Good Morning,
Quote of the day:
During WWII the German Army launched a massive surprise attack into Belgium in an attempt to capture the seaport of Antwerp so the German army could received supplies and continue the war. This was after D-Day and the Germans knew this attack was their last chance and it was known from then on as The Battle of the Bulge. The American 101st Airborne unit including 18,000 soldiers were encircled by the Germans in the Belgian town of Bastogne. US General George Patton was assigned the task of driving north (about 100 miles) and relieving the 101st . Patton and his army was fighting the Germans and a blizzard along the way. The blizzard meant that Pattons's army could not receive reinforcements, supplies or combat support by air and one of his staff suggested that Patton's army may have to hold up and wait on better weather. Patton answered with “There are brave men dying up there...we are not going to wait another day, we are not going to wait another minute...we are going to attack all night...we are going to attack tomorrow morning...IF WE ARE NOT VICTORIOUS...let no man come back alive.” Patton's lead tank column broke through the German line and reached Bastogne the day after Christmas and the 101st was relieved. By the way, the commander of that tank column was Lt. Col. Creighton Abrams. The present day main battle tank (M1-A1) is named for this great leader. He retired as a four star General.
By the way, after the 101st was relieved a paratrooper was interviewed by a newsman who asked how it felt to be “saved” by Patton. The paratrooper bristled and said “We did not need to be f%^&#ing saved, we were relieved, not f%^&#ing saved.” The 101st is a proud bunch.
When I go to Pensacola Beach on my bi-yearly visits, one of my fellow bar flies is Chuck Pitman. Except Chuck is known to me others as “The General”. He is a retired Lieutenant General (three stars) from the US Marine Corp. I read his history and this man has done nearly everything in combat that can be imagined. He flew combat helicopters in Nam and was shot down twice in one day. His qualifications indicate that he was certified in nearly every Marine Corp aircraft (including helicopters and jet fighters) since the late 50's until he retired. He has some great tales for us all. He is on several Boards of Directors that keep him moving across the country and the world. I might be going back for a month long visit about mid-October and am looking forward to chatting with “The General”.
A couple of days ago the Spartanburg, SC city cops were called to a shopping mall by a passer by. This person saw a young English bulldog laying in the back seat of a car with the windows up and the outside temperature about 92. The dog was foaming at the mouth and was breathing very shallow. The cops immediately broke out two windows, extracted the very limp dog and sent it to the nearest vet. About that time the owner of the car arrived and was immediately arrested. Two days ago the 16 month old dog died. What should happen to the owner?
Speaking of this, recently the Anderson, SC sheriffs department busted a puppy mill last week. This bastard had 128 puppies mostly Jack Russells and Chihuahuas. They were found in “abominable” conditions. Some of the puppies died when being taken out of their cages. What should happen to this jackass?
Here is a story of unbridled bravery. Down in Greenwood, SC a group of kids were trying to cross a road. One of them was a three year old girl. Suddenly a car was seen speeding along toward the children and another person tried to flag him down and warn him of the kids. It didn't work, the car hit the three year old who flew into the air and landed on the windshield of the car. The driver then slammed on the brakes and threw the kid back into the road. The driver did not hit the brakes until after he had hit the kid. The driver then got out of the car, looked around, got back into the car and drove away. The cops found out that the car belongs to a woman who identified her boyfriend as being the driver of the car while she was at work. The boyfriend was arrested on a hit and run charge. This brave bastard said that he had a friend in the car with him that was driving...not him. He said this in spite of the man that tried to wave him down and three others that saw him get out of the car and look around and then drive away and all identified the same person...it was the boyfriend. Here this piece of trash is trying to lie his way out of this charge and implicate his friend, if there was one. The little girl was flown to Greenville Memorial Hospital for a fractured pelvis and a broken leg. In spite of all of this, she is awake and coherent. The brave driver is in the joint where he belongs. The owner of the car said that she will put her car in the body shop for the dents and bumps as soon as the cops got what they needed. That driver is a brave bastard...isn't he?
This Date in History August 14
1776 On this date the city of Boston celebrated the 11th anniversary of the revolt against the hated “Stamp Act”. The Stamp Act was a resolution passed by the British Parliament whereby any and all documents of any kind, including newspapers, must have a Stamp attached. The cost of the stamp varied dependent upon the document it went upon. Parliament needed money to help finance the British army in the colonies. The colonists hit the roof saying that Parliament had levied a tax on the colonies with the colonies not represented in Parliament. Soon those hell-raisers “The Sons of Liberty” began leaning heavily on the collectors of the stamp tax by going to their homes and unabashedly threatening their lives, burning down the warehouses where they thought the stamps were stored, etc. Finally the collector of the stamp tax said “To hell with it, I am out of here” as did the majority of the other stamp tax collectors in the colonies making the Stamp tax unenforceable. Less than a year later Parliament repealed the Stamp Act. But in its place they enacted the “Declaratory Act” making Parliament or their representative have supreme legislative authority everywhere in the colonies. It took a while for the colonists to figure out the ramifications of this abomination. Parliament also added a few pence tax on every barrel of molasses that came into the colonies. There was no complaint here. Molasses was essential to manufacture of rum and the male colonists just would not sit still without that tankard of “grog” every night. It was the women that drank the tea and raised hell when England forbade the colonies from buying tea from anyone but English traders.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
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