Chamblee54

A Man Without a Country

Posted in Book Reports, Library of Congress by chamblee54 on April 26, 2018


A meme turned up on facebook the other day. Here is what it said: “For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes (Matthew 5). But, often with tears in their eyes, the demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course, that’s Moses, not Jesus. I haven’t heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere. “Blessed are the merciful” in a courtroom? “Blessed are the peacemakers” in the Pentagon? Give me a break!”

This bit of commodity wisdom is blamed on Kurt Vonnegut. It does sound like something he would say. The copy-friendly version of the quote gives a source, A Man Without a Country. This is a memoir, which is like a meme with an oir glued on.

PG ordered AMWAC from the library, and read it. It would be fun to say that AMWAC is great, but it isn’t. It is the same stuff you heard KV saying for years. AMWAC was published in 2005, two years before KV took his dirt nap. ANWAC might have been a good idea, but just doesn’t work. Not that the humanist talk isn’t true, or inspiring. The novels had humanism, but they were window dressing for a story, with plots and characters. The novels were fun to read.

One item stands out, which is not to say that it is outstanding. “Jazz historian Albert Murray claimed that the suicide rate among American slave owners was higher than that of their slaves.” This is on page 68 of AMWAC. The source thinks that this is because the slaves could sing the blues, and slave owners could do nothing but count money.

Reddit had 22 comments devoted to this factoid. The truth is, nobody knows. It may be true. It may have been true in the Mississippi Delta, but not true in Virginia. Maybe seeing snow in the winter was the factor. There is a problem with asking why, before you are sure that the statement is true.

Classics Illustrated: The Man Without A Country #63 is a comic book version of another book titled AMWAC. (all pages are there, this is meant for reading, not collecting) In this epic, a man says that he wishes to never hear of the United States again. A judge sentences him to go on a ship, where people are forbidden to speak of America in his presence. Talk about specialty punishment! In the end, the man is so patriotic nobody can stand him. It is highly unlikely that there will be a comic book version of the Kurt Vonnegut AMWAC.

Pictures are from The Library of Congress. Dorothea Lange took the pictures in June 1937, in Texas The spell check suggestion for AMWAC is AMWAY.

Killed By Police April 22

Posted in Killed By Police, Library of Congress by chamblee54 on April 22, 2018


16 people were Killed By Police in the United States last week. Here are the links: 378 Ruben Stewart 379 Raymond Lyle Bell 380 Lonnie Marcel Bowen 381 Justin Monjay 382 Sanchez Lowe 383 Justin Oakes 384 Dytadious Mobley 385 Delorean Pikyavit 386 David Gino Teneyuque 387 William Ray Simcoe Sr 388 Charles Whitley 389 390 James Bauduy 391 Kendall Lemoine 392 Lockwood Adrian Gibson 393 Terrance Carlton

6 of the victims were white. (379, 381, 383, 387, 388, 391) 6 of the victims were black. (380, 382, 384, 386, 390, 393) 2 of the victims were native american. (378, 385) The race of 2 of the victims is unknown. (389, 392)

2 of the victims fired at an officer. (384, 391) 6 of the victims displayed a weapon. (378, 379, 383, 386, 387, 389) 3 of the victims were in a car chase. (380, 388, 392) 2 of the victims used a vehicle as a weapon. (381, 382)

Two of the cases were in Georgia. “According to the GBI, Cobb County Police encountered a group of people in a hotel room at the Guest Inn in Austell. Officers smelled an odor consistent with marijuana and made contact with the occupants of one of the hotel rooms. While awaiting a search warrant for the room, Sanchez Lowe, 25, ran from the room and attempted to flee in a vehicle. Cobb County officers attempted to stop Lowe, and one officer was dragged by the vehicle. That officer fired his weapon, striking and killing Lowe.” “The officers called in for a warrant, and while they were waiting, an African-American suspect, later identified as Lowe, dashed out of the room and into a vehicle, officers said. Lowe tried to drive away. Officers tried to stop him, and one officer was dragged by the vehicle, according to the GBI. That officer fired at Lowe, killing him, according to the GBI.” (382)

“Police say the man, later identified as 32 year-old Justin Oakes, walked into the facility around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night and was seeking shelter. A couple of hours later, around 2:15 a.m. Oakes called 911 from the bathroom of the facility and claimed he had been poisoned. Oakes, who was armed with a knife, barricaded himself inside the restroom in the main lobby of the building. Two deputies were able to push their way into the bathroom. When the deputies saw Oakes was armed, they attempted to subdue him by deploying a Taser gun but were unsuccessful. Oakes stabbed one of the deputies in the leg before the injured deputy fatally shot him. Another deputy also sustained a wound to his leg but it is unclear how that deputy was injured.” (383)

“… the deadly chain of events began at approximately 3 a.m. when Valley Emergency Communications Center (VECC) received a 911 call from an agitated male. The news release from the UPD said the caller stated: “Tell your officers to back off, or I will shove this knife through her throat.” The unknown male on the line also requested to speak to a hostage negotiator. VECC transferred the call to the UPD Dispatch Center. “Not knowing who made the call, or if the threat was legitimate, and having no officers in the vicinity, UPD Millcreek officers were dispatched to the area of 3698 S. 900 East, the location of the phone ping,” the news release said. “Officers did not notice anything out of the ordinary, other than a truck leaving the area. Officers were able to get the license plate of the truck before it left.” At approximately 4 a.m., UPD received information that the West Valley City Police Department was in pursuit of the same truck that was observed leaving Millcreek. The pursuit started at 5600 W. 3100 South, continued west through West Valley and into Magna. During the pursuit through Magna, WVCPD officers deployed tire spikes to disable the truck and it eventually came to a stop at 2750 S. 8400 West. “A UPD officer, who arrived to assist at the stop location, approached the vehicle and fired at the male inside the cab of the truck,” the news release goes on. “Medical aid was rendered but the suspect passed away at the scene.” The female who was also inside the truck was not struck by gunfire. She was transported and treated at a nearby hospital for injuries inflicted upon her by Bowen. It’s not clear at this time what the relationship was between the woman and Bowen.” … “The deceased has been identified as 41-year-old Lonnie Marcel Bowen of Salt Lake City, the Unified Police Department said in a news release Tuesday afternoon. On a Facebook page titled ‘Lonnie Natalie Bowen,’ a man who UPD spokesman Lt. Brian Lohrke said officials “believe” is the same person, posted a 4-minute-35-second video. “The Salt Lake PD are killers, and they responsible for anything that happens to me, death wise,” the video states. “They want to kill me. Why cos, I don’t know, that’s just the way they do shit. And I’m ready … I’m not hostile in any kind of manner, I’m not armed, or anything. They’re going to make my death look like a drug deal gone bad, or gang violence, or something like that, but that’s not the case, the case is they want me dead, for whatever reason they want me dead.” Phillip Bolin “U should know the facts that is a cover up n slpd excuss n justifcation of his murder his fiancee was sittin in his lap trying to calm him n kissing him telling him it would be ok n day shot him they been after him fo months” Rae Gonzalez ” Maybe you should know how slpd is they’re trigger happy mother fuckers who’ll kill anyone. They been killing homeboys left and right for the stupidest reasons “wrong person for the search warrant” like seriously get your facts straight or don’t speak at all. You look straight stupid.” (380)

“The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation says law enforcement officers in Tishomingo fatally shot a man who was using his vehicle to ram a patrol car. The OSBI says two Tishomingo officers and a Johnston County deputy were responding to a family violence call Tuesday night when 39-year-old Justin Monjay rammed the patrol car. The agency says Monjay continued to push the car backward and the two officers and the deputy opened fire.” (381)

“A U.S. Marshall task force looking for Dytadious Mobley, 31, found him Wednesday night in the area of Sunrise Boulevard and 9th Terrace. When Fort Lauderdale police moved in to make the arrest, they ordered him to get out of his vehicle. “The subject refused to come out so less than lethal methods were deployed,” said Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Maglione. “The suspect responded to the less than lethal efforts by discharging a firearm at the police officer on the scene.” Police said several detectives returned fire and killed Mobley. No police officers were injured in the exchange of gunfire “I don’t want you to think of him as a monster,” said John Mobley, Dytadious’ uncle who showed up at the shooting scene Thursday afternoon. John described his nephew as a loving father to six children. “Very family oriented. The whole situation doesn’t define his character,” he said. Mobley had been on the run since January when Fort Lauderdale police say he shot and killed 55-year-old Bernice Jefferson during an argument. It happened in front of the children he had with Letraveya Jefferson, who is Bernice Jefferson’s daughter. Letraveya also showed up at the shooting scene Thursday and expressed frustration over the outcome. “There were plenty of other ways they could have handled that situation. He was shot over 100 times,” she said. “I would rather him go to jail cause I’m a motherless child and my kids are fatherless. For me justice hasn’t been served” (384)

“A man was shot and killed by police outside a home in Sugar House after officers responded to a reported domestic violence situation there Wednesday afternoon. … When officers arrived at the home, they tried to talk to the man, later identified as 32-year-old Delorean Pikyavit , who then went inside the house. That prompted police to switch tactics and treat the situation as if they were dealing with a barricaded person and a hostage. For the next hour, police attempted to talk to Pikyavit, and he came outside eventually, (Salt Lake City Sgt. Brandon) Shearer said. It’s unclear what happened next, but officers shot Pikyavit about 2 p.m. “He came out of the home and approached officers. His actions caused the officers to respond, at which time the suspect was shot,” Shearer said.” “Police did not release information Wednesday about what Pikyavit did to prompt police to shoot or whether he was armed. … Police originally described Pikyavit as “suicidal…” (385)

“The Fayette County Coroner’s Office says Charles Whitley, 40, died from a gunshot wound Thursday morning, two days after the shooting. Kentucky State Police say the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office responded Tuesday morning to a report of a suspicious vehicle, but the car wouldn’t pull over. Burkesville police and Kentucky State Police joined in the chase, which ended when the suspect crashed into the deputy’s vehicle. An officer’s weapon was fired during the pursuit, but authorities haven’t identified exactly when the shot was fired or which department the officer was with. A female passenger wasn’t injured and was arrested on outstanding warrants.” (388)

“Florida deputies have fatally shot a man suspected of killing an 82-year-old woman. Orange County Sheriff’s officials say James Bauduy fatally shot Elfriede Asendorf in her home Thursday and then stole her daughter’s car. Authorities believe the daughter is Bauday’s ex-girlfriend. Two deputies say they approached 48-year-old Bauduy on Friday but he refused comply with commands so the deputies fired their weapons. Sheriff Jerry Demings said the deputies believed the man was armed. The sheriff did not say whether they recovered a weapon.” (390)

“Police say it began about 12:30 a.m. with a shooting call in the 800 block of Berclair. One male was found shot and taken to Regional One in noncritical condition. About 20 minutes later, police responded to another shooting in the 700 block of Berclair. An alert was put out for a suspect, who was spotted by an officer in the parking lot of a real estate office on Summer Avenue near Berclair. Some type of altercation occurred between the officer and the suspect, (Terrance Carlton) and the officer fired at the suspect, MPD said.” “The officer involved in the use-of-force incident spotted an individual matching the shooting suspect’s description walking on Summer Avenue. The officer attempted to stop the subject and ordered him to show his hands. Reportedly, the subject did not comply and attempted to leave the area. He then stumbled and fell to the ground. As he attempted to get up, the subject simultaneously reached for his waist and made a statement threatening the officer’s life, resulting in the officer firing his service weapon at least twice, striking the subject,” (393)

Pictures are from The Library of Congress.

Stacey And Stacey

Posted in Library of Congress, Politics, Race by chamblee54 on April 20, 2018


Until Thursday, PG had been in blissful denial of the Georgia Governor’s election. Except, that is, for the clown car antics of the republicans. The Democrats had Stacey Abrams, aka black Stacey, opposing Stacey Evans, aka white Stacey. The Republicans are almost certain to win in November, even with a certified idiot like Casey Cagle.

The happy ignorance was interrupted by facebook on thursday. A FBF posted a link to this article, Statement by the Metro Atlanta Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America on the vulgar hit piece against member Anoa Changa. The vhp, posted by the notorious white supremacists at WABE, was titled Atlanta Activist Uses Russian-Backed Media To Spread Message. It seems as though a local activist, Anoa Changa, utilized a Russian owned broadcast outlet to spread her message. This was news to PG, as well as the 99.9% of the population that never listens to Sputnik.

PG did not see what was so horrible about the WABE piece, and was prepared to ignore it. Then he saw something in the article. “Changa helped lead a protest last year at the progressive Netroots Nation convention drowning out the speech of Stacey Evans, a Democratic candidate for governor in Georgia. Changa and the other protesters chanted “trust black women.” Evans is white, while her Democratic primary opponent Stacey Abrams is black. Changa supports Abrams.” A bit of research turned up a video, Protesters Harass Stacey Evans Candidate Gov. Georgia Aug 12, 2017.

This incident was noted on facebook. “Yup, don’t see what the problem is. Was Evans run out of town? Silenced? Is she still in the race?” “I fully support activists of color disrupting any centrist white person running for office. Stop ignoring the fundamental power dynamic in play because of white supremacist patriarchy.” “Good luck winning the election”

Others are grossed out by this type of behavior. Is this what happens to people running for public office? To be shouted down in public forums, and say “this is what democracy looks like.” Maybe smells like is more appropriate. Maybe we are not mature enough to allow the luxury of free speech. Maybe an election campaign is a time to shout down your opponent … and call those who do not applaud your playground-bully tactics a racist.

Stacey Abrams And Stacey Evans had a discussion of the incident. Stacey Evans condemned the protest. Stacey Abrams did not. “I do not believe that you silence those who feel they are voiceless, because the minute we do that we are no better than those who tell people they can’t kneel in protest.”

Anoa Changa is far from voiceless. She is not going to be silenced by waiting until someone else is through speaking. To compare this abusive protest, to pro football players and the national anthem, is ridiculous. Stacey Abrams has no business being Governor of Georgia. Pictures for this paranormal panorama are from The Library of Congress.

Tim Curry

Posted in Georgia History, Library of Congress, Music by chamblee54 on April 19, 2018






Tim Curry was born seventy two years ago today. It would be quite a while before April 19 was known as got a minute day. Mr. Curry is an actor, singer, and all around phenomenon. The role that made him a star was Frank-n-Furter in ” The Rocky Horror Show”.

Mr. Curry is best known for playing a flamboyant transvestite. His wikipedia page does not discuss his personal life. If you go to google, and type “is tim curry” the top five results are gay, married, dead, alive, died. A visit to some of the sites listed gave no definite answers. One of the sites tried to slip a *trojan horse* into this machine. Some things are better left a mystery.

After Dr. Furter went back to Transylvania, Mr. Curry made rock and roll albums. In 1978, a tour was put together to promote his vinyl debut. The first show in the United States was at the Agora Ballroom in Atlanta GA. PG was in the audience.

Riding into town on the 23 Ogelthorpe bus, PG got to talk to some ladies who were in town for a conference. They were worried about the crime. PG tried to reassure them by telling a recent news story. This lady was having breakfast in a downtown hotel, when she put her purse down on the floor. A handgun her husband had given her went off when the handbag hit the ground. The ladies breakfast companion was hit and killed.

Mr. Curry walked onstage eating a banana, grabbed a stool and turned it upside down. He appeared to be a bit tipsy. This did not affect his performance. Mr. Curry did most of the songs on his album, along with “Celluoid Heroes” by the Kinks. The latter song featured a Garbo impersonation.

Whoever put the band together for this tour had a lot of money. The guitar player played with Lou Reed on “Rock and Roll Animal”. The keyboard player, and musical director, was Micheal Kamen, formerly of the New York Rock and Roll Ensemble. (A song on the Curry album, “Sloe Gin”, was a NYRRE song, “Fields of Joy”, with new lyrics.)

The only song from “Rocky Horror” that Mr. Curry did was “I’m Going Home”. A few people were upset that he did not do “Sweet Transvestite.” He played another Agora show a couple of years later, and reportedly did perform “Sweet Transvestite.”

Tom Waits was scheduled to perform at the Agora the next night. PG was wandering through the balcony between shows, and saw Mr. Waits sitting at a table. A bodyguard was standing by, who said that it was just someone who looked like Tom Waits.

After the show was over, PG went to a nearby bar, and was talking to a friend about the show. A lady who was with the friend stood in front of him and screamed “What color are your eyes? They are brown, because you are so full of shit”.

Pictures for this repost are from The Library of Congress. Photographs of Cornell Fresh. 8 and Cornell 2d Varsity, 1914 are from the George Grantham Bain Collection




This Is Your Life

Posted in Commodity Wisdom, Library of Congress, Undogegorized by chamblee54 on April 14, 2018


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An all caps graphic washes up on the digital shores from time to time. The author, and copyright status, are not known. It was not written here. Reading it can be a chore, even though it looks cool. It is also selfish… the only opinion that matters is the individual reading it. It doesn’t have a good beat, but you can dance to it. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.

This is your life.
Do what you love, and do it often.
If you don’t like something, change it.
If you don’t like your job, quit.

If you don’t have enough time, stop watching TV.
If you are looking for the love of your life, stop:
They will be waiting for you when you start doing things you love.

Stop over analyzing, life is simple
All emotions are beautiful.
When you eat, appreciate every last bite.

Open your mind, arms, and heart to new things and people,
We are united in our differences.
Ask the next person you see what their passion is,
And share your inspiring dream with them.

Travel often, getting lost will help you find yourself.
Some opportunities only come once, seize them.

Life is about the people you meet, and the things you create with them
So go out and start creating.
Life is short. Live your dream, and wear your passion.

“Do you have to be a poet? If you don’t have to be a poet, be a prose writer. You’ll get further faster. Poetry — there’s probably more poetry published today than any time in the history of the world. Nevertheless, there is this — people think they have this blindness when they see a line in the typography of poetry, and it just blocks them. So if you can say the same thing in prose, you’ll probably be better off” Lawrence Ferlinghetti




Thomas Jefferson Said What?

Posted in History, Library of Congress, Quotes, The Internet by chamblee54 on April 13, 2018

PG was wasting time with facebook when he saw a friend say “Damn I love this quote”. The passage being praised was “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Desmond Tutu. The rhetoric alert started to flash. These days, the wolf and the sheep buy their clothes at the same Walmart. To hear some oppressors talk, they are the ones under attack. It is tough to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Often you can make things worse by getting mixed up. Sometimes the best thing to do is mind your own business.
Ok, now that is out of the way. Some lines sound good, but don’t hold up to a bit of thinking. As for the veracity of the quote, Desmond Tutu may very well have said it. (or maybe one of his rivals said it, and Mr. Tutu copied it.) The quote has been attributed to Thomas Jefferson, Edmund Burke, Patrick Henry, and probably others. Almost no one has a source, for the quote, from the dead white guys.
A post called MISQUOTING THE FOUNDERS did not mince words.
“The only problem with this scene that has been repeated many times across the country is that Thomas Jefferson never said that, never wrote that, and quite possibly never thought it. Our aspiring politician had fallen victim to the perils of popular misattribution. You could fill a book with misquotes and misattributed quotes we hear repeated regularly today. Right now if I Google “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent” the entire first page of results wrongly attribute it to Thomas Jefferson. The quote and its many variants have been attributed in the past to Thomas Paine and Edmund Burke, but no record exists of the quote in any of their writings or contemporary accounts.”
On November 13, 1787, Mr. Jefferson wrote a letter to William Smith. The letter is full of zesty quotes.
“What country before ever existed a century & a half without a rebellion? & what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon & pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. It is it’s natural manure.”
A few lines above that, Mr. Jefferson said
“God forbid we should ever be 20 years without such a rebellion.” Twenty years after he wrote this, Mr. Jefferson was President. He probably did not want to deal with a revolution when he was President.
Getting back to the quote about tyranny, Martin Porter wrote an entertaining essay, A study of a Web quotation. He gives credit, or blame, to Edmund Burke. First, a list of different versions is presented. This is a clue that something is awry. The conclusion:
“There is no original. The quote is bogus, and Burke never said it. It is a pseudo-quote, and corresponds to real quotes in the same way that urban legends about the ghost hitch-hiker vanishing in the back of the car and alligators in the sewers correspond to true news stories.”
Mr. Porter wrote a follow up essay, Four Principles of Quotation. These principles are:
Principle 1 (for readers) Whenever you see a quotation given with an author but no source assume that it is probably bogus. Principle 2 (for readers) Whenever you see a quotation given with a full source assume that it is probably being misused, unless you find good evidence that the quoter has read it in the source. Principle 3 (for quoters) Whenever you make a quotation, give the exact source. Principle 4 (for quoters) Only quote from works that you have read.
If these principles were to be used, then there would be a lot less hotheaded talking on the intercom. Those who are trying to influence you to the justice of their cause will not want you to read this. Pictures for this feature are from The Library of Congress. These pictures are Union soldiers, from the War Between the States. When war is discussed, all inspiring quotes are in doubt.
This is a repost. It is written like James Joyce. In the past year, doing due diligence on alleged quotes has become a hobby. Many people don’t care who said it, if they agree with the thoughts expressed. The prevailing thought is that an idea becomes more true with a famous name at the end. If the famous person is deceased, and cannot defend his/her reputation, that is not a problem. People do not like being told that Santa Claus does not exist.

Do You Have Questions

Posted in Library of Congress, Weekly Notes by chamblee54 on April 9, 2018


My 72-Hour Safari in Clinton Country ~ “I have often felt that an artist is a detestable ~ The 8 Costly Identity Theft Mistakes (and how to avoid them) ~ @DickFurari This is my favorite gas station viagra: #SuperPanther7 ~ @KimKierkegaard Do you have questions on love, existence, fashion, or culture? I will answer them for the next thirty minutes ~ ‘Describe Yourself Like a Male Author Would’ Is the Most Savage Twitter Thread in Ages ~ @whitneyarner new twitter challenge: describe yourself like a male author would ~ This Handy Chart Automatically Generates a Pitch for Your New Novel ~ Racists Are Threatening to Take Over Paganism ~ White supremacists may be eyeing Meigs County ~ How to Think about “Implicit Bias” ~ How to Stop Your Mind From Wandering During Meditation ~ Intercepted podcast: Injustice League ~ tax cut bill ~ Brian Eno’s ‘Ambient 1: Music for Airports’ is playing on loop at London City Airport ~ 10 million pounds of human feces from New York/New Jersey are rotting in railcars stuck in a small Alabama town ~ We Await Repentance for Assassinating Dr. King ~ Against Mission Drift ~ Richard Poplak sets Jordan B Peterson’s house in order: a (scorching) review of 12 Rules For Life ~ queering the map ~ The Truth About the 7,000 ~ Shame campaign: Could a social media firestorm consume Madison bar Gib’s? ~ Taking it for the Team ~ Making Sex Real “in Atlanta,” 1982-Present: An American Grammar (for Teodoso Xavier Rojo) ~ Deposition of Bacteria and Bacterial Spores by Bathroom Hot-Air Hand Dryers ~ Winston Churchill Gets a Doctor’s Note to Drink “Unlimited” Alcohol in Prohibition America (1932) ~ men from mars thread ~ Here’s What Will Happen After a Huge Earthquake Inevitably Hits California ~ sciatic nerve pain ~ dark patterns ~ Restaurant manager stabbed after firing employee ~ Grace Jones is a man ~ The cult of being kind ~ what is a producer? ~ Yes, the Alt-Left Exists, and No, It’s Not What You Think It Is ~ “it’s part of the psychology of group conflict that we always characterize our group in morally lofty terms ” “well yes, but that does not” .~ white supremacy ~ Today: Tim is counting on you Tim Copeland needs your help with “LGBTQ Georgia – Save our Culture and Identity”. Join Tim and 774 supporters today. ~ That is no sillier than “thou shalt not lie” in a courtroom, and “thou shalt not steal” at the courthouse. ~ @williamrblack @elizabethcatte I could only listen to 33 minutes of this show… yes, racism is a problem, but elitist obsession with racism only makes it worse Democrats said, in effect, if you don’t vote for HRC you are a racist The result is election of DJT ~ About Multicultural Affinity: African American (US) People who live in the United States whose activity on Facebook aligns with African American multicultural affinity ~ I get fundraising emails from Karen Handel. She voted for the tax cut last year. Her message today: Our budget process is broken, and I believe the first step in fixing this problem is passing a Balanced Budget Amendment. You can’t make this up. ~ Is anyone else tired of hearing about @davidhogg111 ? I don’t want to badmouth him, but am looking forward to the end of his fifteen minutes. His media moment is a distraction from the issue of gun control. ~ I was curious about how your friends were arranged. The person who, without my asking, signed me up for facebook, is now at the bottom of the list. I would like to see the friends list in alphabetical order. ~ @wickedfedora2 #KickedOutOfPromBecause I spiked the punch bowl with Tide pods. ~ There is a twitter address, @TFLN, or texts from last night. I am currently editing selected tweets, which I will incorporate into a poem. The tweets below are not iambic pentameter friendly, but do have a certain educational value. The parenthetic number is the area code. (724): This is a life or shit situation. Grab me toilet paper asap. This bathroom is fucking out. This is not a test. This an actual emergency and I am not joking. (541): We were fucking in the bedroom then we heard Sports center on in the living room. He stopped midfuck when I started celebrating that my team won over his (206): sorry bout the carpet, but you DID call it “blackout punch” not “don’t vom on my floor punch” (253): I got all the way to work before I realized there were Trojans in my bra. (216): dude the dog literally grabbed the condom out of the trash can and threw it in the air. (413): Haha i really think theres no better way to tell a paramedic sorry for breaking your nose than a beautiful and healthy edible arrangement… (354): We were all having a bath, the three of us, then that drug dealer guy walked in and peed. Sitting down. Apparently he didn’t want to offend us. (207): One of these days, I’d like to go out drinking and stick to plan of just getting drunk and not be sidetracked with other people’s plans of doing drugs along the way. I didn’t even want to not feel my teeth tonight but here we go. ~ pictures are from The Library of Congress. ~ selah

Killed By Police April 8

Posted in Killed By Police, Library of Congress by chamblee54 on April 8, 2018

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32 people were Killed By Police in the United States last week. Here are the links: 315 Jason Alan Birt 316 Nicolas Sedano 317 Stephen Mammarella 318 Joseph Walden Johnson Jr 319 Brian Bellamy 320 Cresencio Rodriguez 321 Christopher Lamarr Hall 322 Timothy Wyatt 323 Bobby Hinton 324 John Wussler 325 Luis Yair Alvarez 326 327 328 Jeffery Louis Parker 329 330 Adan Rene Marrero 331 Saheed Vassell 332 Alexis Stinson 333 Grady Parks 334 Luis Alberto Garcia-Vara 335 Robert Litolff 336 William Frazier II 337 Rafael Ramirez 338 Kelvin Baldwin 339 340 341 Brenda Jenette Harrison-Bumbray 342 Jonathan Erick Alexander 343 344 Daniel Allen Yielding 346 345 Larry Siordia Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.

8 of the victims were white. (315, 317, 326, 328, 335, 336, 338, 344) 8 of the victims were black. (319, 321, 322, 323, 331, 333, 339, 342) 5 of the victims were latino. (316, 320, 325, 330, 334) 324 John Wussler was a native american. The race of 10 of the victims is unknown. (318, 327, 329, 332, 337, 340, 341, 343, 345, 346) 2 of the victims were female (332, 341)

11 of the victims fired at an officer. (318, 321, 322, 323, 332, 333, 336, 338, 340, 342, 345) 14 of the victims displayed a weapon. (315, 319, 320, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 334, 335, 337, 343, 344) 3 of the victims were suicidal. (328, 329, 334) 2 of the victims were in a car chase. (318, 342) A taser was used on 2 victims. (333, 338) 2 of the victims died without a shot being fired. (317, 318) 4 of the victims were in a domestic dispute. (319, 321, 323, 341)

The murder-suicide of United States Park police officer Jose Ramon Bumbray, and his wife Brenda Jenette Harrison-Bumbray, is the story of the week. “A U.S. Park Police officer killed his wife before turning the gun on himself Thursday, according to the Charles County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff’s deputies were called shortly after 8 p.m. to a house in the 5000 block of Fallen Timber Way in Indian Head, where the couple were involved in a fight before the shootings. Authorities said the couple’s son was in his bedroom when he heard the argument followed by the shots. He then discovered his parents with gunshot wounds and called 911, the Sheriff’s Office said. Brenda Jenette Harrison-Bumbray, 50, was pronounced dead at the scene. Jose Ramon Bumbray, 46, was taken to a hospital where he died. He was an officer with the U.S. Park Police, and it appears he used his agency-issued firearm, the Sheriff’s Office said.” (341)

The death of Saheed Vassell is controversial. “Officers responded to three 911 calls that came in around 4:40 p.m. about a black man wearing a brown leather jacket waving a silver gun at people on the corner of Utica Ave. and Montgomery St., NYPD Chief of Department Terrence Monahan said at a press conference. When the officers got to the street corner, the man, Saheed Vassell, 34, faced them, aiming the object at them, Monahan said. “The suspect then took a two-handed shooting stance and pointed an object at the approaching officers,” the chief said. Four officers — one in uniform, three plainclothes — fired 10 shots, striking the victim multiple times about 4:45 p.m. at the corner of Utica Ave. and Montgomery St. in Crown Heights, sources said. He was taken to Kings County Hospital where he died. Monahan described the object in the Vassell’s hand as “a pipe with some sort of knob.” Screen shots from surveillance video at the scene show a blurry figure with his arm outstretched standing next to a bodega ice machine.” video (331)

“According to investigators, about 10:30PM March 31, 2018, officers with the Reno Police Department responded to a call of a burglary in progress at the Peckham Plaza Mini-Storage at 1400 E. Peckham Lane. While checking the area of the storage units on foot, two Reno Police officers came across a stolen Honda Civic parked behind one of the buildings. In the car was 21-year-old Nicolas Sedano, believed to be from Northern Nevada. Police confronted him and the contact escalated into a situation leading police to shoot him.” (316)

“A fatal crash between a Lee County Sheriff’s Office cruiser and a Fort Myers bicyclist at U.S. 41 and Estero Parkway … is being investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol. An FHP report said the 2009 Ford Crown Victoria cruiser, driven by LCSO employee Tyler Davot, 29, was southbound on 41 in the center lane approaching a green light for Estero Parkway around 9:30 p.m. The bicyclist, Stephen Mammarella, 29, was crossing U.S. 41 on the north side of the intersection traveling east. Mammarella traveled into the center lane and into the cruiser’s path, the FHP said, with the right front of the cruiser hitting the left side of Mammarella’s Ozone model bicycle.” (317)

“Family members allege a Cameron County Sheriff’s Department deputy shot and killed 22-year-old Luis Yair Alvarez on Easter Sunday. … The shooting happened at an apartment complex on the 2600 block of Florencia Avenue. What appeared to be blood could still be seen stained on the cement parking lot Monday afternoon. … Alvarez’s mother, Esmeralda Vega, on Monday afternoon, surrounded by at least a dozen mourning family members and friends, said she called the police because her son was fighting with his girlfriend and wouldn’t stop. According to Vega, the girlfriend wanted to leave, but Alvarez wouldn’t let her, prompting the call to the sheriff’s office. “He got a knife, but he didn’t intend to assault anyone,” Vega said in Spanish. Vega told her son that police were outside. “That’s when he went outside with the knife, but both hands were up,” Vega said. Several family members present when Alvarez was killed recalled hearing four gunshots. “His girlfriend tried to approach and try to relax him after he fell on the floor and they pointed the gun toward the girlfriend as well,” Vega said.” (325)

“Easter Sunday turned bloody on Spring Street after Belton police officers shot a man who, according to neighbors, threatened officers with a knife. Multiple neighbors said that same man (Donald P. McCarter) threatened one family that he would kill them, including their two-year-old daughter, and burn the family’s house to the ground. Alanna Sapenaro, who’s lived on Spring Street since October, said that man from across the street appeared a few weeks ago. Sapenaro, whose family is biracial, said the man slashed the tires on one of her family’s cars and tried to break through the home’s front door. “He threatened to kill me and my family,” Sapanero said, speaking exclusively with FOX4. “He was yelling some racial slurs at our house and our family and how we didn’t belong here. He just kept going and we asked him to leave,” she said. Down the street, cellphone cameras were recording as Belton Police officers made multiple stops at the house where the knife-wielding man lived. Police were summoned to that area on three occasions Sunday, beginning around 3:30 p.m. and finally around 11:15 p.m., according to Sapenaro.” (326)

“Salt River police said they were called about a person “making threats and gesturing that they had a weapon” at the Pavilions at Talking Stick Shopping Center, just east of the Loop 101, at about 11:30 a.m. March 23. Orozco said the person was armed with an unspecified weapon and advanced on an officer “in a threatening manner.” The officer then shot the person.” (327)

“CCPD officers last night responded to a call of a home invasion robbery in the 2300 block of Capitan Dr last night. According to police, responding officers confronted the robbers as they were leaving an apartment. 34-year-old Adan Rene Marrero was shot by officers and died at the scene. Another man, 25-year-old Michael Guzman was arrested by CCPD, and charged with Burglary with Intent to Commit another Felony, Possession of Marijuana, Outstanding Warrant, Failure to Identify as a Fugitive, Giving False ID and Evading Arrest. CCPD says the robbers physically assaulted several apartment residents before officers arrived. A firearm was recovered at the scene.” (330)

“At 10:53 am, Barstow Police Officers we’re called to the Walmart parking lot in the 300 block of Montara Road for a suspicious vehicle. According to Sheriff’s Spokeswoman Cindy Bachman, when deputies arrived on scene, they located a black Ford Mustang driven by a subject that they recognized as a suspect that was wanted for a recent crime. The crime that the suspect was wanted for was a stolen vehicle case out of the city of Barstow, according to Bachman. “The driver pulled the vehicle into a parking space and as the patrol cars approached the driver reversed and accelerated towards the officers, striking one of the Barstow police cars,” … “the Barstow police officers were out of their vehicles and giving the driver commands to stop and exit the vehicle. The driver then accelerated a second time towards the officers and struck a second Barstow patrol car. At that time, the officer involved shooting occurred.” Inside the vehicle, there was a driver and three passengers. There were three people injured one of them suffered fatal injuries. Another female suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was airlifted to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. The slain suspect appeared to be a Black Male Adult who remained slumped over inside the Mustang.” (339)

“Authorities say they shot and killed a man after pursuing him across Yuba County and after he fired at a police dog. The Yuba County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that Wheatland police attempted to pull over a drunken driving suspect around 2:30 a.m. Friday but the man would not stop. The driver was finally stopped with spike strips as he entered Marysville some 13 miles (21 kilometers) away. Authorities from several agencies approached the vehicle and ordered the man to surrender but he refused. They used a county sheriff’s canine to bring the suspect out, but he fired at the dog. Authorities returned fire and the suspect died at the scene. The dog was wounded in the neck and is expected to survive. It’s in stable condition, authorities say. The suspect has been identified as Jonathan Erick Alexander, 26. Investigators do not know his last-known residence. Meanwhile, the Yuba County Sheriff’s Department identified the wounded K-9 officer as Glock and said he is expected to survive his injury.” (342)

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Dr. King And Mr. King

Posted in History, Library of Congress by chamblee54 on April 7, 2018

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PG stumbled onto a blog post about a speech. It was delivered August 28, 1963, by Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. You have probably heard the money quote many times, but how many have heard the entire 881 words. PG had not, and decided to take a look.

The speech is really a sermon. It is delivered with the cadence, and rhetorical flourishes, of the church. Dr. King was a minister. The Jesus worship church is a huge player in African America. The fact that slaves were introduced to this religion, by their owners, seems to be forgotten.

The term used is Negro. This was the polite word in 1963. The custom of saying Black started in the late sixties, at least partially inspired by James Brown. Negro began to be seen as an insult, along with the infamous N-word … which is really just a lazy way of saying Negro.

As the speech is working up to the climax, there is a line “But not only there; let freedom ring from the Stone Mountain of Georgia!” Today, Stone Mountain is a middle class black community. DeKalb County is mostly black, and the political leadership is African American. This was a long way from happening in 1963.

Twelve weeks after Dr. King gave his speech, President John Kennedy was killed. Part of the reaction to this tragedy was the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The next year saw the Voting Rights Act, and escalation of the war in Vietnam. It seemed that for every step forward, there was a half step back. People lost patience with non violence. America did not implode, but somehow survived. It is now fifty four years later.

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The other day PG stumbled onto a blog post, about a speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This address was deemed “the singularly most-important speech on race in the history of this country.”

PG admires Dr. King. He is also suspicious of superlatives. There were some comments made by Rodney Glen King III. The comments by Mr King were briefer, and tougher to live up to.

While thinking of things to write about, PG realized that he had never seen the actual quote by Mr. King. It is embedded above. When you see this video, you might realize that Mr. King has been misquoted. The popular version has him saying “Can’t we all just get along.” He did not say just.

Mr. King was known to America as Rodney King. His friends called him Glen. His comments, at 7:01, May 1, 1992, went like this:
““People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it, making it horrible for the older people and the kids? . . . Please, we can get along here. We all can get along. I mean, we’re all stuck here for a while. Let’s try to work it out. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to beat it.”
The circumstances of the two comments could not be more different. Dr. King was giving the sermon of his life. There was an enormous crowd, both in person and on TV. His comments were scripted, rehearsed, and delivered with the style that he was famous for.

Mr. King, by contrast, had just seen the officers who beat him acquitted. Cities from coast to coast were in violent upheaval. Mr. King was speaking to reporters without benefit of a speech writer. What he said might be more important. This double repost has pictures from The Library of Congress.

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Two Thirds Of A Pun

Posted in Library of Congress, Undogegorized by chamblee54 on March 28, 2018



Why did the cow cross the road ?The chicken was on vacation.
Knock knock. who’s there? boo. boo who?. Don’t cry it’s only a joke…
It’s six of one, half a dozen of the other.
A man walks up to a horse and says, “Why the long face?”
Two pretzels were walking down the street. one was a salted.
“He who laughs last thinks slowest.”
“Raise your hand if you’re here.”
Two nuns walk into a bar; the third one ducks.
Q: What did the radio say when it was dropped? A: “Ow. That hertz.”
What did the ranch say to the refrigerator door? “Close the door, I’m dressing”
Why don’t blind people skydive? It scares the heck out of their dogs…
What did the fish say when it ran into a wall? dam.
“I see.” said the blind man as he peed into the wind… “It’s all coming back to me now.”
What’s the last thing to go through a bug’s mind when it hits the windshield? Its butt.
You can tuna guitar, but you can’t tuna fish.
What do a duck and a bicycle have in common? They both have wheels… except the duck.
What’s brown and sounds like a bell? DUNGGGGG.
What’s brown and sticky? A stick
When people ask the mortician what he does for a living, he says he is a “boxer”.
What did the shy pebble say?… I wish I was a little boulder! .
What do you call an arrogant criminal falling out of a tower? Condescending.
Two guys walk into a bar… you would think the second guy woulda ducked.
A woman walks into a bar holding a duck. Bartender says, “What’s with the pig?”
Woman says, “It’s a duck.” Bartender says, “I was talking to the duck.”
Why do flamingos always lift one leg when they’re standing?
Cause if they lifted both, they’d fall over!
Q: How many Surrealists does it take to change a lightbulb? A: To get to the other side.
Did you get a haircut? Actually, I got them all cut.
One mushroom said to another mushroom, “Hey – you’re one Fungi!”
What do you call an arrogant criminal falling out of a tower? Condescending.
A dyslexic man walked into a bra …
Q: What do you call a midget, psychic, prison escapee? A: A small medium at-large.
A mule walks into a bar. The bartender says, “Hey, buddy, why the long face?”
“Because my dad is a jackass.”
I have one about the roof but its over your head.
Shall I tell you the one about the skunk? Never mind, it stinks!
There’s nothing like a good joke… and that was nothing like a good joke.
A rabbi, nun, lawyer, mime, and horse all walk into a bar.
The bartender says, “What is this, some kind of joke?”
When’s the best time to eat reindeer meat? …. When you’re hungry.
These stories are borrowed from 22 words. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.

Lady Sings The Blues

Posted in Book Reports, History, Library of Congress, Music, Race by chamblee54 on March 27, 2018


Lady Sings The Blues is the autobiography of Billie Holiday. PG read it in 1978, and pulled it off the shelf recently. The copy he has is was a 1972 paperback, issued in conjunction with the movie. A picture of Diana Ross is on the cover, as well as a price sticker from Woolco. The book sold for $1.25. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. The spell check suggestion for Woolco is Cool.

William Dufty was the ghost writer. His prose is easy to read, with the story flowing out like a Lester Young solo. The 1956 copyright is assigned to “Eleanora Fagan and William Dufty,” using the birth name of the singer. Mr. Dufty was a newspaper writer. “Dufty had one son, Bevan Dufty, with first wife Maely Bartholomew, who had arrived in New York City during World War II after losing most of her family in the Nazi concentration camps. She settled near Harlem where she met her best friend and Bevan’s godmother, Billie Holiday.”

“Bevan Dufty would agree. He’s one of the childless singer’s two godchildren. … “Holiday said motherf — all the time, in her gravelly elegant way,” recalled Dufty, sitting in his City Hall office. His mother, a Czech Jewish immigrant who loved jazz, was close to many musicians and even managed the unmanageable Charlie Parker for a spell, learned to curse from Holiday. But with a European accent. Much of what Dufty knows of Holiday comes from his late mother, who was married to actor Freddie Bartholomew before her brief marriage to William Dufty, one of her seven husbands. Maely, who took her infant son by train to Philadelphia every day to attend yet another of Holiday’s drug trials, was so distraught by the singer’s death that she dedicated herself to helping recovering addicts. A number of musicians lived at the Duftys’ place while kicking the habit (William and Maely Dufty divorced not long after Holiday’s death, and he later married actress Gloria Swanson, who inspired him to write the book “Sugar Blues” about the dangers of processed sugar).”

Billie Holiday’s bio, ‘Lady Sings the Blues,’ may be full of lies, but it gets at jazz great’s core Autobiographies are, by their nature, self serving. This one has a great opening line… ” “Mom and Pop were just a couple of kids when they got married. He was eighteen, she was sixteen, and I was three.” (“Her parents were never married. When she was born, her mother was 19, her father was 17 and they never lived under the same roof.”) Another source adds: “Some of the material in the book, however, must be taken with a grain of salt. Holiday was in rough shape when she worked with Dufty on the project, and she claimed to have never read the book after it was finished. Around this time, Holiday became involved with Louis McKay. The two were arrested for narcotics in 1956, and they married in Mexico the following year. (March 28, 1957) Like many other men in her life, McKay used Holiday’s name and money to advance himself.”

Louis McKay is at the center of another misunderstanding of facts. The Hunting of Billie Holiday claimed that Mr. McKay narked out Miss Holiday in 1947, and set up her first drug bust. LSTB tells a different story. Here, Miss Holiday meets Mr. McKay very briefly in 1931. Someone was trying to rob Mr. McKay. Miss Holiday said “He’s my old man,” and chased off the robber.

Fast forward twenty five years, and Miss Holiday connects with Mr. McKay. “I hadn’t seen him since I was sixteen and he wasn’t much older and I was singing at the Hotcha in Harlem.” The two were married in 1957. They got busted as LSTB ends. Either Politico is wrong about the 1947 bust, or Miss Holiday did not tell the whole story. Either way, Harry Anslinger is not mentioned in LSTB.

Tallulah Bankhead is another missing piece of the puzzle. Reportedly, Miss Bankhead and Miss Holiday were close friends, and possibly lovers. That was over by the time LSTB was written. “When “Lady Sings the Blues” was being prepared, Miss Bankhead got an advance copy, and was horrified by what she saw. A fierce note was sent to the book’s publisher, and scenes were edited out. Miss Holiday was outraged. The letter that resulted is a poison pen classic. “My maid who was with me at the Strand isn’t dead either. There are plenty of others around who remember how you carried on so you almost got me fired out of the place. And if you want to get shitty, we can make it a big shitty party. We can all get funky together!”

Miss Bankhead does make an appearance in LSTB. On page 117, Miss Holiday is describing playing a maid, in a movie. She was not pleased at the typecasting. “Don’t get me wrong. I’ve got nothing against maids – or whores – whether they’re black or white. My mother was a maid, a good one, one of the greatest. My stepmother is Tallulah Bankhead’s maid right now, and that’s a part I’d even consider when they do her life story.” (Miss Bankhead had her own domestic help problems. In 1951, Evyleen Cronin, Tallulah’s maid and secretary, was accused of stealing $10,000-30,000 from Tallulah during her employment. … The case went to trial (much to Tallulah’s embarrassment) and Cronin was convicted.” Many embarrassing details about Miss Bankhead’s life came to light during this trial. Fanny Holiday, the stepmother, is probably a different person than Evyleen Cronin.)

Whatever it’s factual challenges, Lady Sings the Blues is a powerful book. Miss Holiday had a tough life, to say the least. As the singer for Artie Shaw’s big band, Miss Holiday was an integration pioneer, and every two bit cracker wanted to make trouble. Later, she was addicted to heroin, got busted, served time in prison, only to get out and suffer some more.

Three years after LSTB came out, things went from bad to horrible. “In early 1959 she found out that she had cirrhosis of the liver. The doctor told her to stop drinking, which she did for a short time, but soon returned to heavy drinking. … On May 31, 1959, Holiday was taken to Metropolitan Hospital in New York suffering from liver and heart disease. She was arrested for drug possession as she lay dying, and her hospital room was raided by authorities. Police officers were stationed at the door to her room. Holiday remained under police guard at the hospital until she died from pulmonary edema and heart failure caused by cirrhosis of the liver on July 17, 1959.”

Anita Aretha and Elton

Posted in History, Holidays, Library of Congress, Music by chamblee54 on March 25, 2018

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In the early nineties, PG had too much free time. On March 25 of one year, he looked in the fishwrapper, and found a list of famous people with birthdays.

There was an unlikely trio celebrating that day. This would be (in order of appearance) Anita Bryant (1940), Aretha Franklin (1942), and Elton John (1947). All three have been paid for singing. The three have a total of five husbands, with Miss Bryant and Mr. John currently attached (Not to each other). Miss Franklin has good taste in hats.

Several other people have arrived on planet earth on March 25. They include , in 1911, Jack Ruby, the killer of Lee Harvey Oswald (d. 1967) (They don’t say alleged when it was on live TV). 1918 produced Howard Cosell, American sports reporter (d. 1995). Flannery O’Connor (d. 1964) arrived in 1925. 1934 gave us Gloria Steinem. To make room for all this talent, Buck Owens died March 25, 2006.

March 25 is after the spring equinox, and has been Easter. A few noteworthy events have gone down on this day. In 1894, Coxey’s Army departed Massillon, Ohio for Washington D.C. In 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire killed 146 garment workers in New York City. In 1939 Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli becomes Pope Pius XII, to the delight of Adolph Hitler. 1955 saw the United States Customs seizes copies of Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Howl” as obscene. In 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono began their first Bed-In for Peace at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel.

HT and applause to wikipedia. This is a repost. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.



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