Hello everyone:
I will be taking the week (2/25-3/1) off from the blog because I want to. I wll resume on 3/4.
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Friday
Musings
and History
Quote
of the day:
“Holding
anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”
Buddha
Trivia
question of the day:
What
was Jackie Bouvier Kennedy's job first out of college? Answer at the
end of the blog.
A
while back investigations by federal and local authorities led them
to raid a house in a quiet community in a middle income neighborhood
in Charlotte, NC yielded 400 pounds of pot and $1 million in cash.
Five Latinos were arrested on site three of which were illegal aliens
from Mexico. The liberals would just say “They are here just
trying to make a better life.” BTW...If they had escaped and made
their way to a “sanctuary” could law enforcement go in after
them?
Last
Friday a 37 year old woman over in Gastonia, NC rammed a police
cruiser and kept going like nothing had happened. The cops finally
got her stopped and tested her for alcohol and then arrested her for
DWI. The cops knew this girl by her first name; this was her seventh
arrest for DUI. The cops knew that her license had been revoked long
ago and asked her where she got the car. She said that she took her
husband’s car without his knowledge...for a trip to the liquor
store.
This
Date in History February 22
1777
On this date Georgia heavyweight politico Archibald Bulloch is
found dead under mysterious circumstances. The ongoing opinion was
that he was poisoned. Bulloch was born in Charleston, South Carolina
in 1730 to a minister father named James, and a Puritan mother named
Jean. Bulloch was educated at the College of South Carolina Law
School (present day University of South Carolina) and opened a law
practice in Charleston. In 1764 Bulloch moved to Savannah, Georgia
and married Mary De Veaux, the daughter of a powerful judge and
landowner. Bulloch began dabbling politics and was elected to the
Georgia Commons House of Assembly in 1768 and eventually into the
Continental Congress in 1775. In 1776 when it became obvious that
Georgia would be invaded by the British, Bulloch was elected 1st
President and commander of the Georgia Militia and gave him
essentially Carte Blanche to do what he wanted to combat the English
invaders. He was given what were essentially dictatorial powers. It
was soon thereafter he showed up dead. The reason and cause of his
death was never determined. Bulloch was the great-great-grandfather
of United States President Theodore Roosevelt. Teddy named his first
son Archibald in honor of his ancestor. Bulloch County, Georgia is
also named in his honor.
1819
Finally the disposition of the lands in Florida is determined on
this date. Spanish Minister Don Luis du Onis met with American
minister John Quincy Adams and signed over Florida to the United
States. The United States received these lands just for the debts
owed by Spanish to the settlers. Spain had a claim on Florida ever
since the days of Pensacola and Saint Augustine settlements in the
16th
century.
By
the way, Saint Augustine is advertised as the oldest continuously
occupied European city in the USA. It was founded in 1565.
Pensacola was founded in 1559 but a hurricane came three years later
and the city was destroyed and the site abandoned.
1847
The United States and Mexico had been squabbling over the
ownership of Texas for several years. Finally, President James K,
Polk who believed heavily in western expansion for the United States
sends the US Army into Mexico. A 15,000 man Mexican army commanded
by General Santa Anna meets up with the recently landed 5,000 man
America army commanded by General Zachary Taylor at Angostura Pass
and the first day of the Battle of Buena Vista began. Santa Anna
sent over an emissary under a flag of truce demanding the surrender
of the Americans. In typical Taylor fashion he responded with “Tell
the son-of–a-bitch to go to hell.” Santa Anna began a two
pronged attack on Taylor’s position. Taylor organized the greater
majority of his artillery onto one of the prongs. One of the
commanders of an artillery unit was “Stonewall” Jackson. Taylor
then sent Colonel Jefferson Davis and his hawk-eyed Mississippi
sharpshooters to attack the other prong. We all recognize Jefferson
Davis as later on being the President of the Confederacy. The
American artillery on the left flank and the sharpshooters on the
right flank lay down a blistering fusillade and Santa Anna decided to
retreat. Apparently Santa Anna did not learn his lesson because he
again confronted Zachary “Old Rough and Ready” Taylor at the
Battle of Monterrey and has his ass handed to him even though he had
Taylor outnumbered. In 1848 Zachary Taylor running as a Whig
defeated the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.
2006
On this date the largest robbery in the history of Great Britain
occurs at the Kent bank depot. This evening two men dressed as
policemen grab Securitis Bank president Colin Dixon as he was leaving
the bank and persuade him to get into the car with them. They then
drive to Dixon’s home and kidnap his wife and son and drive to a
remote barn and a third person takes the wife and child into the barn
and then reassured Colin Dixon that they would kill his wife and
child if he did not cooperate. They go back to the bank and Dixon
leads the other two through the bank’s security system and the two
robbers tied up and gagged 14 other bank employees. They then load
53 million pounds into a van and drive away. The take was the
equivalent of about 107 million US Dollars. Eventually one of the
banks workers got loose and notified the police. The police put out
a net for the robbers but to no avail because most of the loot was in
used bills. The bank put out a reward of 2 million pounds with no
takers. There were a few people arrested but they were all released.
The police were able to recover only 20 million pounds but the
majority of the loot is still out there.
1942
Things did not look good for the allied forces in the Philippines.
The Japanese were running rampant across the Island of Luzon and
were forcing the American army into a smaller and smaller perimeter
ending up on the Bataan Peninsula. At this point the Commander of
the American forces, General Douglas McArthur, was ordered out of the
Philippines by the President of the United States Franklin Roosevelt.
McArthur hesitated at first as he was prepared to fight to the last
with his troops but on this date he conceded and boarded a PT-boat
and was taken to New Guinea and eventually Australia where he began
planning his return.
Born
today:
1732
George Washington...The father of our country...I do not believe
he was here at this point in time by accident.
1857
Robert Baden-Powell...The founder of the Boy Scouts...He said “A
Scout always smiles and whistles no matter the circumstances.”
Obviously Mr. Baden-Powell had never been involved in a divorce
action.
1892
Edna St. Vincent Millay...American writer...She said “It is not
true that life is one damn thing after another, it is the same damn
thing over and over.” Obviously Ms. Millay has been involved in at
least one divorce action.
1900
Luis Bunuel...Mexican film maker...He said “Thank God, I am
still an atheist” No comment.
Answer
to the trivia question:
Jacqueline
Bouvier's first job out of college was an inquiring reporter with
the Washington Times-Herald newspaper.
Thanks for
listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Thursday
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:
What
NFL running back was know as “The Diesel”? 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 3rd
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:
“The
Diesel” was John Riggins when he played with the Washington
Redskins.
Thanks
for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Wednesday
Musings
and History
Quote
of the day:
“I
was arguing with my son and said 'One day you will have kids of your
own' and he said 'So will you.'”
Rodney
Dangerfield
Trivia
question of the day:
The
German invasion of Russia during WWII had an operational name, what
was it? Answer at the end of the blog.
Reasons
why I know I am here for reason:
While
in Alaska I was wading across a muskeg (swamp) wearing hip waders
headed to a small steam that I thought would have some trout or
grayling (type of trout). The water in the muskeg was about 3 inches
below the top of the waders meaning if the waders filled with water
there is no question there is a good chance I would drown. All I had
with me was a fly rod and a box of flies. I got almost to the stream
which was about 40 yards from dry land when a gigantic cow moose
charged out of a patch of woods to my left headed straight for me.
She probably had a calf close by. She was so tall and her legs were
so long that the water depth meant nothing. She could have stomped
me into tapioca if she wanted to. All I could do was yell, call her
bad names and wave my fly rod at her. I stood my ground because I
knew I could not reach dry land successfully. She stopped about 20
yards from me, snorted a time or two and retreated back into the
woods. I could have been easily stomped to death or drowned...but I
wasn't. This is reason number 1 that I am here for a reason, more to
follow in future editions.
This
Date in History February 20
1985 Up until 1979
Irish law prohibited the importation and sale of contraceptives
because the Catholic Church disapproved. I will paraphrase that.
The Catholic Church wanted to go into the Irish bedrooms and tell
them how to have sex. In 1979 the Irish Supreme Court ruled that the
use of contraceptives fell under purview of privacy and was not a
matter for the clergy to determine. The Catholic hierarchy in
Ireland about peed their pants because the weight of the opinion of
the Catholic Church was paramount in Ireland and with this ruling by
the Irish Supreme Court the Church saw their power, influence and
possibly a hell of a lot of money going down the toilet. But the
sale and use of contraceptives still had a string attached.
Contraceptives could only be distributed by a licensed pharmacist and
only to those with a prescription from a licensed physician. And
that is the way is stayed until this date when the Irish lawmakers
shook off the shackles of the Catholic Church and on this date passed
a law stating that it was up to anyone’s choice as to the use of
contraceptives, prescriptions not withstanding. Free at last, free
at last, thank God Almighty, I am free at last.
1725 On this date a
posse from New Hampshire happened upon a group of Indians that they
had been tracking and decided that they would try the Native American
custom of “scalping”. The posse killed 10 of them and crudely
scalped them. They brought the scalps back to the Massachusetts Bay
Colony where they received 10 pounds sterling for each scalp. The
act of scalping was not peculiar to the American Indian. Scalping
had been practiced in Europe and Asia since before recorded history.
In European, Asian and American Indian history it was believed that
you gained the other person’s courage by taking his/her scalp. But
as you might expect, this act by this posse set off a bloodbath of
scalping between the Indians and the settlers that continued for
generations.
1864 Earlier US
General Quincy Gilmore had sent US General Truman Seymour and an army
of 5,000 from Jacksonville, Florida to capture the rail yard at Lake
City, Florida, about 60 miles west. Right behind Seymour was
President Lincoln’s secretary John Hay trying to get some of the
Floridians to sign and oath of allegiance to the Union and persuade
them to come to the next Republican Convention so they could vote for
Lincoln as the presidential candidate. He wasn’t having much luck
then the US army ran across a Confederate army of 500 led by CSA
General Joseph Finegan at the little crossroad town of Olustee.
Seymour immediately attacked seeing that he had the Confederates
greatly outnumbered. Finegan and company were able to hold their
ground but were running out of ammo. Previously Finegan had sent for
reinforcements and ammo and at the last minute the ammo and the
reinforcements arrived and the forces were about equal at that point.
After this it was no contest. The Confederates delivered a severe
ass-kicking and Seymour and his army shuttled their asses back to
Jacksonville. Secretary Hay gave up on recruiting any Floridians and
the state stayed under Confederate control for the remainder of the
war. The US army suffered 1,800 casualties to the CSA’s 900.
1974 A couple of
days before this the editor of the Atlanta Constitution, Reg Murphy
had been contacted by a man named William Williams who promised
Murphy that he would contribute 300,000 gallons of heating oil for
the poor if he would meet him and make the deal front page news.
Murphy agreed and met with Williams whereupon Williams pulled out a
revolver and kidnapped Murphy. Williams wanted a ransom of $700,000
to be used by an extreme right wing militia. Williams had him and
Murphy riding around Atlanta awaiting the results of his ransom
demand. The second in command on the newspaper, G. James Minton
rounded up the $700,000 delivered it to the pick-up point and Murphy
was released. In a matter of hours the Atlanta PD was knocking of
William’s door and he was arrested and the money recovered. He was
originally sentenced to 40 years but he was tried again in federal
court because of the kidnapping and was given 50 years. He was
released after serving 9 years, believe it or not.
1950 On this date
one of the most gifted poets of all time arrived in the United States
to go on a reading tour. The Welshman Dylan Thomas began his reading
tour with blockbuster reviews. This man was truly gifted. Before
coming to the US he had published a book titled 18 Poems in 1934 and
then 25 Poems in 1936. Dylan’s shortcoming was that a very heavy
drinker. He met a young woman named Caitlin McNamara in a London
Bar. Dylan was smitten and began to court Caitlin. Caitlin was not
enamored with Dylan at first but after she heard him read his poetry
in his rich and resonant Welsh voice, she was also smitten and they
married. They had issue of three children. The only problem with
this union was that Caitlin could hang with Dylan drink for drink and
they spent many a foggy night together. In August of 1953 Dylan
visits the White Horse Bar on Hudson Street in New York City and
knocked back 17 shots of Scotch and promptly walks out on the
sidewalk and dropped dead. He was 39 years old. What a damned shame
and a waste of talent. Caitlin never forgave him for that.
1942 Earlier the
USS Lexington, a United States aircraft carrier, had departed
Bougainville in the Marshall Islands headed for the Japanese Island
stronghold of Rabaul. This was supposed to be surprise attack but
somehow the Japanese got wind of the pending attack and sent a
squadron of bombers to intercept the Lexington. The Lexington picked
up the oncoming bombers on radar and sent a squadron of F-4-F
Wildcats led by Lieutenant Edward O’Hare to intercept the bombers.
In the span of four minutes Lieutenant O’Hare shot down five of the
bombers making him an ace. Not only was he an ace he was awarded the
Medal of Honor for his actions on this day. The O’Hare airport
near Chicago is named for him. After this action the Lexington knew
they had lost the element of surprise and retreated back to
Bougainville. BTW, Lieutenant O'Hare's father was a capo in the
Mafia. It just goes to show you...
Answer to the trivia
question:
The name of the German
invasion of Russia was labeled “Operation Barbarossa.”
Thanks
for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Tuesday
Musings
and History
Quote
of the day:
“Once
a newspaper touches a story, the facts are lost forever, even to the
protagonists.”
Norman
Mailer
Trivia
question of the day:
In
the United States has a cabinet member been arrested, tried,
convicted and imprisoned, if so who? Answer at the end of the blog.
This
Date In History February 19
1777 On this date The
United States Congress releases a promotion list to Major General and
they were Thomas Mifflin, Andrew St. Clair, William Alexander, Adam
Stephen and Benjamin Lincoln. Conspicuous in his absence was
Brigadier General Benedict Arnold. It was Benedict Arnold that was
instrumental in the United States successes at the Battles of
Ticonderoga and Saratoga; he was also very skillful in saving all of
his command in their retreat from Montreal. But on this particular
promotion list he was absent and a few of his juniors were promoted
ahead of him. Arnold immediately submitted his resignation much to
the chagrin of General George Washington. In those days the US
Congress felt it necessary to spread the General officer promotions
equally among the states so as to keep some kind of equality. This
meant that they did not promote due to merit and leadership, they
promoted along political lines. I cannot think of worse criteria for
promotion and neither could George Washington. Washington raised
hell with Congress to no avail but he was able to talk Benedict
Arnold out of his resignation but unbeknownst to Washington, the
damage had been done. Arnold had his feelings hurt and to get back
at the United States, he offered West Point, New York to the British
for 20,000 pounds sterling. Had the British been able to take
control of the armaments at West Point, they could have isolated New
England from the rest of the country; a serious tactical situation
would have arisen for the US. Fortunately, Arnold’s accomplice
John Andre’ was captured with the details of the deal in his boot.
When Arnold found out about the capture of Andre, he fled to an
English warship and asked for asylum. He was accepted and spent the
rest of the war fighting against his friends and compatriots as a
British Major General. After the war he went to London where he died
destitute in 1801. What an ignominious end to a great military
leader that got his feeling hurt.
1847 Back in August
of 1846 a wagon train of 86 people arrived at Fort Bridger, Wyoming
from Springfield, Illinois headed for California. The unofficial
leader of the wagon train was George Donner. For some reason the
wagon train chose to go on the recently blazed train known as the
Hastings Cutoff rather than the tried and true California Trail
blazed by Jim Bridger. They believed the new trail was shorter and
would save time. The trail was a bit shorter but the terrain was
much rougher and cost them time instead. In October the wagon train
was caught on top of the Sierra Nevadas and the snows came locking
them in. It was on this date that a rescue party from California
reached what was left of the survivors. We all know how they
survived.
1894 Sixteen years
before one of the meanest gunfighters on record is caught, tried and
convicted of murder and was given life in a Texas prison. John
Wesley Hardin killed his first man at the age of 15 and the trail of
bodies continued from then on. Strangely, it was in a gunfight where
the other man fired the first shot and missed and Hardin fired and
did not miss but he was arrested for murder. Hardin escaped from
prison and headed for Abilene where his friend Wild Bill Hickock was
sheriff. Wild Bill accepted Hardin and allowed him to stay over for
a few days. In the hotel room where he was staying, there was a loud
snoring man in the next room. Hardin pulled out his trusty .44 and
shot through the wall killing the noisemaker. Even Hardin knew that
Wild Bill would not sit still for that and Hardin hit the road. He
ended up on a passenger train stopped in Pensacola, Florida when a
Texas Ranger named John Armstrong captured Hardin and took him back
to Texas to do his prison time. That’s right folks, I said a Texas
Ranger who had no authority in Florida who took Hardin back to
justice. Anyway, Hardin goes to prison, studies law and indeed
becomes a lawyer. On this date after sixteen years he was given a
pardon and set up a law practice in a small town in Texas but that
was too boring so he hit the road. He ended up in El Paso and was
recognized by a relative of someone he had killed. The relative
walked up behind Hardin standing at a bar and shot him in the back of
the head point blank. The sheriff of El Paso did not even arrest the
relative; they did not want Hardin’s type in town anyway.
1945 On this date
the United States Navy/Marines begins Operation Detachment. This
operation was to capture the Japanese Island of Iwo Jima. This
island was needed to eliminate the Japanese from notifying mainland
Japan of US air strikes coming from Guam. It was also needed for the
returning bombers to have a place to land for fuel if needed and if
they were damaged. The Japanese commander chosen to defend Iwo Jima
was General Kuribayashi one of Japan’s best commanders and during
the upcoming battle he proved it. Japan realized the importance of
this island. He carved defenses both above and below the ground. He
summoned the finest mining engineers in Japan to dig the underground
emplacements and personally oversaw the construction of those above
ground emplacements. I think everyone knows what dimension of the
slaughter of human beings occurred after the US Marines landed. The
Japanese were well lead, well spirited and well armed. Kuribayashi
had prepared well and his defenses were formidable and exacted a
terrible price from the US Marines. Even though the US Navy fighters
controlled the skies over Iwo Jima and the Japanese had no answer for
the thunderous and continuous naval bombardment, the final question
was as to who had the strongest will, Kuribayashi’s army or the
United States Marines. It was the Marines that prevailed virtually
on will power alone. It helped a lot when the United States flag was
raised on the tallest peak on the island, a dormant volcano name
Mount Suribachi which was seen be all the Marines on the island and
by the support ships at anchor. For some reason the Secretary of the
Navy, James Forestal was aboard one of the ships at anchor and upon
seeing the flag rising he said “This will ensure the existence of
the United States Marines for the next 500 years.” A loud cheer
went up when the flag was raised and a photo was taken of the raising
that is to this day the symbol of the spirit of the US Marines.
General Kuribayshi’s showed some class when he sent his last
message to Tokyo read “Our munitions have been destroyed, we have
not eaten nor drank for five days, but out spirit is good, we will
mount a final attack tonight. May Japan exist for a thousands
years.” Then it was all over except for mopping up. This struggle
went down in history as one of the most savage battles ever fought
and is a milestone in the history of the United States Marine Corps.
Born today:
1924 One of my
favorite movie stars Lee Marvin. He said “Ah stardom! You work
hard and end up having a star on a sidewalk in Hollywood. You go by
the next day and there is a pile of dog shit on it. That says it
all, baby”.
Answer to the trivia
question:
The answer is yes.
Albert Fall was the Secretary of the Interior during the Warren G.
Harding administration. Three known oil fields in California and
Wyoming were set aside to be used by the US Navy during time of war.
For a bribe of about $385,000 he allowed 2 oil companies to drill on
one of them named the Teapot Dome in Wyoming. He did a year in the
joint.
Thanks
for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Monday, February 18, 2019
Monday
Musings
and History
Quote
of the day:
“When
you want to know the difference between “involved” and
“committed” think of ham and eggs. The chicken was involved but
the pig was committed.”
Ogden Nash
Trivia
question of the day:
What
celebrity was known as “Broadway Joe”. Answer at the end of the
blog.
A
couple of days ago a man went into a Wal-Mart on a very busy
thoroughfare here in Greenville, picked up three butcher knives and
began threatening the customers. Soon four of Greenville’s finest
sheriff’s deputies were on the scene. Let’s stop at this point
and take inventory of the weaponry involved. On one side there are
three butcher knives with an effective range of about 6 feet. On the
other side we have four Glock .40 caliber handguns, effective range
about 40 yards. Then we have four laser aimed Tasers, effective
range about 15 feet. Four metal batons, effective range is arm’s
length. Four cans of pepper spray, effective range about 10 feet.
Add to this the ability to have reinforcements on site in a matter of
seconds. A man has to be insane to challenge this definitely
out-manned and out-gunned situation. But challenge he did by
throwing one of his knives at one of the deputies causing a cut on
his leg that required 30 stitches. At this point one of the deputies
decided that the Taser and/or the pepper spray were not enough and
the situation required deadly force. He fired his trusty Glock
three times and all three slugs struck the knife-thrower, two in the
legs and one in the abdomen. The drama was over at that point and
the crazy man was transported to a local hospital to get patched up.
By the way, the man was roaming around inside Wal-Mart yelling “She
should have never treated me that way! I did not deserve all of
this!”
This
Date in History February 18
1885
On this date a masterpiece of American literature “The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” authored by Samuel Clemens, better
known as Mark Twain, is published. Twain looked at the novel as a
sequel to another blockbuster of his called “The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer.” Even though the novel is recognized as a masterpiece it
proved to be very controversial even to this date. What made it
controversial was that it was a story about Huck Finn helping a
runaway slave named Jim escape to Ohio by drifting the Mississippi
River on a raft. The novel was essentially the observations of Huck
and Jim of the people they met on their adventure. Even though Twain
portrayed the Caucasian people they met as being dumb, stupid and
prejudicial and Jim as being brave, generous and trustworthy many
people were offended by the association of a white boy and a black
man. Later on the black community objected to the portrayal of Jim
as being a “Jim Crow” image, or kowtowing to the whites. The
book was taken from the shelves of most libraries as being “tawdry”
and too controversial. Even up to 1997 this book was banned by
several American communities as being a possible cause of racial
unrest. I don’t get it. All one has to do is read the liner notes
and if they don’t like what they read then put the damned book back
on the shelf and pick another, but don’t prevent others from
reading it. Who the hell do the censors think they are? They are
behaving like Nazis, nothing less. Don’t get me started on
censorship.
1776
On this date James Murray, the 4th
Earl of Dunmore and the Royal Governor of Virginia, sends a note to
William Legge, the 2nd
Earl of Dartmouth stating his “inexpressible mortification” that
the British military commander in the colonies, Sir Henry Clinton,
had decided to by-pass Virginia and go to the “insignificant
colony” of North Carolina to crush the rebellion there. Dunmore
had already been kicked out of office by the Patriots and was aboard
a British warship in Norfolk harbor. Sir Henry was accompanied by
British General Charles Cornwallis and his army but upon reaching
Cape Fear, North Carolina they decided to wait on the British navy
commanded by Admiral Peter Parker that was just leaving Cork,
Ireland. The British navy arrived in early May but Admiral Parker
convinced Clinton and Cornwallis that the best tactic was to capture
Charleston, South Carolina and blockade that important harbor. Upon
arriving at Charleston, the Patriot shore batteries were aimed, armed
and ready and delivered the mother of all ass-kickings to Admiral
Parker’s navy. So Parker, Clinton and Cornwallis said “to hell
with it” and sailed their young asses back to New York. By the
way, the state of South Carolina is known as the “Palmetto State”
because of this engagement. The shore batteries at Charleston were
surrounded by palmetto tree logs. The palmetto tree trunk is very
soft and the artillery shells from Parkers ships just buried up in
the logs and did not explode with any intensity and the victory was
ours, thus the mighty and sovereign Palmetto State.
1817
On this date Lewis Armistead is born in New Bern, North Carolina
and his family moved to Virginia soon thereafter. Lewis came from a
long line of American military. He had five uncles that were in the
War of 1812. One of his uncles, George Armistead, was in command at
Fort McHenry in Baltimore harbor in the War of 1812 when the “Star
Spangled Banner’ was written by Francis Scott Key. Lewis went to
West Point but did not graduate because of low grades but most
believe that he did not graduate because he got into a fight with a
classmate named Jubal Early who became an important Confederate
General. In spite of that he joined the US Army as a 2nd
Lieutenant and was in the Seminole war and the Mexican War. During
this time he developed a deep friendship with Winfield Scott Hancock
who became a Union General and Corps commander during the Civil War.
Armistead and Hancock would meet again but on opposite sides. When
Virginia seceded he resigned his commission and joined the
Confederacy and was assigned to the Army of Northern Virginia, R.E.
Lee commanding. He was given the rank of Brigadier General and
commanded the 57th Virginia
Infantry Division. He was involved in the “Seven Days” but
played a minor role in Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.
His role in history was fulfilled at Gettysburg. He led the center
of the Confederate infantry assault known as “Pickett’s Charge”
on that fateful 3rd
day attacking the center of the Union lines on Cemetery Ridge. As
fate would have it, the center of the Union lines there was commanded
by US General Winfield Scott Hancock, Armistead’s best friend.
Before Lewis made it to the Union lines, Hancock was seriously
wounded. The troops led by Armistead breached the Union lines but
reinforcements soon arrived and drove them back. Armistead was
mortally wounded in this hand-to-hand struggle. He died two days
later but according to legend he told the person that found him on
the field that he was sorry for what he had done to everyone and
Hancock in particular. He is buried in the family cemetery in
Baltimore.
Born today:
1838
German physicist Ernst Mach. He said “The Theory of Relativity
is just unacceptable to me as the presence of atom or any such
dogma.” Ernst discovered the speed of sound which is named for
him, but he obviously was a dumb-ass otherwise.
1932
Czech movie director Milos Foreman. He said “What I like about
masturbation is that you don’t have to talk afterward.” Hey
Milos, what I hear/heard is “just hold me.”
Answer
to the trivia question:
The
celebrity known as “Broadway Joe” was QB Joe Namath when he was
drafted out of Alabama by the New York Jets.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait
until tomorrow
Thursday, February 14, 2019
Friday
Musings and History
Happy Birthday Mardy
Quote of the day:
“Traffic signals in New York City are just rough guidelines.”
David Letterman
Trivia question of the day:
Hugh Mercer was a Scottish warrior/physician that came to America and fought with the Continentals. He was instrumental is several victories. There is one of his descendants that was a song writer/lyricist and wrote “Blues In The Night”, “One For My Baby” and several other great hits. Who was it? Answer at the end of the blog.
I met a friend at lunch Tuesday. He is a retired Marine that was awarded the Navy Cross in Nam. He told me about a major combat that he experienced. It was called Operation Starlite in August, 1965. It was the first time the US Marines ever encountered an organized Viet Cong Regiment. He was with “H” Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines. It lasted six days with 5,500 Marines engaged. 700 Cong were killed to 45 killed and 400 injured for Marines. The remainder of this Viet Cong regiment went to reinforce the NVA regiment that fought against the AIRCAV unit led by Col. Hal Moore in the Ia Trang valley two months later. The movie "We Were Soldiers" starring Mel Gibson was about this battle in general and Col. Moore in particular. There was an embedded civilian news reporter with Col. Moore's unit. His name is Joe Galloway and it was he that wrote the book “We Were Soldiers' from which the movie was made. By the way, in the movie Hal Moore's first sergeant named Basil Plumley was played by Sam Elliot. The fighting got so desperate that Joe Galloway threw down his camera and writing implements, grabbed an M-16, dug in and fought his ass off with the rest of the Marines. He was awarded a Bronze star with a “V” for his contribution. Lt. General Hal Moore (Ret.) died Saturday February 10, 2017 in Auburn Al. at the age of 94.
By the way, there was such a man named Basil Plumley that also is legend in the paratrooper/combat soldier community and was indeed with General Moore in Nam. He died in Columbus, Ga. in 2012 at the age of 92. I will do an essay on him in the near future.
This Date in History February 15
1835 Alexander Stewart Webb was born in New York City. His Grandfather fought at Bunker Hill for the Patriots and his father was US minister to Brazil during the Civil War. Alexander attended West Point and graduated in 1855 13th in a class of 43. He taught mathematics at West Point and Florida before the outbreak of the Civil War. After the outbreak of the war he was sent to Fort Pickens, Florida. He did not stay long before he was called back to Washington and given command of an artillery battalion protecting the capitol. Webb’s first taste of combat came at the Second Battle of Manassas where he and his troops tasted defeat for the first time. The next major engagement he was in was the last day of the Battle of the Seven Days, the infamous encounter at Malvern Hill. In this battle Webb and his troops were victorious against the Confederates. They won this particular skirmish at Malvern Hill but the victory of the Battle of Seven Days went to Robert E. Lee but it was accredited to Webb that his artillery skills prevented the total annihilation of the US army by Confederate artillery. In spite of his obvious military skills he was passed over for promotion several times because of his association with General George B. McClellan who was fired by President Lincoln and that left Webb in limbo as a Colonel. Even some of his students at West Point became a General before him. He was finally promoted to Brigadier General and had command of a brigade in the center of the Union lines at Gettysburg during Pickett’s Charge. At the zenith of the charge the 5th and 7th North Carolina crashed through the Union lines and were close to opening a breach that would have allowed the rest of the 13,000 screaming Confederates to pass through to the rear of the Union lines where General J.E.B. Stuart and his cavalry awaited. Had these two forces been allowed to join up the US army would have been destroyed and perhaps a different history of these United States would have been written. But when the battle at the front line reached a critical point, General Webb personally led his brigade in a ferocious counter-attack and blunted the Confederate advance and drove them back across the line of attack and back across the field separating the two armies. For this action, Alexander Stewart Webb was awarded the Medal of Honor. He wasn’t done yet. He was at the savage battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse and received a terrible head wound. I took him eight months to recover. When he came back to duty he was made an aide to US General George Meade and eventually went back to West Point as an instructor. He was made president of City College of New York and he died in Riverdale New York in 1911. There is a statue of General Webb at the spot where his brigade was gathered during Pickett’s charge (been there) at Gettysburg.
1942 One of the worst defeats in the history of British military culminated on this date. The British army was driven off the southern end of the Malay Peninsula by the Japanese General Yamashita and his 25th Army. The retreating British had a chance to delay the Japanese advance by dynamiting a causeway across a large inlet behind them on their way to Singapore, but the destruction was not complete and the Japanese were able to re-build in a matter of days and surrounded and began a siege around that great city. The British commander General Percival held out as long as he could but he ran out of water, food and ammunition and so he surrendered the city. There were over 130,000 allies captured in this disaster of which only a very small percentage ever saw their homes again.
Born today:
1368 Germanic Emperor Sigismund. He said “I am a Roman Emperor and am above grammar.” Siggy, shut the hell up.
1564 Astrophysicist Galileo. He said “I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who had endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forego its use.” This came as a result of a squabble with the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church wanted Galileo to teach want the Pope said instead of what he had discovered. The church prevailed under the threat of torture. I am going to repeat that. The church prevailed under the threat of torture.
1748 English philosopher Jeremy Bentham. He said “As to the evils of censorship, it is impossible to measure because there seems to be no end to it.” That is one of the main reasons for the establishment of the United States.
1912 English writer George Mikes. He said “British humor resembles the Loch Ness monster in that both are famous but there is a strong suspicion that neither one exists.”
1964 American comic Chris Farley. He paraphrased the famous quote by Erasmus who said “In the land of the blind, the man with one eye is king.” Chris Farley said “In the land of skunks, the man with half a nose is king.”
Answer to the trivia question:
The songwriter/lyricist that was a descendant of Hugh Mercer was Savannah, Ga. born Johnny Mercer.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Thursday
Musing
and History
Quote
of the day:
‘What
would Jesus do?’ may be a good philosophy for some but it doesn’t
help when I am trying to figure out how much to tip a hooker.”
Charles
Gulledge
Trivia
question of the day:
What
famous US Army officer went to West Point and is the only one that
graduated without a single demerit? Answer at the end of the blog.
The
Sons of Confederate Veterans in Mississippi have requested a
commemorative automobile license tag for Confederate General Nathan
Bedford Forrest. The people that are opposed to this strengthen
their position by saying that Forrest was a leader of the KKK. What
Forrest was all about is this:
Forrest
was a very wealthy Tennessean that joined the Confederate Army as a
cavalryman after the outbreak of the American Civil War. Forrest’s
leadership and skill in cavalry tactics became evident very soon. He
quickly worked his way into a generalship. His cavalry unit was the
most feared by the US Army. US Grant called him “That Devil
Forrest”. J.E.B. Stuart called him “The greatest cavalry officer
ever foaled.” His exploits in defeating Union army units while
severely outnumbered are legendary. After the end of the war in 1865
a group of bored and angry ex-Confederate soldiers gathered in
Pulaski, Tennessee and organized the first KKK unit. Their purpose
was to play pranks and raise general hell primarily because they were
going to lose their lands and fortunes in “Reconstruction”.
This did not meet with the approval of the general population and
Forrest was recruited in 1866 to instill some discipline into this
mob. Forrest did indeed form this group into a quasi-military unit
and they did not go and do anything that did not have a redeemable
purpose. After about 18 months the mob went back into their old
habits and Forrest ordered the dissolution of the KKK and went back
to his old profession. Forrest and his brother were prolific slave
traders and that is where they made their fortunes. Forrest died and
is buried in Memphis. The denial of a commemorative license tag
should NOT be based on his dealings with the KKK, but maybe because
of his business of buying and selling other people’s souls. I will
get some grief about this synopsis from some of my subscribers but it
is my opinion none the less.
This
Date in History February 14
1929
Earlier the New York mob decided to expand their operations in
Chicago and sent Alphonse Capone to head up the operation. The only
problem was that the larger portion of the Chicago crime income
belonged to a man named “Bugs” Moran. “Bugs” was not about
to give up his Chicago kingdom to anyone, especially a snot-nosed
Sicilian. These two fenced back and forth trying to take total
control of the city. Moran had called a meeting of his captains for
conference about future strategy against the Capone organization.
The meeting was set for at a warehouse owned by CRT Cartage and there
were seven members of the Moran organization that were supposed to be
at the meeting. Somehow Capone got wind of the meeting. On this
date the seven members arrived at the warehouse a waited for Moran to
arrive. Instead of Moran, three policemen crashed into the front
door and told Moran’s men to turn around and face the wall and they
opened up with Thompson sub-machine guns and shotguns cutting the
seven to ribbons. Moran was approaching the warehouse when he saw
the policemen go in so he just kept walking. It wasn’t policemen
y'all, they were assassins from Detroit hired by Capone. This event
was called The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre. The next day Moran
said “Only Capone kills like that”.
1779
Earlier one of the greatest explorers in history had paid two
visits what was later to become the Hawaiian Islands. Captain James
Cook was on a five year exploration trek and was expected to
circumnavigate the earth. On this date he returned from exploring
the north Pacific and sailed into Kealakekua Bay. Little did he know
that this date was a holy one to the Hawaiians and especially on this
particular day. The Hawaiians believed that the fertility god Lono
resided in this bay and this was the day that the god was worshiped.
Well, the Hawaiians were not pleased that two boatloads (HMS
Resolution and HMS Discovery)
of honkies interrupted the ceremony and when Cook and a small boat
load of sailors headed for shore, they were met with the Hawaiians
throwing rock and other missiles. Cook did not know what the hell
was going on, he was met by the smiling Hawaiians on the other two
trips. He had no way of knowing of the ceremony worshiping Lono.
Anyway, when Cook’s boat reached shallow water, the Hawaiians waded
out and cracked Cook upside the head with an oar-shaped war club and
killed him. A few of the sailors on Cook’s small boat made it back
to the safety of the Resolution. The next day the English got their
revenge by opening up with a broadside of their cannon and killed 30
Hawaiians. Needless to say, honkies were persona non-gratis in these
islands for a generation.
1943
Earlier Hitler sent his ace general Erwin Rommel into North Africa
to bail out the inept Italian Army that was losing its grip of
territory previously gained. Rommel organized one of the best
fighting groups ever assembled in the vaunted Afrika Corps. The
Afrika Corp relied heavily on armor such as tanks and self propelled
artillery. There was a thunderous battle between Rommel and British
General Montgomery in which Rommel was forced to retreat westward
toward Tunisia. The American army had landed in North Africa behind
Rommel’s lines and was headed east to cut off Rommel’s retreat.
Rommel decided that he should take the offensive against the newly
arrived Americans and decided that the weakest point is Kasserine
Pass, a two mile gap in the Dorsal Mountains in Tunisia. Rommel’s
first attack was repulsed and he brought up more armor and ran
through the American lines like greased lightning. The first major
battle against Rommel was won by Rommel. Then the American brought
up their best tank commander in General George Patton. After this it
was all downhill for Rommel.
Born today:
1913
Immortal football coach of Ohio State Woody Hayes. He said “If
we did not have winners, there would be no civilization.” Woody
was fired from Ohio State the day after he hit Clemson linebacker
Charlie Bauman in the chin after Charlie had intercepted an OSU pass
and ran out of bounds in a Bowl game that sank Woody’s hopes of
winning…forever.
Answer
to the trivia question:
The
only US officer that graduated West Point without a single demerit
was Robert E. Lee. Lee was a 30 year veteran of the US Army before
the outbreak of the Civil War.
Thanks
for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Wednesday
Musings
and History
Quote
of the day:
“New
York is a place where if you have talent, and you believe in
yourself, and you show people what you can do, then some day,
maybe--just maybe--you won't get shoved in front of a subway train.”
Dave
Barry
Trivia
question of the day:
There
was a famous wrestler named “Andre the Giant”. What was his
nationality and how big was he? Answer at the end of the blog.
I
did a brief research on Jeff Sessions. He is the son of a small
convenience owner in a tiny town near Selma, Al. He went to
Huntington College and the University of Alabama Law School. He is
an Eagle Scout and has been honored with the Distinguished Eagle
Scout Award for his continued service to that organization.
He
served as the Attorney General for the state of Alabama before being
selected to be the US Attorney for the South Alabama district. He
selection to the US Attorney's office was opposed by Coretta Scott
King who in 1986 wrote, and I paraphrase, “He used his powerful
position at Attorney General to suppress the black vote.”
I
personally think that using that letter 31 years old in opposing
Sessions as US Attorney General by Elizabeth Warren was at best a
desperate attempt to find anything they could against him for
political expediency. If she had to go back 31 year to find
something controversial on Sessions she is just blowing smoke for the
sake of blowing smoke. She loves to blow her own horn.
I
am sure that Mrs. King is an honorable person but at the time of that
letter her husband had been assassinated by a down home honky making
her far less that objective. Trump canned him anyway.
This
Date in History February 13
1776
On this date Patrick Henry is joined the First Virginia Battalion
and assigned the primary duty to protect the considerable stores of
gunpowder in state from the British. Henry was a talented orator and
had the ability to say the right words at the right time to stir
men’s souls. It was before the Virginia House of Burgesses in St.
John’s Church in Richmond that he made his most famous utterance.
There had been debate about whether or not to take up arms against
the advancing British troops with the majority against such action
when Henry arose and said: “Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to
be purchased at the price of chains or slavery? Forbid it Almighty
God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me
liberty or give me death!” Immediately after these words were
heard the rest of the gathering shouted “To Arm! To Arms!” He
was a gifted speaker. The Royal Governor of Virginia Lord Dunsmore
became more and more alarmed about the rebelliousness of his subjects
and sent a military detachment to Williamsburg, Virginia to capture a
known large cache of gunpowder there. The British militia stood
eyeball to eyeball with Patrick Henry and his contingent over the
store of gunpowder. A compromise was reached and bloodshed was
avoided but there is not doubt in this writers mind that Henry would
have ordered his troops to open fire if things had gone too far.
After the Revolutionary war was over, Henry fought tooth and nail
against the Constitution as being too in favor of the Federal
government and he was instrumental in the addition of the Bill of
Rights. He was a dedicated anti-federalist and favored Washington
and Adams but not Madison. He died at his Red Hill Plantation,
Virginia in 1799 at the age of 63. To those of you that are Civil
War buffs, Patrick Henry’s sister was the grandmother of CSA
General Joseph E. Johnston. Here is more trivia. Henry’s second
wife was the granddaughter of Virginia Governor Alexander Spotswood.
It was Spotswood that sent out an assassination team to kill Edward
Teach, better known as Blackbeard the Pirate, who had taken residence
in Albemarle Sound, North Carolina with the protection of the
Governor of North Carolina if Blackbeard would split his booty with
him. Albemarle Sound is right next door to the Chesapeake Bay and
Governor Spotswood knew that Blackbeard would be preying on all the
shipping coming to and going from Virginia. The assassination team
cornered Blackbeard near Edenton, North Carolina and, with much
difficulty, capped his ass. He was shot three times and suffered
seven saber wounds, but he was gone. There is no question that
Blackbeard was a mean and tough bastard.
1861
The first military action for which a Medal of Honor was
eventually given began on this day. Earlier Lieutenant George Bascom
and 60 of the 7th
Infantry were surrounded by the group of Chiricahua Apache led by
Cochise. Colonel Bernard Irwin set out with a group of 14 to rescue
the Bascom and his troop of 60. Originally Irwin started out on
their 100 mile trip without horses, they were riding mules. But
eventually they gathered up enough horses by picking up loose horses
and killing a few Apaches and taking their horses. Irwin and his 14
arrived at Apache pass in Southeast Arizona where Bascom was trapped
and broke the siege and Bascom and company was able to escape. The
first of the Apache Wars began when the US cavalry captured three of
Cochise’s relatives on trumped up charges of rustling and
kidnapping. Cochise responded with the capture of three cavalrymen
and offered a prisoner exchange. The Cavalry refused so Cochise
killed the three cavalrymen and the US Cavalry killed Cochise’s
relatives and from there the wars began. Cochise proved to be a
formidable adversary and it took several years to bring him to bay.
1945
One of the most controversial events in WWII began on this night.
The combined forces of the United States and Great Britain had almost
swept the skies clear of German fighters and bombed with impunity any
target they chose. Tonight the English Air Force chose Dresden,
Germany. Dresden had no military significance. There were no
munitions plants close by. There were no plants that manufactured
the “tools of war” anywhere near Dresden. Dresden was a
beautiful city dedicated to the arts and sciences. Some of the most
architecturally beautiful building in the world was here. However on
this night the English bombers showed up by the hundreds with a mixed
load of high explosives and incendiaries. The next morning Dresden
was a smoking pile of rubble. No one knows why Dresden was chosen
except as revenge for the carpet bombing of Coventry, England by the
Germans. Coventry was of no real military significance either. It
is estimated that over 135,000 residences and soldiers of Dresden
died on this night due to the firestorms created by the incendiaries.
If the heat and poison gasses did not kill them, they suffocated due
to the fires consumption of the oxygen. It was very similar to the
firestorm that befell Hamburg, Germany. I am not sure that revenge
is that sweet. After all, Germany was just two months before
surrendering. However, if I had a loved one that was burned alive in
Coventry, maybe it would be as sweet.
Born today:
1892
US artist Grant Wood. He said “All good ideas I ever had came
to me while I was milking a cow.” I ain’t going there.
It was Grant Wood that
gave us the famous painting “American Gothic.” Y'all remember
the painting it is of an elderly woman that is obviously on a farm
and standing beside her is a man with a pitchfork.
1923
US legendary test pilot Charles “Chuck” Yeager. He said
“Rules are made for people who are not willing to make up their
own.”
Answer
to the trivia question:
Andre
the Giant was a Frenchman that stood 7'-4” and weighed 520 pounds.
He had a famous “feud” with Hulk Hogan.
Thanks
for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
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