The Daily Dose/January 27, 2025
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

USA! USA!: The flurry of executive orders signed by President Trump in his first days in office has been enormous. It brings up a couple of thoughts. 

One, what the hell is Congress doing? Many of these measures either revoke laws already passed by Congress or are matters Congress should act on. We can also quibble about whether or not we agree with them. 

Dry, Technical Matter: What you cannot argue with is their legality. The Constitution is very clear on the matter, giving the president full executive power and mandating that he faithfully execute US law, though some of Trump’s orders countermand and do not execute US law. 

Now Hear This: Executive orders are almost as old as the presidency itself, with President George Washington issuing the first one within a few weeks of taking office in 1789. 

Get Your Official Daily Dose Policy Right Here: Still, though, executive fiat is not the way this country is meant to be governed: it is not the purpose of the American government to use executive orders to force-feed specific policies and doctrines down everybody’s throat.  

Fly In The Ointment: Executive orders must be in accordance with both the Constitution and established federal law. Some of Trump’s are not, and the courts are already involved. America may well spend the next four years in court, making us even more hamstrung than our partisan, fractured, and bickering country already is. 

The Bottom Line: We deserve better than this, but we didn’t elect better than this. We elected lies, ignorance, and incompetence, even though we knew better. We deserve everything we get in the next four years. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

It’s Read Free Fortnight at The Diary.

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow goes out to eat. Today’s Diary. 

Our first stop was the Mexican joint where the big news was a whole new crew was there…

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Of course you would.
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It’s easy reading on any device. 

———

On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it. 

In 2009 – Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is removed from office following conviction in his trial by the Illinois Senate. The Illinois Assembly had impeached Blagojevich in December following a federal indictment on charges stemming from favors solicited while filling a vacant US Senate seat. Blagojevich would later serve eight years in federal prison after conviction on 17 charges and he remains the only Illinois governor to be impeached and removed from office. He was the fifth US governor so removed. 

In 1995 – The San Francisco 49ers win the Super Bowl, defeating the San Diego Chargers 49-26 in Miami. It was the fifth and most recent Super Bowl title for the 49ers and remains the only Super Bowl appearance for the Chargers. It was the seventh of a record eleven Super Bowls hosted by Miami and remains the only Super Bowl where the teams played their home games in the same state. The combined ten combined touchdowns remain a Super Bowl record. 

In 2011 – Britney Spears is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the only week with Hold It Against Me. It was the 20th of 24 Top 40 hits for Spears, her tenth of twelve Top 10 hits, and was her fourth and most recent #1 song. The song also went to #1 in five other countries, including Denmark and Finland, peaked at #6 in Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 60th-biggest song of the year. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

The longest way must have its close, – the gloomiest night will wear on to a morning.
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

Construction on the Panama Canal began in 1881, by the French. This attempt failed in 1889. Construction by the US began in 1904. 

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.

How many teams lost the only Super Bowl they have played in? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/January 27, 2025
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

CAPSULE BOOK REVIEW: Paul Revere’s Ride by David Hacket Fischer: One of the treasures of reading is finding out things you didn’t know before on subjects you a little bit about. We are moderately well-read on the Revolution and were pleased to learn many things we hadn’t known before.

Dry, Technical Matter: Paul Revere was an American patriot from Boston who actively supported the American cause by helping organize intelligence and alarm systems that warned patriots of British troop movements. A silversmith by trade, he was 40 at the start of the Revolution and lived 83 useful years. His place in American folklore for midnight ride is both well-earned and a tad exaggerated. 

The British Are Coming: For example, we learned Revere was not the only one riding that night, and he never said “The British are coming”. 

The British Are Already Here: Our favorite tidbit we found concerned Revere getting caught and interrogated by the British while on his midnight ride. Revere was riding with two others when they ran into a British patrol. The other two escaped, but Revere didn’t and likely survived for two reasons: one, he was unarmed, and, two, he told the truth. This included details of the British operation field commanders didn’t even know and was later released, more as a practical matter than anything. 

Fly In The Ointment: Fans of detailed analyses of orders of battle and whatnot will thrill at the in-depth accounts of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Those who, like us, prefer a more big-picture aspect may see their eyes glaze over at times. 

Get Your Official Daily Dose Rating Scale Right Here: 1 – The very best; 2 – Very good; 3 – Good; 4 – OK; 5- A steaming pile.

Final Rating: 2: Thoroughly and brilliantly researched and personably written, Fischer did his work very well. Everyone from general readers to history buffs to Revolution scholars will enjoy it, and everyone will enjoy getting to know the Americans and British who attended the start of the American Revolution. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow has the latest Morning Coffee Service news. Today’s Diary. 

The big news – and it is HUGE – is there are now three – three!!! – water pots for Morning Coffee Service…I am not making that up…

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Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.

Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

———

On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it. 

In 1855 – The American continent is crossed for the first time when the Panama Railway runs between Colon on the Atlantic coast to Panama City on the Pacific coast. The railroad ties were laid initially on pine crossties, which quickly rotted in the jungle and were replaced with a harder wood known as lignum vitae. First-class fare was $25, a bit more than $900 in today’s money, while second-class passage was $10. 

In 1988 – Michael Adams of the Denver Nuggets begins a streak of an NBA-record 88 games with one 3-point basket in a 122-113 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Adams had three 3-pointers to begin a streak that would not end until Jan 23, 1989. Dana Barros broke the record with 89 in 1995-96 and the record is now 268 consecutive games by Stephen Curry from December 2018 through December 2023. 

In 1978 – The soundtrack from Saturday Night Fever by various artists is at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart for the second of 24 consecutive weeks. The album produced eight chart singles and four #1s. The album went to #1 in numerous other countries including Sweden, Norway, and Great Britain, produced eight chart singles and four #1s, and was Billboard’s #1 album of 1978 and its 27-biggest of 1979.  

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

…she was saved by the native shrewdness that goes hand in hand with personal ambition.
Ursula Curtiss
Letter of Intent

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

The only explorers to die in space were Soviet cosmonauts Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev, who died when their Soyuz 11 capsule depressurized before reentry. 

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.

When did construction on the Panama Canal begin? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/January 26, 2025
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

Leading Off  will return.

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow tolerates some blabbing at the hotel. Today’s Diary. 

Boy, Madam Blab was in rare form tonite…She blabbed so much she made the Gabby Chat Vortex (GCV) – itself a credible standard for measuring yappiness – seem like a mausoleum…

———

Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.

Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

———

On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it. 

In 1967 – What would later be called Apollo 1 catches fire and kills all three astronauts during a cabin fire during a launch test at Cape Kennedy, Florida. Killed were commander Gus Grissom, plus pilots Roger Chaffee and Ed White. The cause of the fire was an electrical malfunction that rapidly spread due to combustible materials and high-pressure pure oxygen in the cabin. The mission had been scheduled to lift off on Feb 21, and manned Apollo missions were grounded until October the following year. 

In 1991 – The New York Giants win Super Bowl XXV, defeating the Buffalo Bills 20-19 in Tampa. It was the second of four Super Bowl titles for the Giants and their sixth of eight NFL titles. For the Bills, it was the first of four consecutive Super Bowl losses, an NFL record that still stands. It remains the only Super Bowl decided by one point and was the first of two Super Bowls with zero turnovers (SB XXXIV, St. Louis/Tennessee).

In 1962 – Joey Dee & the Starlighters are at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of three consecutive weeks with Peppermint Twist. It was the first of five Top 40 hits for the group, their first of two Top 10s, and remains their only #1 song. The song also peaked at #33 in Great Britain, at #38 on Billboard’s soul chart, and was Billboard’s 25th-biggest song of the year.

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

The cat does not negotiate with the mouse.
Robert K Massie
Peter the Great

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

Italy has hosted the Olympics three times: Winter Games in 1956 and 2006, and the Summer Games in 1960. They will host the Winter Games again in 2026. 

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.

Who are the only space explorers to die in space? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!

The Daily Dose/January 26, 2025
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

The Sunday Bottom 5
A ranking of some things.

1. Donald Trump – One week in and hold on to your hats, Trump is already well on the way to forcing the People’s Republic of America down our throats…We survived his first term and we might survive this one, but enough of this ignorance and eventually America will be cast aside the scrap heap of history along with, among others, the USSR and the Roman Empire. 

2. Elon Musk – Aryan Nation members can only stand back in amazement as Musk executes a Nazi salute that would’ve had Hitler achieving and maintaining a state of arousal usually only found on porn sets…Regardless of the intent, anyone with half a brain would know not to do that, but Musk, like Trump, doesn’t have half a brain. 

3. USA! USA! – The 3-hole staple…America starts right in where it left off four years ago, accepting Donald Trump’s blather as legitimate political rhetoric, as they continue to take Trump seriously despite lying and ignorance unprecedented in a US president…US media doing it’s part, too, because Trump means ratings and clicks and nevermind there was a time when Woodward and Bernstein and Walter Cronkite would’ve had Trump out of the race before the 2016 primaries.  

4. Pete Hegseth – Few are as unqualified for a job as Hegseth is for defense secretary, but at least he’s promised not to drink on the job, which is about as good as we are going to get out of a cabinet whose sole qualification for office appears to be fitting into the slots assigned by President Trump. 

5. Donald Trump Fact Check: – Click here for the Week 1 lies and misinformation as the Ignorant-in-Chief returns to office…Courtesy of the AP. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow declines to make a joke. Today’s Diary. 

A funny line, of course, immediately popped into our head – “What, you couldn’t get into the Navy???” – but something – call it the instincts all the great ones have if you must – told me this would no go over well…

———

Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.

Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

———

On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it. 

In 1863 – US Army Major General Ambrose Burnside is relieved as commander of the Army of the Potomac by President Abraham Lincoln. The removal followed losing the Battle of Fredericksburg in December to Confederate forces commanded by General Robert E Lee. He was replaced by Major General Joseph Hooker, who lasted until June before being replaced by Major General George Meade.

In 1956 – The VII Winter Olympics open in Cortina d’Amepezzo, Italy. Thirty-two nations sent 821 athletes, and the Games marked the first Winter Olympics appearances by the Soviet Union, Bolivia, and Iran. The Soviets won the most gold (7) and overall (16) medals, with the US earning two gold medals, in men’s and women’s figure skating singles. Cortina had originally be awarded the 1944 Games that were canceled due to World War II and will, along with Lombardy and Milan, host the 2026 Winter Olympics. 

In 2002 – Usher is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the second of five consecutive weeks with U Got It Bad. The song also peaked at #5 in Great Britain, peaked at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart, and was there 64th-biggest hit of 2001 and their 18th-biggest hit of 2002. It was the third of nine #1 pop songs for Usher, who was born Usher Raymond IV in 1978. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

If the single man plants himself indomitably on his instincts, and there abide, the huge world will come round to him.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

The Carpenter’s biggest hit on the Hot 100 was (They Long To Be) Close to You, which spent four weeks at #1 in 1970. 

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.

How many Olympic Games has Italy hosted? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!

The Daily Dose/January 25, 2025
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

HERE WE GO AGAIN: The ignorance of President Donald Trump is as appalling as it is unsurprising. His recent skirmish with the 14th Amendment is only the most recent example. We strongly suspect it will not be the last. 

USA! USA! Earlier this week, as part of his Government by Executive Fiat program, Trump signed an executive order mandating the end to birthright citizenship. This is where anyone born in America is entitled to US citizenship, regardless of the citizenship status of their parents. Trump’s order would end this if at least one parent wasn’t a citizen. 

Fly In The Ointment: Birthright citizenship, however, is protected by the Constitution, the 14th Amendment being very clear on the matter, with Section I stating, in part, that: 

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.

That is pretty clear, and while the Constitution can be changed – the 14th Amendment itself is one of those changes – it cannot be changed unilaterally by the president, and its implementation was blocked by a federal judge in Seattle. 

Dry, Technical, Matter: The 14th Amendment is one of three amendments adopted after the Civil War that are referred to as the Reconstruction Amendments. It was sent to the several states in June 1866 and ratified two years later. 

Back On Message: This whole imbroglio is Trump in a nutshell: govern off the top of your head and bully people until you get your way. A president with some brains would’ve been fully briefed on the matter and been told such an executive order would’ve been unconstitutional. Then again, it is entirely possible Trump was briefed on the matter and ignored his briefing. It’s hard to say if no one in Trump’s inner circle tells him no or if they do and he ignores him. 

The Bottom Line: We have four more years of this nonsense. We can’t whine about it, either, because we elected it. How we got to this point, how America came to accept the lies and ignorance of Donald Trump is something all new people – including Americans, if there are any left – can debate a hundred years from now. Yesterday, we only half jokingly referred to the US as the People’s Republic of America. If you and me – we the people – don’t start paying attention, we might well end up exactly that. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow’s plan to help with Daniel’s car problem unravels. Today’s Diary. 

And even if [the lug wrench had fit], we were still up a creek because numbnuts had forgotten his car keys, meaning we had no way to access the trunk to get the spare…

———

Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.

Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

———

On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it. 

In 1995 – Russia prepares for a nuclear attack after Norwegian and US scientists launch a rocket carrying scientific equipment from Norway. The Russian military mistakingly took it for a US nuclear missile and activated their nuclear briefcase, giving President Boris Yelstin the option launching a retaliatory attack. Typical of the Russians, the incident was not reported to their citizens for a week, and the incident remains the closest a nuclear power has come to launcing a nuclear weapon since the US attack on Nagasaki in 1945. 

In 1894 – James J Corbett defends his world heavyweight boxing title, defeating Charley Mitchell of England in a 3rd-round knockout. It was the only successful title defense for Corbett, who had won the title from John L Sullivan in Sept 1892 and remains Mitchell’s only world title fight. Corbett lost his title to Bob Fitzsimmons in 1897 and lost title fights to James Jeffries in 1900 and 1903. 

In 1975 – The Carpenters are at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the only week with Please Mr Postman. It was the 15th of 16 Top 10 hits for the brother and sister duo and their third and final #1 song. The song also went to #1 in Canada, Australia, and South Africa, peaked at #2 in Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 32nd-biggest song of the year. It was the second of 14 consecutive #1 songs to spend only one week at the top, a Hot 100 record that still stands. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

The sportsman trains himself and primes for his particular game…After due…and long preparation…he goes out…{to a place where} most of his townsmen never saw nor dreamed of…He had them halfway in his bag when he started, he has only to shove them down.
Henry David Thoreau
Diary entry, 11/4/1858

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

The other song to spend 19 weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 was Old Town Road by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus in 2019.

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.

What was the Carpenter’s biggest hit on the Hot 100? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!