Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“Men have always been able to read maps better than women. It takes a male mind to understand the concept of 1 inch equals 5 miles.”
Suzanne Barr
As incredible as it seems, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was in Charleston, SC last weekend making a speech at a NAACP convention. That woman in a classy town like Charleston is like seeing a mule in the Kentucky Derby.
A month ago four illegal aliens stowed away in a shipboard container in the Dominican Republic. The ship docked in Mount Pleasant, SC where only three of them disembarked, the fourth one was dead. The three were captured and turned over to ICE officials. All four of them were convicted drug dealing felons in the US and had been deported but found their way back. As you might suspect, this is not unusual. The Charleston SC Sheriff’s department and ICE have agreed that on a daily basis the police and the illegal aliens see each other but the police do not have the manpower to process all of them. The cops and ICE have agreed to bear down on the criminal illegal aliens and it seems to be working. Over 100,000 criminal aliens have been jailed and/or deported. Who do they think they are kidding? SEAL THE BORDERS is the only viable solution.
This past week end the Carolina Panthers played the Cincinnati Bengals at home. The Bengals arrived in Charlotte on Saturday afternoon. Before their arrival, Bengal wide receiver Chad Ochocinco (his maiden name was Chad Johnson) tweeted that he would spring for dinner downtown for some of his fans in Charlotte. No one knew what restaurant would be chosen so all of the fancy restaurants downtown had people standing around out front. Ochocinco showed up at the Brazilian Steakhouse on South Tryon Street and picked up the tab for 85 dinners. That, my friends, is at least $50 a plate. You do the math.
This date in history September 30
1955 Actor James Dean and his mechanic Rolf Wutherich are killed in a head on collision in Dean’s Porsche 550 Spyder while enroute to a road race. Dean, even though only making 3 movies, became an icon of the restless generation and its convoluted lifestyle. He never could get a handle on his unbounded energy and lust for speed even trying motorcycle racing. I remember him best as Jett Rink in the movie Giant. What an amazing performance he gave us. But what made the movie especially good was that Elizabeth Taylor was co-starring. I have been in love with her for centuries. I guess he is best known for his first movie Rebel Without a Cause where he plays a tortured man that is pretty much like himself. To me he seemed like a person going fast down a hill and don’t know how to stop. His death was a great loss for all of us.
1930 Louis Armstrong arrives in New York to join Fletcher Henderson’s jazz orchestra as second horn. Louis had been playing in King Oliver’s band in Chicago for the previous 12 years honing his skills and now he was going to the most famous jazz ensemble in the world. Louis was immediately recognized for his ability to play solo and to harmonize with others in the brass section. He rose to be recognized worldwide; in fact he died being the most important influence in the history of jazz. A great talent and I miss him.
1938 British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French Prime minister Eduardo Daladier meet with Hitler in Munich and sign a pact with this monster that they would not intervene when Hitler “annexed” Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain is elated that war between England and Germany had been averted even though Czechoslovakia was offered up as a sacrificial lamb. Daladier in really pissed off about it but he knew that the French army could not stand up to the German war machine and did not want to have his country destroyed. It happened anyway. The next day the German army rolls into Czechoslovakia. Shortly thereafter Germany invades Poland and Chamberlain has to announce that England is going to war against Germany. The Germans also invade France and France capitulates without a fight. So what else is new? Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield one said “Going to war with France as an ally is like going duck hunting with an accordion.”
1962 A black man named James Meredith accompanied by U.S. Marshals tries to register at the University of Mississippi. James had previously been accepted but the acceptance was rejected once it became known that James was black. It is needless for me to say what happened next. There was day and night rioting that was subdued only by the arrival of 3,000 paratroopers from the long suffering 82nd Airborne. Even then there was sporadic violence but James was finally admitted and began classes. James graduated with a degree in political science. After this James chose to make a march from Memphis to Jackson in protest the unequal treatment of blacks. On the second day he was shot from ambush by a sniper. He wasn’t killed but was hospitalized for long while. Other black leaders showed up and continued the march much to their own peril.
1924 Author Truman Capote is born aflame in New Orleans. Truman achieved much success and wealth from his writings primarily with In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany’s both of which were made into movies. He did not how to handle his fame very well and began a life of jet setting and party, party. Truman died at the age of 60 after a life of excesses.
1949 The Berlin Airlift ends. Let me tell you folks, as an ex-air traffic controller this was the greatest logistical operation ever achieved. Russia had blocked all ground accesses to West Berlin leaving those folks with no way to get anything for survival. So the allies, primarily the good old USA, began flying supplies to the beleaguered city. The Airlift began 15 months previous and those airmen flew 250,000 flights and hauled 2 million tons of supplies into West Berlin. I have seen movies on how this was done without planes running over each other. It was a miracle that there were very, very few instances of danger. After seeing that the allies could supply West Berlin indefinitely the Russian said “To hell with it” and opened the roads and rails.
1889 The state of Wyoming enacts a law that allows women to vote and was the very first one to do so. There was a lot of speculation as to why a remote western state would be the first and the consensus of opinion was that this was a reward for the pioneer women that helped settle this wild frontier. By 1914 there was a definite pattern emerging because every state west of the Mississippi had woman suffrage and none of the states east of the Mississippi did. What’s up with that? Anyway, all is cool now.
Born today:
1207 Afghan mystic Jalal-ud-din-Rumi. He said “Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.” Sounds like the stock market to me.
1921 Scottish actress Deborah Kerr. She said “I came over here (Hollywood) to act, but turned out that all I had to do was be high-minded, long-suffering, white gloved, and decorative.” This girl was dynamite in two movies, From Here to Eternity and An Affair to Remember.
1924 Playwright Truman Capote. He said “Life is a moderately good play with a poorly written third act.” Truman was a notorious homosexual who died at the age of 60 probably of AIDS but he burned the candle at both ends while alive.
1931 US actress Angie Dickenson. She said “I dress for women and undress for men.” Hey Angie, you talk a lot. As the country song goes “A little less talk and a lot more action”.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Goodbye from Dixie for today….GO GAMECOCKS!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“Scientists have found that the drug Prozac is effective in combating the adverse effects of PMS in women, but it is not in the form of a pill. The husband injects his wife from a distance of 50 feet using a dart gun.”
Dave Barry
As y’all may or may not know late night “comedian” Stephen Colbert testified before a Congressional committee advocating the possibilities of alien migrant farm workers finding a way to become an American citizen rather than the usual route. I will venture to say that he set back that campaign several years with his inane ramblings trying to be funny. The committee was not amused nor was I. I was incensed because this jackass was born in Washington, DC but spent the majority of his formative years on James Island (near Charleston), South Carolina. I certainly do not claim him. He wears his ego like a tiara. By the way, how do we tell a Latino farm worker from a soldier in the Guadalajara drug cartel?
A little over a week ago three men in their early twenties chose to do something daring as men that age will do. They chose to jump off the Highway 17 bridge into the Ashley River west of Charleston, South Carolina. It is a drop of at least 50 feet. Two of the jumpers were able to swim to a nearby marina but the third one never showed up. It was 22 year old Jackie Washington that was missing. He apparently got caught in the current and drowned. A search was begun that evening and two days later Jackie’s corpse was located. They never said where these men were from but the famous military academy known as The Citadel is about 2 miles away.
This past Saturday the Mexican Consulate opened a temporary office for one day in Concord (near Charlotte) North Carolina. Their expressed purpose is to supply the illegal aliens in the community with the necessary documents to get back across the border into Mexico when/if they decided to return and would not be dealing with American documentation. It is logical that anyone entering this country illegally would not have a passport, work visa or student visa, etc. Officials from ICE and INS said that they would not have a presence. The local police and the NCHP was indeed in attendance because those citizens that are fed up with the avalanche of illegal aliens promised that they will indeed have a presence and promised a vigorous demonstration. I would like to see a show of hands that believes that Mexican documentation is all that the Consulate has in mind.
This date in history September 29
1908 Gene Autry is born in Tioga, Texas. At a young age his family moved to Oklahoma where Gene became a railroad telegrapher. One day while sitting in the train station strumming his guitar and singing, a stranger walked up and listened for a while and suggested that he should try singing on the radio. The stranger was the world famous Will Rogers and Will told Gene he should go to New York and who to contact. Gene did not succeed in The Big Apple and came back to Oklahoma and started a radio show that ran for many years. He started a successful TV show also along with making many B Grade movies. Gene was a wise investor and became one of the wealthiest men in America. Gene went to that great ranch in the sky in 1998. Bye the way, his horse’s name was Champion.
1964 The Republic of North Vietnam declares that any pilot captured would be considered as a war criminal rather than prisoners of war thereby bypassing the laws of the Geneva Convention for the treatment of POW’s. Hell ensued. The first American pilot captured was Navy Lieutenant Everett Alvarez. He was captured August 5, 1964. The person spending the longest time was Green Beret Captain Floyd Thompson who was captured March 26, 1964. The American POW’s accounted for 766. The Paris Peace Accord allowed for the release of 565 military and 26 civilians. There are to this day more than 2,500 missing in action. What a freaking nightmare that was/is.
1864 In an attempt to break the stalemate at Petersburg, US Gen. U.S. Grant orders US Gen. Benjamin Butler to attack the Confederate lines at a place called New Market Heights. Butler scouts the lines personally and decides on a two pronged attack led by US Gen. Ord and Birney. Both attacks failed only because the Confederates had built several trenches one behind the other so that if one trench was overrun the defenders would just move back to the next trench. The Confederate lines were bent but not broken. The US had 3,300 casualties out of 20,000 engaged and the Confederates had 2000 out of 11,000 engaged.
1862 In Louisville Ky. US Gen. Jefferson Davis (not the President of CSA) and US Gen. William Nelson gets into a screaming argument in the lobby of a hotel. Nelson losses it and slaps Gen. Davis and heads upstairs. Davis follows him and pulls out a pistol and caps Nelson. Davis was never taken to trial for two reasons and that being Davis was a recognized as a superior military leader and the Governor of Indiana intervened in Davis’ behalf. The Governor was with Davis when the shot was fired. Davis went on the serve with distinction in the Chickamauga/Chattanooga campaign among others.
1748 The legendary British hero Horatio Nelson is born in Burnham Thorpe, England. If there was a military leader that needed to be canonized it was Nelson. Nelson joined the British Navy and went to sea as a midshipman at the age of 12 and became a Captain at the age of 20. In their seemingly unending battles with Spain and France Britain gave Nelson command of the 64 gun frigate HMS Agamemnon to beef up the naval forces. He immediately showed his peers his bravery and skill in naval warfare and I could spend an entire lesson on the adventures of Nelson. His life was one that would make a great novel. But briefly he won several important naval engagements that prevented Spain or France from invading England. During these battles he lost and eye and his right arm but kept his command. He had a lover who was the wife of a British diplomat along with a wife of his own. His lover’s husband Lord Hamilton allowed the tryst because of Nelson’s importance in his country. Finally he was in command of the frigate HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar where his navy crushed the French navy that was in support of Napoleon stopping him from invading England. During this battle Nelson was shot in the shoulder and chest by a French sharpshooter. Knowing he was close to death Nelson uttered the famous phrase “Thank God I have done my duty.” After he died, his body was put into a barrel of rum to preserve it while reroute back to England for a heroes burial. He was buried at the famous St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. I have been to St. Paul’s and have seen the statue of Nelson at; you guessed it, Trafalgar Square. From that time on the rum kept aboard ships was known as “Nelson’s blood”
Born today:
1547 Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. He said “Where there is music there can be no evil.” Miguel is the author of “The Man of La Mancha” better known as Don Quixote, one of the most read and beloved creations of literature in history.
1810 English writer Elizabeth Gaskell. She said “I’ll never listen to reason. Reason means that you are listening to what someone else has to say.” Good thinking, Liz.
1889 German author Martin Heidegger. He said “Man acts if he were the shaper and master of language, when in fact language remains the master.” Hey Martin, did you say something?
1903 US actress Greer Garson. When speaking about Marlon Brando she said “Actors like him are good but I do not like people that try to communicate with their armpits.” Marlon was one of my favorites but he has gone to that great sound stage in the sky.
1935 US rock and roll pianist Jerry Lee Lewis. He said “If I go to hell, I will go playing a piano.” Jerry Lee married his 14 year old cousin at one time. A lot of people remember Jerry Lee for the song “Great Balls of Fire” but I think his rendition of Hank Williams’ “Born to Lose” is his best. It really gets to me.
1943 Polish leader Lech Welesa. He said “I must tell you that the supply of words worldwide is increasing, but it appears the demand is falling.” I agree with you, Lech.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Goodbye from the land of tall pines, huge Magnolias and short politicians.
Quote of the day:
“Scientists have found that the drug Prozac is effective in combating the adverse effects of PMS in women, but it is not in the form of a pill. The husband injects his wife from a distance of 50 feet using a dart gun.”
Dave Barry
As y’all may or may not know late night “comedian” Stephen Colbert testified before a Congressional committee advocating the possibilities of alien migrant farm workers finding a way to become an American citizen rather than the usual route. I will venture to say that he set back that campaign several years with his inane ramblings trying to be funny. The committee was not amused nor was I. I was incensed because this jackass was born in Washington, DC but spent the majority of his formative years on James Island (near Charleston), South Carolina. I certainly do not claim him. He wears his ego like a tiara. By the way, how do we tell a Latino farm worker from a soldier in the Guadalajara drug cartel?
A little over a week ago three men in their early twenties chose to do something daring as men that age will do. They chose to jump off the Highway 17 bridge into the Ashley River west of Charleston, South Carolina. It is a drop of at least 50 feet. Two of the jumpers were able to swim to a nearby marina but the third one never showed up. It was 22 year old Jackie Washington that was missing. He apparently got caught in the current and drowned. A search was begun that evening and two days later Jackie’s corpse was located. They never said where these men were from but the famous military academy known as The Citadel is about 2 miles away.
This past Saturday the Mexican Consulate opened a temporary office for one day in Concord (near Charlotte) North Carolina. Their expressed purpose is to supply the illegal aliens in the community with the necessary documents to get back across the border into Mexico when/if they decided to return and would not be dealing with American documentation. It is logical that anyone entering this country illegally would not have a passport, work visa or student visa, etc. Officials from ICE and INS said that they would not have a presence. The local police and the NCHP was indeed in attendance because those citizens that are fed up with the avalanche of illegal aliens promised that they will indeed have a presence and promised a vigorous demonstration. I would like to see a show of hands that believes that Mexican documentation is all that the Consulate has in mind.
This date in history September 29
1908 Gene Autry is born in Tioga, Texas. At a young age his family moved to Oklahoma where Gene became a railroad telegrapher. One day while sitting in the train station strumming his guitar and singing, a stranger walked up and listened for a while and suggested that he should try singing on the radio. The stranger was the world famous Will Rogers and Will told Gene he should go to New York and who to contact. Gene did not succeed in The Big Apple and came back to Oklahoma and started a radio show that ran for many years. He started a successful TV show also along with making many B Grade movies. Gene was a wise investor and became one of the wealthiest men in America. Gene went to that great ranch in the sky in 1998. Bye the way, his horse’s name was Champion.
1964 The Republic of North Vietnam declares that any pilot captured would be considered as a war criminal rather than prisoners of war thereby bypassing the laws of the Geneva Convention for the treatment of POW’s. Hell ensued. The first American pilot captured was Navy Lieutenant Everett Alvarez. He was captured August 5, 1964. The person spending the longest time was Green Beret Captain Floyd Thompson who was captured March 26, 1964. The American POW’s accounted for 766. The Paris Peace Accord allowed for the release of 565 military and 26 civilians. There are to this day more than 2,500 missing in action. What a freaking nightmare that was/is.
1864 In an attempt to break the stalemate at Petersburg, US Gen. U.S. Grant orders US Gen. Benjamin Butler to attack the Confederate lines at a place called New Market Heights. Butler scouts the lines personally and decides on a two pronged attack led by US Gen. Ord and Birney. Both attacks failed only because the Confederates had built several trenches one behind the other so that if one trench was overrun the defenders would just move back to the next trench. The Confederate lines were bent but not broken. The US had 3,300 casualties out of 20,000 engaged and the Confederates had 2000 out of 11,000 engaged.
1862 In Louisville Ky. US Gen. Jefferson Davis (not the President of CSA) and US Gen. William Nelson gets into a screaming argument in the lobby of a hotel. Nelson losses it and slaps Gen. Davis and heads upstairs. Davis follows him and pulls out a pistol and caps Nelson. Davis was never taken to trial for two reasons and that being Davis was a recognized as a superior military leader and the Governor of Indiana intervened in Davis’ behalf. The Governor was with Davis when the shot was fired. Davis went on the serve with distinction in the Chickamauga/Chattanooga campaign among others.
1748 The legendary British hero Horatio Nelson is born in Burnham Thorpe, England. If there was a military leader that needed to be canonized it was Nelson. Nelson joined the British Navy and went to sea as a midshipman at the age of 12 and became a Captain at the age of 20. In their seemingly unending battles with Spain and France Britain gave Nelson command of the 64 gun frigate HMS Agamemnon to beef up the naval forces. He immediately showed his peers his bravery and skill in naval warfare and I could spend an entire lesson on the adventures of Nelson. His life was one that would make a great novel. But briefly he won several important naval engagements that prevented Spain or France from invading England. During these battles he lost and eye and his right arm but kept his command. He had a lover who was the wife of a British diplomat along with a wife of his own. His lover’s husband Lord Hamilton allowed the tryst because of Nelson’s importance in his country. Finally he was in command of the frigate HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar where his navy crushed the French navy that was in support of Napoleon stopping him from invading England. During this battle Nelson was shot in the shoulder and chest by a French sharpshooter. Knowing he was close to death Nelson uttered the famous phrase “Thank God I have done my duty.” After he died, his body was put into a barrel of rum to preserve it while reroute back to England for a heroes burial. He was buried at the famous St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. I have been to St. Paul’s and have seen the statue of Nelson at; you guessed it, Trafalgar Square. From that time on the rum kept aboard ships was known as “Nelson’s blood”
Born today:
1547 Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. He said “Where there is music there can be no evil.” Miguel is the author of “The Man of La Mancha” better known as Don Quixote, one of the most read and beloved creations of literature in history.
1810 English writer Elizabeth Gaskell. She said “I’ll never listen to reason. Reason means that you are listening to what someone else has to say.” Good thinking, Liz.
1889 German author Martin Heidegger. He said “Man acts if he were the shaper and master of language, when in fact language remains the master.” Hey Martin, did you say something?
1903 US actress Greer Garson. When speaking about Marlon Brando she said “Actors like him are good but I do not like people that try to communicate with their armpits.” Marlon was one of my favorites but he has gone to that great sound stage in the sky.
1935 US rock and roll pianist Jerry Lee Lewis. He said “If I go to hell, I will go playing a piano.” Jerry Lee married his 14 year old cousin at one time. A lot of people remember Jerry Lee for the song “Great Balls of Fire” but I think his rendition of Hank Williams’ “Born to Lose” is his best. It really gets to me.
1943 Polish leader Lech Welesa. He said “I must tell you that the supply of words worldwide is increasing, but it appears the demand is falling.” I agree with you, Lech.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Goodbye from the land of tall pines, huge Magnolias and short politicians.
Daily history
Good morning,
“Men would sleep with a bicycle if it had the right color lip gloss on. They have no shame. They are like a bull elk in an open field. They locate what they want by scent.”
Tori Amos
A few days ago a 73 year old man in a South Carolina prison was found dead in his cell. He had been murdered. Saverio Piazzola was serving a 10 year sentence for criminal sexual conduct with a minor. In most prisons in America men that are incarcerated for sexually abusing children live short lives. I have no sympathy.
Last week down in Orangeburg, South Carolina a 44 year old man knocked down an 87 year old woman with his car in a K-Mart parking lot, jumped out grabbed her purse and got back in his car and took off. The car was located and a pursuit ensued. The attacker finally ran out of gas, ditched the car and started running across a cotton field. The cops ran him down, subdued him with a Taser and took his rotten ass to the joint. The lady is in the hospital with a fractured pelvis. Last Thursday he was denied bond. I can assure you that he is looking at growing old behind a chain link fence surrounded by, and topped with, razor wire. What if it had been your mother or grandmother?
Here in South Carolina we have a race for Governor to be determined in November. The contestants are Republican Nikki Haley and Democrat Vincent Sheheen. Early last week Sheheen opened up with the first attack of mudslinging. It was the typical bullsh-t of “Haley is undependable and irresponsible because she was late paying her taxes.” It was a few days later when Haley responded a little mud of her own. The Columbia, South Carolina newspaper made a comparison about which candidate is more truthful. It seems that Sheheen has thrown about four liters more mud than Haley. I hate politics.
The United States delegation to the United Nations walked out on a speech given by that moron from Iran, Ahmadinejad. This jackass suggested that it was the United States that orchestrated the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center to help insure the survival of Israel. If I had been in that delegation I would not have been able to contain myself. I would had to have called him something I heard from a drunk sailor in Biloxi a few years back. It was not complimentary, I assure you.
A few months ago the Sheriff of Lee County, South Carolina was arrested along with three of his deputies for selling drugs out of the evidence room. Last week the Feds added 48 more charges of being involved in a drug ring several states wide. Will it ever end?
This date in history September 28
1991 Trumpet virtuoso Miles Davis died at the age of 65. Miles was born to a privileged family who gave to him a good education including the renowned Julliard School of Music where Miles soared with his virtuosity. Miles was basically a jazz musician but was not restricted to that. He was not afraid to venture out into or mix different genres of music. He had a monkey on his back most of his adult life as did his roommate Charlie “Yardbird” Parker. Charlie was a gifted musician on the alto sax. Miles and Charlie played many, many sets together. If I am not mistaken, Charlie Parker died of a heroin overdose. Miles was finally able to kick the habit and produced several jazz milestone albums before going to the great trio in the sky.
1863 US Generals Alexander McCook and Thomas Crittenden are given the blame for the severe ass-kicking that was received at Chickamauga at the hands of CSA Gen. Braxton Bragg and CSA Gen. James Longstreet. It was the flanks held by McCook and Crittenden that were shattered by Longstreet’s Rebs resulting a panic and rout of the Union left. The Union right flank under the command of US Gen. George Thomas stayed cohesive and withdrew in an orderly manner. It was the Union overall commander US Gen. Rosecrans that did the finger pointing to take the heat off him. McCook and Crittenden were relieved and sent to the Indiana area to menial jobs. Rosecrans did not dodge the bullet and he also was relieved and the command of his army was given to US Gen. George Thomas known as “The Rock of Chickamauga.” What goes around …
1066 One of the most important events the history of western man occurs on this day. William of Normandy sets foot on English soil near Pevensey in Southeast England to stake his claim for the English throne. However, he wasn’t the only one who had eyes for the throne. Three days before William’s brother Tostic and King Harald III of Norway joined forces and had attacked England from Scotland but were met by King Harold of England and his army at Stamford Bridge. The English army annihilated Tostic and Harald III and their army. The destruction was total. King Harold of England was told of the landing of William at Pevensey and turned his army in that direction. He marched the 250 miles to Hastings battlefield in 29 days gathering volunteers as me went. Once there he and his army dug in on a hill to minimize any cavalry movements and awaited Williams attack. William did not disappoint and struck hard at Harold’s center. Harold was correct in assuming the hillside minimized the effect of the cavalry and the fight was mostly with infantry. A chronicler wrote that “William’s forces looked as a dancer in their movements whilst Harold’s army appeared to grow out of the ground unmoving.” A French mounted knight got through Harold’s lines and swept by and beheaded Harold with one swipe of his sword. After this the English forces scattered. Harold of England’s army was soundly defeated and William was crowned King. William got his claim to the throne by being the illegitimate son of one of the natural heirs to the English throne who had died. William was from a long line of Scandinavians meaning Vikings. His crowning marked the end of Anglo-Saxon England and the French speaking people from Normandy melded their languages into what now is modern English. William from this day on was known as William the Conqueror. I have a separate essay on William the Conqueror I think y’all would find it interesting.
1542 Spanish explorer Juan Cabrillo attempting to find a “northwest passage” across North America to get back to the Atlantic and home discovered San Diego Harbor. There had always been a legend about “The Straights of Alina” that was a waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific in North America. There was no such thing as we know but it promoted a lot of exploration up and down the American west and east coast. Strangely Cabrillo sailed right by San Francisco Bay and never saw it.
1988 I am reading the story of Roch Theriault a cult leader in Canada. It is difficult for me to tell you about this monster that hacked off peoples arms and legs, put vise grips on women’s nipples, disemboweled people while still alive in an attempt to drive “demons” out of their bodies, etc. He was arrested and put on trial for murder after one of his people the he disemboweled died. The judge and jury were so appalled at what they heard that they tried and convicted him and gave him life just to get the trial finished. They forgot to add life “without parole” in their haste. Roch is eligible for parole after a given time.
Born today:
555BC Chinese philosopher Confucius. He said “Have no friends not equal to yourself”. Hey Confucius, not equal to yourself doing what?
1902 TV host Ed Sullivan. He said “If you do a good job for others, you heal yourself at the same time because a dose of joy is a spiritual thing, it transcends all barriers.” That is pretty deep thinking there Ed.
1909 US cartoonist Al Capp (Li’l Abner). He said “Young people should be helped, sheltered, ignored and clubbed if necessary.” You can’t do that any more, Al.
1972 US actress Gwyneth Paltrow. She said “Beauty to me is being comfortable in your own skin, or maybe a kick-ass red lipstick.” This girl has great lips.
Thanks for listening I can hardy wait until tomorrow
Goodbye from the land of scooters, Hooters and looters.
Yesterday a friend of mine said that he was going to start taking Karate lessons because it was getting dangerous out on the streets in some cities. I told him that instead of that he needs a course on How to Meet People…..like Colt, Smith, Wesson, Remington, Rossi, Glock, etc…They have something that barks over here and bites over there.
“Men would sleep with a bicycle if it had the right color lip gloss on. They have no shame. They are like a bull elk in an open field. They locate what they want by scent.”
Tori Amos
A few days ago a 73 year old man in a South Carolina prison was found dead in his cell. He had been murdered. Saverio Piazzola was serving a 10 year sentence for criminal sexual conduct with a minor. In most prisons in America men that are incarcerated for sexually abusing children live short lives. I have no sympathy.
Last week down in Orangeburg, South Carolina a 44 year old man knocked down an 87 year old woman with his car in a K-Mart parking lot, jumped out grabbed her purse and got back in his car and took off. The car was located and a pursuit ensued. The attacker finally ran out of gas, ditched the car and started running across a cotton field. The cops ran him down, subdued him with a Taser and took his rotten ass to the joint. The lady is in the hospital with a fractured pelvis. Last Thursday he was denied bond. I can assure you that he is looking at growing old behind a chain link fence surrounded by, and topped with, razor wire. What if it had been your mother or grandmother?
Here in South Carolina we have a race for Governor to be determined in November. The contestants are Republican Nikki Haley and Democrat Vincent Sheheen. Early last week Sheheen opened up with the first attack of mudslinging. It was the typical bullsh-t of “Haley is undependable and irresponsible because she was late paying her taxes.” It was a few days later when Haley responded a little mud of her own. The Columbia, South Carolina newspaper made a comparison about which candidate is more truthful. It seems that Sheheen has thrown about four liters more mud than Haley. I hate politics.
The United States delegation to the United Nations walked out on a speech given by that moron from Iran, Ahmadinejad. This jackass suggested that it was the United States that orchestrated the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center to help insure the survival of Israel. If I had been in that delegation I would not have been able to contain myself. I would had to have called him something I heard from a drunk sailor in Biloxi a few years back. It was not complimentary, I assure you.
A few months ago the Sheriff of Lee County, South Carolina was arrested along with three of his deputies for selling drugs out of the evidence room. Last week the Feds added 48 more charges of being involved in a drug ring several states wide. Will it ever end?
This date in history September 28
1991 Trumpet virtuoso Miles Davis died at the age of 65. Miles was born to a privileged family who gave to him a good education including the renowned Julliard School of Music where Miles soared with his virtuosity. Miles was basically a jazz musician but was not restricted to that. He was not afraid to venture out into or mix different genres of music. He had a monkey on his back most of his adult life as did his roommate Charlie “Yardbird” Parker. Charlie was a gifted musician on the alto sax. Miles and Charlie played many, many sets together. If I am not mistaken, Charlie Parker died of a heroin overdose. Miles was finally able to kick the habit and produced several jazz milestone albums before going to the great trio in the sky.
1863 US Generals Alexander McCook and Thomas Crittenden are given the blame for the severe ass-kicking that was received at Chickamauga at the hands of CSA Gen. Braxton Bragg and CSA Gen. James Longstreet. It was the flanks held by McCook and Crittenden that were shattered by Longstreet’s Rebs resulting a panic and rout of the Union left. The Union right flank under the command of US Gen. George Thomas stayed cohesive and withdrew in an orderly manner. It was the Union overall commander US Gen. Rosecrans that did the finger pointing to take the heat off him. McCook and Crittenden were relieved and sent to the Indiana area to menial jobs. Rosecrans did not dodge the bullet and he also was relieved and the command of his army was given to US Gen. George Thomas known as “The Rock of Chickamauga.” What goes around …
1066 One of the most important events the history of western man occurs on this day. William of Normandy sets foot on English soil near Pevensey in Southeast England to stake his claim for the English throne. However, he wasn’t the only one who had eyes for the throne. Three days before William’s brother Tostic and King Harald III of Norway joined forces and had attacked England from Scotland but were met by King Harold of England and his army at Stamford Bridge. The English army annihilated Tostic and Harald III and their army. The destruction was total. King Harold of England was told of the landing of William at Pevensey and turned his army in that direction. He marched the 250 miles to Hastings battlefield in 29 days gathering volunteers as me went. Once there he and his army dug in on a hill to minimize any cavalry movements and awaited Williams attack. William did not disappoint and struck hard at Harold’s center. Harold was correct in assuming the hillside minimized the effect of the cavalry and the fight was mostly with infantry. A chronicler wrote that “William’s forces looked as a dancer in their movements whilst Harold’s army appeared to grow out of the ground unmoving.” A French mounted knight got through Harold’s lines and swept by and beheaded Harold with one swipe of his sword. After this the English forces scattered. Harold of England’s army was soundly defeated and William was crowned King. William got his claim to the throne by being the illegitimate son of one of the natural heirs to the English throne who had died. William was from a long line of Scandinavians meaning Vikings. His crowning marked the end of Anglo-Saxon England and the French speaking people from Normandy melded their languages into what now is modern English. William from this day on was known as William the Conqueror. I have a separate essay on William the Conqueror I think y’all would find it interesting.
1542 Spanish explorer Juan Cabrillo attempting to find a “northwest passage” across North America to get back to the Atlantic and home discovered San Diego Harbor. There had always been a legend about “The Straights of Alina” that was a waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific in North America. There was no such thing as we know but it promoted a lot of exploration up and down the American west and east coast. Strangely Cabrillo sailed right by San Francisco Bay and never saw it.
1988 I am reading the story of Roch Theriault a cult leader in Canada. It is difficult for me to tell you about this monster that hacked off peoples arms and legs, put vise grips on women’s nipples, disemboweled people while still alive in an attempt to drive “demons” out of their bodies, etc. He was arrested and put on trial for murder after one of his people the he disemboweled died. The judge and jury were so appalled at what they heard that they tried and convicted him and gave him life just to get the trial finished. They forgot to add life “without parole” in their haste. Roch is eligible for parole after a given time.
Born today:
555BC Chinese philosopher Confucius. He said “Have no friends not equal to yourself”. Hey Confucius, not equal to yourself doing what?
1902 TV host Ed Sullivan. He said “If you do a good job for others, you heal yourself at the same time because a dose of joy is a spiritual thing, it transcends all barriers.” That is pretty deep thinking there Ed.
1909 US cartoonist Al Capp (Li’l Abner). He said “Young people should be helped, sheltered, ignored and clubbed if necessary.” You can’t do that any more, Al.
1972 US actress Gwyneth Paltrow. She said “Beauty to me is being comfortable in your own skin, or maybe a kick-ass red lipstick.” This girl has great lips.
Thanks for listening I can hardy wait until tomorrow
Goodbye from the land of scooters, Hooters and looters.
Yesterday a friend of mine said that he was going to start taking Karate lessons because it was getting dangerous out on the streets in some cities. I told him that instead of that he needs a course on How to Meet People…..like Colt, Smith, Wesson, Remington, Rossi, Glock, etc…They have something that barks over here and bites over there.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“Fathom the hypocrisy that Obama wants everyone to prove they are insured, but people do not have to prove they are citizens.”
Ben Stein (Thanks to FOW)
Quote number 2:
“I am falling apart so fast that my gynecologist wears a hard hat.”
Joan Rivers
Last weekend a new car wash opened in the small South Carolina town of Moncks Corner. The owner decided that it would be good advertizing if he had strippers in Bikinis washing the cars on opening day. One of the first cars to arrive was city police squad car. Unfortunately a photo of the squad car with five or six top notch exotic dancers in Bikinis washing the car appeared on Facebook. The city cop was fired before dark. The peculiar part was that one of the supposed exotic dancers doing the washing was not a dancer at all, she was a city cop and she was not fired. I have seen the photo and let me tell you, that girl can get a job at any strip joint if she gives up on law enforcement. What puzzles me is why the cop driving the car was fired and she was not. The driver was just trying to keep the squad car clean and the girl doing the washing (off duty) was trying to make a little extra money. The chief of police said that the girl did not break any of the city’s rules and regulations. That indicates to me that there is a rule or regulation in Monck’s Corner that says, “Squad cars cannot be washed by women with kick-ass bodies in Bikinis.” There are some strange laws out there, y’all.
Next year on October 4 the University of Texas Longhorns football team is scheduled to play the Oklahoma Sooners in the Cotton Bowl as they have for fifty years. The Jewish students at Texas have requested that the game be re-scheduled because October 4, 2011 falls on Yom Kippur, the Jew’s holiest day.
What about the Mormons, their Sabbath is on Saturday. Don’t we see wall to wall football on Christmas Day? Are we not supposed to have games during the Muslim holy day of Hegira? Let everyone celebrate what religious events that they see fit but don’t make me acknowledge it. Bye the way, the Athletic Director at Texas said they could not re-schedule.
Last week a musical band from the North Carolina was playing a date in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Apparently the band was pretty successful because they traveled in a custom motor home and towed a small trailer carrying their instruments. After completing their last set, the band went back to the motor home to celebrate. Shortly thereafter two men broke in to the motor home, produced a gun and demanded cash. One of the band members produced a hogleg of his own. One of the burglars opened fire as did the band member. Three of the band members were hit with non-life threatening wounds, the burglar that did the shooting was killed instantly and the second burglar was found in the parking lot with a life-threatening wound to the abdomen. What we have here is The Shootout at the Winnebago.
Back in 2007 two Charlotte city cops were gunned down and killed from ambush by a career criminal. The alleged shooter was captured and has been in the joint ever since. As you might suspect, the city and county prosecutors got together with city cops and piled up an enormous amount of evidence and trial began about two weeks ago. The prosecutors called any and everybody that had ever known the slain cops including their families and nearly all the city cops to testify. To this minute, the alleged shooter has yet to utter a word. I see that pesky needle in his future.
Three weeks ago a 14 year old boy down in Socastee, South Carolina opened fire in the high school hitting a Security Officer by ricochet. The kid was disarmed and the school was evacuated while an inspection was initiated. Several pipe bombs were found that were planted by this juvenile. The law enforcement officers said that the bombs were amateurish and probably would have not exploded. The key word here is “probably”. What is wrong with this picture?
This date in history September 27
1925 Construction of the famous road race course Nuburgring in Germany is begun. This race course was world renown as the toughest course in the world with its 13 miles and 72 corners. Not only that, the course had an elevation change of 1,000 feet up and down. The drivers called it “Fighting the Dragon”. The course is no longer in use but during its time it claimed the lives of 22 drivers.
1935 Judy Garland signs with MGM at the age of 13. I have written about the tragic life of this woman before but here are some more tidbits. She was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota to parents that owned a movie theatre. Before the movies Judy (known then as Frances Gumm) and her sisters would get on stage and do a vaudeville act. Her name was changed to Judy Garland at the age of 10. Judy finally was cast in a couple of fluffy movies with Mickey Rooney which was moderately successful but her real break came with The Wizard of Oz. She married Band Leader Davis Rose in 1941 and divorced him in 1945. That same year she married movie director Vincente Minnelli and her daughter Liza came from this union but she divorced Vincente in 1951. Judy got bad on the sauce and uppers and virtually disappeared from view. In the late 50s she had a triumphant return when she played to a packed house at the Palladium in London to rave revues. She was in a couple of hit movies like A Star in Born and A Judgment in Nuremberg for which she received and Oscar nomination. In 1969 Judy died of an overdose of sleeping pills. She was 47.
1983 On this day the Broadway show A Chorus Line breaks all records for the longest running Broadway show ever with 3,389 performances. The show is about the behind the scene lives of the people involved with producing a chorus line type show. I have never seen the show but suspect it would be right up my alley since I am a dyed in the wool ass and legs man.
1991 Oona O’Neill Chaplin died. Oona was the wife of the famous movie star Charlie Chaplin. The funny part of this marriage was that she was 18 and Charlie was 54 when they were wed. Charlie made many movies in the US but on one occasion he had left the US on vacation and was not allowed back in because the government thought he was a communist sympathizer. Look at what we have coming into out country today, for crying out loud. Anyway, Oona and Charlie moved to Switzerland and raised 8 children. CHARLIE HELPED RAISE 8 CHILDREN AFTER THE AGE OF 54! My hero. Charlie died in 1977. Oona was the daughter of the world famous playwright Eugene O’Neill.
1864 This is a dark day for the Confederacy when Confederate guerilla William “Bloody Bill” Anderson raids and pillages the small village of Centralia, Missouri killing 22 unarmed Union soldiers in the process. There was a train pulling into Centralia during the raid which had 120 Union soldiers aboard. Anderson sees them and starts his escape, but it ain’t an escape. Anderson goes a few miles out of town and sets a trap for the Union soldiers in pursuit and kills all 120 of them also and then he rides back into town and does some more pillaging.
1996 A stamp honoring the author F. Scott Fitzgerald is issued by the USPS. What can one say about Fitzgerald? Well, he was born to a wealthy family in St Paul, Minnesota was sent to a fancy boarding school and then to Princeton. He could not seem to find himself so he joined the army during WWI. He was stationed in Montgomery, Alabama where he met his future wife Zelda. He proposed to her but she refused thinking that he could not support her in the lifestyle to which she was accustomed. Does that sound familiar to you divorced guys out there? Later on Fitzgerald wrote a successful book and start making a lot of money. You know who contacted him and said that she had changed her mind, yes it was Zelda. So Scott and Zelda were wed and set about on a life of fun, frolic and oceans of booze. Even though Scott was making tons of money, they were sinking further and further into debt so they move to Paris to try to ease their living expenses. While there they met Earnest Hemmingway and other writers that encouraged Scott to more writing. It was there that he delivered his masterpiece The Great Gatsby. Even more money starts rolling in but to no avail, they found out that it was just as expensive in Paris as it was in the US. About this time Zelda in beginning to show signs of terminal weirdness. They come back to the US where Zelda completely wigs out and has to be put in a mental facility where she stayed the rest of her days. Scott moves to Hollywood to try screenwriting. He falls in love with a gossip columnist, stops drinking and straightens out his life then promptly drops dead of a heart attack at the age of 44. Moral: Don’t stop drinking.
1869 It seems the fine citizenry of Ellis County, Kansas are fed up with the soldiers, buffalo hunters and drovers coming into town, getting drunk and raising general hell, so they hire James Butler Hickock better known as “Wild Bill” as sheriff to calm things down. It was well known throughout the west that Bill didn’t play, you had better do exactly what he said immediately upon receipt. It was also known that Bill was a deadly shot with either hand and was as quick on the draw with either, also. On this night Bill was told that Sam Strawhun and several of his drunken buddies were rioting and shooting up John Bitter’s Beer Hall in Hays City. Bill and his deputy went into the bar and told the drunks to stop. Strawhun makes a move toward Bill and Bill stops him and the riot with one shot to the forehead of poor Sam. Sam hits the deck as dead as fried chicken. The next day a drunken soldier tries to resist Bill’s arrest and Bill caps him too. The citizens of Ellis County decide that they ain’t ready for Bill and at re-election time they elect Bill’s deputy instead of him. Bill heads for the Dakotas and fame.
Born today:
1722 US patriot and brewer Samuel Adams. He said “The necessity of the times, more than ever, calls for our utmost circumspection, deliberation, fortitude and perseverance.” Sam was a gifted wordsmith. His Autumn Ale ain’t bad either.
1846 US writer Edward Westcott. He said “If I have done anything I am sorry for, I am willing to be forgiven.” Edward, now you tell me. I could have used that line and maybe could have saved one of my marriages.....I said maybe.
1900 US writer Clementine Paddleford. She said “The national Danish drink is beer. The Danish national weakness is another beer.” Clemmie, you could substitute “southern rednecks” for Danish and been just as accurate.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Goodbye from the land of Beemers, Dreamers and Screamers…Use your imagination
Quote of the day:
“Fathom the hypocrisy that Obama wants everyone to prove they are insured, but people do not have to prove they are citizens.”
Ben Stein (Thanks to FOW)
Quote number 2:
“I am falling apart so fast that my gynecologist wears a hard hat.”
Joan Rivers
Last weekend a new car wash opened in the small South Carolina town of Moncks Corner. The owner decided that it would be good advertizing if he had strippers in Bikinis washing the cars on opening day. One of the first cars to arrive was city police squad car. Unfortunately a photo of the squad car with five or six top notch exotic dancers in Bikinis washing the car appeared on Facebook. The city cop was fired before dark. The peculiar part was that one of the supposed exotic dancers doing the washing was not a dancer at all, she was a city cop and she was not fired. I have seen the photo and let me tell you, that girl can get a job at any strip joint if she gives up on law enforcement. What puzzles me is why the cop driving the car was fired and she was not. The driver was just trying to keep the squad car clean and the girl doing the washing (off duty) was trying to make a little extra money. The chief of police said that the girl did not break any of the city’s rules and regulations. That indicates to me that there is a rule or regulation in Monck’s Corner that says, “Squad cars cannot be washed by women with kick-ass bodies in Bikinis.” There are some strange laws out there, y’all.
Next year on October 4 the University of Texas Longhorns football team is scheduled to play the Oklahoma Sooners in the Cotton Bowl as they have for fifty years. The Jewish students at Texas have requested that the game be re-scheduled because October 4, 2011 falls on Yom Kippur, the Jew’s holiest day.
What about the Mormons, their Sabbath is on Saturday. Don’t we see wall to wall football on Christmas Day? Are we not supposed to have games during the Muslim holy day of Hegira? Let everyone celebrate what religious events that they see fit but don’t make me acknowledge it. Bye the way, the Athletic Director at Texas said they could not re-schedule.
Last week a musical band from the North Carolina was playing a date in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Apparently the band was pretty successful because they traveled in a custom motor home and towed a small trailer carrying their instruments. After completing their last set, the band went back to the motor home to celebrate. Shortly thereafter two men broke in to the motor home, produced a gun and demanded cash. One of the band members produced a hogleg of his own. One of the burglars opened fire as did the band member. Three of the band members were hit with non-life threatening wounds, the burglar that did the shooting was killed instantly and the second burglar was found in the parking lot with a life-threatening wound to the abdomen. What we have here is The Shootout at the Winnebago.
Back in 2007 two Charlotte city cops were gunned down and killed from ambush by a career criminal. The alleged shooter was captured and has been in the joint ever since. As you might suspect, the city and county prosecutors got together with city cops and piled up an enormous amount of evidence and trial began about two weeks ago. The prosecutors called any and everybody that had ever known the slain cops including their families and nearly all the city cops to testify. To this minute, the alleged shooter has yet to utter a word. I see that pesky needle in his future.
Three weeks ago a 14 year old boy down in Socastee, South Carolina opened fire in the high school hitting a Security Officer by ricochet. The kid was disarmed and the school was evacuated while an inspection was initiated. Several pipe bombs were found that were planted by this juvenile. The law enforcement officers said that the bombs were amateurish and probably would have not exploded. The key word here is “probably”. What is wrong with this picture?
This date in history September 27
1925 Construction of the famous road race course Nuburgring in Germany is begun. This race course was world renown as the toughest course in the world with its 13 miles and 72 corners. Not only that, the course had an elevation change of 1,000 feet up and down. The drivers called it “Fighting the Dragon”. The course is no longer in use but during its time it claimed the lives of 22 drivers.
1935 Judy Garland signs with MGM at the age of 13. I have written about the tragic life of this woman before but here are some more tidbits. She was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota to parents that owned a movie theatre. Before the movies Judy (known then as Frances Gumm) and her sisters would get on stage and do a vaudeville act. Her name was changed to Judy Garland at the age of 10. Judy finally was cast in a couple of fluffy movies with Mickey Rooney which was moderately successful but her real break came with The Wizard of Oz. She married Band Leader Davis Rose in 1941 and divorced him in 1945. That same year she married movie director Vincente Minnelli and her daughter Liza came from this union but she divorced Vincente in 1951. Judy got bad on the sauce and uppers and virtually disappeared from view. In the late 50s she had a triumphant return when she played to a packed house at the Palladium in London to rave revues. She was in a couple of hit movies like A Star in Born and A Judgment in Nuremberg for which she received and Oscar nomination. In 1969 Judy died of an overdose of sleeping pills. She was 47.
1983 On this day the Broadway show A Chorus Line breaks all records for the longest running Broadway show ever with 3,389 performances. The show is about the behind the scene lives of the people involved with producing a chorus line type show. I have never seen the show but suspect it would be right up my alley since I am a dyed in the wool ass and legs man.
1991 Oona O’Neill Chaplin died. Oona was the wife of the famous movie star Charlie Chaplin. The funny part of this marriage was that she was 18 and Charlie was 54 when they were wed. Charlie made many movies in the US but on one occasion he had left the US on vacation and was not allowed back in because the government thought he was a communist sympathizer. Look at what we have coming into out country today, for crying out loud. Anyway, Oona and Charlie moved to Switzerland and raised 8 children. CHARLIE HELPED RAISE 8 CHILDREN AFTER THE AGE OF 54! My hero. Charlie died in 1977. Oona was the daughter of the world famous playwright Eugene O’Neill.
1864 This is a dark day for the Confederacy when Confederate guerilla William “Bloody Bill” Anderson raids and pillages the small village of Centralia, Missouri killing 22 unarmed Union soldiers in the process. There was a train pulling into Centralia during the raid which had 120 Union soldiers aboard. Anderson sees them and starts his escape, but it ain’t an escape. Anderson goes a few miles out of town and sets a trap for the Union soldiers in pursuit and kills all 120 of them also and then he rides back into town and does some more pillaging.
1996 A stamp honoring the author F. Scott Fitzgerald is issued by the USPS. What can one say about Fitzgerald? Well, he was born to a wealthy family in St Paul, Minnesota was sent to a fancy boarding school and then to Princeton. He could not seem to find himself so he joined the army during WWI. He was stationed in Montgomery, Alabama where he met his future wife Zelda. He proposed to her but she refused thinking that he could not support her in the lifestyle to which she was accustomed. Does that sound familiar to you divorced guys out there? Later on Fitzgerald wrote a successful book and start making a lot of money. You know who contacted him and said that she had changed her mind, yes it was Zelda. So Scott and Zelda were wed and set about on a life of fun, frolic and oceans of booze. Even though Scott was making tons of money, they were sinking further and further into debt so they move to Paris to try to ease their living expenses. While there they met Earnest Hemmingway and other writers that encouraged Scott to more writing. It was there that he delivered his masterpiece The Great Gatsby. Even more money starts rolling in but to no avail, they found out that it was just as expensive in Paris as it was in the US. About this time Zelda in beginning to show signs of terminal weirdness. They come back to the US where Zelda completely wigs out and has to be put in a mental facility where she stayed the rest of her days. Scott moves to Hollywood to try screenwriting. He falls in love with a gossip columnist, stops drinking and straightens out his life then promptly drops dead of a heart attack at the age of 44. Moral: Don’t stop drinking.
1869 It seems the fine citizenry of Ellis County, Kansas are fed up with the soldiers, buffalo hunters and drovers coming into town, getting drunk and raising general hell, so they hire James Butler Hickock better known as “Wild Bill” as sheriff to calm things down. It was well known throughout the west that Bill didn’t play, you had better do exactly what he said immediately upon receipt. It was also known that Bill was a deadly shot with either hand and was as quick on the draw with either, also. On this night Bill was told that Sam Strawhun and several of his drunken buddies were rioting and shooting up John Bitter’s Beer Hall in Hays City. Bill and his deputy went into the bar and told the drunks to stop. Strawhun makes a move toward Bill and Bill stops him and the riot with one shot to the forehead of poor Sam. Sam hits the deck as dead as fried chicken. The next day a drunken soldier tries to resist Bill’s arrest and Bill caps him too. The citizens of Ellis County decide that they ain’t ready for Bill and at re-election time they elect Bill’s deputy instead of him. Bill heads for the Dakotas and fame.
Born today:
1722 US patriot and brewer Samuel Adams. He said “The necessity of the times, more than ever, calls for our utmost circumspection, deliberation, fortitude and perseverance.” Sam was a gifted wordsmith. His Autumn Ale ain’t bad either.
1846 US writer Edward Westcott. He said “If I have done anything I am sorry for, I am willing to be forgiven.” Edward, now you tell me. I could have used that line and maybe could have saved one of my marriages.....I said maybe.
1900 US writer Clementine Paddleford. She said “The national Danish drink is beer. The Danish national weakness is another beer.” Clemmie, you could substitute “southern rednecks” for Danish and been just as accurate.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Goodbye from the land of Beemers, Dreamers and Screamers…Use your imagination
Friday, September 24, 2010
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.”
Brandi Winterson
I don’t know y’all, but this upcoming full moon apparently having an effect. Down in Batesville, South Carolina a high school band director was caught in the band room teaching a 14 year old girl on how to play his trombone, if you get my drift. He got five years in the joint. I can assure you that he will find out what playing and instrument is all about in a South Carolina slammer.
Then about 150 miles away in Boiling Springs, South Carolina a 44 year and a 42 year old woman threw a party for their students and furnished vodka and pot. The 44 year old did the nasty with anyone that would sit still for it from 11 to 15 years old. But the 42 year old used a little logic and only bedded the boys that were 17 years old or older. In this state consensual sex with anyone 17 or older is allowed meaning no statutory rape charge. However, she was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor for the booze and drugs. They were both fired. We never had anything like that in my high school… dammit.
Up in Raleigh, North Carolina a 24 year old woman was arrested in a bar at 11:45p. She had left her four year old daughter in the car behind the bar for about an hour but the kid was seen by a passer-by anyway and the cops were called.
I have renewed my subscription with a website called www.goodnewsnetwork.org. These folks from Manassas, Va. scour the news outlets worldwide and sift out the good news. It is a breath of fresh air and will be included in these comments in the near future.
Some of you may remember the Susan Smith case 15 years ago over in Union, SC. To those of you that were in a cave in Mongolia during that time I will give a brief vignette. Susan fell in love with a man other than her husband. Her lover did not want children so Susan chose to strap her three and five year old boys into their car seats, then she ran the car into a nearby lake where the boys drowned. She then called the police and said that her car with the boys aboard had been carjacked while she was in a convenience store. A police dragnet was quickly began but in the span of three weeks nothing was found. Then the sheriff of Union County, Harold Wells, called a news conference and said that Susan had confessed to drowning the boys and told him where the car was. Sheriff Wells was very composed and spoke with a very professional demeanor. This past week Harold Wells was convicted loan sharking and witness tampering. He will spend 90 days in the joint and pay a fine of $3,600. His days as an honest law enforcement officer are over. In fact, his days as an honest person are over.
There is a tropical depression that has developed about 200 miles west of Aruba headed for Honduras…and maybe further. If it forms into a hurricane it will be named Matthew.
This date in history September 24
622AD On this date Muhammad arrives in Medina after being kicked out of Mecca. This trip is known in the Moslem world as the Hegira. In fact, the completion of this trip begins as year 1 on the Moslem calendar. Muhammad was born in Mecca about 570AD. His father died before he was born and his mother died when he was six so he went to live with his grandfather. His grandfather died when little Mohammad was 8 years old so he went to live with his uncle Abu Talib. When he was 25 years old he married a wealthy woman 15 years older than he. They had issue of six children, 2 boys and 4 girls. Both of the boys died in childbirth, however. For reasons known only to Muhammad, once in a while he would go to Mount Hira near Mecca and sleep in a cave. On one particular occasion Mohammad heard a voice saying “You are the messenger of God”. Mohammad later said that he was sure it was the archangel Gabriel that gave him the message. Anyway, Muhammad went back into Mecca and began his evangelizing with his new found faith. He leans heavily on the rich merchants who he declares as evil for scamming the poor people for fun and profit. He also says that the religions with more than one God are of the devil, that there is only one true God. He also declares himself as the last true prophet of the Judeo-Christian religious sect. He gathers himself about 100 followers but his reputation as a trouble maker, especially to the rich merchants, has become well known and the local constabulary in Mecca came after him and his entourage. So Muhammad and the boys slip out and make the 200 mile trip to Medina and arrive on this date. Eventually Muhammad and the people of Mecca made their peace and the people of Mecca also became followers of Muhammad. After a few years Muhammad got the nation of Islam on its feet on the entire Arabian Peninsula and the rest is history. By the way, Islam translated means “surrender to God” and Moslem means “those who have surrendered.” Also the Koran was a series of thoughts and revelations experienced by Muhammad or by others then relayed to Muhammad. Both Mecca and Medina are in Saudi Arabia. Muhammad died in June of 632 and his successors continued with the expansion of Islam...up to a point. About the year 800 a division occurred in Islam that exists today and that being the Sunnis and the Shiites. One branch insists that the leader of Islam must be a direct descendent of Muhammad and the other branch believes that the leader of Islam must be a descendent of a series of Caliphs. They have been squabbling ever since. By the way, the last provable direct descendent of Muhammad was Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran.
1776 On this date a select committee of the Continental Congress assembled to hammer out the basics of a treaty with France. We needed arms, ammunition and military expertise. France had been providing some of the above covertly already but it was proving to be insufficient. The French did not want to totally commit unless they were reasonably sure the Continentals would be successful in their separation from England. The first negotiator was Silas Deane who went to France secretly. Next came the suave and debonair Benjamin Franklin and a few others followed by a smashing victory by the Continentals over the British at the Battle of Saratoga which convinced the French to sign a formal treaty. This was hurried along when the British Navy opened fire on a French warship in international waters without a declaration of war. The signing of the treaty meant that the France had declared war on Great Britain and even though there were several years of bloodshed ahead, our ancestors knew that victory was within their grasp.
1890 After several years of squabbling between the United States and the Mormon Church, the United States finally put its foot down and stated that if the Church did not abandon the “plural marriage” belief the US would seize all the Church’s lands in the Salt Lake City area and deny them statehood which would prevent any protection of the United States Army from the hostile Indians all around them. So on this day the Church of Latter Day Saints edicts that the church no longer fosters “plural marriage” and from then on all marriages must be singular. If you read into the laws and tenets of this church you will find that the church is pretty dominate in the day in and day out operation of the individual family unit. I don’t know it that is good or bad, but there it is.
1971 On this date Game Warden Neil LeFeve showed up missing. He was a warden in the Sensiba Wildlife area of Wisconsin and was known to be as tough as nails especially with poachers. A huge search was begun and Neil’s body was found headless with several .22 caliber bullets in his torso. Soon thereafter they found his head with three .22 caliber bullet holes in the back. LeFeve was known to deal harshly with those that he had arrested; the police asked those he had previously arrested and without alibis to take lie detector tests. Even though there was a lot of grumbling all of them did except for one and that was Brian Hussong. LeFeve had recently arrested Hussong for shooting pheasant out of season. This was not the first time Hussong had been arrested for the same thing. With a court order the police obtained a phone tap on Hussong’s phone and heard him to tell his grandmother to hide all of his guns. The police immediately went to the grandmother’s house with a search warrant and found the .22 rifle used in the murder. Both Hussong and his grandmother denied the phone call but Voice Identification technology proved it was indeed both of them. Hussong was tried, convicted and sentenced to life without parole.
Born today:
1717 English writer Horace Walpole. He said “Nine tenths of the people were created so they would enjoy being with the other tenth.” Indeed, Horace.
1896 F. Scott Fitzgerald. He said “First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, and then the drink takes you.” Been there, done that.
Died today:
1981 US actress Patsy Kelly. She said “I laughed from the time I got to the studio until I left at night. I sometime felt guilty for taking a paycheck. Some years I could do no wrong and some years I could do no right. I owe everything to show business, it owes me nothing.” You don’t hear that very often from the egotistical bastards of today.
1991 Theodore (Dr. Seuss) Geisal. He said “Adults are just obsolete children.” Yes Doc, we are.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
“To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.”
Brandi Winterson
I don’t know y’all, but this upcoming full moon apparently having an effect. Down in Batesville, South Carolina a high school band director was caught in the band room teaching a 14 year old girl on how to play his trombone, if you get my drift. He got five years in the joint. I can assure you that he will find out what playing and instrument is all about in a South Carolina slammer.
Then about 150 miles away in Boiling Springs, South Carolina a 44 year and a 42 year old woman threw a party for their students and furnished vodka and pot. The 44 year old did the nasty with anyone that would sit still for it from 11 to 15 years old. But the 42 year old used a little logic and only bedded the boys that were 17 years old or older. In this state consensual sex with anyone 17 or older is allowed meaning no statutory rape charge. However, she was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor for the booze and drugs. They were both fired. We never had anything like that in my high school… dammit.
Up in Raleigh, North Carolina a 24 year old woman was arrested in a bar at 11:45p. She had left her four year old daughter in the car behind the bar for about an hour but the kid was seen by a passer-by anyway and the cops were called.
I have renewed my subscription with a website called www.goodnewsnetwork.org. These folks from Manassas, Va. scour the news outlets worldwide and sift out the good news. It is a breath of fresh air and will be included in these comments in the near future.
Some of you may remember the Susan Smith case 15 years ago over in Union, SC. To those of you that were in a cave in Mongolia during that time I will give a brief vignette. Susan fell in love with a man other than her husband. Her lover did not want children so Susan chose to strap her three and five year old boys into their car seats, then she ran the car into a nearby lake where the boys drowned. She then called the police and said that her car with the boys aboard had been carjacked while she was in a convenience store. A police dragnet was quickly began but in the span of three weeks nothing was found. Then the sheriff of Union County, Harold Wells, called a news conference and said that Susan had confessed to drowning the boys and told him where the car was. Sheriff Wells was very composed and spoke with a very professional demeanor. This past week Harold Wells was convicted loan sharking and witness tampering. He will spend 90 days in the joint and pay a fine of $3,600. His days as an honest law enforcement officer are over. In fact, his days as an honest person are over.
There is a tropical depression that has developed about 200 miles west of Aruba headed for Honduras…and maybe further. If it forms into a hurricane it will be named Matthew.
This date in history September 24
622AD On this date Muhammad arrives in Medina after being kicked out of Mecca. This trip is known in the Moslem world as the Hegira. In fact, the completion of this trip begins as year 1 on the Moslem calendar. Muhammad was born in Mecca about 570AD. His father died before he was born and his mother died when he was six so he went to live with his grandfather. His grandfather died when little Mohammad was 8 years old so he went to live with his uncle Abu Talib. When he was 25 years old he married a wealthy woman 15 years older than he. They had issue of six children, 2 boys and 4 girls. Both of the boys died in childbirth, however. For reasons known only to Muhammad, once in a while he would go to Mount Hira near Mecca and sleep in a cave. On one particular occasion Mohammad heard a voice saying “You are the messenger of God”. Mohammad later said that he was sure it was the archangel Gabriel that gave him the message. Anyway, Muhammad went back into Mecca and began his evangelizing with his new found faith. He leans heavily on the rich merchants who he declares as evil for scamming the poor people for fun and profit. He also says that the religions with more than one God are of the devil, that there is only one true God. He also declares himself as the last true prophet of the Judeo-Christian religious sect. He gathers himself about 100 followers but his reputation as a trouble maker, especially to the rich merchants, has become well known and the local constabulary in Mecca came after him and his entourage. So Muhammad and the boys slip out and make the 200 mile trip to Medina and arrive on this date. Eventually Muhammad and the people of Mecca made their peace and the people of Mecca also became followers of Muhammad. After a few years Muhammad got the nation of Islam on its feet on the entire Arabian Peninsula and the rest is history. By the way, Islam translated means “surrender to God” and Moslem means “those who have surrendered.” Also the Koran was a series of thoughts and revelations experienced by Muhammad or by others then relayed to Muhammad. Both Mecca and Medina are in Saudi Arabia. Muhammad died in June of 632 and his successors continued with the expansion of Islam...up to a point. About the year 800 a division occurred in Islam that exists today and that being the Sunnis and the Shiites. One branch insists that the leader of Islam must be a direct descendent of Muhammad and the other branch believes that the leader of Islam must be a descendent of a series of Caliphs. They have been squabbling ever since. By the way, the last provable direct descendent of Muhammad was Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran.
1776 On this date a select committee of the Continental Congress assembled to hammer out the basics of a treaty with France. We needed arms, ammunition and military expertise. France had been providing some of the above covertly already but it was proving to be insufficient. The French did not want to totally commit unless they were reasonably sure the Continentals would be successful in their separation from England. The first negotiator was Silas Deane who went to France secretly. Next came the suave and debonair Benjamin Franklin and a few others followed by a smashing victory by the Continentals over the British at the Battle of Saratoga which convinced the French to sign a formal treaty. This was hurried along when the British Navy opened fire on a French warship in international waters without a declaration of war. The signing of the treaty meant that the France had declared war on Great Britain and even though there were several years of bloodshed ahead, our ancestors knew that victory was within their grasp.
1890 After several years of squabbling between the United States and the Mormon Church, the United States finally put its foot down and stated that if the Church did not abandon the “plural marriage” belief the US would seize all the Church’s lands in the Salt Lake City area and deny them statehood which would prevent any protection of the United States Army from the hostile Indians all around them. So on this day the Church of Latter Day Saints edicts that the church no longer fosters “plural marriage” and from then on all marriages must be singular. If you read into the laws and tenets of this church you will find that the church is pretty dominate in the day in and day out operation of the individual family unit. I don’t know it that is good or bad, but there it is.
1971 On this date Game Warden Neil LeFeve showed up missing. He was a warden in the Sensiba Wildlife area of Wisconsin and was known to be as tough as nails especially with poachers. A huge search was begun and Neil’s body was found headless with several .22 caliber bullets in his torso. Soon thereafter they found his head with three .22 caliber bullet holes in the back. LeFeve was known to deal harshly with those that he had arrested; the police asked those he had previously arrested and without alibis to take lie detector tests. Even though there was a lot of grumbling all of them did except for one and that was Brian Hussong. LeFeve had recently arrested Hussong for shooting pheasant out of season. This was not the first time Hussong had been arrested for the same thing. With a court order the police obtained a phone tap on Hussong’s phone and heard him to tell his grandmother to hide all of his guns. The police immediately went to the grandmother’s house with a search warrant and found the .22 rifle used in the murder. Both Hussong and his grandmother denied the phone call but Voice Identification technology proved it was indeed both of them. Hussong was tried, convicted and sentenced to life without parole.
Born today:
1717 English writer Horace Walpole. He said “Nine tenths of the people were created so they would enjoy being with the other tenth.” Indeed, Horace.
1896 F. Scott Fitzgerald. He said “First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, and then the drink takes you.” Been there, done that.
Died today:
1981 US actress Patsy Kelly. She said “I laughed from the time I got to the studio until I left at night. I sometime felt guilty for taking a paycheck. Some years I could do no wrong and some years I could do no right. I owe everything to show business, it owes me nothing.” You don’t hear that very often from the egotistical bastards of today.
1991 Theodore (Dr. Seuss) Geisal. He said “Adults are just obsolete children.” Yes Doc, we are.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“Enjoy when you can and endure when you must.”
Johann Von Goethe
A few days ago I sent y’all a vignette about the Battle of Thermopylae in eastern Greece. In spite of the heroics by the Spartans, the Persians did eventually prevail and went through Greece burning, raping and pillaging. They did not prevail in the long run and here is why. It was because of two battles. One by sea and another was a land battle…here they are:
Salamis
A sea battle
After the defeat of the Greeks at Thermopylae, the Persian army marched almost unopposed and began the razing of many of the city-states in Greece including Athens. Earlier the Athenians began evacuating to the Salamis peninsula across the Sardonic Gulf from Athens. Following the Persian army was the Persian navy of about 750 ships. The only way for the Athenians not to be captured or cut off was to prevent the Persians from blockading Salamis. The Greeks assembled about 378 triremes (warships) to combat the 750 ships in the Persian fleet. The Persians were lured into a small estuary in a light wind with the Athenians slowly retreating. The Persians did not learn a damned thing at Marathon. The Greeks do not withdraw unless they have a mission in mind, especially if Spartans are involved. After a while the wind began to freshen and blew the Persian ships right at the Greeks. The Greeks were not interested in fighting ship-to-ship as the Persians; they use their larger and slower ships as nothing more than platforms for their infantry and catapults of “Greek fire”. Greek fire is mentioned in many manuscripts throughout the ancient world. No one knows exactly what it was but Herodotus tells us that is was probably a mixture of tar and naphtha, poured into a clay jar and set afire then launched toward the enemy by catapults. The burning tar sticks to nearly everything it touches and since all the ships were made of wood, the fire was deadly. If that didn’t work, they would throw grappling hooks to the enemy ships and send the wild-eyed Spartan hoplites aboard the enemy ships to take care of business with spear and sword. The Greeks knew that the winds would increase and from what direction and set up for the Persian to be blown right into their laps. The retreat was just a delaying tactic waiting on the winds to come, and come they did. The Persians finally figured out what the Greeks were up to and tried to retreat but the prevailing wind prevented it. Before the battle was joined, King Xerxes set a chair out on a bluff overlooking the battle site and watched as over 200 of his ships were destroyed or sunk. After this, Xerxes boarded one of his ships and sailed his young ass back to Persia. It is thought by many historians that this was the most important military victories in history because it prevented a Persian presence in Europe. The next major battle was a land battle, see below.
Plataea
The final defeat of the Persians
in Greece
After Salamis Persian King Xerxes returns to Persia and leaves his military commander Mardonius in command of a reinforced army of 300,000 to oversee their captured lands. Mardonius met with the Athenian leaders and offered them autonomous government and Persian aid in rebuilding Athens that had been partially destroyed. The Athenians refused and the destruction of Athens was completed. Athens sent emissaries to Sparta and told them what had happened and warned them against the possibility of Athens and the Persians making peace and what a threat that would be for Sparta, remembering the Peloponnesian wars between Athena and Sparta. The Spartans were reluctant at first but saw the light eventually and realized the possible threat. The Spartans and the Athenians got together once again and summoned help from the other city-states in kicking these illegal aliens out of southern Greece. They eventually gathered a force of 110,000 to combat the 300,000 Persians. The difference here was that 38,700 of the Greek army were Spartan hoplites or Greek professional soldiers, recognized as the meanest and most capable warriors on the planet and this was the largest group of them ever assembled. The combined armies were commanded by the veteran Pausanias. After hearing about the consolidation of the Greeks, and especially about the hoplites, Mardonius completed the razing of Athens and covered the rubble with earth, and then withdrew to the Asopus River where he fortified his position. The Athenians sent 8,000 and joined with a Spartan force along with many smaller city-states and established a base in hilly terrain where Persian cavalry would be ineffective. Mardonius sent a cavalry unit anyway under the command of Masistius to see if a cavalry attack was possible. He found out that the hilly terrain did indeed neutralize the cavalry and Masistius was killed early on and the rest of the cavalry retreated. Finally the two armies spread out and lined up for a massed attack. Pausanias put the Spartans of the left flank and the Athenians on the right flank with the other city-states in the middle. The Persians used heavy wooden shields while the Greeks used heavy bronze ones. At the onset of the battle the Persians unleash a maelstrom of arrows which made the Greeks cover up and they kept this up for an extended period. Eventually the center of the Greek lines got fed up and attacked which forced the Spartans and the Athenians to attack also and they succeeded in an envelopment. Once the combined forces of the Spartans and Athenians met in the middle it was all over for the Persians. The slaughter was total. Out of the original 300,000, there were a group of 40,000 Persians refused to join in the battle because they did not like Mardonius’ tactics. That left 260,000 Persians actively engaged. From this number, only 43,000 Persians survived to head home. The number of casualties for the Greeks was 1,340. That’s right folks, there were over 220,000 corpses left on the field. The surviving Persians were not out of the woods yet. They were picked off a few at a time all the way back to the Hellespont and on into Asia Minor. That was the end of the illegal aliens in southern Greece.
Quotable quotes:
“Behind every successful man there are a lot of unsuccessful years.” Bill Brown
“Behind every man is a woman, with absolutely nothing to wear” James Stewart
“I am not a vegetarian but I eat animals that are.” Groucho Marx
When asked how many husbands she has had, Zsa Zsa Gabor said “You mean other than my own?”
“I have been accused of vulgarity. I say bullsh-t to that.” Mel Brooks
“A study shows that men are hit by lightening four times as many times as women and it is usually after saying “I’ll call you.” Jay Leno
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
This date in history September 23
1779 Earlier Scottish born John Paul Jones came to America as a cabin boy aboard a cargo ship. He lived in Fredericksburg, Virginia for while with his brother who had a business there. He went back to sea as a deckhand and eventually an officer aboard slave and cargo ships and proved to be a capable seaman. He killed a shipmate during a mutiny attempt and went back to America just before the start of the American Revolutionary War. The American colonies began organizing a fleet of naval warships and Jones was recruited and given the rank of Lieutenant and given command of the USS Bonhomme Richard. On this date John Paul Jones engaged the British warships HMS Serapis and the smaller HMS Countess of Scarborough off the east coast of England. It was a furious battle and after while the commander of the Serapis signaled Jones asking if he was ready to “strike his colors” meaning surrender. Jones signaled back the immortal phrase “I have not yet begun to fight” and battle resumed with even more ferocity. An hour or two later both the Serapis and the Countess “struck their colors” and surrendered to Jones. The next morning Jones transferred his flag to the Serapis and soon after the Bonhomme Richard sank. This was not the only victory for Jones; he was instrumental in the suppression of the British Fleet in the Bahamas and the Chesapeake Bay. Jones was revered by the French but for some strange reason his was not thought of as well in America. Jones moved to France and was caught up in the throes of the French Revolution in 1789. He died of an unknown cause in France and was buried in an unmarked grave when he was 45 years old. Later on the United States Ambassador to France had Jones disinterred and his remains were brought to America aboard a warship. He was re-buried in a crypt of honor on the grounds of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. On occasion the crypt is included in ceremonies and when it is opened there is a United States Marine Honor Guard standing by.
1806 On this afternoon the Lewis and Clark expedition rounded the last bend in the Missouri River before reaching the intersection with the Mississippi and are within sight of the docks and piers of Saint Louis, Missouri. The “Corps of Discovery” had begun three years before and most had thought that the whole crew had been wiped out since they had been gone so long. But fortunately they had lost only one crewman and they lost him through illness, he was not killed. The expedition had been ordered by President Thomas Jefferson who wanted to know what the United States had gained in the Louisiana Purchase and the Missouri River basin was the best avenue. The expedition wintered the first year near a known Indian village in South Dakota. The next spring the expedition shoved off heading upstream into unknown territory. When they departed, Meriwether Lewis wrote in his journal “This is the most exciting day of my life.” It would have been the same for me. What an adventure it would have been.
1863 A few days before US General Rosecrans had his ass handed to him by the Confederate Army at the Battle of Chickamauga. The Yankees retreated into Chattanooga, Tennessee and were quickly surrounded. The US had suffered 16,000 casualties in a very short period of time. In Washington President Abraham Lincoln held a conference with Secretary of War Edwin Stanton to try to work something out because the US army in Chattanooga was in serious danger of annihilation. Most experts stated that it would take at least a month get an army there to relieve them because there was no other US armies close by. Lincoln and Stanton decided to pull US General Joseph Hooker’s Corp from the vicinity of Virginia and send them to relieve the troops in Chattanooga. But the difference here was one thing, the telegraph. Hooker commandeered whatever railroads he needed and the telegraph messages preceded his arrival and gave him and his army top priority. Hooker was able to move his army, including the animals, equipment and artillery to Chattanooga and depots in Alabama in a week and was able to break the Confederate siege and save the troops.
1875 On this date the 15 year old “Billy the Kid” was arrested for the first time. As a joke a friend of Billy’s stole a bag of clothes from a Chinese laundry and gave it to Billy to hide for him. Bill was literally caught “holding the bag” by a Silver City policeman and threw him in jail for two days. It was during this time that Billy discovered that he just could not handle being caged. Using his small size to an advantage, he shinnied up the chimney and escaped. I have read that Billy was about 5’-2” and about 120 pounds. It was not long before he was in Lincoln County, New Mexico deeply involved in a range war. It was during this combat that he sharpened his skills with a gun and being unmoved by killing another man. I think we all know what eventually happened to Billy.
Born today:
480BC Greek playwright Euripides. He said “Talk sense to a fool and he will call you foolish.” I think we all know some of them.
1863 US writer Mary Eliza Terrell. She said “The chasm between the principles on which the nation was founded, in which it still professes to believe, and those which are daily practiced under the protection of the flag, yawn wide and deep.” Hey Mary, nothing has changed from that day to this.
1970 US Singer Ani DeFranco. She said “I had rather be able to look at myself in the bathroom mirror than be rich and famous.” I wonder if Bill Gates looks at himself every morning.”
Died today:
1943 US writer Elinor Glyn. She said “Romance is the glamour that turns everyday dust into a golden haze.” I wonder what romance feels like anymore.
1925 US Journalist Carl Rowan. He said “There are no embarrassing questions, only embarrassing answers.” OK, Carl, here is a question. Where is Natalee Holloway?
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
“Enjoy when you can and endure when you must.”
Johann Von Goethe
A few days ago I sent y’all a vignette about the Battle of Thermopylae in eastern Greece. In spite of the heroics by the Spartans, the Persians did eventually prevail and went through Greece burning, raping and pillaging. They did not prevail in the long run and here is why. It was because of two battles. One by sea and another was a land battle…here they are:
Salamis
A sea battle
After the defeat of the Greeks at Thermopylae, the Persian army marched almost unopposed and began the razing of many of the city-states in Greece including Athens. Earlier the Athenians began evacuating to the Salamis peninsula across the Sardonic Gulf from Athens. Following the Persian army was the Persian navy of about 750 ships. The only way for the Athenians not to be captured or cut off was to prevent the Persians from blockading Salamis. The Greeks assembled about 378 triremes (warships) to combat the 750 ships in the Persian fleet. The Persians were lured into a small estuary in a light wind with the Athenians slowly retreating. The Persians did not learn a damned thing at Marathon. The Greeks do not withdraw unless they have a mission in mind, especially if Spartans are involved. After a while the wind began to freshen and blew the Persian ships right at the Greeks. The Greeks were not interested in fighting ship-to-ship as the Persians; they use their larger and slower ships as nothing more than platforms for their infantry and catapults of “Greek fire”. Greek fire is mentioned in many manuscripts throughout the ancient world. No one knows exactly what it was but Herodotus tells us that is was probably a mixture of tar and naphtha, poured into a clay jar and set afire then launched toward the enemy by catapults. The burning tar sticks to nearly everything it touches and since all the ships were made of wood, the fire was deadly. If that didn’t work, they would throw grappling hooks to the enemy ships and send the wild-eyed Spartan hoplites aboard the enemy ships to take care of business with spear and sword. The Greeks knew that the winds would increase and from what direction and set up for the Persian to be blown right into their laps. The retreat was just a delaying tactic waiting on the winds to come, and come they did. The Persians finally figured out what the Greeks were up to and tried to retreat but the prevailing wind prevented it. Before the battle was joined, King Xerxes set a chair out on a bluff overlooking the battle site and watched as over 200 of his ships were destroyed or sunk. After this, Xerxes boarded one of his ships and sailed his young ass back to Persia. It is thought by many historians that this was the most important military victories in history because it prevented a Persian presence in Europe. The next major battle was a land battle, see below.
Plataea
The final defeat of the Persians
in Greece
After Salamis Persian King Xerxes returns to Persia and leaves his military commander Mardonius in command of a reinforced army of 300,000 to oversee their captured lands. Mardonius met with the Athenian leaders and offered them autonomous government and Persian aid in rebuilding Athens that had been partially destroyed. The Athenians refused and the destruction of Athens was completed. Athens sent emissaries to Sparta and told them what had happened and warned them against the possibility of Athens and the Persians making peace and what a threat that would be for Sparta, remembering the Peloponnesian wars between Athena and Sparta. The Spartans were reluctant at first but saw the light eventually and realized the possible threat. The Spartans and the Athenians got together once again and summoned help from the other city-states in kicking these illegal aliens out of southern Greece. They eventually gathered a force of 110,000 to combat the 300,000 Persians. The difference here was that 38,700 of the Greek army were Spartan hoplites or Greek professional soldiers, recognized as the meanest and most capable warriors on the planet and this was the largest group of them ever assembled. The combined armies were commanded by the veteran Pausanias. After hearing about the consolidation of the Greeks, and especially about the hoplites, Mardonius completed the razing of Athens and covered the rubble with earth, and then withdrew to the Asopus River where he fortified his position. The Athenians sent 8,000 and joined with a Spartan force along with many smaller city-states and established a base in hilly terrain where Persian cavalry would be ineffective. Mardonius sent a cavalry unit anyway under the command of Masistius to see if a cavalry attack was possible. He found out that the hilly terrain did indeed neutralize the cavalry and Masistius was killed early on and the rest of the cavalry retreated. Finally the two armies spread out and lined up for a massed attack. Pausanias put the Spartans of the left flank and the Athenians on the right flank with the other city-states in the middle. The Persians used heavy wooden shields while the Greeks used heavy bronze ones. At the onset of the battle the Persians unleash a maelstrom of arrows which made the Greeks cover up and they kept this up for an extended period. Eventually the center of the Greek lines got fed up and attacked which forced the Spartans and the Athenians to attack also and they succeeded in an envelopment. Once the combined forces of the Spartans and Athenians met in the middle it was all over for the Persians. The slaughter was total. Out of the original 300,000, there were a group of 40,000 Persians refused to join in the battle because they did not like Mardonius’ tactics. That left 260,000 Persians actively engaged. From this number, only 43,000 Persians survived to head home. The number of casualties for the Greeks was 1,340. That’s right folks, there were over 220,000 corpses left on the field. The surviving Persians were not out of the woods yet. They were picked off a few at a time all the way back to the Hellespont and on into Asia Minor. That was the end of the illegal aliens in southern Greece.
Quotable quotes:
“Behind every successful man there are a lot of unsuccessful years.” Bill Brown
“Behind every man is a woman, with absolutely nothing to wear” James Stewart
“I am not a vegetarian but I eat animals that are.” Groucho Marx
When asked how many husbands she has had, Zsa Zsa Gabor said “You mean other than my own?”
“I have been accused of vulgarity. I say bullsh-t to that.” Mel Brooks
“A study shows that men are hit by lightening four times as many times as women and it is usually after saying “I’ll call you.” Jay Leno
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
This date in history September 23
1779 Earlier Scottish born John Paul Jones came to America as a cabin boy aboard a cargo ship. He lived in Fredericksburg, Virginia for while with his brother who had a business there. He went back to sea as a deckhand and eventually an officer aboard slave and cargo ships and proved to be a capable seaman. He killed a shipmate during a mutiny attempt and went back to America just before the start of the American Revolutionary War. The American colonies began organizing a fleet of naval warships and Jones was recruited and given the rank of Lieutenant and given command of the USS Bonhomme Richard. On this date John Paul Jones engaged the British warships HMS Serapis and the smaller HMS Countess of Scarborough off the east coast of England. It was a furious battle and after while the commander of the Serapis signaled Jones asking if he was ready to “strike his colors” meaning surrender. Jones signaled back the immortal phrase “I have not yet begun to fight” and battle resumed with even more ferocity. An hour or two later both the Serapis and the Countess “struck their colors” and surrendered to Jones. The next morning Jones transferred his flag to the Serapis and soon after the Bonhomme Richard sank. This was not the only victory for Jones; he was instrumental in the suppression of the British Fleet in the Bahamas and the Chesapeake Bay. Jones was revered by the French but for some strange reason his was not thought of as well in America. Jones moved to France and was caught up in the throes of the French Revolution in 1789. He died of an unknown cause in France and was buried in an unmarked grave when he was 45 years old. Later on the United States Ambassador to France had Jones disinterred and his remains were brought to America aboard a warship. He was re-buried in a crypt of honor on the grounds of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. On occasion the crypt is included in ceremonies and when it is opened there is a United States Marine Honor Guard standing by.
1806 On this afternoon the Lewis and Clark expedition rounded the last bend in the Missouri River before reaching the intersection with the Mississippi and are within sight of the docks and piers of Saint Louis, Missouri. The “Corps of Discovery” had begun three years before and most had thought that the whole crew had been wiped out since they had been gone so long. But fortunately they had lost only one crewman and they lost him through illness, he was not killed. The expedition had been ordered by President Thomas Jefferson who wanted to know what the United States had gained in the Louisiana Purchase and the Missouri River basin was the best avenue. The expedition wintered the first year near a known Indian village in South Dakota. The next spring the expedition shoved off heading upstream into unknown territory. When they departed, Meriwether Lewis wrote in his journal “This is the most exciting day of my life.” It would have been the same for me. What an adventure it would have been.
1863 A few days before US General Rosecrans had his ass handed to him by the Confederate Army at the Battle of Chickamauga. The Yankees retreated into Chattanooga, Tennessee and were quickly surrounded. The US had suffered 16,000 casualties in a very short period of time. In Washington President Abraham Lincoln held a conference with Secretary of War Edwin Stanton to try to work something out because the US army in Chattanooga was in serious danger of annihilation. Most experts stated that it would take at least a month get an army there to relieve them because there was no other US armies close by. Lincoln and Stanton decided to pull US General Joseph Hooker’s Corp from the vicinity of Virginia and send them to relieve the troops in Chattanooga. But the difference here was one thing, the telegraph. Hooker commandeered whatever railroads he needed and the telegraph messages preceded his arrival and gave him and his army top priority. Hooker was able to move his army, including the animals, equipment and artillery to Chattanooga and depots in Alabama in a week and was able to break the Confederate siege and save the troops.
1875 On this date the 15 year old “Billy the Kid” was arrested for the first time. As a joke a friend of Billy’s stole a bag of clothes from a Chinese laundry and gave it to Billy to hide for him. Bill was literally caught “holding the bag” by a Silver City policeman and threw him in jail for two days. It was during this time that Billy discovered that he just could not handle being caged. Using his small size to an advantage, he shinnied up the chimney and escaped. I have read that Billy was about 5’-2” and about 120 pounds. It was not long before he was in Lincoln County, New Mexico deeply involved in a range war. It was during this combat that he sharpened his skills with a gun and being unmoved by killing another man. I think we all know what eventually happened to Billy.
Born today:
480BC Greek playwright Euripides. He said “Talk sense to a fool and he will call you foolish.” I think we all know some of them.
1863 US writer Mary Eliza Terrell. She said “The chasm between the principles on which the nation was founded, in which it still professes to believe, and those which are daily practiced under the protection of the flag, yawn wide and deep.” Hey Mary, nothing has changed from that day to this.
1970 US Singer Ani DeFranco. She said “I had rather be able to look at myself in the bathroom mirror than be rich and famous.” I wonder if Bill Gates looks at himself every morning.”
Died today:
1943 US writer Elinor Glyn. She said “Romance is the glamour that turns everyday dust into a golden haze.” I wonder what romance feels like anymore.
1925 US Journalist Carl Rowan. He said “There are no embarrassing questions, only embarrassing answers.” OK, Carl, here is a question. Where is Natalee Holloway?
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“We are all captains of our own ships; if your ship sinks you go down with it.”
Winston Churchill
Let’s see what happened over the last weekend:
In Charlotte, North Carolina the police found a car stopped in the middle of Albemarle Road, a very busy thoroughfare. There were two people in the car, one was dead and the other critically wounded by gunshots.
Down in Litchfield Beach on the South Carolina coast the police watch a 49 year old woman taking photos of a 7 year old girl who had pulled down her pants and was bent over with her rear facing the photographer. They obtained the camera and recalled a series of similar pictures taken of the same girl. The photographer said that she was a professional and the little girl was a model. The photographer is in the joint.
Back in October 2009 a 19 month old child was brought to the hospital in Greenville, SC with severe head injuries. She did not make it. Last Friday 23 year old Clemson student Brandon Lewis was arrested for accessory in the death of a child by abuse and neglect. The child’s mother was arrested also. Both are in the joint with no bond offered.
Last Wednesday a class was held by the South Carolina Highway Patrol on the effects of a Taser on the human body. A Taser was used on a few of the state Troopers. Three of them were injured and one of them so severely that he is not back to work yet. I cannot help but smile.
Down in Mobile, Alabama a former attorney pled guilty to wire fraud. This jackass was a civil attorney and on one occasion he collected a check for over $70,000 from the sale of his client’s ex-husband’s house and put the money in his personal account, went up to Auburn and bought a diamond ring. On another occasion he settled a law suit for over $90,000 and put that in his personal account and never told his client of the settlement. He was dis-barred and will spend nearly 3 years in the joint. By the way, he spent most of the money by putting dope up his nose.
Oscar winner Denzel Washington is concerned that nearly 30% of middle and high school students drop out. He is spending a lot of his own time and money going from school to school trying to persuade these kids to stay in school. Good for him…he is one of my favorite actors.
Will and Jada Smith have concerns for clean drinking water nationwide and have donated a hell of a lot of money toward this end. Good for him too. He is a good actor also.
This date in history September 22
1989 Irving Berlin died at the age of 101. What can be said that hasn’t been said already? He was a Russian immigrant and came to New York in 1893. His father died early and little Israel Balin (Irving Berlin) began trying to help his mother and his 7 siblings by doing a sidewalk entertainment show. He sang, danced, told jokes, etc. for whatever coins that were tossed his way. But later he changed his name to Irving Berlin and began writing song and plays and was soon recognized for the genius that he was. Just a few of the songs he gave us: God Bless America, Dancing Cheek to Cheek, Puttin’ on the Ritz, White Christmas, Blue Skies and many others. He was drafted during WWI and went uncomplainingly into the infantry. While in the army he wrote Oh, How I hate to get up in the morning. He was a truly gifted individual.
1964 Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona is running for president against LBJ and says that if the US is not willing to go in and conquer North Vietnam it would be better if the US withdraws completely. He also recommended using low yield nuclear devices at all country borders so they would be impassable for years to come. He called LBJ a liar and said that LBJ is indeed committing the US to what is essentially a private war. LBJ and the Democrats rose up in unison and called Goldwater a bloodthirsty warmonger. Within weeks after Johnson won the election he ordered the 1st and 5th Marines among others into Nam and very soon there 80,000 American troops on Nam and the numbers were still climbing. Maybe LBJ was indeed lying. But I ain’t sure low yield nuclear devices are the answer either.
1862 A. Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation whereby all slaves in the states in rebellion would be freed. This essentially was a course reversal for the policy of the Lincoln Administration. The policy of the Administration at the outset of the war was that the states must remain united no matter what. After several military setbacks the Lincoln administration saw that they were losing the support of the people because of it, decided to use a moralistic basis for prosecuting the war and that be the freeing of the slaves rather than unity. The irony of all of this is that there were slave holding states not in rebellion such as Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware and Missouri. What about them? Anyway, Lincoln had to have a basis for prosecuting the war other than unity. Unity as a basis wasn’t flying. The legislation banning slavery everywhere was enacted a couple of years later.
1995 Ted Turner has agreed to the buyout of Turner Broadcast System by Time Warner for a mere $7.5 Billion. $7.5 BILLION Y'ALL!!!! Oh my God, lawyers started coming out of the woodwork wanting a piece of this action including those from the Federal Trade Commission. The lawyers knew better than to screw directly with Ted because he was a notorious hard ass and would cuss you out in a heartbeat. After several years of haggling the number was cut to $6.5 Billion. I guess the bloodsucking lawyers split up the $1 Billion. Ted went to one of his ranches in Montana and hung out for a while. It is reported that Ted collectively owns enough land to equal the state of Rhode Island. You don’t screw with Ted.
1961 JFK brings the Peace Corps into existence. Originally thought to be used a weapon against Communism, it evolved into an agency to improve the education and well being of the less fortunate no matter who or where and that is what it is today.
1598 The famous poet and playwright Ben Jonson kills another man in a duel and this ain’t the first time. He killed another one in 1594 during an “affair of honor”. But a few months later his play “Every Man in His Humor” debuts and is an immediate success with William Shakespeare in the lead role. During this time, William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson were equally famous.
1554 The Spanish conquistador Coronado died never having achieved his dream of finding the Seven Cities of Gold full of precious gems as told in mythology. He was lead on an expedition to what was said to be the city but it turned out to be a small Zuni village of adobe huts. Another Indian came and said that his tribe has a city like he was looking for and off they went on yet another trek. They went through what is now Texas, Oklahoma and on into what is now Missouri. No golden cities were found. So Coronado returned to Mexico, Vera Cruz in particular. Even though he found no gold, Coronado had the sense to map the areas he went through and these maps proved to be very valuable to those that followed.
Born today:
1694 English statesman Lord Chesterfield. He said “I recommend that you take care of the minutes and the hours will take care of themselves.” There is another adage that says take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.
1791 English scientist Michael Faraday. When trying to explain the usefulness of electricity to Prime Minister Gladstone he said. “Why sir, it is likely that soon you will be able to tax it.” Hey Mike, you have no idea how accurate you were.
1927 Baseball manager Tommy Lasorda. When talking about his catcher Mike Scioscia and his speed he said “If he got into a foot race with his pregnant wife he would come in third.” That’s cold, Tommy.
1958 US rocker Joan Jett. She said “I use to stand in front of a mirror and pretend I was Janis Joplin”. Janis sang not with her voice but with her heart and soul.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
I have a songwriter friend who penned this line in one of his songs “They warned me about the wild Texas rattlesnakes, they warned me about the wild Texas rivers, but they didn’t warn me about you.” That reminds me of a girl I met in Houston.
Quote of the day:
“We are all captains of our own ships; if your ship sinks you go down with it.”
Winston Churchill
Let’s see what happened over the last weekend:
In Charlotte, North Carolina the police found a car stopped in the middle of Albemarle Road, a very busy thoroughfare. There were two people in the car, one was dead and the other critically wounded by gunshots.
Down in Litchfield Beach on the South Carolina coast the police watch a 49 year old woman taking photos of a 7 year old girl who had pulled down her pants and was bent over with her rear facing the photographer. They obtained the camera and recalled a series of similar pictures taken of the same girl. The photographer said that she was a professional and the little girl was a model. The photographer is in the joint.
Back in October 2009 a 19 month old child was brought to the hospital in Greenville, SC with severe head injuries. She did not make it. Last Friday 23 year old Clemson student Brandon Lewis was arrested for accessory in the death of a child by abuse and neglect. The child’s mother was arrested also. Both are in the joint with no bond offered.
Last Wednesday a class was held by the South Carolina Highway Patrol on the effects of a Taser on the human body. A Taser was used on a few of the state Troopers. Three of them were injured and one of them so severely that he is not back to work yet. I cannot help but smile.
Down in Mobile, Alabama a former attorney pled guilty to wire fraud. This jackass was a civil attorney and on one occasion he collected a check for over $70,000 from the sale of his client’s ex-husband’s house and put the money in his personal account, went up to Auburn and bought a diamond ring. On another occasion he settled a law suit for over $90,000 and put that in his personal account and never told his client of the settlement. He was dis-barred and will spend nearly 3 years in the joint. By the way, he spent most of the money by putting dope up his nose.
Oscar winner Denzel Washington is concerned that nearly 30% of middle and high school students drop out. He is spending a lot of his own time and money going from school to school trying to persuade these kids to stay in school. Good for him…he is one of my favorite actors.
Will and Jada Smith have concerns for clean drinking water nationwide and have donated a hell of a lot of money toward this end. Good for him too. He is a good actor also.
This date in history September 22
1989 Irving Berlin died at the age of 101. What can be said that hasn’t been said already? He was a Russian immigrant and came to New York in 1893. His father died early and little Israel Balin (Irving Berlin) began trying to help his mother and his 7 siblings by doing a sidewalk entertainment show. He sang, danced, told jokes, etc. for whatever coins that were tossed his way. But later he changed his name to Irving Berlin and began writing song and plays and was soon recognized for the genius that he was. Just a few of the songs he gave us: God Bless America, Dancing Cheek to Cheek, Puttin’ on the Ritz, White Christmas, Blue Skies and many others. He was drafted during WWI and went uncomplainingly into the infantry. While in the army he wrote Oh, How I hate to get up in the morning. He was a truly gifted individual.
1964 Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona is running for president against LBJ and says that if the US is not willing to go in and conquer North Vietnam it would be better if the US withdraws completely. He also recommended using low yield nuclear devices at all country borders so they would be impassable for years to come. He called LBJ a liar and said that LBJ is indeed committing the US to what is essentially a private war. LBJ and the Democrats rose up in unison and called Goldwater a bloodthirsty warmonger. Within weeks after Johnson won the election he ordered the 1st and 5th Marines among others into Nam and very soon there 80,000 American troops on Nam and the numbers were still climbing. Maybe LBJ was indeed lying. But I ain’t sure low yield nuclear devices are the answer either.
1862 A. Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation whereby all slaves in the states in rebellion would be freed. This essentially was a course reversal for the policy of the Lincoln Administration. The policy of the Administration at the outset of the war was that the states must remain united no matter what. After several military setbacks the Lincoln administration saw that they were losing the support of the people because of it, decided to use a moralistic basis for prosecuting the war and that be the freeing of the slaves rather than unity. The irony of all of this is that there were slave holding states not in rebellion such as Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware and Missouri. What about them? Anyway, Lincoln had to have a basis for prosecuting the war other than unity. Unity as a basis wasn’t flying. The legislation banning slavery everywhere was enacted a couple of years later.
1995 Ted Turner has agreed to the buyout of Turner Broadcast System by Time Warner for a mere $7.5 Billion. $7.5 BILLION Y'ALL!!!! Oh my God, lawyers started coming out of the woodwork wanting a piece of this action including those from the Federal Trade Commission. The lawyers knew better than to screw directly with Ted because he was a notorious hard ass and would cuss you out in a heartbeat. After several years of haggling the number was cut to $6.5 Billion. I guess the bloodsucking lawyers split up the $1 Billion. Ted went to one of his ranches in Montana and hung out for a while. It is reported that Ted collectively owns enough land to equal the state of Rhode Island. You don’t screw with Ted.
1961 JFK brings the Peace Corps into existence. Originally thought to be used a weapon against Communism, it evolved into an agency to improve the education and well being of the less fortunate no matter who or where and that is what it is today.
1598 The famous poet and playwright Ben Jonson kills another man in a duel and this ain’t the first time. He killed another one in 1594 during an “affair of honor”. But a few months later his play “Every Man in His Humor” debuts and is an immediate success with William Shakespeare in the lead role. During this time, William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson were equally famous.
1554 The Spanish conquistador Coronado died never having achieved his dream of finding the Seven Cities of Gold full of precious gems as told in mythology. He was lead on an expedition to what was said to be the city but it turned out to be a small Zuni village of adobe huts. Another Indian came and said that his tribe has a city like he was looking for and off they went on yet another trek. They went through what is now Texas, Oklahoma and on into what is now Missouri. No golden cities were found. So Coronado returned to Mexico, Vera Cruz in particular. Even though he found no gold, Coronado had the sense to map the areas he went through and these maps proved to be very valuable to those that followed.
Born today:
1694 English statesman Lord Chesterfield. He said “I recommend that you take care of the minutes and the hours will take care of themselves.” There is another adage that says take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.
1791 English scientist Michael Faraday. When trying to explain the usefulness of electricity to Prime Minister Gladstone he said. “Why sir, it is likely that soon you will be able to tax it.” Hey Mike, you have no idea how accurate you were.
1927 Baseball manager Tommy Lasorda. When talking about his catcher Mike Scioscia and his speed he said “If he got into a foot race with his pregnant wife he would come in third.” That’s cold, Tommy.
1958 US rocker Joan Jett. She said “I use to stand in front of a mirror and pretend I was Janis Joplin”. Janis sang not with her voice but with her heart and soul.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
I have a songwriter friend who penned this line in one of his songs “They warned me about the wild Texas rattlesnakes, they warned me about the wild Texas rivers, but they didn’t warn me about you.” That reminds me of a girl I met in Houston.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“Happiness is not found in possessions and gold; Happiness is found only in the soul.
Democritus
A few days after D-day a trumpeter/bugler came ashore and was playing Reveille in the morning and Taps at night. On one particular night his commander told him to not play Taps because they knew of one particular Germen sniper out there that they had not been able to locate. The trumpeter known as “Captain Jack” decided to play anyway, except he played Lili Marlene, which is almost the national song of Germany. Jack was not shot at but the next morning a team of Allied soldiers brought in 15 German prisoners and one of them said in broken English, “Who played the trumpet?” Captain Jack said that he was the trumpeter and they shook hands. The prisoner said that when he heard Lili Marlene He thought of his girl friend, his brothers and sister, his parents and grandparents and decided that he had rather live and surrendered. In this case, music made the difference.
Down in the swamps around the Santee-Cooper lakes in southeastern South Carolina there is an overburden of American alligators and a tightly controlled hunt is being allowed this year. The Wildlife authorities sold permits and tags with peculiar rules such as no rifles allowed. All alligators if taken by boat, the gator must be brought alongside the boat and dispatched with a hand gun. If the gator is taken from land, the gator must be brought to shore before being dispatched with a hand gun. It seemed kind of weird to me but that were the rules. For reasons unknown, a young woman from Massachusetts applied for and received a permit and tag. This girl found a gator with the help of a guide and dispatched a monster, y’all. This critter was over 11 feet long and weighted about 1,100 pounds. If it is not a state record it ought to be.
Apparently the destruction attributable to the wreck of the Deepwater Horizon oil well is not over. In the last two or three days a horrendous fish kill occurred in a bayou in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Thousands upon thousands of fish are rotting on the surface while the clean-up is in progress. The reports are that a wave of crude came in the bayou on the incoming tide and it was all over. Another report is that within several hundred yards of the Deepwater Horizon the bottom is cover with a layer of crude and includes thousand of dead shrimp. As we know, shrimp are bottom feeders.
This past weekend 31 immigrants from all over the globe completed the process and took the oath of allegiance to the United States and became citizens. The ceremony took place in the amphitheater on the property of poet/writer Carl Sandburg near Flat Rock, North Carolina. These people I welcome with open arms. It is the fence jumper, river swimmers and drug dealers that cross our borders illegally that need to be eliminated….permanently.
This date in history September 21
1945 Henry Ford II takes over at Ford after the sudden death of his father. The company was rapidly approaching bankruptcy and needed help. The first thing Henry II did was fire the Personnel Chief Harry Bennett who for years had used strong armed tactics and a anti-union stance that made Ford famous for bad labor relations. Henry had virtually no management training or experience and he knew it. So he hired several young financial wizards led by Robert McNamara known as the “Whiz kids”. Among these young guys was a Princeton graduate named Lee Iacocca. As we all may or may not remember Robert McNamara later became the Secretary of Defense under JFK and Iacocca became president of Chrysler. The “whiz kids” saved Ford from bankruptcy and the rest is history.
1954 The movie Sabrina debuts starring Humphrey Bogart, William Holden and Audrey Hepburn. This was a change of character for Bogie in which he played a sophisticated businessman turned Romeo. Bogie normally played the role of a tough criminal or hard-ass private detective. During WWI Bogie joined the navy and was injured in the face during an attack on his ship resulting in his hard looking face and small lisp. He gave us many milestone movies like Casablanca, The Big Sleep, Key Largo, To Have and Have Not and the movie he won an Oscar for Best Actor in African Queen. Bogie was a heavy smoker and the expected happened in 1958 when he died of lung cancer. It was a loss for all of us.
1961 The US 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces is activated at Fort Bragg, NC by President JFK. Kennedy was very interested in this unit and came to visit. While there he specified that the unit was to be used to train the Vietnamese people to do their own counter-insurgency work. He also allowed them to wear a special headgear, the Green Beret. The 5th Special Forces Group went to Nam in 1964 and assumed responsibility for all Special Forces. They zeroed in on the mountain people known as the Montagnards and trained them extensively. By 1970 there were about 42,000 men and women trained by the Green Berets in Nam and the Green Berets transferred responsibility to the South Vietnam Border Rangers for the rest of the war. The 5th was withdrawn from Nam in February of 1971. The Green Berets executed their mission magnificently but sadly it seems that it was all for naught.
1938 The incredible happens when a category 3 hurricane strikes New England. As with all Atlantic hurricanes the storm began off the west coast of Africa near the Cape Verde Islands. It became a hurricane as it approached the Leeward Islands and was reported to the US Weather Service by a ship. The hurricane headed for the Carolinas coast but suddenly turned north and followed the eastern seaboard. The US Weather Service thought the hurricane would dissipate over the colder waters but the storm was over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream and held together. The howling storm came ashore over Long Island, NY with virtually no warning for the residents. As house by house was disintegrated by the onslaught and some of the residents were washed out to sea and were never seen again. The storm arrived at New London, Connecticut at high tide with 40 ft waves preceding it. New London was nearly leveled with many injuries and death. The next city in the path of this monster was Providence, Rhode Island and after all was said and done there was 13 feet of water in the city. This sounds familiar, doesn’t it? The hurricane dissipated over Nova Scotia. Hurricanes were not named in those days so this disaster is just known as the Storm of 1938. The final totals were: 600 dead, 9,000 homes destroyed and 15,000 damaged, 3,000 ships sunk. There hadn’t been a hurricane in New England for 100 years and I guess the residents were not worried about them. They do now.
1942 The first B-29 Super Fortress goes on a test flight in Seattle, Washington. The bomber was an idea dreamed up by US Gen. Hap Arnold that wanted a bomber that could lift nearly its own weight and have a range of 3,000 plus miles. Boeing got the contract and delivered the bomber in minimum time. This bomber was instrumental in ending the war in the Pacific as the B-17 Flying Fortress was in ending the war in Europe during WWII. I guess the 2 most famous B-29s were the Enola Gay and Bock’s Car. The morning of August 6, 1945 saw the Enola Gay over Hiroshima, Japan and the morning of August 9, 1945 saw Bock’s Car over Nagasaki, Japan. Bock’s Car got its name from the pilot John Bock but on this day the pilot was Major Charles Sweeney.
Born today:
1821 English writer H.G. Wells. He said “Every time I see an adult riding a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.” It will take a lot more than that for me to lose my despair.
1928 US Representative (OH) John Ashworth. He said “I am not of the breed of sheep that will follow a bellwether over a precipice.” Me neither.
1947 US writer Stephan King. He said “We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones.” Almost everyone has a demon in their sub-consciousness.
1950 US comic Bill Murray. He said “I am a nut, but not just any nut.” You are right there, Bill.
1954 US drummer Phil Taylor. He said “We go home afterward safe in the knowledge that we have deafened a few.” Not this horse, Phil.
1966 Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland (son of Donald.) After being awarded the Golden Globe award he said “Now I know how Charlie Sheen felt. I’ve lost all feeling in my lower half.” I really enjoy his performance in “24”.
Died today:
19BC Roman writer Virgil. He said “It does not bother the wolf as to how many sheep there are.” That sounds like Robert E. Lee to me.
1947 US sportscaster Harry Carey, Sr. He said “There goes Steve Bullett into left field and he is getting congratulations from everybody. He and his sister are parents of a new baby.” Harry, how is that again?
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Goodbye from the land high temperatures, high gas prices and low morals. Just kidding.
Quote of the day:
“Happiness is not found in possessions and gold; Happiness is found only in the soul.
Democritus
A few days after D-day a trumpeter/bugler came ashore and was playing Reveille in the morning and Taps at night. On one particular night his commander told him to not play Taps because they knew of one particular Germen sniper out there that they had not been able to locate. The trumpeter known as “Captain Jack” decided to play anyway, except he played Lili Marlene, which is almost the national song of Germany. Jack was not shot at but the next morning a team of Allied soldiers brought in 15 German prisoners and one of them said in broken English, “Who played the trumpet?” Captain Jack said that he was the trumpeter and they shook hands. The prisoner said that when he heard Lili Marlene He thought of his girl friend, his brothers and sister, his parents and grandparents and decided that he had rather live and surrendered. In this case, music made the difference.
Down in the swamps around the Santee-Cooper lakes in southeastern South Carolina there is an overburden of American alligators and a tightly controlled hunt is being allowed this year. The Wildlife authorities sold permits and tags with peculiar rules such as no rifles allowed. All alligators if taken by boat, the gator must be brought alongside the boat and dispatched with a hand gun. If the gator is taken from land, the gator must be brought to shore before being dispatched with a hand gun. It seemed kind of weird to me but that were the rules. For reasons unknown, a young woman from Massachusetts applied for and received a permit and tag. This girl found a gator with the help of a guide and dispatched a monster, y’all. This critter was over 11 feet long and weighted about 1,100 pounds. If it is not a state record it ought to be.
Apparently the destruction attributable to the wreck of the Deepwater Horizon oil well is not over. In the last two or three days a horrendous fish kill occurred in a bayou in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Thousands upon thousands of fish are rotting on the surface while the clean-up is in progress. The reports are that a wave of crude came in the bayou on the incoming tide and it was all over. Another report is that within several hundred yards of the Deepwater Horizon the bottom is cover with a layer of crude and includes thousand of dead shrimp. As we know, shrimp are bottom feeders.
This past weekend 31 immigrants from all over the globe completed the process and took the oath of allegiance to the United States and became citizens. The ceremony took place in the amphitheater on the property of poet/writer Carl Sandburg near Flat Rock, North Carolina. These people I welcome with open arms. It is the fence jumper, river swimmers and drug dealers that cross our borders illegally that need to be eliminated….permanently.
This date in history September 21
1945 Henry Ford II takes over at Ford after the sudden death of his father. The company was rapidly approaching bankruptcy and needed help. The first thing Henry II did was fire the Personnel Chief Harry Bennett who for years had used strong armed tactics and a anti-union stance that made Ford famous for bad labor relations. Henry had virtually no management training or experience and he knew it. So he hired several young financial wizards led by Robert McNamara known as the “Whiz kids”. Among these young guys was a Princeton graduate named Lee Iacocca. As we all may or may not remember Robert McNamara later became the Secretary of Defense under JFK and Iacocca became president of Chrysler. The “whiz kids” saved Ford from bankruptcy and the rest is history.
1954 The movie Sabrina debuts starring Humphrey Bogart, William Holden and Audrey Hepburn. This was a change of character for Bogie in which he played a sophisticated businessman turned Romeo. Bogie normally played the role of a tough criminal or hard-ass private detective. During WWI Bogie joined the navy and was injured in the face during an attack on his ship resulting in his hard looking face and small lisp. He gave us many milestone movies like Casablanca, The Big Sleep, Key Largo, To Have and Have Not and the movie he won an Oscar for Best Actor in African Queen. Bogie was a heavy smoker and the expected happened in 1958 when he died of lung cancer. It was a loss for all of us.
1961 The US 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces is activated at Fort Bragg, NC by President JFK. Kennedy was very interested in this unit and came to visit. While there he specified that the unit was to be used to train the Vietnamese people to do their own counter-insurgency work. He also allowed them to wear a special headgear, the Green Beret. The 5th Special Forces Group went to Nam in 1964 and assumed responsibility for all Special Forces. They zeroed in on the mountain people known as the Montagnards and trained them extensively. By 1970 there were about 42,000 men and women trained by the Green Berets in Nam and the Green Berets transferred responsibility to the South Vietnam Border Rangers for the rest of the war. The 5th was withdrawn from Nam in February of 1971. The Green Berets executed their mission magnificently but sadly it seems that it was all for naught.
1938 The incredible happens when a category 3 hurricane strikes New England. As with all Atlantic hurricanes the storm began off the west coast of Africa near the Cape Verde Islands. It became a hurricane as it approached the Leeward Islands and was reported to the US Weather Service by a ship. The hurricane headed for the Carolinas coast but suddenly turned north and followed the eastern seaboard. The US Weather Service thought the hurricane would dissipate over the colder waters but the storm was over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream and held together. The howling storm came ashore over Long Island, NY with virtually no warning for the residents. As house by house was disintegrated by the onslaught and some of the residents were washed out to sea and were never seen again. The storm arrived at New London, Connecticut at high tide with 40 ft waves preceding it. New London was nearly leveled with many injuries and death. The next city in the path of this monster was Providence, Rhode Island and after all was said and done there was 13 feet of water in the city. This sounds familiar, doesn’t it? The hurricane dissipated over Nova Scotia. Hurricanes were not named in those days so this disaster is just known as the Storm of 1938. The final totals were: 600 dead, 9,000 homes destroyed and 15,000 damaged, 3,000 ships sunk. There hadn’t been a hurricane in New England for 100 years and I guess the residents were not worried about them. They do now.
1942 The first B-29 Super Fortress goes on a test flight in Seattle, Washington. The bomber was an idea dreamed up by US Gen. Hap Arnold that wanted a bomber that could lift nearly its own weight and have a range of 3,000 plus miles. Boeing got the contract and delivered the bomber in minimum time. This bomber was instrumental in ending the war in the Pacific as the B-17 Flying Fortress was in ending the war in Europe during WWII. I guess the 2 most famous B-29s were the Enola Gay and Bock’s Car. The morning of August 6, 1945 saw the Enola Gay over Hiroshima, Japan and the morning of August 9, 1945 saw Bock’s Car over Nagasaki, Japan. Bock’s Car got its name from the pilot John Bock but on this day the pilot was Major Charles Sweeney.
Born today:
1821 English writer H.G. Wells. He said “Every time I see an adult riding a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.” It will take a lot more than that for me to lose my despair.
1928 US Representative (OH) John Ashworth. He said “I am not of the breed of sheep that will follow a bellwether over a precipice.” Me neither.
1947 US writer Stephan King. He said “We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones.” Almost everyone has a demon in their sub-consciousness.
1950 US comic Bill Murray. He said “I am a nut, but not just any nut.” You are right there, Bill.
1954 US drummer Phil Taylor. He said “We go home afterward safe in the knowledge that we have deafened a few.” Not this horse, Phil.
1966 Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland (son of Donald.) After being awarded the Golden Globe award he said “Now I know how Charlie Sheen felt. I’ve lost all feeling in my lower half.” I really enjoy his performance in “24”.
Died today:
19BC Roman writer Virgil. He said “It does not bother the wolf as to how many sheep there are.” That sounds like Robert E. Lee to me.
1947 US sportscaster Harry Carey, Sr. He said “There goes Steve Bullett into left field and he is getting congratulations from everybody. He and his sister are parents of a new baby.” Harry, how is that again?
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Goodbye from the land high temperatures, high gas prices and low morals. Just kidding.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“No longer forward nor behind I look in hope and fear;
But grateful take the good I find, the best of now and here.”
John Greenleaf Whittier
I guess all of you know by now that New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush has returned the Heisman Trophy he was awarded in 2005. He said that he had to do it to settle his conscience. I seems that Reggie and his family was given thousands of dollars if he would attend the University of Southern California on a football scholarship. This is a gigantic no-no in the world of college football. No one has said from whence the money came but the University itself appears blameless, or at least that is their claim. They are catching hell from the NCAA right now for recruiting violations. But I can assure you that they will not return the $48 to $50 million dollars gained when they beat Oklahoma for the national championship in the 2004-2005 season with Bush in the backfield. There was talk that the 2005 Heisman should be offered to Vince Young who came in second to Bush but the Heisman committee will just record that there was no Heisman Award given in 2005.
All of you that think the so-called Tea Party headed by Sarah Palin is just a flash in the pan need to look and see what happened in the primaries last Tuesday. As VP Joe Biden and ex-president Clinton said “The Tea Party should not be underestimated or ignored.”
A few days ago Greenville County Law enforcement raided and arrested four illegal Latinos for distribution of marijuana, cocaine and heroin in this area. All but one were soldiers of one of the powerful Mexican drug cartels. Let’s do an examination here. It is obvious that these vermin entered our country illegally. It is true that many of those trying to get into America are looking for a better life but mixed in with them is these lice. How are we supposed to tell the difference? Close the damned borders tight as Dick’s hatband or risk our children being fed their poisons and ruining their lives.
There is no other option…except summary execution on sight. By the way, three other illegal immigrants were arrested were arrested in Charlotte, NC for the same reason, not to mention two more arrested in Mobile, Al. trying to trade marijuana and cocaine for military grade automatic weapons. You do the math.
South Carolina State Senator Glenn McConnell is a Civil War re-enactor. This mean that he dresses up in a Confederate soldier’s uniform and re-enacts different events and battles that occurred in the American Civil War. There was a lot of criticism heaped upon Glenn, especially by the NCAAP even though there are many blacks that willingly participate in these what are essentially plays. Glenn has no slaves and knows no one that has any. Even if his ancestors were slaveholders it is not his responsibility to eternally atone for it. Being a re-enactor is his HOBBY for crying out loud. For the knee-jerk uninformed, the American Civil War was the most tragic event to ever befall this great nation and it WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN. There were more Americans killed in that horrible time in America than in all other wars combined. Are we supposed to forget that? Not likely. Should we forget Pearl harbor including the about 2,600 Americans killed by the Japanese? How about 9/11 where about 2,900 Americans were killed by the Arabs? How about the Battle of the Bulge where 78,000 Americans and British were killed by the Germans? How about the American Civil War where over 680,000 Americans killed each other? Should we forget all of this? I think not. Here is another example: Tom Cruise wore a Nazi uniform in the movie Valkyrie. How dare he do such a thing after all the evil atrocities the Nazis did! Cruise was in that uniform acting in a PLAY and so is McConnell. We learn from history. Let’s not be stupid with unreasonable and irresponsible prejudices, read about what happened, it will change you. At least it will make you appear less ignorant.
This date in history September 20
1984 An Arab terrorist drove a car loaded with explosives up to the US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon and lights it off killing 12 people including his own rotten, pig sucking, and cowardly self. This ain’t the first or the last of these cowardly acts because following this came attacks on the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killing 257 innocent civilians. I have never figured out what these Arabs hope to accomplish, all it does is make people mad. It certainly doesn’t make me want to become a Moslem it just make me want to go kill them.
1979 Lee Iacocca is elected chairman of the Chrysler Corporation. Lee had been fired by Ford earlier because Henry Ford II thought that Lee was just a “simple Italian immigrant”. Lee set about rescuing Chrysler from the precipice of bankruptcy. He was successful by layoffs, streamlining, “In your face advertising” and government guaranteed loans which Chrysler paid back in four years. During these four years, Lee asked that his salary be $1 per year setting an example for the other executives. After Chrysler began thriving again Lee was offered a salary of $7M per year, he said no to that offer and said “I will would take $1M a year, what the hell am I going to do with $7M a year.” Think about the raping other companies have been getting from their executives recently. We need more people like Lee.
1968 US military officials defend the use of Agent Orange and other defoliants in Vietnam. During the same news conference Dr. Fred Shirley a US Dept. of Agriculture official said the US military had severely underestimated the long term effect of these defoliants and that he suspected there would be an adverse effect on the crops that were sprayed. These chemicals were used primarily in III corps to clear out the foliage near the DMZ and borders with other countries to make it easier to discover incursions. Later on the Vietnamese people near the sprayed areas came down with unusually high rates of cancer and birth defects. I really don’t know the facts about what caused these tragedies because no comprehensive study has been done but I am convinced it was the defoliants. The US military sprayed 19 million gallons of this stuff. What the hell?
1943 It seems that the Germans had assigned the giant battleships Tirpitz and Scharnhorst to Norway to harass and/or stop the shipping of materiel from the US to Russia and England. The Scharnhorst left on an assignment leaving the Tirpitz alone in a Norwegian fiord. Many attempts were made to bomb the ship but all had failed so six English mini-subs were assigned the task of attaching explosives to the hull of the Tirpitz and lighting them off. On this day three of the subs were successful and damaged the ship to the point that it was out of commission for 6 months. By then better air cover for the convoys had been established and the Tirpitz was never able to fire a shot in anger.
1863 This is the second day of the Battle of Chickamauga one of the bloodiest battles in the war. During the previous night several divisions of CSA Gen. James a. Longstreet’s (A South Carolinian, by the way) troops moved up into line with CSA Gen. Braxton Bragg’s troops. Longstreet’s troops were fresh from the CSA defeat at Gettysburg and were spoiling for revenge. That opportunity came on this day when US Gen. Rosecrans ordered US Gen. Thomas Woods and his troops to move and plug a gap in the Union lines but in fact no gap existed. When Woods and his troops moved it created a gap in the Union lines and Longstreet’s troops came pouring through the gap screaming at the top of their lungs. The Union line collapsed and nearly all of the troops hauled ass back toward Chattanooga, all except US Gen. George Thomas who stood his ground and his troops made and orderly retreat. For this show of determination Thomas became known as “The Rock of Chickamauga.” There were at total of 34,600 casualties in this battle. I don’t know what else to say here.
1806 The Lewis and Clark expedition on their return trip comes upon the first honky settlement west of the Mississippi and it is La Charette being about 55 miles up the Missouri River from St. Louis. La Charette consisted of only seven dwellings but when they saw the expedition’s boats coming they ran to the river and cheered for everyone thought the expedition had been wiped out because they had been gone so long. The greatest adventure of all time was 55 miles from its end.
Born today:
356BC Greek military genius Alexander the Great. He said “Remember upon the actions of one depends the fate of all.” His greatest enemy was the Persians which he always defeated. One reason was that Alexander’s troops carried lances that were about two feet longer than the Persians, meaning that in a head to head charge, Alexander’s troop’s lance points got there first. The Persians never figured that out along with Alexander’s mastery of his cavalry and engineering. The Persians came from what is now Iraq and Iran. They are still stupid.
Born today:
1902 English author Florence “Stevie” Smith. She said “This Englishwoman is so refined she has no bosom and no behind.” I think we have met, Stevie.
1921 US comic Slappy White. He said “The trouble with being unemployed is that as soon as you wake up you are on the clock.” Been there, done that, have tee shirt.
Died today:
1933 English social reformer Annie Besant. She said “For centuries the clergy considered women as a necessary evil and the most revered saints were those that hated women the most.” When you say “saints” that means Catholic to me. Maybe all of those priests that were prosecuted for sexual abuse of juveniles really hated women down deep. But what do I know?
1996 Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdos. He said “A mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems.” I can’t drink coffee, makes me too jumpy.
2005 Ukrainian Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal. He said “None of my clients, not Stangl, not Mengele, not Eichmann, not even Hitler or Stalin was born a criminal. Someone had to teach them to hate: Maybe politics, maybe the society, or maybe it took even a Jewish prostitute to take them below.” Wiesenthal was a relentless pursuer of those monsters.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Goodbye from the land of Azaleas, Camellias, Panama Red and Acapulco gold.
Quote of the day:
“No longer forward nor behind I look in hope and fear;
But grateful take the good I find, the best of now and here.”
John Greenleaf Whittier
I guess all of you know by now that New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush has returned the Heisman Trophy he was awarded in 2005. He said that he had to do it to settle his conscience. I seems that Reggie and his family was given thousands of dollars if he would attend the University of Southern California on a football scholarship. This is a gigantic no-no in the world of college football. No one has said from whence the money came but the University itself appears blameless, or at least that is their claim. They are catching hell from the NCAA right now for recruiting violations. But I can assure you that they will not return the $48 to $50 million dollars gained when they beat Oklahoma for the national championship in the 2004-2005 season with Bush in the backfield. There was talk that the 2005 Heisman should be offered to Vince Young who came in second to Bush but the Heisman committee will just record that there was no Heisman Award given in 2005.
All of you that think the so-called Tea Party headed by Sarah Palin is just a flash in the pan need to look and see what happened in the primaries last Tuesday. As VP Joe Biden and ex-president Clinton said “The Tea Party should not be underestimated or ignored.”
A few days ago Greenville County Law enforcement raided and arrested four illegal Latinos for distribution of marijuana, cocaine and heroin in this area. All but one were soldiers of one of the powerful Mexican drug cartels. Let’s do an examination here. It is obvious that these vermin entered our country illegally. It is true that many of those trying to get into America are looking for a better life but mixed in with them is these lice. How are we supposed to tell the difference? Close the damned borders tight as Dick’s hatband or risk our children being fed their poisons and ruining their lives.
There is no other option…except summary execution on sight. By the way, three other illegal immigrants were arrested were arrested in Charlotte, NC for the same reason, not to mention two more arrested in Mobile, Al. trying to trade marijuana and cocaine for military grade automatic weapons. You do the math.
South Carolina State Senator Glenn McConnell is a Civil War re-enactor. This mean that he dresses up in a Confederate soldier’s uniform and re-enacts different events and battles that occurred in the American Civil War. There was a lot of criticism heaped upon Glenn, especially by the NCAAP even though there are many blacks that willingly participate in these what are essentially plays. Glenn has no slaves and knows no one that has any. Even if his ancestors were slaveholders it is not his responsibility to eternally atone for it. Being a re-enactor is his HOBBY for crying out loud. For the knee-jerk uninformed, the American Civil War was the most tragic event to ever befall this great nation and it WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN. There were more Americans killed in that horrible time in America than in all other wars combined. Are we supposed to forget that? Not likely. Should we forget Pearl harbor including the about 2,600 Americans killed by the Japanese? How about 9/11 where about 2,900 Americans were killed by the Arabs? How about the Battle of the Bulge where 78,000 Americans and British were killed by the Germans? How about the American Civil War where over 680,000 Americans killed each other? Should we forget all of this? I think not. Here is another example: Tom Cruise wore a Nazi uniform in the movie Valkyrie. How dare he do such a thing after all the evil atrocities the Nazis did! Cruise was in that uniform acting in a PLAY and so is McConnell. We learn from history. Let’s not be stupid with unreasonable and irresponsible prejudices, read about what happened, it will change you. At least it will make you appear less ignorant.
This date in history September 20
1984 An Arab terrorist drove a car loaded with explosives up to the US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon and lights it off killing 12 people including his own rotten, pig sucking, and cowardly self. This ain’t the first or the last of these cowardly acts because following this came attacks on the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killing 257 innocent civilians. I have never figured out what these Arabs hope to accomplish, all it does is make people mad. It certainly doesn’t make me want to become a Moslem it just make me want to go kill them.
1979 Lee Iacocca is elected chairman of the Chrysler Corporation. Lee had been fired by Ford earlier because Henry Ford II thought that Lee was just a “simple Italian immigrant”. Lee set about rescuing Chrysler from the precipice of bankruptcy. He was successful by layoffs, streamlining, “In your face advertising” and government guaranteed loans which Chrysler paid back in four years. During these four years, Lee asked that his salary be $1 per year setting an example for the other executives. After Chrysler began thriving again Lee was offered a salary of $7M per year, he said no to that offer and said “I will would take $1M a year, what the hell am I going to do with $7M a year.” Think about the raping other companies have been getting from their executives recently. We need more people like Lee.
1968 US military officials defend the use of Agent Orange and other defoliants in Vietnam. During the same news conference Dr. Fred Shirley a US Dept. of Agriculture official said the US military had severely underestimated the long term effect of these defoliants and that he suspected there would be an adverse effect on the crops that were sprayed. These chemicals were used primarily in III corps to clear out the foliage near the DMZ and borders with other countries to make it easier to discover incursions. Later on the Vietnamese people near the sprayed areas came down with unusually high rates of cancer and birth defects. I really don’t know the facts about what caused these tragedies because no comprehensive study has been done but I am convinced it was the defoliants. The US military sprayed 19 million gallons of this stuff. What the hell?
1943 It seems that the Germans had assigned the giant battleships Tirpitz and Scharnhorst to Norway to harass and/or stop the shipping of materiel from the US to Russia and England. The Scharnhorst left on an assignment leaving the Tirpitz alone in a Norwegian fiord. Many attempts were made to bomb the ship but all had failed so six English mini-subs were assigned the task of attaching explosives to the hull of the Tirpitz and lighting them off. On this day three of the subs were successful and damaged the ship to the point that it was out of commission for 6 months. By then better air cover for the convoys had been established and the Tirpitz was never able to fire a shot in anger.
1863 This is the second day of the Battle of Chickamauga one of the bloodiest battles in the war. During the previous night several divisions of CSA Gen. James a. Longstreet’s (A South Carolinian, by the way) troops moved up into line with CSA Gen. Braxton Bragg’s troops. Longstreet’s troops were fresh from the CSA defeat at Gettysburg and were spoiling for revenge. That opportunity came on this day when US Gen. Rosecrans ordered US Gen. Thomas Woods and his troops to move and plug a gap in the Union lines but in fact no gap existed. When Woods and his troops moved it created a gap in the Union lines and Longstreet’s troops came pouring through the gap screaming at the top of their lungs. The Union line collapsed and nearly all of the troops hauled ass back toward Chattanooga, all except US Gen. George Thomas who stood his ground and his troops made and orderly retreat. For this show of determination Thomas became known as “The Rock of Chickamauga.” There were at total of 34,600 casualties in this battle. I don’t know what else to say here.
1806 The Lewis and Clark expedition on their return trip comes upon the first honky settlement west of the Mississippi and it is La Charette being about 55 miles up the Missouri River from St. Louis. La Charette consisted of only seven dwellings but when they saw the expedition’s boats coming they ran to the river and cheered for everyone thought the expedition had been wiped out because they had been gone so long. The greatest adventure of all time was 55 miles from its end.
Born today:
356BC Greek military genius Alexander the Great. He said “Remember upon the actions of one depends the fate of all.” His greatest enemy was the Persians which he always defeated. One reason was that Alexander’s troops carried lances that were about two feet longer than the Persians, meaning that in a head to head charge, Alexander’s troop’s lance points got there first. The Persians never figured that out along with Alexander’s mastery of his cavalry and engineering. The Persians came from what is now Iraq and Iran. They are still stupid.
Born today:
1902 English author Florence “Stevie” Smith. She said “This Englishwoman is so refined she has no bosom and no behind.” I think we have met, Stevie.
1921 US comic Slappy White. He said “The trouble with being unemployed is that as soon as you wake up you are on the clock.” Been there, done that, have tee shirt.
Died today:
1933 English social reformer Annie Besant. She said “For centuries the clergy considered women as a necessary evil and the most revered saints were those that hated women the most.” When you say “saints” that means Catholic to me. Maybe all of those priests that were prosecuted for sexual abuse of juveniles really hated women down deep. But what do I know?
1996 Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdos. He said “A mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems.” I can’t drink coffee, makes me too jumpy.
2005 Ukrainian Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal. He said “None of my clients, not Stangl, not Mengele, not Eichmann, not even Hitler or Stalin was born a criminal. Someone had to teach them to hate: Maybe politics, maybe the society, or maybe it took even a Jewish prostitute to take them below.” Wiesenthal was a relentless pursuer of those monsters.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Goodbye from the land of Azaleas, Camellias, Panama Red and Acapulco gold.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“When you feel you are going through hell, keep putting one foot in front of the other. Eventually you will come out on the other side or you will find a road sign that will give you direction.”
This is composite of quotes by Winston Churchill and Hunter Thompson.
This is a tale that everyone needs to read. Some of you have read parts of it before…this is the complete version.
The Saga of Robin
Back in 1955 a woman child was born in the vicinity of Norfolk, Virginia. The exact location and last name are not known by me but it doesn’t seem to matter much. Robin had a hard time growing up because of a dysfunctional family. She was very unhappy and ran away from home more than once. Soon she was in a reform school for a period of time and eventually was released at the age of 15. Her refusal to go back to her parents put her on the streets and made her a prime target for junkies and dealers. She became addicted to alcohol and heroin and did share needles. In addition to this she became addicted to music and taught herself to play the guitar and harmonica. During the next few years she played on the streets of cities like Richmond, Virginia, Detroit, Atlanta and Coconut Grove, Florida. She played on the streets and coffee houses for tips and an occasional club date. Most of the time she slept under park benches, abandoned cars or service station rest rooms, etc. She spent several years in south Florida and played mostly club dates. At the age of 34 she decided to give up the drugs and moved to Gastonia, North Carolina to get away from the drug influenced life style. She connected with a guitarist named Tony Rogers. Robin had steady work in the clubs around Gastonia and her deep, rich contralto blues notes sent chill bumps down Tony’s arms and he told her that she needed to get out on her own. So Tony and Robin were married in 1998 and formed the “Robin Rogers Hot Band” with Robin doing the vocals and occasional harp with Tony on guitar and a drummer and an upright bass. Soon after that Tony and Robin tried to get life and health insurance and the resulting physical indicated that all was not right with Robin’s liver and she was rejected. But Robin and Tony continued with their beloved blues and Robin was soon recognized as a superior blues vocalist and several tours and CD’s were launched. The sun was finally rising on Robin’s world and she and Tony basked in its warmth…until September 2, 2010. Robin began bleeding from the mouth and the diagnosis was Hepatitis C. Several procedures were attempted to no avail and the doctors reported that she could not stand surgery because of her condition. She was sent home in the care of hospice. It may not be long for this woman of soul. As I said, Robin has no insurance but she has at least three CD’s for sale on her website which is robinrogers.com. If you are interested in helping her, crank her name in on Google and read about her donation sites. Before that look her up on Youtube.com and let her rip your heart out like she did mine.
This date in history September 17
1932 Speed demon Sir Malcolm Campbell (no relation that I know of) sets a land speed record of 76.035 MPH. Think about that folks, that is about the average speed traveled on nearly all of the Interstate highways today. Anyway, Sir Malcolm at the age of 50 broke the 300 MPH barrier at the Bonneville Salt Flats, that’s better. Sir Malcolm also was interested in the speed record over water and did so on several occasions but his last try resulted in a gust of wind getting under his hydroplane and sent it airborne at which the hydroplane disintegrated killing Sir Malcolm. If anyone had the”need for speed” it was Sir Malcolm.
1950 Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis make their debut on the TV show The Colgate Comedy Hour and are an immediate smash hit. They stayed together until 1956 when they decided to go their separate ways. Dean went on the nightclub circuit, especially in Las Vegas. Jerry made 3 or 4 movies that were a flop here in the US but were very popular in Europe where he is considered a comic genius. Dean teamed up with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop forming what was known as” The Rat Pack”. They were a nightclub act that was very popular for a long time. Dean also had a TV variety show for 9 years. After Peter Lawford died Dean was asked what had Peter died from, Dean responded with “Peter died of vodka”. Sad. Dean died in 1995 ending a remarkable life.
1862 The bloodiest single day in American history occurs on this day near a small town in Maryland named Sharpsburg and near a small creek name Antietam. There were actually 3 separate battles; Dunker Church, West Woods and Miller’s cornfield. At dawn US Gen. Joseph Hooker unleashes an attack on the Confederate troops under the command of CSA Gen. Stonewall Jackson near Dunker Church. Hooker’s attack is stemmed by a ferocious counter-attack by the Confederates at which there was a ghastly number on casualties on both sides. The worst attack came when US Gen. Edwin Sumner was able to get artillery pieces aimed down a sunken road where the Confederates had a line of infantry lying down and shooting over the embankment. The slaughter was unbelievable. This road from then to this day is known as “Bloody Lane”. This battle was a tactical draw but it did force Lee back into Virginia to refit. The total casualty count was 22,807. What can I say here?
1957 Louis Armstrong had been asked to go to go on goodwill tour to Russia for the US and he agreed. On this day he angrily refused to go because of the happenings in Little Rock, Ark. It seems that a federal judge decreed that Central High School in Little Rock must be integrated. 9 black students showed up to go to school and were met by an angry white mob and the Arkansas National Guard sent there by Governor Orville Faubus to stop them from entering the school. Well, after hearing about this debacle Louis told the people responsible for the goodwill tour to take this tour and shove it even though President Eisenhower had sent in the airborne to get those kids in the school. Louis was not impressed and said words to the effect that “How can I go promote goodwill between the US and Russia when blacks are treated like that?” Indeed.
1868 A large contingent of Cheyenne and Sioux warriors attack US Maj. George Forsyth and 50 frontiersmen in Colorado. Maj. Forsyth leads his men to a sandbar in the middle of Arikaree River and there they make a stand. They were able to hold off the initial onslaught of the estimated 600 warriors because of the 7 shot repeating rifles they had. Forsyth knew that he and his men would be annihilated if he did not get help. Two of the frontiersmen volunteered to sneak out at night and go through the Indian lines and get help. The battle continued for 5 days until Forsyth saw that he had only 10 men still able to fight and that many of them were wounded and would die if they did not get medical help and soon. The Indians left figuring they had done enough damage. Early in the afternoon the 10th Colorado Cavalry showed up with a wagonload of food and medical supplies which saved many of the men. By the way, the 10th Cavalry was an all black unit known as “Buffalo Soldiers”.
Born today:
1923 US singer/songwriter Hank Williams. He said “You have to smell a lot of mule sh-t before you can sing like a hillbilly.” Hank was from south central Alabama. There is a portion of I-65 in that area known as the “Lost Highway” named after one of Hank’s most popular songs. Hank allowed his success to kill him with booze and drugs at the age of 30. What a damn-d shame.
1931 US actress Anne Bancroft. Anne was going to get married to Mel Brooks when Mel called his Jewish mother and told her that he was going to marry a Catholic woman and his mother said “OK, bring her over, I will be in the kitchen....with my head in the oven.” Now I know where Mel got his sense of humor.
Died today:
1771 Scottish writer Tobias Smollett. He said “For my part most of the nation is mad, and the remainder is unbalanced.” Sounds like present day to me.
1996 US Vice-President Spiro Agnew. He said “Youth lacks, to some extent, experience.” Now you know why Spiro resigned the Vice-Presidency in disgrace because of corruption while Governor of Maryland. He was stupid.
1997 US comedian Red Skelton. He said “All men make mistakes, married men just find out about it sooner.” I had forgotten why I ain’t married; now I remember
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow…Goodbye from the land of Black-eyed peas, collards and Brittany Spears (Brittany is from Louisiana). Brittany is having a hard time coping with success as a lot of young women in show biz do. She was a Mouskateer, too.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
“When you feel you are going through hell, keep putting one foot in front of the other. Eventually you will come out on the other side or you will find a road sign that will give you direction.”
This is composite of quotes by Winston Churchill and Hunter Thompson.
This is a tale that everyone needs to read. Some of you have read parts of it before…this is the complete version.
The Saga of Robin
Back in 1955 a woman child was born in the vicinity of Norfolk, Virginia. The exact location and last name are not known by me but it doesn’t seem to matter much. Robin had a hard time growing up because of a dysfunctional family. She was very unhappy and ran away from home more than once. Soon she was in a reform school for a period of time and eventually was released at the age of 15. Her refusal to go back to her parents put her on the streets and made her a prime target for junkies and dealers. She became addicted to alcohol and heroin and did share needles. In addition to this she became addicted to music and taught herself to play the guitar and harmonica. During the next few years she played on the streets of cities like Richmond, Virginia, Detroit, Atlanta and Coconut Grove, Florida. She played on the streets and coffee houses for tips and an occasional club date. Most of the time she slept under park benches, abandoned cars or service station rest rooms, etc. She spent several years in south Florida and played mostly club dates. At the age of 34 she decided to give up the drugs and moved to Gastonia, North Carolina to get away from the drug influenced life style. She connected with a guitarist named Tony Rogers. Robin had steady work in the clubs around Gastonia and her deep, rich contralto blues notes sent chill bumps down Tony’s arms and he told her that she needed to get out on her own. So Tony and Robin were married in 1998 and formed the “Robin Rogers Hot Band” with Robin doing the vocals and occasional harp with Tony on guitar and a drummer and an upright bass. Soon after that Tony and Robin tried to get life and health insurance and the resulting physical indicated that all was not right with Robin’s liver and she was rejected. But Robin and Tony continued with their beloved blues and Robin was soon recognized as a superior blues vocalist and several tours and CD’s were launched. The sun was finally rising on Robin’s world and she and Tony basked in its warmth…until September 2, 2010. Robin began bleeding from the mouth and the diagnosis was Hepatitis C. Several procedures were attempted to no avail and the doctors reported that she could not stand surgery because of her condition. She was sent home in the care of hospice. It may not be long for this woman of soul. As I said, Robin has no insurance but she has at least three CD’s for sale on her website which is robinrogers.com. If you are interested in helping her, crank her name in on Google and read about her donation sites. Before that look her up on Youtube.com and let her rip your heart out like she did mine.
This date in history September 17
1932 Speed demon Sir Malcolm Campbell (no relation that I know of) sets a land speed record of 76.035 MPH. Think about that folks, that is about the average speed traveled on nearly all of the Interstate highways today. Anyway, Sir Malcolm at the age of 50 broke the 300 MPH barrier at the Bonneville Salt Flats, that’s better. Sir Malcolm also was interested in the speed record over water and did so on several occasions but his last try resulted in a gust of wind getting under his hydroplane and sent it airborne at which the hydroplane disintegrated killing Sir Malcolm. If anyone had the”need for speed” it was Sir Malcolm.
1950 Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis make their debut on the TV show The Colgate Comedy Hour and are an immediate smash hit. They stayed together until 1956 when they decided to go their separate ways. Dean went on the nightclub circuit, especially in Las Vegas. Jerry made 3 or 4 movies that were a flop here in the US but were very popular in Europe where he is considered a comic genius. Dean teamed up with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop forming what was known as” The Rat Pack”. They were a nightclub act that was very popular for a long time. Dean also had a TV variety show for 9 years. After Peter Lawford died Dean was asked what had Peter died from, Dean responded with “Peter died of vodka”. Sad. Dean died in 1995 ending a remarkable life.
1862 The bloodiest single day in American history occurs on this day near a small town in Maryland named Sharpsburg and near a small creek name Antietam. There were actually 3 separate battles; Dunker Church, West Woods and Miller’s cornfield. At dawn US Gen. Joseph Hooker unleashes an attack on the Confederate troops under the command of CSA Gen. Stonewall Jackson near Dunker Church. Hooker’s attack is stemmed by a ferocious counter-attack by the Confederates at which there was a ghastly number on casualties on both sides. The worst attack came when US Gen. Edwin Sumner was able to get artillery pieces aimed down a sunken road where the Confederates had a line of infantry lying down and shooting over the embankment. The slaughter was unbelievable. This road from then to this day is known as “Bloody Lane”. This battle was a tactical draw but it did force Lee back into Virginia to refit. The total casualty count was 22,807. What can I say here?
1957 Louis Armstrong had been asked to go to go on goodwill tour to Russia for the US and he agreed. On this day he angrily refused to go because of the happenings in Little Rock, Ark. It seems that a federal judge decreed that Central High School in Little Rock must be integrated. 9 black students showed up to go to school and were met by an angry white mob and the Arkansas National Guard sent there by Governor Orville Faubus to stop them from entering the school. Well, after hearing about this debacle Louis told the people responsible for the goodwill tour to take this tour and shove it even though President Eisenhower had sent in the airborne to get those kids in the school. Louis was not impressed and said words to the effect that “How can I go promote goodwill between the US and Russia when blacks are treated like that?” Indeed.
1868 A large contingent of Cheyenne and Sioux warriors attack US Maj. George Forsyth and 50 frontiersmen in Colorado. Maj. Forsyth leads his men to a sandbar in the middle of Arikaree River and there they make a stand. They were able to hold off the initial onslaught of the estimated 600 warriors because of the 7 shot repeating rifles they had. Forsyth knew that he and his men would be annihilated if he did not get help. Two of the frontiersmen volunteered to sneak out at night and go through the Indian lines and get help. The battle continued for 5 days until Forsyth saw that he had only 10 men still able to fight and that many of them were wounded and would die if they did not get medical help and soon. The Indians left figuring they had done enough damage. Early in the afternoon the 10th Colorado Cavalry showed up with a wagonload of food and medical supplies which saved many of the men. By the way, the 10th Cavalry was an all black unit known as “Buffalo Soldiers”.
Born today:
1923 US singer/songwriter Hank Williams. He said “You have to smell a lot of mule sh-t before you can sing like a hillbilly.” Hank was from south central Alabama. There is a portion of I-65 in that area known as the “Lost Highway” named after one of Hank’s most popular songs. Hank allowed his success to kill him with booze and drugs at the age of 30. What a damn-d shame.
1931 US actress Anne Bancroft. Anne was going to get married to Mel Brooks when Mel called his Jewish mother and told her that he was going to marry a Catholic woman and his mother said “OK, bring her over, I will be in the kitchen....with my head in the oven.” Now I know where Mel got his sense of humor.
Died today:
1771 Scottish writer Tobias Smollett. He said “For my part most of the nation is mad, and the remainder is unbalanced.” Sounds like present day to me.
1996 US Vice-President Spiro Agnew. He said “Youth lacks, to some extent, experience.” Now you know why Spiro resigned the Vice-Presidency in disgrace because of corruption while Governor of Maryland. He was stupid.
1997 US comedian Red Skelton. He said “All men make mistakes, married men just find out about it sooner.” I had forgotten why I ain’t married; now I remember
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow…Goodbye from the land of Black-eyed peas, collards and Brittany Spears (Brittany is from Louisiana). Brittany is having a hard time coping with success as a lot of young women in show biz do. She was a Mouskateer, too.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
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