Friday

                       Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“If you get hot flashes at a cattle auction, you just might be a redneck.”

                                      Jeff Foxworthy

A while back I woke up at 7:20a with no power. The clock on the stove said the power went out at 7:12a. My neighbor said that a power pole had been knocked down a few blocks west and that means it will include no TV and internet for quite a spell. I must have had a premonition because I did not have anything perishable in the freezer and all my flashlights (3) were freshly charged.

I did go to my favorite breakfast restaurant that morning and had two eggs soft scrambled with cheese, two sausage patties (damned good), fried “American” potatoes (potatoes chopped rather than shredded like hash browns), an English muffin (with a lot of real butter and grape jelly aboard), and 5 cups of coffee. Why so much coffee? I am guilty of not drinking enough liquids and becoming dehydrated so when I get a chance I load up, not to mention they get $2.85 for their coffee (all you can drink) so I figure I would get my money's worth.

Here is the story of another American hero.

                                  Medal of Honor

                                BORDELON, WILLIAM JAMES

Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 25 December 1920, San Antonio, Texas.

Citation:

For valorous and gallant conduct above and beyond the call of duty as a member of an assault engineer platoon of the 1st Battalion, 18th Marines, tactically attached to the 2d Marine Division, in action against the Japanese-held atoll of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands on 20 November 1943. Landing in the assault waves under withering enemy fire which killed all but 4 of the men in his tractor, S/Sgt. Bordelon hurriedly made demolition charges and personally put 2 pillboxes out of action. Hit by enemy machine gun fire just as a charge exploded in his hand while assaulting a third position, he courageously remained in action and, although out of demolitions, provided himself with a rifle and furnished fire coverage for a group of men scaling the seawall. Disregarding his own serious condition, he unhesitatingly went to the aid of one of his demolition men, wounded and calling for help in the water, rescuing this man and another who had been hit by enemy fire while attempting to make the rescue. Still refusing first aid for himself, he again made up demolition charges and single handed assaulted a fourth Japanese machine gun position but was instantly killed when caught in a final burst of fire from the enemy. S/Sgt. Bordelon's great personal valor during a critical phase of securing the limited beachhead was a contributing factor in the ultimate occupation of the island, and his heroic determination throughout 3 days of violent battle reflects the highest credit upon the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country. 

To quote USMC General Holland Smith after this battle “Where do we find such men?”

Down in Columbia, SC chiropractor Ronnie Shows had been arrested for sexual misbehavior. It seems that a 23 and 35 year old women filed a complaint against the good doctor and their reports are identical. They came in for an “adjustment” and Dr. Shows told them to take off all their clothes except for their underwear and put on a surgical gown. He then told them to lie down on the treatment table face up. Then he provided an “adjustment” at a point on their bodies that was considered inappropriate in the field of chiropractics. One of them had a pain in her hip. If you look at an x-ray of your lower torso you will see how close everything is in that area. But the other woman had a pain in her neck…

                This Date in History   March 10

1993 Early on this morning Doctor David Gunn had arrived at the Pensacola Women’s Medical Services (abortion clinic). While still getting out of his car, a brave bastard named Michael Griffin yelled out “Don’t kill anymore babies” and opened fire and shot Gunn in the back three times. Gunn died instantly and Griffin immediately surrendered to the nearby police. The anti-abortion group known as Rescue America called the killing a “necessary evil” in the battle against abortion. While Griffin was in prison he began communicating with a woman named Rachelle Shannon who later stated that Griffin was the bravest and most important man in America. Shannon showed up at an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and opened fire on a doctor but only succeeded in wounding him. Just a short time later a fervent anti-abortionist named Paul Hill showed up on the TV talk show The Phil Donahue Show. This jackass said that both Griffin and Shannon should be acknowledged as heroes. About a year after this, Paul Hill showed up at another abortion clinic in Pensacola and gunned down two more abortion doctors. I don’t understand how the anti-abortionists can justify murder as a “necessary evil”. It is clear to me that they are trying to protect those inside the womb but once you are outside you are fair game.

1970 On this date US Army Captain Ernest Medina and four other soldiers were charged with war crimes in the massacre of between 300 and 500 unarmed Vietnamese civilians in the village of My Lai in March of 1968. They were also charged with using torture during interrogation of these civilians. Apparently the US army unit led by Lieutenant William Calley had been taking casualties from mines and booby traps and when they got to the village and found no soldiers they took out their frustrations on the villagers. They began the wholesale slaughter of any and every villager in sight, men, women and children. The villagers fled with the soldiers in hot pursuit and the killing would have continued if not for the brave act of a scout helicopter pilot named Warrant officer Hugh Thompson who landed his helicopter between the soldiers and the fleeing villagers and put a stop to it. There was testimony that Lieutenant Calley had ordered the killing and he was tried and convicted of killing 22 civilians. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and was paroled after serving three years. War is hell.

Born today:

1946 North Carolina State basketball coach Jim Valvano. He said “I asked the referee if I could get a technical foul for what I was thinking. He said no. So I said “I think you stink” and he gave me a technical. You can’t trust them.”

Died today:

1919 US writer Amelia Barr. She said “Regardless of the scientists if you take the supernatural out of life, all you have left is the unnatural.”

1948 Zelda Fitzgerald, the wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald. She said “No one has ever measured, not even the poets, how much the heart can hold.” Zelda was the last of the true romantics.

                 Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow