Thursday

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

“If you love a man, set him free. If he comes back it is because he forgot his car keys.”

Jasmine Birtles

A while back my brother and I were discussing the possibility of space travel. We both agreed that until we are able to conquer time, space travel will will be impossible. It takes many months just to get to Mars, the next planet outside of Earth orbit in our solar system. The closest galaxy to us is Andromeda which is about 4.2 light years away. As y'all know the speed of light is 186,000 miles per SECOND which is the celestial speed limit, so said Albert Einstein. Think about the distance light travels in a year at that speed and you will realize how far away things are. It is difficult to wrap your brain around that. We will never be able to reach that speed because with our present technology a space craft could not carry near enough fuel to accelerate to that speed. If somehow we were able to accelerate to 1/10^th the speed of light, no matter how unlikely, that would mean it would take 42 years to reach Andromeda and 42 years back. There would be very little communications because an electronic transmission travels at near the speed of light and it would take 4.2 years for a transmission to travel from Earth to Andromeda or vice versa. My brother said it best. “Until we overtime time, we ain't going nowhere.” Indeed.

Once again the proposed Canada to US oil pipeline is in the news. The Democratically controlled Senate recently voted to oppose it. What really bothers me is the environmentalists screaming and yelling about the possible damage to the environment but they fail to mention that the Trans-Alaska pipeline has been operating for 30 years without an environmental disaster. The Brooks Range, the Alaska Range and the Chugach Range and several other are as pristine as ever. There was the Exxon Valdez fiasco but that had nothing to do with the pipeline itself. Once again the opposition is blaming greedy “big oil” for wanting the pipeline. Who the hell is “big oil”? It is NOT a couple of fat cats sitting around a mahogany table smoking Cuban cigars. There IS a board of directors and millions and millions of stockholders both foreign and domestic. This means that “big oil” is everybody that expects a return on their investment...it means us. Why is the automotive industry thriving? It is because we continue to buy vehicles that use petrochemicals and then complain when “big oil” tries to provide for them. You can't have it both ways! Anyone that is opposed to a pipeline that could reduce the price of gasoline needs to get rid of your automobiles and ride bicycles, roller skates and maybe Vespas...or just shut the hell up and go into the kitchen and use that range that is fueled by natural gas...or take a bath in water heated by natural gas...or draw water for the bath...I wonder how all of that got to your your house? Don't be stupid.         

This Date in History November 20

1820 On this date the whaling vessel Essex based in Nantucket, Rhode Island encountered an enraged bull sperm whale 2,000 mile off the west coast if South America. The 80 ton whale rammed the 280 ton ship twice causing it to capsize. All of The 20 man crew escaped to three smaller boats but their troubles were not over. The crew spent 83 days adrift and ran out of food and soon chose to draw straws to see who would be shot to provide food for the others. After the boats were spotted near the west coast of South America and picked up by other boats there were only five survivors. There were three others that were marooned on an uninhabited Pacific island but they were eventually rescued. The first capture of a sperm whale was in 1711 and it was then that the value of whale oil and ambergris was discovered. From then on the whaling industry ballooned to 800 ships that traveled the entire globe looking for these giants. It was this event that inspired Herman Melville to give us the immortal Moby Dick the next year. To my knowledge whaling has been banned or severely restricted. I believe that if they had not the whale would have gone the route of the Moa and the Dodo bird, extinct.

1947 On this date Princess Elizabeth, the heir apparent to the English throne, is married to Phillip Mountbatten. Phillip was a Prince of Greece and Denmark and he renounced his titles to marry Elizabeth. Elizabeth was 21 years old and Phillip was 26 and had fought with the British Navy during WWII. He was given the title of Duke of Edinburgh just before the wedding. As you might suspect, the wedding was a lavish one held in Westminster Abbey in London. This event raised the spirits of the British people who were suffering personally and financially from the effects of WWII. As expected, Elizabeth’s father King George VI died in 1952 and Elizabeth rose to the throne of Great Britain where she remains to this day. The coronation of Elizabeth, also held in Westminster Abbey, was also a lavish event. It is not very often that there is a change in the monarchy of England and the ceremony is the same as it was with the crowning of William the Conqueror in December of 1066. The English are big on tradition. I forgot, Phillip is Elizabeth’s cousin.

1843 On this date a major trading post on the Mississippi River named Blacksnake Hills trading post has a name change to Saint Joseph’s trading post. The post had been wisely established in 1826 by French fur trader Joseph Robidoux right in the mouth of the Platte River valley. This valley was a major artery for the fur trappers returning from the far west and the Rocky Mountains. Eventually the fur trade dried up but the pioneers heading west stopped at Saint Joseph to gear up for their trip to Oregon and California. The Platte River was again a major avenue for those traveling west. The trail split near present day Beatrice, Nebraska with some heading northwest on the Oregon Trail and others heading southwest on the Santa Fe and several other trails. What an adventure that would have been.

1945 On this date the Nuremberg war crimes trial began in Nuremberg, Germany. The trial was judged by a tribunal of the French, United States and Russia. There were 24 Germans on trial for war crimes; of those half were eventually hanged. The others received sentences from life to twenty years. Naturally the root of the charges of “crimes against humanity” was what happened to the Jew, Gypsies and various other minorities throughout Europe during WWII. The trial took a year. Most of the Germans defended themselves by claiming they were just doing what they were ordered as good soldiers do. One of the most famous of the accused was Field Marshal Herman Goering who was the second in command of the German military after Adolph Hitler. Herman was sentenced to the gallows but on the day before the hanging, Herman got his hands on a cyanide capsule and committed suicide. No one knows how he came by the capsule but the rumor was that he bribed one of his guards to get him one. We will never know.

Born today:

1884 US social reformer Norman Thomas. He said “If you want a symbolic gesture, don’t burn the flag, wash it.” Norman was a famous communist.

1908 British social commentator Alistair Cooke. He said “A professional is one that does their best even when they do not feel like it.” That sounds like a prostitute to me.

1919 US actress Evelyn Keyes. She said “I always took up with the man of the moment, and I had many moments.” Life is a smorgasbord isn’t it Evelyn?

1923 South African writer Nadine Gordimer. She said “Truth is not always beauty, but the hunger for it is.” Good thinking, Nadine.

1925 US politician Robert F. Kennedy. He said “One fifth of the people are against everything all the time.” Most of them are the Evangelicals these days.

1946 US blues guitarist Duane Allman. When he was asked what his philosophy on life he said “Just rock on, and have yourself a good time.” What a good basis for life, y'all.

1954 US actress Bo Derek. She said “Whoever said that money can’t buy happiness just doesn’t know where to shop.” Bo, get in touch with reality.

        Thanks for listening    I can hardly wait until tomorrow