The Daily Dose/August 1, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience.
GET OUT YOUR HISTORY BOOKS: Recently here we whined about the uninspiring prospects for the 2024 presidential election. It would follow a general trend in this country because, as we’ve noted here before, this country hasn’t had decent leadership by an elected president since Kennedy said let’s go to the moon.
But We Digress: We always felt Gerald Ford did well under circumstances the Son of Man would have found trying and that History has redeemed his pardoning of Richard Nixon. But Ford wasn’t elected; he had been nominated and confirmed as vice president to replace Spiro Agnew and, of course, assumed the presidency when Richard Nixon resigned.
Here We Go: Johnson got mired in Vietnam and declared war on poverty, even though that enemy has been with us since time immemorial and is never going away. Nixon could’ve been great, but his demons overtook him and he resigned in disgrace. Carter meant well, but was ineffective and got bogged down deciding who could and could not use the White House tennis courts. Reagan, a genius at articulating his views simply, was the most managed president in history, a burden his successors have allowed themselves to fall victim to.
Pause For Breath: George H.W. Bush was another Carter, Clinton, heck, he could’ve been great, too, but it was always something with him and he ended up getting impeached. George W Bush lied to get us into war, Obama talked a good game but left our country much as he found it, Trump was the worst elected leader in human history, an ignoramus with blood on his hands, whose only real talent is drawing attention to himself. Biden has yet to finish his term, so he may well work his off of the Jimmy Carter pile.
Ladies And Gentlemen Of The Jury: Why the dearth of leadership over the past 60 years? I mean, it’s hardly as if America has not good, or even great, presidential leadership in the past. Sure, there have been some stinkers in there over the centuries, but the presidential landscape is dotted with talent like Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and both Roosevelts. We even give Truman high marks for having the courage to nuke Japan, a decision that saved hundreds of thousands of American lives.
The Bottom Line: America, however, has stopped demanding greatness. We are into our fourth generation of television being the focal point of our American life and we are paying the price for it with a country that, collectively, has stopped demanding anything other than being well-fed and well-entertained, content to blindly accept whatever the party of our choice chooses to spoonfeed us. As a result, we have a country that’s a shooting gallery, constantly at war, with divides that are making the 60s seem like something out of Mother Goose. We deserve better than this, but we are not demanding it.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow deals with a wife looking for her husband. Today’s Diary.
Perhaps his wife is one of those who will either chalk this up to a dumb-dumb desk clerk or otherwise choose not to get worked up over this, but probably not and offhand we’re thinking there is no way this ends well for the guy because his wife, being a woman and all, will likely take this to DefCon 1…Or Defcon 4…Whichever level has the missiles incoming.
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On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1950 – Guam is organized into an unincorporated American territory when President Truman signs the Guam Organic Act. Before, Guam had been administered by the US Navy, following its acquisition from Spain in 1989 after the Spanish-American War and, except for two years in World War II when it was occupied by the Japanese, it has been a US possession ever since. While Guamanians have a non-voting representative in Congress, they do not vote in presidential elections.
In 1987 – Mike Tyson becomes the first boxer to hold the WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight titles in a 12-round unanimous decision over Tony Tucker at the Las Vegas Hilton. With the win, Tyson retained his WBA and WBC titles and won Tucker’s IBF championship. Tyson would defend his titles six more times before losing to Buster Douglas in 1990 while Tucker would go winless in three future heavyweight title fights.
In 1981 – Rick Springfield is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the first of two consecutive weeks with Jessie’s Girl. It was Springfield’s second of 17 Top hits, his second of five Top 10 hits, and remains his only #1 song. The song also went to #1 in Springfield’s native Australia, peaked at #43 in Great Britain in 1984, and was Billboard’s 5th-biggest song of the year. The song spent 32 weeks on the chart, including twelve weeks in the Top 10 and nine weeks in the Top 5.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
First, were we truly men of courage–with the courage to stand up to one’s enemies–and the courage to stand up, when necessary, to one’s associates–the courage to resist public pressure, as well as private greed?
John F. Kennedy
Speech to the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
1/9/61
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The 1897 St Louis Browns are still in the National League, later changing their name to the Cardinals, while the Louisville Colonels folded after the 1899 season.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
Who was the last undisputed heavyweight champion before Mike Tyson? – Answer next time!
