Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“And now here are the headlines. The Pope actually found to be Jewish. Liberace is Anastasia and Ethel Merman jams Russian radar. The East Germans claimed today that the Berlin Wall was actually a fraternity prank. Today the Pope decided to release Vatican-based bath products. An incredible thing, yes it is going to be pope-on-a-rope, that's right folks, pope-on-a-rope. Take one bath with it an go straight to heaven.”
Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams)Good Morning, Vietnam
Last Friday Japanese officials got more and more evidence that the reactor in the damaged nuclear power plant has been holed or has cracked. That, my friends, means a very serious problem for those countries on the Pacific Rim. The fuel used is a mixture of utilities grade Uranium and weapons grade Plutonium in a 9/1 ratio. This is known as “MOX” and a plant to make this mixture is being designed and built on the Savannah River Site near Aiken, SC. I worked on this project myself. This arrangement was brought about because America signed a disarmament agreement with Russia to decrease the number of nuclear weapons on both sides. The problem was what the hell were we going to do with all that very high powered and very expensive weapons grade Plutonium. The agreement was to mix it with utilities grade Uranium in a manageable ratio and use it in nuclear power plants. If nothing goes wrong, it is a win-win situation. But if something goes wrong it is a lose-lose situation. I believe that they will have to do what they did at Chernobyl and that is start pouring heavy duty concrete in the reactor building that is giving them trouble until all radiation is undetectable and write that one off to experience.
I was watching TV show about a young lady that was trying her hand at buying houses, remodeling them and then selling them at a profit. She had set a remodeling cost of $30,000 but it ended up being $51,000 because there was a water leak in an inside-the-wall water line that had soaked one whole hardwood floor end to end 2” deep. After that a brand new stainless steel refrigerator with through-the-door water and ice refused to give any water or ice. She called company that sold her the refrigerator and complained. The salesman said that it was probably because the valve on the water line was closed. She said “What water line?.” “Do you mean that after I paid what I did for that refrigerator I have to do something else than just plug it in?” She finally called Sam the plumber and he fixed it. No comment.
Here is a note to any and all of the fans of the Big Ten, Ohio State in particular. From what I can determine, the athletic prowess in football and basketball that is crowed about all pre-season and during the season is nothing short of phoney hype. Almost without exception when they are ranked high in the national rankings and end up playing a team from the SEC and they get their brains beat out. They were ranked number one in the nation in basketball this year and they did not make it out of the sweet sixteen in March Madness. Paper tigers, y'all, paper tigers.
NEWS FLASH:
Hell has frozen over!!!! Virginia Commonwealth University Basketball team has beaten number the number one ranked Kansas Jayhawks!!! They will play Butler next.
This date in history March 28
1979 On this date began a comedy of errors resulted the worst nuclear accident in United States history at the recently built Reactor #2 at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant. This particular power plant was built on an island in the middle the Susquehanna River about 10 miles from the Pennsylvania capitol of Harrisburg. There was a slight overpressure in the reactor and a pressure relief valve opened as it was supposed to, the only problem was that it failed to close back and cooling water began to escape. The emergency relief pumps began to operate automatically as they were suppose to. If the plant operators had let this safety system work as designed, nothing would have happened. But the newly trained plant workers could not figure out what the hell was going on. With the cooling water leaking out onto the floor of the containment building the reactor core temperature began to rise. For reasons known only to the plant operators, they chose to shut down the emergency relief pumps. There is no need for me to tell you what happened to the core temperature. Pennsylvania Governor Thornburgh was between a rock and a hard place. After being appraised of the situation, he had to so something but he did not want to cause a panic. He sent out a notice that everyone with a 10 mile radius of Three Mile Island to stay indoors. Then the next day he advised that pregnant women should evacuate. Then word leaked out that radioactive steam had escaped and a small amount of radioactive water had leaked into the Susquehanna River. All of this was true but it was not that much of a risk but a panic began and over 100,000 people near the plant evacuated. By now the core had reached a temperature of 4,000 degrees which is within 1,000 degrees of a complete meltdown. Eventually experts from Metropolitan Energy and the reactor designer (Babcock and Wilcox) arrived and figured out what the problem was and the emergency pumps were restarted and the core temperature began to fall. In an attempt to lessen the panic, United States President Jimmy Carter went to the plant. Carter was a Naval Academy trained nuclear engineer and had dealt with damaged cores in the past. This was probably in a nuclear submarine. But he was not there to offer expertise but to restore the confidence of the population. Everyone thought the problem had been solved but two days later a hydrogen bubble was discovered in the top of the containment building and there had been a small explosion but the containment building held. Apparently the containment building in Japan did not. It was determined that the hydrogen bubble was not a threat. By the way, it was an explosion of a hydrogen bubble that destroyed the Russian power plant at Chernobyl but the Russians did not use containment buildings over their reactors. The core had been damaged in reactor # 2 making it useless. During the crises, reactor # 1 had been shut down also. Reactor # 1 was not restarted until 1985 and reactor # 2 was sealed. Since this emergency the building of not one nuclear power plant has begun in the United States. There have been reports that those that stayed those few days after the initial accident have an increased incidence of leukemia and other cancers but it is not a proven statistic. There was one of the plant operators that put on a safe suit and went into the floor of the containment building where the water was about 18 inches deep trying to find out what the problem was. He had with him a flask of test water that began to effervesce like carbonated water very soon after he arrived. He saw this and got the hell out of there, and I don’t blame him. A lot of lessons were learned during this experience. That is the only upside I can find to this whole scenario.
.
1776 On this date Juan Bautista de Anza founded the city of San Francisco and has with him 247 settlers. Anza was born in Mexico and is the equivalent of Lewis and Clark, Kit Carson and John Colter when it comes to exploration. It was Anza that explored northwest out of Mexico City and discovered most of what is now the resort area of the west coast of Mexico. He blazed a trail all the way to northern California and established trading posts and helped locate several Spanish missions along the way. In spite of Spanish ships sailing up and down the west coast of North America for 200 years, they had never discovered San Francisco Bay and neither had the Russians. It took Anza’s exploration by land to discover it. This area remained under Spanish control until the Mexicans kicked them out and under Mexican control until they lost the Mexican War in 1848 to the United States.
Born today:
1868 Russian writer Maxim Gorky. He said “A man may be stupid and still be good. But a bad man needs brains.” Believe what you want, but Hitler was brilliant.
1890 US bandleader Paul Whiteman. He said “Jazz came to America 300 years ago in chains.” So did okra, the banjo and Gullah.
1942 English politician Neil Kinnock. He said “You cannot make one wit out of two half wits.” I know lots of them.
Died today:
1941 English writer Virginia Wolfe. She said “I have lost friends because of death and others for no other reason than the inability to cross a street.” I hope I never reach that point.
1957 US writer Christopher Morley. He said “A critic is a gong at a railroad crossing clanging wildly while the train passes by.” I cannot relate to this, y’all. Critique me all you want, I am very happy with me.
1958 US song writer W.C. Handy. He said “You never can tell what’s on a woman’s mind, and if she is from Harlem there’s no use trying.” Add Greenville, SC to that, W.C.
1984 US educator Benjamin Mays. He said “Isn’t it a calamity that we died with unfulfilled dreams, but it is even a bigger calamity not to dream.” Ben was a wise individual.
Quotable quotes:
“I think the reason men like women in leather outfits so much is they smell like a new car.”
George Fara
“She gave me a smile I could feel in my hip pocket.”
Raymond Chandler
“Start every day with a smile and then get over it.”
W.C. Fields
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
When asked about Osama Bin Ladin he said “Osama is either alive and well, alive and not too well, or not alive.”
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald, you are a dumb ass.
About a year ago Rodell Vereen from Longs, South Carolina was caught in the act of having sex with one of the horses in the Lazy B stable owned by Barbara Kelsey. Barbara suspected that something was afoot and had a surveillance camera installed. On one occasion she saw something going on in the stable and Barbara step out from hiding with a shotgun and held Rodell (who was mounted on one of her horses) at bay until cops arrived. Rodell got 16 months in the joint for this crime. He was released on parole two days ago. All of y'all with good looking horses beware. There was no mention as to whether the sex was consensual or not. It is suspected that the horse was an Arabian mare with very shapely hindquarters and a promiscuous attitude.
A few days ago a 73 year old man down in Clinton, SC finished fabricating a home made single place airplane. He did a taxi test a few times to see if all the engine controls worked. Finally he decided to make a short test flight to see if the flight controls worked. His 68 year old wife was close by and took movies of the take-off from one of his pastures which was successful. After reaching about 50 feet in the air one of the wings clipped a small tree and the plane crashed to the ground. His wife ran to the wreck and found her husband face down in the wreckage unconscious and pulled him free. The EMS crew arrived on site and hurried the pilot to the hospital but it was too late, he died. His wife stated that the engine was running perfectly right up to the point of the crash. The pilot was experienced so there is no telling what caused that misjudgment. What a shame, a man dies fulfilling his life's dream.
A few days ago I told y'all about a young woman that chastised me about the Confederate battle flag being displayed on the South Carolina state capitol grounds in Columbia and explained why this, and many other events in the history of our great nation, should not be belittled. This lady was from Vermont. I could not help myself but to ask her if she knew the history of Vermont and she admitted that she did not so I gave her an ad hoc history lesson. Very briefly here it is. From the very beginning of the states in New England what is now Vermont was considered part of New York. It was not uncommon for real estate salesmen in New York to sell parcels of land in Vermont as being part of New York. The people of Vermont became very agitated at this and on more than one occasion tried to “secede” from the United States. They sent messages to King George III of England requesting to be admitted as being part of Canada so they could have independence from New York. Eventually that portion of the United States known as Vermont was declared as being a separate and independent state from New York and part of the United States independently. Those hardheads from what is now Vermont are still known to this day as rock-ribbed independent people. This means that it was not South Carolina that was the first state that wanted to secede from the Union, it was Vermont, so help me Stonewall Jackson.
This date in history March 22
1820 On this date one of America’s greatest naval heroes is shot in a duel with a man named James Barron. Stephen Decatur succumbs to his wounds that next day. Barron, also shot, survived his wounds. Stephen Decatur was born in 1769 in Maryland to a naval family. In 1789 he joined the American navy he went through the familiar naval training and was assigned as a midshipman of the new frigate, United States. The fledgling United States merchant navy was being preyed upon by pirates sailing out of the North African port of Tripoli on the north coast of Africa because they knew that the United States did not have a viable military navy such as Great Britain that could provide retribution. One of the United State’s newest warships, the Philadelphia, had been forced aground near Tripoli by the pirates. US President Thomas Jefferson tasked the navy with dealing with this situation because he did not want such a ship to fall into the hands of the pirates nor to allow them to use the American design of the ship to build one of their own. So the navy sent Stephen Decatur and 12 others to Tripoli disguised as Maltese fishermen. They sailed their small fishing smack into Tripoli harbor, overcame the guards on the Philadelphia and burned that puppy down to the waterline. English naval hero Horatio Nelson called this feat as “one of the most daring of the age.” Finally the United States navy gained enough armaments and manpower and sailed into each of the North African ports that had been giving them shit and sent in the recently chartered United States Marines. The Marines went in and kicked ass and took names and threatened each country with continued slaughter if they did not sign a peace agreement. It is from this action that in the Marine Corps Hymn the line “from the shores of Tripoli” arose. Anyway, the trouble with James Barron began when Barron was less that resistant to a British capture of a ship under his command. Barron was brought before a court martial board of which Stephan Decatur was a member. Barron was convicted of dereliction of duty and was kicked out of the US Navy for a period of five years. At the end of the five years, the United States was again at war with Great Britain in the War of 1812 and Barron chose to stay in Europe until the war was over. When he then tried to re-join the United States navy, Stephan Decatur opposed it and Barron was not accepted. Well, Barron felt now it was matter of honor and challenged Decatur to a duel. Duels were frowned upon except for the United States Navy. The challenge was accepted on this date the duel was consummated in Bladensburg, Maryland. Barron was finally reinstated into the US Navy in 1821.
1984 Earlier the most blatant display of public hysteria and miscarriage of justice ever seen began. Seven teachers at the McMartin Pre-School in Manhattan Beach, California are brought under siege by a yuppie soccer Mom who claimed that her 2 ½ year old toddler had been sexually molested at the school. The policed are brought in and they begin a comedy of stupid acts that results in the destruction several people’s reputations. After hearing the Soccer Mom they sent out 200 form letters to the parents of all the little kiddies that attended the school telling them about the charge and that the suspected culprit was on of the owner’s son, Ray Buckey. As you might suspect, the parents went apeshit and immediately withdrew their children and initiated lawsuits against the school and Ray Buckey in particular. Let’s recap at this point. As a result of zero credible information and the sheer stupidity of the police, a legitimate and honest business is destroyed and the eight employees are on the street. That ain’t all. On this date, seven employees including owners Ray Buckey and his mother are indicted after the Grand Jury interviews 18 of the toddlers. Then a wacko outfit is brought in called Children Information International. These jackasses spread panic across the United States by saying that nearly all juvenile daycare centers had instances of sexual abuse. The parents of the little kiddies nationwide acted as you might suspect, with hysteria. Finally, credible child psychologists were called in and convinced the courts that a child in the toddler range can and will tell you what he thinks you want to hear. As incredible as it sounds one child testified that Ray Buckey took him to a cemetery and they dug up bodies and cut them open. In the meantime the McMartin School was burned to the ground by an arsonist. Eventually, American parents came to their senses and the hysteria abated but not before a lot of damage was done. It took years for day care and pre-schools to regain credibility.
1908 On this date Louis L’Amour is born in Jamestown, North Dakota. Louis was not much of a student and at the age of 15 he left home to seek his fortune. At various times he was a cowboy, seaman, longshoreman, boxer, miner and fruit picker. During World War II he ended up an officer in the American tank corps. After the war he tried his hand at writing and was soon recognized for his compact and hard-hitting style. He wrote several novels that were moderately successful but he hit a home run with the novel “Hondo” that became the basis of a John Wayne movie. A little later he wrote the novel and screen wrote another hit in “How the West Was Won.” After these blockbusters his career was assured. He wrote a series of novels about three different pioneer families in the early west in “The Sacketts”, “The Chantrys and “The Talons”. For his contribution to the learning and lore of the American west he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1983. Louis went to that that great cattle ranch in the sky in 1988. I miss him.
Born today:
1930 US educator Derek Bok is born: He said “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” He is right. Mick Jagger has a degree in economics and look at him.
1930 US evangelical Pat Robertson. “During my Presidential bid I stated that I would only bring in Christians and Jews into my cabinet. This created a firestorm in the press and they asked “Do you mean that atheists, Hindus and Moslems are not any good at governing?” and I said “Yes, I do.” I normally am not enamored with his obvious prejudices and he did not disappoint this time either.
Died today:
1930 German philosopher Johann Goethe. He said “If everyone grew up to be what their parents think of them as children, we would all be geniuses.” Ah yes, I remember it well.
Thanks form listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
When asked about Osama Bin Ladin he said “Osama is either alive and well, alive and not too well, or not alive.”
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald, you are a dumb ass.
About a year ago Rodell Vereen from Longs, South Carolina was caught in the act of having sex with one of the horses in the Lazy B stable owned by Barbara Kelsey. Barbara suspected that something was afoot and had a surveillance camera installed. On one occasion she saw something going on in the stable and Barbara step out from hiding with a shotgun and held Rodell (who was mounted on one of her horses) at bay until cops arrived. Rodell got 16 months in the joint for this crime. He was released on parole two days ago. All of y'all with good looking horses beware. There was no mention as to whether the sex was consensual or not. It is suspected that the horse was an Arabian mare with very shapely hindquarters and a promiscuous attitude.
A few days ago a 73 year old man down in Clinton, SC finished fabricating a home made single place airplane. He did a taxi test a few times to see if all the engine controls worked. Finally he decided to make a short test flight to see if the flight controls worked. His 68 year old wife was close by and took movies of the take-off from one of his pastures which was successful. After reaching about 50 feet in the air one of the wings clipped a small tree and the plane crashed to the ground. His wife ran to the wreck and found her husband face down in the wreckage unconscious and pulled him free. The EMS crew arrived on site and hurried the pilot to the hospital but it was too late, he died. His wife stated that the engine was running perfectly right up to the point of the crash. The pilot was experienced so there is no telling what caused that misjudgment. What a shame, a man dies fulfilling his life's dream.
A few days ago I told y'all about a young woman that chastised me about the Confederate battle flag being displayed on the South Carolina state capitol grounds in Columbia and explained why this, and many other events in the history of our great nation, should not be belittled. This lady was from Vermont. I could not help myself but to ask her if she knew the history of Vermont and she admitted that she did not so I gave her an ad hoc history lesson. Very briefly here it is. From the very beginning of the states in New England what is now Vermont was considered part of New York. It was not uncommon for real estate salesmen in New York to sell parcels of land in Vermont as being part of New York. The people of Vermont became very agitated at this and on more than one occasion tried to “secede” from the United States. They sent messages to King George III of England requesting to be admitted as being part of Canada so they could have independence from New York. Eventually that portion of the United States known as Vermont was declared as being a separate and independent state from New York and part of the United States independently. Those hardheads from what is now Vermont are still known to this day as rock-ribbed independent people. This means that it was not South Carolina that was the first state that wanted to secede from the Union, it was Vermont, so help me Stonewall Jackson.
This date in history March 22
1820 On this date one of America’s greatest naval heroes is shot in a duel with a man named James Barron. Stephen Decatur succumbs to his wounds that next day. Barron, also shot, survived his wounds. Stephen Decatur was born in 1769 in Maryland to a naval family. In 1789 he joined the American navy he went through the familiar naval training and was assigned as a midshipman of the new frigate, United States. The fledgling United States merchant navy was being preyed upon by pirates sailing out of the North African port of Tripoli on the north coast of Africa because they knew that the United States did not have a viable military navy such as Great Britain that could provide retribution. One of the United State’s newest warships, the Philadelphia, had been forced aground near Tripoli by the pirates. US President Thomas Jefferson tasked the navy with dealing with this situation because he did not want such a ship to fall into the hands of the pirates nor to allow them to use the American design of the ship to build one of their own. So the navy sent Stephen Decatur and 12 others to Tripoli disguised as Maltese fishermen. They sailed their small fishing smack into Tripoli harbor, overcame the guards on the Philadelphia and burned that puppy down to the waterline. English naval hero Horatio Nelson called this feat as “one of the most daring of the age.” Finally the United States navy gained enough armaments and manpower and sailed into each of the North African ports that had been giving them shit and sent in the recently chartered United States Marines. The Marines went in and kicked ass and took names and threatened each country with continued slaughter if they did not sign a peace agreement. It is from this action that in the Marine Corps Hymn the line “from the shores of Tripoli” arose. Anyway, the trouble with James Barron began when Barron was less that resistant to a British capture of a ship under his command. Barron was brought before a court martial board of which Stephan Decatur was a member. Barron was convicted of dereliction of duty and was kicked out of the US Navy for a period of five years. At the end of the five years, the United States was again at war with Great Britain in the War of 1812 and Barron chose to stay in Europe until the war was over. When he then tried to re-join the United States navy, Stephan Decatur opposed it and Barron was not accepted. Well, Barron felt now it was matter of honor and challenged Decatur to a duel. Duels were frowned upon except for the United States Navy. The challenge was accepted on this date the duel was consummated in Bladensburg, Maryland. Barron was finally reinstated into the US Navy in 1821.
1984 Earlier the most blatant display of public hysteria and miscarriage of justice ever seen began. Seven teachers at the McMartin Pre-School in Manhattan Beach, California are brought under siege by a yuppie soccer Mom who claimed that her 2 ½ year old toddler had been sexually molested at the school. The policed are brought in and they begin a comedy of stupid acts that results in the destruction several people’s reputations. After hearing the Soccer Mom they sent out 200 form letters to the parents of all the little kiddies that attended the school telling them about the charge and that the suspected culprit was on of the owner’s son, Ray Buckey. As you might suspect, the parents went apeshit and immediately withdrew their children and initiated lawsuits against the school and Ray Buckey in particular. Let’s recap at this point. As a result of zero credible information and the sheer stupidity of the police, a legitimate and honest business is destroyed and the eight employees are on the street. That ain’t all. On this date, seven employees including owners Ray Buckey and his mother are indicted after the Grand Jury interviews 18 of the toddlers. Then a wacko outfit is brought in called Children Information International. These jackasses spread panic across the United States by saying that nearly all juvenile daycare centers had instances of sexual abuse. The parents of the little kiddies nationwide acted as you might suspect, with hysteria. Finally, credible child psychologists were called in and convinced the courts that a child in the toddler range can and will tell you what he thinks you want to hear. As incredible as it sounds one child testified that Ray Buckey took him to a cemetery and they dug up bodies and cut them open. In the meantime the McMartin School was burned to the ground by an arsonist. Eventually, American parents came to their senses and the hysteria abated but not before a lot of damage was done. It took years for day care and pre-schools to regain credibility.
1908 On this date Louis L’Amour is born in Jamestown, North Dakota. Louis was not much of a student and at the age of 15 he left home to seek his fortune. At various times he was a cowboy, seaman, longshoreman, boxer, miner and fruit picker. During World War II he ended up an officer in the American tank corps. After the war he tried his hand at writing and was soon recognized for his compact and hard-hitting style. He wrote several novels that were moderately successful but he hit a home run with the novel “Hondo” that became the basis of a John Wayne movie. A little later he wrote the novel and screen wrote another hit in “How the West Was Won.” After these blockbusters his career was assured. He wrote a series of novels about three different pioneer families in the early west in “The Sacketts”, “The Chantrys and “The Talons”. For his contribution to the learning and lore of the American west he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1983. Louis went to that that great cattle ranch in the sky in 1988. I miss him.
Born today:
1930 US educator Derek Bok is born: He said “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” He is right. Mick Jagger has a degree in economics and look at him.
1930 US evangelical Pat Robertson. “During my Presidential bid I stated that I would only bring in Christians and Jews into my cabinet. This created a firestorm in the press and they asked “Do you mean that atheists, Hindus and Moslems are not any good at governing?” and I said “Yes, I do.” I normally am not enamored with his obvious prejudices and he did not disappoint this time either.
Died today:
1930 German philosopher Johann Goethe. He said “If everyone grew up to be what their parents think of them as children, we would all be geniuses.” Ah yes, I remember it well.
Thanks form listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Friday, March 18, 2011
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“Diana Ross does not think of herself as a Supreme, she thinks she is supreme. On the census form where it says birthplace she wrote “manger”.
Joan Rivers
A few days ago a Greenville cop stopped a car for running a stop sign. The driver said that he did not have a license so the cop got him out and had him put his hands on the side of the cruiser and he began a search of the driver's car. He did not find anything but a few weed-like leaves on the floorboard but the driver began a loud and frequent barrage of abusive language so he was handcuffed and taken to jail. As is normal, the driver was strip searched and what their wondering eyes should appear, but a zip lock bag of crack in the crack. He is in the joint sans the dope. It is just as well, that dope can be a pain in the butt anyway.
I want to confess right now that I made a mistake voting for Nikki Haley for Governor of South Carolina. I thought she was different that the typical politician, I was wrong. This broad kicked off the board of directors a woman that has contributed enough money to the University of South Carolina that there is a wing named after her. She replaced her with a man that was a major contributor to her campaign fund. Politicians are all the same, gender apparently does not matter.
This week an 18 year old boy received an multimillion dollar judgment from Duke Energy. Back in 2006 a car the boy was riding in struck a power pole during driving rainstorm. The power pole and all the wiring fell to the ground. Included in the wiring was a 7,200 volt line. The people in the car were not hurt but the 7,200 volt line was still active. The boy got out of the car and stepped on the line and was immediately fried and set on fire. He has since been through a long series of skin grafts and has suffered brain damage. I found out something I did not know before and that is if a high tension power line falls to the ground it is supposed to automatically shut down, this one didn't and it cost Duke a lot of money and a young boy a lot of misery. Duke was actually sued for not having sufficient safety equipment in place, lets hope they stay safe from now on.
This date in history March 17
1776 On this date the hated 8 year occupation of Boston by the British ended. Thanks to Colonel Benedict Arnold, General Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, General Henry Knox, General John Thomas and hundred of dedicated Continental soldiers and workmen all commanded by General George Washington. It all began a few months earlier when a small Regiment of Continental Soldiers led by Colonel Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen made a surprise attack on the British encampment at Fort Ticonderoga on the northern end of Lake Champlain and captured the entire British garrison while firing only one shot. General Arnold woke them up and demanded their surrender or annihilation. They surrendered. After the Fort was evacuated, General Henry Knox was tasked by Washington to bring the 20 or so cannon in Fort Ticonderoga to Boston 300 miles away and do it without the British discovering it. Knox muffled the wheels of the caissons and did indeed cover the 300 miles undetected. Washington then tasked General John Thomas to take the cannon to the crest of Dorchester Heights, the highest ground in the vicinity of Boston and again, do it undetected. Thomas set out on his mission with 800 soldiers and 1,000 laborers. What roads there were to the crest were essentially cow paths meaning that Thomas and his crew had to hack their way to the top. They were discovered when they had about half finished and General William Howe, the British commander in Boston, ordered the British warships in Boston Harbor to bombard the Continental position on Dorchester Heights. But guess what happened. A two day rainstorm engulfed Boston and the warships could not fire at an unseen target. Thomas was able to finish the placement of the cannon and General Howe knew his position was untenable. Two days later, Howe and 11,000 British troops boarded their ships and sailed their young asses up to Nova Scotia to cheers of the elated Bostonians.
1863 Since the beginning of the Civil War, the Union cavalry had its ass kicked by the much more skilled Confederate cavalry. The Southern cavalry was made up of men from the agrarian sector and were all good horsemen. They also had better field commanders such as General J.E.B. Stuart, Colonel Fitzhugh Lee, General Wade Hampton III, John S. Moseley and last but not least, Nathan Bedford Forrest among others. A few days before, one of the parade of Generals commanding the Union Army of the Potomac, General Joseph Hooker got fed up with the Confederate dominance of the cavalry and sent US Colonel William Averill and a select unit of cavalrymen to attack a known cavalry position near the Culpepper Court House, Virginia. Averill arrived on this date and was met by a squad of 60 Confederate sharpshooters. After repeated attacks, Averill was able to overwhelm the rifle pits. After this, Confederate cavalry leader Fitzhugh Lee arrived on the scene and was commanded by his father General Robert E. Lee to immediately attack these smart ass Yankees. Fitzhugh Lee attacked twice and was repulsed each time. Soon after, CSA General J.E.B. Stuart arrived on the scene. Averill seeing Stuart arrive began a withdrawal thinking that Stuart had his powerful cavalry behind him. The truth was that Stuart and artillery commander Colonel John Pelham had just came over to observe. The downside of this was that Colonel John Pelham, by far the finest artillery commander in the Confederacy, was killed by a piece of shrapnel. This battle was fought near a place called Kelly’s Ford. Somehow the Union considered this draw a victory because they did not get their ass kicked by the Confederate cavalry.
1804 Two months before the Lewis and Clark left on their immortal expedition James Bridger was born in Richmond, Virginia. Jim became one of the most important explorers of the American west in its history. He was the original “Mountain Man”. Little is known of Jim’s childhood but it is known the he and his family moved to Saint Louis, Missouri in 1818. Jim honed his skill by exploring the area around Saint Louis and followed the route of the Lewis and Clark expedition. When Jim was 18 years old he found out about an enterprise named the Ashley-Henry Fur Company. Their idea was to head west and trade with the Indian for furs, especially beaver and mink. The first person hired was Jim Bridger. Jim was successful in trading with the Indians, even the fierce and protective Blackfoot that gave Lewis and Clark so much trouble. He was successful in building the first fur trading post on the Yellowstone River. It is acknowledged that he was the first Anglo to lay eyes of the Great Salt Lake even though he thought it was the Pacific Ocean. He had an enormous recall of geographic detail that saved his ass more than once. He operated as an independent trapper for several years. He grew tired of the nomadic life and decided that there was enough traffic on the Oregon Trail to warrant a trading post so he married a Flathead woman named Cora and founded and build Fort Bridger in the Green River section of southern Wyoming. His fort became a regular stop for the pioneers headed west. He and Cora had three children and it looked like an idealistic life for Jim, but it was not to be. Cora died, one of his daughters was killed by the Blackfoot and the third died of jaundice. After these episodes Jim would retreat into the mountains and trap, living with different Indian tribes. In 1853, Jim married a Shoshone woman he named Mary, and lived at the Fort in the summer and with the Shoshone in the winter. The Mormons in the area became jealous of Jim’s success and tried to have him arrested. But Jim and Mary escaped into the mountains along with their three children. The Mormons burned and gutted his fort and destroyed his supplies. The Mormons are not as benevolent as they would want you to believe. He was worried how to feed his family and bought a farm near Westport, Missouri and left his family there during his western adventures. In 1858 he sold his fort and made his living as a guide to the pioneers and as a scout to the US cavalry. In 1868 he retired to his farm in Westport and tended his apple orchard. With his eyesight failing and rheumatism rampant, he died July 13, 1881 at the age of 76 in Westport. What a contribution this man made to the expansion of these United States.
Born today:
1829 US writer Jean Ingelow. She said “I have lived long enough to thank God that all my prayers have not been answered.” Me too.
1941 President of the Orlando Magic NBA team Pat Williams. He said about former star Charles Barkley “He is so fat his bathtub has stretch marks.” Charles claims he will eventually run for the governor of his native state of Alabama. Come on Charles, face reality.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow.
Quote of the day:
“Diana Ross does not think of herself as a Supreme, she thinks she is supreme. On the census form where it says birthplace she wrote “manger”.
Joan Rivers
A few days ago a Greenville cop stopped a car for running a stop sign. The driver said that he did not have a license so the cop got him out and had him put his hands on the side of the cruiser and he began a search of the driver's car. He did not find anything but a few weed-like leaves on the floorboard but the driver began a loud and frequent barrage of abusive language so he was handcuffed and taken to jail. As is normal, the driver was strip searched and what their wondering eyes should appear, but a zip lock bag of crack in the crack. He is in the joint sans the dope. It is just as well, that dope can be a pain in the butt anyway.
I want to confess right now that I made a mistake voting for Nikki Haley for Governor of South Carolina. I thought she was different that the typical politician, I was wrong. This broad kicked off the board of directors a woman that has contributed enough money to the University of South Carolina that there is a wing named after her. She replaced her with a man that was a major contributor to her campaign fund. Politicians are all the same, gender apparently does not matter.
This week an 18 year old boy received an multimillion dollar judgment from Duke Energy. Back in 2006 a car the boy was riding in struck a power pole during driving rainstorm. The power pole and all the wiring fell to the ground. Included in the wiring was a 7,200 volt line. The people in the car were not hurt but the 7,200 volt line was still active. The boy got out of the car and stepped on the line and was immediately fried and set on fire. He has since been through a long series of skin grafts and has suffered brain damage. I found out something I did not know before and that is if a high tension power line falls to the ground it is supposed to automatically shut down, this one didn't and it cost Duke a lot of money and a young boy a lot of misery. Duke was actually sued for not having sufficient safety equipment in place, lets hope they stay safe from now on.
This date in history March 17
1776 On this date the hated 8 year occupation of Boston by the British ended. Thanks to Colonel Benedict Arnold, General Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, General Henry Knox, General John Thomas and hundred of dedicated Continental soldiers and workmen all commanded by General George Washington. It all began a few months earlier when a small Regiment of Continental Soldiers led by Colonel Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen made a surprise attack on the British encampment at Fort Ticonderoga on the northern end of Lake Champlain and captured the entire British garrison while firing only one shot. General Arnold woke them up and demanded their surrender or annihilation. They surrendered. After the Fort was evacuated, General Henry Knox was tasked by Washington to bring the 20 or so cannon in Fort Ticonderoga to Boston 300 miles away and do it without the British discovering it. Knox muffled the wheels of the caissons and did indeed cover the 300 miles undetected. Washington then tasked General John Thomas to take the cannon to the crest of Dorchester Heights, the highest ground in the vicinity of Boston and again, do it undetected. Thomas set out on his mission with 800 soldiers and 1,000 laborers. What roads there were to the crest were essentially cow paths meaning that Thomas and his crew had to hack their way to the top. They were discovered when they had about half finished and General William Howe, the British commander in Boston, ordered the British warships in Boston Harbor to bombard the Continental position on Dorchester Heights. But guess what happened. A two day rainstorm engulfed Boston and the warships could not fire at an unseen target. Thomas was able to finish the placement of the cannon and General Howe knew his position was untenable. Two days later, Howe and 11,000 British troops boarded their ships and sailed their young asses up to Nova Scotia to cheers of the elated Bostonians.
1863 Since the beginning of the Civil War, the Union cavalry had its ass kicked by the much more skilled Confederate cavalry. The Southern cavalry was made up of men from the agrarian sector and were all good horsemen. They also had better field commanders such as General J.E.B. Stuart, Colonel Fitzhugh Lee, General Wade Hampton III, John S. Moseley and last but not least, Nathan Bedford Forrest among others. A few days before, one of the parade of Generals commanding the Union Army of the Potomac, General Joseph Hooker got fed up with the Confederate dominance of the cavalry and sent US Colonel William Averill and a select unit of cavalrymen to attack a known cavalry position near the Culpepper Court House, Virginia. Averill arrived on this date and was met by a squad of 60 Confederate sharpshooters. After repeated attacks, Averill was able to overwhelm the rifle pits. After this, Confederate cavalry leader Fitzhugh Lee arrived on the scene and was commanded by his father General Robert E. Lee to immediately attack these smart ass Yankees. Fitzhugh Lee attacked twice and was repulsed each time. Soon after, CSA General J.E.B. Stuart arrived on the scene. Averill seeing Stuart arrive began a withdrawal thinking that Stuart had his powerful cavalry behind him. The truth was that Stuart and artillery commander Colonel John Pelham had just came over to observe. The downside of this was that Colonel John Pelham, by far the finest artillery commander in the Confederacy, was killed by a piece of shrapnel. This battle was fought near a place called Kelly’s Ford. Somehow the Union considered this draw a victory because they did not get their ass kicked by the Confederate cavalry.
1804 Two months before the Lewis and Clark left on their immortal expedition James Bridger was born in Richmond, Virginia. Jim became one of the most important explorers of the American west in its history. He was the original “Mountain Man”. Little is known of Jim’s childhood but it is known the he and his family moved to Saint Louis, Missouri in 1818. Jim honed his skill by exploring the area around Saint Louis and followed the route of the Lewis and Clark expedition. When Jim was 18 years old he found out about an enterprise named the Ashley-Henry Fur Company. Their idea was to head west and trade with the Indian for furs, especially beaver and mink. The first person hired was Jim Bridger. Jim was successful in trading with the Indians, even the fierce and protective Blackfoot that gave Lewis and Clark so much trouble. He was successful in building the first fur trading post on the Yellowstone River. It is acknowledged that he was the first Anglo to lay eyes of the Great Salt Lake even though he thought it was the Pacific Ocean. He had an enormous recall of geographic detail that saved his ass more than once. He operated as an independent trapper for several years. He grew tired of the nomadic life and decided that there was enough traffic on the Oregon Trail to warrant a trading post so he married a Flathead woman named Cora and founded and build Fort Bridger in the Green River section of southern Wyoming. His fort became a regular stop for the pioneers headed west. He and Cora had three children and it looked like an idealistic life for Jim, but it was not to be. Cora died, one of his daughters was killed by the Blackfoot and the third died of jaundice. After these episodes Jim would retreat into the mountains and trap, living with different Indian tribes. In 1853, Jim married a Shoshone woman he named Mary, and lived at the Fort in the summer and with the Shoshone in the winter. The Mormons in the area became jealous of Jim’s success and tried to have him arrested. But Jim and Mary escaped into the mountains along with their three children. The Mormons burned and gutted his fort and destroyed his supplies. The Mormons are not as benevolent as they would want you to believe. He was worried how to feed his family and bought a farm near Westport, Missouri and left his family there during his western adventures. In 1858 he sold his fort and made his living as a guide to the pioneers and as a scout to the US cavalry. In 1868 he retired to his farm in Westport and tended his apple orchard. With his eyesight failing and rheumatism rampant, he died July 13, 1881 at the age of 76 in Westport. What a contribution this man made to the expansion of these United States.
Born today:
1829 US writer Jean Ingelow. She said “I have lived long enough to thank God that all my prayers have not been answered.” Me too.
1941 President of the Orlando Magic NBA team Pat Williams. He said about former star Charles Barkley “He is so fat his bathtub has stretch marks.” Charles claims he will eventually run for the governor of his native state of Alabama. Come on Charles, face reality.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow.
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“When I went to college I found out that if it squirms, is it biology; if it stinks, it is chemistry; if it doesn't work, it is physics; if you can't understand it, it is mathematics.”
Magnus Pyke
I recently found out that a treasured friend of mine has a physical condition that is very serious. He does not want anyone to know about it because he does not want a bunch of sympathy calls and people worrying about him. I understand that train of thought and will honor his desires. In my mind's eye I see him attending my funeral, not vice versa. Get well my friend.
It does not look good for that area of northeast Japan. They still do not have a handle on those four nuclear reactor buildings, three of which have experienced explosions. The United States has finally realized that the worldwide pattern of the jet stream is and has always been from west to east. This means that if enough of the dust from those out of control reactors could reach America aboard the jet stream and contaminate the west coast if not all of North America. There have been radiation detectors deployed in Hawaii, Guam, Alaska, western Canada and the west coast of America. I will be very interested in the increase (if any) of lung cancer and/or pancreatic cancer in the next year in the previously mentioned areas. This is what would happen in the event of a nuclear war except that the cancers would be way more frequent and severe because weapons grade plutonium, uranium, americium, curium, etc. are much more virulent than those fuels used in nuclear power plants. Keep in mind that our enemies are actively seeking possession of weapons grade nuclear weapons. They would not need tritium (trigger) to light it off, all they would need is about 30 pounds of the weapons grade material and wrap several sticks of powerful explosives like TNT or C4 around the package and blow it into dust in the middle of a large American city like Chicago. Millions would die in a matter of weeks and millions more that lived downwind. This had been called a “Scorpion in a bottle”...indeed.
I defy anyone to surf the channels on TV in the next few weeks and not find a basketball game. That's right, it is March Madness meaning the frenzy to find a NCAA basketball champion for this season through a series of tournaments nationwide. I personally think it will end up being the Kansas Jayhawks or the Duke Blue Devils. We shall see.
That great electronics God in the sky has chosen to frown upon me in the last couple of days. I normally have two laptops working. One is for my “creative” writing and the other is for personal and business communications. The one that I use for creative writing decided to power down and will not re-ignite. I press the “power on” button and the power on lights come on for about 6 seconds and then powers down. On top of that, my cell phone (the only phone of any kind that I have) decided to fall apart and will not cooperate in reassembly. So I am now saddled with only one laptop and a trip to Verizon yesterday provided me with a replacement for my four year old cell phone. It has the same features as my old phone but it has bigger and more readable letter/digits. Time marches on.
This date in history March 18
1864 Abraham Lincoln was fed up with his wounded soldiers being disabled permanently or for extended periods simply because of the septic conditions at the treatment and convalescent areas. So on this date he decides to do something about it. He did the best possible thing in organizing a “Sanitary Commission” to oversee the treatment of the wounded soldiers. He gave the responsibility for forming this Commission to a few dependable men and in a moment of clarity, they hired a bunch of really hard-assed women nurses and gave them some authority and sent them into the field. Much to the chagrin of the field combat doctors, these nurses would show up almost immediately after a battle and oversee the treatment of the wounded and the sanitation of the operating and convalescent areas. On one occasion after the battle of Chattanooga, the nurses ordered the disassembly of the wooden embrasures that the Union soldiers were hiding behind to be used as fuel for fires to keep the wounded warm. But the “commission” did do one thing; they vastly decreased the time of recovery of the wounded and got the wounded back in the field much sooner.
1950 On this date the Nationalist Chinese army led by General Chaing-Kai-Shek and under the auspices of the United States, begins an assault on mainland China. Chaing and the Nationalist Chinese had been living on the island of Formosa since being kicked out of mainland China by the Chinese Communists led by the legendary Mao Zedong and his party named the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). The battle does not last long and the Nationalist Chinese and Chaing beat a hasty retreat back to Formosa. Chaing thought that the people of China would rise up against the Communists if they found that he was in country. It didn’t happen, Chaing always has been known for his overblown ego so he and his army retreat back to Formosa and there they remain until this day, except for Chaing, he has gone on to that great Sushi Bar in the sky.
1937 In the East Texas oil and Gas field near the town of New London there were about 10,000 oil and gas derricks, in fact there were 11 derricks on the grounds of the Consolidated Elementary School. It was not uncommon for the homes around New London to use the waste gas from the oil wells that is called “wet-gas”. Wet gas is a lot more unstable than regular natural gas from a strictly natural gas well. If ya’ll have ever seen oil derricks in operation you probably have seen a long pipe with fire coming out the end. That is “wet-gas” being burned off because it is so unstable. But in 1937 the instability of wet gas was not known. The Consolidated Elementary School had been using regular natural gas for cooking and heating and bought their gas from Union Natural Gas at the cost of $300 a month. The school decided to use “wet-gas” for free and save that $300. So Parade Gas Company began piping their waste gas to the school. On this date at 3:05P with the 694 students and 40 teachers eagerly awaiting the final bell at 3:15P, a horrendous explosion literally blows the roof off the school and kills 300 kids instantly. There were so many wounded that they had to be taken to four hospitals in the surrounding communities. The spark that set off the explosion was never determined but it could have been just static electricity, we will never know. But because of this disaster, wet gas is not allowed to leave a well site and thus the pipe with the flame.
1834 On this date six farm laborers from England are sentenced to 7 years of exile in the province of New South Wales, Australia. Their crime was after losing money for three years in a row, they organized a farm workers union called the Friendly Agricultural Laborers. The Union grew by leaps and bounds and the laborers agreed to not take less than 10 Shillings a week for their services. Parliament wanted a stop put to this but was hard pressed to find a law that these six founders had broken. So they chose to accuse them of taking an illegal oath. This law was meant for sailors in the Royal Navy to help head off mutinies. I am telling you; those in Parliament were desperate to stop the independence of farm workers. Anyway, two years after these six arrived at New South Wales, the English ministers of justice stepped in and put a stop to this outrage and set aside the sentences and they were released. Only one of them returned to England, the rest immigrated to Canada, and I don’t blame them.
1765 In this year Parliament had passed the hated Stamp Act which put a tax on nearly each and every piece of printed material coming into the American colonies. Parliament was trying to raise funds to help pay for the presence of the English military in the colonies. The instant the colonists heard about this, they raised almighty hell almost continuously. They boycotted anything coming from England and gave the English military a huge ration of shit. The colonies sent Benjamin Franklin over to London to plead their case. Ben did his usual good job speaking to Parliament and in this year the Stamp Act was nullified. However, soon thereafter Parliament passed the Declaratory Act. This abomination stated that Parliament had final legislative authority over the colonies. This was just a little more fuel to the fire that erupted into open warfare on the plains of Breeds (Bunker) Hill, Massachusetts ten years later.
Born today:
1837 US President Grover Cleveland. He said “No man has ever been hanged for breaking the spirit of the law.”
1901 Canadian writer Manly Hall. He said “A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed on this world.” Hey Manly, does this include Hillary?
1932 US writer John Updike. He said “A healthy adult male bore consumes in one year one and a half times his weight in people’s patience.” Do any of ya’ll know of such a person?
Died today:
1871 English mathematician Augustus de Morgan. When asked his age he said “I was x years old in the year x^2.” Gus, you are such a smart ass.
1980 US psychoanalyst Erich Fromm. He said “Man thinks that he loses something—time—if he does not do things swiftly and then he does not know what to do with the time he saved...except kill it.” Hey Erich, see my comment above.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
“When I went to college I found out that if it squirms, is it biology; if it stinks, it is chemistry; if it doesn't work, it is physics; if you can't understand it, it is mathematics.”
Magnus Pyke
I recently found out that a treasured friend of mine has a physical condition that is very serious. He does not want anyone to know about it because he does not want a bunch of sympathy calls and people worrying about him. I understand that train of thought and will honor his desires. In my mind's eye I see him attending my funeral, not vice versa. Get well my friend.
It does not look good for that area of northeast Japan. They still do not have a handle on those four nuclear reactor buildings, three of which have experienced explosions. The United States has finally realized that the worldwide pattern of the jet stream is and has always been from west to east. This means that if enough of the dust from those out of control reactors could reach America aboard the jet stream and contaminate the west coast if not all of North America. There have been radiation detectors deployed in Hawaii, Guam, Alaska, western Canada and the west coast of America. I will be very interested in the increase (if any) of lung cancer and/or pancreatic cancer in the next year in the previously mentioned areas. This is what would happen in the event of a nuclear war except that the cancers would be way more frequent and severe because weapons grade plutonium, uranium, americium, curium, etc. are much more virulent than those fuels used in nuclear power plants. Keep in mind that our enemies are actively seeking possession of weapons grade nuclear weapons. They would not need tritium (trigger) to light it off, all they would need is about 30 pounds of the weapons grade material and wrap several sticks of powerful explosives like TNT or C4 around the package and blow it into dust in the middle of a large American city like Chicago. Millions would die in a matter of weeks and millions more that lived downwind. This had been called a “Scorpion in a bottle”...indeed.
I defy anyone to surf the channels on TV in the next few weeks and not find a basketball game. That's right, it is March Madness meaning the frenzy to find a NCAA basketball champion for this season through a series of tournaments nationwide. I personally think it will end up being the Kansas Jayhawks or the Duke Blue Devils. We shall see.
That great electronics God in the sky has chosen to frown upon me in the last couple of days. I normally have two laptops working. One is for my “creative” writing and the other is for personal and business communications. The one that I use for creative writing decided to power down and will not re-ignite. I press the “power on” button and the power on lights come on for about 6 seconds and then powers down. On top of that, my cell phone (the only phone of any kind that I have) decided to fall apart and will not cooperate in reassembly. So I am now saddled with only one laptop and a trip to Verizon yesterday provided me with a replacement for my four year old cell phone. It has the same features as my old phone but it has bigger and more readable letter/digits. Time marches on.
This date in history March 18
1864 Abraham Lincoln was fed up with his wounded soldiers being disabled permanently or for extended periods simply because of the septic conditions at the treatment and convalescent areas. So on this date he decides to do something about it. He did the best possible thing in organizing a “Sanitary Commission” to oversee the treatment of the wounded soldiers. He gave the responsibility for forming this Commission to a few dependable men and in a moment of clarity, they hired a bunch of really hard-assed women nurses and gave them some authority and sent them into the field. Much to the chagrin of the field combat doctors, these nurses would show up almost immediately after a battle and oversee the treatment of the wounded and the sanitation of the operating and convalescent areas. On one occasion after the battle of Chattanooga, the nurses ordered the disassembly of the wooden embrasures that the Union soldiers were hiding behind to be used as fuel for fires to keep the wounded warm. But the “commission” did do one thing; they vastly decreased the time of recovery of the wounded and got the wounded back in the field much sooner.
1950 On this date the Nationalist Chinese army led by General Chaing-Kai-Shek and under the auspices of the United States, begins an assault on mainland China. Chaing and the Nationalist Chinese had been living on the island of Formosa since being kicked out of mainland China by the Chinese Communists led by the legendary Mao Zedong and his party named the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). The battle does not last long and the Nationalist Chinese and Chaing beat a hasty retreat back to Formosa. Chaing thought that the people of China would rise up against the Communists if they found that he was in country. It didn’t happen, Chaing always has been known for his overblown ego so he and his army retreat back to Formosa and there they remain until this day, except for Chaing, he has gone on to that great Sushi Bar in the sky.
1937 In the East Texas oil and Gas field near the town of New London there were about 10,000 oil and gas derricks, in fact there were 11 derricks on the grounds of the Consolidated Elementary School. It was not uncommon for the homes around New London to use the waste gas from the oil wells that is called “wet-gas”. Wet gas is a lot more unstable than regular natural gas from a strictly natural gas well. If ya’ll have ever seen oil derricks in operation you probably have seen a long pipe with fire coming out the end. That is “wet-gas” being burned off because it is so unstable. But in 1937 the instability of wet gas was not known. The Consolidated Elementary School had been using regular natural gas for cooking and heating and bought their gas from Union Natural Gas at the cost of $300 a month. The school decided to use “wet-gas” for free and save that $300. So Parade Gas Company began piping their waste gas to the school. On this date at 3:05P with the 694 students and 40 teachers eagerly awaiting the final bell at 3:15P, a horrendous explosion literally blows the roof off the school and kills 300 kids instantly. There were so many wounded that they had to be taken to four hospitals in the surrounding communities. The spark that set off the explosion was never determined but it could have been just static electricity, we will never know. But because of this disaster, wet gas is not allowed to leave a well site and thus the pipe with the flame.
1834 On this date six farm laborers from England are sentenced to 7 years of exile in the province of New South Wales, Australia. Their crime was after losing money for three years in a row, they organized a farm workers union called the Friendly Agricultural Laborers. The Union grew by leaps and bounds and the laborers agreed to not take less than 10 Shillings a week for their services. Parliament wanted a stop put to this but was hard pressed to find a law that these six founders had broken. So they chose to accuse them of taking an illegal oath. This law was meant for sailors in the Royal Navy to help head off mutinies. I am telling you; those in Parliament were desperate to stop the independence of farm workers. Anyway, two years after these six arrived at New South Wales, the English ministers of justice stepped in and put a stop to this outrage and set aside the sentences and they were released. Only one of them returned to England, the rest immigrated to Canada, and I don’t blame them.
1765 In this year Parliament had passed the hated Stamp Act which put a tax on nearly each and every piece of printed material coming into the American colonies. Parliament was trying to raise funds to help pay for the presence of the English military in the colonies. The instant the colonists heard about this, they raised almighty hell almost continuously. They boycotted anything coming from England and gave the English military a huge ration of shit. The colonies sent Benjamin Franklin over to London to plead their case. Ben did his usual good job speaking to Parliament and in this year the Stamp Act was nullified. However, soon thereafter Parliament passed the Declaratory Act. This abomination stated that Parliament had final legislative authority over the colonies. This was just a little more fuel to the fire that erupted into open warfare on the plains of Breeds (Bunker) Hill, Massachusetts ten years later.
Born today:
1837 US President Grover Cleveland. He said “No man has ever been hanged for breaking the spirit of the law.”
1901 Canadian writer Manly Hall. He said “A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed on this world.” Hey Manly, does this include Hillary?
1932 US writer John Updike. He said “A healthy adult male bore consumes in one year one and a half times his weight in people’s patience.” Do any of ya’ll know of such a person?
Died today:
1871 English mathematician Augustus de Morgan. When asked his age he said “I was x years old in the year x^2.” Gus, you are such a smart ass.
1980 US psychoanalyst Erich Fromm. He said “Man thinks that he loses something—time—if he does not do things swiftly and then he does not know what to do with the time he saved...except kill it.” Hey Erich, see my comment above.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
When reviewing The Sex Pistols, critic Joe Strummer said: “They would not recognize the Antichrist if he hit them in the face with a sardine.”
At one point in my life while I was in the Air Force I was chosen to teach a class on “Surviving a Nuclear Attack”. After reading the supplied material I determined that I am not sure that I want to survive a nuclear attack. The “half-life” of U-235 Uranium or weapons grade Plutonium is several lifetimes. “Half-life” is the time it takes for the radioactive material to decrease in toxicity by one half. In case of full scale retaliatory strikes world wide, the atmosphere would be so toxic that it would be unbreathable for centuries. If the minutest amount of the dust is ingested through the mouth or nose it is curtains, sooner or later. That is a possibility in Japan. At the most severely damaged nuclear power plant in Japan that has four reactors, three have experienced explosions and the leakage of radioactive material. The difference is that the fuel used in nuclear power plants are a lot less toxic that weapons grade Uranium or Plutonium. There is a scale used to quantify the severity of a nuclear accident and leakage into the ground water or atmosphere. Three Mile Island was rated a number 3, Chernobyl was rank a number 7 (the most severe ranking). The accident in Japan is a number 6. This means that the area around those reactors will be uninhabitable for at least 30 years for a radius of at least 20 miles. After the Chernobyl explosion and resulting fire, the building was so radioactive that there were no safety suits available that would protect the firemen enough to save their lives but the fire had to be extinguished. The Ukrainian officials told any volunteer firemen that went into that inferno that they would surely die from radiation poisoning but their families would receive unlimited care for the rest of their lives. Enough firemen volunteered and the fire was indeed extinguished. Three weeks later all the volunteer firemen were dead. That, my friends, is grace under fire.
Up in Sharon, SC a 53 year woman did not show up for work and her fellow workers sent someone to her house that she shared with her 47 year old boyfriend for seven years. The doors were locked and no one answered their yells and knocks so they forced their way in. They found both of them sitting on the couch dead as fried chicken with a bullet to the brain. The cops determined that the man capped the woman and turned the weapon on himself. How can things get so bad that a murder/suicide appears to be the only answer? My philosophy is that life is a smorgasbord, try to take a little taste of it all.
I will be going to the local kick-ass jazz club tonight for good music. They also serve kick-ass fine dining food. Both the food and the music will be a real treat. A good friend of mine will be playing trumpet and singing and then she is having minor surgery on Friday that will put her out of circulation for a few weeks but she says it will be worth it.
This date in history March 16
1751 On this date future president James Madison is born on a Virginia plantation. James led a privileged childhood and attended the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) and graduated after only two years. After college in 1771 Madison returned home very ill and it took him until 1776 to sufficiently recover to return to politics where he became a member of the Virginia legislature. James was a drafter of the United States Constitution and was a chronicler of the Constitutional Convention. His notes of the Convention are the most accurate of any records of that immortal meeting. But Madison forbade any of his notes to be made public until all those in attendance had died. It was he, John Jay and Thomas Jefferson that authored The Federalist Papers which foster the idea of a larger government being better capable of the protection of individual rights. The most important of these was Federalist Paper no. 10 authored by Madison alone. James married Dolley Payne Todd who proved to be one of the finest hosts in Washington of all time. While James Madison was Secretary of State under the widowed Thomas Jefferson, it was Dolley that arranged and hosted the White House frivolities in behalf of Jefferson. After resigning from public office he became rector for Thomas Jefferson’s beloved University of Virginia. Later on he became the president of Virginia State Teachers College at Harrisonburg. The college eventually became James Madison University. Madison was yet another man that showed up at the right place in the right time in history with the right skills and determination to contribute to the success of this great experiment in freedom known as the United States of America. We need many more men/women of this caliber.
1985 On this date Associated Press Beirut bureau chief is kidnapped in Beirut, Lebanon. American journalist Terry Anderson was leaving his hotel when he was whisked into a waiting car, blindfolded and taken to the basement of a destroyed house in southern Beirut where other western journalists were being held. Terry stayed in different houses in Beirut until November 2, 1991 when he was released by his Hezbollah captors, meaning 2,455 days wearing a blindfold the whole time. No one to this day knows to what end these journalists were captured. What the hell did Hezbollah want from these journalists and/or their employers? Israel and the other free nations are supposed to negotiate with these jackasses. Negotiate what? There never really said what they wanted in exchange for the journalists. By the way, Terry was one of a very few that got away from these hyenas. The greatest majority were assumed killed and were never seen again. After being released Anderson sued Iran and received several million dollars in recompense. In 2002 wrote a book about his captivity named “Den of Lions.” He ran for Senator from Ohio but was defeated.
1881 On this date on of the most famous gigolos in Los Angeles, California is found shot to death through the right eye. Francisco “Chico” Forster was the most eligible bachelor in the Los Angeles area when he happened into the pool hall owned by Jose Abarta. Jose’s daughter Lastania was singing there. Chico was smitten by this raven haired Latino beauty and began to pay her much attention. On March 14 Lastania was invited to sing at a party given in honor of the outgoing Governor of California, Pio Pico the last Mexican Governor of California. Chico’s father had just tricked a huge chunk of land near San Diego from the unfortunate Pio. In one of her songs, Lastania made fun of Pio and the stupid land deal he made with Chico’s father. Bad feelings began to surface so Chico and Lastania left and went to a fancy hotel. As men will do on occasion, Chico told Lastania that he would marry her if she would have sex with him. Lastania agreed. Afterward Chico left saying he was going to get a ring and a Padre to marry them. As you might guess, he never showed up again. So Lastania and her sister hit the road looking for Chico. They find him at the horse track and gathered his young ass up, put him in a carriage and the three head for a preacher. At one point Chico jumps out of the carriage and begins walking away. Lastania is right behind and tells him to stop because she has a gun. Chico turns around and sure enough, she has a revolver pointed at this head. Chico says “You aren’t going to shoot.......“ Lastania put a .38 caliber bullet through Chico’s right eye killing him instantly. At the trial, Lastania’s lawyer was able to convince the jury that Lastania was in “her time of the month” and as everyone knows, a woman’s blood flow is disrupted during this time and the blood in Lastania’s brain was clogged and she wasn’t thinking clearly. The jury bought it and Lastania was released and immediately disappeared. All you guys out there keep this in mind if some women promises marriage if you will sleep with them, and if betrayed, you cannot shoot them and use a defense of it was my “time of the month”.
1903 One of the most colorful characters in the history of the American west dies. It was Judge Roy Bean of Langtry, Texas. He was the self proclaimed “Law West of the Pecos.” Bean was born somewhere in Kentucky in the 1820’s. In 1847 he and his brother Sam left home and went to Mexico and lived a rogue’s life until he got into an argument with another man and ended up killing him. This forced Bean out of Mexico and he ended up in San Diego. As usual, Bean got into a fight in a bar and ended up killing anther man so he had to skedaddle out of there and ended up in Los Angeles. He got into a fight with a Mexican General over a woman and shot and killed the General. The General had a lot of friends and they took Bean to the closest tree and strung him up. The woman who he had the fight over ran to his rescue and cut him down in the nick of time. He carried the scars from that rope for the rest of his life. Bean decided that California just ain’t the place to be and he moved out into the wilds of New Mexico and Texas. For about 16 years he was a prosperous and legitimate business man in San Antonio. In 1882 he moved to southwest Texas and built his famous bar “Jersey Lilly”. Eventually he founded the town of Langtry, Texas named after the actress Lilly Langtry as was his bar. Bean became a justice of the peace in Langtry and was famous for dispensing justice using common sense rather that the letter of the law. He once fined a dead man for carrying a concealed weapon. But on the down side when a man shot a Chinese rail worker, Bean let him go saying that he could find no law against shooting a Chinaman. Bean fell ill and died in November of 1903, just 10 months before the real Lilly Langtry came by for a visit to his famous saloon.
Born today:
1751 American President James Madison. He said “The truth is that all men of power should be mistrusted.” Right on, James. I learned my lesson with Richard Nixon.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
When reviewing The Sex Pistols, critic Joe Strummer said: “They would not recognize the Antichrist if he hit them in the face with a sardine.”
At one point in my life while I was in the Air Force I was chosen to teach a class on “Surviving a Nuclear Attack”. After reading the supplied material I determined that I am not sure that I want to survive a nuclear attack. The “half-life” of U-235 Uranium or weapons grade Plutonium is several lifetimes. “Half-life” is the time it takes for the radioactive material to decrease in toxicity by one half. In case of full scale retaliatory strikes world wide, the atmosphere would be so toxic that it would be unbreathable for centuries. If the minutest amount of the dust is ingested through the mouth or nose it is curtains, sooner or later. That is a possibility in Japan. At the most severely damaged nuclear power plant in Japan that has four reactors, three have experienced explosions and the leakage of radioactive material. The difference is that the fuel used in nuclear power plants are a lot less toxic that weapons grade Uranium or Plutonium. There is a scale used to quantify the severity of a nuclear accident and leakage into the ground water or atmosphere. Three Mile Island was rated a number 3, Chernobyl was rank a number 7 (the most severe ranking). The accident in Japan is a number 6. This means that the area around those reactors will be uninhabitable for at least 30 years for a radius of at least 20 miles. After the Chernobyl explosion and resulting fire, the building was so radioactive that there were no safety suits available that would protect the firemen enough to save their lives but the fire had to be extinguished. The Ukrainian officials told any volunteer firemen that went into that inferno that they would surely die from radiation poisoning but their families would receive unlimited care for the rest of their lives. Enough firemen volunteered and the fire was indeed extinguished. Three weeks later all the volunteer firemen were dead. That, my friends, is grace under fire.
Up in Sharon, SC a 53 year woman did not show up for work and her fellow workers sent someone to her house that she shared with her 47 year old boyfriend for seven years. The doors were locked and no one answered their yells and knocks so they forced their way in. They found both of them sitting on the couch dead as fried chicken with a bullet to the brain. The cops determined that the man capped the woman and turned the weapon on himself. How can things get so bad that a murder/suicide appears to be the only answer? My philosophy is that life is a smorgasbord, try to take a little taste of it all.
I will be going to the local kick-ass jazz club tonight for good music. They also serve kick-ass fine dining food. Both the food and the music will be a real treat. A good friend of mine will be playing trumpet and singing and then she is having minor surgery on Friday that will put her out of circulation for a few weeks but she says it will be worth it.
This date in history March 16
1751 On this date future president James Madison is born on a Virginia plantation. James led a privileged childhood and attended the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) and graduated after only two years. After college in 1771 Madison returned home very ill and it took him until 1776 to sufficiently recover to return to politics where he became a member of the Virginia legislature. James was a drafter of the United States Constitution and was a chronicler of the Constitutional Convention. His notes of the Convention are the most accurate of any records of that immortal meeting. But Madison forbade any of his notes to be made public until all those in attendance had died. It was he, John Jay and Thomas Jefferson that authored The Federalist Papers which foster the idea of a larger government being better capable of the protection of individual rights. The most important of these was Federalist Paper no. 10 authored by Madison alone. James married Dolley Payne Todd who proved to be one of the finest hosts in Washington of all time. While James Madison was Secretary of State under the widowed Thomas Jefferson, it was Dolley that arranged and hosted the White House frivolities in behalf of Jefferson. After resigning from public office he became rector for Thomas Jefferson’s beloved University of Virginia. Later on he became the president of Virginia State Teachers College at Harrisonburg. The college eventually became James Madison University. Madison was yet another man that showed up at the right place in the right time in history with the right skills and determination to contribute to the success of this great experiment in freedom known as the United States of America. We need many more men/women of this caliber.
1985 On this date Associated Press Beirut bureau chief is kidnapped in Beirut, Lebanon. American journalist Terry Anderson was leaving his hotel when he was whisked into a waiting car, blindfolded and taken to the basement of a destroyed house in southern Beirut where other western journalists were being held. Terry stayed in different houses in Beirut until November 2, 1991 when he was released by his Hezbollah captors, meaning 2,455 days wearing a blindfold the whole time. No one to this day knows to what end these journalists were captured. What the hell did Hezbollah want from these journalists and/or their employers? Israel and the other free nations are supposed to negotiate with these jackasses. Negotiate what? There never really said what they wanted in exchange for the journalists. By the way, Terry was one of a very few that got away from these hyenas. The greatest majority were assumed killed and were never seen again. After being released Anderson sued Iran and received several million dollars in recompense. In 2002 wrote a book about his captivity named “Den of Lions.” He ran for Senator from Ohio but was defeated.
1881 On this date on of the most famous gigolos in Los Angeles, California is found shot to death through the right eye. Francisco “Chico” Forster was the most eligible bachelor in the Los Angeles area when he happened into the pool hall owned by Jose Abarta. Jose’s daughter Lastania was singing there. Chico was smitten by this raven haired Latino beauty and began to pay her much attention. On March 14 Lastania was invited to sing at a party given in honor of the outgoing Governor of California, Pio Pico the last Mexican Governor of California. Chico’s father had just tricked a huge chunk of land near San Diego from the unfortunate Pio. In one of her songs, Lastania made fun of Pio and the stupid land deal he made with Chico’s father. Bad feelings began to surface so Chico and Lastania left and went to a fancy hotel. As men will do on occasion, Chico told Lastania that he would marry her if she would have sex with him. Lastania agreed. Afterward Chico left saying he was going to get a ring and a Padre to marry them. As you might guess, he never showed up again. So Lastania and her sister hit the road looking for Chico. They find him at the horse track and gathered his young ass up, put him in a carriage and the three head for a preacher. At one point Chico jumps out of the carriage and begins walking away. Lastania is right behind and tells him to stop because she has a gun. Chico turns around and sure enough, she has a revolver pointed at this head. Chico says “You aren’t going to shoot.......“ Lastania put a .38 caliber bullet through Chico’s right eye killing him instantly. At the trial, Lastania’s lawyer was able to convince the jury that Lastania was in “her time of the month” and as everyone knows, a woman’s blood flow is disrupted during this time and the blood in Lastania’s brain was clogged and she wasn’t thinking clearly. The jury bought it and Lastania was released and immediately disappeared. All you guys out there keep this in mind if some women promises marriage if you will sleep with them, and if betrayed, you cannot shoot them and use a defense of it was my “time of the month”.
1903 One of the most colorful characters in the history of the American west dies. It was Judge Roy Bean of Langtry, Texas. He was the self proclaimed “Law West of the Pecos.” Bean was born somewhere in Kentucky in the 1820’s. In 1847 he and his brother Sam left home and went to Mexico and lived a rogue’s life until he got into an argument with another man and ended up killing him. This forced Bean out of Mexico and he ended up in San Diego. As usual, Bean got into a fight in a bar and ended up killing anther man so he had to skedaddle out of there and ended up in Los Angeles. He got into a fight with a Mexican General over a woman and shot and killed the General. The General had a lot of friends and they took Bean to the closest tree and strung him up. The woman who he had the fight over ran to his rescue and cut him down in the nick of time. He carried the scars from that rope for the rest of his life. Bean decided that California just ain’t the place to be and he moved out into the wilds of New Mexico and Texas. For about 16 years he was a prosperous and legitimate business man in San Antonio. In 1882 he moved to southwest Texas and built his famous bar “Jersey Lilly”. Eventually he founded the town of Langtry, Texas named after the actress Lilly Langtry as was his bar. Bean became a justice of the peace in Langtry and was famous for dispensing justice using common sense rather that the letter of the law. He once fined a dead man for carrying a concealed weapon. But on the down side when a man shot a Chinese rail worker, Bean let him go saying that he could find no law against shooting a Chinaman. Bean fell ill and died in November of 1903, just 10 months before the real Lilly Langtry came by for a visit to his famous saloon.
Born today:
1751 American President James Madison. He said “The truth is that all men of power should be mistrusted.” Right on, James. I learned my lesson with Richard Nixon.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Monday, March 14, 2011
Daily history
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
Comedian Chris Rock talking to his black brothers on how to avoid an ass-kicking. “When you see a blue light flashing in your rear view mirror, stop immediately and do not run. If the cops have to come after you, you can be assured that they will bring an ass-kicking with them.”
In the previous lesson I said that Mother Nature evidently was disappointed in us and since the Indonesian earthquake/tsunami in 2004 we have suffered a horrendous volcano eruption in Iceland, 2 earthquake/tsunamis in Chile' and the worst earthquake/tsunami in Japanese recorded history. For some reason I left out the Haiti disaster. I do not know if global warming has disturbed the earth's crust or not but if it has I can assure you the Al Gore will claim victory in his predictions. What a moron.
Some of y'all may have read this but down on New Orleans someone had rented a bar down in the French Quarter for a teenager party. While the party was underway, someone walked by and fired and automatic weapon into the crowd injuring 5 and killing 1. The kids in the bar were from 15 to 18 years old. I have searched my mind and I cannot rationalize why someone would rent a bar in the French Quarter to have a party for kids that young. People that frequent that area of the world are not Franciscan priests, they are very, very rough and ruthless. The organizer of the party needs a no anesthesia castration or tubal ligation.
I found out yesterday that that ancient rock star “Prince” (or that rock star previously known at Prince) is coming to Greenville to do a concert. It has stirred up quite a stir with middle aged women. That is because Prince was popular when they were in high school. All of my men friends say “Who?” when I mention Prince. But they sigh when I mention Raquel Welch. It is a case of priorities, I suppose.
This date in history March 15
1783 Previously the United States Congress had received word that a group of officers in the Continental Army had planned a secret meeting in the Newburgh, New York area to plan a revolt or mutiny, if you will, because Congress had failed to pay them and provide them with a clothing and food allowance that had been previously promised. On this date, George Washington shows up at the meeting of the officers. As you might suspect, you could hear a pin drop as Washington walked up to the rostrum. He read them the riot act and called the meeting illegal and nonmilitary. He then pulled out a letter that Congress had sent him about the meeting. With his hands slightly shaking he reached in his coat pocket and retrieved a pair of spectacles and before he put them on he said “I am shaking because I have grown old in the service of my country, and now it appears that I will go blind.” At this there was not a dry eye in the house because they realized what a tremendous contribution this great man had made for his country and they felt very small for what they were contemplating. Anyway, the officers withdrew any threat to Congress and rededicated themselves to the service of their country. We all need to contemplate this.
44BC On this date, the Ides of March, Julius Caesar is murdered in the Roman Senate by 60 Senators. Leading the attack was Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus, better known as Brutus and Cassius. After Caesar was struck in the neck with a sword, the rest of the Senators fell upon him and made a contribution with a stab of their own. Because of the contribution that Caesar had made to Rome with his organizational skills and military expertise, he was named dictator for life. Well, come to find out that even this much power is too much for one man and the Senate agreed that they had to cap Caesar. It is legend that his last words were “et to Brute” meaning “You to Brutus?” Brutus and Caesar had been life long friends and I suppose Caesar could not believe that Brutus would be part of this conspiracy. As the saying goes “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
1831 On this date Edward R. Perry is born in Richmond, Massachusetts and is educated at Lee Academy and at Yale. In 1852 he moved to Georgia to teach school and study law. After a trip to Alabama he decided to settle in Pensacola, Florida to practice law. At the outbreak of the Civil War he offered his services to the Confederacy and became a member of the Pensacola Rifle Rangers. This unit was absorbed into the 2nd Florida Regiment which played and important role in several battles later on. His unit was involved in the Peninsular Campaign and especially the Battle of the Seven Days. The commander of his unit was killed at the Battle of Williamsburg and Perry assumed command and was promoted to Brigadier General and was given command of two other regiments. A few months later his unit was involved in the Battle of Antietam and suffered heavy losses. He came down with typhoid fever and he missed Gettysburg where his unit suffered heavy losses once again. He was able to rejoin his unit just in time for the Battle of the Wilderness where he was seriously wounded. This wound forced him to surrender command of his unit and he spent the rest of the war recruiting in Alabama. He served as Governor of Florida from 1884 to 1888. With his health failing he moved to a drier climate in Kerrville, Texas in 1889 where he died from a stroke in October of that year. He is buried in the cemetery of Saint John’s Church in Pensacola. The city of Perry, Florida is named in his honor.
1767 On this date Andrew Jackson is born in the Waxhaw villages on the North Carolina/South Carolina border. Andy was captured and tortured at the age of 13 by the British during the French and Indian War, an ordeal he never forgot and never cut a British military unit an inch of slack for the rest of his life. He proved it time and time again when he was sent to northern Florida to clear out the British. He did this with much efficiency and a hell of a lot of brutality. He was taken to task for his relentless slaughter of every Briton he found, but he was effective and they finally let him alone. We all know of his triumph at the Battle of New Orleans where he defeated the British assault almost to the point of annihilation. Andy fought many duels and was wounded more than once, but for the most part his opponents suffered far worse. He finally became president and was known for taking walks along the streets of Washington. On one occasion while walking out of the capital building a man ran up to him and whipped out pistol and fired only the pistol misfired. He then pulled out another one and it misfired also. It was then that Andy raised his hickory cane and beat the living s--t out of this guy and probably would have killed him if others had not intervened. It was from this event that he gained the nickname of “Old Hickory”. It was Andy that signed the Removal Act which resulted in the transfer on the greatest majority of the Southern Cherokees to Oklahoma and the infamous “Trail of Tears”. Andy had proven time and again that he was a hater of blacks and Indians. Andy died in 1845 and is buried at his home near Nashville, Tennessee known as “The Hermitage”.
1820 The State of Maine enters the Union. Maine was the other side of the Missouri Compromise. Missouri was allowed into the United States as a slave state if it was guaranteed that Maine would enter the Union as a free state so as to keep the balance of Free states to Slave states.
Born today:
1767 Future President Andrew Jackson. He said “It’s a damned poor mind that think of only one way to spell a word.” Andy was not the most educated man we ever had for a president but he damned sure was the meanest.
1849 English actress Dame Margaret Kendal. When speaking of Sarah Bernhardt she said “She is a great actress from the waist down.” I wonder what she meant by that.
1935 US televangelist Jimmy Swaggart. He said “The media is run by Satan, I wonder how many Christians are aware of that”. When it comes to being a sincere preacher, Jimmy is a good singer/piano player.
1892 English writer Dame Rebecca West. She said “The hatred of doing housework is the natural progression of civilization.” Methinks the good Dame Becky and I are related.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
Comedian Chris Rock talking to his black brothers on how to avoid an ass-kicking. “When you see a blue light flashing in your rear view mirror, stop immediately and do not run. If the cops have to come after you, you can be assured that they will bring an ass-kicking with them.”
In the previous lesson I said that Mother Nature evidently was disappointed in us and since the Indonesian earthquake/tsunami in 2004 we have suffered a horrendous volcano eruption in Iceland, 2 earthquake/tsunamis in Chile' and the worst earthquake/tsunami in Japanese recorded history. For some reason I left out the Haiti disaster. I do not know if global warming has disturbed the earth's crust or not but if it has I can assure you the Al Gore will claim victory in his predictions. What a moron.
Some of y'all may have read this but down on New Orleans someone had rented a bar down in the French Quarter for a teenager party. While the party was underway, someone walked by and fired and automatic weapon into the crowd injuring 5 and killing 1. The kids in the bar were from 15 to 18 years old. I have searched my mind and I cannot rationalize why someone would rent a bar in the French Quarter to have a party for kids that young. People that frequent that area of the world are not Franciscan priests, they are very, very rough and ruthless. The organizer of the party needs a no anesthesia castration or tubal ligation.
I found out yesterday that that ancient rock star “Prince” (or that rock star previously known at Prince) is coming to Greenville to do a concert. It has stirred up quite a stir with middle aged women. That is because Prince was popular when they were in high school. All of my men friends say “Who?” when I mention Prince. But they sigh when I mention Raquel Welch. It is a case of priorities, I suppose.
This date in history March 15
1783 Previously the United States Congress had received word that a group of officers in the Continental Army had planned a secret meeting in the Newburgh, New York area to plan a revolt or mutiny, if you will, because Congress had failed to pay them and provide them with a clothing and food allowance that had been previously promised. On this date, George Washington shows up at the meeting of the officers. As you might suspect, you could hear a pin drop as Washington walked up to the rostrum. He read them the riot act and called the meeting illegal and nonmilitary. He then pulled out a letter that Congress had sent him about the meeting. With his hands slightly shaking he reached in his coat pocket and retrieved a pair of spectacles and before he put them on he said “I am shaking because I have grown old in the service of my country, and now it appears that I will go blind.” At this there was not a dry eye in the house because they realized what a tremendous contribution this great man had made for his country and they felt very small for what they were contemplating. Anyway, the officers withdrew any threat to Congress and rededicated themselves to the service of their country. We all need to contemplate this.
44BC On this date, the Ides of March, Julius Caesar is murdered in the Roman Senate by 60 Senators. Leading the attack was Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus, better known as Brutus and Cassius. After Caesar was struck in the neck with a sword, the rest of the Senators fell upon him and made a contribution with a stab of their own. Because of the contribution that Caesar had made to Rome with his organizational skills and military expertise, he was named dictator for life. Well, come to find out that even this much power is too much for one man and the Senate agreed that they had to cap Caesar. It is legend that his last words were “et to Brute” meaning “You to Brutus?” Brutus and Caesar had been life long friends and I suppose Caesar could not believe that Brutus would be part of this conspiracy. As the saying goes “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
1831 On this date Edward R. Perry is born in Richmond, Massachusetts and is educated at Lee Academy and at Yale. In 1852 he moved to Georgia to teach school and study law. After a trip to Alabama he decided to settle in Pensacola, Florida to practice law. At the outbreak of the Civil War he offered his services to the Confederacy and became a member of the Pensacola Rifle Rangers. This unit was absorbed into the 2nd Florida Regiment which played and important role in several battles later on. His unit was involved in the Peninsular Campaign and especially the Battle of the Seven Days. The commander of his unit was killed at the Battle of Williamsburg and Perry assumed command and was promoted to Brigadier General and was given command of two other regiments. A few months later his unit was involved in the Battle of Antietam and suffered heavy losses. He came down with typhoid fever and he missed Gettysburg where his unit suffered heavy losses once again. He was able to rejoin his unit just in time for the Battle of the Wilderness where he was seriously wounded. This wound forced him to surrender command of his unit and he spent the rest of the war recruiting in Alabama. He served as Governor of Florida from 1884 to 1888. With his health failing he moved to a drier climate in Kerrville, Texas in 1889 where he died from a stroke in October of that year. He is buried in the cemetery of Saint John’s Church in Pensacola. The city of Perry, Florida is named in his honor.
1767 On this date Andrew Jackson is born in the Waxhaw villages on the North Carolina/South Carolina border. Andy was captured and tortured at the age of 13 by the British during the French and Indian War, an ordeal he never forgot and never cut a British military unit an inch of slack for the rest of his life. He proved it time and time again when he was sent to northern Florida to clear out the British. He did this with much efficiency and a hell of a lot of brutality. He was taken to task for his relentless slaughter of every Briton he found, but he was effective and they finally let him alone. We all know of his triumph at the Battle of New Orleans where he defeated the British assault almost to the point of annihilation. Andy fought many duels and was wounded more than once, but for the most part his opponents suffered far worse. He finally became president and was known for taking walks along the streets of Washington. On one occasion while walking out of the capital building a man ran up to him and whipped out pistol and fired only the pistol misfired. He then pulled out another one and it misfired also. It was then that Andy raised his hickory cane and beat the living s--t out of this guy and probably would have killed him if others had not intervened. It was from this event that he gained the nickname of “Old Hickory”. It was Andy that signed the Removal Act which resulted in the transfer on the greatest majority of the Southern Cherokees to Oklahoma and the infamous “Trail of Tears”. Andy had proven time and again that he was a hater of blacks and Indians. Andy died in 1845 and is buried at his home near Nashville, Tennessee known as “The Hermitage”.
1820 The State of Maine enters the Union. Maine was the other side of the Missouri Compromise. Missouri was allowed into the United States as a slave state if it was guaranteed that Maine would enter the Union as a free state so as to keep the balance of Free states to Slave states.
Born today:
1767 Future President Andrew Jackson. He said “It’s a damned poor mind that think of only one way to spell a word.” Andy was not the most educated man we ever had for a president but he damned sure was the meanest.
1849 English actress Dame Margaret Kendal. When speaking of Sarah Bernhardt she said “She is a great actress from the waist down.” I wonder what she meant by that.
1935 US televangelist Jimmy Swaggart. He said “The media is run by Satan, I wonder how many Christians are aware of that”. When it comes to being a sincere preacher, Jimmy is a good singer/piano player.
1892 English writer Dame Rebecca West. She said “The hatred of doing housework is the natural progression of civilization.” Methinks the good Dame Becky and I are related.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
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