Thursday

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

“When you feel you are going through hell, keep putting one foot in front of the other. Eventually you will come out on the other side.”

                                         Winston Churchill

In the debate I think that Carly Fiorina was far and away the most intelligent and articulate. I was really impressed.

Yesterday I broke my own rules. I made a comparison of the crime rate in my home town of Greenville, SC to Austin, TX. This comparison has two flaws. One is I got the information off the internet, and two I used data from polls coming from a variety of sources. In the past I have preached that all information on the internet is suspect and in addition any poll can be generated to point fingers in any direction at the discretion of the pollster. All of this proves that I am human in that I believed something that agreed with my preconceived ideas. Not any more...I can assure you that I will be more diligent in the future. Thanks to KK for the reminder.

I received an email from a friend of mine that resides on Pensacola Beach...he has the time, temperament, flora and fauna that promotes philosophical thought...in addition to being a fellow bar fly at the Sandshaker. He poses these questions: Do the Syrian “immigrants” look like the displaced immigrants in central Africa and Somalia? Why are they well dressed and well fed and many of them were seen talking on cell phones? Did many American men of draft age back during WWII commit suicide because their health prevented them from going to war against their county's enemies? Why are many of those Syrian men and women running away rather than staying and defending their country? Is this flood of Muslims into central Europe a planned attempt by Islam to take control? Why isn't Muslim counties like Saudi, Kuwait, U.A.E., Indonesia, Turkey, etc. offering their countries as sanctuary? Even if these questions came from the internet I know the author personally. By the way, the Sandshaker is one of the most well know watering holes on the Gulf Coast. The most well known is the infamous Flora-Bama.

One more question. How long would Kim Davis stayed in office stayed in office if she had refused a marriage license to an interracial couple?

This Date in History September 17

1950 Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis make their debut on the TV show The Colgate Comedy Hour and are an immediate smash hit. They stayed together until 1956 when they decided to go their separate ways. Dean went on the nightclub circuit, especially in Las Vegas. Jerry made 3 or 4 movies that were a flop here in the US but were very popular in Europe where he is considered a comic genius. Dean teamed up with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop forming what was known as” The Rat Pack”. They were a nightclub act that was very popular for a long time. Dean also had a TV variety show for 9 years. After Peter Lawford died Dean was asked what had Peter died from, Dean responded with “Peter died of vodka”. Sad. Dean died in 1995 ending a remarkable life.

1862 The bloodiest single day in American history occurred on this day near a small town in Maryland named Sharpsburg and near a small creek name Antietam. There were actually 3 separate battles; Dunker Church, West Woods and Miller’s cornfield. At dawn US Gen. Joseph Hooker unleashed an attack on the Confederate troops under the command of CSA Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson near Dunker Church. Hooker’s attack is stemmed by a ferocious counter-attack by the Confederates at which there was a ghastly number on casualties on both sides. The worst attack came when US Gen. Edwin Sumner was able to get artillery pieces aimed down a sunken road where the Confederates had a line of infantry lying down and shooting over the embankment. The slaughter was unbelievable. This road from is known as “Bloody Lane” to this day. This battle was a tactical draw but it did force Lee back into Virginia to refit. The total casualty count for this day was 22,807 Americans. What can I say here?

1957 Louis Armstrong had been asked to go to go on goodwill tour to Russia for the US and he agreed. On this day he angrily refused to go because of the happenings in Little Rock, Ark. It seems that a federal judge decreed that Central High School in Little Rock must be integrated. 9 black students showed up to go to school and were met by an angry white mob and the Arkansas National Guard sent there by Governor Orville Faubus to stop them from entering the school. After hearing about this debacle Louis told the people responsible for the goodwill tour to take this tour and shove it even though President Eisenhower had sent in the 82^nd Airborne to get those kids in the school. Louis was not impressed and said words to the effect that “How can I go promote goodwill between the US and Russia when blacks are treated like that?” Indeed.

Born today:

1923 US singer/songwriter Hank Williams. He said “You have to smell a lot of mule shit before you can sing like a hillbilly.” Hank was from south central Alabama. There is a portion of I-65 in that area known as the “Lost Highway” named after one of Hank’s most popular songs. Hank allowed his success to kill him with booze and drugs at the age of 30. What a damned shame.

I have a question here. When you listen to “country music” stars of the same genre of Hank Williams, Hank Williams,Jr., Webb Pierce, Ray Price, Buck Owens, Tammy Wynette, etc. and then listen to the alleged “country music” stars of today are they even similar...can it be called country and western...or is it pop music sung with a steel guitar and a re-mix?

1931 US actress Anne Bancroft. Anne was going to get married to Mel Brooks when Mel called his Jewish mother and told her that he was going to marry a Catholic woman and his mother said “OK, bring her over, I will be in the kitchen....with my head in the oven.” Now I know where Mel got his sense of humor.

1997 US comedian Red Skelton. He said “All men make mistakes, married men just find out about it sooner.” I had forgotten why I ain’t married; now I remember

              Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow