Russians did not use containment buildings over their reactors. The core had been damaged in reactor # 2 making it useless. During the crises, reactor # 1 had been shut down also. Reactor # 1 was not restarted until 1985 and reactor # 2 was sealed. Since this emergency the building of not one nuclear power plant has begun in the United States. There have been reports that those that stayed those few days after the initial accident have an increased incidence of leukemia and other cancers but it is not a proven statistic. There was one of the plant operators that put on a safe suit and went into the floor of the containment building where the water was about 18 inches deep trying to find out what the problem was. He had with him a flask of test water that began to effervesce like carbonated water very soon after he arrived. He saw this and got the hell out of there, and I don’t blame him. A lot of lessons were learned during this experience. That is the only upside I can find to this whole scenario.
1776 On this date Juan Bautista de Anza founds the city of San Francisco and has with him 247 settlers. Anza was born in Mexico and is the equivalent of Lewis and Clark, Kit Carson and John Colter when it comes to exploration. It was Anza that explored northwest out of Mexico City and discovered most of what is now the resort area of the west coast of Mexico. He blazed a trail all the way to northern California and established trading posts and helped locate several Spanish missions along the way. In spite of Spanish ships sailing up and down the west coast of North America for 200 years, they had never discovered San Francisco Bay and neither had the Russians. It took Anza’s exploration by land to discover it. This area remained under Spanish control until the Mexicans kicked them out and under Mexican control until they lost the Mexican War in 1848 to the United States.
Born today:
1868 Russian writer Maxim Gorky. He said “A man may be stupid and still be good. But a bad man needs brains.” Believe what you want, but Hitler was brilliant.
1890 US bandleader Paul Whiteman. He said “Jazz came to America 300 years ago in chains.” So did okra, the banjo and Gullah.
1942 English politician Neil Kinnock. He said “You cannot make one wit out of two half wits.” I know lots of them.
Died today:
1941 English writer Virginia Wolfe. She said “I have lost friends because of death and others for no other reason than the inability to cross a street.” I hope I never reach that point.
1957 US writer Christopher Morley. He said “A critic is a gong at a railroad crossing clanging wildly while the train passes by.” I cannot relate to this, ya’ll. Critique me all you want, I am very happy with me.
1958 US song writer W.C. Handy. He said “You never can tell what’s on a woman’s mind, and if she is from Harlem there’s no us trying.” Add Greenville to that, W.C.
1984 US educator Benjamin Mays. He said “Isn’t it a calamity that we died with unfulfilled dreams, but it is even a bigger calamity not to dream.” Ben was a wise individual.
Quotable quotes:
“I think the reason men like women in leather outfits so much is they smell
like a new car.”
George Fara
“She gave me a smile I could feel in my hip pocket.”
Raymond Chandler
“Start every day with a smile and then get over it.”
W.C. Fields
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
“The reason most people are not happy is because they see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is and the future less resolved than it will be.”
Marcel Pagnol
I saw a recent picture of one of my favorite actors Dennis Hopper today and I almost did not recognize him. He was almost skeletal in appearance because prostate cancer is eating him alive. What a damned shame.
I was diagnosed with this illness a few years ago and went through 38 radiation treatments and year on hormones. After all of this my doctor tested me every 6 months for 2 years and on the last one he said that he could find no reason for me to come in anymore. When I walked out of the doctor’s office on that day there were tears in my eyes, y’all know why.
To all you sports fans that are tracking the NCAA basketball tournament, West Virginia beat Kentucky and Butler beat Kansas State, for crying out loud. The freaking sky is falling.
This is a notice to the “Four O’clock Club”. I will be taking a leave of absence until I achieve a goal that I have set for myself. This also means that you will have to elect another “scout”. The “Copper River” on Haywood Road has been suggested. There are several ways to get out of there and go north but all are a pain in the ass.
One of my favorite women is sponsoring a “Tea Party” in Harry “The Jackass” Reid’s home town in Nevada. That’s right y’all, it is Sarah Palin. I have not figured out what Sarah’s long term agenda is but I am sure it is something political. I wonder where she gets the money to do all this traveling, but with that body who cares?
Saturday afternoon down in Simpsonville, SC about 4:30p, a man not yet identified was knocking back a few at “The Zone Bar and Grill”. Evidently this loser had one too many and threatened to blow up the bar claiming he had plastic explosives and an M-16 rifle outside in his dog-s--t Ranger pickup. The owner immediately called the cops and the remainder of the bar customers “detained” this braggart until the cops arrived. The loser was screaming the whole time that everybody had better leave him alone because he had a “military” background, that is until the cops walked in with a police dog on a leash. All of sudden this loser became very timid. His Ranger was searched by the cops and the dog and nothing was found except a big pile of bulls—t. 10 minutes later the yellow cordon around the entrance to the bar was removed and the customers resumed their merry gathering.
This date in history March 28
1979 On this date began a comedy of errors resulted the worst nuclear accident in United States history at the recently built Reactor #2 at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant. This particular power plant was built on an island in the middle the Susquehanna River about 10 miles from the Pennsylvania capitol of Harrisburg. There was a slight overpressure in the reactor and a pressure relief valve opened as it was supposed to, the only problem was that it failed to close back and cooling water began to escape. The emergency relief pumps began to operate automatically as they were suppose to. If the plant operators had let this safety system work as designed, nothing would have happened. But the newly trained plant workers could not figure out what the hell was going on. With the cooling water leaking out onto the floor of the containment building the reactor core temperature began to rise. For reasons known only to the plant operators, they chose to shut down the emergency relief pumps. There is no need for me to tell you what happened to the core temperature. Pennsylvania Governor Thornburgh was between a rock and a hard place. After being appraised of the situation, he had to so something but he did not want to cause a panic. He sent out a notice that everyone with a 10 mile radius of Three Mile Island to stay indoors. Then the next day he advised that pregnant women should evacuate. Then word leaked out that radioactive steam had escaped and a small amount of radioactive water had leaked into the Susquehanna River. All of this was true but it was not that much of a risk but a panic began and over 100,000 people near the plant evacuated. By now the core had reached a temperature of 4,000 degrees which is within 1,000 degrees of a complete meltdown. Eventually experts from Metropolitan Energy and the reactor designer (Babcock and Wilcox) arrived and figured out what the problem was and the emergency pumps were restarted and the core temperature began to fall. In an attempt to lessen the panic, United States President Jimmy Carter went to the plant. Carter was a Naval Academy trained nuclear engineer and had dealt with damaged cores in the past. This was probably in a nuclear submarine. But he was not there to offer expertise but to restore the confidence of the population. Everyone thought the problem had been solved but two days later a hydrogen bubble was discovered in the top of the containment building and there had been a small explosion but the containment building held. It was determined that the hydrogen bubble was not a threat. By the way, it was an explosion of a hydrogen bubble that destroyed the Russian power plant at Chernobyl but the Russians did not use containment buildings over their reactors. The core had been damaged in reactor # 2 making it useless. During the crises, reactor # 1 had been shut down also. Reactor # 1 was not restarted until 1985 and reactor # 2 was sealed. Since this emergency the building of not one nuclear power plant has begun in the United States. There have been reports that those that stayed those few days after the initial accident have an increased incidence of leukemia and other cancers but it is not a proven statistic. There was one of the plant operators that put on a safe suit and went into the floor of the containment building where the water was about 18 inches deep trying to find out what the problem was. He had with him a flask of test water that began to effervesce like carbonated water very soon after he arrived. He saw this and got the hell out of there, and I don’t blame him. A lot of lessons were learned during this experience. That is the only upside I can find to this whole scenario.
1776 On this date Juan Bautista de Anza founds the city of San Francisco and has with him 247 settlers. Anza was born in Mexico and is the equivalent of Lewis and Clark, Kit Carson and John Colter when it comes to exploration. It was Anza that explored northwest out of Mexico City and discovered most of what is now the resort area of the west coast of Mexico. He blazed a trail all the way to northern California and established trading posts and helped locate several Spanish missions along the way. In spite of Spanish ships sailing up and down the west coast of North America for 200 years, they had never discovered San Francisco Bay and neither had the Russians. It took Anza’s exploration by land to discover it. This area remained under Spanish control until the Mexicans kicked them out and under Mexican control until they lost the Mexican War in 1848 to the United States.
Born today:
1868 Russian writer Maxim Gorky. He said “A man may be stupid and still be good. But a bad man needs brains.” Believe what you want, but Hitler was brilliant.
1890 US bandleader Paul Whiteman. He said “Jazz came to America 300 years ago in chains.” So did okra, the banjo and Gullah.
1942 English politician Neil Kinnock. He said “You cannot make one wit out of two half wits.” I know lots of them.
Died today:
1941 English writer Virginia Wolfe. She said “I have lost friends because of death and others for no other reason than the inability to cross a street.” I hope I never reach that point.
1957 US writer Christopher Morley. He said “A critic is a gong at a railroad crossing clanging wildly while the train passes by.” I cannot relate to this, ya’ll. Critique me all you want, I am very happy with me.
1958 US song writer W.C. Handy. He said “You never can tell what’s on a woman’s mind, and if she is from Harlem there’s no us trying.” Add Greenville to that, W.C.
1984 US educator Benjamin Mays. He said “Isn’t it a calamity that we died with unfulfilled dreams, but it is even a bigger calamity not to dream.” Ben was a wise individual.
Quotable quotes:
“I think the reason men like women in leather outfits so much is they smell
like a new car.”
George Fara
“She gave me a smile I could feel in my hip pocket.”
Raymond Chandler
“Start every day with a smile and then get over it.”
W.C. Fields
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Friday, March 26, 2010
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“A man reserves his true and deepest love not for the species of woman in whose company he feels electrified and enkindled, but the one in whose company he may feel tenderly drowsy.”
George Jean Nathan
On of my favorite actors is dying. Dennis Hopper is dying of terminal prostate cancer and has just hours to live. He is down to 100 pounds. Tomorrow he is scheduled to have a star implanted in the Hollywood walk of fame. He has said that he will be there come hell or high water. We shall see.
There is a move afoot by blacks in the state of South Carolina to encourage the black athletes to renege on their scholarships to the University of South Carolina Gamecocks for two reasons. It seems that there are fewer blacks on the University Board of Trustees that these activists think there should be. And two, the Confederate battle flag is flown on the State grounds. I have just a couple of comments. If the black activists would just stop and look and the starting offensive and defensive teams on the football team they would find that in spite of the black population of South Carolina being about 30% there are over 80% blacks on the football teams not to mention the basketball team which is 90%. The Confederate battle flag is not offensive to me and millions of others also, does our opinion count? Going by their logic no black man or Jew should accept an athletic scholarship in the state of Illinois or Idaho. The reason being is that Skokie, Illinois is the home of the headquarters of the KKK. Idaho has long been a hot bed of “The Order” and “The Brotherhood” known worldwide as the headquarters of a militia based on white supremacy and anti-Jew demagoguery. If the black activists want to attack, that is the places to start. But we know they won’t and we know why.
Down in the Austin, Texas the cops uncovered the largest marijuana stash in Texas history. There were six houses in a small neighborhood that were used as hothouses where that was just enough room to walk and the rest was jammed with plants. It is estimated that they plants alone were worth $7,000,000.
This date in history March 26
1776 The Provincial Government of South Carolina declared their independence from Great Britain, adopted a new constitution and renamed itself the General Assembly of South Carolina. They elected John Rutledge as president, Henry Laurens as Vice-President and William Drayton as Chief Justice. This was four months before the Continental Congress declared independence for the entire Colonies on July 4. During the next two years John Rutledge had near dictatorial powers in South Carolina and the others decided a change was needed. In 1778 changes were proposed to the State constitution that Rutledge was opposed to and he resigned. Rawlins Lowndes took over a Governor and instituted the changes Rutledge found objectionable. The changes took veto powers from the President and made it a law that state senators were to be elected in a general election. It also changed the office of the state President to a governorship. In spite of all of this, in 1779 Rutledge was re-elected only this time he would not be President but a Governor with a lot less power than before. It was Drayton that drafted the state constitution that gave Rutledge such heart burn. Drayton went on to serve in the Continental Congress and died in Philadelphia at the age of 37 in 1779. Rutledge lost most of his wealth when the British captured Charleston earlier but lived to see a new century and died in 1800. Henry Laurens was elected to the Continental Congress and in 1780 was sent on a diplomatic mission to Holland but was captured by the British and was imprisoned in the Tower of London where he served 15 months and was released. He came back to America and spent the rest of his years on his plantation where he died in 1792.
1987 On this date the Philadelphia police are called to a rundown house owned by one Gary Heidnik. In the basement they find a den of horrors. There were two women chained to the wall, one woman at the bottom of a deep pit. There was a fourth but she was the one that had escaped and called the cops. Hiednik had been a mental patient in the past but had made his self wealthy on the stock market. He did not pay any income tax because he had declared himself a Bishop of his own church, The Church of God’s Ministries. It was in 1986 that Heidnik had decided to have a harem and began gathering women off the streets of Philadelphia. He killed one woman by throwing her into the pit, filling it with water and then throwing in an operating electric fan. He killed another by chaining her to the wall and letting her starve to death. The grisliest of all was when he killed another woman, dismembered her and cooked and fed her to the others. Needless to say, Heidnik was tried and convicted and sentenced to death. He was executed in July of 1999. This jackass was able to live 12 years after committing these abominations. It ain’t right, ya’ll. It just ain’t right.
1997 The San Diego police are called to a fancy mansion in the Rancho Santa Fe area. They find 39 corpses all in a very peaceful and serene positions. The police cannot find blood anywhere and it appears that all have committed suicide by mixing a deadly cocktail of Phenobarbital and vodka. There were 21 women and 19 men. The head of this cult was a strange looking guy named Marshall Applewhite. The basis for Heaven’s gate was to absolve yourself of all earthly possessions, give whatever money you can get for it and give it to the Heaven’s Gate organization and then hang around for God to send a space ship to take you to heaven in a spiritual form. Then the unexpected happens. The Hale-Bopp comet shows up in spectacular fashion. Applewhite takes this as a sign from God and believed the space ship is hidden in the tail of the comet. He decides that it would be prudent to assume the spiritual form when the comet makes its closest pass to earth. I am not saying that the Heaven’s Gate faithful are not sitting aboard a starship as we speak, nor am I denying the turning of the Nile River into blood, nor water into wine nor the parting of the Red Sea because all the above require a leap of faith. It just depends upon what you choose to believe, and it doesn’t have to be logical. What I don’t get is if they are in a spiritual form why do they need a piece of hardware like a space ship. Did I mention Jim Jones and David Koresh?
1832 On this date the American Fur Company owned by John Jacob Astor launches its newest device to capture even more of the North American fur trade. It is the riverboat Yellowstone. Astor had the boat built in New Orleans to have a shallow draft but yet be maneuverable. The boat departed Saint Louis on this date and headed up the Missouri River to the American Fur Company trading post at the intersection of the Missouri and the Yellowstone rivers. The trading post was name Fort Union and was nearly the only successful fur trading fort in the American west. Astor’s fur company was so huge that they could undercut or absorb any and all of their competition. Normally, the furs were brought down river to Saint Louis by small 12 man skiffs with them fighting off the Mandan and Blackfoot Indians most of the way. The Indians would not attack a vessel the size of the Yellowstone so the American Fur Company could transport their furs carrying many times over what the competition could carry and did not have to fool with the pesky Blackfoot. After the Astor family became enormously rich, the need for furs faded and the Yellowstone faded from memory also.
Born today:
1874 American poet Robert Frost. He said “Home is the place where, when you go there, they must take you in.” It is a comforting thought isn’t it.
1904 US writer Joseph Campbell. He said “Computers are like Old Testament gods: lots of rules and no mercy.” I’ve been there as most of us have.
1911 US writer Tennessee Williams. He said of Truman Capote. “I have always said that Truman’s voice is so high it could only be heard by a bat.” Truman was aflame, ya’ll.
1914 US General William Westmoreland. He said “The military doesn’t start wars, politicians start wars.” Good advice, General.
1942 US write Erica Jong. She said “It is often that you see a smart man with a dumb woman, but it is rare that you see a smart woman with a dumb man.” Hey my daughters, pay attention to this. Erica says this because dumb men are so rare.
1944 US singer Dianna Ross. She said “Hair is always important.” To whom, Dianna, to whom?
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
“A man reserves his true and deepest love not for the species of woman in whose company he feels electrified and enkindled, but the one in whose company he may feel tenderly drowsy.”
George Jean Nathan
On of my favorite actors is dying. Dennis Hopper is dying of terminal prostate cancer and has just hours to live. He is down to 100 pounds. Tomorrow he is scheduled to have a star implanted in the Hollywood walk of fame. He has said that he will be there come hell or high water. We shall see.
There is a move afoot by blacks in the state of South Carolina to encourage the black athletes to renege on their scholarships to the University of South Carolina Gamecocks for two reasons. It seems that there are fewer blacks on the University Board of Trustees that these activists think there should be. And two, the Confederate battle flag is flown on the State grounds. I have just a couple of comments. If the black activists would just stop and look and the starting offensive and defensive teams on the football team they would find that in spite of the black population of South Carolina being about 30% there are over 80% blacks on the football teams not to mention the basketball team which is 90%. The Confederate battle flag is not offensive to me and millions of others also, does our opinion count? Going by their logic no black man or Jew should accept an athletic scholarship in the state of Illinois or Idaho. The reason being is that Skokie, Illinois is the home of the headquarters of the KKK. Idaho has long been a hot bed of “The Order” and “The Brotherhood” known worldwide as the headquarters of a militia based on white supremacy and anti-Jew demagoguery. If the black activists want to attack, that is the places to start. But we know they won’t and we know why.
Down in the Austin, Texas the cops uncovered the largest marijuana stash in Texas history. There were six houses in a small neighborhood that were used as hothouses where that was just enough room to walk and the rest was jammed with plants. It is estimated that they plants alone were worth $7,000,000.
This date in history March 26
1776 The Provincial Government of South Carolina declared their independence from Great Britain, adopted a new constitution and renamed itself the General Assembly of South Carolina. They elected John Rutledge as president, Henry Laurens as Vice-President and William Drayton as Chief Justice. This was four months before the Continental Congress declared independence for the entire Colonies on July 4. During the next two years John Rutledge had near dictatorial powers in South Carolina and the others decided a change was needed. In 1778 changes were proposed to the State constitution that Rutledge was opposed to and he resigned. Rawlins Lowndes took over a Governor and instituted the changes Rutledge found objectionable. The changes took veto powers from the President and made it a law that state senators were to be elected in a general election. It also changed the office of the state President to a governorship. In spite of all of this, in 1779 Rutledge was re-elected only this time he would not be President but a Governor with a lot less power than before. It was Drayton that drafted the state constitution that gave Rutledge such heart burn. Drayton went on to serve in the Continental Congress and died in Philadelphia at the age of 37 in 1779. Rutledge lost most of his wealth when the British captured Charleston earlier but lived to see a new century and died in 1800. Henry Laurens was elected to the Continental Congress and in 1780 was sent on a diplomatic mission to Holland but was captured by the British and was imprisoned in the Tower of London where he served 15 months and was released. He came back to America and spent the rest of his years on his plantation where he died in 1792.
1987 On this date the Philadelphia police are called to a rundown house owned by one Gary Heidnik. In the basement they find a den of horrors. There were two women chained to the wall, one woman at the bottom of a deep pit. There was a fourth but she was the one that had escaped and called the cops. Hiednik had been a mental patient in the past but had made his self wealthy on the stock market. He did not pay any income tax because he had declared himself a Bishop of his own church, The Church of God’s Ministries. It was in 1986 that Heidnik had decided to have a harem and began gathering women off the streets of Philadelphia. He killed one woman by throwing her into the pit, filling it with water and then throwing in an operating electric fan. He killed another by chaining her to the wall and letting her starve to death. The grisliest of all was when he killed another woman, dismembered her and cooked and fed her to the others. Needless to say, Heidnik was tried and convicted and sentenced to death. He was executed in July of 1999. This jackass was able to live 12 years after committing these abominations. It ain’t right, ya’ll. It just ain’t right.
1997 The San Diego police are called to a fancy mansion in the Rancho Santa Fe area. They find 39 corpses all in a very peaceful and serene positions. The police cannot find blood anywhere and it appears that all have committed suicide by mixing a deadly cocktail of Phenobarbital and vodka. There were 21 women and 19 men. The head of this cult was a strange looking guy named Marshall Applewhite. The basis for Heaven’s gate was to absolve yourself of all earthly possessions, give whatever money you can get for it and give it to the Heaven’s Gate organization and then hang around for God to send a space ship to take you to heaven in a spiritual form. Then the unexpected happens. The Hale-Bopp comet shows up in spectacular fashion. Applewhite takes this as a sign from God and believed the space ship is hidden in the tail of the comet. He decides that it would be prudent to assume the spiritual form when the comet makes its closest pass to earth. I am not saying that the Heaven’s Gate faithful are not sitting aboard a starship as we speak, nor am I denying the turning of the Nile River into blood, nor water into wine nor the parting of the Red Sea because all the above require a leap of faith. It just depends upon what you choose to believe, and it doesn’t have to be logical. What I don’t get is if they are in a spiritual form why do they need a piece of hardware like a space ship. Did I mention Jim Jones and David Koresh?
1832 On this date the American Fur Company owned by John Jacob Astor launches its newest device to capture even more of the North American fur trade. It is the riverboat Yellowstone. Astor had the boat built in New Orleans to have a shallow draft but yet be maneuverable. The boat departed Saint Louis on this date and headed up the Missouri River to the American Fur Company trading post at the intersection of the Missouri and the Yellowstone rivers. The trading post was name Fort Union and was nearly the only successful fur trading fort in the American west. Astor’s fur company was so huge that they could undercut or absorb any and all of their competition. Normally, the furs were brought down river to Saint Louis by small 12 man skiffs with them fighting off the Mandan and Blackfoot Indians most of the way. The Indians would not attack a vessel the size of the Yellowstone so the American Fur Company could transport their furs carrying many times over what the competition could carry and did not have to fool with the pesky Blackfoot. After the Astor family became enormously rich, the need for furs faded and the Yellowstone faded from memory also.
Born today:
1874 American poet Robert Frost. He said “Home is the place where, when you go there, they must take you in.” It is a comforting thought isn’t it.
1904 US writer Joseph Campbell. He said “Computers are like Old Testament gods: lots of rules and no mercy.” I’ve been there as most of us have.
1911 US writer Tennessee Williams. He said of Truman Capote. “I have always said that Truman’s voice is so high it could only be heard by a bat.” Truman was aflame, ya’ll.
1914 US General William Westmoreland. He said “The military doesn’t start wars, politicians start wars.” Good advice, General.
1942 US write Erica Jong. She said “It is often that you see a smart man with a dumb woman, but it is rare that you see a smart woman with a dumb man.” Hey my daughters, pay attention to this. Erica says this because dumb men are so rare.
1944 US singer Dianna Ross. She said “Hair is always important.” To whom, Dianna, to whom?
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“The only reward of virtue is virtue. The only way to have a friend is to be one”.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Two restaurants in the Hilton Head/Bluffton, South Carolina area were busted for employing illegal aliens including the owners. The aliens were Chinese, Guatemalans and Mexicans. There were a total of 13 people involved and the INS assures them that they will see their home land once again and very soon. Below is a biography of a man that had a tremendous influence of the history of this great nation.
Jean Lafitte
Legendary pirate
The exact place and date of birth of Jean Lafitte is not known for sure. The generally accepted year is 1776. Lafitte himself claimed Bordeaux, France as his birthplace while at the same time his brother Pierre claimed that their birthplace was Bayonne, France. At that time it would be advantageous to be a French citizen so as to not be subject to American laws. There are several documents out there that put Lafitte’s birthplace at many different places in the world including an island on the South Carolina coast. His biographer states that the best documentation puts his birthplace on the French possession island of Saint Domingue as it was known as then and is known as Haiti today. Jean’s father died and in approximately 1784 his mother moved him and his older brother Pierre to the Mississippi River Delta area which was a French possession also. Jean stayed with his mother and Pierre was raised by an extended family in other areas of Louisiana. Soon after their arrival Jean’s mother married a wealthy New Orleans merchant named Pedro Aubry. It is believed that as a young man Jean roamed the bayous and inlets from the Gulf of Mexico and became known as the most knowledgeable person alive about this area. Jean’s brother Pierre became a privateer for Saint Domingue and was carrying a Letter of the Marque. This meant that he was a pirate for Saint Domingue and would capture ships of the nation named in the “Letter” and split the booty with Saint Domingue in return for safe haven in Saint Domingue’s harbors. Jean began operating a warehouse and a store (probably on Royal Street) in New Orleans where he would distribute the booty brought to him by his brother to merchants in the New Orleans area. New Orleans and a hell of a lot more became American property with the Louisiana Purchase in 1804. This put a severe kink into the smuggling operation of the Lafitte brothers in New Orleans so they began looking elsewhere. They found a sparsely occupied island in Barataria Lake southwest of New Orleans. This lake was accessible only by a narrow channel between Grand Terre and Grand Isle that was easily defended and any ship approaching would be quickly detected and was a long way from American naval bases. Their business boomed once the privateers in the Gulf of Mexico found them. They would simply unload the ships and send the goods on barges up various bayous to New Orleans. Eventually the brothers got tired of being dry goods brokers and bought a boat, hired a captain and became privateers themselves. A few days later they made their first score. It was a Spanish ship with 77 slaves aboard. After selling the slaves (probably to Jim Bowie) and the other goods aboard they made about $18,000. They liked the boat and kept it also. A couple of days later they knocked over a Spanish brig and reaped about $9,000. They decided that this was a lot better than smuggling stolen goods. But they did not like this boat and chose to unload it and turn it back over to the original crew. The Lafitte brothers were renowned for good treatment of hijacked crews. A big turn of events occurred when England kept stopping American ships at sea and “Shanghaiing” American sailors. This means they would take American sailors off their ships and force them to serve on British ships. America finally got fed up and in 1812 declared war on England. During all of this the Lafitte brothers had gathered/swapped ships until they had three very fast sloops armed to the teeth. The British knew that The Americans did not have a viable navy and utilized pirates and privateers in their behalf so they approached Jean Lafitte and his small navy to join the British navy for pay. Jean believed that the Americans would win this war and wrote a letter to a member of the US congress telling him of the British offer. Previously Jean’s brother Pierre had been captured in a United States Navy raid and was imprisoned in New Orleans. Jean offered to join with the Americans in their war against Great Britain along with most of his crews if any criminal charges that were pending against he and his men would be dropped and Pierre would be released. The military person in command in this area was General Andrew Jackson and he balked at first but when three British warships showed up southwest of New Orleans he agreed. Jean Lafitte and his men were indeed present at the immortal Battle of New Orleans where the British had their asses handed to them even though they had the rag-tag army commanded by General Jackson out-numbered and out gunned. The British had 345 killed, including the British commanding General Packenham, and many wounded to 45 killed for the Americans. Lafitte knew that his operation at Barataria Bay was over and began looking for another location and found one in Galveston in what is now Texas. But at that time southern Texas was a Mexican property. Mexico was in the midst of a war for Independence with Spain. Both Pierre and Jean agreed to spy for Spain with Pierre in New Orleans and Jean on Galveston Island. Jean again established a base for smuggling on Galveston Island along with some pirating on his own. The US had passed a law that slaves could not brought in to the US unless they were captured off of a slave ship, then the slaves could be brought in to customs agents and be sold by them and half the profit going to the capturers so that told Jean and Pierre what their targets would be. They began a very profitable venture of capturing slaves, bringing them to New Orleans and letting the customs agents sell them to Jim Bowie at a reduced rate. Then they got an additional profit when Bowie sold them and gave the Lafitte brothers a commission. In 1821 the US Navy went to Galveston to run the Lafitte brothers out of the Gulf of Mexico. Jean agreed to leave without a fight and sailed down to Isla Mujeres off the northeast corner of the Yucatan peninsula Mexico and set up operations but it did not flourish like the others and his camp was nothing but a group of squalid huts. Later he became ill and moved onto a small village on the Mexican mainland and died a few days later died of a tropical fever. He was 47.
Much has been written about Jean Lafitte and his obvious gigantic collection of gold and treasure none of which has ever been found. Some believe it went down with his ship The Pride in the hurricane of 1826, some believe that he buried it in various locations around Barataria Bay with the prime location being a cotton/sugar plantation named The Destrehan Plantation. It is rumored that the ghost of Jean roams that plantation on nights with a full moon. Then again, others think he buried it in the shifting sands of Galveston Island. What we do know for sure is that he did not have any of it with him at Isla Mujeres and the location(s) of his treasure is a mystery to this date.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
“The only reward of virtue is virtue. The only way to have a friend is to be one”.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Two restaurants in the Hilton Head/Bluffton, South Carolina area were busted for employing illegal aliens including the owners. The aliens were Chinese, Guatemalans and Mexicans. There were a total of 13 people involved and the INS assures them that they will see their home land once again and very soon. Below is a biography of a man that had a tremendous influence of the history of this great nation.
Jean Lafitte
Legendary pirate
The exact place and date of birth of Jean Lafitte is not known for sure. The generally accepted year is 1776. Lafitte himself claimed Bordeaux, France as his birthplace while at the same time his brother Pierre claimed that their birthplace was Bayonne, France. At that time it would be advantageous to be a French citizen so as to not be subject to American laws. There are several documents out there that put Lafitte’s birthplace at many different places in the world including an island on the South Carolina coast. His biographer states that the best documentation puts his birthplace on the French possession island of Saint Domingue as it was known as then and is known as Haiti today. Jean’s father died and in approximately 1784 his mother moved him and his older brother Pierre to the Mississippi River Delta area which was a French possession also. Jean stayed with his mother and Pierre was raised by an extended family in other areas of Louisiana. Soon after their arrival Jean’s mother married a wealthy New Orleans merchant named Pedro Aubry. It is believed that as a young man Jean roamed the bayous and inlets from the Gulf of Mexico and became known as the most knowledgeable person alive about this area. Jean’s brother Pierre became a privateer for Saint Domingue and was carrying a Letter of the Marque. This meant that he was a pirate for Saint Domingue and would capture ships of the nation named in the “Letter” and split the booty with Saint Domingue in return for safe haven in Saint Domingue’s harbors. Jean began operating a warehouse and a store (probably on Royal Street) in New Orleans where he would distribute the booty brought to him by his brother to merchants in the New Orleans area. New Orleans and a hell of a lot more became American property with the Louisiana Purchase in 1804. This put a severe kink into the smuggling operation of the Lafitte brothers in New Orleans so they began looking elsewhere. They found a sparsely occupied island in Barataria Lake southwest of New Orleans. This lake was accessible only by a narrow channel between Grand Terre and Grand Isle that was easily defended and any ship approaching would be quickly detected and was a long way from American naval bases. Their business boomed once the privateers in the Gulf of Mexico found them. They would simply unload the ships and send the goods on barges up various bayous to New Orleans. Eventually the brothers got tired of being dry goods brokers and bought a boat, hired a captain and became privateers themselves. A few days later they made their first score. It was a Spanish ship with 77 slaves aboard. After selling the slaves (probably to Jim Bowie) and the other goods aboard they made about $18,000. They liked the boat and kept it also. A couple of days later they knocked over a Spanish brig and reaped about $9,000. They decided that this was a lot better than smuggling stolen goods. But they did not like this boat and chose to unload it and turn it back over to the original crew. The Lafitte brothers were renowned for good treatment of hijacked crews. A big turn of events occurred when England kept stopping American ships at sea and “Shanghaiing” American sailors. This means they would take American sailors off their ships and force them to serve on British ships. America finally got fed up and in 1812 declared war on England. During all of this the Lafitte brothers had gathered/swapped ships until they had three very fast sloops armed to the teeth. The British knew that The Americans did not have a viable navy and utilized pirates and privateers in their behalf so they approached Jean Lafitte and his small navy to join the British navy for pay. Jean believed that the Americans would win this war and wrote a letter to a member of the US congress telling him of the British offer. Previously Jean’s brother Pierre had been captured in a United States Navy raid and was imprisoned in New Orleans. Jean offered to join with the Americans in their war against Great Britain along with most of his crews if any criminal charges that were pending against he and his men would be dropped and Pierre would be released. The military person in command in this area was General Andrew Jackson and he balked at first but when three British warships showed up southwest of New Orleans he agreed. Jean Lafitte and his men were indeed present at the immortal Battle of New Orleans where the British had their asses handed to them even though they had the rag-tag army commanded by General Jackson out-numbered and out gunned. The British had 345 killed, including the British commanding General Packenham, and many wounded to 45 killed for the Americans. Lafitte knew that his operation at Barataria Bay was over and began looking for another location and found one in Galveston in what is now Texas. But at that time southern Texas was a Mexican property. Mexico was in the midst of a war for Independence with Spain. Both Pierre and Jean agreed to spy for Spain with Pierre in New Orleans and Jean on Galveston Island. Jean again established a base for smuggling on Galveston Island along with some pirating on his own. The US had passed a law that slaves could not brought in to the US unless they were captured off of a slave ship, then the slaves could be brought in to customs agents and be sold by them and half the profit going to the capturers so that told Jean and Pierre what their targets would be. They began a very profitable venture of capturing slaves, bringing them to New Orleans and letting the customs agents sell them to Jim Bowie at a reduced rate. Then they got an additional profit when Bowie sold them and gave the Lafitte brothers a commission. In 1821 the US Navy went to Galveston to run the Lafitte brothers out of the Gulf of Mexico. Jean agreed to leave without a fight and sailed down to Isla Mujeres off the northeast corner of the Yucatan peninsula Mexico and set up operations but it did not flourish like the others and his camp was nothing but a group of squalid huts. Later he became ill and moved onto a small village on the Mexican mainland and died a few days later died of a tropical fever. He was 47.
Much has been written about Jean Lafitte and his obvious gigantic collection of gold and treasure none of which has ever been found. Some believe it went down with his ship The Pride in the hurricane of 1826, some believe that he buried it in various locations around Barataria Bay with the prime location being a cotton/sugar plantation named The Destrehan Plantation. It is rumored that the ghost of Jean roams that plantation on nights with a full moon. Then again, others think he buried it in the shifting sands of Galveston Island. What we do know for sure is that he did not have any of it with him at Isla Mujeres and the location(s) of his treasure is a mystery to this date.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Daily history
This is a story of one of the lovers of Queen Elizabeth I of England, enjoy.
Robert Dudley
Earl of Leicester
This is the story of unrequited love between two people that were in love for most of their lives but were kept apart by the politics of Elizabethan England. Elizabeth stated that she would never marry because she was fearful that her powers would be diluted by a husband. The present day Prince Phillip of England is the husband of Queen Elizabeth II and is titled as Prince Consort.
Most contemporary historians believed that Robert Dudley and Elizabeth, the future Queen of England, were born on the same day, it was later determined that Robert was probably one year older. Robert was the son of John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, Duke of Northumberland and protector of England during the reign of Edward VI. Robert was the fifth child of thirteen. He first met Elizabeth when he was eight years old, probably in a royal classroom. They became good friends and their friendship lasted throughout both of their lives. He was certainly a match for Elizabeth intellectually but was not interested in the classics. He was more into mathematics, astronomy and astrology in addition to being a good athlete and a superb horseman. When speaking of Elizabeth later on he said that he knew her better than anyone, even from the time she was eight years old. He said that Elizabeth had always told him that she would never marry.
Robert married Amy Robsart in 1550 with Amy being the daughter of a Norfolk squire. Even thought people though they were in love, the marriage contract indicated otherwise. Normally daughters were not heirs to their father’s estate but Amy was the exception, she was an heiress making the marriage advantageous to both. The marriage ceremony between Robert and Amy was a glittering one with all the appropriate pomp and circumstance. The festivities were attended by Elizabeth and the Boy-King, Edward VI.
After Robert’s father tried to usurp the throne and place his sister-in-law Lady Jane Grey on the throne the shit hit the fan. This rebellion was quashed and Robert, his father and five of his brothers are imprisoned in the Tower of London in the Beauchamp tower awaiting trial. Elizabeth was also imprisoned in the Tower but in the Bell tower. The two wings were joined by a walkway and Robert and Elizabeth met frequently on this walkway and their friendship turned to love even though they were closely guarded. After all was said and done, Robert’s father John, Roberts brother Guilford and Lady Jane Grey had a meeting with a big guy with a big axe out on the lawn of the Tower. All the others were released.
Robert and his brother Henry go to France to fight on the behalf of the King of France, Phillip II. Henry was killed in this war. After returning to England Robert finds out that Elizabeth was in serious financial trouble and sells some of his lands and bails Elizabeth out and she never forgot Robert’s generosity. Elizabeth ascends to the throne of England in 1558 at the age of twenty and Roberts star began to rise. He was made the Master of the Queens Horse, a very prestigious position that required him to be in the presence of the Queen almost constantly. It was his function to plan her public appearances and personal entertainment. Robert was good at this because he and Elizabeth share the same love of drama and music. There was no doubt that he was the Queens favorite which automatically made him the most despised man in England out of envy. Within the first years, Elizabeth showered Robert with titles, among these was the Earl of Leicester, properties and money and spending more time with him than anyone else. Tongues wagged as to their intimacy, all assumed they were lovers. It was also said that Elizabeth was carrying Roberts child but this story was easily dismissed, but there was no doubt that they were deeply in love. They were bonded by knowing each other as children, had suffered imprisonment together, and each trusted and respected the other totally. Like any couple they occasionally argued, but Robert always spoke and treated Elizabeth with the respect that her position deserved.
By 1560 Robert was the most hated man in England and stayed that way until his death. No one had a good word to say about him except The Queen and her family. Elizabeth was an astute judge of character and it is impossible to think that she would not have detected any insincerity in Robert over their relationship of thirty years. There is no question the Robert loved her. Had the political circumstances been more favorable there is little question they would have been married. Privately she told Robert that she would marry no one else, but she couldn’t marry him. The biggest problem with the bar to their marriage was the circumstances of his wife’s death. She was found dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs with a broken neck and naturally everyone pointed their fingers at Robert and Elizabeth. For a long time people had been saying he and Elizabeth were planning Amy’s death so he could marry Elizabeth. This shadow of doubt plagued the two for the rest of their days making the birth of any of their children suspect if they had married. Amy was probably terminally ill with breast cancer or as it was called “malady of the breast”. In fact medical opinions of today suggest that the cancer had probably reached her spine and it was weakened to the point that any kind of pressure would have broken it. However, such medical knowledge was unknown in those days and all, including Robert, believed she was murdered. Robert waited for many years hoping Elizabeth would change her mind but she didn’t. At a gala celebration in 1575 in Warwick Castle, Robert formally asked for Elizabeth’s hand and as always she refused. So in 1578 Robert married the Queens cousin, Lettice Devereux, the Countess of Essex.
He may have well been in love with her because she was a reported stone fox but the real reason he married her was that she was pregnant and a family of the stature of the house of Essex demanded that he make an honest woman of her. Robert tried to keep the news of his marriage from the Queen but she found out anyway. In 1580 Lettice gave birth to a son also named Robert. The child was a sickly one and died at the age of four which devastated Robert. The death of this child almost assured the end to Robert’s lineage. He had a child by an affair with Lady Dudley Sheffield but illegitimate children could not be an heir. Lady Sheffield claimed that she and Robert were married in a secret ceremony but there was no evidence of it and Robert always denied it.
In 1588 Robert was put in charge of the land forces during the assault by the Spanish Armada but Robert was not a well man, probably suffering from stomach cancer, his days were numbered. He was on his way to Buxton to bathe in the supposed healing waters there but he never made it. He died at his house in Oxfordshire on September 4th, 1588. Upon hearing the news, Elizabeth locked her self in her bedroom and stayed for days. She kept the last letter from Robert in her safe until the end of her days. The letter follows:
Robert Dudley's last letter to Queen Elizabeth I
“I most humbly beseech your Majesty to pardon your poor old servant to be thus bold in sending to know how my gracious lady doth, and what ease of her late pain she finds, being the chiefest thing in the world I do pray for, for her to have good health and long life. For my own poor case, I continue still your medicine and find that [it] amends much better than any other thing that hath been given me. Thus hoping to find perfect cure at the bath, with the continuance of my wonted prayer for your Majesty's most happy preservation, I humbly kiss your foot. From your old lodging at Rycote, this Thursday morning, ready to take on my Journey, by Your Majesty's most faithful and obedient servant,
R. Leicester
Even as I had writ thus much, I received Your Majesty's token by Young Tracy.”
Evidently Elizabeth had sent Robert a gift.
It is a rumor that in Elizabeth’s last few days she could not speak and had the archbishop at her side holding her hand. Since she had no heir, everyone was waiting for her to name one. The archbishop went through a series of names and she would respond by squeezing his hand. It was determined that Elizabeth wanted James VI of Scotland to succeed her. When the archbishop mentioned the deceased Robert Dudley, Elizabeth squeezed his hand for a long time and a tear fell from her eye. But that is just a rumor. It has been reported that Elizabeth had another lover in the Earl of Essex. This is probably true by I prefer to remember her childhood friend and her adult lover as her most favorite, Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Robert Dudley
Earl of Leicester
This is the story of unrequited love between two people that were in love for most of their lives but were kept apart by the politics of Elizabethan England. Elizabeth stated that she would never marry because she was fearful that her powers would be diluted by a husband. The present day Prince Phillip of England is the husband of Queen Elizabeth II and is titled as Prince Consort.
Most contemporary historians believed that Robert Dudley and Elizabeth, the future Queen of England, were born on the same day, it was later determined that Robert was probably one year older. Robert was the son of John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, Duke of Northumberland and protector of England during the reign of Edward VI. Robert was the fifth child of thirteen. He first met Elizabeth when he was eight years old, probably in a royal classroom. They became good friends and their friendship lasted throughout both of their lives. He was certainly a match for Elizabeth intellectually but was not interested in the classics. He was more into mathematics, astronomy and astrology in addition to being a good athlete and a superb horseman. When speaking of Elizabeth later on he said that he knew her better than anyone, even from the time she was eight years old. He said that Elizabeth had always told him that she would never marry.
Robert married Amy Robsart in 1550 with Amy being the daughter of a Norfolk squire. Even thought people though they were in love, the marriage contract indicated otherwise. Normally daughters were not heirs to their father’s estate but Amy was the exception, she was an heiress making the marriage advantageous to both. The marriage ceremony between Robert and Amy was a glittering one with all the appropriate pomp and circumstance. The festivities were attended by Elizabeth and the Boy-King, Edward VI.
After Robert’s father tried to usurp the throne and place his sister-in-law Lady Jane Grey on the throne the shit hit the fan. This rebellion was quashed and Robert, his father and five of his brothers are imprisoned in the Tower of London in the Beauchamp tower awaiting trial. Elizabeth was also imprisoned in the Tower but in the Bell tower. The two wings were joined by a walkway and Robert and Elizabeth met frequently on this walkway and their friendship turned to love even though they were closely guarded. After all was said and done, Robert’s father John, Roberts brother Guilford and Lady Jane Grey had a meeting with a big guy with a big axe out on the lawn of the Tower. All the others were released.
Robert and his brother Henry go to France to fight on the behalf of the King of France, Phillip II. Henry was killed in this war. After returning to England Robert finds out that Elizabeth was in serious financial trouble and sells some of his lands and bails Elizabeth out and she never forgot Robert’s generosity. Elizabeth ascends to the throne of England in 1558 at the age of twenty and Roberts star began to rise. He was made the Master of the Queens Horse, a very prestigious position that required him to be in the presence of the Queen almost constantly. It was his function to plan her public appearances and personal entertainment. Robert was good at this because he and Elizabeth share the same love of drama and music. There was no doubt that he was the Queens favorite which automatically made him the most despised man in England out of envy. Within the first years, Elizabeth showered Robert with titles, among these was the Earl of Leicester, properties and money and spending more time with him than anyone else. Tongues wagged as to their intimacy, all assumed they were lovers. It was also said that Elizabeth was carrying Roberts child but this story was easily dismissed, but there was no doubt that they were deeply in love. They were bonded by knowing each other as children, had suffered imprisonment together, and each trusted and respected the other totally. Like any couple they occasionally argued, but Robert always spoke and treated Elizabeth with the respect that her position deserved.
By 1560 Robert was the most hated man in England and stayed that way until his death. No one had a good word to say about him except The Queen and her family. Elizabeth was an astute judge of character and it is impossible to think that she would not have detected any insincerity in Robert over their relationship of thirty years. There is no question the Robert loved her. Had the political circumstances been more favorable there is little question they would have been married. Privately she told Robert that she would marry no one else, but she couldn’t marry him. The biggest problem with the bar to their marriage was the circumstances of his wife’s death. She was found dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs with a broken neck and naturally everyone pointed their fingers at Robert and Elizabeth. For a long time people had been saying he and Elizabeth were planning Amy’s death so he could marry Elizabeth. This shadow of doubt plagued the two for the rest of their days making the birth of any of their children suspect if they had married. Amy was probably terminally ill with breast cancer or as it was called “malady of the breast”. In fact medical opinions of today suggest that the cancer had probably reached her spine and it was weakened to the point that any kind of pressure would have broken it. However, such medical knowledge was unknown in those days and all, including Robert, believed she was murdered. Robert waited for many years hoping Elizabeth would change her mind but she didn’t. At a gala celebration in 1575 in Warwick Castle, Robert formally asked for Elizabeth’s hand and as always she refused. So in 1578 Robert married the Queens cousin, Lettice Devereux, the Countess of Essex.
He may have well been in love with her because she was a reported stone fox but the real reason he married her was that she was pregnant and a family of the stature of the house of Essex demanded that he make an honest woman of her. Robert tried to keep the news of his marriage from the Queen but she found out anyway. In 1580 Lettice gave birth to a son also named Robert. The child was a sickly one and died at the age of four which devastated Robert. The death of this child almost assured the end to Robert’s lineage. He had a child by an affair with Lady Dudley Sheffield but illegitimate children could not be an heir. Lady Sheffield claimed that she and Robert were married in a secret ceremony but there was no evidence of it and Robert always denied it.
In 1588 Robert was put in charge of the land forces during the assault by the Spanish Armada but Robert was not a well man, probably suffering from stomach cancer, his days were numbered. He was on his way to Buxton to bathe in the supposed healing waters there but he never made it. He died at his house in Oxfordshire on September 4th, 1588. Upon hearing the news, Elizabeth locked her self in her bedroom and stayed for days. She kept the last letter from Robert in her safe until the end of her days. The letter follows:
Robert Dudley's last letter to Queen Elizabeth I
“I most humbly beseech your Majesty to pardon your poor old servant to be thus bold in sending to know how my gracious lady doth, and what ease of her late pain she finds, being the chiefest thing in the world I do pray for, for her to have good health and long life. For my own poor case, I continue still your medicine and find that [it] amends much better than any other thing that hath been given me. Thus hoping to find perfect cure at the bath, with the continuance of my wonted prayer for your Majesty's most happy preservation, I humbly kiss your foot. From your old lodging at Rycote, this Thursday morning, ready to take on my Journey, by Your Majesty's most faithful and obedient servant,
R. Leicester
Even as I had writ thus much, I received Your Majesty's token by Young Tracy.”
Evidently Elizabeth had sent Robert a gift.
It is a rumor that in Elizabeth’s last few days she could not speak and had the archbishop at her side holding her hand. Since she had no heir, everyone was waiting for her to name one. The archbishop went through a series of names and she would respond by squeezing his hand. It was determined that Elizabeth wanted James VI of Scotland to succeed her. When the archbishop mentioned the deceased Robert Dudley, Elizabeth squeezed his hand for a long time and a tear fell from her eye. But that is just a rumor. It has been reported that Elizabeth had another lover in the Earl of Essex. This is probably true by I prefer to remember her childhood friend and her adult lover as her most favorite, Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
"Let your love come like a misty rains, coming softly, but flooding the rivers."
Malagasy Proverb
As we all know the so-called “health care reform” bill has passed the house and is on its way to be signed into law by the poser, Barak Obama. The last time I checked this form of government was a Democratic Republic. This means that there are two parts to the legislative branch, the House and the Senate. These two bodies are people that have been elected to represent their constituents in affairs of state. In this recent debacle there were several Representatives that were told they should be willing to sacrifice their careers to get this bill passed. This means that these particular Representatives knew that their constituents were opposed to the passing of this bill but they were going to do the opposite knowing they would be kicked out of office this coming November. How arrogant and corrupt can this administration be? They are making a mockery of what our ancestors suffered, bled and died for, a representative form of government. I can guarantee you that on November 27, 2010 the majority in the House of Representative will change and sure enough, those that chose the Democratic Party wishes rather than their constituents will be cleaning out their desks soon thereafter. Keep in mind, this bill was formulated for the benefit of 10% of the population at the expense of the other 90%. Make sure you are registered. Don’t get me started about this…I take enough blood pressure pills already. By the way, the Attorney General of South Carolina has promised a constitutional challenge to this bill once it is enacted and he is not the only one. But you have to look at Henry with a jaundiced eye, he is running for Governor of South Carolina also.
This past weekend two of my daughters from Columbia, South Carolina came to the “hill country” here in Greenville for a visit. I hoped that they were coming to see me but I did not kid myself, they were coming to visit my brother’s 9 week old female yellow Labrador retriever named Kaylee. This dog has AKC papers a mile long and her parents are both field trial champions. Kaylee already shows signs of brilliance but most Labs are. I have never seen a dumb one.
Saturday night we went to eat at a place called “Smoke on the Water”. I think it got that name because they have a lot of different smoked meats and the back of the building in on the banks of the mighty Reedy River. The Northern Iowa vs Kansas game was on while we were there and from where we were sitting we could not see the TV. This meant that one of us went to check on the score about every two minutes. We could not believe what we were seeing, the mighty Kansas Jayhawks, the number one ranked team in the nation, was losing to a nobody and indeed they did. This meant that Northern Iowa was in the “Sweet Sixteen” as incredible as it seems. There is no question that Kansas had Northern Iowa outmanned at every position but Northern Iowa wanted it more and were better prepared. War is hell, right Dotty?
Down in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina the Fire Chief was headed north on I-526 toward North Charleston in his red SUV. There was a disabled car in the emergency lane and the Chief apparently did not see it and rammed the hell out of it sending the driver to the hospital. The SCHP shows up and smells something and it ain’t gasoline, it is the Chief’s breath. The Chief was found to be hammered to the gills. Let’s do a recap. The fire chief of a small bedroom town like Mount Pleasant, SC is headed north on a freeway in the early afternoon driving a fire engine red SUV with all the signs and emblems and he is hammered. He struck a parked car in the emergency lane injuring someone. My guess is that the chief had better start looking for another line of work and enroll in a class that instructs people how to deal with a severe case of the dumb-ass.
This date in history March 23
1862 Earlier CSA General “Stonewall” Jackson is tasked by CSA General Robert E. Lee to watch for Union troops leaving the Shenandoah Valley. Lee believes that US General George McClellan is calling for all available troops in the Shenandoah to join his already gigantic army for a spring offensive as indeed he was. If such a movement was detected, Jackson was to stop or delay it. Accordingly, Jackson steps up patrols by his cavalry commander CSA Colonel Turner Ashby. On this date, Ashby does indeed detect a troop movement near Kernstown, Virginia by US General Shields. Only this time Jackson was outfoxed by the sly Shields. Ashby sends a courier back to Jackson and informs him of the troop movement and estimates the troop strength at 3,000. The difference here is that Shields had kept most of his troops hidden, he really had 9,000 troops. After receiving the message, Jackson sends additional troops to join Ashby to raise the Confederate total to 4,000. In the middle of the afternoon Jackson, in spite of it being Sunday, orders an attack on Shields left flank. Jackson, being a very pious man, tried not to fight on the Sabbath. Well, after the attack was well underway, Shields brings out his hidden troops. Confederate division commander General Richard Garnett, expecting a short battle against only 3,000 and providing ammo to his troops accordingly, runs out of ammo and is forced to retreat which forced the divisions on either side to follow and soon the Confederates were in a general retreat making it a victory for Shields. This was the beginning of Jackson’s brilliant Shenandoah Valley campaign and the last battle he ever lost. After the battle, Jackson accused Garnett of cowardice in retreating no matter that his troops were out of ammo. Some believe that Jackson was trying to blame someone else for the loss because he had been outfoxed by Shields. Anyway, Garnett carried that stigma with him the rest of his career even after the death of Jackson. Garnett was determined to shed this stigma of cowardice that Jackson had burdened him with and at Gettysburg, in spite of a general order that no one rides, Garnett rode a horse directly into the very teeth of Union artillery fire. No part of CSA General Richard Garnett was ever found that could be identified. The Confederates knew that he was dead because his horse “Red-Eye” returned to Confederate lines without him.
1979 In 1976 former Chilean ambassador Orlando Letelier and two his friends, Mike and Ronni Moffitt, were riding in a limousine down Embassy Row in Washington, DC when a bomb explodes under the car killing all aboard. Letelier was the US ambassador for the leftist Chilean government headed by Salvatore Allende who was elected in a democratic election. The CIA unashamedly engineers a military coup and Chilean General Augusto Pinochet takes over in Chile. But the CIA had done its job by preventing another openly leftist government in the western hemisphere. General Pinochet arrests Letelier and imprisoned him in a facility down near the Straights of Magellan. Eventually Letelier was released and came to Washington and began a campaign of voicing anti Pinochet rhetoric. On this date, the men responsible for the car bombing are convicted and sentenced to life. The only problem here was that later on it was found that the CIA knew about the pending car bomb attack, and since Letelier was a leftist, they did nothing to stop it. Because of this the two bombers were released. Way to go, CIA!
1806 The Lewis and Clark expedition, after spending a miserable winter near present day Astoria, Oregon, breaks camp and heads back east up the Columbia River. They had named it Camp Clapsop for reasons known only to them. In my opinion, this is the greatest adventure of all time and I would have loved to have been part of it.
1961 Surprise, surprise, a US intelligence gathering (spy) aircraft is shot down in Laos. The US was interested in learning the extent of Russian assistance given to the Pathet Lao guerillas. The guerillas and the Royal Lao had been battling for some time and US President John Kennedy was asked to broker a truce. Kennedy needed information no matter how illegal and stated there had to be a joint cease fire before anything happened.
Born today:
1900 US psychoanalyst Erich Fromm. He said “Education makes machines that behave like men, and men that behave like machines.” I think Erich knew Al Gore.
1910 Japanese director Akira Kurasowa. He said “All men are geniuses when they dream.” I think Akira knew Erich Fromm.
1912 German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun. He said “Basic research is what I call it when I don’t know what the hell I am doing”. Sounds like Nancy Pelosi to me.
1972 US Pro basketball player Jason Kidd. Upon joining the Dallas Mavericks he said “We are going to turn this team around 360 degrees.” Jason, shut up.
Died today:
1953 French artist Raoul Dufy. He said “My eyes were made to erase all that is ugly.” I don’t think Raoul ever met Rosie O’Donnell or Janet Reno because human eyes cannot erase that much ugly.
1995 US actor Jerry Lester. He said “What do you give a man who has everything? Penicillin.” Sounds like Keith Richards to me.
Quotable quotes:
“There is one thing I would break up over and that is if she caught me with another woman. I would not sit still for that.” Steve Martin....Me neither
“Women and elephants never forget an injury.” Saki....All men know this.
“I am really smart. I know a lot, I just can’t think of it.” Morey Amsterdam....Me too.
“Man forgives women of everything except the ability to outwit him.” Minna Antrim...My third ex-wife would try to understand this, but she never could fathom the idea that I was smarter than her.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow.
Quote of the day:
"Let your love come like a misty rains, coming softly, but flooding the rivers."
Malagasy Proverb
As we all know the so-called “health care reform” bill has passed the house and is on its way to be signed into law by the poser, Barak Obama. The last time I checked this form of government was a Democratic Republic. This means that there are two parts to the legislative branch, the House and the Senate. These two bodies are people that have been elected to represent their constituents in affairs of state. In this recent debacle there were several Representatives that were told they should be willing to sacrifice their careers to get this bill passed. This means that these particular Representatives knew that their constituents were opposed to the passing of this bill but they were going to do the opposite knowing they would be kicked out of office this coming November. How arrogant and corrupt can this administration be? They are making a mockery of what our ancestors suffered, bled and died for, a representative form of government. I can guarantee you that on November 27, 2010 the majority in the House of Representative will change and sure enough, those that chose the Democratic Party wishes rather than their constituents will be cleaning out their desks soon thereafter. Keep in mind, this bill was formulated for the benefit of 10% of the population at the expense of the other 90%. Make sure you are registered. Don’t get me started about this…I take enough blood pressure pills already. By the way, the Attorney General of South Carolina has promised a constitutional challenge to this bill once it is enacted and he is not the only one. But you have to look at Henry with a jaundiced eye, he is running for Governor of South Carolina also.
This past weekend two of my daughters from Columbia, South Carolina came to the “hill country” here in Greenville for a visit. I hoped that they were coming to see me but I did not kid myself, they were coming to visit my brother’s 9 week old female yellow Labrador retriever named Kaylee. This dog has AKC papers a mile long and her parents are both field trial champions. Kaylee already shows signs of brilliance but most Labs are. I have never seen a dumb one.
Saturday night we went to eat at a place called “Smoke on the Water”. I think it got that name because they have a lot of different smoked meats and the back of the building in on the banks of the mighty Reedy River. The Northern Iowa vs Kansas game was on while we were there and from where we were sitting we could not see the TV. This meant that one of us went to check on the score about every two minutes. We could not believe what we were seeing, the mighty Kansas Jayhawks, the number one ranked team in the nation, was losing to a nobody and indeed they did. This meant that Northern Iowa was in the “Sweet Sixteen” as incredible as it seems. There is no question that Kansas had Northern Iowa outmanned at every position but Northern Iowa wanted it more and were better prepared. War is hell, right Dotty?
Down in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina the Fire Chief was headed north on I-526 toward North Charleston in his red SUV. There was a disabled car in the emergency lane and the Chief apparently did not see it and rammed the hell out of it sending the driver to the hospital. The SCHP shows up and smells something and it ain’t gasoline, it is the Chief’s breath. The Chief was found to be hammered to the gills. Let’s do a recap. The fire chief of a small bedroom town like Mount Pleasant, SC is headed north on a freeway in the early afternoon driving a fire engine red SUV with all the signs and emblems and he is hammered. He struck a parked car in the emergency lane injuring someone. My guess is that the chief had better start looking for another line of work and enroll in a class that instructs people how to deal with a severe case of the dumb-ass.
This date in history March 23
1862 Earlier CSA General “Stonewall” Jackson is tasked by CSA General Robert E. Lee to watch for Union troops leaving the Shenandoah Valley. Lee believes that US General George McClellan is calling for all available troops in the Shenandoah to join his already gigantic army for a spring offensive as indeed he was. If such a movement was detected, Jackson was to stop or delay it. Accordingly, Jackson steps up patrols by his cavalry commander CSA Colonel Turner Ashby. On this date, Ashby does indeed detect a troop movement near Kernstown, Virginia by US General Shields. Only this time Jackson was outfoxed by the sly Shields. Ashby sends a courier back to Jackson and informs him of the troop movement and estimates the troop strength at 3,000. The difference here is that Shields had kept most of his troops hidden, he really had 9,000 troops. After receiving the message, Jackson sends additional troops to join Ashby to raise the Confederate total to 4,000. In the middle of the afternoon Jackson, in spite of it being Sunday, orders an attack on Shields left flank. Jackson, being a very pious man, tried not to fight on the Sabbath. Well, after the attack was well underway, Shields brings out his hidden troops. Confederate division commander General Richard Garnett, expecting a short battle against only 3,000 and providing ammo to his troops accordingly, runs out of ammo and is forced to retreat which forced the divisions on either side to follow and soon the Confederates were in a general retreat making it a victory for Shields. This was the beginning of Jackson’s brilliant Shenandoah Valley campaign and the last battle he ever lost. After the battle, Jackson accused Garnett of cowardice in retreating no matter that his troops were out of ammo. Some believe that Jackson was trying to blame someone else for the loss because he had been outfoxed by Shields. Anyway, Garnett carried that stigma with him the rest of his career even after the death of Jackson. Garnett was determined to shed this stigma of cowardice that Jackson had burdened him with and at Gettysburg, in spite of a general order that no one rides, Garnett rode a horse directly into the very teeth of Union artillery fire. No part of CSA General Richard Garnett was ever found that could be identified. The Confederates knew that he was dead because his horse “Red-Eye” returned to Confederate lines without him.
1979 In 1976 former Chilean ambassador Orlando Letelier and two his friends, Mike and Ronni Moffitt, were riding in a limousine down Embassy Row in Washington, DC when a bomb explodes under the car killing all aboard. Letelier was the US ambassador for the leftist Chilean government headed by Salvatore Allende who was elected in a democratic election. The CIA unashamedly engineers a military coup and Chilean General Augusto Pinochet takes over in Chile. But the CIA had done its job by preventing another openly leftist government in the western hemisphere. General Pinochet arrests Letelier and imprisoned him in a facility down near the Straights of Magellan. Eventually Letelier was released and came to Washington and began a campaign of voicing anti Pinochet rhetoric. On this date, the men responsible for the car bombing are convicted and sentenced to life. The only problem here was that later on it was found that the CIA knew about the pending car bomb attack, and since Letelier was a leftist, they did nothing to stop it. Because of this the two bombers were released. Way to go, CIA!
1806 The Lewis and Clark expedition, after spending a miserable winter near present day Astoria, Oregon, breaks camp and heads back east up the Columbia River. They had named it Camp Clapsop for reasons known only to them. In my opinion, this is the greatest adventure of all time and I would have loved to have been part of it.
1961 Surprise, surprise, a US intelligence gathering (spy) aircraft is shot down in Laos. The US was interested in learning the extent of Russian assistance given to the Pathet Lao guerillas. The guerillas and the Royal Lao had been battling for some time and US President John Kennedy was asked to broker a truce. Kennedy needed information no matter how illegal and stated there had to be a joint cease fire before anything happened.
Born today:
1900 US psychoanalyst Erich Fromm. He said “Education makes machines that behave like men, and men that behave like machines.” I think Erich knew Al Gore.
1910 Japanese director Akira Kurasowa. He said “All men are geniuses when they dream.” I think Akira knew Erich Fromm.
1912 German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun. He said “Basic research is what I call it when I don’t know what the hell I am doing”. Sounds like Nancy Pelosi to me.
1972 US Pro basketball player Jason Kidd. Upon joining the Dallas Mavericks he said “We are going to turn this team around 360 degrees.” Jason, shut up.
Died today:
1953 French artist Raoul Dufy. He said “My eyes were made to erase all that is ugly.” I don’t think Raoul ever met Rosie O’Donnell or Janet Reno because human eyes cannot erase that much ugly.
1995 US actor Jerry Lester. He said “What do you give a man who has everything? Penicillin.” Sounds like Keith Richards to me.
Quotable quotes:
“There is one thing I would break up over and that is if she caught me with another woman. I would not sit still for that.” Steve Martin....Me neither
“Women and elephants never forget an injury.” Saki....All men know this.
“I am really smart. I know a lot, I just can’t think of it.” Morey Amsterdam....Me too.
“Man forgives women of everything except the ability to outwit him.” Minna Antrim...My third ex-wife would try to understand this, but she never could fathom the idea that I was smarter than her.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“A relationship is like a shark. You know that a shark has to move constantly forward or it dies.”
Woody Allen
Sunday was the spring equinox which means on that date the hours of daylight and dark are equal. The daylight will start getting longer until June 21 (summer solstice) then it is reversed with the daylight getting shorter.
I went on another fishing expedition on Friday. We (my brother and I) again went to Lake Russell after largemouth bass. We caught and released 5 or 6 but that was better than the last trip. The fish bit tentatively and therefore we missed several bites because they did not hold on to the bait, we should have caught 10 or 11. Very soon they will go on a pre-spawn feeding frenzy as they always do. The tricky part is trying to figure out exactly when the rush starts meaning several trips are required to be on site when the frenzy begins. As the water warms the fish will become more and more active until they decide to do the nasty and spawn. After that, it is all quiet for about two weeks while they recover from the stress of the spawn and then the normal feed pattern resumes. We normally use plastic worms for bait until they become really active, then almost any bait will get the job done. Anyway, we will continue our trips until the spawn begins. As the frenzy approaches we transfer to Lake Hartwell where the bass are larger fish for fish than they are at Russell. Enough about my obsession.
I suppose all of you read about that special education teacher in a remote area of Alaska that was killed. She was out jogging near a small lake when she was attacked, killed and partially devoured by a pair of wolves. The Alaska Wildlife Department tracked down and killed the wolves. I am not sure that I agree with that resolution. The wolves have been there since the end of the Ice Age about 25,000 years ago. They were just taking care of business in feeding the pack. I am sure they did not kill out of revenge or spite. The Alaska Wildlife officer said that it has been their experience that once a wild predator feeds on human flesh that is all they want afterward. I read a story about a man that was a cannibal in the Amazon rain forest but had become “civilized” and an officer in the state government. He was asked if cannibalism was still apparent with his home tribe. He said “They would not kill and eat you, but if you died of other causes within the tribe’s realm you would not be wasted.”
On one occasion while I was in Alaska I drove from Anchorage down to the Russian River area to fish for salmon. The closest access to the river was a mile long trail from the road that went through a thick forest. I did have a .357 magnum sidearm, a spinning rod and tackle box. You have to keep in mind two things. First the salmon are a prime target of the Grizzly and Black bears. Second is that both species have their cubs with them on their trips to fish and both species are very, very zealous in protecting their cubs. After I was deep in the woods I heard a loud “Woof” and a sound of something crashing through the underbrush. I could not tell if it was coming my way or going the other way but I thought my number was up. I pulled my gun and waited scared as hell. The trail was so closed in that a bear could have been on top of me before I could have raised and pointed the gun anyway. I waited for an eternity with my weapon at eye level. After a while I heard nothing else and picked up my fishing rod and tackle box and went on to the river. There is no doubt in my mind that I am alive today because that bear chose not to attack. By the way, after I picked up my rod and tackle box and had taken a few step there was a pile of bear dung in the trail still steaming.
This date in history March 22
1820 On this date one of America’s greatest naval heroes is shot in a duel with a man named James Barron. Stephan Decatur succumbs to his wounds that next day. Barron, also shot, survived his wounds. Stephen Decatur was born in 1769 in Maryland to a naval family. In 1789 he joined the American navy he went through the familiar naval training and was assigned as a midshipman of the new frigate, United States. The fledgling United States merchant navy was being preyed upon by pirates sailing out of the North African port of Tripoli on the north coast of Africa because they knew that the United States did not have a viable military navy such as Great Britain that could provide retribution. One of the United State’s newest warships, the Philadelphia, had been forced aground near Tripoli by the pirates. US President Thomas Jefferson tasked the navy with dealing with this situation because he did not want such a ship to fall into the hands of the pirates nor to allow them to use the American design of the ship to build one of their own. So the US Navy sent Stephen Decatur and 12 others to Tripoli disguised as Maltese fishermen. They sailed their small fishing smack into Tripoli harbor, overcame the guards on the Philadelphia and burned that puppy down to the waterline. English naval hero Horatio Nelson called this feat as “one of the most daring of the age.” Finally the United States navy gained enough armaments and manpower and sailed into each of the North African ports that had been giving them shit and sent in the recently chartered United States Marines. The Marines went in and kicked ass and took names and threatened each country with continued slaughter if they did not sign a peace agreement. It is from this action that in the Marine Corps Hymn the line “to the shores of Tripoli” arose. Anyway, the trouble with James Barron began when Barron was less that resistant to a British capture of a ship under his command. Barron was brought before a court martial board of which Stephan Decatur was a member. Barron was convicted of dereliction of duty and was kicked out of the US Navy for a period of five years. At the end of the five years, the United States was again at war with Great Britain in the War of 1812 and Barron chose to stay in Europe until the war was over. When he then tried to re-join the United States navy, Stephan Decatur opposed it and Barron was not accepted. Well, Barron felt now it was matter of honor and challenged Decatur to a duel. Duels were frowned upon except for the United States Navy. The challenge was accepted on this date the duel was consummated in Bladensburg, Maryland. Barron was finally reinstated into the US Navy in 1821.
1984 Earlier the most blatant display of public hysteria and miscarriage of justice ever seen began. Seven teachers at the McMartin Pre-School in Manhattan Beach, California are brought under siege by a yuppie soccer Mom who claimed that her 2 ½ year old toddler had been sexually molested at the school. The policed are brought in and they begin a comedy of stupid acts that results in the destruction several people’s reputations. After hearing the Soccer Mom they sent out 200 form letters to the parents of all the little kiddies that attended the school telling them about the charge and that the suspected culprit was one of the owner’s son, Ray Buckey. As you might suspect, the parents went apeshit and immediately withdrew their children and initiated lawsuits against the school and Ray Buckey in particular. Let’s recap at this point. As a result of zero credible information and the sheer stupidity of the police, a legitimate and honest business is destroyed and the eight employees are on the street. That ain’t all. On this date, seven employees including owners Ray Buckey and his mother are indicted after the Grand Jury interviews 18 of the toddlers. Then a wacko outfit is brought in called Children Information International. These jackasses spread panic across the United States by saying that nearly all juvenile daycare centers had instances of sexual abuse. The parents of the little kiddies nationwide acted as you might suspect, with hysteria. Finally, credible child psychologists were called in and convinced the courts that a child in the toddler range can and will tell you what he thinks you want to hear. As incredible as it sounds one child testified that Ray Buckey took him to a cemetery and they dug up bodies and cut them open. In the meantime the McMartin School was burned to the ground by an arsonist. Eventually, American parents came to their senses and the hysteria abated but not before a lot of damage was done. It took years for day care and pre-schools to regain credibility.
1908 On this date Louis L’Amour is born in Jamestown, North Dakota. Louis was not much of a student and at the age of 15 he left home to seek his fortune. At various times he was a cowboy, seaman, longshoreman, boxer, miner and fruit picker. During World War II he ended up an officer in the American tank corps. After the war he tried his hand at writing and was soon recognized for his compact and hard-hitting style. He wrote several novels that were moderately successful but he hit a home run with the novel “Hondo” that became the basis of a John Wayne movie. A little later he wrote the novel and screen wrote another hit in “How the West Was Won.” After these blockbusters his career was assured. He wrote a series of novels about three different pioneer families in the early west in “The Sacketts”, “The Chantrys and “The Talons”. For his contribution to the learning and lore of the American west he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1983. Louis went to that that great cattle ranch in the sky in 1988. I miss him.
Born today:
1930 US educator Derek Bok is born: He said “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” He is right. Mick Jagger has a degree in economics and look at him.
1930 US evangelical Pat Robertson. “During my Presidential bid I stated that I would only bring in Christians and Jews into my cabinet. This created a firestorm in the press and they asked “Do you mean that atheists, Hindus and Moslems are not any good at governing?” and I said “Yes, I do.” I normally am not enamored with his obvious prejudices and he did not disappoint this time either.
Died today:
1930 German philosopher Johann Goethe. He said “If everyone grew up to be what their parents think of them as children, we would all be geniuses.” Ah yes, I remember it well.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
“A relationship is like a shark. You know that a shark has to move constantly forward or it dies.”
Woody Allen
Sunday was the spring equinox which means on that date the hours of daylight and dark are equal. The daylight will start getting longer until June 21 (summer solstice) then it is reversed with the daylight getting shorter.
I went on another fishing expedition on Friday. We (my brother and I) again went to Lake Russell after largemouth bass. We caught and released 5 or 6 but that was better than the last trip. The fish bit tentatively and therefore we missed several bites because they did not hold on to the bait, we should have caught 10 or 11. Very soon they will go on a pre-spawn feeding frenzy as they always do. The tricky part is trying to figure out exactly when the rush starts meaning several trips are required to be on site when the frenzy begins. As the water warms the fish will become more and more active until they decide to do the nasty and spawn. After that, it is all quiet for about two weeks while they recover from the stress of the spawn and then the normal feed pattern resumes. We normally use plastic worms for bait until they become really active, then almost any bait will get the job done. Anyway, we will continue our trips until the spawn begins. As the frenzy approaches we transfer to Lake Hartwell where the bass are larger fish for fish than they are at Russell. Enough about my obsession.
I suppose all of you read about that special education teacher in a remote area of Alaska that was killed. She was out jogging near a small lake when she was attacked, killed and partially devoured by a pair of wolves. The Alaska Wildlife Department tracked down and killed the wolves. I am not sure that I agree with that resolution. The wolves have been there since the end of the Ice Age about 25,000 years ago. They were just taking care of business in feeding the pack. I am sure they did not kill out of revenge or spite. The Alaska Wildlife officer said that it has been their experience that once a wild predator feeds on human flesh that is all they want afterward. I read a story about a man that was a cannibal in the Amazon rain forest but had become “civilized” and an officer in the state government. He was asked if cannibalism was still apparent with his home tribe. He said “They would not kill and eat you, but if you died of other causes within the tribe’s realm you would not be wasted.”
On one occasion while I was in Alaska I drove from Anchorage down to the Russian River area to fish for salmon. The closest access to the river was a mile long trail from the road that went through a thick forest. I did have a .357 magnum sidearm, a spinning rod and tackle box. You have to keep in mind two things. First the salmon are a prime target of the Grizzly and Black bears. Second is that both species have their cubs with them on their trips to fish and both species are very, very zealous in protecting their cubs. After I was deep in the woods I heard a loud “Woof” and a sound of something crashing through the underbrush. I could not tell if it was coming my way or going the other way but I thought my number was up. I pulled my gun and waited scared as hell. The trail was so closed in that a bear could have been on top of me before I could have raised and pointed the gun anyway. I waited for an eternity with my weapon at eye level. After a while I heard nothing else and picked up my fishing rod and tackle box and went on to the river. There is no doubt in my mind that I am alive today because that bear chose not to attack. By the way, after I picked up my rod and tackle box and had taken a few step there was a pile of bear dung in the trail still steaming.
This date in history March 22
1820 On this date one of America’s greatest naval heroes is shot in a duel with a man named James Barron. Stephan Decatur succumbs to his wounds that next day. Barron, also shot, survived his wounds. Stephen Decatur was born in 1769 in Maryland to a naval family. In 1789 he joined the American navy he went through the familiar naval training and was assigned as a midshipman of the new frigate, United States. The fledgling United States merchant navy was being preyed upon by pirates sailing out of the North African port of Tripoli on the north coast of Africa because they knew that the United States did not have a viable military navy such as Great Britain that could provide retribution. One of the United State’s newest warships, the Philadelphia, had been forced aground near Tripoli by the pirates. US President Thomas Jefferson tasked the navy with dealing with this situation because he did not want such a ship to fall into the hands of the pirates nor to allow them to use the American design of the ship to build one of their own. So the US Navy sent Stephen Decatur and 12 others to Tripoli disguised as Maltese fishermen. They sailed their small fishing smack into Tripoli harbor, overcame the guards on the Philadelphia and burned that puppy down to the waterline. English naval hero Horatio Nelson called this feat as “one of the most daring of the age.” Finally the United States navy gained enough armaments and manpower and sailed into each of the North African ports that had been giving them shit and sent in the recently chartered United States Marines. The Marines went in and kicked ass and took names and threatened each country with continued slaughter if they did not sign a peace agreement. It is from this action that in the Marine Corps Hymn the line “to the shores of Tripoli” arose. Anyway, the trouble with James Barron began when Barron was less that resistant to a British capture of a ship under his command. Barron was brought before a court martial board of which Stephan Decatur was a member. Barron was convicted of dereliction of duty and was kicked out of the US Navy for a period of five years. At the end of the five years, the United States was again at war with Great Britain in the War of 1812 and Barron chose to stay in Europe until the war was over. When he then tried to re-join the United States navy, Stephan Decatur opposed it and Barron was not accepted. Well, Barron felt now it was matter of honor and challenged Decatur to a duel. Duels were frowned upon except for the United States Navy. The challenge was accepted on this date the duel was consummated in Bladensburg, Maryland. Barron was finally reinstated into the US Navy in 1821.
1984 Earlier the most blatant display of public hysteria and miscarriage of justice ever seen began. Seven teachers at the McMartin Pre-School in Manhattan Beach, California are brought under siege by a yuppie soccer Mom who claimed that her 2 ½ year old toddler had been sexually molested at the school. The policed are brought in and they begin a comedy of stupid acts that results in the destruction several people’s reputations. After hearing the Soccer Mom they sent out 200 form letters to the parents of all the little kiddies that attended the school telling them about the charge and that the suspected culprit was one of the owner’s son, Ray Buckey. As you might suspect, the parents went apeshit and immediately withdrew their children and initiated lawsuits against the school and Ray Buckey in particular. Let’s recap at this point. As a result of zero credible information and the sheer stupidity of the police, a legitimate and honest business is destroyed and the eight employees are on the street. That ain’t all. On this date, seven employees including owners Ray Buckey and his mother are indicted after the Grand Jury interviews 18 of the toddlers. Then a wacko outfit is brought in called Children Information International. These jackasses spread panic across the United States by saying that nearly all juvenile daycare centers had instances of sexual abuse. The parents of the little kiddies nationwide acted as you might suspect, with hysteria. Finally, credible child psychologists were called in and convinced the courts that a child in the toddler range can and will tell you what he thinks you want to hear. As incredible as it sounds one child testified that Ray Buckey took him to a cemetery and they dug up bodies and cut them open. In the meantime the McMartin School was burned to the ground by an arsonist. Eventually, American parents came to their senses and the hysteria abated but not before a lot of damage was done. It took years for day care and pre-schools to regain credibility.
1908 On this date Louis L’Amour is born in Jamestown, North Dakota. Louis was not much of a student and at the age of 15 he left home to seek his fortune. At various times he was a cowboy, seaman, longshoreman, boxer, miner and fruit picker. During World War II he ended up an officer in the American tank corps. After the war he tried his hand at writing and was soon recognized for his compact and hard-hitting style. He wrote several novels that were moderately successful but he hit a home run with the novel “Hondo” that became the basis of a John Wayne movie. A little later he wrote the novel and screen wrote another hit in “How the West Was Won.” After these blockbusters his career was assured. He wrote a series of novels about three different pioneer families in the early west in “The Sacketts”, “The Chantrys and “The Talons”. For his contribution to the learning and lore of the American west he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1983. Louis went to that that great cattle ranch in the sky in 1988. I miss him.
Born today:
1930 US educator Derek Bok is born: He said “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” He is right. Mick Jagger has a degree in economics and look at him.
1930 US evangelical Pat Robertson. “During my Presidential bid I stated that I would only bring in Christians and Jews into my cabinet. This created a firestorm in the press and they asked “Do you mean that atheists, Hindus and Moslems are not any good at governing?” and I said “Yes, I do.” I normally am not enamored with his obvious prejudices and he did not disappoint this time either.
Died today:
1930 German philosopher Johann Goethe. He said “If everyone grew up to be what their parents think of them as children, we would all be geniuses.” Ah yes, I remember it well.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“Why do you have to break up with your girl friend? Be a man, just stop calling.”
Dave Barry
I guess all of y’all know by now that Tiger Woods has decided to resume his golfing career by entering the upcoming Masters Golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia. It is no secret why he chose Augusta. It is a private golf course and those that apply for a media pass are closely scrutinized and tightly controlled. The gallery at Augusta is a bit different than most of the others. They are very polite and follow a closely held tradition of no rowdiness. I can assure you that if anyone and I mean anyone begins hassling Tiger they will be immediately escorted to the gate and their ticket availability will be cancelled forever. The Board of Directors of the Augusta National Golf Course has stated more than once that they really don’t need money from sponsors if they want to dictate the way the Masters is governed. They are an independent bunch and I am glad of it. On one occasion a friend and I were sitting in the bleachers at “Amen Corner” when we started a conversation with a man in a suit sitting in front of us who had a brief case with him. We found out that he was the district representative for Seagram’s distillery. The brief case was jammed full of Crown Royal mini bottles. It got pretty foggy that warm, spring afternoon in Augusta, Georgia.
More on my trip across America way back when. After having a wonderful time in Oklahoma City, we went to Fort Smith, Arkansas for our next sleepover. Nothing spectacular happened in Fort Smith that I recall except we decided what we were going to do with the ’53 Chevy that had served us admirably. Both of us wanted the car and flipped a coin to see who would buy the other one out. It was also decided that whoever won would buy a bus ticket home for the other one once we reached Columbia, Tennessee. I lost. The next memorable event that I remember was when we stopped at a bar near Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. When we walked in there were two women in dresses standing on their heads leaning against a wall. I asked the bartender what was up, besides the women. He said that these two had made a bet on who could stand on their heads the longest. I said to myself, this is my kind of place but we moved on to Memphis. We went into two very famous “meat markets” in West Memphis known as Danny’s Place and the Cotton Club. I do not remember much about either visit except there were huge dance floors in both places and the bands were playing mostly blues. I danced a lot. Next stop Columbia, Tennessee.
This date in history March 18
1864 Abraham Lincoln was fed up with his wounded soldiers being disabled permanently or for extended periods simply because of the septic conditions at the treatment and convalescent areas. So on this date he decides to do something about it. He did the best possible thing in organizing a “Sanitary Commission” to oversee the treatment of the wounded soldiers. He gave the responsibility for forming this Commission to a few dependable men and in a moment of clarity, they hired a bunch of really hard-assed women nurses and gave them some authority and sent them into the field. Much to the chagrin of the field combat doctors, these nurses would show up almost immediately after a battle and oversee the treatment of the wounded and the sanitation of the operating and convalescent areas. On one occasion after the battle of Chattanooga, the nurses ordered the disassembly of the wooden embrasures that the Union soldiers were hiding behind to be used as fuel for fires to keep the wounded warm. But the “commission” did do one thing; they vastly decreased the time of recovery of the wounded and got the wounded back in the field much sooner.
1950 On this date the Nationalist Chinese army led by General Chaing-Kai-Shek and under the auspices of the United States, begins an assault on mainland China. Chaing and the Nationalist Chinese had been living on the island of Formosa since being kicked out of mainland China by the Chinese Communists led by the legendary Mao Zedong and his party named the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). The battle does not last long and the Nationalist Chinese and Chaing beat a hasty retreat back to Formosa. Chaing thought that the people of China would rise up against the Communists if they found that he was in country. It didn’t happen, Chaing always has been known for his overblown ego so he and his army retreat back to Formosa and there they remain until this day, except for Chaing, he has gone on to that great Sushi Bar in the sky.
1937 In the East Texas oil and Gas field near the town of New London there were about 10,000 oil and gas derricks, in fact there were 11 derricks on the grounds of the Consolidated Elementary School. It was not uncommon for the homes around New London to use the waste gas from the oil wells that is called “wet-gas”. Wet gas is a lot more unstable than regular natural gas from a strictly natural gas well. If ya’ll have ever seen oil derricks in operation you probably have seen a long pipe with fire coming out the end. That is “wet-gas” being burned off because it is so unstable. But in 1937 the instability of wet gas was not known. The Consolidated Elementary School had been using regular natural gas for cooking and heating and bought their gas from Union Natural Gas at the cost of $300 a month. The school decided to use “wet-gas” for free and save that $300. So Parade Gas Company began piping their waste gas to the school. On this date at 3:05P with the 694 students and 40 teachers eagerly awaiting the final bell at 3:15P, a horrendous explosion literally blows the roof off the school and kills 300 kids instantly. There were so many wounded that they had to be taken to four hospitals in the surrounding communities. The spark that set off the explosion was never determined but it could have been just static electricity, we will never know. But because of this disaster, wet gas is not allowed to leave a well site and thus the pipe with the flame.
1834 On this date six farm laborers from England are sentenced to 7 years of exile in the province of New South Wales, Australia. Their crime was after losing money for three years in a row, they organized a farm workers union called the Friendly Agricultural Laborers. The Union grew by leaps and bounds and the laborers agreed to not take less than 10 Shillings a week for their services. Parliament wanted a stop put to this but was hard pressed to find a law that these six founders had broken. So they chose to accuse them of taking an illegal oath. This law was meant for sailors in the Royal Navy to help head off mutinies. I am telling you; those in Parliament were desperate to stop the independence of farm workers. Anyway, two years after these six arrived at New South Wales, the English ministers of justice stepped in and put a stop to this outrage and set aside the sentences and they were released. Only one of them returned to England, the rest immigrated to Canada, and I don’t blame them.
1765 In this year Parliament had passed the hated Stamp Act which put a tax on nearly each and every piece of printed material coming into the American colonies. Parliament was trying to raise funds to help pay for the presence of the English military in the colonies. The instant the colonists heard about this, they raised almighty hell almost continuously. They boycotted anything coming from England and gave the English military a huge ration of shit. The colonies sent Benjamin Franklin over to London to plead their case. Ben did his usual good job speaking to Parliament and in this year the Stamp Act was nullified. However, soon thereafter Parliament passed the Declaratory Act. This abomination stated that Parliament had final legislative authority over the colonies. This was just a little more fuel to the fire that erupted into open warfare on the plains of Breeds (Bunker) Hill, Massachusetts ten years later.
Born today:
1837 US President Grover Cleveland. He said “No man has ever been hanged for breaking the spirit of the law.”
1901 Canadian writer Manly Hall. He said “A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed on this world.” Hey Manly, does this include Hillary?
1932 US writer John Updike. He said “A healthy adult male bore consumes in one year one and a half times his weight in people’s patience.” Do any of ya’ll know of such a person?
Died today:
1871 English mathematician Augustus de Morgan. When asked his age he said “I was x years old in the year x^2.” Gus, you are such a smart ass.
1980 US psychoanalyst Erich Fromm. He said “Man thinks that he loses something—time—if he does not do things swiftly and then he does not know what to do with the time he saved...except kill it.” Hey Erich, see my comment above.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
“Why do you have to break up with your girl friend? Be a man, just stop calling.”
Dave Barry
I guess all of y’all know by now that Tiger Woods has decided to resume his golfing career by entering the upcoming Masters Golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia. It is no secret why he chose Augusta. It is a private golf course and those that apply for a media pass are closely scrutinized and tightly controlled. The gallery at Augusta is a bit different than most of the others. They are very polite and follow a closely held tradition of no rowdiness. I can assure you that if anyone and I mean anyone begins hassling Tiger they will be immediately escorted to the gate and their ticket availability will be cancelled forever. The Board of Directors of the Augusta National Golf Course has stated more than once that they really don’t need money from sponsors if they want to dictate the way the Masters is governed. They are an independent bunch and I am glad of it. On one occasion a friend and I were sitting in the bleachers at “Amen Corner” when we started a conversation with a man in a suit sitting in front of us who had a brief case with him. We found out that he was the district representative for Seagram’s distillery. The brief case was jammed full of Crown Royal mini bottles. It got pretty foggy that warm, spring afternoon in Augusta, Georgia.
More on my trip across America way back when. After having a wonderful time in Oklahoma City, we went to Fort Smith, Arkansas for our next sleepover. Nothing spectacular happened in Fort Smith that I recall except we decided what we were going to do with the ’53 Chevy that had served us admirably. Both of us wanted the car and flipped a coin to see who would buy the other one out. It was also decided that whoever won would buy a bus ticket home for the other one once we reached Columbia, Tennessee. I lost. The next memorable event that I remember was when we stopped at a bar near Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. When we walked in there were two women in dresses standing on their heads leaning against a wall. I asked the bartender what was up, besides the women. He said that these two had made a bet on who could stand on their heads the longest. I said to myself, this is my kind of place but we moved on to Memphis. We went into two very famous “meat markets” in West Memphis known as Danny’s Place and the Cotton Club. I do not remember much about either visit except there were huge dance floors in both places and the bands were playing mostly blues. I danced a lot. Next stop Columbia, Tennessee.
This date in history March 18
1864 Abraham Lincoln was fed up with his wounded soldiers being disabled permanently or for extended periods simply because of the septic conditions at the treatment and convalescent areas. So on this date he decides to do something about it. He did the best possible thing in organizing a “Sanitary Commission” to oversee the treatment of the wounded soldiers. He gave the responsibility for forming this Commission to a few dependable men and in a moment of clarity, they hired a bunch of really hard-assed women nurses and gave them some authority and sent them into the field. Much to the chagrin of the field combat doctors, these nurses would show up almost immediately after a battle and oversee the treatment of the wounded and the sanitation of the operating and convalescent areas. On one occasion after the battle of Chattanooga, the nurses ordered the disassembly of the wooden embrasures that the Union soldiers were hiding behind to be used as fuel for fires to keep the wounded warm. But the “commission” did do one thing; they vastly decreased the time of recovery of the wounded and got the wounded back in the field much sooner.
1950 On this date the Nationalist Chinese army led by General Chaing-Kai-Shek and under the auspices of the United States, begins an assault on mainland China. Chaing and the Nationalist Chinese had been living on the island of Formosa since being kicked out of mainland China by the Chinese Communists led by the legendary Mao Zedong and his party named the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). The battle does not last long and the Nationalist Chinese and Chaing beat a hasty retreat back to Formosa. Chaing thought that the people of China would rise up against the Communists if they found that he was in country. It didn’t happen, Chaing always has been known for his overblown ego so he and his army retreat back to Formosa and there they remain until this day, except for Chaing, he has gone on to that great Sushi Bar in the sky.
1937 In the East Texas oil and Gas field near the town of New London there were about 10,000 oil and gas derricks, in fact there were 11 derricks on the grounds of the Consolidated Elementary School. It was not uncommon for the homes around New London to use the waste gas from the oil wells that is called “wet-gas”. Wet gas is a lot more unstable than regular natural gas from a strictly natural gas well. If ya’ll have ever seen oil derricks in operation you probably have seen a long pipe with fire coming out the end. That is “wet-gas” being burned off because it is so unstable. But in 1937 the instability of wet gas was not known. The Consolidated Elementary School had been using regular natural gas for cooking and heating and bought their gas from Union Natural Gas at the cost of $300 a month. The school decided to use “wet-gas” for free and save that $300. So Parade Gas Company began piping their waste gas to the school. On this date at 3:05P with the 694 students and 40 teachers eagerly awaiting the final bell at 3:15P, a horrendous explosion literally blows the roof off the school and kills 300 kids instantly. There were so many wounded that they had to be taken to four hospitals in the surrounding communities. The spark that set off the explosion was never determined but it could have been just static electricity, we will never know. But because of this disaster, wet gas is not allowed to leave a well site and thus the pipe with the flame.
1834 On this date six farm laborers from England are sentenced to 7 years of exile in the province of New South Wales, Australia. Their crime was after losing money for three years in a row, they organized a farm workers union called the Friendly Agricultural Laborers. The Union grew by leaps and bounds and the laborers agreed to not take less than 10 Shillings a week for their services. Parliament wanted a stop put to this but was hard pressed to find a law that these six founders had broken. So they chose to accuse them of taking an illegal oath. This law was meant for sailors in the Royal Navy to help head off mutinies. I am telling you; those in Parliament were desperate to stop the independence of farm workers. Anyway, two years after these six arrived at New South Wales, the English ministers of justice stepped in and put a stop to this outrage and set aside the sentences and they were released. Only one of them returned to England, the rest immigrated to Canada, and I don’t blame them.
1765 In this year Parliament had passed the hated Stamp Act which put a tax on nearly each and every piece of printed material coming into the American colonies. Parliament was trying to raise funds to help pay for the presence of the English military in the colonies. The instant the colonists heard about this, they raised almighty hell almost continuously. They boycotted anything coming from England and gave the English military a huge ration of shit. The colonies sent Benjamin Franklin over to London to plead their case. Ben did his usual good job speaking to Parliament and in this year the Stamp Act was nullified. However, soon thereafter Parliament passed the Declaratory Act. This abomination stated that Parliament had final legislative authority over the colonies. This was just a little more fuel to the fire that erupted into open warfare on the plains of Breeds (Bunker) Hill, Massachusetts ten years later.
Born today:
1837 US President Grover Cleveland. He said “No man has ever been hanged for breaking the spirit of the law.”
1901 Canadian writer Manly Hall. He said “A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed on this world.” Hey Manly, does this include Hillary?
1932 US writer John Updike. He said “A healthy adult male bore consumes in one year one and a half times his weight in people’s patience.” Do any of ya’ll know of such a person?
Died today:
1871 English mathematician Augustus de Morgan. When asked his age he said “I was x years old in the year x^2.” Gus, you are such a smart ass.
1980 US psychoanalyst Erich Fromm. He said “Man thinks that he loses something—time—if he does not do things swiftly and then he does not know what to do with the time he saved...except kill it.” Hey Erich, see my comment above.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
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