Wednesday

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

“One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”

                                                Plato

“Get involved or shut the hell up”...that quote is mine.

As some of y'all know I look into a couple of dating sites on occasion. I read the profile of a lady down near Atlanta. She described the man she was looking for down to the minutest detail...in appearance. There was “no beards”...”no mustaches” except for the size SHE thought was appropriate”...”over 5'-8” ...must not wear hats or caps because she thinks that is trying to hide a bald head...”cannot have any or the possibility of a debilitating disease”...Apparently they could have the demeanor of Jeffrey Dahmer or Peewee Gaskins as long as their appearance met certain standards. It was like she was ordering a pastry from a bakery. I have met shallow people before but this one takes the cake, pardon the pun. So here is what I want. From the waist down she must closely resemble Jennfier Lopez, from the waist up to the neck she must resemble Dolly Parton, from there on up she must look like Sandra Bullock. Demeanor? In public she must behave like Mother Teresa and like Mae West in the bedroom. That is not reality but see how silly it is?

A while back the gray wolf in the American west was on the endangered list because cattle, sheep and horse ranchers killed them as predators. Recently they were reintroduced at the insistence of the environmentalists and in spite of the rancher's warning screams. Lets do a little math here. Cattle, sheep and horses have one or maybe two off springs at a time. Grey wolves have 6 to 10 at a time. The tree-huggers insisted that only those wolves caught in the act of attacking domestic livestock could be killed but trapping and moving them to another location is much preferred. We are back to playing Mother Nature once again. These very intelligent wolves will attack whatever prey is the easiest and that is going to be those that are fenced and cannot escape. Do you want those natural grass fed cattle to provide you with that filet mignon or sheep for those lamb chops or recreational horses? If you do, there is a price. Or do you want those steaks and chops to come from cattle and sheep that are jammed into feed lots for months at a time and fed hormonal treated grain to make them gain weight artificially to your physical disadvantage? You can't have it both ways. Cattle, sheep and horses are natural grazers. Don't be naive. Several years ago I was friends with a man that owned a steak/chop house here in Greenville that was very, very popular. Not because of the extremely western motif decor but because he had kick-ass steaks, ribs and chops. I asked him where he got his meat and he said “I get them from a slaughterhouse in Greeley, Colorado...and I insist that they come from grazers, not feed lot.” He has since retired but I see him from time to time at a “down home” restaurant. He normally gets fish of the day and three veggies. He can't see well but he knows what good food is.

A while back ago down in a small village in Bolivia a rape and murder occurred. The victim was a 35 year old mother of two. The suspect was an unruly 17 year old man...I use the term loosely. The 200 people in the village were outraged and captured the suspect, blocked all the roads into the village to inhibit any law enforcement and buried the rapist/killer alive in the grave that was dug for the murdered woman. They dug another grave beside this one and buried the woman with full honors and ceremony. I don't know about y'all, but this event somehow makes me feel good in spite of no trial by his peers. But in a village that small, there is very little that happens that is unknown to anyone.

Over in London there is a girl that is an immigrant from Bangalore, India. She is a 13 year old name Nehu Rama. For reasons unknown she took a Mensa test for people under the age of 18 and scored 162. In that particular test a 140 is considered a genius. This makes this girl smarter that Stephen Hawking, considered to be the most intelligent astrophysicist since Isaac Newton. No one knows exactly what Hawking's IQ is but is estimated to be 160. I will have to wait and see where this girl's future leads her. Perhaps she will replace Hawking as the President of the Royal Society in Cambridge University. I do not remember how old Hawking was when he became President but Isaac Newton was 27. By the way, Stephen Hawking was born exactly 300 years to the day after Isaac Newton died. Is that just a coincidence? I ain't sure, but I do believe in reincarnation and have always believed it ever since I was a rhinoceros.

     This Date in History   June 10

1864 Earlier US General William T. Sherman had begun an attack leaving Chattanooga, Tennessee headed for the Georgia coast. The problem with this was that the further he went from his supply bases at Chattanooga and Nashville the longer and more vulnerable his supply lines became. This was especially dangerous with CSA General Nathan Bedford Forrest in the area. Forrest was an exceptional cavalry leader and probably one of the top three or four this country ever produced. Anyway, Sherman sent US General Sturgis out of Memphis, Tennessee with an army of 5,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry to protect his supply lines. Forrest found out about the Sturgis expedition and lined up his troops on a railroad between Corinth and Tupelo to wait and see which direction Sturgis would be headed. It was Tupelo. Forrest carefully chose the point of interception as being a small place in a thick forest known as Brice’s Crossroad. Forrest prepared an ambush of the leading Yankee cavalry units knowing their infantry would come running. About 10:00am his plan worked to perfection. The ambush was launched on the cavalry amid high humidity and temperatures in the high nineties and the Yankee infantry came running from about five miles away and arrived on scene totally exhausted. At this point Forrest had no problem routing Sturgis’ army even though he was outnumbered better than two to one. Forrest was never able to totally stop the supply line to Sherman but this engagement was his finest hour.

Born today:

1928 US illustrator Maurice Sendak. He said “There has to be more to life than having everything.” I don’t know what to say to that, Mo. However, comedian/actor Jim Carrey said something similar. He said “I wish everybody could have everything they ever wanted then they would realize that is not the answer.”

        Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow