The Daily Dose/December 6, 2018
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
In The News
We were thinking about our country and our president recently and the more we thought about it the more we were reminded of a quote from Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville:
…that irresistible revolution which has advanced for centuries in spite of every obstacle and which is still advancing in the midst of the ruins it has caused.
Now, de Tocqueville wasn’t talking about America per se, but about our general human condition. a condition that simultaneously flourishes and languishes, triumphs and stumbles. It’s a condition that invented printing and the internal combustion engine and put men on the moon despite the havoc, despair and destruction we have caused since time immemorial
He could also be speaking about our current president. Donald Trump gained the White House in spite of significant obstacles and continues to spread his unique tumult despite the ruins he is causing.
The obstacles were, among other things, his personal rancor for everyone and everything and lack of a cogent, long-term plan for our country. We elected him anyway. His campaign was chaotic and disorganized and we always had the impression Trump entered the GOP primaries merely to utilize his only real talent – drawing attention to himself – and he had little interest in actually being president.
The ruins he is presiding over is a country that is even more bitterly divided than before the election, a condition we barely thought possible. The ruins are an America that will collapse, probably before this half-century is out, if we don’t do something. Now, these conditions were not set by Trump, but they are exacerbated by the daggers of deceit and division he drives into our hearts every day.
Our president is a reflection of us and we are a reflection of him. Our collective acceptance of this, our continuing refusal to do anything about this at the ballot box, will eventually tear our country apart.
Today At The Site
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow gets the raise he asked for two weeks ago at Hotel C and accepts a full-time position there. This means there will be fewer Wonders of the Service Desk at the retailer, but he is pleased he won’t be working so much anymore.
Every ski bum in town that wants a job and is able to hold down a job has a job, so everyone’s applicant pool is people already employed, a lamentable state of affairs…For employers…For ol’ Sparrow it means a nice raise.
On This Date
In 1865 – The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery, becomes law when it is ratified by Georgia, the 27th state to do so. The day before, Mississippi had rejected it and would not ratify it until 1995. It had been sent to the several states by Congress in January.
In 1966 – Rick Barry of the San Francisco Warriors establishes the NBA record for Most Free Throws in a Quarter, making 14 in a 126-116 win over the New York Knicks. The record has been tied several times since, most recently by Johnny Newman of Denver in 1998.
In 1969 – Steam, then the name of a group of studio musicians and not an actual band, is at #1 for the first of two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 with Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye. The song was originally written as the B side of a single and Steam remains one of the few acts whose only Top 40 hit went to #1. A follow-up peaked at #46 in 1970.
Quotebook
I will get ready, and then, perhaps, my time will come.
John Wooden
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Browder v. Gale was the US Supreme Court ruling that struck down Montgomery and Alabama’s bus segregation laws.
Today’s Stumper
Which player holds the NBA record for Most Free Throws Made in a Game? –Answer next time!
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