Tuesday

                            Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“After 25 years hookers are back on the streets of Baghdad. Do you really want a hooker that was working 25 years ago?”

                                               David Letterman

Trivia question of the day:

In Star Trek the role for the communications officer was an African woman named Uhura played by Nichelle Nickols. What does Uhura? Answer at the end of the blog.

March 7, 1945 was the anniversary of the Allies capturing the railroad bridge across the Rhine river near the town of Remagen, Germany. The German army had destroyed every other bridge in Germany across this river trying to delay the Allied onslaught. They had detonated explosives under this bridge also but it refused to fall. An American army patrol had found this bridge in tact and reported to their superiors who came running. The German army had snipers and artillery pieces firing at the bridge until American tanks arrived and put a stop to it. The bridge defied reason and stayed erect. Not only that, the bridge was strong enough to support tanks, artillery pieces, trucks and thousands of infantrymen for several days. After enough men and the tools of war had crossed to assure the Allies had enough that there could be an end to the Nazi nightmare, the bridge collapsed on it own. Tell me there is no God.

               This Date in History   March 13

1733 Future Unitarian preacher Joseph Priestly is born in Birstall, Yorkshire, England. Priestly became acquainted with Benjamin Franklin while he was in London trying to do something to avoid a war with England and Ben became a Unitarian as a result even though he did not join Priestley’s Church. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson also were followers of Priestley and were indeed members of Unitarian Churches. John Adams frequently attended services in Priestley’s Church in Philadelphia. A Unitarian is one that believes in God but does not believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ. They believe that Jesus was a great speaker of God but was not supernatural. Priestley had a church in London and somehow preached in favor of the American and French Revolutions and got away with it for a while anyway. On the 2^nd anniversary of Bastille Day, a crowd in London attacked and burned Priestley’s house, a well equipped laboratory and his Unitarian Church. After this, Priestley had not choice but to get the hell out of Dodge and he immigrated to the United States in 1794. He settled in Northumberland, Pennsylvania and established the 1^st Unitarian Church in Philadelphia. He lived in Northumberland until his passing in 1804. Even though Priestly taught an unpopular religion, he was sincere in his belief and was a dedicated lover of freedom.

1865 On this date the Confederate States of America began recruiting black soldiers into their ranks. There were two sides to this issued. One side, Robert E. Lee included, wanted to recruit blacks into the Confederate Army and freedom as the incentive. The other side felt like that they should be allowed into the Confederate army with no incentive at all. The side that wanted no incentives prevailed and they did indeed succeed in recruiting a few black soldiers but not near as many as the over 200,000 recruited by the Union. It was a moot issue anyway because Lee surrendered in April of this year and the war was over. But the most horrible of all times began and that being the so-called Reconstruction which succeeded in instilling more hatred on both sides than four years of combat could have ever done.

1989 On this date one of the most evil men in North America is brought to justice. It is a Mexican named Adolpho de Jesus Constanzo. This jackass owned a ranch named Rancho Santa Elena. He believed in black magic and tortured his victims to the point of death and were mostly prostitutes which made their discovery most unlikely. If his intended victims did not beg for their life, he would kill them immediately and send his henchmen out to find some that would. His mistake was capturing an American named Mark Kilroy after he staggered out a bar in Matamoras. He ended up killing Kilroy and soon the American law enforcement officials were combing the countryside looking for Kilroy. Constanzo convinced one of his henchmen that if he uttered the right words he would be invisible to the police. This dumb-ass left town and drove straight to the ranch knowing that the police in hot pursuit could not see him. Anyway when the police arrive Constanzo is not home but the police “convince” those that are there to tell them where he is. He is in Mexico City and the police surround the apartment he is in. Constanzo wants to fight and opens fire with several Uzis. The police respond in kind and Constanzo knows the jig is up and convinces his henchman named El Duby to kill him rather than be captured. El Duby obliges and Constanzo dies in a hailstorm of Uzi gunfire from good old El Duby. It is estimated that Constanzo was responsible for the torture and death of over 20 but the number could have been as many as 100. With monsters like this, the world needs to re-think the “cruel and unusual punishment” clause in the Constitution. We of English, Irish and Scottish ancestry can be very inventive when it comes to that, our history is full of it.

1996 On this date a man walked into a kindergarten in Dunblane, Scotland an opened fire killing 16 toddlers, one of their teachers and wounding 12 others before turning the gun on him. This animal was at one time a leader of Boy Scouts but was kicked out for misconduct with the boys. So he decided to take it out on the littlest of children. Can anyone imagine how terrified those little kids were? It is too bad that he committed suicide, again my thought wander to the basement of the Tower Of London with the Iron maiden, the rack, the pear, thumb screws, a variety of iron rods in various shapes heated to a fiery red, disemboweling tools, a 1000 pound shire horse tied to each limb with someone beating the hell out of all four, etc. I believe if we still had these instruments the incidence of crime would plummet precipitously. But we would not be civilized, now would we?

1836 Just eleven days after the disaster at the Alamo Sam Houston hear that the Mexicans are on their way to Gonzalez, Texas and Sam doesn’t have anything to stop him. The troops that he does have are barely trained if at all. So Sam keeps just out of Mexican chief Santa Anna’s reach while he trains his troops to a fine edge. The troops know that the men at the Alamo were annihilated and want their revenge but Sam knows they re not ready so he stays out of Santa Anna’s way. Finally, Sam feels that his men are ready and turns to face Santa Anna. Sam has 756 troops to more than 2000 Mexicans. They trapped the Mexicans between Buffalo Creek and San Jacinto Creek southwest of present day Houston and launched a surprise attack. The befuddled Mexicans ran away in every direction but the most of them got caught in the waist deep water of San Jacinto Creek and are massacred by the Texans and other Patriots screaming “Remember the Alamo”. Revenge is sweet, y'all.

Born today:

1950 US actor William Macy. He said “You don’t become an actor because you had a good childhood.” One of my favorite actors said the same thing...Gene Hackman

Died today:

2006 US actress Maureen Stapleton. When asked how it felt to win and an Oscar for best supporting actress in the movie “Reds” she said “Not nearly as exciting as it would be declared one of the greatest lays in the world”. Pretty crusty old girl, huh?

Answer to the trivia question:

In the TV series Star Trek the communications officer was named Uhura...translated it means “Peace”.

                  Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow