Notes from around the Human Experience…

GAYLON FOR CONGRESS…VOTE EARLY, VOTE OFTEN: Sometimes, probably in my role as a past candidate for both the United States Senate and House of Representatives, I‘ll get asked what we can do in the current political climate, which is that of a partisan, fractured and bickering government. My answer is always the same: PAY ATTENTION. Pay attention to what our government is, and is not, doing for us.

Dry, Technical Matter: Right now is a good time to pay attention because the United States Senate will soon begin debate on the National Defense Authorization Act, which mainly details how the Pentagon will go about its work in the next fiscal year. Senator Rand Paul is offering an amendment to the act that would repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists (AUMF), a separate act passed by Congress in the days following 9/11. The AUMF allowed the president to act unilaterally in using military force against those he deemed responsible for the attacks.

Fly In The Ointment: Since then, however, the act has been used to justify the use of American force wherever we choose to use it. It has been used to authorize actions in 14 countries and on the high seas.

This is wrong. The Constitution is very clear on the matter, with Article I, Section 8 stating, in part:

The Congress shall have Power To…declare War…

This was not an accident. There was virtually little desire at the Constitutional Convention to empower the chief executive to unilaterally declare war. Congress, despite the fact America has been at war for most of our existence, and continually since 1989, has only declared war five times over the centuries, none of them since 1942, a fact which surprises some people. 

We The People: This is where you and I come in. We must get involved. If you approve of the AUMF, great. We’re glad you’ve given it the thought required to form an informed opinion. We merely disagree on the matter and it is differences of opinion like this that makes horse racing so exciting.

OTOH: If you do not approve of the AUMF, get involved and let your representatives know. Now is the time for us to pay attention to what our leaders are doing – and not doing – for our country and to let them know how we feel. For too long we have given our leaders carte blanche to do what they want. The time has come for us to hold our leaders accountable. 

Please Pass The Dry, Technical Matter: No nation has survived perpetual war and America is not going to be the exception. America has been at war continuously since 1989 and there is no prospect of peace, the only dividend war is providing is more war. By forcing Congress to resume its Constitutional duties of declaring war, America will be a more peaceful nation because if Congress actually has to put the thought that is required into declaring war, we don’t think they’d do it unless there is a direct threat to our way of life. American meddling in other countries will stop.

The Bottom Line: Having one person in charge of deciding when we go to war is neither in step with the letter or the spirit of the Constitution and it is not in the spirit of a nation conceived in liberty. We can do better, but we have to let our leaders know we want better.

USA! USA!: In the War of 1812, the British attack but fail to capture Baltimore, Maryland on this date in 1814. The attack began in the morning and would continue until the following morning. When the smoke cleared and a lawyer named Francis Scott Key saw the American flag still waving he was so moved by the sight he wrote a poem about it called The Defence of Fort M’Henry. Some music from an old English drinking song would later be added and the result, The Star Spangled Banner, would become the national anthem of the United States in 1931.

FunFact: Key was moved to write four verses to his poem, though only the first verse is customarily played.

The Cold War: A Simpler Time: Nikita Khrushchev is appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party on this date 1953. He would serve until thrown out in a bloodless coup by Leonid Brezhnev and associates in 1964. Kruschev did not handle his forced retirement well. He fell into depression and in 1965 had his pension reduced, though it was still comfortable by Soviet standards, and was obliged to move to a small home. He died in 1971.

Those Zany Soviets: Man reaches the moon for the first time when Luna 2, a Soviet spacecraft, crashes on the lunar surface on this date in 1959. About a half hour later the rocket carrying Luna 2 crashed on the moon.

Uh-Oh: Up to that time, the closest the United States had gotten to the moon was Pioneer 4, which had gotten within 34,000 miles of the moon the previous March.

Quotebook: Originality does not consist in saying what no one has ever said before, but in saying exactly what you think yourself. – James Stephens, Irish poet (1882-1950)

Answer To The Last Trivia Question: Benito Mussolini was attempting to flee to Switzerland when he was arrested in 1945.

Today’s Stumper:  When the Civil War broke out a fifth verse was added to The Star Spangled Banner. Who wrote this fifth verse? – Answer next time!

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Notes from around the Human Experience…

FROM YE OLDE BALLYARDS: Monday night the Cleveland Indians continued the second-longest winning streak this century, defeating the Detroit Tigers 11-0. The Indians have won 19 straight games, one less than the 2002 Oakland A’s won, a streak which established a new American League record.  In the process, the Indians have run away with the American League Central, going from 5.5 games up on the Minnesota Twins to 13.5 games up.

Get Out Your Record Books: If they keep winning, the Indians would tie and break the record in Anaheim against the Angels on September 19 and 20.

This Isn’t More Dry, Technical Matter, Is It?: The most consecutive games won without a loss in major league history is 26, done by the New York Giants in 1916. There was a tie in there, but baseball doesn’t include tie games in standings and replayed them whenever possible, although individual stats were counted.

Oh Jesus, H: The 1935 Chicago Cubs hold the ML record for most consecutive wins, no ties, with 21.

As Long As Your Record Books Are Out: The Los Angeles Dodgers might well be in the process of blowing the biggest lead in baseball history. Once 21 games up on the Arizona Diamondbacks – 21 games! In August, no less! – they have lost ten straight and 15 out of 16 and are now 9.5 games up on Arizona, still a sizable margin but if you don’t think the Dodgers are checking their rear view mirror, you are deluding yourself. 

There have been some majestic collapses in baseball over the decades, but blowing a 21-game lead would be unprecedented, even for the Dodgers who blew a 13.5 game lead in 1951, found themselves in a best-of-three playoff with the Giants and lost the pennant in three games.

Still, though, the Dodgers were so good before they started losing ten straight and 15 out of 16 they still have the best record in the majors, though Cleveland and Washington each have 88 wins and are four games back for the best record mark.

More From The Dodgers Were So Good Department: The Dodgers previous 15 losses came between June 1 through August 23.  

Make Your Ticket Plans Now: So far only the Washington Nationals have clinched a playoff spot, having won the National League East, and, thanks to each league having two wild card playoff berths, only San Francisco and Philadelphia have been eliminated. 

Somebody Get Him A Crying Towel: We’re still going to whine about this: having each wild card team meet in a one-game playoff looks more like the high school regionals than anything a professional league would play. And, as long as we are on the subject of the baseball playoffs, if you are going to make teams potentially travel twice during a series, please play a best-of-seven series instead of a best-of-five, like you do in the first round. Making teams travel twice in a best-of-five series is silly.

ON THIS DATE! ON THIS DATE! Adolph Hitler, then a soldier with limited education and prospects, joins the German Workers Party – the precursor to the Nazi Party – on this date in 1919. That night Hitler attended a party meeting at a beer hall, got into an argument, won it, and was invited to join by party leaders. He quickly became a popular speaker and organizer and was instrumental in changing the party’s name to the Nazi Party the following year.

FunFact…Unless You Were Jewish: Hitler really wanted to form his own party, but his resources were limited and he figured – correctly as it turned out – that he could eventually take over the party.

More From The Hitler Desk: On a mission ordered by Adolf Hitler, former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini is rescued from house arrest on this date in 1943. Mussolini had been arrested in July and Hitler had planned to arrest the Italian king and his government, but they had fled. Supported by Nazi Germany, Mussolini would pretend to be in charge until his fellow Italians arrested and executed him in April 1945.

“This Country Was Conquered By Those Who Moved Forward…”: President John F Kennedy gives a speech reaffirming America’s commitment to landing a man on the moon by the end of the 1960’s at Rice University on this date in 1962.

“If We Shall Do All This, And Do It Right, And Do It First…Then We Must Be Bold”: If you haven’t read the whole thing – and who hasn’t really? – then treat yourself and go and do so. The speech is pure Kennedy, thoughtful yet accessible, with a touch of humor.

Quotebook: The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time, and no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in the race for space. – John F Kennedy, 35th president of the United States, speech at Rice University, 9/12/63

Answer To The Last Trivia Question: Ty Cobb broke Cap Anson’s record of 3,435 hits in 1923.

Today’s Stumper:  When Benito Mussolini was arrested in 1945, he was attempting to flee to another country. Which country was he trying to flee to? – Answer next time!

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Notes from around the Human Experience…

CIRCLE THE DATE: We don’t know what you have scheduled for December 9, 2021, but Lawrence Landrum, of the Ohio Landrums, has his death penciled in for that date.

Usually, the setting of an execution date doesn’t draw our attention but one four years, three months and one day – 1,553 days – away did. We are fairly well read on this matter and it seemed to us an execution date four years in the future seemed like an awfully long time.

Bingo: Some research shows it is. Texas is scheduled to execute William Rayford this coming January and Ohio is the only state to have executions scheduled after that. 

FunFact: Almost interesting is the fact Landrum’s execution date isn’t even the farthest out! John Drummond’s execution is scheduled for June 2022.

Dry, Technical Matter: In 2014 Ohio switched to two chemicals to kill inmates when it had trouble finding suppliers for some of the drugs it used in its other concoction. When those two chemicals resulted in a 26-minute execution where the inmate, Dennis McGuire, spent most of that time gasping for breath, Ohio put a moratorium on executions until it could come up with what appeared to be a better way to kill its condemned.

The new three-drug combination was challenged in court by the inmates it was going to be used on and this past January a federal magistrate granted an injunction against Ohio using it. This ruling was upheld in April but in June the Sixth US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 8-6 that Ohio could use their new system, a decision that was later upheld when the US Supreme Court declined to get involved. This led Governor John Kasich to reschedule 19 executions and Ohio is already back in the swing of things, executing Ronald Phillips on July 26 with Gary Otte scheduled to die this Wednesday. 

Is There A Point To All This?: No, not really. We do not see the point to scheduling executions four years in advance. In a news release, Kasich’s office said the executions were rescheduled:

…to ensure Ohio would meet the goal of conducting court-ordered executions in a humane and professional manner.

This makes no sense, even by government press release standards. They need years to do this? It is presumed, though we were unable to find out for sure, that all 19 inmates have appeals remaining. If they didn’t, their executions would have been scheduled for next week. Kasich, however, is no dummy. His state is staunchly Republican and he knows that in Donald Trump’s America it is important to look tough even if there is little substance behind your posturing. Scheduling executions for four years down the road is pointless. Appeals could be upheld or even not heard by the time these execution dates roll around and it would not surprise us if few if any, inmates die as scheduled.

More Death Penatly Crap: Several years advance notice does seem better than how they do it in Japan, however. There a convict gets 30 minutes notice of his death.

In Japan you are tried, convicted, sentenced, you run your appeals up the flagpole and then you wait. You are not given an execution date. The morning of your death they come and get you and you are allowed to produce a will and pray to whomever you feel will do you the most good.

Then you’re taken to die. Your loved ones will be notified later.

Gaylon For Congress…Vote Early, Vote Often: Anyone who has followed our campaigns for the United States Senate and House of Representatives knows we are opposed to the death penalty because we have executed innocent people. If you are unwilling to believe this, consider that a state can keep a prisoner locked up for 50 years for, and this estimate is high, $1.5 million.

OTOH: While costs are hardly fixed, most executions end up costing states – and this estimate is low – $10 million to put someone to death. It’s cheaper to keep inmates alive than it is to kill them. 

ON THIS DATE! ON THIS DATE! American patriot Nathan Hale volunteers for a spying mission that would lead to his death on this date in 1776.

Hale, 21, was a captain in the 19th Regiment of the Continental Army and his mission saw him go behind British lines in New York City. He was captured on September 21 and executed the following day. History declined to note for certain if Hale actually said that he regretted he had but one life to give to his country.

Fly In The Ointment: Accounts about how Hale was discovered differ. One says Hale was recognized, despite his disguise as a school teacher seeking work, and another says states Hale was betrayed by a cousin who was a loyalist.

Shoot First, Ask Questions Later: Nineteen striking immigrant coal miners are shot and killed in near Hazleton, Pennsylvania on this date in 1897.

Strikes had been going at the Lattimer mine for about a month. The first one had ended on August 23 when mine operators agreed to raises, overtime pay and the right for workers to see the doctors of their choice. Another strike began on September 3, however, eventually resulting in over 8,000 miners going on strike, shutting down several mines.

On September 10 between 300-400 miners marched to the Lattimer mine, which was still open, to support the newly formed United Mine Workers. This did not go well for the strikers, as they were met by 150 sheriff’s deputies. They were ordered to disperse and a deputy attempted to grab an American flag a striker was holding. A scuffle ensued and other deputies started firing, despite the fact the strikers, almost all from eastern Europe, were unarmed. All were shot in the back.

FunFact: The sheriff and 73 of his deputies were arrested and tried, but all were acquitted.

More Great Moments In Executing People: France uses the guillotine for the last time on this date in 1977, chopping off the head of Hamida Djandoubi, originally from Tunisia. Djandoubi had been convicted of the kidnapping, torture and murder of his former girlfriend.

“He Asked The Prisoner If He Wanted A Drink And Poured Him Half A Glass…”: An eyewitness account by a French judge assigned to provide one stated Djandoubi was given a cigarette and a shot of rum before being escorted to his death. If Djandoubi had any last words besides asking for one last cigarette – a requested that was denied because it was plain Djandoubi was stalling – they weren’t recorded.

Justice was swift back then. Djandoubi had been sentenced the previous February.

Quotebook: The only graceful way to accept an insult is to ignore it; if you can’t ignore it, top it; if you can’t top it, laugh at it; if you can’t laugh at it, it is probably deserved. – Russell Lynes

Answer To The Last Trivia Question: Nelson Rockefeller was the governor of New York who ordered state police to retake the Attica Correctional Facility by force to end the Attica prison riots in 1971.

Today’s Stumper:  How many people have been executed in America since executions resumed in 1977? – Answer next time!

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