The Daily Dose/December 16, 2018
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
In The News
The US media seems to have lost interest in reporting developments in the death of Jamal Khashoggi, despite the fact there are no fewer than 923,000 news outlets who can report their findings instantaneously. Follow-up reporting, along with context and substance and investigation, is one of the major casualties of the insta-news cycle.
(We’ve long felt this malfeasance is responsible for the Trump presidency. Instead of dismissing him as they would have any other billionaire needing attention who lacked a cogent, long-term plan for our country, Trump meant ratings, clicks and profits, so he was ushered right into the GOP primaries, the nomination and the White House.)
Here’s the latest:
Khashoggi is still dead and it is still not reasonable to believe Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was not complicit in it.
The United States Senate this week passed a resolution saying the crown prince was responsible for Khashoggi’s murder. The resolution is non-binding, meaning it while it packs some moral punch, it has the same legal authority as a resolution passed by the New York Yankees.
For his part, President Trump – President Trump! – still declines to implicate the crown prince, saying the Saudis “…have been a really good ally” which is akin to keeping the clap around because you had fun getting it.
Turkey, the country where Khashoggi uttered his last words – “I can’t breathe.” – is still doggedly trying to bring the killers to account however, in what is hardly the Upset of the Year, the Saudis are making the effort difficult. A Turkish government official appealed for international help – good luck with that – saying:
…it will be in the best interest of the international community to seek justice for the late Saudi journalist under international law,
It would, of course, but with the US declining to do anything, nothing will happen.
Today At The Site
The Diary of a Nobody: They sell dreidels at the retailer! Sparrow is not making that up.
Anyway, we keep them fairly well hidden, on one of those ubiquitous impulse strips against the far wall, at the end of the Christmas section next to hardware, between ornament hooks and the stepladders…To celebrate Sally and I sang the only verse we know of the dreidel song Jasmine taught us.
On This Date
In 1773 – Several dozen American patriots, some disguised as Indians, protest taxes on tea levied by the British crown without their consent, boarding three ships in Boston harbor and throwing 342 chests of tea into the harbor. History refers to the incident as the Boston Tea Party, the significance of which was not lost on the colonists, with John Adams calling it “…the most magnificent Movement of all”.
In 1973 – O.J. Simpson of the Buffalo Bills slashes his way into the NFL record book, establishing a new record for Most Rushing Yards in a Season, rushing for 200 yards as the Bills defeated the New York Jets 34-14. Simpson finished the season with 2,003 yards. The old record was 1,863 yards by Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns, in 1963. The record is now held by Erick Dickerson, who rushed for 2,105 yards in 1984.
In 1967 – I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Gladys Knight and the Pips is at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart – then known as the Hot Rhythm and Blues Singles chart – for the third of six consecutive weeks. It was second of ten #1’s on the soul chart for the group and the song peaked at #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100. A version the following year by Marvin Gaye spent seven weeks at #1 on both the soul chart and the Hot 100.
Quotebook
We cannot escape history…we will be remembered in spite of ourselves…The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation.
Abraham Lincoln
Annual message to Congress, 12/1/1862
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Anne Murray has had 23 #1 songs on the country chart in her native Canada.
Today’s Stumper
How many NFL players have rushed for over 2,000 yards in a season? –Answer next time!
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