The Daily Dose/January 9, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
USA! USA!: It is hardly a surprise that President Trump announced he will not attend President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. Good. We don’t want you there. Like few other inaugurations, this will be a line of demarcation separating everything that came before from everything that follows, a celebration of your departure and you would be in the way. Except for a few Klan wizards in white hoods standing off to the side, America will be saying good riddance to you, instead of au revoir.
FunFact: Trump will join John Adams, John Quincy Adams and Andrew Johnson in not going to their successor’s inaugural. It’s not known what Trump will do, but History shows John Adams left the White House before dawn, John Quincy Adams left the night before while Andrew Johnson was at his White House desk right up until noon.
Fly In The Ointment: This presumes Trump is still president. He may not be. While some are exhorting Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet to invoke provisions of Section 4 of the 25th Amendment, it’s not that easy, even if they were of a mind to do it. The exact provisions of the 25th Amendment are, thank goodness, beyond the scope of today’s item, but the action is not unilateral and the matter is ultimately resolved by Congress.
Yeah Baby: Impeachment, though, offers an attractive option and is already being planned by the Democrats. It is usually a lengthy process, but the Constitution doesn’t dictate how it’s done, merely that the House impeaches and the Senate conducts a trial. Each chamber can do it as they see fit and it is entirely possible Trump will be out of office before his term ends, leaving President Mike Pence to decide whether or not to attend Biden’s inaugural.
The Bottom Line: Trump only has eleven days left until the end of his term but, boy, another impeachment and this time conviction by the Senate would be a fitting way to end the fiasco he’s been peddling to us and the world the past four years. It could not happen to a more deserving person.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow uses the 6th Street entrance at the Veterans Service Office (VSO). Today’s Diary.
They’re farting around with the elevator in the annex where my office is located, down for a month or so as they completely overhaul it…This would ordinarily be too dull to mention even here, but it’s right next to the entrance to the back parking lot and my key wouldn’t work when I reported for duty this morning…Uh-oh, I thought, the state’s stopped funding my position and I no longer work here, but that is not likely to happen and I would have been told besides…The key actually turned but the door wouldn’t open so Mr Locksmith here concluded it was the cold, but that made no sense because it was in the 20s – not really that cold for the dead of winter up here – and it’s always worked anyway, even when it was below zero.
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On This Date
The long march to today.
In 2015 – 75 people are killed and over 200 more made ill due to contaminated beer at a funeral in northern Mozambique. At first crocodile bile was suspected, and it wasn’t until November – after some investigatory work by Forbes magazine was published – that the actual cause was determined to be a bacteria that produced a toxic compound that affects respiration. It’s believed the cause was natural, as flood-damaged corn flour that had begun to rot had been used in brewing the beer.
In 1918 – The NHL makes its first rule change, less than three weeks after beginning its inaugural season, allowing goalies to leave their feet when making a save. Previously, goalies had been assessed a penalty they actually had to serve, resulting in delays in dressing another goalkeeper because teams didn’t travel with a substitute back then. As might be expected, the changes resulted in fewer goals being scored, as goals per game dropped from just over twelve per game to just under nine.
In 1961 – Bert Kaempfert and His Orchestra is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the first of three consecutive weeks with Wonderland By Night. It was the fourth of eleven chart singles for Kaempfert, his second of five Top 40 hits and remains his only #1 song. The song also peaked at #5 on Billboard’s soul chart and versions by Louis Prima (#15) and Anita Bryant (#18) also charted in 1961.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
…it may chance that old wives keep in memory word of things that were once needful for the wise to know.
J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The current national debt of the United States is $27.7 trillion.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What is the capital of Mozambique? – Answer next time!
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