Daily history

Good morning,


Quote of the day for CY and others:

"Each morning I open my eyes and say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow has not arrived yet. So I just have one day, today, and I am going to be happy in it."

                                 Groucho Marx

Last Thursday over in West Memphis, Arkansas two city cops stopped a suspicious car with Ohio plates. When the cops got close, a gunfight erupted resulting in the death of both cops. The perpetrators sped off with the cops initiating a dragnet. The car was spotted in a Wal-Mart parking lot and the cops closed in. Another gunfight erupted with two cops suffering superficial wounds but the cops capped both shooters. One of the cops that was killed was the Chief of Police’s son. Anyone that attacks a cop or kills one can expect a swift, violent and intense response from law enforcement and I don’t blame them. At least the two scumbags are dead.

Down in Winnsboro, SC in Fairfield High School the students had just started having lunch when an argument started between two girls about a boy that both of them had eyes for. It finally escalated to a real cat fight involving 20 girls. The cops showed up and had to use their Taser on a few of them to get everything calmed down. Those girls that were 17 or older went to the joint and those younger went home to Mom and Dad or whomever.

A bill was discussed in the South Carolina House that would be constructed almost identical to the recently enacted Arizona crackdown law. Fireworks erupted when two women confronted Representative Larry Grooms after the meeting and shouted “We are Latinos, can you tell if either one of us is illegal?” Grooms said that he thought that both of you are legal. They then jumped on the race wagon and said it nothing short of racial profiling. Grooms said “My job is to protect the people of South Carolina not to provide financial opportunities for another country.” Then a Cuban-American man named Roan Garcia-Quintana from Greenville jumped in and told the women that if they did not like it here to go back to where they came from. The passing of such a bill will not happen soon because the end of this legislative session is just two weeks away but I am glad they are considering it. Good for Larry Grooms and Roan Garcia-Quintana.

This date in history May 24

1543    On this date one of the most brilliant scientists in history dies in what is now Frombork, Poland. Nicolo Copernicus was the first scientist to formulate the theory that it was the sun, not the earth, which was the center of “universe” meaning the solar system. It also was he that determined that it was the tilt of the earth on its axis that formed the seasons. His theories were discussed among other scientists but Copernicus would not publish his thoughts because it was adverse to the opinions of the Catholic Church and in those days no one opposed the Church at the risk of torture and death. Another Pole named Johann Kepler also fostered the theory of Copernicus but was able to make his theories known because he moved to Denmark where the Catholic Church did not hold sway. And finally the immortal Galileo determined that the theories of Kepler and Copernicus were indeed the closest to the mark as far as the mechanics of the “universe” is concerned and published his opinions. Unfortunately, Galileo lived in Italy and soon had a visit from a representative of the Vatican and was persuaded to recant his teachings under the threat of torture and was sent to exile in his country villa. But fortunately for science, Copernicus was able to get his thoughts published and distributed throughout Europe and eventually the world even though he lived in a country under the heel of the Pope. He did this by dying just days after publication so threats of torture meant nothing. God works in mysterious ways.

1844    On this date while being watched by members of Congress, Samuel F. B. Morse sends a telegraph message to Alfred Vail at a Baltimore train station. Morse sent “What hath God wrought?” A few seconds later Morse received the same message back from Vail. Morse did not invent the telegraph an Italian inventor did but it was Morse that made it into something that could be used universally. He had worked on it for 12 years and even invented the famous code that is in used to this day. After perfecting his system, Morse was able to get a patent. He had members of Congress watch him send and receive the messages in the hope that Congress would help finance the expansion of this service. Naturally, Congress agreed and within 10 years there was over 20,000 miles of telegraph lines criss-crossing America.

1989    On this date Lori Ann Auker disappeared from the parking lot of the pet store where she worked in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. The shop was at the busy Susquehanna Mall. The police were at a loss for what happened to Lori. That is until it dawned on them that there probably was a bank security camera film out there with a picture of Lori on it. And sure enough, they found a picture of Lori getting into a 1983 to 1986 Chevrolet Celebrity. Lori and her husband Robert had been involved in a bitter custody battle making him the prime suspect. Two weeks later Lori’s body was found with multiple stab wounds, the police also found out the Lori’s husband had been using his father’s 1984 Chevrolet Celebrity the day that Lori disappeared. The police went on a search for the car and found out that Lori’s father-in-law has sold the car two days after Lori disappeared. In spite of the car going through several owners, the police found the car and detected a few of Lori’s hairs and hair from her cat still in the car. Finally, the police felt they had enough evidence and three years after Lori’s death her husband was arrested, tried and convicted. He is now doing life without parole.

1962    A critical soccer match between Peru and Argentina was being played in the National Arena in Lima, Peru and winning went a long way toward going to the World Cup. Within a minute or two of the end of the game an apparently winning goal by Peru was disallowed by the referee and ya’ll can guess what happened then. The irate Peruvians stormed out of the stands and headed toward the referee en masse. The police were able to contain the crowd but the downside was there were 300 people crushed to death in the avalanche of humanity. This is not the worst case of sport fanatics being killed at a sporting event. This one happened in Moscow in 1982 also at a soccer game. In this game a lot of the fans had left the arena thinking the game was virtually over when a late goal tied the score. Those fans that had left tried to get back in and the police were herding those headed for the gates to leave and those caught in the middle were crushed to the tune of 360 Russians. Soccer fans are crazy as hell.

1797    On this date widower and future President Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to his friend Angelica Church and casually asks about a mutual friend named Maria Cosway. It appears that Maria and Thomas had lit a fire a few years ago but was unable to continue. In 1786 while Jefferson was in Paris as an American representative he met Maria Cosway and a deep relationship ensued. There was no evidence that they ever slept together but there were strong implications that they had. It was reported that Jefferson acted like a giddy school boy when around Maria. He even once jumped into a fountain while walking with her. There was a small problem, Maria was married. During his jump into the fountain he had fallen and broken his wrist. Right after this Maria and her husband left for London for an expended stay. After his wrist had healed he wrote a very syrupy letter to her detailing his lovesickness. I have not read the letter but I can imagine how juicy it would have been with his way with words.

1941    On this day the mightiest warship afloat, the German battleship Bismarck engages the best English battleship HMS Hood. They meet in the North Atlantic southeast of Iceland and began exchanging gunfire. The Hood was faster but the Bismarck had heavier armor. In just a matter of minutes the Hood was fatally wounded and went to the bottom carrying 1,500 English sailors with it. There were three English survivors. During the battle the Bismarck sustained damage in her fuel oil tanks and was leaving an oil trail. The Captain of the Bismarck decided that he needed to get his ship into a German held French port for repairs and heads southeast. After the loss of the Hood the British navy was going to put an end to the Bismarck come hell or high water. Over a period of several days the English navy attacked the Bismarck several times with no effect, they just could not penetrate her armor. But by sheer luck, one torpedo attack damaged the Bismarck’s rudder and she cannot do anything but circle. This gave the British time to bring up the heaviest ships in their navy from English waters and they surround the crippled Bismarck and all ships pour gunfire into the Bismarck until she disappears beneath the waves taking 2,300 German sailors with her. There were several German survivors who spent the rest of the war in a prison camp. The Hood had been avenged.

Born today:

1870    US jurist Benjamin Cardozo. He said “Justice is not to be taken by storm, it is to be wooed by slow advances.” Ben, you dumb ass. It is well known opinion by the United States Supreme Court that “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow