Notes from around the Human Experience…
DUDE…PASS THE DORITOS: The Oregon state legislature passed two bills last week further decriminalizing small amounts of six recreational drugs. Among them are cocaine, heroin, meth and ecstasy.
Good. The less criminal drugs are, the less crime there will be. The benefits of decriminalizing drugs are many. Citizens no longer become criminals for what they put in their bodies. Drug dealers are no longer evil arch criminals and become mere vendors trying to move some product. Cops are freed to to fight real crime, crimes with real victims.
Gaylon For Congress…Vote Early, Vote Often: We don’t think Oregon is going far enough, actually. The go It’s not the job of our government to authorize or prohibit what we do in the privacy of our own home, it’s their job to see we are free to do what we want in our home. Every level of government should remove all penalties associated with the production, distribution and usage of recreational drugs.
If drugs aren’t your cup of tea, good, they aren’t mine either. Just because something is legal, does not make it mandatory.
ON THIS DATE! ON THIS DATE! Pluto moves inside the orbit of Neptune on this date in 1735, and will remain closer to the sun for the next 20 years. Pluto would again move inside Neptune’s orbit in 1979 and will do so again 2227.
Great Moments In Vice Presidential/Former Treasury Secretary Dueling: Vice President of the United States shoots former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in a duel on this date in 1804 in Weehawken, New Jersey. Hamilton would die the following day.
Dry, Technical Matter: The two had been bitter rivals for years and the challenge had been issued by Burr. Hamilton fired first, firing above Burr’s head. Burr could have done something similarly gentlemanly but declined, preferring to shoot Hamilton in the stomach.
Oh Yeah: Burr would be charged with murder in both New Jersey and New York, though he was never tried. After murdering Hamilton, Burr fled to Georgia, before returning to Washington to resume his vice presidential duties.
Well, That Didn’t Work: Swedish explorer and engineer Salomon August Andree and two others take off from Dane Island, Norway in an attempt to fly a balloon to the North Pole on this date in 1897. They crashed after a couple of days on the packed ice of the Arctic Ocean. With no one to rescue them, and ill-equipped for a long trek, the men survived for a while on the provisions they brought and the walruses and polar bears they shot, but would die in early October.
The remains, including the bodies, plus diaries and photographic film, weren’t found until 1930.
Get Out Your History Books: Babe Ruth makes his major league debut on this date in 1914. A pitcher back then, Ruth gives up three runs and eight hits in seven innings and gets the win as the Boston Red Sox defeat the Cleveland Indians, then known as the Naps, 4-3. At the plate Ruth would go 0-2 with a strikeout.
FunFact: Ruth was purchased by the Red Sox from the Providence Grays of the International League only after Connie Mack, owner of the Philadelphia A’s, passed on aquiring Ruth, Ernie Shore and Ben Egan on July 7.
The Post Game Show Is Brought To You By Old Style Beer: With the win, the Red Sox move to five games behind the A’s, who split a doubleheader with the St Louis Browns. It’s a log jam atop the American League, as the Red Sox are still in sixth place.
I Do Solemnly Swear: William Howard Taft is sworn in as the tenth Chief Justice of the United States on this date 1921, becoming the only person to date to serve as both president of the United States and chief justice. Taft had been the 27th president from 1909-13.
Taft would serve as Chief Justice, which is what he always wanted to be, until early 1930, when he resigned for health reasons about a month before his death.
All We Ask Is Give Train Bombings A Chance: Bombs explode on seven trains in Mumbai, India on this date in 2006, killing 209 and injuring over 700. The bombs exploded within seven minutes of each other.
QuoteBook: Any society, if it is to flourish instead of merely survive, must strive to transcend its own limits.– Andrew Chaikin, A Man on the Moon
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: The lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth was -128.6F, at Vostok Station, about 800 miles east of the South Pole, in 1983.
Today’s Stumper: When did Babe Ruth hit his first major league home run? – Answer next time!
