Tuesday OYSTERS

Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“I don't like repeat offenders, I like dead offenders.”

                             Ted Nugent

I saw General Petraeus being interviewed and he was asked about the Trump phenomenon. I think he hit the nail on the head when he said Trump is succeeding because a large part of America was anxious about where this country is headed and what it means to their children. He also said that these same Americans had little or no confidence in present day national political leadership.

I say that the reason is that there is no leadership. The legislative branch as a whole has little or no men and/or women that are Patriots and many are downright cowards when their job could be in danger. How many of them would excel or even survive in the private sector? It was a very smart man that said “Politics is the final refuge of the mediocre.”

This Date in History March 22

1820 On this date one of America’s greatest naval heroes is shot in a duel with a man named James Barron. Stephan Decatur succumbs to his wounds the next day. Barron, also shot, survived his wounds. Stephen Decatur was born in 1769 in Maryland to a naval family. In 1789 he joined the American navy he went through the familiar naval training and was assigned as a midshipman of the new frigate, United States. The fledgling United States merchant navy was being preyed upon by pirates sailing out of the North African port of Tripoli on the north coast of Africa because they knew that the United States did not have a viable military navy such as Great Britain that could provide retribution. One of the United State’s newest warships, the USS Philadelphia, had been forced aground near Tripoli by the pirates. US President Thomas Jefferson tasked the navy with dealing with this situation because he did not want such a ship to fall into the hands of the pirates nor to allow them to use the American design of the ship to build one of their own. So the navy sent Stephen Decatur and 12 others to Tripoli disguised as Maltese fishermen. They sailed their small fishing smack into Tripoli harbor, overcame the guards on the Philadelphia and burned that puppy down to the waterline. English naval hero Horatio Nelson called this feat as “one of the most daring of the age.” Finally the United States navy gained enough armaments and manpower and sailed into each of the North African ports that had been giving them shit and sent in the recently chartered United States Marines. The Marines went in and kicked ass and took names and threatened each country with continued slaughter if they did not sign a peace agreement. It is from this action that in the Marine Corps Hymn the line “from the shores of Tripoli” arose. Anyway, the trouble with James Barron began when Barron was less that resistant to a British capture of a ship under his command. Barron was brought before a court martial board of which Stephan Decatur was a member. Barron was convicted of dereliction of duty and was kicked out of the US Navy for a period of five years. At the end of the five years, the United States was again at war with Great Britain in the War of 1812 and Barron chose to stay in Europe until the war was over. When he then tried to re-join the United States navy, Stephan Decatur opposed it and Barron was not accepted. Well, Barron felt now it was matter of honor and challenged Decatur to a duel. Duels were frowned upon except for the United States Navy. The challenge was accepted on this date the duel was consummated in Bladensburg, Maryland. Barron was finally reinstated into the US Navy in 1821.

1984 Earlier the most blatant display of public hysteria and miscarriage of justice ever seen began. Seven teachers at the McMartin Pre-School in Manhattan Beach, California are brought under siege by a yuppie soccer Mom who claimed that her 2 ½ year old toddler had been sexually molested at the school. The police are brought in and they began a comedy of stupid acts that results in the destruction several people’s reputations. After hearing the Soccer Mom they sent out 200 form letters to the parents of all the little kiddies that attended that school telling them about the charge and that the suspected culprit was on of the owner’s son, Ray Buckey. As you might suspect, the parents went crazy as hell and immediately withdrew their children and initiated lawsuits against the school and Ray Buckey in particular. Let’s recap at this point. As a result of zero credible information and the sheer stupidity of the police, a legitimate and honest business is destroyed and the eight employees are on the street. That ain’t all. On this date, seven employees including owners Ray Buckey and his mother are indicted after the Grand Jury interviews 18 of the toddlers. Then a wacko outfit is brought in called Children Information International. These jackasses spread panic across the United States by saying that nearly all juvenile daycare centers had instances of sexual abuse. The parents of the little kiddies nationwide acted as you might suspect, with hysteria. Finally, credible child psychologists were called in and convinced the courts that a child in the toddler range can and will tell you what he thinks you want to hear. As incredible as it sounds one child testified that Ray Buckey took him to a cemetery and they dug up bodies and cut them open. In the meantime the McMartin School was burned to the ground by an arsonist. Eventually, American parents came to their senses and the hysteria abated but not before a lot of damage was done. It took years for day care and pre-schools to regain credibility.

1908 On this date Louis L’Amour is born in Jamestown, North Dakota. Louis was not much of a student and at the age of 15 he left home to seek his fortune. At various times he was a cowboy, seaman, longshoreman, boxer, miner and fruit picker. During World War II he ended up an officer in the American tank corps. After the war he tried his hand at writing and was soon recognized for his compact and hard-hitting style. He wrote several novels that were moderately successful but he hit a home run with the novel “Hondo” that became the basis of a John Wayne movie. A little later he wrote the novel and screen wrote another hit in “How the West Was Won.” After these blockbusters his career was assured. He wrote a series of novels about three different pioneer families in the early west in “The Sacketts”, “The Chantrys and “The Talons”. For his contribution to the learning and lore of the American west he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1983. Louis went to that that great cattle ranch in the sky in 1988. I miss him.

Born today:

1930 US educator Derek Bok is born: He said “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” He is right. Mick Jagger has a degree in economics and look at him.

1930 US evangelical Pat Robertson. “During my Presidential bid I stated that I would only bring in Christians and Jews into my cabinet. This created a firestorm in the press and they asked “Do you mean that atheists, Hindus and Moslems are not any good at governing?” and I said “Yes, I do.” I normally am not enamored with his obvious prejudices and he did not disappoint this time.

Died today:

1930 German philosopher Johann Goethe. He said “If everyone grew up to be what their parents think of them as children, we would all be geniuses.” Ah yes, I remember it well.

      Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow