Wednesday

                            Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“If you ask me the three scariest things facing the human race is nuclear war, global warming and Windows Vista.”

                                                     Dave Barry

Trivia question of the day:

When Harry Truman and family were living in the Blair House across the street from the White House while it was being remodeled a team of assassins tried to storm the house but were stopped by the guards on duty. The assassins were not from the United States...where were they from?

In my last lesson I mentioned that Admiral Husband Kimmel, the commander of the US Naval Fleet in Pearl Harbor, and General Walter Short the US Army commander in Pearl Harbor were stood before a court martial. That is not correct. The whole event was examined by a Congressional Committee and Kimmel and Short were relieved of their command and found derelict in their duties. Admiral Kimmel was also reduced to his permanent rank of Rear Admiral. Later on these charges were found to be wrongly administered but it was too late then. In the military, unlike Congress, when things go wrong they begin chopping at the top.

Back in about 2002 I took a job in Charlotte as a job shopper. The project was a new one for the United States. This project came as a result of a disarmament treaty the US signed with Russia whereby a number of nuclear armed missiles would be disassembled by both sides. The problem was what the hell are we going to do with the weapons grade Plutonium? This stuff is nothing to fool around with, it is very toxic and long lasting. The French had been using a system of mixing depleted Uranium with weapons grade Plutonium in the right ratio and arrived at a nuclear power plant fuel that was manageable. This is what the project I was on was all about. With the help of French engineers we were going to design a building and a system to combine this mixture in the right ratio, cook it into a pellet the right size to be used in a nuclear power plant. This process took an enormous amount of piping and strict rules about how close together they could be. The plant was to be built on the SRS or the Savannah River Site near Aiken, SC but the initial design work was done on the 14^th floor of the First Citizen's bank on the corner of Tryon and 4^th in downtown Charlotte. That was in 2002 plus or minus. I found out yesterday that the plant is still being worked on in SRS and they are not complete. That is 14 years this project has been underway and not completed. It is known as the MOX project and is your tax dollars at work.

               This Date in History   December 20

1862 On this date Confederate General Earl Van Dorn made a successful raid on US General Ulysses Grant’s supply depot in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Grant was on his way to Vicksburg, Mississippi to capture this final Confederate bastion on the Mississippi River. Grant was approaching Vicksburg from the east and US General William Sherman was approaching from the north. This two pronged attack depended greatly on being supplied on a regular basis. The Confederates knew they could not survive a coordinated attack but they also knew that the Yankees needed their supplies. The Confederates decided to send Van Dorn with a fairly large cavalry unit from Grenada, Mississippi up to Holly Springs. Van Dorn easily ran off the small US infantry unit that was protecting the depot. He gathered up as many supplies that he could carry off and destroyed the rest. This attack caused Grant to delay the attack on Vicksburg until more supplies could be brought in. This was the high point in Van Dorn’s military career because he had been defeated in his last two engagements. Van Dorn was a notorious boozer and womanizer and five weeks from this date he was caught in bed with a married woman and her husband unceremoniously shot and killed him.

1860 On this date the South Carolina state legislature voted to secede from the United States in protest of the election of Abraham Lincoln as President because Lincoln was a Republican. This political party was formed in 1850 for the sole purpose of the abolition of slavery. Soon after South Carolina’s secession, six other states seceded and they formed the Confederate States of America. After the first shots were fired, four other states joined the Confederacy.

1986 On this date three black men were driving from Brooklyn to Queens, New York when their car broke down. They walked several miles to the predominantly Italian neighborhood of Howard Beach and went into a pizza parlor to use a phone to call for help. They were told that there was no phone available so they ordered a pizza. Afterward they left and a gang of white teenager was waiting outside. The whites attacked and one of the blacks ran out into the street and was struck and killed by an automobile. One of the other blacks was able to run away but the other was not and was severely beaten but survived. This event stirred racial tensions in New York to a fever pitch that attracted national attention. The Reverend Al Sharpton organized a protest march and demanded a special prosecutor to look into this outrage because the District Attorney of Queens could not be trusted to be unbiased. Governor Mario Cuomo agreed and appointed Charles Hynes as special prosecutor. Hynes finally was able to convict three of the teenagers for the fatality. This was not the end of it. In 2005 three other black men were attacked by a group of white teenager wielding baseball bats. Two of the men escaped unscathed but one was beaten. Racial tensions flared again. The state of New York passed severe penalties for hate-crimes and things calmed down…for a while.

1987 On the day before the ferry Doma Paz had departed an Island near Leyte in the Philippines headed for Manila. The ferry was rated for 1,400 passengers but the demand for the 375 mile trip was great since it was near Christmas so they crammed about 4,000 passengers aboard. After the ferry was out in the open most of the veteran crew was drinking and watching TV with a rookie helmsman at the wheel. The ferry was approaching a busy strait when the 8,000 barrel oil tanker Victor loomed out of the darkness and the two ships collided and a violent explosion and fire ensued. Rescue ships arrived on the scene but were unable to get anywhere near because of the intense heat. There were only 23 survivors mostly from the tanker. For weeks scorched and burned bodies washed up on beaches up and down the Philippine Sea. It was the worst marine disaster in history.

1836 On this date President Andrew Jackson introduced to Congress a treaty that he had negotiated with Ioway, Fox, Sac, Sioux and Omaha Indian tribes. The tribe had agreed to move to lands designated by the US to make room for settlers. However, the US had negotiated over 400 treaties with the Indians most of which were ignored or broken by the US depending on the financial considerations. These events are a black mark on the history of this great nation.

Born today:

1902 Chicago mayor Richard Daley. He said “We shall reach greater and greater platitudes of achievement.” Dick, you were a dumb-ass, a very powerful dumb-ass, but still a dumb-ass.

Answer to the trivia question:The assassins were from Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is a US possession and not a state.

                  Thanks for listening    I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Tuesday

                             Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“The Jews are responsible for the creation of two of the most influential leaders in history with Jesus Christ and Karl Marx and have the luxury of not having to follow either one of them.”

                                                      Peter Ustinov

Trivia question of the day:

Who was the physicist that orchestrated the first nuclear controlled chain reaction that proved a nuclear power could be used for many things including a nuclear weapon?

I have a friend that is a writer of novels and is published in addition to teaching “creative writing”. This lady is far left of me politically but we agree on one thing that the electronic media is nothing but a sewer full of misinformation, half truths and downright lies. But people continue to point at anything in the media that agrees with their prejudices trying to use that as validation but will point other things on the same page and say that is bullshit when it does not agree with their prejudices. Either it is totally reliable or it isn't. There is no “Some of it is true but some of it isn't...dependent upon what I want it to be.”

                  This Date in History   December 19

1776 General George Washington and what is left of his army is camped on McKonkey’s farm across the Delaware River from Trenton, New Jersey. He had been kicked out of New York and New Jersey after losing New York City. Not only that, nearly 11,000 of his troops had deserted and went home to their families and the large majority of what was left of his army had their enlistments ending on December 31. On this date Thomas Paine published American Crisis. Included in this pamphlet were these immortal words:

“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldiers and the sunshine patriots will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he who stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered, yet we have this consolation, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the victory.”

Washington and Paine knew the Continental Army was in serious trouble and something had to be done to resurrect a fighting spirit. Washington himself gathered his army around him and read Paine’s word to them. The words had the desired effect and the spirit of the army rose. But just to make sure, Washington planned an attack on Trenton on Christmas Day. He brought his army back across the Delaware River and attacked the Hessian (German mercenaries) encampment in Trenton. The hung-over Hessians were no match for the inflamed Continentals and resulted in a near annihilation of the Hessians. Then on January 2 Washington and his now fired up army met the British army led by General Earl Cornwallis in Princeton, New Jersey and delivered a severe ass-kicking. These two victories and Paine’s words brought more and more recruits into the Continental army which saved our ass and our country.

1998 On this date the United States House of Representatives handed down a Bill of Impeachment against Bill Clinton, the sitting President of the United States. This was only the second time that a Bill of Impeachment had been issued in the history of the United States. Clinton was convicted of lying to a Federal Court and the obstruction of Justice. This came as a result of a sexual liaison Clinton had with an unpaid intern in the White House named Monika Lewinsky and then lying about it under oath. There is no question that Clinton had at least 11 encounters with Monika. After many of the encounters Monika called white house staffer Linda Tripp and told her in detail about her experiences with Slick Willie. Even with all of this, William Jefferson Clinton was able to complete his term as President of our United States.

1817 James Archer is born in Harford County, Maryland. He attended Princeton and Boston College before joining the US army and fought with distinction during the Mexican War and was indeed brevetted Colonel. After the beginning of the Civil War, Archer offered his services to Confederacy. He was assigned to The Army of Northern Virginia in John Bell Hood’s Texas Brigade. He fought with valor at Seven Pines and at the so-called Seven Days. Later on he was assigned to Harry Heth’s division in A.P Hill’s corps. It was Archer who led the attack on the center of US General John Buford’s dismounted cavalry on Seminary Ridge at Gettysburg. Archer’s attack was so effective and his penetration of the Union lines was so deep that his unit was cut off and captured. Archer himself was captured and on his way to the rear he was met with an old comrade in arms, US General Abner Doubleday. Doubleday saw Archer and said that he was glad to see him. Archer responded with “Well, I am not glad to see you, not by a damned sight.” Archer went to a prison camp for about 15 months and was exchanged. He went back to duty and was assigned duty in the trenches in and around Petersburg. The stay in the prison camp had weakened him and he finally died in those trenches in October of 1864. He was a recognized as a superior field commander by both sides. There is a plaque on McPherson’s Ridge at Gettysburg dedicated to General Archer’s division, I have been there several times. Every American should go there to feel the restlessness of the spirits lying in that field between McPherson’s Ridge and Cemetery Ridge where “Pickett's Charge” occurred. It would give you a deeper understanding of courage and dedication. It has been reported that if you walk out into the middle of that field, sit down and be real quiet you can detect a low continuous moan...I did.

1978 On December 3 the police in Des Plaines, Illinois had received a complaint about child abuse against a man named John Wayne Gacy. They did not have enough evidence to arrest Gacy so they staked out his house. On this day, Gacy’s neighbors complained about a “funky” smell coming from Gacy’s house. The police obtained a warrant and entered the house and were met with an overwhelming stench of rotting flesh. Further investigations found several bodies buried in the crawlspace under the house. The police finally found that Gacy had been responsible for the murders of over 25 people, mostly adolescents, in several states. Gacy is recognized as one of the worst serial killers in United States history. This animal was sentenced to death but was able to appeal his case for 14 years. He eventually met his maker with needles in his arms. I can think of many more appropriate ways for this beast to depart this earth...don’t get me started.

Births and deaths:

1778 British educator Henry Brougham is born. He said “Education makes people easy to lead, hard to drive, easy to govern and impossible to enslave.”

1910 French writer Jean Genet is born. He said “To achieve harmony in bad taste is the epitome of elegance.”

                                              Quotable quotes:

“When we talk to God, we are praying, when God talks to us we are schizophrenic.”

                                                   Lily Tomlin

The answer to the trivia question is it is was Enrico Fermi an Italian immigrant running from Hitler (his wife was Jewish) teaching at the University of Chicago.  There were several physicists at the test and afterward this message was sent to nearly every physicist in the free world "The Italian navigator has landed on a foreign shore, the native are friendly."

                Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow          

Monday

                           Musing and History

Quote of the day:

“In real life Diane Keaton believes in God. She also believes that a radio works because it has tiny people inside.”

                                                   Woody Allen

Trivia question of the day:

Who was the scientist in charge of developing the first nuclear bomb for the United States? Answer at the end of the blog.

             This Date in History  December 18

1620 Earlier in August of 1606 a group religious reformists in England decided that they were not happy with The Church of England which they felt was too close to the Catholic Church with homage being paid to the King (whomever that may be) rather than the pope. In those days that was treason so they moved to Holland. They languished there for over twelve years and finally decided to go to the New World and establish their own religious organization. 102 souls boarded the ship Speedwell in Holland and sailed for Southampton harbor in England to meet with the ship Mayflower and the two would sail for the mouth of the James River to establish a new colony. The rendezvous occurred and the two ships sailed out into English Channel. Soon thereafter a bad leak was discovered on the Speedwell and the two tiny ships diverted into Dartmouth. After several weeks the leak on the Speedwell determined to be repaired and off they went again. After they had sailed about 300 miles west of England the Speedwell began leaking again and the two returned to Plymouth Harbor. It was determined that the Speedwell was not seaworthy so some of the pilgrims on the Speedwell transferred to the Mayflower and off they went again. It was an easy crossing for a while. About half way across the weather turned stormy and the tiny Mayflower was tossed including a broken mast. On December 16 land was sighted that turned out to be Cape Cod. The storms had pushed them about 500 miles north of the mouth of the James River so they turned south to try and find the James. They ran across dangerous shoals and decided to turn around and enter the harbor at Cape Cod. They got just inside the harbor and sent out search parties onto what is now Providence Town to find an appropriate building site. After a few days the search party recommended a building site that had been cleared by the Native Americans earlier on the west side of the harbor. This site is now Plymouth, Massachusetts. On this date the Pilgrims came ashore, said a prayer for their relatively safe crossing and began chopping trees. An interesting fact is that the first Governor was William Bradford who oversaw the writing of the Mayflower Compact which was essentially a statement that all laws and rules of the colony had to be approved by the majority, which turned out to be the bedrock of this great republic. The military leader of this tiny group was Miles Standish. No one knows how big he was but it is known that he had to cut 6 inches off the end of his sword to keep it from dragging the ground. I figure he was about 5’-3” but his fiery demeanor more than made up for his lack of stature. What an adventure that must have been!

1865 On this date the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified by the United States Congress. This amendment forbade and involuntary servitude (slavery) in neither the United States nor its possessions. In 1850 Abraham Lincoln and several others assembled and formed the Republican Party whose sole purpose was to prevent slavery from expanding into any new states or territories of the United States. The concept was not acceptable to the southern states or any other slave holding states such as Delaware and Maryland. It would upset the balance in the House and Senate. Therefore when Lincoln was elected in 1860, almost immediately seven southern states seceded from the Union because they knew there would eventually be an imbalance in the Legislative Branch and their influence would be neutralized. There were four states that were “slave states” that did not secede. They were Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri. Abe had to dance carefully around these states because if he made one false move, those states would have seceded and joined the Confederacy.

1862 Previously Confederate General Braxton Bragg had ordered Confederate General Nathan Forrest to cut the supply line to the Union Army in Tennessee and Mississippi. Forrest left Columbia, Tennessee on December 11 and began crossing the Tennessee River on December 13. Forrest’s presence was detected and US General Jeremiah Sullivan dispatched Colonel Robert Ingersoll and 200 troops from Jackson to Lexington, Tennessee where they would pick up an additional 470 troops and then they were to intercept and neutralize Forrest and his battle seasoned 2,500 mounted troopers. Most of Ingersoll’s troops were green and inexperienced. Ya’ll see what is coming already. On December 17 Ingersoll’s troops detected the approach of Forrest’s cavalry toward Lexington. There was only two ways to approach this town and that was by the Old Stage Road and the Lower Road. Ingersoll ordered a bridge on the Lower Road destroyed and then arrayed the majority of his troops on Old Stage Road. Forrest did not order an attack until the 18^th and brought his troops down Lower Road because Ingersoll’s troops had failed to destroy the bridge. When Ingersoll figured out what had happened he swung his troops around to meet Forrest on the Lower Road but it was too late. Forrest’s troops charged and sent those Yankees scattering across the countryside and captured 147 of them including Ingersoll, 70 horses, several artillery pieces and many rifles. Forrest went on to Jackson, Tennessee and found it too well defended and went on into Kentucky and destroyed an ocean of Yankee supplies headed for US General Ulysses Grant and his army in Mississippi.

1888 Earlier Rancher Richard Wetherill had been approached by a Ute Indian who pointed out a deep canyon and said that there were many stone houses that were built by the ”ancient ones” in the back of the canyon. Wetherill was too busy with his cattle to pursue it. But on this date, he and his brother-in-law Charles Mason were searching for stray cattle on top of a Mesa near the rear of the canyon mentioned by the Ute. It began to snow and Wetherill and Mason were afraid they would fall off the mesa edge and dismounted and began walking. The eventually came to the edge of the mesa and just above them partially obscured by the snow was an entire village built of stone (it was actually adobe). They quit looking for strays and clambered up into the village and found it abandoned. They had found what is known today as Mesa Verde, a major archeological find in North America. It was determined that the village was built in the 13^th century by the “Anasazi” or an ancient tribe that has since disappeared probably because of a five year drought that began in about 1275. The cliff dwellings were labeled the Cliff Palace by archaeologists. Wetherill and Mason gathered many artifacts that they donated to museums but other assholes came by and stole artifacts and sold them on the open market. It became so bad that the US congress designated the area Mesa Verde National Park in 1906.

Born today:

1886 Immortal US baseball player Ty Cobb. He said “When I started playing baseball it was about as gentlemanly as a kick in the crotch.” Ty ended up a very wealthy may because he invested heavily in Coca-Cola when it was in its infancy. He is arguable recognized as the greatest overall baseball player who ever lived.

Answer to the trivia question:

The scientist in charge of the creation of the atomic bomb for the United States or the “Manhattan Project” was J. Robert Oppenheimer.

         Thanks for listening    I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Friday

                            Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“Love is a condition in which the happiness of another is essential to your own.”

                                               Robert Heinlein

Trivia question of the day:

General George Patton carried a pair of .45 Colt revolvers when commanding. The grips were of a special material...what was it?

This date in 1862 saw the end to the Fredericksburg campaign by the Army of the Potomac 116,000 strong. It was Union General Ambrose Burnsides against CSA General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia 77,000 strong with Lee having two days to prepare. That, my friends, is asking for a disaster and that is exactly what happened. After a series of frontal assaults on the Confederate fronts all resulting heavy casualties, Burnsides ordered a retreat and he was immediately relieved and replaced by General Joe Hooker. He was not any better. The statistics for this action are as follows: Union casualties 12,653 to 5,377 for the Confederacy. It is the worst statistical ass-kicking any American military unit has ever suffered in one engagement before or since. What made me think of this was a view of “The Wall” in Washington honoring the 58,000 Americans lost in Vietnam in nine years. Civil War battles were much more deadly.

               This Date in History   December 15

1961 Earlier in 1906 Adolf Eichmann was born in Solingen, Germany. In 1932 he joined the Nazi party and was absorbed into the elite SS military/political machine of Adolf Hitler. He rose swiftly in rank and authority and eventually he was in the inner circle of those in the Nazi party chosen to find a way to exterminate all the Jews in Europe. As Field Marshal Herman Goering called it, “We need to find a “final solution” to the Jewish problem.” Goering was the second in command to Hitler and was tasked by Hitler with eliminating the Jews. Goering in turn assigned Eichmann to figure out a way to get this attempt at genocide on its feet and still be to best effect for the 3^rd Reich. Eichmann was equal to the task and very shortly had death camps, work camps where the workers were slaves building the tools of war for the German military. They were literally worked to death and buried in mass graves, or burned into dust in ovens. Eichmann’s creations were responsible for the deaths of about 4 million Jews, Slavs and Gypsies. There were another 2 million deaths that were the responsibility of others in the SS. After the war was lost Eichmann was captured but escaped and bounced around in the Middle East for several years before making his way to Argentina in 1950. The Argentinians played it fast and loose with immigrants, especially former German military personnel. Eichmann assumed the name of Roberto Klement and began a life of a factory worker in Buenos Aires. In 1957 a former German officer told the Israeli secret police, known as the Mossad, that Eichmann was living Buenos Aires. The Mossad was very interested in Eichmann for obvious reasons and sent two secret agents to Buenos Aries to try and find this monster. It took a while but they located the home of Eichmann. In May of 1960 Argentina was having a celebration commemorating the 150^th anniversary of freedom from Spanish rule. There was a large influx of visitors to this celebration and Mossad took this opportunity to bring in more agents. On May 11 the Mossad agents descended upon Eichmann’s house and waited. When Eichmann got off the bus coming home from work the agents shot enough drugs in him to knock down a mule and flew his ass to Israel. Argentina raised hell and demanded Eichmann’s release but Israel said he was an international war criminal and there was no way in hell he was going to be released. He was put on trial for crimes against humanity in Israel. On this date Eichmann was convicted on all counts and was sentenced to death. Eichmann’s total defense was that he was doing as he was ordered like the good soldier that he was. On May 31, 1962 Adolf Eichmann was hanged, his body cremated and his ashes thrown into the sea. Thus ended the life of one on the worst monsters this world has ever known. But there are still more out there.

1988 On this date “The Godfather of Soul” or “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business” James Brown began serving a 6 year sentence in the State Park Correctional Facility in South Carolina. He had a few small run-ins with the law during the summer of 1988 but his escapades on September 24 went too far. My man James walked into an insurance seminar in Augusta, Georgia with a shotgun in one hand a pistol in the other and ordered everyone out. No one really knows why he did this because it was later proven that he did not know anyone there and had no interest in the insurance business. Anyway, James then got in his pick-up truck and headed for the house. The police began a chase that began in South Carolina then into Georgia and back to South Carolina. Finally South Carolina’s finest got fed up with James’s wild goose chase and shot out three of his tires. All this did was slow James down; he continued down the road and finally lost control and drove into a ditch bringing this fiasco to an end. All of these infractions brought James 6 ½ years in a South Carolina slammer. James was paroled after three years but he wasn’t finished yet. Soon after being free he was caught with a load of pot and did even more time. Finally it appeared that James literally got his act together and went on the road. His performances were as entertaining and dynamic as ever in spite of his age. James finally went to that great sound stage in the sky in December of 2006. He was 73 years old. What a performer.

1890 For years the holy man for the Lakota Sioux, Sitting Bull, had been warning his people that any contact with people other than those of their tribe would result in disaster. His warning proved to be prophetic as the honky settlers took more and more of Sioux land by force. This meant that the Sioux were fighting a defensive battle the great majority of the time trying to hold on their tribal lands and traditional way of life. It was a fruitless fight because the settlers were protected by a well armed and well trained United States Cavalry. Finally Sitting Bull persuaded his people to go to the Standing Rock Reservation in South Dakota or risk complete annihilation. The US Cavalry got wind of an increase of the practice of the legendary “Ghost Dance” by the Sioux. This dance was usually a prelude to war so the Cavalry assumed this practice was fostered by Sitting Bull. On this date the Reservation Police went to arrest Sitting Bull at his tiny cabin on the Grande River. They went to get him at 6:00a so they could take him away as quietly as possible. It was not to be. Sitting Bull began raising almighty hell and soon a crowd had gathered around the great leader also raising almighty hell. One hothead in the crowd shot one of the policemen and the police responded with shooting Sitting Bull in the chest and head killing him instantly. The police were not finished. They continued shooting killing 12 of the crowd and wounded 4. Just a few weeks later the Indian spirit was broken with the massacre of Chief Black Kettle and 156 of his tribe at Wounded Knee. This was the last “battle” between the US Cavalry and an Indian tribe. All the Indians wanted to was to be left alone to live their lives as they saw fit. It was not to be.

Born today:

1906 Ukrainian film producer Lew Grade. When involved in a biblical film he said “Twelve apostles? Why do we need twelve? Can’t we make do with six?” Lew, you are a dumb-ass.

1932 Irish writer Edna O’Brien. She said “Getting to vote means nothing. We women need to be armed”. Edna baby, lighten up.

Answer to the trivia question:

The grips on Pattons pistols were make of ivory.

                       Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Thursday

                       Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“To live is the rarest thing on earth. Most people just exist and that is all.”

                                                  Oscar Wilde

Trivia question of the day:

The Holy Bible is the most widely published book in history what is second and who was the author?  Answer at the end of the blog.

A while back yet another event occurred that further mystifies me as to the mind of the female of the human species. I got a manila envelope in the mail. It was from my second ex-wife and in the envelope was six or seven letters from me to her written in about 1983. She had also inserted a note saying that it was about time for her “close the door on this part of her life.” I did not know what she was talking about. Why did she save those letters for 34 years? I sent her an e-mail saying “Package received. Closing the door is a good idea” and I thought that was the end of it. But no, she sent me a return e-mail describing that some woman called her just before Thanksgiving looking for me. She said that the woman said that she had met me at a bar out on the beach and she found what she thought was my phone number from an old phone book. I have never had my name associated with that phone number in my life so I have to believe that this whole tale is a fabrication by her. What is the logic to telling a bald face lie that cannot be defended? Not only that, I haven’t been in her house in 30 years. She also said that her son had seen me out on the beach and that her son said that I saw him but avoided contact. I do not remember that encounter and why would I do that? That ain’t my style, I certainly am not bashful. What did she hope to accomplish with this dog and pony show? I give up.

Last week down in Bishopville, SC a 76 year old man let his wife out at the beauty parlor and simply disappeared. The cops were notified after he did not show up to pick his wife up. This man has been showing early signs of Alzheimer’s. A search of the surrounding community produced no results. Late that night up in Elizabethton, TN the police stopped a car going northbound in the southbound lane. It was the missing man disoriented and confused. His family drove the 160 miles and retrieved him and took him home. I suppose we all worry about being in that condition at one time or another.

Up in the Charlotte, NC area Dustin Witherspoon had just gotten out of jail and had dedicated himself to straightening his life out since the birth of his son. Somehow Witherspoon got into a squabble on Facebook with two teenagers. Later the two kids set Witherspoon’s house on fire. Witherspoon was able to save his wife and infant son but he perished in the flames. The two kids are 18 and 16. A fatal arson charge is a minimum of 50 years. That is two more lives wasted over nothing.

This Date in History December 14

1799 On this date the father of our country, George Washington, died on his Mount Vernon estate in Virginia. He was 67 years old. George died of acute laryngitis. I cannot recall ever hearing of anyone dying of that but there was no anti-biotics in those days. George was born in 1732 in Westmorland County and his first military experience was as a Lieutenant Colonel for the Virginia militia in a few forays against the French in the Ohio Valley in 1754. In 1756 he took command of the defense of the western flank of Virginia during the French and Indian War and when the battle moved elsewhere he resigned and returned to his farm and took a seat in Virginia’s House of Burgesses. For two decades he vehemently opposed Great Britain in the over taxation and repression of the colonists. When the Revolutionary War broke out for good, Washington was elected a Commander-in-chief of the military by the Continental Congress. Some of those in the congress were opposed to Washington but they felt that having a Virginian in command would have a better chance of uniting the southern states with the war in the northeast. Washington’s superb leadership and foresight was able to bring a rag-tag army into one that defeated the mightiest nation on the planet. They were not alone however, the Continentals somehow persuaded France to contribute men, money and supplies to this fledgling country. In fact, if it had not been for the French Navy blockades on the Chesapeake Bay which trapped British General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown and forced him and his army to surrender essentially ending the land war in the Revolutionary War. At Washington’s eulogy it was his friend Henry Lee that uttered those immortal words “He was first in peace, first in war and first in the hearts of his countryman”.

1874 While asleep this night in New York, Holmes Van Brunt heard a commotion in the house next door. He gathered up three other men and they go next door each carrying a loaded shotgun. Upon arrival they encounter a group of men trying to kidnap Holmes’ neighbor. Holmes and his boys unload with their shotguns and cut down all of the kidnappers. On his deathbed, one of the kidnappers confessed that he was part of the Charlie Ross kidnapping also. Little four year old Charlie Ross was playing on his front lawn when he was kidnapped about 10 years before. The parents received a ransom note for $20,000 and took the money to the drop point but the money was never picked up. Little Charlie Ross was never found.

Born today:

1546 Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. He said “Now it is quite clear to me that there are no solid spheres in the heavens and those that have been devised by the authors for appearances exist only in their imagination.” Tycho, you were considered a genius during your time, but you should have chatted with Galileo, he had a telescope.

Died today:

1873 Swiss naturalist Louis Agazzis. He said “Every scientific truth goes through three states: First, people say it conflicts with the Bible, next they say it has been discovered before and lastly, they say they always believed it.”

The answer to the trivia question: The second most published book in history is "The Ingenious Nobleman Sir Quixote of LaMancha" better known as "Don Quixote" written by Miguel de Cervantes in two volumes in 1605 and 1615.

                         Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow.

Wednesday

                         Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“It is just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the beach. I knock dudes out.”

                                               Muhammad Ali

Trivia question of the day:

The USA dropped an 8.3 megaton nuclear device from a B-52 over Johnston Island in the central Pacific in the early 60's. Why wasn't the bomber destroyed in the enormous blast? Answer at the end of the blog.

A good friend from Texas advised me that Joe Scarborough who is the co-host of “Morning Joe” on MSNBC has stated that he is dismayed by the fact the present day schools are not teaching the real history of this great nation. They do not even acknowledge the greatest tragedy to ever befall this country and that being the American Civil War from 1861-1865. THIS WAR COST MORE AMERICAN LIVES THAT ALL OTHE R WARS COMBINED AND THEY DON’T TEACH IT?? To try and help Joe out I sent an e-mail telling him about my lessons that are available on my blog site. It is unlikely that anything will happen but I feel like I did the right thing.

I am reading about the American Revolutionary War once again. From the start the American military knew that they could not stand up the British military in the traditional manner of infantry encounters of the day. They would gather in neatly dressed lines about 100 yards apart and blaze away until one side or the other lost their nerve. The Americans had been dealing with the Indians for many years and the Indians did not buy that routine of lining up out in the open, they attacked from ambush. George Washington found favor with this method and formed a company of 500 snipers lead by Daniel Morgan. The first major battle won by the Patriots was as a direct result of Daniel and his boys. It was at the Battle of Saratoga. The British were coming through a dense forest from Canada to Saratoga. Daniel’s snipers began by picking off the Native American guides until there were none left, then they started picking off the commanding officers until there were just a few left and then the British lost contact with their supply train, it was all over after that. British general Burgoyne surrendered.

             This Date in History   December 13

2003 After nine months on the run, on this date former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is found by American soldiers in a “spider” hole in the ground near his home town of Tikrit, Iraq. The search for this ghoul and monster was intense and all encompassing after the invasion of Iraq by the Allies. They had cornered Saddam’s sons in one of their castles but they wanted to fight rather than surrender and fight they did. But it was for naught because the Allies brought in a tank and leveled that building killing all of the occupants including Saddam’s sons. The atrocities committed or allowed by Saddam and his sons were inserted in the catalog of crimes on humanity never to be forgotten. Saddam was put on trial convicted and was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity. Saddam went to meet Allah wearing a hemp necktie.

1937 At the outset of the Sino-Chinese war, the Japanese military leader Matsui Iwane ordered the leveling of the city of Nanking after the Chinese leadership had escaped inland. The Japanese troops swept into Nanking and unceremoniously killed over 150,000 men, raped over 20,000 women and children and burned the town to the ground. This atrocious act of terrorism is known to this date at “The Rape of Nanking.” Not that it really matters, but after the war all the major Japanese officers involved in these acts were tried and hanged for crimes against humanity. Crimes, indeed.

1862 Yesterday I told y'all about the Union Army finally being able to cross the Rappahannock River and occupy Fredericksburg, Virginia. But CSA General R.E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia had been there for two days digging in on a hill and aiming their artillery. Not only that at the base of the hill was a road with a stone wall on one side. Lee sent General George Cobb and a few hundred of Georgia sharpshooters to hide behind the stone wall and wait on an infantry charge. At one point General Lee’s artillery commander said “General, I don’t think a chicken could cross that field and live.” He was nearly correct. Burnside ordered infantry charge after infantry charge and all were cut to pieces by Lee’s artillery before they got half way and those that did were met with Cobb’s Georgians at the stone wall who shot them at nearly point blank range. As I said yesterday, it was the worst battle loss in the shortest period of time in American history. Burnside was going to try it again on the 14^th of December but he was talked out it by cooler head and he headed back north. As soon as he got back he was immediately relieved by US General Joseph Hooker, he wasn’t very good either. It was during this battle that General Lee said the Immortal words “It is good that war is so terrible or we would learn to love it.” These words were parroted by US General George Patton.

1798 On this date one of the greatest mountain men/explorers in American history is born in the backwoods of Tennessee. Joseph R. “Joe” Walker was recognized as being very intelligent and had the talent to be able to remember any lands that he had traveled; therefore he was rarely lost and made an excellent guide. He was persuaded by William Bonneville to into the southwestern area and does some mapping for his upcoming fur trapping enterprise. At that time that land belonged to Mexico and he was captured and put into jail in Santa Fe. He got out of jail when he helped the Mexicans fight off several raids from the Pawnee and the Apache. He was released and continues his searching. In 1833 he and three of his party accidentally came upon the Yosemite Valley. It is believed that he and his men were the first honkies to see the wonders of this magic land. Walker established a farm in northern California where he died ravaged by rheumatism and blindness. He wanted his gravestone to read “Camped Yosemite, November 11, 1833.” Evidently the viewing of Yosemite was the most important time of his life. Joe Walker was not the only trailblazer out there. There were Jim Bridger and Kit Carson among many others. But Joe Walker found his niche in life and enjoyed every second of it. We should all be so fortunate.

Born today:

1797 German writer Heinrich Heine. When speaking of one of his enemy he said “He was ordinarily insane but he had lucid moments when he was merely stupid.” I think I know this person.

1879 English actress Emily Belmont. She said “The private railcar is not an acquired taste. One takes to it immediately.” I would think so.

1915 US Mystery writer Ross McDonald. He said “There is nothing wrong with Southern California that a sudden and complete rise in the ocean level wouldn’t cure.”

1949 US musician Tom Verlaine. He said “The press deserves nothing but lies”. Why not, that is what the feed us

1954 English singer Berton Averre. He said “To err is dysfunctional; to forgive is to be codependent.” Bert, you need to simplify your life.

Answer to the trivia question: The reason the B-52 was not destroyed was the device had a parachute allowing time for an escape.

                    Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Tuesday

                          Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“Today's beauty ideal, strictly enforced by the media, is a person with the same level of body fat as a paper clip. By today's beauty standards, Marilyn Monroe was an oil tanker.”

                                                      Dave Barry

Trivia question of the day:

How many Crusades were there?

The Babylonians of the 1800 century BC were led by a king named Hammurabi. A dolite finger shaped stelae was found by an Egyptian archaeologist in 1901. The stelae had all 261 laws of Hammurabi engraved on the side. Later there were found identical markings on several clay tablets. They were all written in the Akkadian language that was still in use at the time of Christ. We must keep in mind that the Hebrews were captured and enslaved by the Babylonians on three different occasions and there is little doubt that Jewish law absorbed part of the Hammurabi law into their own. Here are a few of them that will smack of present day law:

If a man and a woman married and there is no intercourse, she is not his wife. In these days an “annulment” quickly follows the absence of sex in a marriage if either partner objects.

Hammurabi said if a man takes another man’s child he shall be put to death. Back in the 1930’s the Charles Lindbergh baby was kidnapped and killed. Bruno Hauptman, an illegal German immigrant was captured, tried and convicted on the flimsiest of evidence of this horrible crime and a year later he was executed by electric chair in Trenton, New Jersey.

Hammurabi law stated that if a man accused another of a crime the accused would be required to jump in the river and if he died, the accuser would gain the man’s house and lands. However, if the jumper survived, the accuser would be killed and the accused would gain all of his lands and house. It hasn’t been that long ago that “affairs of honor” were settled in duels. The Hammurabi law is very close to this. This law also prevented trivial accusations...it could cost you your life if the person accused is a good swimmer.

It appears that The Babylonia law system of sorts existed. The Executive and Legislative branch was the king, the Judicial and enforcement branch was the “elders”. Nearly all serious cases came before the “elders” for judgment. There were defined punishments for a given crime but the punishment had a little “wiggle room” dependent upon circumstances.

Even judges that convicted a man that later proved to be innocent, the judge was executed. 

               This Date in History   December 12

1862 In early November US President A. Lincoln replaced the commander of the Army of the Potomac, US General George B, McClellan, with US General Ambrose Burnside. Burnside almost immediately begins plans for the capture of Richmond and begins bringing his army down the Rappahannock River to Falmouth, Virginia. After arriving at Falmouth, he is disappointed to find that his engineers are not there with portable bridges and pontoons. So his enormous army has to wait several days for the bridges to be built. In the mean time, CSA General Robert E. Lee is able to dig in on the highest ground around at that being Marye’s Heights near Fredericksburg, Virginia. Burnside’s engineers begin building the pontoon bridge amid swarms of Confederate snipers in the town of Fredericksburg. Burnside ordered artillery fired into Fredericksburg to silence the snipers which all but levels the town but did not silence the snipers. Finally the bridge is completed and three US regiments go into the town and the snipers are finally silenced. On this date, Burnside finally got all of his army across and assembled. A little later Burnside ordered an attack on the dug in Rebs with devastating results. After the battle was complete, the US army had suffered 12,600 casualties to 2,500 Confederates. It is the worst casualty ratio any US army had suffered before or since.

1936 On this date the King of England, Edward VIII abdicated the throne of England after serving less than a year. A few years earlier the then Prince Edward had met with American born socialite Wallis Simpson and had fallen hard for this girl. Wallis was married to a minor American government official and had been previously married and divorced from a US Navy pilot. Prince Edward and Wallis begin a covert relationship which developed into a white-hot affair. Foreign newspapers jumped all over this scandal but the London Times ignored it out of respect for the crown. Edward had started to go to his father King George V to discuss his dilemma but the king died before Edward got to talk with him. With Edward being the eldest son, he was crowned King Edward VIII. In the mean time, Wallis had filed for divorce from her husband in the hopes of marrying Edward. You can be assured that a twice divorced woman would never in a million years be made Queen of England. Queen Mary, Edward’s mother, tried to compromise and offered Edward and Wallis a quasi-marriage whereby they would live together but Wallis would not receive any titles and would not attend any official functions. Wallis and Edward would not buy that arrangement and Edward made a radio address stating that he would give up the throne for “the woman I love”. Soon thereafter Edward’s younger brother became King George VI of England. King George made Edward the Duke of Windsor which made Wallis the Duchess of Windsor. The Duke and Duchess spent the greatest part of their lives in France, Paris in particular. The Duke died in 1972 and was buried at Frogmore cemetery on the grounds of Windsor Castle. The Duchess died in 1986 and was buried at Edward’s side.

1994 The largest Russian military contingent since Afghanistan swarmed across the border with Chechnya to keep this country under the Russian umbrella. The country of Chechnya is within the border of Russia even after the breakup of the Soviet Socialist Republics. Prime Minister Yeltsin and later Prime Minister Putin would have no part of a separate country with their borders. The Russians enjoyed initial success but when they neared the capitol of Grozny things changed. The Chechnya rebels were dug in and waiting. Thousands of Russian soldiers and Chechnya civilians were killed. A cease fire was finally reached and the Russians retreated back into Russia in the knowledge that Chechnya would remain under Russian influence. Soon thereafter many acts of terrorism occurred in Russian that was tracked back to the Chechnya rebels. The Russian army went back into Chechnya to try and purge the country of the hard asses. It did not work; there is still conflict there with no end in sight.

Born today:

1745 US politico John Jay. While acting as US Postmaster he received a request by some jackass that wanted his picture on postage stamps. Jay responded with “We cannot put someone’s picture on stamps unless they are deceased. I therefore suggest that you drop dead.”

Died today:

1897 US educator Lillian Smith. She said “Education is a private matter between the person and a world of knowledge and experience. It has nothing to do with universities and colleges.” This is true. One of my heroes was self taught at home but he was encouraged to proceed when teachers recognized his genius. Sir Isaac Newton is a giant in the catalog of brilliant minds.

Answer to the trivia question: There were 9 Crusades. In the 1^st Crusade there were an estimated 1.7 million casualties counting both civilians and combatants.

             Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow