Musings and History

Quote of the day:
“The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.”
                                                    Benjamin Franklin

Trivia question of the day:
What American serial killer had the most victims? Answer at the end of the blog.

A while back the national president of the Outlaws motorcycle gang plus three of his associates were arrested in Virginia on charges of racketeering and fraud. Twenty-seven of the gang had already been indicted with twelve of them pleading guilty. One of the gang was served with an arrest warrant up in Maine but he wanted to fight. The arresting officers quickly shot and killed him. Of the three gang members that were arrested in Virginia, one was from Asheville, NC, one from Rock Hill, SC and one from Hickory, NC. The head of the gang is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Back in 2007 the executive secretary of the Clemson University board of trustees was fired. Chalmers E. Troutman III filed a law suit in 2008 charging the board of trustees fired him because he was very vocal about the alleged fiscal irresponsibility of the board. The suit was thrown out by a federal judge. A few days ago Troutman was indicted by a grand jury for taking a computer and several documents with him when he left the campus. That sounds like pure spite to me…but what else can you expect from Clemson (I am a Gamecock fan).

Over in Rock Hill, South Carolina a 43 year old man was asked for a ride by a 23 year old male. The man agreed and was directed to another location to pick up another person. The other person was not known by the driver but the hitchhiker did. The other man got into the back seat and quickly pulled out a revolver and shot the hitchhiker in the back of the head. He then told the driver to get the money out of the victim’s pockets and give it to him. The driver complied then the shooter shot him in shoulder and jumped out and ran. The driver drove to the hospital where he and the hitchhiker were treated. The hitchhiker died. Sounds like gang activity to me.

A woman down in Bennettsville, South Carolina was arrested for manslaughter after giving birth to a stillborn baby. She was arrested after testing positive for cocaine.  I like it.

I came off the seafood for brunch and went to Jerry’s Drive-In on Cervantes and had an omelet, cheese grits and toast. The Hubbards know where this is.

                    This Date in History   October 22

1962 Earlier the control of the island nation of Cuba was taken in a military coup led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevera. Soon thereafter Castro said that he was a Communist and Cuba would join the cadre of other Communist countries. The United States established a trade embargo against Cuba and their sugar in particular immediately. Sugar was the most important export commodity that Cuba had and without a market for it Cuba would be in serious trouble financially. Russia promised to buy as much sugar as the United States and Castro was assured of success, but the Russian Premier added a condition. He would guarantee the purchase of the sugar if Castro would allow Russia to build medium range ballistic missile bases in Cuba. Keep in mind that these missiles would be tipped with nuclear warheads and Washington, DC would be in range. Evidently Castro agreed and soon after Russian specialists arrived in Cuba and the construction on the missile sites began. The American intelligence community immediately smelled a rat and began a close examination of the activity in Cuba including over flights by U-2 reconnaissance aircraft. One of the U-2’s was piloted by Captain Rudolph Anderson of Greenville, SC. Captain Anderson was shot down and killed, the only American casualty in this encounter. Anyway, reconnaissance photos showed that without a doubt missile launch sites were being constructed in Cuba. American President John Kennedy held several meetings with his cabinet, NSA and the Joint Chiefs of Staff to determine a course of action. He heard everything from an invasion by the 5th Marine Division to bombing them back into the Stone Age with nuclear weapons. But on this day, President Kennedy got on national television and very soberly told us what was going on in Cuba. There was no question that we were on the very brink of nuclear war. He said that the US Navy would establish a”quarantine” around the island of Cuba. Call it what you want, it was a blockade. I was an air traffic controller at the time and the US Department of Defense went to DEFCON 4 meaning that all of our nuclear armed B-52’s were airborne, nuclear armed submarines were ready for war, and the missiles in silos were one step from launch. President Kennedy said in his speech that any attack on the northern hemisphere from the island of Cuba would be considered an attack by the Soviet Union and would warrant a retaliatory response. Some very tense days followed.

1975 On this date United States Air Force Sergeant Leonard Matlovich allows Time magazine to put his face on the cover in uniform with the words “I am a homosexual” as a challenge to the Air Force ban on homosexuals. The Air Force immediately gave him a “General” discharge even though he was a decorated combat veteran. Matlovich immediately sued and the Air Force changed horses and gave Matlovich an Honorable discharge. Matlovich died at the age of 44 as a result of complications from AIDS. He was buried with military honors in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC and he wrote his own epitaph which read: “A gay Vietnam Veteran. They gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one.” I have not made up my mind yet about homosexuals in combat units but anybody can pull a trigger or the pin from a grenade.

Died today:

1973 Spanish cellist Pablo Casals. He said “A child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn’t been, and until the end of the world, there will never another person like him.”

1995 English writer Kingsley Amis. He said “It is not worth giving up the pleasures of life to spend two extra years in the geriatric ward.” Damn right, Kingsley.

Answer to the trivia question:
The American serial killer with the most victims was Ted Bundy with more than 36 + victims. He was caught in Pensacola and executed in Raiford, Fl. Prison, Fl. by ”Old Sparky” the electric chair.

            Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow