Wednesday

                        Musings and History

Quote of the day:

When speaking of a political opponent he said “He has the demeanor of an Easter Island statue with an ass full of razor blades.”

                                            Harold McMillan

Trivia question of the day:

During WWI there was an exotic dancer in France named Mata Hari. that became a spy for the Germans.  She was found out.  What happened to her?  Answer at the end of the blog.

Here is a brief resume' on a true genius.

1633 Incredible as this may seem, one of the most brilliant men in history, Galileo, is called to Rome to be censured because he is teaching astrophysics that is adverse to what Pope Urban VIII and the Catholic Church believes. I am going to paraphrase that. He was subject to torture because he did not teach what the Church wanted to hear. His crime was that he read a thesis by a Polish astronomer named Copernicus who proved to Galileo’s satisfaction that the earth orbited the sun rather than the sun orbited the earth as the Catholic Church believed. Not only that Galileo had secured himself a telescope and did indeed prove to himself that Copernicus was correct. What we have here is the Catholic Church making policy in the scientific arena without making even one observation. Galileo could not believe that God would give mankind the power of reasoning and then not allow him to use it and continued to teach the Copernican theory until a member of the church hierarchy came by and threatened him with torture and told him that he had better get his young ass to Rome because Pope Urban was really pissed at his disobedience. So Galileo went to Rome and was faced with a triumvirate of Catholic Church members who spare him from torture if he would recant his teachings and would accept being exiled to his villa in central Italy for the rest of his life. He took the exile but his writings and those of Copernicus prevail to this day. Galileo died on January 6, 1642 being part of an era of discovery never before equaled in history. By the way, it took the Catholic Church 300 years to admit that Copernicus and Galileo were right.

A while back Mel Gibson’s ex-wife agreed to a $16 million divorce settlement after it was found that my man Mel had ranted an anti-Semitic tirade in public that was caught on tape. Later on she reneged on that agreement stating that it wasn’t sufficient. I don’t want to say that she is undeserving because she is the mother of one of Mel’s kids but for crying out loud, $16 MILLION?

Chopper builder Jesse James and his wife du jour Sandra Bullock split up and so did Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson. Y’all will have to admit that Sandra and Scarlett are two of the best looking women on the planet and it seems that is not enough. Jesse was caught having an affair and Sandra left and the same with Ryan Reynolds. I don’t get it. A few months later Jesse was seen with his new squeeze. This girl looks just like a woman I met at Richard’s biker bar in Mount Pleasant, SC. The only difference was that the girl at Richard’s had on biker boots, leather chaps, lace bikini panties and a bra, but I don’t think that Jesse’s new squeeze had on the bikini panties.

                              This Date in History  February 21

1777 Earlier George Washington was involved in the French and Indian War and had a man named George Weedon that served as a lieutenant under his command during the war. Weedon was an innkeeper in Fredericksburg, Virginia and at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1775 Washington sought out the services of Weedon. He was given the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and assigned to the regiment of General Hugh Mercer. In August 1776, Weedon was promoted to Colonel and given command of the 3^rd Virginia Regiment. Weedon was with George Washington at battles in New York and New Jersey including Trenton, Brandywine and Germantown. He also commanded Pennsylvania and Virginia regiments in General Nathaniel Greene’s division at Valley Forge. In 1778 Weedon resigns because a rival named William Woodford was promoted to a position superior to him. Woodford was also a fighter under Washington during the French and Indian War. Weedon did not abandon his country however; he took command of a Virginia militia unit and continued fighting separate from the Continental Army. Weedon was present with his militia at the immortal Battle of Yorktown. His rival, William Woodford, was captured by the British during the siege of Charleston and died in captivity in1780. George Weedon lived to see his country as an independent nation thanks in part to him and others like him. Weedon was a meticulous records keeper and his invaluable notes and orders which he kept while encamped at Valley Forge are in possession of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia.

Quotable Quotes:

“There is nothing more responsible for the good old days as a bad memory.”

                                                 F.P. Adams

“I do not hate men. I think men are a terrific concept.”

                               Jo Brand

“When trying to describe modern man in one sentence it would be: He fornicated and read the paper.”

                                                                   Madonna

“The act of sex, as gratifying as it may be, is God’s joke on man. It is man’s last desperate attempt at supremacy.”

                                                                Bette Davis

I love men, even if they are lying, cheating scumbags.”

                            Gwyneth Paltrow

“Money isn’t everything but it ranks right up there with oxygen.”

                                      Rita Davenport

“Money isn’t everything but it sure helps keep you in touch with your children.”

                                                   J. Paul Getty

Answer to the trivia question:

Mata Hari was tried before a military tribunal, convicted and stood up before a firing squad and executed.  Before the fatal shots were fired Mata Hari blew a kiss to the riflemen.

                Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow