Daily history

Good morning,




Quote of the day:

“Then world has grown suspicious of anything that resembles a happily married life.”

Oscar Wilde



I guess you all know by now about my recent arrest and incarceration. Here are a couple of comments:

After the cop arrived at the accident scene he came to me and wanted me to do a field sobriety test that requires a lot of fancy footwork. I told him that I cannot do that because of the condition of my feet caused by diabetes. That apparently did not matter and I was immediately arrested. As we all know obesity is rampant in America and the chances are that anyone over 65 that is 50 pounds overweight will have diabetes of varying degrees. This invariably causes the feet to become tingly or downright numb because of poor circulation and guaranteeing a failed sobriety test and subsequent arrest. But this does not matter to law enforcement. They have rules and procedures that they will dogmatically apply, so help them Dick Tracy. Here is another thing about aging. The older you get the thinner and more sensitive your skin becomes. This means that it is a lot easier to receive bruises and abrasions. I was handcuffed and put in the back of a squad car and while the cuffs were not that tight, they were a lot heavier that you might think and the sharp edges cut into the skin of my wrists and drew blood. I still have the scars. When I arrived at the GCDC and tried to get out of the car but I have to use my hands to help me move because of the uneven weight distribution in my body. I was handcuffed and I kept trying to reach for a handhold to assist me. That made the handcuffs cut even more. Let’s do a recap here. I was arrested because I am a diabetic with all the debilitations. I was handcuffed not because that I might run away, it is to make the person being arrested to feel submissive. What are the chances of a 73 year old man with diabetes, hypertension and arthritis of escaping the cops in a foot race? The thought is ludicrous. But that is “procedure” even if Grandma Moses was being arrested. Every law enforcement official has “wiggle room” meaning they have the opportunity to exercise good judgment and reasonableness and yes, even compassion.



By now all of you know of yet another oil well platform explosion and fire in the Gulf of Mexico south of New Orleans. Early reports are that the Coast Guard was there within an hour with two Coast Guard cutters, 1 C-130 and four helicopters. The 13 crewmen on the platform jumped over the side and were rescued from the water unharmed. There is also a report of a small oil slick. I heard from a variety of sources that the well was not yet into an oil bearing stratum. This means that the oil slick must be a spill of the diesel fuel that is aboard all platforms by the thousands of gallons. The good part is that the well is in only 200 feet of water meaning that if there really is a broken well head and they were into an oil bearing stratum, it can be remedied quickly with a team of hard-hat divers. The downside is that this explosion and fire will cost many oil well workers their jobs. The public will be afraid for their loved ones to be anywhere near an offshore oil platform.



I guess y’all also saw that the United Auto Workers has offered to contribute $50 million to the Democrats to help divert the butt whipping they are expecting in the mid-term elections in November. I would like to see a show of hands to all of those that believe the UAW will NOT expect favorable legislation in return. I, for one am not fooled. The UAW is doing nothing but trying to buy Congress. The Tea Party will have a field day with this fiasco. In my humble opinion, this action will cost the Democrats votes rather than gathering them because of the sheer depth of the bad taste it leaves in everyone’s mouth.



Back last summer 46 year old Tommy Harrison was driving his pickup truck north on US 25 just north of Greenwood, SC. For unknown reasons Tommy crossed over into the southbound lane and collided head on with a motorcyclist. The rider was flown to a hospital in Greenville, SC where he expired on the operating table. Tommy, on the other hand, fled the scene of the accident while driving on a suspended driver’s license. He went on trial this past Thursday. The jury was out for about 15 minutes and returned with a guilty verdict. He was sentenced for 20 years with a minimum of 85% being served. 17 to 20 years in a South Carolina prison will be like 100 years in hell.



The Iraqi clergy has decreed that a woman they think committed suicide should be “stoned to death.” If Islam ever took over the USA we would be out of stones very quickly.



This date in history September 7



2005   The French Police raid the Paris hotel room of Lance Armstrong and search for illegal substances. He is arrested because three different outlawed substances were indeed found. It was soap, toothpaste, and deodorant. The police insisted on a full body search of Lance and found yet more things not seen or allowed in France and that being a set of balls and a spine which is unheard of in French men. I am being facetious.



1936   Singer Buddy Holly is born in Lubbock, Texas. As we all know Buddy had a short but spectacular musical career with the making of such smash hits as “Peggy Sue”, “Maybe Baby” and “That’ll be the Day” among others. Buddy, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper were killed in the crash of a plane they had chartered.



1864   Gen. William T. Sherman orders the evacuation of Atlanta. Sherman said that the civilians would be a hindrance in his preparations for the infamous “march to the sea” and he did not want his soldier mixing with civilians. Smart move there. Most of the Atlantans were allowed to go south toward the remnants of CSA Gen. John Bell Hood’s army others went north and west. When the mayor of Atlanta complained Sherman said “War is cruel, there is no way to refine it.” Indeed, William, indeed.



1979   The Chrysler Corporation requests and gets a loan of $1Billion dollars that is guaranteed by the US Treasury to save the company from bankruptcy. Under the leadership of Lee Iacocca Chrysler was able to cut costs and overhead and was able to repay this loan with interest early. Say what you want but Lee is a superb executive, unlike Bernie Ebbers of WorldCom fame and Ken Lay of Enron fame. Bernie is in the slammer and Ken has gone to meet his maker in the knowledge that he lost millions of dollars from his employee’s retirement program to the point that is was lost forever. What a guy.



1977   President Jimmy Carter signs and agreement with the Government of Panama whereby the control and ownership of the Panama Canal will go to the Panamanians at the end of the century and this would also cancel the so called “Canal Zone” which was a US owned section that allowed a military presence. But the agreement also says that the US had the right to keep the canal open by what ever means necessary. This was what the US used as an excuse to go capture Manuel Noriega.



1940   Germany puts Operation Sea Lion into effect which was the attempt to conquer Great Britain by bombing alone. The Germans bombed for 57 straight nights but it had no effect on the bulldog type attitude and morale of the British people. That is one thing that Hitler never did understand. The English people were ready to defend their soil from invasion with their hearts and souls and with the zeal that had been bred into them for centuries. The British soldiers proved their gritty stubbornness in North Africa and in many battles during WWI not to mention many, many encounters with France and Spain in the Middle Ages.



1996   Rapper Tupak Shakur along with “Suge” Knight and others get into hassle with one Orlando Anderson and a group of the Los Angeles gang the Southside Crips in a recording studio lobby. Later on Tupak and Suge go to a boxing match in Vegas. As they are leaving, a white Caddy pulls up along side and someone opens up with an automatic weapon. Tupak is killed outright but Suge is just grazed on the forehead. No one was ever captured and sentenced for that. When the fight in the recording studio is shown via security cameras, Suge is shown swinging a punch which was a violation of his parole and he went back and had to do the remaining 9 years of his sentence.



1876   The James/Younger gang rides into Northfield, Minnesota to rob the bank there. Jesse James pulls his weapon on the bank clerk and orders the vault to be opened. The clerk says that the vault is on a timer and he can’t do it and at the same time makes a break for the back door and succeeds in getting it open and yelling for help before being shot in the shoulder by Jesse. The neighbors in Northfield come running out bristling with guns. Nearly all of the Younger brothers were killed but Frank and Jesse did escape and went into the Dakota Territory and started organizing another gang. By the way, Jesse went back and shot the bank clerk in the head.



Born today:



1533   Queen Elizabeth I, English monarch. She said “I would rather be a pauper and single than married and the Queen”. This girl was known as the “Virgin Queen” because she was never married. She did have two prominent boyfriends in the Earl of Leicester and the Earl of Essex but it was never proven that she had carnal knowledge of either. She wanted to stay single so her power would not be “diluted”.





1932   English writer Sir Malcolm Bradbury. He said “God must not have been a liberal because he would not have given us the Ten Commandments; he would have given us the “Ten Suggestions.” Sir Malcolm knew whereof he spoke.



Died today:



1833   English writer Hannah More. She said “Obstacles are those terrible things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.”



1951   US actress Maria Montez. She said “I see myself in the screen. I am so beautiful, I jump for joy.” Maria has gone from this earth still looking at a mirror.



1969   US Senator Everett Dirksen (Ill.). He said “We really have to watch it, a billion here, and a billion there, pretty soon you get into real money.” Senator Dickson since has gone to the great bank vault in the sky.



Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow