The Daily Dose/November 20, 2018
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
In The News
Us humans are interesting animals. Some tragedies interest us, some do not. We’re not heartless, but some things hit home and some don’t, it’s the way the world is built.
Two tragedies that do interest us here at In The News are the murder of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi and the locating this week of the Argentinian submarine that had disappeared last year.
Khashoggi’s death interests us both on principles of general intrigue and because we’re writers who tend to say what we feel needs to be said when we feel it needs to be said. Fortunately, we are citizens of a country that doesn’t kill writers who do this. Khashoggi was not, and he found himself slaughtered in a country that was neither his native nor his adopted country. It is not reasonable to think the Saudi government is not knee-deep in this. When writers are slaughtered for plying their trade our ears prick up with interest, which is why you will continue to read about the Khashoggi affair in this feature.
The ARA San Juan was a diesel-electric submarine in the Argentinian Navy that disappeared in November 2017 in the Atlantic Ocean off the Argentinian coast. It was found this week by submersibles owned by an American country hired out for the purpose about 300 miles off the coast in 3,000 feet of water, about 12 miles from its last known position. 44 sailors sank to their graves.
This hit home. We rode submarines in the US Navy, and diesel boat called the USS Blueback. A boat goes down you find yourself grateful yours surfaced after every dive.
The Argentinian government has let it be known they do not have the resources to raise what’s left of the San Juan. Good. Leave it.
Sure, the family would like to have what remains the sea would yield and the Navy would like to have it so they can see what information could be provided, but if you asked the 44 dead sailors, I’d bet every one of them would prefer to be left at the bottom. You work underwater and you die underwater, it’s best to take your eternal rest underwater.
Today at the Site
Sparrow and The Wife talk about his Famous Strawberry Pie that is on the menu for Thanksgiving on today’s edition of The Diary of a Nobody. Also, Buzz is critical of Sparrow’s first closing page at the retailer and there were no coffee filters to be found at the hotel.
Buzz shook his head dismissively…He wasn’t all that impressed because, as we’ve noted here before, his closing pages sound like a gulag commandant greeting new arrivals, with some customers fleeing the store in tears.
“You need to be more aggressive…Let them know they’ll be locked in for the night if they don’t hurry up.”
The Thought for the Day is an encore from this past winter, from Agatha Christie, a thought about having a high opinion of yourself.
It’s OK to have a high opinion of yourself. It’s healthy to admit you do something well, perhaps better than most, because false modesty only serves those who have nothing to be modest about.
The race for the ESPN Cup is one of the tightest ever on The Bottom Ten/NCAA Week 13, as Rice retains the top spot, followed closely by defending champion UTEP and Rutgers.
UTEP administrators looking to alter course of nearby Rio Grande River so school is actually in Mexico so team can compete Juarez Valley Conference in 2019.
On This Date
In 1789 – New Jersey becomes the first state to ratify the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights. The Amendments, among other things, guarantee a variety of personal freedoms, limits the government’s power in certain proceedings and reserves for the several states whatever powers are not given to the federal government. Congress had actually sent twelve amendments to the states, but only ten were ratified. One was approved in 1992 and became the Twenty-Seventh Amendment and the other is still pending.
In 1997 – A.C. Green of the Los Angeles Lakers establishes a new NBA record, playing in his 907th consecutive game. Green broke the record that had been held by Randy Smith since 1982. Green would ultimately play in 1,192 consecutive games, an NBA record that still stands.
In 1971 – Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man) by Merle Haggard is #1 on Billboard’s country chart – then known as the Hot Country Singles chart – for the first of two consecutive weeks. The song also went to #2 on the Canadian country chart and was the tenth of 38 #1 songs for Haggard on the country chart.
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
The NBA record for most free throws made in a game by both teams is 116, by Syracuse Nationals – now the Philadelphia 76ers and Anderson Packers in November 1949. The NBA record for fewest free throws made in a game by both teams is seven, by the Milwaukee Bucks and Baltimore Bullets in January 1973.
Today’s Stumper
What two acts have had more #1 hits on Billboard’s country chart than Merle Haggard? – Answer Next Time!
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