The Daily Dose – February 2, 2017
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The Daily Dose – February 2, 2017
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
GAYLON FOR CONGRESS…VOTE EARLY, VOTE OFTEN: One interesting aspect of the Trump Administration is the effect it will have on the future of the Republican Party.
It was also an interesting aspect of his candidacy. At first, we thought a Trump loss would spell the end of the GOP. Now, though, Trump’s victory might well spell the end of the Party of Lincoln.
Please Stand By: Maybe not today or next week. But it’s hard to believe there won’t come a time when some in the GOP won’t say enough, fear and ignorance are not what our country or our party are about and bolt.
Dry, Technical Matter: The Republican Party was founded in 1854, after the Whig Party dissolved. It came to power in 1860, when it took control of both houses of Congress and Abraham Lincoln was elected president. Donald Trump is the 19th Republican president.
Get Your Official Daily Dose Policy Right Here: Plot Lincoln and Trump on a graph and you have a line going straight down.
Great Moments In Trump: President Trump got Black History Month off to a rousing start by speaking of Fredrick Douglass as still being alive.
More Dry, Technical Matter: FredericDouglassss was an American slave who escaped to freedom. He has been quoted here from time to time, and his Narrative of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave is one hell of a book. Douglass died in 1895, well before Trump took office.
Back On Message: Yeah, we know about the Libertarian Party. We’ve run for both the United States Senate and the United States House under their banner. Without exception, every Libertarian wants good things for our country.
Our country, however, has always been indifferent to the LP. We’ve never been entirely sure why. I have found there is a bit of libertarian in all of us and, as we like to say, it’s difficult to argue with us on the issues because we’re right.
Part of the reason is this has always been a two-party country, even back before the founding of this republic, when there really weren’t political parties. Third parties have never made a long-term dent in the American landscape.
Another is human nature. It is human nature to stick with what’s familiar and the Republicans and the Democrats are nothing if not familiar. If good men with big names like Ron Paul and Gary Johnson could not get the LP in the game, it’s unlikely the LP will become anything more than it is now.
The Bottom Line: So we’ll see. Trump has not only divided the country he is dividing his party, and the damage might get so bad it can’t be repaired and there might be another party with some powerful names on the ballot for the 2018 midterms.
GREAT MOMENTS IN NEW YORK CITY: New York City, then known as New Amsterdam, is incorporated on this date in 1653. It would become New York City in 1664.
Aichiwawa: The Mexican-American War ends on this date in 1848 with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in what is now a part of Mexico City. The United States won and took over half of Mexico’s pre-war territory, which included all or parts of ten current American states. Mexican citizens in the conceded area were given one year to choose to stay and accept American citizenship or return to Mexico.
Play Ball: The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs is formed in New York City on this date in 1876. It would begin play in April with teams in New York City, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Hartford, Louisville, St Louis and Cincinnati.
The National League is still in operation, of course, and is the world’s oldest professional sports league.
Oh Yeah: The Chicago Cubs, then known as the White Stockings, and the Atlanta Braves, then known as the Boston Red Stockings, are the only original teams still in the league. Though the NL has teams in New York, Cincinnati, St Louis, and Philadelphia, the original teams folded and new franchises joined the league.
Thought For The Day: They tell us, sir, that we are weak…But when shall we be stronger?…Will it be when we are totally disarmed?…We are not weak, if we make proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. – Patrick Henry, Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death speech to the Virginia legislature, 3/23/1775
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: There! I’ve Said It Again By Bobby Vinton was number one the week before I Want To Hold Your Hand.
Today’s Stumper: What is the second oldest professional baseball league in the United States? – Answer next time!
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The Daily Dose – February 1, 2017
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The Daily Dose – February 1, 2017
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
IF TRUMP IS INEVITABLE: All right, collectively we signed up for four years of President Trump.
Insert Your Own Tasteless Trump Joke Here: It doesn’t mean we have to take him lying down, though. Already scatter bands of protesters are popping up around the country. As they should. President Trump has introduced even more things for us citizens to protest.
Fly In The Ointment: But some relatively scattered protestors can’t do it alone. If America is going avoid the shackles of ignorance and fear the Trump Administration has for us, it’s going to take a team effort.
Where The Hell’s America?: Forget great. America is too far gone right now to be able to even wave at greatness. Right now, we should try to make America America again.
Leading Off: Let’s start with our media. You can blame angry, white, middle-aged males for President Trump only so much. The media is as much to blame for President Trump as your average Waffle House patron.
First, the media took Trump seriously when he announced his candidacy for the GOP nomination. They shouldn’t have, of course, but Trump meant ratings and clicks. A real media, one that took its First Amendment responsibilities as seriously as their obligation to their bottom line, would have properly vetted Trump and had him out of the GOP race in a couple of weeks.
The media has been derelict in its duty since Woodward and Bernstein felled the Nixon Administration. They can make up for all this by, for starters, calling “lies” “lies” instead of “misinformation” and “fake news”. From there they can actually resume real reporting, instead of depending on handouts from press offices.
Oh Yeah: The Congress can get a backbone again. Congress right now is so fractured and so bogged down in partisan bickering the GOP-controlled Congress is likely to rubberstamp everything Trump wants just to annoy the Democrats.
Dry Technical Matter: This is our loss because the Trump Administration has many monstrous but seriously held beliefs that will do this country some zero good and a lot of damage. Deep down, there has to be a lot of Republicans in both the House and the Senate that know this. If America is going to become America again, we need some rational GOP leaders to stand up and be counted.
Yeah, Yeah, Whatever: Finally, we need an American electorate that, regardless of party affiliation, are concerned, participating and demanding at the ballot box in 2018.
Let’s be honest, right now the American electorate is none of those things. We are content to return virtually every incumbent to office despite the fact all we get in return is substandard government.
The Bottom Line: America, and the world, are feeling the effects of this right now: a disinterested American electorate has produced a fractured, dysfunctional and most of all violent American government which in turn has produced a fractured, dysfunctional and violent world.
UH, THANKS, ABE: President of the United States Abraham Lincoln signs the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution on this date in 1865, one day after it had been approved by the House of Representatives. The United States Senate had approved the Amendment the previous spring, and it would be ratified by the states by early December.
LOL: What’s funny is the president plays no role whatsoever in the amendment process and his signature was about as necessary as that of the White House butler’s. The amendment would’ve been sent to the several states for ratification even if he hadn’t signed it and Lincoln remains the only president to sign a ratified amendment.
And So It Begins: The Beatles get their first number one song in America on this date in 1964 when I Want To Hold Your Hand moves from number three into the top spot. It would spend seven weeks at number one. Eight weeks later the Beatles would become the only act besides Elvis to replace themselves at number one when She Loves You went to the top. After two weeks at number one, Can’t Buy Me Love moved into the top spot, and the Beatles are still the only act to replace themselves at number one twice.
Say Cheese: One of mankind’s most iconic photographs is taken on this date in 1969 when Associated Press photographer Eddie Adams takes a picture of Viet Cong Captain Nguyen Van Lem being shot in the head by South Vietnamese Police Chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan on a Saigon street.
The photograph would earn Adams the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography.
Thought For The Day: To listen well is as powerful a means of communication and influence as to talk well. – John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States, 1801-1835
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: The last Trivia question – What the hell’s going on here? – was rhetorical. No answer was expected.
Today’s Stumper: What song did I Want To Hold Your Hand replace at #1? – Answer next time!
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The Daily Dose – January 30, 2017
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The Daily Dose/January 30, 2017
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
KEEP EXPECTATIONS LOW AND NO ONE WILL BE TOO DISAPPOINTED: Oh dear me, this is bad. First, the building of a wall to keep evil Mexicans out, now Muslims are being detained and, in some cases, being denied entry into America.
Bad, but not particularly surprising. I mean, President Trump – President Trump! – is merely following through on things Candidate Trump pledged to do. Nothing he has done or will do, should be a bulletin.
Let’s Review, Shall We?: The immigrant has always been the backbone of this country. Anyone who denies that is either ignoring the history lessons they learned in school or never learned them in the first place.
Dry, Technical Matter: It’s not going to work anyway. Detaining some Muslims or not allowing them to enter isn’t going to stop anyone from attacking us.
Get Your Official Daily Dose Policy Right Here: The only action America can take to make the world safer is to stop meddling in other nation’s affairs! We’ve created a violent world because we are a violent nation. People can say this and people can say that, but you can’t really argue with that statement. America has been at war continuoulsy since 1989 and the damage is as widepsread as it is catastrophic.
Ladies And Gentlemen Of The Jury: If America had spent the past generation giving other nations the dignity of conducting their affairs without our interference would this even be an issue?
We’ll Field This One: Of course it wouldn’t. If America were not meddling in other nation’s affairs the Twin Towers would still be standing and ISIS would be a comic book figure.
USA! USA! Retreating into fear and ignorance are not the actions a country ready to lead the world. Honestly, they are the actions of a nation entering the far turn of their last lap.
We’ve said this before:
America will fold up its tent and call it day before this half-century is out if we do not make substantive changes to the way we are governed.
Nothing that has happened in the first few days of the Trump Administration has done anything to change that. We are still mired in perpetual war and mindless debt. We remain a second-rate nation that has lost its way.
DUDE, I WAS JUST TRYING TO MAKE A BUCK: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet makes its debut on this date in 1595 at London’s Curtain Theatre. It was very popular in in Shakespeare’s time and, along with Hamlet, remains one of his most-produced plays.
Well, That Didn’t Work: The first attempted assassination of a US president occurs on this date in 1835 when Richard Lawrence tries to shoot Andrew Jackson. Lawrence was waiting for Jackson outside the US Capitol building and twice attempted to shoot Jackson, however both his pistols misfired.
Take That, You Punk: Jackson then proceeded to beat the snot out of Lawrence with his cane, at least until others intervened.
Dry, Technical Matter: Lawrence was tried and found not guilty by reason of insanity and spent the rest of his life in assorted mental institutions.
I Do Solemnly Swear To Try And Take Over The World…And Kill Jews: Adolph Hitler is sworn in as Chancellor of Germany on this date in 1933. He was appointed by German President Klaus von Hindenburg and would serve until his death in April, 1945.
This Assassination Succeeded: Continuing History’s long tradition of executing the truly good, Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandi is assassinated on this date in 1948, shot to death before entering a prayer meeting. A malcontent named Nathuram Godse shot Gandi three times at point-blank range. Godse and conspirator would be tried and executed the following year despite pleas to have his sentence commuted from Gandi’s two sons
Thought For The Day: It is natural for man to indulge in the illusion of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth… – Patrick Henry, from his “give me liberty or give me death” speech to Virginia legislature, 3/323/1775
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: Signalman First Class Douglas Munro is the only member of the Coast Guard to earn the Medal of Honor.
Today’s Stumper: What the hell’s going on here? – Answer next time!
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The Daily Dose/January 28, 2017
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The Daily Dose/January 28, 2017
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
MY FELLOW AMERICANS: Friends, we are a week into the Trump Administration and hold on to your hats. It will be a lot of things, but it probably is not going to be dull. The Mexican Wall Episode is illustrating that brilliantly.
Leading Off: First, even the most die-hard Trump supporter has to know the idea is folly. The border is already walled and fenced in places. Where it’s not it’s either because the terrain is not conducive to building a wall or there is not sufficient illegal activity to warrant it or, as likely as not, both.
Batting Second: Second, we can’t afford it. Come on, it’s a government project. Estimates are always low and projects are always over budget and anyone who thinks this will cost less than $25 billion is deluding themselves.
Dry, Technical Matter: Three, if you believe the rhetoric about making Mexico pay for it, you are high. Some headlines blabbed we would “tax” Mexico, but Mexico is a sovereign nation and we can’t tax Mexico any more than we tax the moon. We can charge tariffs on their imports, which is a lousy idea because companies will merely pass this expense off on us consumers, which makes it a tax on us. As a result, Mexican businesses will do less business here in the US, making it more difficult for some there, meaning more people will try to come to our country.
LOL: Later, the White House amended the 20 percent tariff line and said we would be “reimbursed” though, as usual for anything Trump, no specifics were offered.
Back On Message: Four, building a wall it’s not particularly practical. A lot of the land on the border is privately owned. We went through this in the Bush Administration. There will be lawsuits. Even if we could build this for ten bucks, the lawsuits would mean construction wouldn’t begin for years anyway. This whole thing is childish and makes no sense.
The Bottom Line: We’re entitled to specifics. We’re entitled to a cogent, well thought out plan. Trump is offering neither of these things. He gives every impression of governing off the top of his head.
Gaylon For Congress…Vote Early, Vote Often: We’ve said this before, both in this space and on the campaign trail:
America will collapse before this half-century is out if we do not make substantive changes to the way we are governed.
It is not reasonable to expect the Trump Administration to do anything to stem that tide.
More Bottom Line Crap: We are entitled to better government, but we took a pass on that at the ballot box last November. As long as we stay on our toes and pay attention to what our government is doing to us, we might be OK. We might not. But we must pay attention and start holding our leaders accountable.
LONG LIVE THE KING: Henry VIII, King of England, dies on this date in 1547 after a reign of 37 eventful and tumultuous years, especially if you were on of his six wives. He was succeeded by Edward VI, the first of three monarchs he fathered.
Great Moments Is British Motoring: English bloke Walter Arnold enters the history books as the first person to be convicted of speeding on this date 1896. He was fined one shilling, plus the universal court costs, for driving 8 mph in a 2 mph zone.
Always Ready: The United States Coast Guard is organized as such on this date in 1915. Originally formed in 1790 as the Revenue Marine, it would later be known as the US Revenue Cutter Service, which was merged with the United States Life-Saving Service to form the Coast Guard.
FunFact: It remains America’s oldest continuing sea-going service.
Oh Jesus H: The space shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after liftoff on this date in 1986. Seven astronauts died and the space shuttle would not fly again for two-and-a-half years.
A Warm, Personal Remembrance: We were out at sea, underwater on an old diesel submarine the USS Blueback when this happened. A radioman named Scott Brown came into the control room and said he wasn’t entirely sure what happened, but he just heard the tail end of a radio broadcast that said they were still searching the Atlantic for survivors.
Thought For The Day: I wish to make it so broad, and so clear, that no honest man can misunderstand me, and no dishonest one, successfully misrepresent me. – Abraham Lincoln
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: Ice hockey in the Olympics was first contested at the 1920 Summer Games in Antwerp, Belgium. Canada, represented by the Winnipeg Falcons, won the gold medal, the US took the silver and Czechoslovakia took the bronze.
Today’s Stumper: How many members of the Coast Guard have won the Medal of Honor? – Answer next time!
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