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Those zany Ghanaites, or whatever they’re called
The Daily Dose/December 9, 2016
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
THOSE ZANY AFRICANS: United States embassy officials in Accra, Ghana broke up a counterfeit document ring operating out of a fake US embassy – also in Accra – recently. Three days each week in the morning fake embassy personnel would run an American flag up a flag pole and illegally sell US passports, visas and other useful documents, like bank and education records and birth certificates.
Trust Us, We’re Funny: What’s funny is not the fact a fake embassy was in operation. People will do a lot to make a buck, some of it illegally, and it was not the Upset of the Year to find some trailblazing entrepreneurs open a fake embassy to make a buck or two.
LOL: No, what’s funny is one, it operated for ten years! And in the same city as the real US Embassy!
What in the hell were our embassy personnel up to? They ran a US flag up a flagpole and put a sign up for Pete’s sake. They were issuing US passports. You would think that over the course of a decade, which is ten years, someone from the embassy would somewhere hear something.
Whew: The documents were all legitimate. They were, however, stolen, and the going rate for a folio of assorted, stolen American documents was $6,000.
USA! USA! This almost defies comprehension. A fake embassy or consulate in another city? Sure, you could see that staying open for ten years. But to have it operate in the same city as an American embassy? Well, somebody must have been paying someone very well.
We’re Shocked, Too: Which is what happened. Assorted Turkish and Ghanian criminals are the lead suspects, and they are suspected of bribing assorted Ghanian authorities to look the other way.
Dry, Technical Matter: Ghana is a country in Africa, which is a continent on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, south of Europe and Asia.
FunFact: The Atlantic Ocean is the body of water that runs along the east coast of the United States.
Oh Yeah: A fake Dutch embassy was also shut down.
I DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR: P.B.S. Pinchback, the son of a white father and free black mother, because the first black to serve as governor of a state, taking the oath of office as governor of Louisiana on this date in 1872. He replaced Henry Warmoth who was being impeached by the rascals in the legislature. Pinchback would serve until Warmoth’s term ended six weeks later.
FunFact: Later, Pinchback would win contested elections to both the US House and Senate, though both chambers refused to seat him
Hut, Hut, Hike: The first Heisman Trophy, then known as the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy – is awarded for the first time on this date in 1935. It is awarded to University of Chicago halfback Jay Berwanger.
The University Of Chicago? Yes. The Maroons played major college football back then, and in fact a found member of the Big Ten, winning seven Big Ten football titles before leaving in 1940.
Dry, Technical Matter: Berwanger would later become the first pick in the first NFL draft the following year. He was drafted by Philadelphia, who traded his rights to Chicago for a tackle. Berwanger and the Bears couldn’t agree on a contract, and Berwanger never played pro football, a decision he later would say he regreted.
Great Moments In Rod Blagojevich: Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is arrested by federal authorities on this date in 2008 on assorted charges, including selling the United States Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.
Blagojevich would be impeached by the Illinois House and tried, convicted and removed from office by the Illinois Senate the following month. This had no bearing on his federal case, and he would be convicted of one of 24 charges in August, 2010. The jury was hung on the other charges and Blagojevich was convicted on 17 counts in June, 2011. He is serving his 14-year sentence in Colorado and could be eligible for early release in 2024.
Thought For The Day: …they decided that to eat state corn in the city was better than to sweat on the land…Sloth combined with superstition…Wealth mounted, but did not spread. – Will Durant, The Story of Civilization, Volume III: Caesar and Christ
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: The first collegiate sporting even in the United States was the Harvard/Yale regatta, first rowed on August 3, 1852. It has been held continuously since 1859.
Today’s Stumper: How many Illinois governors have been impeached, tried and removed from office? – Answer next time!
