Stinkin Pequots

On this day almost four-hundred years ago....

1636, the Massachusetts Bay Colony organizes three militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians.  This organization is recognized today as the founding of the United States National Guard.

The family farm is near the Foxwoods Casino in Ledyard Connecticut. For folks having both the proximity and the requisite family lineage, there is a palpable anger focused on the Pequots. They were responsible for the murder of many settlers. Much like foreign diplomats the Pequots are not always held responsible for damage done to persons and property off of the reservation grounds. More so it is well known that many "indians" would be better classified as the decendants of runaway slaves, who prior to the Civil War hid out on the Federally protected reservations. 

Anyway, I was in Mystic last week eating pizza and ended up in a discussion with a waitress on the subject of the "stinkin Pequots".

Congratulations to the National Guard. 

Guadalcanal

From the Jewish World Review, today 71 years ago.

1942, during World War II: Second day of the Battle of Edson's Ridge in the Guadalcanal campaign. U.S. Marines successfully defeated attacks by the Imperial Japanese Army with heavy losses for the Japanese forces.

My uncle Don was in the Navy and served as a Seabee at Guadalcanal.  He is gone now, but we used to enjoy  hearing how they built things.  The coolest was how they built a breakwater by driving brand new jeeps and trucks off of a ship.

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Bad Move

On this day in 1788, some 225 years ago, in an action that has once before been attempted to correct, Georgia ratified the Constitution to become the fourth state to enter the union.

There are petitions at advocating secession today, obviously a fool's construct. There can be no separation in a state where the opposing parts are so completely integrated.  That is true in all states no matter what the dominant party or belief is.

That the earning half of the country has a valid complaint that they are being persecuted and financially abused, does not matter. We cannot separate ourselves from the liberal leeches of society.

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30 Years Ago

A great link was sent to me today by a like minded co-worker.

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An Important Day

Was one hundred years ago...
In 1911 China abolished the requirement that men wear their hair in a queue.
A queue is just a fancy word for ponytail or braid.
So, one hundred years ago the Chinese made the first move in demolishing the stereotype that its citizens are unimaginative lemmings.
Whose greatest skill is piracy!
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/queue

Field Park

Found this little tidbit in the news Friday.

On this day in 1858, the first special cigar bands were distributed at a dinner in New York City. The bands paid homage to Cyrus W. Field for his work in the laying of the Atlantic telegraph cable.

In my home town of Haddam, we lived next to a park that named for the man an family that had owned it. That would be the same Cyrus Field. As a young boys we played and explored there, climbed a tree that was grown from an acorn of fallen from Connecticut's famous Charter Oak. As an older boy we played there because it was a place you couldn't be seen.
As an adult I learned the origin of the park's name and the man's historical significance. Curious to me it has been, that we were not taught about our local connection to a giant of industry in the public schools of the town. My guess would be that most teachers were from other towns and unaware of the, albeit minor, historical significance. That is consequence of public education, history is forgotten.
The park was a lot of fun, thank you Mr. Field, someday hopefully far off, I want some of my ashes spread there.

100 Years Ago Today

1911, the ocean liner R.M.S. Titanic is launched

How did that work out?

Four Years Ago Today

The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.

Four terrible years that may never be undone.

Fifty Years Ago Today

In 1960, the United States government places began its embargo on Communist Cuba.
Fifty years later, Cuba is at best unchanged, at worst poorer.
Fifty years later, our government are looking for ways to let Cuba off the hook for doing things like point nuclear missiles at our country ninety miles off the coast.
Cuba is the North Korea of the west.

In 1870

From JWR....
July 15, 1870.

During the Post-American-Civil-War Reconstruction: Georgia becomes the last of the former Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union.

It has been downhill ever since.

Congrats.......

Special congrats to Ted Kennedy.

Five weeks sober, today.

John John Doesn't Make It Home

Ten years ago today John F. Kennedy Jr's plane disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean. He as pilot, with wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and Carolyn's sister Lauren Bessette, had been traveling from New Jersey to drop off Lauren at Martha's Vinyard, with plans to travel onward to the family vacation home in Hyannis.
In the next week the Coast Guard found the plane wreckage 8 miles off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. Mechanically the plane was found to have no mechanical flaw that contributed to accident. The accident was attributed to pilot error, inexperience with flying after dark.
JFK Jr. was buried at sea, his uncle Senator Edward Kennedy said this at his eulogy.

"From the first day of his life, John seemed to belong not only to our family, but to the American family. He had a legacy, and he learned to treasure it. He was part of a legend, and he learned to live with it."

Well spoken, even if it is from Ted. JFK Sr. allowed the media, against Jackie's wishes, opportunities to take wonderful candid father-children photographs, painting an idyllic like in the White House. Then with the events surrounding the assassination and funeral, John's persona was welded to the American public's self image.
Like Princess Diana, John John's reputation was built more on perception than acheivment. He became a New York lawyer, after few bad instances with the bar exam, then for a short period, was an employee in the District Attorney's office there. From there he became directing publisher of the magazine George, a Maxim like serial for self-indulgent men.

70 Years Ago Yesterday

Scott will appreciate this.
Yesterday was the 70th anniversary of the first commercial FM radio station.

That by itself is unremarkable, the station makes it more so, WDRC of Connecticut. Home of Walt Dibble and the Big D.

Walt Dibble is the father of Cincinnati Red pitcher, former Nasty Boy, now ESPN commentator.

715

Thirty-five years ago today Henry Aaron hit the 715 th home run of his career.
This was near the end of his time with the Atlanta Braves, soon to be traded to the Brewers of his beloved first MLB city, Milwaukee.
Little did we know that on this day 35 years ago, Hank had started a new career as a miserable prick.

Frozen River

This movie was released in 2008, carries an MPAA rating is R for language and has a length of 97 minutes.
The movie plot centers around an Indian (Mohawk) coyote who smuggles illegals across the St. Lawrence. This is accomplished by driving back and forth between the Canada and Mohawk Reservation in upstate New York. In this region the Mohawk tribe is contiguous, and they issue passports in conflict with federal authorities. The main character is a poor white mother of two boys, and husband of a degenerate gambler and has taken off with the money she had saved to get them a new insulated double wide. Because the dirt bag husband is gone with the money Ray needs $4k in the worst way to cover the down payment on the new double wide. By this Ray is primed for her accidental introduction to smuggling people. Being a good way to make big money fast, the mother makes extra risks that end badly.
The actors were.....

• Melissa Leo plays Ray Eddy, poor New York version of white trash, mother of two boys, left high and dry by her gambling addicted husband. Leo looked familiar throughout the movie and when I did a little searching and found out why, she has been all over television for the last 25 years. She, Leo played one of the regular detectives in the police drama "Homicide: Life on the Street" in the part of Det. Sgt. Kay Howard.
• Misty Upham play Lila Littlewolf, an Indian woman acquainted with trafficking in transporting aliens across the Canadian border.
• Charlie McDermott plays Ray's oldest son Troy J. 'T.J.' Eddy.
• Michael O'Keefe plays Trooper Finnerty, we've seen O'Keefe in other reviews, his repertoire goes back to Caddyshack.
• Mark Boone Junior plays Jacques Bruno, commonly plays the bad man in movies and television, no different here, except with canuck accent.
• James Reilly plays Ricky Eddy, Ray's younger son and generally sweet kid. In real life Reilly is his movie brother's cousin.

I give this movie a rating of 43 of 50.

• Character Development, 10 of 10, Ray Eddy plays an weather worn down on her luck mother who by misfortune begins on a path to crime, later caught in crime she commits an act of selflessness and takes on the responsibility for the debt so that her unfortunate accomplice can care for her own toddler and Ray's boys.
• Screenplay, 8 of 10, not a great deal of dialog, but minimal talk speaks volumes.
• Acting, 9 of 10, Leo does a great job as the down on her luck mother. Upham also plays an interesting injun with deep seated issues.
• Photography, 7 of 10, very simple, limited in cramped quarters gives the distinct feeling of winter contrasted by the wide open sensation of driving across a frozen river in middle of the night.
• Plot, 9 of 10, UNIQUE.

It's easy to see how this movie won at Sundance and was nominated for two Oscars.

William Otis

Long time ago, 170 years to the day, another Otis named William did something noteworthy.....

On this day in 1839, William Otis got the first a patent for the steam shovel. Before that time there were cranes and other leverage devices used for lifting but the steam power permitted the application of focused power. Focus of mechanical power creates efficiencies. The use of these mechanized engines are evident all over the world in mammoth public works such as dams, bridges and canals.

William Otis described his invention as "the Crane-dredge for excavation and earth removals".

Ever see the name Otis on an elevator or escalator? We have those at the courtesy of William's cousin Elishu Otis.

Perhaps the new government could develop a parallel to the steam shovel, that for moving wealth to consumption (waste) more efficiently.

It Don't Make No Cents At All

50 years ago today, on February 12, 1959, the penny design changed from the back side having two ears of wheat, to having an image of the Lincoln Memorial. Insignificant, I guess, have always had a thing about saving the one cent coins.
As kid I managed with a paper route, sometimes paid in pennies , I collected wheat leaves. By the time I went away to college, had collected more than $20.00 worth, all gathered in an Almeden wine bottle.
It took me a few years to notice that they were gone. One of my brothers cashed the coin in, I presume to purchase some dope. Pissed me off pretty good.

Also on this day, just ten years ago, the US Senate voted to acquit President Bill Clinton.
Pissed me off even more...
To watch those gloating assholes on the White House lawn, proud of saving their Philanderer in Chief.

The Day The Music Died

Fifty years ago today, a plane crash took the lives of three popular rock and roll musicians. February 3, 1959, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson's (aka "The Big Bopper") chartered Beechcraft went down in an Iowa farm's field.

The plane had been arranged for Buddy Holly and his band the Crickets, but some last minute seat swapping put Valens and Richardson on the plane, saving most notably Crickets band member Waylon Jennings.

Buddy Holly, a young Texan just 22 years old, and his band were arguably the hottest act in rock and roll, having recorded hits such as, "That'll Be the Day", "Peggy Sue", "Maybe Baby" and "Oh Boy". His death was lamented in popular song and film. Don McLean 1972 No. 1 hit "American
Pie" and George Lucas's classic "American Graffiti" of 1973. Prominent artists such as Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney give Holly credit for being a major musical influence.

The "The Big Bopper", 28 years old, was converted disk jockey that had written songs during a hitch in the army. He wrote "Running Bear," a song recorded by Johnny Preston. Richardson wrote his own most famous rockabilly song "Chantilly Lace" which scored a Top 10 chart rating.

Ritchie Valens, (aka Richard Valenzuela), was a young 17 years old atthe time of his death. He had already musically impacted the charts with "Donna" which reached No. 2 on the charts and "La Bamba" that reached No. 22. A movie about his life, "La Bamba" was released in 1987 starring Lou Diamond Phillips, this included a Los Lobos cover of the title song that reached No. 1 on the charts.

Madonna covered "American Pie" in 2000, a version that makes me want to puke.

In "American Graffiti", Paul LeMat's character, John Milner, says it best with the indelible line:

"I don't like that surfin' shit. Rock and roll's been going down hill ever since Buddy Holly died."

Sorry it happened guys, your futures were so bright.

100 Years Ago Today

January 28, 1909, United States armed forces left Cuba with the exception of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Cuba had been ceded to the United States after winning the Spanish-American War.
You know, the sinking of the Maine, Teddy Roosevelt, the Rough Riders and all that stuff?
A hundred years later, our newly installed President will be closing the prison at this Naval Base. A high priority of no consequence to the dimocrats, watching the teeth gnashing of the elitist MSNBC led national media, over where the prisoners will be housed has been amusing. Placement at the base was pragmatic and cost efficient. Stories about torture were a pile of bullshit, aimed by the media at the executive branch, as a means of separating the Republican base from its party leadership. Viola, we get McCaina weak candidate, he looses the election, the dimocrats make a change of location, all continues as already initiated, the main purpose achieved, get a dimocrat in the White House.

Clinton Impeached

Ten years ago today, President William Jefferson Clinton was impeached. Following extended debate, the House of Representatives approves two articles of impeachment, charging him with lying under oath to a federal grand jury and obstructing justice.
From the sexual harassment lawsuit by Paula Jones, White House intern Monica Lewinsky was subpoenaed. In response Lewinsky filed an an affidavit in which she denied ever having had a sexual relationship with the President. The next week Linda Tripp approached the office of Kenneth Starr, and offered tapes proving Lewinsky had committed perjury, these tapes included admissions of sexual relationship.
When the story broke to the public the President offered a statement on the matter, making the now famous lie...

"I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky."

In July negotiations between Lewinsky and Starr yielded a full-immunity agreement covering both Lewinsky and her parents. Boxed in, President Clinton was forced acknowledged to prosecutors from the office of the independent counsel that he had had an extramarital affair with Ms. Lewinsky. After the admission Clinton gave a four-minute national address in which he admitted he had engaged in a relationship with Lewinsky. Within this admission Clinton suggested that, by parsing words, that getting a blow-job in the Oval Office does not constitute having sex. Clinton finished by expressing regret for having misled (misled? its called a lie) the public and his family.
On September 9, Kenneth Starr submitted a report with supporting documents to the House of Representatives. The Starr Report outlined a case for impeachment of Clinton on 11 points, these included perjury, obstruction of justice, and witness-tampering.

• On October 8, the House authorized an impeachment inquiry.
• On December 11, the House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment.
• On December 19, the House impeached Clinton.
• On February 12, the Senate voted on whether to remove Clinton from office. The president was acquitted on both articles of impeachment. Conviction, requiring a two-thirds majority, failed to achieve a majority. On the charge of perjury, 45 Democrats and 10 Republicans voted not guilty. On the charge of obstruction of justice the Senate was split 50-50.

Clinton said he was "profoundly sorry" for what he put the nation through. But what I remember is the gathering they had on the White House lawn happily posing for pictures, and proudly having beaten back the right wing conspiracy. Many held the opinion that these sexual encounters were a private issue and normally I would agree, but the voters in the Senate ignored some simple truths. Clinton, to avoid public embarrassment, and possible loss in an active sexual harassment lawsuit, obstructed justice. In doing so the Senate ignored that Clinton had intentionally taken action to destroy the rights of Paula Jones. Clinton reportedly has a appealing personality coupled with a penchant for being dishonest. I've known many men like this in my life, completely willing to cheat on their wives, completely willing to risk the family security. Men like this, in normal life, without the protection of or shroud of public service, are often crippled from getting their asses kicked, ending up alone and lonely. Let's hope is wife gets to see him punished for being the lying shit that he is.
During the last election we heard much about wanting to rid ourselves of the current administration and all of its philosophies. Have we already forgotten the same feeling during the Gore-Bush race? Gore could have won, but he had a philandering pig hung about his neck. People wanted change then too.