Thursday

                            Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“Sometimes I get a feeling that the whole world is against me, but on second thought I suspect some of the smaller countries are neutral.”

                                             Stanley O’Brien

Trivia question of the day:

How far did Wilbur Wright fly on that immortal first flight at Kitty Hawk? Answer at the end of the blog.

The Babylonians of the 1800 century BC were led by a king named Hammurabi. A dolite finger shaped stelae was found by an Egyptian archaeologist in 1901. The stelae had all 261 laws of Hammurabi engraved on the side. Later on there were found identical markings on several clay tablets. They were all written in the Akkadian language that was still in use at the time of Christ. We must keep in mind that the Hebrews were captured and enslaved by the Babylonians on three different occasions and there is little doubt that the Jewish law absorbed part of the Hammurabi law into their own. Here are a few of them that will smack of present day law:

If a man and a woman married and there is no intercourse, she is not his wife. In these days an “annulment” quickly follows the absence of sex in a marriage if either partner objects.

Hammurabi says If a man takes another man’s child he shall be put to death. Back in the 1930’s the Charles Lindbergh baby was kidnapped and killed. Bruno Hauptman, an illegal German immigrant was captured, tried and convicted on the flimsiest of evidence of this horrible crime and was executed by electric chair a year later in Trenton, New Jersey.

Hammurabi law stated that if a man accused another of a crime the accused would be required to jump in the river and if he died, the accuser would gain the man’s house and lands. However, if the jumper survived, the accuser would be killed and the accused would gain all of his lands and house. It hasn’t been that long ago that “affairs of honor” were settled in duels. The Hammurabi law is very close to this.

It appears that The Babylonia law system of sorts existed. The Executive and Legislative branch was the king, the Judicial and enforcement branch was the “elders”. Nearly all serious cases came before the “elders” for judgment. There were defined punishments for a given crime but the punishment had a little “wiggle room” dependent upon circumstances.

Even judges that convicted a man that later proved to be innocent, the judge was executed.

It seems a harsh method of justice but they were harsh people and the Hammurabi knew that.

                This Date in History   February 8

1777 On August 12, 1739 Timothy Bigelow is born in Worchester, Massachusetts. After helping remove some of the dead Patriot soldiers from the field after the battle of Lexington, he joined the Continental Army. He is one of two majors with General Benedict Arnold on that ghastly march from Maine to Quebec, Canada. Many Continental soldiers died of starvation and exposure during this ordeal. The attack on Quebec was not successful and Bigelow was captured and was imprisoned by the British from December 1775 to August 1776 and then released. After returning to the Continental Army he was promoted to the rank of Colonel on this date. Bigelow was a dedicated and very efficient soldier. He was present at some of the most important battles in United States history. He was there at the Battle of Saratoga, a Patriot victory that persuaded France to come to our aid, the Battle of Monmouth, and most of all he was with the Continental Army at the battle of Yorktown where the entire army under British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered. After the war Bigelow went back home to Worchester and resumed his profession as a blacksmith. He fell into financial ruin and was jailed for failure to repay his debts. He died in prison on March 31, 1790. He left a wife and five children. What the hell can you say about this outrage?

1587 In 1542 Mary is six days old when her father James V, the King of Scotland died making little Mary the ruling Monarch of Scotland. After reaching an appropriate age Mary is sent to be raised in France. She ends up marrying the dauphin (apparent heir to the French throne) and he eventually becomes King Francis II. Francis died the year after becoming King and Mary returned to Scotland to assume her position as the ruling monarch, Mary Queen of Scots. Mary married her cousin Lord Darnley but has a lover in Lord Bothwell. Lord Darnley is killed in a mysterious explosion and three months later Mary marries Lord Bothwell. The Scottish nobles call bullshit on that action and accuse Mary and Bothwell of assassinating Lord Darnley to get him out of the way and call for Mary to step down. Mary refused and civil war broke out with the army that is loyal to Mary against an army raised by the Scottish nobles. Mary’s army had the crap kicked out it and Mary has no choice but to flee the country. She went to England seeking refuge with her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. Mary’s son James becomes the King of Scotland as James VI. Elizabeth welcomes Mary and offers refuge. Later on it was discovered that Mary had conspired with the French to assassinate Elizabeth so Mary can rise to the throne of England. Queen Elizabeth is not pleased and in 1568 sends Mary to Fotheringay Castle for imprisonment. She stays imprisoned for 19 years and on this date, Mary Queen of Scots has a date with the ever present big guy with a big axe and a black hood. Mary went to meet her maker in two pieces. Mary’s son James calmly accepts his mother’s execution and cools his heels waiting for Elizabeth to expire and sure enough, in 1603 Elizabeth passes away and James VI of Scotland becomes the King of Scotland, Ireland and the King of England and is titled James I. This is the first time all three countries were under one rule and the phrase “Great Britain” came into being.

Born today:

1820 US General William Tecumseh Sherman. He said “If I had my choice I would kill all of the reporters but we would be getting reports from hell before breakfast.” Believe it or not the US General that laid waste to Georgia and South Carolina became the President of LSU.

1828 French writer Jules Verne. He said “Whatever one man can conceive another man can achieve.” Jules was one of the first authors to write about space travel.

1884 English racer Lord Brabazon. He said “If you cannot say what you want to say in twenty minutes you ought to go home and write a book.” Lord Brabazon was not known for his patience.

1888 US movie director Elbert “King” Vidor. He said “Marriage isn’t a word...it is a sentence.” It is close to life without parole.

1941 US actor Nick Nolte. When speaking about Barbra Streisand he said “She is a ball-buster...protect me from her.” Hey Nick, there are million of them out there… just joking.

Answer to the trivia question:

About 8:30 on the morning of December 17, 1903 Wilbur Wright flew for 59 seconds for a distance of 852 feet. A few years ago an SR-71 Blackbird flew from Beale AFB, Ca. to Andrews AFB, Md. in 52 minutes and 40 seconds. You do the math.

            Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow