Tuesday

                       Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“Inanimate objects are classified into three different categories.. those that don't work, those that break down and those that you can't find.”

                                             Russell Baker

This was on the editorial page of the Greenville News on Monday:

Unfortunately, I caught a report by someone named Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. This person walked toward the camera saying that the Russians are responsible for Trump being elected. That has never been validated but she is preaching it as the gospel. What she failed to report was that two different universities reported that their investigations indicate that there were about 800,000 votes for Hillary by dead people and illegal aliens. That is also unsubstantiated but is not reported as the truth because it does not suit her/their purpose. I had a chat with a person last night that is not pleased with the outcome of the election and expects the worst. That is not unusual but we must keep this in mind. Where did you get your information that allowed you to arrive at a conclusion? Is that source unbiased and accurate? Does the information from that source match what you had previously conceived and you accept it as validation whether or not it is true? Don't be played like a puppet. Be a cynic and believe nothing until proven, and I mean proven beyond any doubt by an unbiased source. Don't say, "See, I told you so...it was on CNN," or "See, I told you so, George Clooney feels the same way." That is on the media all the time. Sometimes the media prints things that were not quoted by a celebrity or sometime it is what was quoted by a celebrity. Who gives a damn what a celebrity thinks? I can think for myself.

                                            Alfred Campbell

          This Date in History   February 7

1968 On this date in Bromley, England Bernie Josephs came home to find his wife Claire under her bed with her throat cut with a serrated knife all the way to the spine. The police could find no clues. They did not find the knife and the doors showed no sign of forced entry. There were two cups of half finished coffee on the kitchen table indicating that Claire knew who her attacker was. The police started with all of the Joseph’s friend and family and began an investigation of them all. One of them was a recent acquaintance named Roger Payne that had a past record of attacking women. The police zeroed in on Payne. They found scratches on the backs of his hands but Payne said it was from a fight with his wife. The police inspected all of his clothing and on one pair of pants, in spite of they having been dry cleaned, the police found about sixty cerise fibers in the seams and cuffs that matched the dress that Claire was wearing on the day she was killed. The police then went over Payne’s car with a fine tooth comb and found some minute blood spots that matched Claire along with more matching fibers. In spite of never finding the knife, Roger Payne was tried and convicted of the murder of Clair Josephs on forensic evidence alone. This did not happen often in those days. It happens more often now since the advent of DNA evidence Roger Payne was given life in prison. In spite of England’s past history of torturing, beheading, the gallows and drawn and quartering, they do not issue the death penalty at all anymore. What a shame.

1812 On this date after a series of small quakes and a large earthquake with an estimated strength of 8.8 struck the Arkansas/Missouri. The quakes began in December of 1811 and did not end with this one. There were several minor quakes after this big one. There were not as many casualties as there could have been because this area was still being explored and most people were sleeping in tents so they were not crushed by falling debris. The quake caused a fluvial tsunami on the Mississippi River, however. The river ran backwards for several hours and exposed many shoals that were normally underwater. After the river returned to its normal flow there were several waterfalls where they had been none before and many boats went over them and those aboard were drowned. Dolly Madison in Washington was a wakened by a bell that she kept by her bed began ringing. The present day Reelfoot Lake was a result of this earthquake. The earthquake was on what is known as the Madrid Fault and the fault is still with us. It is known that over 1,000 people were killed but the census of the Indians was in its infancy so the exact number killed is unknown.

1898 On this date writer Emile Zola is arrested because of an article he wrote in Paris newspaper editorial. The article was titled “I Accuse” and leans heavily upon the French military for the ill treatment of French officer Alfred Dreyfus. Earlier Dreyfus had been accused of espionage and convicted and sent to Devils Island. Later evidence proved that Dreyfus was not guilty but the French military would not back down and rather than admit a mistake they let Dreyfus rot. One of the main reasons that the French military would not back down was that Dreyfus was a Jew. The French military resented Jews and chose this occasion to make a statement. After Zola’s editorial, the French people began raising almighty hell so the French military had Zola arrested on various charges and sentenced to one year in prison. Zola fled France to avoid imprisonment and two years later Dreyfus was exonerated and re-joined the French military. Shortly after this Zola returned to France where he died in 1902. Like I have said in the past, everybody needs someone to hate.

1855 Charles Siringo is born in Matagorda County, Texas. Charlie Siringo is well known in western folk lore as a true cowboy. At the age of 18 he had his own registered cattle brand and had a good start on a cattle ranch by gathering up “mavericks” or unbranded cattle out on the open range. But Charlie made his mark by writing. At the age of thirty he published A Texas Cowboy, Or Fifteen Years on the Hurricane Back of a Spanish Cow Pony. The book was an instant success primarily because he knew what he was talking about and it showed in his writings. Charlie was on several trail drives and he used these experiences for his books. He also wrote A Cowboy Detective. He wrote this book after he was hired by the Pinkerton agency to track down Butch and Sundance and the Wild Bunch. He chased that crowd all over the west covering approximately 25,000 miles. After Butch and Sundance went to South America, the Pinkertons called Charlie in and canceled the chase. After this Charlie wrote a book about the illegal operations conducted by the Pinkerton Agency, also a best seller. Charlie retired in California and died at the age of 74. What a wonderful and exciting life. I am very envious.

          Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow