Notes from around the Human Experience…

WHEN IT’S TIME TO WRITE, IT’S TIME TO WRITE: As noted here before, usually we have an idea for a column before we sit down to write. Today we didn’t, so we dove in to find one, first by checking the headlines.

Turns out there was another mass shooting, this one at a school in Red Bluff, California. This one does not appear to have registered on the collective American radar like others have, probably because only five were killed, a figure which includes the shooter. Wholesale thoughts and prayers are not being issued and Red Bluff will not become part of our national lexicon. There was a time when it would have, but that time has long passed.

We suppose we could have trotted our usual mass shooting column, but it’s gotten regular work the past couple of months. Besides, regular readers of this crap know our feelings on the matter:

We have violent American citizens because we have a violent American government. When we have a government at peace, we will a country – and a world – at peace.

Then we looked to see what was shaking with President Trump. President Trump!

Yawn: The usual crap. Trump long ago established is incapable of governing. He is a liar. He is utterly devoid of the wisdom to produce a long-term vision for this country and if even if he was in possession of it, he would lack the patience to carry it out.

LOL: The funny thing is we knew all this and we elected him anyway.

Dry, Technical Matter: This got us thinking about something we said when it became clear the Obama Administration was merely marking time:

America was on its way to the two worst consecutive terms of presidential leadership in her history.

16 straight years where nothing was done to address the two issues that will eventually destroy us: our endless wars and our staggering national debt. Trump is well on his way to making it 20 years without decent presidential leadership.

We The People: You know what? We can blame incumbents, the media and lobbyists only so much. Every person who has occupied the White House or held a seat in Congress over the years got there because we stamped their passes. The fault for our partisan abnd bickering government that is incapable of doing anything of substance is ours and nobody else’s. We elected everyone there.

Some Philosophy Crap: The good news is the government we deserve is as close as the next election. All it takes is citizens – you and me, we the people – who are concerned and conscientious, participating and demanding who have the courage to hold our leaders accountable.

The Bottom Line: We have a collective responsibility to do just that. We must not be derelict in this duty! Failure to do so will result in the collapse of our once-great nation, probably before this half-century is out. The Great American Experiment will be tossed aside the scrap heap of history with, among others, the Soviet Union and the Roman Empire.

WE THE PEOPLE: THE PREQUEL: The Continental Congress of the United States adopts the Articles of Confederation on this date in 1877.

Fly In The Ointment: Ratification took four years. Twelve states ratified it within fourteen months, but Maryland wanted assurances other states would cede their claims to land west of the Ohio River February and the Maryland legislature did not ratify the Articles until 1781.

Oh Yeah: The Articles reserved most powers for the states and provided for a very limited central government. It ultimately proved unworkable and was replaced by the Constitution in 1789.

USA! USA! Union General William Tecumseh Sherman begins the Savannah Campaign, also known as Sherman’s March to the Sea, in the American Civil War in this date 1864. Beginning in Atlanta, the march would end with the capture of Savannah, Georgia on December 21.

Suck It, Confederacy: The effects were devastating. Railroads, telegraph lines, cotton gins and mills and bridges were destroyed and cattle, mules and crops were confiscated. Sherman himself estimated that about 20 percent of the devastation was put to use by his army, 80 percent wasted.

Great Moments In Mass Murder: The Clutter family of Holcombe, Kansas, father Herb and mother Bonnie and their teenaged children Kenyon and Nancy are murdered in their home on this date in 1959.

Whoops, Our Bad: The killers, Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, had heard in prison from a former Clutter farmhand that the Clutter family had money. They may have, but they weren’t keeping it at their house and Hickock and Smith only got away with $50. They were captured six weeks later in Las Vegas and were executed together in 1965.

FunFact: The entire ordeal is chronicled in a very good book by Truman Capote called In Cold Blood, which as made in a very good movie.

Quotebook: So nigh is grandeur to our dust/So near is God to man/When duty whispers low, Thou must/The youth replies, I can – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Voluntaries

Answer To The Last Trivia Question: Peter the Great’s wife Catherine, known to history as Catherine I, succeeded him as ruler of Russia.

Today’s Stumper: What was the governing document of the United States before the Articles of Confederation?  – Answer next time!

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Notes from around the Human Experience…

CAPSULE BOOK REVIEW: Peter the Great: His Life and Times By Robert K. Massie: For most of the biographies we’ve read over the years we had at least a passing acquaintance with the subject. Not so with Peter the Great. We knew the name and the words “tsar” and “Russia” came to mind and that was about it.

Dry, Technical Matter: Peter the Great ruled Russia from 1682-1725. Up until 1696 he was co-tsar with his half-brother Ivan V and in 1721 he was promoted to Emperor. By any measure, he took Russia from an isolated kingdom with little standing in Europe to a major European power.

Sweden’s King Charles XII could have been given secondary billing, too, because Massie spends no small amount of time on him. As he should have because Russia and Sweden spent  21 years at war, though most of that time they weren’t actually fighting. Known to History as the Great Northern War, it resulted in a Russian victory, not to mention Charles XII’s death.

As a monarch, Peter was the product of his times. He went to war and was faced with the usual intrigues and uprising monarchs faced and retained power by purging, torturing and killing those who got in his way. To be a Russian under Peter the Great wasn’t easy. With wars and new cities and a new navy to pay for Russians were brutally taxed with the only dividend being a hard life.

But they obeyed, and when Peter died he had spent two decades at war and reinvented his nation and left his country no debt. A single generation of Russians carried their tsar on their backs.

Peter did have formal schooling, of course, but to a great extent, Peter was self-educated. He had boundless curiosity and endless energy and he did an excellent job of teaching himself what he wanted to know and put the work in required to find out what he needed to know to be a monarch. And, importantly, knew what both he and his subjects didn’t now, and brought in no small amount of foreigners to provide their knowledge and experience.

Let’s Pause For The Official Daily Dose Rating Scale: A, B, C, D and F, just like in school. We’re tough graders here at your Daily Dose, and A is reserved only for the very best our species can offer. C, actually, is the base rating, a good book deserving of your time. B might seem like second place, but it is actually a work of great merit, perhaps a notch below the very best our species has produced.

Get Your Official Daily Dose Ranking Right Here: B.

Massie has produced one heck of a biography. There are times when you feel you could look up and see Peter – and Charles XII, too – sitting in your living room with you. If you are very knowledgeable about this time and place you will like it, and if you are merely a well-read student of History, you will like it, too. Be advised, Peter the Great: His Life and Times is not short, over 850 pages, which took us a couple of months to get through, but we’re slow readers.

HUT, HUT, HIKE: Sid Luckman of the Chicago Bears breaks the NFL single-game records for most passing yards and most touchdown passes in a 56-7 win over the New York Giants on this date in 1943.

Luckman completed 21 of 32 passes – which was a lot passing in 1943 – for 433 yards and seven touchdowns.

FunFact: The record for touchdown passes in a game still stands, though it has been tied seven other times. The record for most passing yards in a game stood until October 31, 1948, when Sammy Baugh threw for 446 yards.

Oh, Jesus H: The current record is 554 yards, set by Norm Van Brocklin of the Los Angeles Rams in 1951.

USA! USA!: Mariner 9 enters orbit over Mars on this date in 1971, the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. Like any tourist, Mariner 9 wanted to take pictures, but on arrival in Martian orbit a large dust storm was discovered, so picture taking was out off for a couple of months.

Oh Yeah: Mariner 9 was shut off the following October. It’s 7,329 images sent back covered over three-quarters of the Martian surface. It remains in Martian orbit, though it is expected to crash to the surface in 2022.

Quotebook: The tragedy of life is not that man loses, but that he almost wins. – Heywood Broun, American journalist

Answer To The Last Trivia Question: The first five players inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame were Walter Johnson, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner and Christy Mathewson. They were inducted in 1936.

Today’s Stumper: Who succeeded Peter the Great as emperor of Russia?  – Answer next time!

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TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME: Arguing about who should and should not be in baseball’s Hall of Fame used to be great fun, and there was a time when the ten people being considered by the Hall of Fame’s Modern Baseball Committee would have generated some lively debate.

Not anymore. Regular readers of this crap know our thoughts on this: Gary Carter’s election took all the fun out of Hall of Fame arguing because Carter is now the line of demarcation: if you were as good or better than Carter, welcome aboard. If you were not, you are not entitled to enshrinement in Cooperstown.  

Write This Down: Now, we have never said Gary Carter does not belong in the Hall of Fame. On the other hand, we didn’t chair his campaign committee, either. However, when they let Carter in the door was opened pretty wide. There are many players that were as good or better than Carter who deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. 

Dry, Technical Matter: The ten are being considered by the Hall of Fame’s Modern Baseball Committee, one of a handful of committees who meet every few years to consider players, umpires and executives of assorted eras whose eligibility has otherwise passed. They will vote at baseball’s winter meetings in Florida next month.

Get Your Scorecards Ready, It’s Lineup Time: Here are the ten: Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Ted Simmons, Luis Tiant, Alan Trammell and Marvin Miller.

Get Your Official Daily Dose Policy Right Here: We think everyone but Tiant and Miller deserves election. Tiant’s numbers, we’re afraid, are not those of an all-time great. They don’t miss by much, but they do miss. During his lifetime Miller, the former head of the player’s union, said he didn’t particularly want to be considered and we are going to respect that now that he is dead.

Dry, Technical Matter: We are not going to go into the merits of everyone, but we think it’s a shame Steve Garvey wasn’t elected when he was on the regular Hall of Fame ballot: One, he came to play every day, still holding the National League (NL) record for consecutive games played and he was at his best when it was needed, batting .338 in the postseason, with eleven home runs and 31 RBI’s. He played Hall of Fame caliber defense and for several years was one of the top RBI men in the NL.

The Bottom Line: For the others, you merely apply the Carter Criteria: all of them but Tiant were as good or better than Gary Carter and should be elected to the Hall of Fame.

ON THIS DATE! ON THIS DATE! The United States Supreme Court rules Montgomery, Alabama’s bus segregation laws unconstitutional on this date in 1956 when the court affirmed a lower court ruling in the case Browder vs.Gayle.

The ruling would lead to the end of the blacks boycotting Montgomery’s bus service the following month, a boycott that began in December 1955. The boycott had been inspired by, among other things, the arrest of Rosa Parks for refusing to yield her seat to a white person and a previous bus boycott in Louisiana.

You Get The Crosses, I ‘ll Get The Gasoline: Whites in Montgomery did not take this well, causing sufficient trouble so that Montgomery bus service was suspended for a few weeks.

Great Moments In Amityville Horror: Ronald DeFeo, Jr shoots his entire family to death on this date in 1974 in Amityville, New York. The shootings happened at about 3am. After killing his family, DeFeo went to work, then to a bar, where he told patrons he needed help because he thought his family had been shot.

DeFeo originally ran a story about how his family was the victim of a mob hitman up the flagpole, but nobody really believed that and he confessed to the killings the following day. DeFeo pled not guilty by reason of insanity but was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to six concurrent sentences of 25-years-to-life. He is still alive, serving his sentence in a prison in southern New York. All parole requests have been denied.

From The Paris Bureau: Nine perpetrators conducted suicide bombings, mass shootings and a hostage incident in Paris on this date in 2015. The attacks claimed 130 civilian lives and the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Oh Yeah: Seven of the attackers died that day. The other two died a few days later during a police raid. It was the worst attack on French soil since World War II.

Quotebook: The quality of any mans life is a full measure of that persons personal commitment to excellence and to victory, regardless of what field he may be in. – Vince Lombardi

Answer To The Last Trivia Question: The two US Navy admirals who died at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal were rear admirals Daniel Callaghan and Norman Scott. Both received the Medal of Honor for their exploits.

Today’s Stumper: Who were the first five players enshrined in the baseball Hall of Fame?  – Answer next time!

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ELECTION DAY…VOTE EARLY, VOTE OFTEN: We live in a small town. It has a pretty good diner, a bar, a small grocery store and no stop lights. Usual small town stuff.

And we also have a deadlocked election from this past Tuesday with Referendum 3A tied at 427. It’s a tax increase to pay for bonds that would provide matching funds for a potential state grant so the local school district can build new middle and high schools, though there didn’t appear to be any guarantee the local school district would receive the grant.

After the ballots had been counted there were nine ballots whose signatures could not be validated, a total later increased to eleven. I dispatched myself to the courthouse the following day to make sure there wasn’t a problem with mine.

Dry, Technical Matter: There was reason for this. One, a couple of years ago there was a discrepancy with my wife’s signature on her ballot. I  had, thoughtfully though perhaps illegally, signed it for her because she had neglected to. I did this figuring they didn’t check. I  was wrong.

Two, I have a couple of different signatures and I’ve long forgotten which one I  used when I  registered to vote. As it turned out, there wasn’t a problem with my ballot.

Screw The Kids: What’s funny is this measure was one of two tax measures on the ballot and the other one wasn’t even close. Referendum 2A, a tax increase to fund road and sewer plant improvements, passed 325-232. Those of you keeping score at home might note that the numbers show 297 more people voted for 3A than voted for 2A. 

Never Again: What’s funny is my wife and I disagreed on the measures and my wife forgot to vote! You mail in your ballots here – though you can vote in a booth at the county courthouse down the road a spell if you want – and she forgot to drop her ballot off.

For The Record: I dropped off my ballot at the town hall when I paid the water bill. Then I  went to the post office and then to the store, a set of errands that took well less than ten minutes. In a big city it would’ve taken the entire morning.

Please Pass The Dry, Technical Matter: The results won’t be known for a few days. The wizards who can’t sign their name properly have been sent letters and have a few days to hitch up the wagon and go to the courthouse to take of the matter. Supporters of the referendum have said, only half-jokingly, they’d be willing to drive these folks to the courthouse if needed. This was funny because ballots have already been filled out and can’t be changed, so it is entirely possible they’re providing chauffeur services to someone who voted no.

The Bottom Line: Regardless of the race, your vote matters. So vote every single election.

ON THIS DATE! ON THIS DATE!: The bodies of English explorer Robert Falcon Scott and his men, returning from their expedition to the South Pole, are found on the Ross Ice Shelf on this date in 1912.

Scott and four others had reached the South Pole in January only to find that an expedition led by Roald Amundsen had beaten them there. The return journey was not kind and the explorers were forced to spend over a week in their final camp because blizzards made progress impossible.

“I Am Just Going Outside And May Be Some Time.”: Their supplies eventually ran out and their final camp became their graves, except for one explorer who chose to walk outside to his death. A cross marks the site, which is now estimated to have moved about 30 miles from where they actually died.

USA! USA! The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal between the United States and Japan begins in the South Pacific on this date in 1942. It would end three days later in an American victory.

Someone’s Falling On The Sword, Dammit: The loss was devastating to the Japanese. Unable to retake the airfield of provision their troops, many of whom ended up starving, they completed withdrawal from the island the following February.

Great Moments In Freedom Of The Press: The story of the Mai Lai Massacre, a mass killing of unarmed Vietnamese citizens by American troops, becomes public on this date in 1969, in a story by journalist Seymour Hersh. The story was run by the Dispatch News Service (DNS) and appeared in 33 newspapers nationwide. It earned Hersh and DNS the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting.

The massacre was committed by elements of the US Army’s 23rd Infantry Division on March 16th, 1968. 26 soldiers were charged with criminal offenses, though only one, platoon leader William Calley, was convicted. Calley was sentenced to life imprisonment, though a judge ordered him released after three-and-a-half years of house arrest.

Quotebook: We took risks…Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. – Robert Falcon Scott

Answer To The Last Trivia Question: John Young and Gene Cernan are the other humans besides James Lovell to fly to the moon twice. Young landed as part of Apollo 16 and Cernan, the last human to set foot on the moon, commanded Apollo 17.

Today’s Stumper: Two US Navy admirals died in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Who were they?  – Answer next time!

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Notes from around the Human Experience…

TEN HUT!: You know, honestly, we cannot remember Veterans Day being the big deal it is today while growing up. And we come from a family of many veterans.

9/11 changed that, of course, because since 9/11 – when first responders became heroes – the reverence for veterans grew, too. We are routinely thanked for our service now, which never used to happen before 9/11, and on Veterans Day we could scam complimentary meals left and right if moved so to do.

FunFact: We generally don’t go out of our way to do that, though. On the other hand, we don’t throw a tantrum if we find ourselves not presented with a check. 

FunFact II: Like our grandfather Gaylon C Kent, whom we never met, we command our American Legion post.

What A Surprise, Dry, Technical Matter. November 11 has been an American holiday since 1938, born out of the earlier celebrations of the armistice that ended the major fighting in World War I  at 11am on November 11, 1918. Originally known as Armistice Day, it became Veterans Day in 1954.

War Is Hell: Fighting continued right up until the eleventh hour, too. Some units didn’t want to make themselves vulnerable by yielding an advantage while some didn’t want to have to haul their ammo away why others wanted the best possible position should fighting start again. In all, over 2,700 men died on November 11, including a Canadian two minutes before peace took effect and an American at 10:59.  

USA! USA!: Life in the service was pretty routine for most of us. Personally, we served on an old diesel submarine, the USS Blueback, the last diesel combat submarine in the United States Navy. We’re still pretty young and if we get regular exercise and watch between meal treats we one day we might well be the last diesel boat veteran in this country.

Fly In The Ointment: Some, of course, did not serve routine tours. Some died in the service of their country and some contributed exploits we are still talking about today. Some are not entirely pleased with their service and too many are homeless and each day an average of 22 vets will kill themselves, choosing to continue their service on heaven’s parade ground.

The Bottom Line: Looking back at honorable service to your country is one of life’s great prizes. We are the son, brother, grandson, cousin and nephew of veterans and we hardly have an exclusive on that. You’re welcome. It was our privilege.

ON THIS DATE! ON THIS DATE! The first governing document in what would become the United States is signed on board the Mayflower on this date in 1620. Negotiated and signed by the males on board, it sought to maintain order and establish a civil society. 

Oh Yeah: The original Mayflower Compact has been lost, though some copies survive.

Great Moments In Warren G Harding: The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, also known as the Tomb of the Unknowns, is dedicated at Arlington National Cemetery on this date in 1921 with President Warren G Harding presiding over the ceremony. Congress had authorized the burial of an unknown serviceman at Arlington the previous March but, Congress being Congress, did not bother to fund the completion of the tomb until 1926.

The tomb was first guarded in 1925, by civilians and the military took it over the following year and it has been guarded continuously since 1937. Today the tomb is guarded by soldiers from the Army’s 3rd US Infantry Regiment, colloquially known as the Old Guard.

FunFact III: Tomb Guards walk their post in a uniform devoid of rank, so as not to outrank the Unknowns they are guarding.

3…2…1…Blastoff: Gemini 12, the 18th manned American spaceflight, takes off from Florida on this date in 1966. It was commanded by James Lovell and piloted by Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin.

Among other things, Lovell and Aldrin continued Gemini’s pioneering work on rendezvous and docking and space and Aldrin made three spacewalks. Gemini 12 also showed that a spacecraft could conduct and automated re-entry.

Both Lovell and Aldrin would return to space with Apollo. Lovell was part of Apollo 8, her crew the first humans to see the far side of the moon. Lovell also commanded the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, making him the only person to fly to the moon twice and not make a landing.

Aldrin was the second human to set foot on the moon, as part of Apollo 11.

Write This Down: The importance of Project Gemini cannot be underestimated. It developed the space travel techniques that provided the foundation for the lunar landings of the Apollo program.

Quotebook:  A very little luck might have carried me to the highest of all prizes or have ended the game. – Winston Churchill, letter to his mother from the Second Boer War, 1897

Answer To The Last Trivia Question: The US Africa Command is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany.

Today’s Stumper: Who are the other two humans to fly to the moon twice?  – Answer next time!

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