The Daily Dose/January 31, 2018
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Notes from around the Human Experience…
THE STATE OF OUR UNION…: President Trump’s state of the union message Tuesday was sort of like putting a child in front of a map and asking where they thought the family should go on vacation.
Here! No, wait here! And here. And here and here and here and here!
President Trump talked about an awful lot of issues but offered no solutions, only goals. There were the usual calls for bipartisan cooperation. There was the nonsense about building “a great wall” on the southern border. He seemingly mentioned every American but your aunt in Duluth.
He certainly did his darndest to sound inspirational:
This, in fact, is our new American moment. There has never been a better time to start living the American dream.
So, to every citizen watching at home tonight, no matter where you have been or where you have come from, this is your time. If you work hard, if you believe in yourself, if you believe in America, then you can dream anything, you can be anything. And together, we can achieve absolutely anything.
These would be spurring words from a president who was actually leading our country, a president who had our collective confidence and respect. Coming from our most divisive president ever, who lies and talks about grabbing women by the pussy and whose only real talent is drawing attention to himself, they mean nothing.
Trump was consistent, however. Fact checking a Trump speech keeps hundreds of reporters gainfully employed and the Associated Press counted no less than 19 falsehoods or inaccuracies in the speech.
LOL: Trump’s showed be might be the funniest president ever:
The state of our union is strong…
He was just kidding of course, because the state of our American union is not strong. Far from it. Between our perpetual wars and our widening social divide and our mindless debt, the state of our union is not strong. The American foundation is cracking and has been for about a generation. We’re not ready to be tossed aside the scrap heap of history yet, but we’re getting there, probably before this half-century is out if we don’t start taking action at the ballot box pretty soon.
ON THIS DATE! ON THIS DATE!: John Marshall becomes Chief Justice of the United States on this date in 1801, four days after being confirmed by the US Senate. Marshall replaced Oliver Ellsworth, who had resigned in December due to poor health.
Marshall was not President John Adams first choice because John Jay – the first chief justice – declined an encore performance. Adams didn’t really have time to dawdle. Not only had he lost the 1800 presidential election to Thomas Jefferson, his Federalist party had lost control of Congress to the Democratic-Republicans, all of whom would take office in March. When Adams received Jay’s letter declining the position, Marshall, then secretary of state, happened to be in the office with Adams, who immediately offered him the position.
Marshall’s impact on America was profound. His court’s declaring certain parts of the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional in Marbury v. Madison established the principle of judicial review in America and went a long way to making the judicial branch an equal part of the government. Marshall also ended the practice of justices wearing those infernal white wigs on the bench and began having the court issue one opinion instead of each justice issuing his own opinion. For his part, Adams said that his gift of Marshall to his country was his proudest moment.
Dry, Technical Matter: It is almost interesting to note that back then the Supreme Court usually only met in February and March. The rest of the time the justices were out attending to matters on their assigned judicial circuit.
The Long And Winding Road: Marshall served until his death in 1835 and his tenure remains the longest by a chief justice in American history.
Great Moments In Ending Slavery In America: Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution on this date in 1865 and sends it to the several states for ratification. The House, after much contentious debate, actually passed the amendment. The Senate had passed it the previous April.
USA! USA!: The amendment was ratified in December when it was ratified by Georgia.
He Shoots…He Scores!!!…And Scores!!!!…: Joe Malone of the Quebec Bulldogs establishes an NHL record for goals in a game, scoring seven against the Toronto St Pats – now known as the Maple Leafs – on this date in 1920. Malone broke the record of six goals established three weeks earlier by Newsy Lalonde.
The Postgame Show Is Brought To You By Don Cherry: Malone’s record still stands and while we are not ready to put it on our list of records that will never be broken, it is worth noting no NHL player has scored six goals in a game Darryl Sittler of Toronto in 1976.
Oh Yeah: Quebec defeated Toronto that night 10-6.
“OK, Father. I’ll Pray That You Don’t Follow Me Too Soon.”: Army Private Eddie Slovik is executed in France by the US Army for desertion on this date in 1945. Slovak was one of 21,000 servicemen convicted of desertion, one of 49 death sentences issued but his was the only one carried out. He was the first American executed for desertion since the Civil War.
Quotebook: I have said to myself a thousand times that I should be happy if I were but as ignorant as my old neighbor; and yet it is a happiness which I do not desire. – Voltaire
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: Wilhelm Frick (Minister of the Interior) and Hermann Goring (Minister of the Interior for Prussia) were the other two senior Nazi leaders who took office the day Hitler became chancellor of Germany.
Today’s Stumper: What is the longest interval between ratification of consecutive Constitutional amendments? – Answer next time!!
