Monday

                           Musings and History

Quote of the day:

Jay Leno told this tale:

Rodney Dangerfield was in near coma and Jay went for a visit. He put one of his fingers in Rodney's hand and told him if he knew who he was to squeeze his finger. Rodney did indeed squeeze. Then Jay said “Rodney, that wasn't my finger.” Jay said there was a very faint smile but a smile none the less.

I saw a program on youtube where there was going to be a demonstration against Trump signs and banners included. There was a CNN camera crew out there telling them how to arrange themselves and their signage where it would be the most effective photographically. That is why I do not watch with any expectation of accuracy any and all American news agencies. They all have an agenda including the Washington Post that has morphed into the voice of the Democratic Party. Back in the day of news reporters Woodward and Bernstein and the discovery of the Watergate scandal the editor of the Washington Post was Ben Bradlee. This man allowed his reporters to proceed on thin ice as long as each and every allegation was backed up with rock solid verification before it was printed. Those days and men with character of Ben Bradlee are sadly gone and all were left with is every news agency selling out for ratings.

                   This Date in History   June 12

1862 Earlier General George McClellan had persuaded his military superiors to allow him to bring the Army of the Potomac, 100,000 strong, to the James River peninsula by ship and attack Richmond from the southeast rather than from the obvious direction from the north. The plan had merit but how do you unload 100,000 troops and their associated accouterments without being noticed. They were indeed noticed and the Army of Northern Virginia 60,000 strong, CSA General Robert E. Lee commanding, headed down the peninsula to see what McClellan had in mind. What resulted was later known as the Battle of the Seven Days in which these gigantic armies slugged it out for seven days with McClellan admitting defeat and he took his ass and his army back to the end of the peninsula and headed back north. But before the battles began in earnest, on this date General Lee tasked his cavalry commander, CSA General J.E.B. Stuart and 1,200 troopers, to reconnoiter McClellan’s left flank for weaknesses. Stuart started out and took a look at the Yankee left but decides to keep going eventually rides completely around the Army of the Potomac arriving back to Lee with a wealth of information but not before raising hell with McClellan’s supply wagons. The ironic thing about this whole trip was that Stuart was chased by several Yankee cavalry units, one of which was lead by US General Phillip St. George Cooke. General Cooke was Stuart’s father-in-law. After the battles began observers said that they could see McClellan begin to sag when he saw how the battle chopped and mutilated his men. It is believed that the horror of this vision took most of the fight out of him and later he was relieved because the lack of energy and aggressiveness. In truth, I think it might have the same effect on most of us.

1994 On this date the ex-wife of NFL star O.J. Simpson, Nichole Brown Simpson and a man passing by named Ron Goldman were found stabbed to death just outside Nichole’s home. Brown had been to lunch at an upscale restaurant on Los Angeles and had left her sunglasses and Goldman, a waiter at the restaurant, was bringing her the sunglasses on his way home. The immediate suspect was O.J. Simpson because the police had been called to Brown’s house of several occasions because Simpson had been in a rage and trying to break in to her house and had indeed beaten the crap out of her more than once. After a bizarre ride through Hollywood in a White Bronco driven by O.J.’s friend Al Cowling, the truck arrived at O.J. s house where he is arrested. There is no use in me describing the overwhelming evidence the prosecution had against O.J. that should have been more than enough to put a needle in that murderers arm, but he had something the prosecution did not. He had Johnny Cochran, F. Lee Bailey and assorted other superior legal minds in the country. He also had a jury that was 75% black. I am not saying that the jury was prejudicial, but when they came out of deliberations, one of the black jurors raised a clenched fist with a big smile. There is little question that O.J. Simpson got away with murder. But one of these days he will go on to his reward and he will be alone.

1876 Earlier New York Herald journalist Marcus Kellogg was on a train headed to Bismarck, North Dakota and met with a United States cavalry officer and his wife. It was Colonel George Armstrong Custer and his wife Elizabeth. The train ran into an unexpected snow storm and the train was stuck in a snow bank. Somehow Kellogg was able to get to the telegraph lines along side the railroad and was able to get a message to Custer’s brother Tom and he came and rescued them in a sleigh. Custer was on his way to take command of the 7^th Cavalry and begin an expedition against hostile Indians who refuse to go to a reservation. Custer asked Kellogg if he would like to go with the 7^th on this trip and write a few dispatches to be sent back to New York during his trip. Kellogg immediately agreed. On this date, Kellogg wrote his last dispatch saying that the 7^th was leaving the Rosebud River area and were headed to the Little Big Horn River and should encounter the “red devils” soon. Four days later they did indeed encounter the “red devils” and were annihilated including Kellogg. Had Kellogg survived and had been able to write a white man’s account of the battle he would have been a celebrity. As it turned out, he filled a grave near Colonel Custer cut to pieces like the rest.

1940 The failure of the invasion of Dunkirk left thousands of British and other Allied troops still in France in spite of the attempt to rescue them back across the English Channel to England. On this date 54,000 British and other allied troops surrender to German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel near the French border town of St Valery-en-Caux. This surrender virtually assured the capture of Paris, France. This was amplified when French General Maxime Weygand notified the French military governor in Paris to declare Paris an “open city” meaning that the French military planned no resistance to German occupation, capitulation in other words. All of this happened in spite of Winston Churchill going to France himself and tried to encourage the French leadership to resist but It was for naught. It is disgusting, isn’t it?

Born today:

1802 English journalist Harriet Martineau. She said “Men who pass the most comfortably through this world is the ones with good digestions and hard hearts.” My digestion is suspect but the other is not.

Died today:

1936 Austrian writer Karl Krauss. He said “Education is a crutch with which the foolish use on the wise to prove they are not idiots.” Where did you go to school, Karl?

1972 US political activist Saul Alinsky. He said “Power is not what you have; it is what the enemy thinks you have.” Saul is/was a dedicated socialist.

1972 US critic Edmond Wilson. He said “There is nothing more demoralizing than a small but adequate income.” How true, y'all, how true.

               Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow