Tuesday

                         Musings and History

Quote of the day:

                                       “Get busy living or get busy dying.”

                               (quoted in Shawshank Redemption)

We all need to read this occasionally. It tells you what your federal government is capable of. It is a little long but it will be worth your while.

                                 Ruby Ridge

This is the story of Randy Weaver and his family who lived in a very remote area of the Idaho Panhandle. This event took place in the summer of 1992 and there is a lot more detail to this story than I am going to tell you, but you will have a good picture of what happened.

Randy and Vicki Weaver was an outspoken couple trying to survive in the backwoods of Idaho. After several lost jobs and a failed Amway franchise, they became convinced that a group called the Zionist Occupation Government was about to launch an all-out war on its own citizens. So they gathered up $5,000 and bought a 20 acre plot of land in the hinterland of Idaho to escape the expected turmoil that they saw on the horizon. They built a small cabin out of scrap lumber on Caribou Ridge, near Ruby Creek. The closest town of Bonners Ferry was eight miles away. It was the news media that named it Ruby Ridge.

There was a white supremacist outfit in the area called the Aryan Nation. Randy and Vicki were not members but they shared many of the beliefs with this group and attended the Aryan Nation Church on occasion. They home schooled their kids and had signs on their property saying “White Power is Supreme” and “Bow down to Yahweh”. To those of you who do not know who Yahweh is, it is the early Hebrew term for God as stated in the Old Testament.

In 1986 Randy attended the World Congress of Aryan Nations in Hayden Lake, Idaho, their headquarters. In all Randy attended three different functions at Hayden Lake. Later on Randy said “I am not a white supremacist but I am a white separatist. I was born white, I can’t help that. If I had been born black I probably be affiliated with Louis Farrakhan’s group, but as it is, I don’t belong to anything. I do not believe I am superior to anyone but I do believe I have the right to be with the people of my choice.”

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms had been really anxious to get some eyes and ears in on the Aryan Nation and they saw Randy Weaver as the perfect mole. At the 1986 World Congress Randy befriended a 245 pound biker named Gus Magisono. Only Gus wasn’t a biker, he was an undercover ATF informant named Kenneth Faderley. Three years later “Gus” asked Randy to sell him two sawed off shotguns and Randy agreed. The deal was consummated but the barrels of the shotguns were within the legal length but the stock was 3/8” shorter than the legal limit making Randy a violator of federal law. Later there was a point of dispute as to who shortened the stocks 3/8” shorter than the law allowed. As you might suspect it was a set-up by the ATF. In June of 1990 the AFT confronted Randy with the shotgun violations and said if he would become a mole in the Aryan Nation he could avoid hard time in a federal prison. This was nothing but extortion and entrapment. Randy refused and immediately went to the buddies at the Aryan Nation and told them what happened. This really teed off the ATF because it put the Nation on alert for any new people and blew the cover for good old “Gus” thereby destroying three years of surveillance by the ATF. The ATF and the FBI decided that they would make an example of Randy for refusing to do their bidding and the harassment began.

In January of 1991 Randy and Vicki stopped to help a stranded motorist that just happened to be an ATF agent and Randy was arrested on the sawed off shotgun charge and jailed. The next morning he was brought before a federal judge. During the hearing the judge said that the only thing that would probably happen to Randy was that he would have to pay the government’s court costs. Randy had no money and realized he would probably end up losing his beloved cabin on 20 acres on Caribou Ridge. A trial date was set.

Rather than hire an attorney, Randy and Vicki began a letter writing campaign against the FBI and the ATF. In one letter to the U.S. Attorneys Office in Boise, Vicki wrote in part “A man cannot have two masters, Yahweh is our lawgiver and we will obey Him and no others.” She sent another letter to yet another U.S. Attorney saying in part …”The stench of your lawless government has reached Heaven, the abode of Yahweh. Whether we live or whether we die, we will not bend to your evil commandments.” I don’t know about all of that, but I really like Vicki’s phrasing.

Randy failed to appear in court on February 20, 1991 because the summons the Weavers received in January said the court date was March 30, not February. Federal judge Ryan declared this a “typo” and non-the-less declared Randy a fugitive from justice and issued a warrant for his arrest in spite of the Probation Officers testimony that the summons he sent to Randy had the wrong appearance date on it. Are you mad yet? This was clearly the Federal Government sending a signal that they were going to get their revenge for Randy blowing their surveillance of the Aryan Nation and intended it to be a warning to others to not buck the FBI/ATF. When the Weaver family found out that Randy was now a fugitive from justice, they had to assume that the ATF meant to assassinate him. After this, Randy never left the cabin and his family was rarely seen.

On March 18, 1991, Deputy Ronald Evans asked the help of the US Marshal’s service Special Operations Group, a voluntary

organization that primarily dealt with dangerous situations and hostage rescue. The collective group determined that it would take many days and nights of surveillance to determine Randy’s action and determine if he ever left the cabin if only for short while so they could serve the warrant. The Justice Department under the tutelage of Attorney General Janet Reno put the heat on to get this thing over so the SOG called in a psychiatrist to make a determination about what the Weaver family do if pressed. This yahoo, without interviewing any member of the Weavers, determined that every member of the family would fight to the death to protect Randy. Somehow, it was determined that the Weavers were heavily armed and the property was heavily fortified to repel an assault. All of this was bull crap, of course, all the Weavers had was a few hunting rifles and handguns but it gave the ATF/FBI an excuse to use deadly force if they felt like it.

On September 28, 1991 a seven man team from the SOG was sent to assist in the arrest of Randy. However upon arrival, the team determined that the information they had received that the SOG moved on was inaccurate and they believed the warrant could not be served without the danger of personal injury. They also determined that Vicki was pregnant and in her final months. Previously, Deputy US Marshal Cluff and Everett Hofmeister, Weaver’s appointed council, told Randy’s friend Rodney Willey that if Randy surrendered the failure to appear charge might be dismissed they also said that the sentence on the weapons charge would be minimal because he did not have a criminal record. Willey came back from a visit with the Weavers and said that Randy said he would not surrender because it was HIS rights being violated.

A series of surrender demands went back and forth between ATF and Randy for several months all of which were refused. The final refusal coming from Randy when he wrote, in part “Why should I believe you now when this all started when you lied to me in the past and sent an informant (Gus) to entrap me and then extort me?” And finally he said “I don’t have to prove my innocence as you indicate.” Then yet another US Attorney named Howen showed up and demanded that all surrender demands must go through the court appointed attorney not to Weaver directly and in addition there would be no negotiations before his surrender, only afterward. Well, I don’t know who this jackass thought he was but it put Randy into a corner with no way out. A severe winter and heavy snows stopped any further communications for a while.

The Department of Justice (Janet Reno) called and told the law enforcement people to bring this fiasco to a conclusion that they had spent way too much money for such a minor infraction. So, knowing that Randy Weaver was an ex-Green Beret, they planned for a military type assault. That’s right folks; Randy had served his country in Nam as an elite soldier. Two agents in camouflage bearing automatic weapons began to sneak up the hill toward the cabin. They didn’t count on Striker, Randy’s dog who began raising hell way before they got near the cabin. Randy’s friend Kevin Harris and Randy’s 14 year old son Sam left the cabin, rifles in hand, to see what was happening with Striker. The two agents began a retreat into the woods and set up a defensive position with Striker hot on their tail, Kevin and Sam not far behind. Then one of the agents shot and killed Striker and when Sam saw it he yelled “You shot Striker, you son-of-a bitch” and opened fire. The agents returned fire killing Sam. Then Kevin, who was in the lead, retreated toward the cabin and he found Sam’s body then Harris turned and shot and killed Marshal William Degan. At no time did the agents identify themselves as law enforcement officers. The next day an ATF sniper shot and wounded Randy while he and Kevin were outside trying the retrieve Sam’s body. Randy and Kevin ran back toward the cabin with Vicki holding the door open for them. Vicki had her 10 month old child in her arms also. The sniper, Lon Horiuchi, fired at Kevin and missed hitting Vicki in the head, killing her and the fetus instantly.

Eventually swarms of agents surrounded the cabin and a 10 day siege ensued. Not only that, hundreds of protesters surrounded the entire area raising almighty hell. The ATF called upon Randy’s commanding officer in Nam to come and talk with him. So James “Bo” Gritz had a long talk with Randy and persuaded him to surrender and allow the judicial system to do its work. Randy was charged with an array of charges including murder even though he had not fired a shot. Randy had as his attorney the famous defense attorney Gerry “Cowboy” Spence. Spence was able to get all the charges dropped except for the “failure to appear” charge, if you can believe that, and he was sentenced to 18 months minus time already served and fined $10,000 meaning he went to jail for three months. His buddy Kevin Harris, who had actually killed marshal Degan, was not charged. By the way, the day the trial started there was a huge fire at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas killing 78 men, woman and children attended by members of the ATF and FBI, Janet Reno commanding. The surviving members of the Weaver family filed a wrongful death law suit and were awarded $3.1 million. Think on this. Three people and one fetus dead, millions of tax payer’s dollars spent because Randy had refused to neither be a mole nor be extorted. I do not think anything like this could happen today. But perhaps I am being naïve...maybe it could.

                                     Justice is fragile…protect it

Monday

                             Musing and History

Quote of the day:

“I was once in a spelling bee but I lost because the other contastants cheeted.”

                                               Paul Patenaster

                                          Syrian Follies

In the Spring of 2011 there were demonstrations against president Assad of Syria because of his authoritarian and oppressive rule. The demonstrations were aggressively and brutally beat down with probable use of Sarin gas.

The United States and the United Nations told Assad that he needed to step down to avoid an open civil war where the main casualties will be civilians and would allow the UN broker a peace to avoid this possibility. Assad told the United States and the UN that he is not going to step down, civilian casualties be damned. Eventually the United States and the UN ordered Assad to step down or else. Assad said screw y'all and the horse you rode in on. The POTUS says “Uh, OK I think I will go shoot some hoops and play some golf.”

There is further evidence that Assad was using Sarin gas once again to suppress the insurgents at the cost of more civilian lives. In 2012 the POTUS said that there is a red line that cannot be crossed and that is the further use of Sarin Gas and said if that happens we will intervene. 4 1/2 years later at at the cost of at least 14,000 civilians and untold thousands of insurgents killed by Sarin gas Assad is still in power and that POTUS is history.

This obvious display of not following through with threats that POTUS has encouraged the rest of the aggressors in the Middle East to ignore the United States as a power to be dealt with costing even more lives both military and civilian including Americans. Rather than put a stop to Assad as promised and end this slaughter of the innocents, the POTUS chose to open the borders of the United States to those Syrians trying to escape this hell and behaved as if this was the right and noble thing to do rather than take aggressive action to stop that madman in Damascus like he promised. Islam understands one thing...strength or the lack thereof.

As of April 6, 2017 Assad realizes that he no longer is immune from attack even with the alleged Russian umbrella. Those 69 Tomahawk missiles made it from the Mediterranean to their Syrian targets undetected by all the Russian devices and countermeasures.

I wonder what is going through the mind of that munchkin in North Korea. I don't understand what is going on there. I know there are professional military officers in North Korea that must realize they are approaching suicide. That whole peninsula is surrounded by submarines from a variety of nations in the free world that could blanket them with lethal devices both nuclear and otherwise. Why don't those officers just cap that jackass?

There is a new sheriff in town and it remains to be seen what the future holds...but I sleep better at night.

                          This Date in History   April 10

1778 On this date one of the greatest United States Naval officers, Captain John Paul Jones, departed the French port of Brest in command of the 140 man warship the USS Ranger. His objective is the Irish Sea and to attack the British ships reported to be there. John Paul Jones was born in Scotland 1747 and went to sea at an early age sailing mostly in the Caribbean. He was off the coast of New York when war was declared between the United States and England and he offered his services to the Colonies. In December of 1775 he was given the rank of First Lieutenant in the colonial navy. After arriving in the Irish Sea, he found no British vessels and then he went to waters he knew well, the Scottish Bay of Kirkcudbright with the intention of kidnapping Lord Selkirk and exchanging him for captured American sailors but the Lord was not there. Then he sailed over to the Currifergus Sea and there he found the HMS Drake. He captured the Drake without firing a shot by simply sending over a few Marines and they killed the Captain of the ship and his First Lieutenant. Jones fought with great distinction throughout the war as did his Scottish countryman, John Barry. His most famous battle was against the 50 gun HMS Serapis. Jones’ ship, the USS Bonhomie Richard (in honor of Ben Franklin) was damaged early and was shipping water and was on fire. The commander of the Serapis signaled for Jones to surrender. Jones signaled back the famous phrase “I have not yet begun to fight”. Jones was able to stem the flooding and extinguish the fires and did indeed outmaneuver the Serapis and captured her. Jones is buried at the United States Naval Academy. When his crypt is opened for ceremonial reasons there is a Marine honor guard present.

1865 After surrendering to US General U.S. Grant the day before, on this date CSA General Robert E. Lee issues his final order as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. The order read:

“After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia is compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources. I need not tell the survivors of so many hard fought battles, who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to the result through no mistrust of them. I determined to avoid useless sacrifice of those whose past service has endeared them to their countrymen. I bid you an affectionate farewell.”

Winston Churchill said it best “Never in the field of human conflict has one man been so loved by so many.”

1963 On this date the United States nuclear submarine USS Thresher was conducting pre-combat patrol drills about 300 miles off the coast of Cape Cod. The boat was accompanied by another nuclear submarine the USS Skylark. During the drills the Skylark received a message that the Thresher was having a “few small problems”. About five minutes later, the sonar on the Skylark recorded the Thresher breaking up on the way to the bottom taking 129 sailors and civilian contractors to Davy Jones Locker. Investigation revealed that a water leak in the engine room had short circuited an electrical connection and that started a domino effect that eventually prevented the Thresher from controlling a dive. Needless to say the US Navy raised almighty hell with the contractor that built the submarine. The boat was launched from the Portsmouth Naval Yard, New Hampshire and quality control became a major issue after this disaster. Twenty-five years later the Commander of the US Navy said that “the loss of the Thresher pointed out problems with construction of our submarines and we are a much safer submarine fleet today.” Tell that to the 129 American souls on the bottom of the North Atlantic near Georges Bank.

Born today:

1829 The founder of the Salvation Army William Booth in England. He said “There are men so incorrigibly lazy that no inducement that you can offer will tempt them to work; so eaten up by vice that virtue is abhorrent to them, and so intolerably dishonest that theft to them is a master passion.” Yes William, I am afraid there is and plenty of them.

             Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Friday

                        Musings and History

Quote of the day:

He was assigned the task of relieving the 101^st airborne along with elements of the 10^th Armored in the besieged Belgian city of Bastogne. When told that his army might have to delay their attack because of the weather he said:

"There are brave men dying up there. We are not going to delay another hour, not another minute. We are going to attack all night, we are going to attack tomorrow morning. If we are not victorious, let no man come back alive.”

                                          General George Patton

Merle Haggard died a year ago today. The only “outlaw” left is Willie and after him there will no longer be any male “country” music stars...it will just be pop music stars in 2/4 time. I remember Merle doing “Mama Tried” and it brings a lump to my throat. Country music is 6 or 7 men together in Richard's biker bar in Mount Pleasant, SC joining together in a sing-along with Johnny Cash doing Folsom Prison Blues.

I don't understand the problem with both men and women using the same bathroom. Unisex bathrooms are not unknown. After all the men snuggle up to the urinals and the women are on toilets in enclosed stalls...what is the freaking problem? It isn't the men that are complaining, it is the women. Is it because of what they might see...or perhaps what they won't see.

             This Date in History   April 7

1776 On this date the first United States warship captured a British ship off the coast of Virginia. It was the newly launched USS Lexington against HMS Edward. The commander of the Lexington was Captain John Barry. Barry was a fierce naval warrior that was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1745 and came to the United States aboard his own warship named the Black Prince at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. The United States bought the ship from Barry and renamed it the USS Alfred and put Captain Esek Hopkins in command. Not only was Barry a superb naval officer, he was instrumental in aiding in Washington’s several victories in New Jersey. After this he returned to the sea and took command of the newly launched USS Alliance. He captured the British vessels HMS Atlanta and the HMS Trepassy. He was engaged in the last naval engagement of the Revolutionary War when he captured the HMS Sybylie in March of 1783. This great man was honored on both sides of the Atlantic. There is a bridge across the Delaware River named in his honor. There is a park in Brooklyn named for him and there is a statue of him in Villanova University. There is also a stature of him in Wexford, Ireland. I have said it before and I will say it again, I believe that it is no accident that all of these exceptional people showed up at the same place and the same point in time to guide us to independence and freedom.

1994 A very tense situation in Rwanda comes to the boiling point with the killing of two Hutu tribal leaders by the Patriotic Front which is the representative group for the rival tribe of the Tutsis. After word of these murders reached across Rwanda, the Hutus and the Tutsis began a mutual slaughter of each other that cost hundred of thousands of lives. At the beginning the Hutus had the upper hand because they were in command of the military, but eventually they got down to business with knives and machetes. The struggle is not completely over yet, there is an occasional hacking to this day. There have been over 800,000 killings with no end in sight. There has been warfare between these tribes since before recorded history. I don’t get, it but it does sounds a lot like the Sunnis and the Shiites, doesn’t it?

1805 On this date the Lewis and Clark expedition departed Fort Mandan, Sacajawea included, headed west. Lewis and Clark sent a detailed message to President Thomas Jefferson and sent it downstream toward Saint Louis aboard a 16 man cargo boat. The expedition had wintered across the Missouri River from a Mandan Indian village near present day Bismarck, North Dakota. When they left to head west they only had 6 light canoes and 2 heavy pirogues. The Missouri River had been basically mapped to the Mandan village. After that they were in unknown territory. They figured correctly that the current would get stronger the further west they went and the big cargo boats would be too tough to handle. Lewis and Clark thought they would be back through the Mandan village by winter of the next year. They did not get to meet Thomas Jefferson personally until 1807. When the expedition departed the Mandan village headed west, Lewis wrote in his diary that this was “the most thrilling moment of my life.” It would have been the same for me.

1945 Earlier the United States Navy, Marines and Army had invaded the Japanese island of Okinawa. This action was the bloodiest for America of any in the Pacific theater. This was because Okinawa was only 350 mile from mainland Japan and the Japanese knew that if the United States Air Force gained use the airfields on the island, they would be bombed around the clock. The Japanese had already sent over 340 kamikaze aircraft that wreaked havoc with the US Navy. Now the Navy found out that the largest battleship on the planet was coming. It was the 78,000 ton Yamato. The US Navy knew they had to stop this beast because it could raise hell with the supply ships still unloading. They sent a whole squadron of torpedo bombers after the Yamato and after they found it they put 12 torpedoes into the sides. In spite of its size, the Yamato quickly went to the bottom carrying 2,498 Japanese sailors to a watery grave.

Born today:

1915 US singer Billie Holliday. She said “Don’t threaten me with love, baby. Let’s just go walking in the rain.” Billie could rip your heart out with her voice but she had a short drug laden life. What a shame.

1939 US film maker Francis Ford Coppola. He said about his movie Apocalypse Now “My movie was not about Vietnam, is was Vietnam.”

1964 US actor Russell Crowe. He said “I am destined to be attracted to those I cannot defeat.” Me too

Died today:

1891 US showman P.T. Barnum. His last words were “How were the receipts in Madison Square Garden today?” This guy was the ultimate showman.

1947 US auto maker Henry Ford. He said “Thinking is the hardest work there is which is probably why so few people engage in it.”

                Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow.

Thursday

                          Musings and History

Quote of the day:

Here is part of a letter by Sullivan Ballou an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

"But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the garish day and in the darkest night -- amidst your happiest scenes and gloomiest hours - always, always; and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath; or the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.

Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again."

Sullivan Ballou was killed at the Battle of 1st Manassas a week later.

                  This Date in History   April 6

1862 CSA General Albert Sidney Johnson and his army based in Corinth, Mississippi detected a US army led by US General Ulysses Grant headed his way from Tennessee. He also found out that Grant has the army of US General Don Carlos Buell moving down the Tennessee River by boat to provide reinforcements. Johnson decided that now is the time to strike before both armies are joined. On this date the CSA army slams into the Union right flank and the battle is joined near a church named Shiloh Baptist Church which is close to Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. The howling Confederates are well arrayed and well led and begin a push forcing the Union forces back closer and closer to the river. As the battle reaches a critical point, Grant knows that if the Confederates are not slowed or delayed, the Union army would be annihilated or forced to surrender with their back against the river. So he ordered an infantry unit to stop the Rebel advance at all costs to allow Grant to organize a defense. A particular Union infantry unit dug in and would not budge. The Confederate advance was indeed slowed and when CSA General Johnson rode forward to encourage his troops to advance he was killed by a shot through the thigh and he bled out in a matter of minutes. There was a brief time of confusion before Johnson was replaced by CSA General Beauregard but the delay provided by the stubbornness of the US infantry unit at a place that became known as “The Hornets Nest”. This unit was eventually surrounded and surrendered but not before the Confederates lined up four cannon hub to hub and fired one blast of canister which shattered their position. The brief confusion with the death of Johnson, gave Grant enough time to set up a defense and for a few Union warships to arrive and provide naval gunfire to turn back the Confederates. Beauregard called a halt to the attack after dark then US General Don Carlos Buell’s army arrived during the night. The next morning Grant launched a counter attack that drove the Confederates from the field. The first day of this battle is one of the bloodiest single days in United States military history. Had not that US infantry unit held their ground at the Hornet’s Nest and General Johnson had not been killed, the war probably been over that day and we would have been at least two nations.

1776 On this date the Continental Congress opened all its ports to international trade. Earlier the British has been trying to control the colonies by restricting trade. First the British ruled that the colonies could only trade with Great Britain and then when that didn’t work, the put an embargo of any trade with the colonies. Then they tried to seal off all the American ports and that didn’t work either. We won anyway.

1895 On this date the famous Scottish writer Oscar Wilde is sentenced to prison. A few years earlier Oscar, a flaming homosexual, had been having a relationship with the son of the Marquis of Queensbury much to the Marquis’ chagrin. The Marquis finally called Oscar a homosexual in the press and Oscar sued for slander. The Marquis had no problem with providing a ton of evidence showing that Oscar was indeed aflame which in those days was a crime in England. So Oscar lost his law suit and went to the joint. The strange thing was that after he was released his writings became even better. I guess he got an attitude adjustment in the joint, or some kind of adjustment.

1832 In 1767 the future chief of the Sauk Indians Black Hawk was born in the village of Saukenuk in present day Illinois. From the very beginning of his life he and his tribe had to deal with the encroachment of the honkie settlers coming in from the east. Eventually one of the Sauk chiefs met with a group of honkies. The honkies fed this chief a bunch of whiskey and then persuaded him to cede all their lands west of the Mississippi. The honkies began moving in on Black Hawk’s village which eventually became Rock Island, Illinois. Black Hawk got fed up and on this date, began a war against these white devils. He was successful at first but units of the United States Army came in and put a stop to it. Eventually Black Hawk was forced to surrender and the Native Americans took yet another step toward oblivion.

1830 It is on this day that Joseph Smith organized the first Church of God of Latter Day Saints in Fayette County, New York. This was the first Mormon Church in America. I guess y'all know the history of Joseph Smith. A thumbnail sketch is that he claimed that he was visited by a Christian angel name Moroni who led him to a buried golden book with indecipherable writings. Maroni empowered Smith with the power to read the book and he deciphered it to different people, including his wife, who translated it into English. The book was supposedly the history of an ancient Hebrew sect that made it to North America. This book was known as the Book of Mormon and is the basis for the Mormon religion. Joseph Smith and his followers were kicked out of several states primarily because of their polygamy. Joseph Smith and his son were hanged outside Carthage, Illinois but the people of the church, led by Brigham Young, moved on and finally settled in the Great Salt Lake Valley, Utah.

Born today:

1892 US newscaster/explorer Lowell Thomas. He said “After you reach the age of 80 everything you see reminds you of something else.” Say, that reminds me.....

1725 Italian writer Giovanni de Seingalt. He said “Every man is free, but not if he does not believe it”. I believe it Gio, just test me.

1882 Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. He said “Music is better understood by children and animals.” I hope Igor did not include Rap in this generalization.

Died today:

1998 US country singer Tammy Wynette. She said “I never said I was the best singer in the world, just the loudest.” Stand by your man, Tammy.

                 Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow.

Wednesday

                             Musings and History

Quote of the day:

When asked how married life was treating him he said:

“Well, Lillith and I lived together a year before we wed, so other than the fact that I now see it stretching endlessly before me until I die rotting in my grave, there is no real difference.”

                                       Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer)

A while back on a Sunday afternoon I was at the Sandshaker beach bar on Pensacola Beach. This place is famous if not infamous on the Gulf Coast. They had a band named Lectric Mullet playing. This band is a very popular local band and has a large following. The best part is the band members are between 50 and 70 years old and play everything from Johnny Cash to Jimmie Hendricks, three part harmony included. I enjoyed it. There were many ladies there in various attire and a variety of reputations.

                 This Date in History April 5

1774 On this date Benjamin Franklin and a few of his cronies were sitting around the Smyrna Coffee Shop on Saint James Street in London when Ben decided to write an “open letter to Lord North”. Lord North was the prime minister of England. Both Ben and Lord North knew war was on the horizon if things didn’t get better between the colonies and England. Ben’s letter was at least tongue-in-cheek if not pure cynicism. The letter included phrases like “everyone knows that one Englishman is worth twenty colonists”. And stating that “all the British have to do is capture a few towns and then they can sell the colonies to the Spanish.” Ben’s letter was not published until April 15. Evidently Lord North took Ben’s letter to heart because soon thereafter he recalled the British Military commander in the Colonies, General Thomas Gage, and ordered him to take over the reins as the Governor of Massachusetts meaning martial law was on the horizon. Lord North did not realize the width and depth of his actions because war did indeed break out that resulted in an ocean of blood, thousands of lives, not to mention the 13 colonies that it cost Great Britain.

1955 On this date one of the greatest political leaders in history, Winston Churchill, resigned as prime minister of Great Britain. It was Churchill that took over as prime minister after Neville Chamberlain went to Berlin in 1938 and kissed Hitler’s ass to get a signature on a worthless piece of paper saying that Hitler would not invade any country in Europe. Just a few months after this Germany invaded Poland and England had no choice but to declare war on Germany. Churchill declared that “we will fight them on the beach, in the streets, we will never surrender”. England was pretty much alone in Europe against the Germans. All the other countries were either too small or lacked courage (France) to stand up to the German juggernaut. England took a hell of a beating in the early years of the war but eventually the Royal Air Force firebombed the hell out of many German cities with the help of the United States 8^th Air Force. Actually, it was the 8^th Air Force that did most of the damage with the RAF in support. When the 8^th Air Force began bombing Germany they lost 30 to 40 percent of the aircraft they sent over. But later the odds began to swing the other direction when the US found a fighter that could accompany the bombers over to Germany and back to England. It was the legendary P-51D Mustang. Upon the arrival of this great aircraft in Europe Nazi Germany’s days were numbered. Among the units protecting the bombers was the “Red Tails”. They were P-51's with their tails painted red...they were the Tuskegee airmen. Their claim to fame was not one bomber they were protecting was lost.

1862 On this date one of the worst US military commanders in its history, General George B. McClellan arrived at Yorktown, Virginia with an enormous army of 100,000. That’s right y'all, it is the same Yorktown where George Washington beat British General Charles Cornwallis that essentially won the Revolutionary War for the Patriots. McClellan saw a Confederate force in Yorktown and believed that it was a huge, well armed force and rather than attack he began a siege. In actuality, there were 11,000 Confederates under the command of CSA General John B. McGruder. McGruder saw what an enormous force he was facing and marched his troops back and forth in front of McClellan to make it look like there were a lot more troops than there really was. This delay in McClellan’s advance enabled CSA General Robert E. Lee to assemble a substantial army and kick the living crap out of McClellan’s army at the Battle of the Seven Days a little while later. After seeing his troops being literally chopped to pieces at the Battle of Cold Harbor, McClellan lost his nerve and became too cautious, just what Lee wanted.

1994 On this date an electrician arrived at the Seattle home of rock singer (of a sort) Kurt Cobain to install a security system and found Kurt dead as fried chicken with a drunk chick and a scrawled suicide note near by. This is not the first time that this sort of scenario had happened with Kurt. A month before Kurt had threatened suicide and was persuaded to enter a sanitarium. One month later he walked out without telling any one and went to Seattle and killed himself. Kurt’s wife Courtney Love was an immediate suspect because this girl was a brick short of load at best. Kurt almost got the job done earlier in England when he mixed the sleeping drug Rohypal and champagne. They found him just in the nick of time and pumped his stomach. Also, he was well known to be a heroin addict on and off for most of his adult life. I really don’t get it. This addict could not sing a lick and became a multi-millionaire only to end his life much too early. What’s up with that?

1976 Howard Hughes died aboard one of his Lear jets coming from Acapulco, Mexico to Houston ending a bizarre and sad life. Howard was born in 1905 in Houston. His father was a brilliant inventor and businessman who died in 1923 leaving Howard a huge fortune in the Hughes Tool Company. This company would lease sharpened oil drilling bits to drilling companies and take them back when they were dull, refurbish and re-sharpen them and then lease them out again. This was during the oil exploration boom in the west and southwestern United States. Howard expanded his business into the commercial aviation business (Trans-World Airlines..TWA) which was also booming. Eventually Howard became one of the wealthiest men in the world. Howard was interested in two things, beautiful women and fast aircraft. He dated several female movie stars and designed some of the fastest sport aircraft every made. Not only that, he built the largest aircraft in the world to that time in the seaplane “The Spruce Goose.” Howard was suppose to take this giant out for a taxi run near Long Beach, California. Not only did Howard taxi the plane but he lifted this behemoth into the air for about 50 yards. It never flew again and became a museum piece. Howard was a fanatic about germs and washed his hands almost constantly and became more and more reclusive. He felt he had several diseases either real or imagined and injected himself with a variety of drugs. There are no credible witnesses to Howard’s remains but it was reported that he was extremely thin, long stringy and unkempt hair and beard, fingernails that curled back into his palms and was much unwashed. There were several broken off syringe needles in various places in various places in his skin. He was almost an ogre. What a damned shame.

                  Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Tuesday

                          Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“There is nothing but sex and violence in the media. You turn on the TV and that is nearly all there is...but sometimes you have to hunt around.”

                                                  Dave Barry

A few days ago someone told me that I needed a proof reader, I had too many typos. I todl thme thye wrer worng.

When I was in the USAF I was transferred to work in the control tower at Eielson AFB, about 20 mile south of Fairbanks, Alaska. I have written about Eielson before. At one time it had the longest paved runway in the world, over 13,000 feet. This meant that any existing aircraft could land or takeoff from there.

We found out that there was going to be Strategic Air Command exercise simulating an actual wartime scenario and Eielson was going to be the recovery base.

As I remember it a string of B-52's departed Air Force bases in Kansas and Nebraska and rendezvous with a string of KC-135 tankers coming up from Texas and California. The rendezvous point was over Vancouver Island, Canada. The bombers were to be refueled and they would simulate heading for Russia. All of those aircraft arrived over Vancouver along with one of the fiercest storms in 30 years. There was only two actual rendezvous and refueling.

Sure enough later on there were B-52's and KC-135's to the horizon lined up for the runway. They all landed and not long thereafter the commander of SAC, General Thomas Powers arrived from Offutt AFB, Nebraska. I don't know what happened at the meeting of the pilots and crews with the General but I can assure you that it wasn't pretty. That was Operation Play Ball...a few months later came Operation Play Back...it went a lot better.

                    This Date in History  April 4

1776 On this date General George Washington, after running the British out of Boston, gathered his army from their encampment in Cambridge, Massachusetts and headed to New York to free that area of the hated Redcoats. Washington is distressed by the Continental Congress failing to pay or provide for his troops. He wrote the Congress requesting that enough money be left in New York City to resolve all of the unpaid debts and allow him to replenish his army’s supplies. The money was not there but the Continental army continued fighting. It was the failure of Congress to pay its obligations that doomed the present Articles of Federation which was essentially a document verifying the sovereignty of each state with little if any centralized government that could act in behalf of all. After kicking the Brits out anyway, the Continental Congress recognized its shortcomings and began constructing a different form of government which was a Republic. They came up with the present day Constitution and its amendments making a Government with three branches with checks and balances to prevent either branch to overpower the other. But it did allow the nation to pay its debts from one source, the United States Treasury. The bad part was that they originated the Bank of the United States. This allowed the Federal Government to control the economy down to the smallest level. This essentially eliminated competition and could not be good for the country. This concept was eliminated during Andrew Jackson’s (a South Carolinian) administration and our economy began its rise.

1968 Earlier on March 28 Reverend Martin Luther King came to Memphis, Tennessee to help in a demonstration for the reported ill-treatment of the city sanitation workers. After making a speech, a black teenager was killed during a riot. King had to leave but swore he would come back and come back he did. On this date King made a speech and then went to the Lorraine Motel to change clothes for dinner. After changing clothes he stepped out onto the balcony along with a few of his staff and supporters including Ralph Abernathy and Jesse Jackson. Soon after a shot rang out and King dropped to the floor mortally wounded. The shot had penetrated his jaw and severed his spine. Everyone on the balcony pointed to the same spot in a boarding house a block away. King was buried in his home town of Atlanta, Georgia on April 9^th but not before rioting occurred in Memphis and Washington, DC. The Shelby County Sheriffs department found a 30/06 scoped rifle wrapped in a tarp on the next street over from the Lorraine Motel. The Sheriff’s department along with the FBI found palm and fingerprints on the rifle belonging to a two-bit thief named James Earl Ray. It was found out that Ray had somehow had obtained a passport and a world wide alert was broadcast. The London Police arrested Ray at the Heathrow airport and he was extradited back to the US. Ray went on trial for the murder and in return for the death penalty being taken off the table he would confess. The deal was accepted and Ray was sentenced to 99 years. After that Ray insisted that he was just part of a huge conspiracy. A lot of people thought this idea had merit because King was a hated man by many people especially FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. I think that King had a premonition of what was coming because in his speech that day he said in part...”I have seen the promised land...but I may not get there with you”. He was dead three hours later. James Earl Ray died in 1998 taking his secrets with him. Pretty spooky, y'all.

1812 On this date President James Monroe issued a 90 day embargo on British ships coming into America. This meant there will be no trade with Great Britain for 90 days. Monroe as fed up with American trade vessels being preyed upon by British ships on the high seas. Monroe knew that this act would probably mean war with England and had warned the Congress to “gird for war”. Sure enough, Great Britain declared war but the difference here is United States was much stronger militarily that it was during the Revolution. This war did not last very long and again the Brits again had their asses handed to them by the United States. Monroe realized that the United States could not allow an interference with its world commerce, England included.

1841 The recently elected William Henry Harrison stood on the Capitol steps and delivered a two and one half hour inauguration speech. The weather was cold as hell and very windy. Harrison refused a jacket and attended three inaugural balls after the speech. As you might expect, Harrison developed a cold that quickly turned into pneumonia. Thirty-one days later Harrison died. This was the shortest presidency in American history. He should have worn a coat and not been so mouthy.

Born today:

1858 French writer Rene Gourmant. He said “Of all the sexual aberrations the most peculiar is chastity.” I don’t know Rene, I can think of a lot of things.

1915 Blues star Muddy Waters” He said of Mick Jagger “He took my music but gave me fame.” Muddy is my all time favorite blues master.

              Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Monday

                       Musings and History

Quote of the day:

Two friends that had not seen each other in several year met during a lifeboat drill on a cruise ship. One of them had gained a lot of weight. One man said “I didn't know they made life jackets in XXXL size.” He responded “The make jock straps in that size also but you would not know anything about that.” 

                       This Date in History   April 3

1776 The United States did not have a standing navy of warships to combat the British men-of-war that were blockading nearly every American port. On this date, the inimitable John Hancock issued “LETTERS of the MARQUE and REPRISALS” to those private warships and vessels that are interested. In short the United States was ready to hire pirates to board and capture English vessels on the high seas.. The notice read that those vessels carrying a LETTER of the MARQUE were commissioned by the United States to captured English vessels, by force of arms if necessary, and bring such vessels and/or cargo into any United States port as sanctuary. The deal was that in return for sanctuary the pirate vessel would have to split the cargo with the United States. Vessels that were prohibited from capture were those ships bringing immigrants to the United States or any vessel carrying armaments to the United States. The French government had been sending a stream of arms to America on French ships both covertly and later overtly.

1882 Earlier as teenagers and during the Civil War Jesse and Frank James joined with a Confederate Raider named William Quantrill in the Kansas/Missouri/Texas area. Quantrill did what he could to disrupt Union military activity in this area but he also would not hesitate to intimidate and kill, if necessary, anyone that was a Union supporter civilian or otherwise. After the war ended in 1865 Jesse and Frank returned to their farm in Missouri and began farming. These boys soon found out that the four years of excitement with Quantrill was still with them and they could not be happy farming. So they decided to rob a bank once in a while. The first was a bank in Lexington, Missouri in September of 1865. They did not go on rampages but just robbed about two banks a year and lay low on the farm the rest of the time. Then they branched off into train robberies. On one train robbery they robbed all the passengers except any southerner that they knew was suffering under the so-called Reconstruction. It was this act that gave them the legend of being a type of Robin Hood. But make no mistake, if anyone got in their way during a robbery, Yankee or Southerner, they would be killed. Finally the railroads hire the Pinkerton Agency to put a stop to these two. On one occasion the Pinkerton agents surrounded their mother’s house thinking the brothers were inside and threw in a tear gas canister which exploded and killed a nine year old boy that was inside and permanently injured the mother’s left arm. This also did not enamor the Yankees with the local gentry not Jesse and Frank. Jesse and Frank got together with their cousins the Younger brothers and decided to go way out of their territory where they would be the least expected and rob a bank. They chose Northfield, Minnesota as a target. The robbery went to hell in a hand basket and the Younger brothers were tracked down by a huge posse and all were killed or imprisoned. The James brothers escaped and fled to Tennessee and hid out until the heat was off. They organized another gang that included the Ford brothers, Bob and William. On this date, Jesse had called a meeting of the gang at his house to plan another robbery. The Ford brothers showed up and as Jesse was hanging a picture with his back to the room, Bob Ford shot Jesse several time in the back killing him instantly. Bob was after the reward money that the railroads had posted. Bob Ford went down in history as one of the worst scoundrels in American history along with Benedict Arnold.

1817 William Alexander Anderson Wallace is born in Lexington, Kentucky. Little is known of his youth but his older brother was in Texas helping fight for its independence from Mexico and was massacred by Santa Anna’s army in Goliad, Texas. In this event 465 Texans had gathered in defense of Goliad and Santa Anna shows up with a force of 3,000 and surrounds the town, The 465 surrender thinking they will be treated as prisoners of war. Santa Anna chose to treat them as traitors and killed them all. William declares he is going to Texas and “take my revenge on those Mexicans”. However, Sam Houston and 765 wild-eyed Texans beat the living shit out of Santa Anna and the war was over before Wallace got there. But Wallace enjoyed the independent attitude of the Texans and decided to stay. Wallace was a big boy, was 6’ 2” and weighed 240 pounds. Not only that he had gigantic feet and gained the nickname “Bigfoot”. Bigfoot Wallace became a legend in Texas by being in the Texas Militia and later on became a Texas Ranger under Captain John Hays. From this point on his life was one adventure after another. On one event he was driving an empty stage coach on the very dangerous San Antonio to El Paso route. And sure enough, a group of Kiowa Indians stopped him and stole his mules and he ended up having to walk across that Texas desert all the way to El Paso. He said that he ate 27 eggs at the first farm he came to and then went on into El Paso for a “real meal”. He was captured by the Mexicans and spent 15 months in the notoriously brutal prison in Vera Cruz. During the Civil War he fought for the Confederacy but served by protecting the Texas frontier from Indian raids in his later years. He enjoyed sitting around telling the younger kids of his adventures. Wallace died in 1899 after serving the state of Texas for most of his life. He is buried in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. His biography is worthy for all to read. He was a man of enormous courage and determination.

Born today:

1822 US religious leader Edward Everett Hale. When asked if he prayed for the United States Senators. He said “No, I look at the Senators and pray for the nation.” I think Reverend Hale has his finger on the pulse of American politicians.

1593 English writer George Herbert. He said “Follow not the truth too closely, lest it knock your teeth out.” Sometimes the truth hurts, obviously.

Died today:

1933 US writer Wilson Mizner. He said “When a man continues to proclaim that he is no fool usually has his suspicions.” We all know such people.

1996 Mayor Charles Stokes. He said “When you start talking about making a “real change” it usually means that you are going to take away something someone possesses.”

          Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow