Good morning,




Quote of the day:

“I am always amazed to hear of air crash victims that are so mutilated they can only be identified by their dental records. My question is if they don't know who you are, how do they know who your dentist is?”

                                      Paul Merton



I am sure that all of us have seen or heard something that immediately aroused our anger, then we did or said something that was regrettable. A wise person recently told me that everyone should rermember the “24 Hour Rule”. This means you wait 24 hours after the event before responding. The problem is after we jump the gun, it cannot be retrieved. It is like trying to “un-ring” bell.



A few years ago two young and well scrubbed boys in black pants and white shirts road up to my house on bicycles. They knocked on the door and introduced themselves as members of the Church of Latter Day Saints or Mormons. They wanted to tell me about their religion. I asked them if they had one of their bibles with them and they did. I told them to leave the bible with me and come back in a week. I read the bible cover to cover and it was the most fantastic tale I had ever read. It was full of events that were nothing short of miracles with no evidence that they ever happened. Of course, you could say the same thing about the parting of the Red Sea, turning the Nile into blood, getting water by striking a rock, etc. I won't get into it except to say that they do believe in God and Jesus Christ. If you look at the strict definition of a Christian you will find that it means “a follower of Christ”. If that is the case then the Mormons are Christians. There will be those of you out there that will say “That is not all there is to it.” Maybe, but anything added beyond this definition is arbitrary.



I am reading about the history of William “Braveheart” Wallace. His first major victory against the English Army was at Stirling Bridge. His army did not overpower the English army he just took advantage of their arrogance. The English attacked and Wallace's army feigned a retreat and ran across Stirling Bridge with the English hot on their heels. Stirling Bridge spans a fairly deep river and Wallace had hidden troops on the approach end of the bridge. When the bridge was jammed with English troops, his hidden troops set fire to the approach end trapping the English troops on the bridge. The English could not jump into the river because they would drown since they were in armor. They could not receive reinforcements because the approach end was on fire and the water was too deep to wade across. Wallace's troops were waiting on the departure end and almost leisurely hacked the English troops into confetti as they stepped off the bridge.



Up in Batavia, New York a 70 year old “greeter” at a local Walmart was punched in the face by a 26 year old woman. The woman was leaving and was stopped by the greeter to check her shopping bag and that is when she struck. The greeter was knocked to the floor and the woman ran away. She did not get but a few steps before she was surrounded by Walmart workers and a few customers. She was arrested and hit with two charges of assault and one charge of shoplifting. The reason she was hit with two charges of assault instead of one is the law in that county makes it a double charge if the victim is over 65. I like it.



Not long ago two men and a woman met at the woman's apartment for a few drinks after work. They had a few and then decided to go to another apartment where a party was under way. Everybody was drinking at this one and the girl had one too many, passed out and had to be physically carried to her apartment. She awoke the next morning naked and felt some “discomfort”. One of the men that was with her in her apartment earlier admitted that she and he had sex after he got her home but it was consensual. The woman filed a rape charge against this man even though she doesn't remember a damned thing for the whole night. The worse part was that the man was arrested and charged with rape. She said that she was mentally incapacitated and could not have agreed to sex. How do we know that she did not have a “moment of clarity” during the period she was passed out and agreed to have sex? We don't, and it is a damned travesty of justice that a charge issued by a drunk woman will effect this man the rest of his life. It ain't fair and I deeply resent it.



This date in history January 13





1776 The so-called Battle of Prudence Island happens on this day. Prudence Island is a barrier island off the coast of Rhode Island that had but one or two structures. It was primarily used as a pasture for sheep with the structure for the shepherds. The British troops had been hungrily watching the sheep across the waterway. One night the British decided to cross over to Prudence Island and make off with a couple of sheep, only the pretty ones of course. They rowed over and before they could get ashore they were met with musket fire from a fairly large detachment of militia led by Patriot Captain Thomas King and are turned back, The militia had learned of the planned sheep theft a day or two before and sitting there waiting for them in the dark. The militia just was not going to give up those lovely, sensual sheep.



1128 On this date Pope Honorius II names the Knights Templar, led by Frenchman Hughes de Payens, as the “army of God”. In the year 1118 the Knights was formed to protect the Christians that are on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. They took their name from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In the beginning there were only 9 of them because of their very strict rules. They had to be of noble birth, take vows of poverty, obedience and chastity. By 1127 the grateful pilgrims had contributed considerable amounts of land and other valuables to the knights. Even though the knights had sworn a vow of poverty as individuals possession of lands by the organization was allowed and the Knights Templar became extremely wealthy. I’ll bet y'all can tell me what comes next. That’s right, in 1307 the Catholic Church led by Pope Clement V along with Philip IV of Spain lusted after these riches and they attacked the Knights Templar the only way they knew how and that was with religion. They dragged up the leader the Knights, Jacques DeMolay up on charges of heresy, sacrilege and Satanism. DeMolay denied these charges of course but with a little persuasion from the rack and hot irons, DeMolay acquiesced and was burned at the stake. That was pretty much the fate of the rest of the Knights. Their valuables and lands were given away to their closest rival, the Knights of Hospitaliers with a substantial chunk going to Phillip IV of Spain, Edward II of England and last but not least the Catholic Church. Later on the Catholic Church admitted wrong doing in this case and said that Pope Clement V was pressured by secular rulers to do what he did. Hey Clement V you jackass, what has the division of worldly possessions got to do with saving my soul? Thank God you have gone on to your reward. It was/is believed that the Knights Templar has possession of the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant and a piece of wood from the true cross that Jesus was crucified on. It is the possibility of these objects still being in existence that has made for today’s legends and made Dan Brown, the author of “The Da Vinci Code” a zillionaire.



1842 Early on this morning a British military doctor staggered into a British sentry post near Jalalabad, Afghanistan. He was the only survivor of a 16,000 British/Indian force that were attacked by extremely pissed off Afghani rebels at Khyber Pass. It seems that the ever Empirical England was attempting to expand their empire from India to include Afghanistan and blatantly interfered in the selection of the ruler of Afghanistan in that he would be a supportive of Great Britain. That 16,000 British/Indian Army was in Kabul to make sure of the transition but soon thereafter the pissed off Afghani warlords began gathering in Kabul and the British/Indian army had to choice but to withdraw. The combined warlords caught up with the British/Indian army at Khyber Pass and slaughtered them almost to a man. Only the doctor had escaped. This did not deter the British, however. They tried again and again were driven out but on the third try they were able make it stick. But not for long, the Afghanis love to fight; it is part and parcel of their makeup. The last total domination of that country was only when Alexander the Great passed through in the third century BC.



1958 Peter Manuel is arrested in a pub in Glasgow, Scotland. This maniac was born in America to British parents. He got an early start when he was arrested for burglary at the age of 12, then he moved up to assault at the age of 15 a little later he was convicted of sexual assault and did eight years of hard time. After getting out he resumed his life of crime by killing a mother, her two children and her sister during a burglary. A little later he broke into another house and killed the entire family. It is estimated that Peter Manuel had killed 15 people during his short life. They caught him by comparing bank notes that he had stolen form the family he had killed against the ones he used to buy beer in a Glasgow pub. He took the money from the father that had just been paid and the employer tracked the serial numbers of the bank notes used for salaries, shortly after Peter Manuel went to meet his maker wearing a hemp neck-tie. I don’t know what it is but sometime kids are just born with bad blood and insist on bad behavior in spite of the consequences.



I will tell y’all the brief history of a gang leader in the lower East side of New York. His gang did as most gangs; they raised money by selling drugs, extortion and occasional murder for hire. The leader’s name was “Yummy”. He got this name because he always had Oreo cookies close at hand. He was an uncompromising and insistent person that demanded complete loyalty among his soldiers. As was commonplace, there was a rival gang that Yummy and his boys had an ongoing turf war with, that frequently brought about large battles. During one of these battles, Yummy was captured by the rival gang, tortured for several days and then strangled. His body was thrown out in the middle of Harlem from a speeding car. Yummy was 12 years old.



1929 Nearly fifty years after his famous gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, Wyatt Earp died peacefully in Los Angeles. A little while after the gunfight Wyatt’s brother Virgil was ambushed riding along a trail and a shotgun blast took out his left arm permanently but he survived. A few days later Wyatt was playing billiards with his brother Morgan when a shot came the window and hit Morgan in the head and he was dead before he hit the floor. Wyatt and Doc Holliday left Arizona headed to California. But on the way our they killed Frank Stillwell in a Tucson rail yard and Florendento Cruz out in the desert as revenge for the murder of Morgan. Wyatt knocked around the west an occasional bartender even up in Nome, Alaska and was a temporary movie consultant in his life when he passed. He was legend, y'all.



Born today:



1884 US entertainer Sophie Tucker. She said “From birth to 18 a girl need good parents, From 18 to 36 she needs good looks, from 36 to 55 she needs a good personality, from 55 on she needs good money, that’s why I am saving.” Sophie was known as “The last of the red-hot mamas.” I think we could give that title to Brittany Spears these days



Died today:



1929 US western legend Wyatt Earp. He said “Fast is fine, accuracy is everything.” Wyatt was familiar with firearms, to say the least.



1978 US politico Hubert Humphrey. “We should not allow the shortness of funds to prevent the cities from financing needed projects.” Hubert, shut the hell up.



         Thanks for listen I can hardly wait until tomorrow