The Daily Dose/February 7, 2018
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Notes from around the Human Experience…
READY…AIM…FIRE: We haven’t had a mass shooting in a while, but there have been no shortage shooting deaths in America, of course.
There have been over a dozen shootings at US schools this year and in Colorado, three police officers or sheriff’s deputies have been shot to death – and ten more injured – since New Year’s Eve, numbers that are as high as they are tragic. Gunfire continues to replace a verbal greeting as our primary form of social interaction.
If those numbers surprised you, they surprised us, too, but deaths of this sort are so common nowadays they barely draw a second glance. We might see the headline and issue some thoughts and prayers, or we might not see the headline. Either way, shootings in the US are hardly news anymore unless an awful lot of our fellow citizens are slaughtered at one time.
We The People: We once thought that a national conversation on gun control was forthcoming, but we’re not so sure about that anymore. This country is so fragmented and the wagons are so circled that anything more substantive than the spouting of opinions may not be possible. The left wants gun control while the right won’t even discuss it.
Gaylon For Congress…Vote Early, Vote Often: We’ve said this on the campaign trail for years:
We support the Second Amendment without qualification or restriction.
We don’t really think guns are the problems. Violent people hell-bent on causing tragedy and mayhem are going to cause tragedy and mayhem. It’s the way the world is built. Earlier this decade China, whose citizens are unarmed, endured a rash of stabbings at schools, though those have abated, probably because the Communists have outlawed cutlery.
Get Your Official Daily Dose Policy Right Here: The fault for violent American citizens can be laid squarely at the doorstep of a violent American government. America has been at war continuously since 1989, almost three decades of non-stop warfare. Violence has become the go-to reaction for America’s government so it should be no surprise violence has become the go-to reaction for America’s citizens. It’s all some Americans know. We have an entire generation of Americans that have never known a peaceful day in their lives.
The Bottom Line: We will not have a peaceful world without a peaceful America, nor will we have peaceful American citizens without a peaceful American government.
More Bottom Line: And, frankly, we will not have a peaceful America until you and me – we the people – start demanding it at the ballot box.
ON THIS DATE! ON THIS DATE!: The Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified on this date in 1795, following ratification by North Carolina. It had been sent to the several states on March 4, 1794, following passage by Congress.
A Good Bar Bet: The Eleventh Amendment was passed to override the Supreme Court’s decision in Chisholm v. Georgia, which ruled that federal courts had jurisdiction in matters between a citizen of one state making a claim against another state. The case started when one Mr Chisolm of South Carolina sued the state of Georgia in federal court for payment for goods he had provided during the Revolution. The Eleventh Amendment repealed the Supreme Court’s opinion.
We Are Out Of Here: After getting smacked around by Allied forces for most of the past six months, the Japanese complete their evacuation Guadalcanal on the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific on this date in 1943. While there were some aerial and naval skirmishes during this operation – known in Japan as Operation Ke – there was not an all-out assault by the Allies, who really didn’t know what was going on. The following morning, February 8, elements of the US Army resumed an advance and were surprised to see no one there as Army leaders had thought the Japanese were reinforcing their troops, not evacuating them.
Aichiwawa: The United States announces a complete embargo on imports and exports from Cuba on this date in 1962, in response to Cuba not complying with every American demand.
The More Things Change…: It was not the first time America had started an embargo against Cuba. In 1958 America banned the sale of arms to Cuba and in 1960 President Eisenhower, in response to Cuba nationalizing oil refineries owned by Americans, had prohibited all exports to Cuba except for food and medicine.
…The More They Stay The Same: Despite annual condemnation from the United Nations and assorted human rights groups, the embargo is still in effect, the most enduring trade embargo in modern history.
Great Moments In Pluto Being Closer To Mr Sun Than Neptune: Pluto moves inside of Neptune’s orbit for the first time since either planet’s discovery on this date in 1979. It would remain closer to the Sun than Neptune for 20 years and four days.
FunFact: Those waiting for the two planets to collide shouldn’t hold their breath. Due to the nature of their orbits, including the fact Pluto’s is on a different plane than Neptune’s, the two planets will never collide.
Quotebook: Cleopatra encouraged him to dare the last gamble for omnipotence… – Will Durant, The Story of Civilization: Caesar and Christ
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: Queen Elizabeth II broke her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria’s record for longest reign by a British monarch on September 9, 2015, her 63rd year, 217th day on the throne.
Today’s Stumper: When will Pluto again move inside of Neptune’s orbit?- Answer next time!
