Monday

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

“The basic thing is that everyone wants happiness, no one wants suffering. Happiness mainly comes from our own attitude rather than external factors. If your own mental attitude is correct, even though you remain in a hostile atmosphere, you will feel happy.”

                 Tenzin Gyatso, 14^th Dalai Lama

I read about the cop in Cleveland that was acquitted of a voluntary manslaughter charge. There was a demonstration afterward proclaiming justice had not been done. The hell it hasn't.   Justice in the United States is whatever a jury of your peers says it is. If that is not sufficient then the only other answer is justice is whatever a stupid mob says it is...that is anarchy, y'all. This means that justice would be administered by the most heavily armed. Who would win that battle?

Martin Luther King Jr. had a meeting with the Black Panthers who were trying to convince him that an armed insurgency was the best option. King responded with “The military is in the control of the white man...and how many tanks, ships, warplanes and trained combat troops do you have?”

In recognition of Memorial Day I offer this document:

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR to

SERGEANT JOHN BASILONE
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

for service as set forth in the following

CITATION:
For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action against enemy Japanese forces, above and beyond the call of duty, while serving with the First Battalion, Seventh Marines, First Marine Division, in the Lunga Area, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on October 24 and 25, 1942. While the enemy was hammering at the Marines' defensive positions, Sergeant Basilone, in charge of two sections of heavy machine guns, fought valiantly to check the savage and determined assault. In a fierce frontal attack with the Japanese blasting his guns with grenades and mortar fire, one of Sergeant Basilone's sections with its gun crews was put out of action, leaving only two men able to carry on. Moving an extra gun into position, he placed it in action, then, under continual fire, repaired another and personally manned it, gallantly holding his line until replacements arrived. A little later, with ammunition critically low and the supply lines cut off, Sergeant Basilone, at great risk of his life and in the face of continued enemy attack, battled his way through hostile lines with urgently needed shells for his gunners, thereby contributing in a large measure to the virtual annihilation of a Japanese regiment. His great personal valor and courageous initiative were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
/S/FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

A side note: After receiving the CMH Sergeant “Manila John” Basilone was selected to come back to America and tour the country selling War Bonds. He did that for a short while and then requested to return to his unit. He was killed soon after coming ashore on Iwo Jima.

This Date in History May 25

1637 Since the establishment of the Massachusetts Bay colony the settlers had been expanding into what is now Connecticut. The problem here was that in central Connecticut was a tribe of very hostile Indians known as the Pequot. The Pequot began raiding the settlers’ villages more and more frequently. In early 1637 the Pequot had raided a small village and killed 13 men, women and children. The Governor of the Colony, John Endicott, ordered a mobilization of a military force to punish the Pequot. The Indians found out about this and in an act of defiance raided another village killing six settler and kidnapping two girls. On this date the retaliation against the Pequot began. The settler military force commanded by John Mason and accompanied by several Mohegan Indians, who were enemies of the Pequot, got underway. The settlers attacked three different Pequot villages killing over 500 in one village alone. After the third attack there were only a handful of Pequot that escaped to live with the southern tribes. What were not killed was sold into slavery and that was the end to yet another tribe of Native Americans at the hands of our ancestors.

1940 On this date almost any British boat that could stand the crossing crossed the English Channel to Calais, France. There were 46,000 British and other allied soldiers pinned on the beach after the ill-fated invasion of Dunkirk. The Germans had the invasion force out manned and out gunned with their tanks and half tracks. The plan was to evacuate the troops back to England in two days but the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) had other ideas. They strafed and bombed the trapped soldiers relentlessly, that is until the British Air Force came over and provided air cover for the evacuation. The allied soldiers were finally back to safety after nine days of hell. They were not the only people suffering. The French and Belgian civilians that lived on the coast had to flee their homes during the air battle and many were homeless after their homes were destroyed by bombs and machine gun fire. War is hell.

1924 YA’LL PAY ATTENTION: On this date President Calvin Coolidge signs into law the most stringent immigration law in American history. This law mirrored the American attitude of isolationism after the unequaled slaughter of World War I. It also demonstrated the pervasiveness of racial fear and discrimination prevalent in America at that time. After the influx of so many unskilled workers in the early 1900’s the Americans felt that they were taking too many jobs and too much land. The law stated that no one could enter the country without a college degree or a recognized skill. It also disallowed Mexicans entirely and severely restricted central and southern Europeans and Japanese. Again Coolidge was parroting the American attitude of citizens being mostly of Northern European descent. The law really pissed off the Japanese because a few years earlier the United States and Japan had a “Gentleman’s agreement” that would loosen up immigration quotas for Japan. But eventually that went down the toilet when the agriculture in California exploded and provided plenty of work for those Americans already here. There was fear that the Japanese workers would take many of those jobs and they were probably right. Anyway, Cal had no problem with enacting laws that he felt was in the nation’s best interest. Where is Cal or someone like him when you need him?

Born today:

1689 English writer Lady may Montagu. She said “Most people wish their enemies dead. I do not, I wish them to stay alive and have gout and kidney stones.” Hell hath no fury.....

Died today:

1703 English writer Samuel Pepys. He said “Methinks lesser of kings if they cannot command the rain”.

             Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow