Sixty Four Years Twelve Presidents
This is a repost from 2010 and 2016. It is about the twelve Presidents, one fourth of the total, who have helped themselves served over the last sixty two years. Barack Obama got re-elected, and killed lots of people. The less said about Donald J. Trump, the better.
Every four years, someone will say this is the worst choice ever. Every four years, someone will say this is the most important election ever. They are always correct. The choice in 2016 was between Donald John Trump and Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton. Choosing between those two idiots was challenging. The good news is that most people live in states where the electoral votes are conceded to one of the duopoly parties. These voters can focus on local elections.
Listening to the news shows that came on before the cartoons, PG heard the phrase “President Eisenhower”. As a friends explained to him, G-d made everything, but the President is Eisenhower.
When he was six, PG moved to a new house, and started first grade. There was an election that fall, and someone named Kennedy became President. PG wasn’t old enough to pay attention to the news yet, except when it looked like the Russians were going to kill us all in 1962.
The first news story that PG clearly remembers was the day when his fourth grade teacher, Miss McKenzie, told the class that President Kennedy had been shot. One of the worst moments that weekend was the moment when a plane landed in Washington, and the new President spoke on television. THAT was the new President? Yuck.
Lyndon Johnson was a larger than life figure, and was hated by millions of Amuricuns. While there was some good done by LBJ, it was overshadowed by the War in Vietnam. When he left office in 1968, the voters had a horrible choice …Hubert Humphrey, Richard Nixon, or George Wallace.
Tricky Dick Nixon is another larger than life figure, with millions of Americans screaming for his impeachment. For some reason, there were others who passionately admired the man.
In 1973, the oil companies tried to say there was an oil shortage. Later that year, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan attacked Israel, and the Arab oil producers cut oil to the USA. After this embargo, OPEC was in charge of the oil supply, and the price of gasoline increased 200%. The era of big money oil was on. What a convenient war.
After the ethical shortcomings of Mr. Nixon became too obnoxious to ignore, Gerald Ford became President. On a policy level, Ford was like all the other Presidents…some things he got right, some things he got wrong. On a personality level…the show business part…Ford excelled. His family provided harmless fodder for the gossipmongers. He was a likable man, a welcome break from the meanness of Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson.
When PG was a kid at Ashford Park School, there had never been a President from Georgia. It seemed impossible. When Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter announced he was running, it seemed like another ego tripper running for President. The funny thing is, he won. It still seems a bit unreal, like having the Olympics in Atlanta.
Jimmy was a Democrat, with attack Republicans fighting him every step of the way. This is a problem later Democrats in the Oval Office will have. On the policy level, he did better than many realize. Many of his achievements only bore fruit after he left office. On the show biz front, his down home Georgia routine did not appeal to many Yankees. In 1980, he was defeated by an actor.
PG was worried when Ronald Reagan took office. With America’s nuclear arsenal, and the Soviet Union wheezing it’s threat, many thought that Ronnie would start the war to kill us all. The good news is, this war never happened. Whatever tough talk came out of Washington was not matched by military adventurism abroad.
Reagan was the master of show business. He was an actor, playing the greatest role of his career. It was said that if America had a figure head monarch, Reagan would have been terrific. On the policy front, taxes were cut, and the budget increased. The national debt went over a trillion dollars, which was seen as a horrible moment. (The annual budget deficit is now over a trillion dollars.)
When Mr. Reagan’s two terms were over, George H.W. Bush took over. This was an era where the Democrats could not do anything right on a national level. Bush presided over a war, and brought the troops home when the mission was over. His image never appealed, and the whiners were not pleased. A computer salesman named Ross Perot decided to run as a third party candidate.
In the winter of 1992, PG had a little job downtown. One day, there was a rally at the CNN center for a little known Presidential candidate. PG went, and said to a friend, If this guy gets elected, you are going to regret not going to see him. At the time, War Winner Bush seemed unbeatable, and PG said that with high sarcasm.
When he got to CNN center, it was obvious that a big money event was unfolding. The place was packed, with school children bussed in to fill all the seats. Finally, the speakers blared “Twist and Shout” at top volume, and Bill Clinton walked on the stage. PG was not especially impressed.
Clinton inspired toxic hatred, but managed to keep the boat floating. He won reelection, with the Republicans seeming to self destruct. The economy was going good, the budget was balanced, and the haters went wild. After a entertaining sex scandal, the Clinton years were over.
A couple of weeks before the 2000 election, PG liked neither candidate, and did not think it made much difference. (With Georgia’s electoral votes certain to go Republican, PG did not have a vote.) He listened to someone talking, who thought that it was important that Gore won. PG remembered that conversation often during the next eight years.
George W. Bush was a disaster. It is possible that 911 was a personal vendetta against the Bush family, and would not have happened if Gore was President. The reaction of Bush to this tragedy was to start two wars that we have not been able to finish. In 2016, we are still in Afghanistan.
Next was Barack Obama, the first dark skinned President. He continued the war happy ways of the Bush regime. BHO was reelected in 2012, and given four more years to wage war. He managed to avoid the second term scandals that crippled Mr. Nixon and Mr. Clinton.
In the next election, the democrats decided that calling people racist was a good campaign strategy. As a result, Donald J. Trump was elected. America is more racially divided than ever, which the election of Mr. Obama was supposed to remedy. With the nation distracted by screaming racism, the congress has cut taxes, and produced a multi-trillion dollar budget deficit. America might survive. Pictures for this feature are from the The Library of Congress.
Truth About Opinions
Chamblee54 is normally a profanity free blog. However, for this piece, certain cuss words are essential to the free flow of information. In other words IF YOU DON’T LIKE CUSS WORDS, YOU DO NOT NEED TO READ THE TEXT. This discussion is going to be gender insensitive, and use the male form throughout. Just remember, when you read he, it also means she and it. Or, she it. If there is one thing we know about in Georgia, it is she it.
Once, when his blog was active, a radio whiner referred to a study, that said that one third of all people were not qualified to have opinions. This was said before a commercial break, without saying why this percentage should be without opinions. Possible reasons would be lack of education, inability to think critically, or a disturbing tendency to disagree with the person doing the study.
Opinion is derived from “1250-1300; Middle English < Old French < Latin opīniōn- (stem of opīniō), derivative of opīnārī to opine." In other words, the verb for sharing these thoughts is the namesake of the idea. The anagram of opinion is onion pi. The Power Thesaurus has 1,326 synonyms for opinion. Many are notoriously anal, like assumption. Or the sister of suppository, supposition.
“Opinions are like assholes, everybody’s got theirs .” The truth is, opinions have more in common with the waste that comes out of the anal sphincter, than the port of exit. Feces (thesis) is the product of food fed into the digestive system. Opinions are the result of information (and misinformation) fed into the thought system. Doodoo is influenced by the digestive system, like opinions are influenced by the attitudes, and thought patterns, of the individual. They all stink.
“Four Jews, Five opinions” is another crowd pleaser, like “You are entitled to your opinion.” The latter is usually said when you disagree with what you have just heard. When a Court of Law issues a ruling, it is called an opinion. Sometimes, a justice will write a dissenting opinion. When getting a provider to pay for a procedure, you often need to get a second opinion.
Opinions are frequently more valued by the giver than by the receiver . Some opinions are best kept to the owner. You should be wary of someone who feels that his shit does not stink, because he will usually feel the same about his opinions. You don’t have to have an opinion about everything. Many things are beyond or control, or do not interest you. Also, you should be wary of those who try to “fire up” your opinions. Often these people do not have the best of motives.
Opinions are seldom humble, no matter what the owner of the opinion might say. In fact, the act of holding an opinion is often self aggrandizing, and contrary to humility. Opinions are seen as a way of asserting ones individuality. Many people have lives of quiet desperation, full of struggle and turmoil. There are many situations where what the individual thinks is simply useless to the powers that be. In times like this, having opinions can restore a sense of self worth to the individual. I am somebody. I have my opinion. This does not mean that anyone is listening.
This is a repost with pictures from The Library of Congress. U.S.S. Brooklyn, after supper Edward H. Hart was the photographer, working for Detroit Publishing Co. The picture was taken between 1896 and 1899. The pictures are more reliable than the text.
POTUS Jokes
After a ADHD WHCD, the Washington Post published The single best joke told by every president, from Obama to Washington. It was easier than finding anything funny said by Larry Wilmore Michelle Wolf. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost.
The pickins are surprisingly slim, especially for the modern era. When everything you do is recorded, something has to be funny. Three recent Republicans show a liberal capacity for humor.
George H.W. Bush, 1989 Gridiron Club: “People say I’m indecisive, but I don’t know about that.”
Richard Nixon, in Ms. magazine, 1971: “Let me make one thing perfectly clear. I wouldn’t want to wake up next to a lady pipefitter.”
Herbert Hoover “Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.”
Warren Harding was a dog. … “referring to his penis, which he named Jerry, in a 1915 love letter to his mistress Carrie Fulton Phillips: “Jerry — you recall Jerry, whose cards I once sent you to Europe — came in while I was pondering your notes in glad reflection, and we talked about it.”
You have to go back over a hundred fifty years to get a serious laugh.
Andrew Johnson “Washington, D.C., is twelve square miles bordered by reality.”
Abraham Lincoln “If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?”
Franklin Pierce about duties after leaving office: “There’s nothing left. . . but to get drunk.”
Zachary Taylor when suggested that he run: “Stop your nonsense and drink your whiskey!”
John Tyler on his death bed: “Doctor, I am going. Perhaps it is best.”
James Madison on his death bed: “I always talk better lying down.”
PG found a quote once about Alexander Hamilton, by John Adams. “His ambition, his restlessness and all his grandiose schemes come, I’m convinced, from a superabundance of secretions, which he couldn’t find enough whores to absorb!” A google search for verification led to a reddit page, Fake Founder Quotes, starring John Adams. Apparently, Mr. Adams said something similar to that in a letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush, sent January 25, 1806. According to this source, the letter was a satire of Jonathan Swift’s Tale of a Tub
George Washington in a 1788 letter congratulating the Marquis de Chastellux on his recent marriage: “Now you are well served for coming to fight in favour of the American Rebels, all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, by catching that terrible Contagion — domestic felicity — which like the small pox or the plague, a man can have only once in his life: because it commonly lasts him (at least with us in America — I don’t know how you manage these matters in France) for his whole life time.”
My AA Sponsor Tells The Best Jokes
Hear the 10 Best Albums of the 1960s as Selected by Hunter S. Thompson ~ @MomofTeen My AA sponsor tells the best jokes. Ready? A guy tells his friend: “I think my wife is dead.” Friend: “You THINK your wife is dead?” Guy: “Yeah. The sex is the same, but the dishes keep stacking up.” ~ Kim Zolciak-Biermann of ‘RHOA’ cries while stating racism isn’t ‘real’ ~ Commentary: My $200,000 Debt Should Not Disqualify Me For Governor of Georgia ~ @awildejake dude sorry but do you need help cleaning up your word soup you spilled it everywhere and it’s kind of a mess ~ Waffle House shooting victims ID’d ~ People Are Worrying That Kanye West Is Getting Radicalized By The Far Right ~ Should Asperger Syndrome Be Renamed? Unearthed Documents Reveal Disturbing Truth About Hans Asperger ~ Heretics ~ Winston Johnson ~ Civility is more than good manners. It is an essential ingredient in an effective adversarial legal system such as ours. The absence of civility would produce a system of justice that would be out of control and impossible to manage: normal disputes would be unnecessarily laced with anger and discord; citizens would become disrespectful of the rights of others; corporations would become irresponsible in conducting their business; governments would become unresponsive to the needs of those they serve; and alternative dispute resolution would be virtually impossible. ~ To avoid incivility’s evil consequences of discord, disrespect, unresponsiveness, irresponsibility, and blind advocacy, we must encourage lawyers to embrace civility’s positive aspects. Civility allows us to understand another’s point of view. It keeps us from giving vent to our emotions. It allows us to understand the consequences of our actions. It permits us to seek alternatives in the resolution of our problems. All of these positive consequences of civility will help us usher in an era where problems are solved fairly, inexpensively, swiftly, and harmoniously. The public expects no less and we must rise to the occasion in meeting those expectations. ~ The U.S. Has Never Had a Black Woman as Governor. Stacey Abrams Plans to Change That. ~ @StephenMolldrem “There was never a time when I did not make sentences in order to make those things that I had experienced cohere and become ‘real.’” – Gore Vidal @chamblee54 the next sentence: “Finally, the novelist must always tell the truth as he understands it while the politician must never give the game away.” ~ hair truthers ~ @ChelseaClinton Hi @amychozick! Hearing there are more tidbits about me in your book which were easily fact checked and you fact checked…none of them. Here’s an easy one: I’ve never gotten hair keratin treatment. The others would have been equally easy! ~ rock road maps ~ Claims by Joy Reid’s Cybersecurity Expert Fall Apart ~ continental baths ~ dekalb history center ~ himeros ~ How Do You Control 1.4 Billion People? ~ @chamblee54 @AryehCW @OsitaNwanevu fun chat to listen to After 26 minutes, you have not, to my knowledge, said either racism or racist. This is to be commended, as those words are used entirely too much ~ @chamblee54 .@robertwrighter iow, @RichardBSpencer is a #neonazi because .@ChrisDStedman says so maybe the problem is throwing around labels with elastic definitions ~ Michelle Wolf’s Full Performance At White House Correspondents’ Dinner ~ Miss Wolf ~ ipso facto proof of racism ~ going mickey kaus ~ andrew hollarean ~ @chamblee54 @robertwrighter @ChrisDStedman queer pro tip: be careful how you use the phrase *tongue in cheek* on a lighter note, either @GlennLoury or @JohnHMcWhorter compares social justice jihad / anti racism to religion there are many similarities ~ anybody who thinks they are indispensable should put their finger in a glass of water and look at the hole it leaves when they pull it out ~ #MyEpitaphWillSay I had the right of way ~ technically, the regrettable phenomenon known as singular they is strictly a third person affair. Second person is safe for you and y’all. ~ I just got a robo call from Rick Jeffries. Do not vote for this person. ~ When I first heard of DFTD, you could not find a copy for sale anywhere. Then I helped someone move, and he had a copy. A few days later, I saw it on the 25 cent shelf at the neighborhood used book store. ~ There is a bit where he went in the mens room, after a man he lusted after had been in there, just so he could smell the odor. That scared me. ~ @Twitter is so much fun. I was going to say #Racist I typed in #Rac and waited for the auto suggest. The top choice was #RachelDolezal ~ There is going to be a backlash to the Trump hate party. ~ Do you mean Trump haters or Trump supporters who are haters? Your wording doesn’t make it clear. ~ I mean the backlash will form in the general public, as a reaction to Trump derangement syndrome. As it did to the hysterical rhetoric surrounding Bill Clinton, George W Bush, and Barack Obama. Haters don’t know when to quit, and they assume that most people agree with them. ~ If Batman was Jewish, and had a daughter, what would you call her coming of age ritual? ~ Incident in Key West: Tennessee Williams was having dinner, with a one eyed man, and a lady. The one eyed man got upset, and threw his glass eye at the lady. It fell in her soup. She dished the eye out of her soup, passed it back to the man, and said this belongs to you. ~ #BadHygieneTips was the poem for last night
bathe in swamp water for a youthful glow ~ lose your toothbrush? find a live weasel
go lick your vibrator clean tomorrow ~ dollar store cologne instead of diesel
smoke the breath mints in the urinal ~ floss is too flimsy try a razor blade
fill both sides of toilet paper y’all ~ lick bathroom floor at the colonnade
bug spray deodorant in a pinch ~ perfume covers the republican stench
you never have to wipe a clean cut crap ~ if you piss in the sink with spinal tap
use meth to whiten and strengthen smile ~ kinky groovy sex at walmart lifestyle
pictures by chamblee54 taken in central time zone ~ selah
Killed By Police April 29
16 people were Killed By Police in the United States last week. Here are the links: 395 Timothy Wayne Anderson 396 Matthew Hartman 397 Miguel Escalona Vivas 398 Carlos Deone High 399 400 Demonjhea Jordan 401 402 Jesse Paul Schlegel 403 Charles Boeh 404 Isaac Jackson 405 Michael Snyder 406 407 Myra Lisa Micalizio 408 Shukri Ali Said 409 410
6 of the victims were white. (395, 396, 402, 403, 405, 407) 3 of the victims were black. (398, 400, 404) 397 Miguel Escalona Vivas was latino. The race of 6 of the victims is unknown. (399, 401, 406, 408, 409, 410) 2 of the victims were female (407, 408)
2 of the victims fired at an officer. (400, 401) 12 of the victims displayed a weapon. (395, 396, 397, 398, 399, 402, 403, 404, 406, 408, 409, 410) A taser was used on 2 victims. (405, 408) 3 of the victims were in a domestic dispute. (395, 406, 408)
“Carlos Deone High, 37, died during the confrontation Monday near the Ikea store on Mayfield Road. Police had approached High’s vehicle for a welfare check around 1:30 p.m. after a 911 caller reported seeing a man slumped over in the car. When they saw that he had pulled out a rifle, they unholstered their guns and nonlethal weapons and attempted to negotiate for High to put his hands in the air. Grand Prairie Police Chief Steve Dye said Monday that High had fired at officers and, fearing for their lives, they fired back. On Wednesday, police said that “investigators have been unable to locate any evidence the decedent fired his rifle despite initial witness accounts that were immediately shared by Chief Dye.” Evidence from the scene, including video footage, did confirm that High pointed the weapon — which police referred to as an assault rifle — at officers at least three times before the officers used deadly force. Investigators also confirmed that High ignored verbal commands to lower the weapon, police said, and that at least one officer fired a stun gun, which was ineffective because it hit High’s rifle. Authorities are conducting tests to determine whether there was gunshot residue on High’s hands. High’s criminal history included convictions for drug possession, as well as for carrying a weapon in a prohibited place and recklessly discharging a firearm. On April 9, he was arrested on a marijuana charge in Tarrant County.” (398)
“Police on Tuesday fatally shot a man armed with a .45 caliber pistol who was trying to break into rooms at the Embassy Suites hotel in downtown San Antonio, officials said. Hotel staff initially encountered the suspect, a man in his 40s, around 5:15 a.m. in the lobby. He ran to the second floor, then took an elevator to the fifth floor, where he tried unsuccessfully to force his way into a room, police said. Around 6:15 a.m., the San Antonio Police Department’s bike patrol and park police divisions confronted the man on the seventh floor and the situation escalated. San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said it is unclear if the suspect ever raised his weapon or fired at the officers, “but they felt compelled to use deadly force.” McManus said the man didn’t appear to be a guest at the hotel or know anyone staying there.” (399)
“A burglary suspect was shot by an officer following a police chase early Wednesday in Old Colorado City. No officers were injured in the incident, which began as a call for a burglary in progress at O’Brien Typesetting and Printing on the 1000 block of 19th Street. “When officers arrived on scene they made contact with a business owner … and received information that the suspect in the burglary in progress was in an area just outside of the building,” said CSPD spokesperson Lt. Howard Black. Officers tried to apprehend the suspect, who took off running. “A foot pursuit ensued. At least one shot was fired. No officers were injured. The suspect was hit and transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased,” Black said.” (402)
“Isaac Jackson, 42, died at the University of Louisville Hospital from gunshot wounds after he was shot in the 400 block of North 43rd Street Wednesday night, according to Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Charles Edelen. LMPD Chief Steve Conrad said police were called about some type of trouble in the home around 9:46 p.m. When officers arrived, family members talked to them about a dispute with another family member, who was inside. Police entered the home and encountered Jackson, who they said was armed with several knives. One officer was injured by a knife. MetroSafe said Jackson then started a fire in the house. At some point, officers fired their guns at him.” video (404)
“Officers were called to an apartment complex near 7th Street and Camelback Road around 6 p.m. for an unknown trouble call. Officers learned that the suspect, 39-year-old Michael Snyder, was discovered inside the victim’s apartment without permission and a fight broke out. An officer deployed a Taser on Snyder while he was resisting arrest. Witnesses assisted with taking Snyder into custody. During the arrest, Snyder became unresponsive and officers attempted life-saving measures until Fire personnel took over. He was taken to the hospital where he later died.” (405)
“It’s all connected to an early morning report that was issued by [the Norman Police Department],” Texas DPS SSgt. Dan Buesing said. … officers responded at about 7:30 a.m. Thursday to a domestic disturbance call in the 1200 block of 36th Avenue NW. By the time police arrived a woman had been allegedly kidnapped. The reporting party gave officers descriptions of the suspect and a description on the vehicle he was driving. Buesing said at about 8:30 a.m., a Burkburnett police officer saw the vehicle, the driver fled, and a pursuit ensued, The chase continued for about 50 miles on U.S. Highway 287 through Wichita Falls, Iowa Park and Electra. An Electra Police Department officer and Texas DPS Trooper deployed spike strips, or stop sticks, forcing the vehicle to a stop about five miles east of Vernon, Buesing said. According to police, the alleged kidnapping victim and suspect exited the vehicle, and the man started stabbing the female with a large knife. Buesing said two Texas Highway Patrol Troopers shot and killed the man.” (406)
“The caller told dispatchers that an unknown woman, later identified as , Myra Lisa Micalizio, 56 from Palermo, was trespassing on their property and when asked to leave, she refused and made threats to shoot the residents. … Once on scene, the deputies found Micalizio in the front yard and her vehicle parked in the driveway. Officials said as the deputies approached her, she had her hands behind her back, refusing directions from Deputy Lair to stop and show her hands. Officials added based on the threats to shoot to the residents, the deputies were worried Micalizio was armed with a gun. Micalizio continued to ignore Deputy Lair’s commands to show her hands and then walked to her vehicle and got in the driver’s seat. Officials said she quickly started the vehicle, put it in reverse, and accelerated backwards at a high rate of speed towards Deputy Lair. As the vehicle came close to Deputy Lair, he attempted to move but noted that it appeared Micalizio was steering the vehicle towards him. Fearing he was in danger of being ran over, Deputy Lair fired seven shots from his gun into the vehicle. Officials said at the same time, Deputy Barker, who was standing nearby, fired six shots into the vehicle as she too was concerned that Deputy Lair was in danger of being struck by the vehicle.” (407)
“Shukri Ali Said, 36, was killed by police, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, when she refused to relinquish a knife she was allegedly brandishing, even after being Tased. Johns Creek dispatchers said they received reports of a “demented person” with a knife shortly after 7 a.m. Capt. Chirs Byers said the report came from a home in the 300 block of Winherst Lane. While en route to that address, officers encountered Said a short distance away, near the intersection of Abbot’s Bridge and Sweet Creek roads.Byers said Said had a knife when officers encountered her. Byers said an altercation occurred at that point, which resulted in officers firing at the woman, wounding her.During that altercation, several attempts were used to de-escalate the encounter, including a Taser and a foam exact impact round, in order to get Said to drop the knife, to no avail.” (408)
Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
Richie Havens
Richie Havens died April 22, 2013. He was 72 years old. In 1969, he was the first performer at Woodstock. Mr. Havens was featured in the movie, and became very popular. The promoters asked him to play longer, while backstage chaos played out. “Freedom” was improvised to fill this need.
In 1974, PG had the privilege of seeing Richie Havens. He was playing at Richards, a club on Monroe Drive. It was the 2am show, on a weeknight. There was not a large crowd. What crowd there was kept yelling for “Freedom”, as if Mr. Havens had an obligation to play it.
Mr. Havens played a Guild guitar. He strummed it hard, with his pick dragging down over the body past the air hole. It looked like a guitar would only last a show, or two, before he would wear scratch marks in the body. Indeed, he did change guitars in mid show that night.
Pictures are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost.
Robert Earl Butts And Donovan Corey Parks
The State of Georgia is planning to execute Robert Earl Butts for the 1996 murder of Donovan Corey Parks. The short version is that Mr. Butts, and accomplice Marion “Mookie” Wilson, asked Mr. Parks for a ride. They shot him, and stole his car. They were convicted, and both Mr. Butts and Mr. Wilson were sentenced to death. The long version of the story is below. The majority of this story is from the Attorney General of Georgia. Material from other sources will be used.
“The evidence adduced at trial showed that on the night of Thursday, March 28, 1996, Butts and Marion Wilson, Jr., drove in Butts’s automobile to a local Wal-Mart store and began searching for a victim. Butts entered the store wearing a coat, under which he likely concealed the murder weapon. A witness observed Butts and Wilson standing behind Donovan Corey Parks in a checkout line. The cashier for that checkout line also remembered Butts being in her line. The store’s receipts showed that Butts purchased a pack of chewing gum immediately after Parks made his purchase of pet supplies. A witness overheard Butts asking Parks for a ride. After Parks moved items in his automobile to make room for Butts and Wilson, Butts sat in the front passenger seat and Wilson sat in the back seat behind Parks. According to a witness to whom Butts confessed, Butts revealed the shotgun a short distance away, and Parks was ordered to stop the automobile. Wilson dragged Parks out of the automobile by his tie and ordered him to lie face down on the pavement. Butts then fired one fatal shot to the back of Parks’s head with the shotgun. Witnesses nearby heard the shot, believing it to be a backfiring vehicle.”
“Outside the store, they asked for a ride and then forced Parks to drive to the side street off Ga. 49. Parks’ father, Freddie Parks, had attended church with his son that day and later found his body in a puddle of blood. “I had no idea it was my own son,” he testified at trial.”
“After murdering Parks, Butts and Wilson drove to a service station in Gray, Georgia, where they refueled Parks’s automobile and where Wilson was filmed by the service station’s security camera. Butts and Wilson then drove to Atlanta in an unsuccessful attempt to exchange Parks’s automobile for money at a “chop shop.” The pair purchased two cans of gasoline, drove to a remote location in Macon, Georgia, and set fire to Parks’s automobile.” (“Parks’ burning 1992 Acura Vigor was later discovered behind a Huddle House in east Macon.”) “They then walked to a nearby public phone, where Butts called his uncle and arranged a ride for himself and Wilson back to the Wal-Mart to retrieve Butts’s automobile.
Investigators had recorded the license plate numbers of the vehicles parked in the Wal-Mart parking lot on the night of the murder, and Butts’s automobile was among them. A shotgun loaded with an uncommon type of ammunition was found under Wilson’s bed during a search, and a witness testified that Butts had given the weapon to Wilson to hold temporarily. Two of Butts’s former jail mates testified that he had admitted to being the triggerman in the murder.
Butts was indicted in the Superior Court of Baldwin County, Georgia for malice murder, felony murder, armed robbery, hijacking a motor vehicle, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and possession of a sawed-off shotgun. Butts was convicted as charged in the indictment and sentenced to death on November 21, 1998.”
During appeals, the traditional claim of ineffective counsel was made. “Butts argues that the trial judge should have recused herself simply because she had previously presided over juvenile proceedings against Butts.” “Trial counsel … made a strategic decision not to question potential jurors about their views on gangs because he intended to focus attention on Butts’s co-perpetrator as a gang member and because he thought drawing premature attention to the issue of gangs would have been counterproductive.”
There seems to be little doubt regarding the guilt of Mr. Butts and Mr. Wilson. “Although the trial judge’s report indicates that the evidence did not “foreclose all doubt” in this case, we note that the evidence supporting the jury’s finding of guilt was very strong. The fact that Butts asked the victim for a ride, even though he had driven his own automobile to the store, shows that he was involved in the motor vehicle hijacking from the beginning. The evidence also suggested that Butts carried the shotgun with him into the store as he sought out a victim. Testimony at trial showed that Butts had worked with the victim previously, suggesting that Butts intended from the beginning to murder the victim in order to ensure the victim’s silence. Several of Butts’s former jail mates testified that he had admitted being the triggerman. Evidence presented during the sentencing phase showed that Butts had a history of criminal conduct. These circumstances all might reasonably have urged the jury to impose a death sentence.”
Lawyers complained about a positive description of the victim. “Here, the incidental characterizations of the victim as a nice and charitable person and as being a person who attended services at a religious establishment were relevant to the facts of the crime. The victim offered a ride to persons pretending to be in need, and the victim was identified, in part, by the semi-formal clothing he was wearing after a religious service. Likewise, the victim’s father’s statement in response to a question by the State about how the victim’s remains were identified was an incidental outgrowth of the relevant fact that the father had, in an extraordinary and tragic turn of events, discovered his own son’s body moments after the murder.”
One novel argument against the execution is based on “evolving standards of decency of the people of Georgia.” A man set for execution next month should be resentenced because he wouldn’t get the death penalty if he were sentenced today, his lawyers argued in a court filing Wednesday. … The murder for which Butts and Wilson were sentenced had a single victim and one aggravating factor, a circumstance that increases the severity of a crime and increases the possible sentence. According to sentencing data obtained and analyzed by Butts’ lawyers, no one has been sentenced to death for a murder with one victim and one aggravating factor in over a decade.”
“According to his case, Butts and the other man were members of the Folks Nation street gang and were being required to commit a violent crime. He got in line behind Parks at a Walmart in Milledgeville, where Parks was buying cat food, and followed him to the parking lot.” “Butts contends that evidence about the Folks gang and gangs in general was irrelevant to the issues in the sentencing phase of his trial and that presentation of the evidence violated his freedom of speech and his freedom of association under the Constitution of the United States. The evidence in question suggested that Butts was involved with the Folks gang and that the gang required acts of violence for promotion within its ranks. We conclude that, because the “violent nature of that gang was relevant to the issues to be decided by the jury during the sentencing phase of [Butts’s] trial,” the contested evidence was not an invitation for the jury to punish Butts based upon his exercise of constitutional rights and, accordingly, that the evidence was admissible.”
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. UPDATE Robert Earl Butts died at 9:58 pm, May 4, 2018. His last words: “Yeah, I’ve been drinking caffeine all day.”
A Man Without a Country
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.
Banangram
When PG decided to write about playing bananagram, he thought it would be helpful to have a link to information about the game. When he arrived at the site, a popup message came down. You are the firefox browser lucky number, and if you click here we will give you a virus. This post will be composed without their help.
The idea was to meet south of dickhater, in a trendy coffee shop, and play bananagrams. The bg game is similar to scrabble, using wooden tiles with a letter. You draw 21 letters, and start to make crossword puzzle thingies. (a b c d e) When someone uses their allotment, everyone draws another letter. You continue until someone has used all of their letters. At this time, you combine your words into a poem. Unless someone gets too competitive, and shoots someone, bg is a good time.
PG had a tough time in the first game. He drew a lot of vowels, and never did get caught up. In the second game he did better, and called out for everyone to draw another tile often. This is done by saying a banana related word, like peel or stem. PG was reminded of this safe word often, but cannot remember it now. Here are the five poems.
pop hid box of hope
tone cleat in cat
rip out tax uhuru
use soap go bo poop
if el can go seat
phat hat hot tv cane
his hbo rum
let fox rot taxi
if sim try toot fee
gus up aa dates dupe
pun toni ale raze red
rode dis sad dead ma
laid cd ed la rat
ate tite tv dell
Finally, the coffee facility was closing, and the players scattered to the wind. PG had a friend nearby, and went over to visit. The traffic was much more reasonable going home. Pictures today are from #NationalPoetryMonth.
Lewis Grizzard
In the time between 1980 and 1994, if you lived in Atlanta you heard about Lewis Grizzard. Some people loved him. Some did not. He told good old boy stories about growing up in rural Georgia. Many of them were enjoyable. He also made social and political commentaries, which upset a few people. This is a fishwrapper friday repost, with historic pictures from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. Wired for Books is no longer available online.
PG had mixed feelings about Lewis. The stories about Kathy Sue Loudermilk and Catfish were funny. His opinions about gays, feminists, and anything non redneck could get on your nerves. His column for the fishwrapper upset PG at least twice a week.
In 1982, Lewis (he reached the level of celebrity where he was known by his first name only) wrote a column about John Lennon. Lewis did not understand why Mr. Ono was such a big deal. PG cut the column out of the fishwrapper, and put it in a box. Every few years, PG would be looking for something, find that column, and get mad all over again.
The New Georgia Encyclopedia has a page about Lewis, which expresses some of these contradictions. If Grizzard’s humor revealed the ambivalence amid affluence of the Sunbelt South, it reflected its conservative and increasingly angry politics as well. He was fond of reminding fault-finding Yankee immigrants that “Delta is ready when you are,” and, tired of assaults on the Confederate flag, he suggested sarcastically that white southerners should destroy every relic and reminder of the Civil War (1861-65), swear off molasses and grits, drop all references to the South, and begin instead to refer to their region as the “Lower East.” Grizzard also wore his homophobia and hatred for feminists on his sleeve, and one of the last of his books summed up his reaction to contemporary trends in its title, Haven’t Understood Anything since 1962 and Other Nekkid Truths (1992).
In the end, which came in 1994, when he was only forty-seven, the lonely, insecure, oft-divorced, hard-drinking Grizzard proved to be the archetypal comic who could make everyone laugh but himself. He chronicled this decline and his various heart surgeries in I Took a Lickin’ and Kept on Tickin’, and Now I Believe in Miracles (1993), published just before his final, fatal heart failure.
As you may have discerned, Lewis McDonald Grizzard Jr. met his maker on March 20, 1994. He was 47. There was a valve in his heart that wasn’t right. The good news is that he stayed out of the army. At the time, Vietnam was the destination for most enlistees. The bad news is that his heart problems got worse and worse, until it finally killed him.
Sixteen years later, PG found a website, Wired for Books. It is a collection of author interviews by Don Swaim, who ran many of them on a CBS radio show called Book Beat. There are two interviews with Lewis Grizzard. The first one was done to promote My Daddy Was a Pistol and I’m a Son of A Gun. This was the story of Lewis Grizzard Senior, who was another mixed bag.
PG found himself listening to this chat, and wondered what he had been missing all those years. The stories and one liners came flowing out, like the Chattahoochee going under the perimeter highway. Daddy Grizzard was a soldier, who went to war in Europe and Korea. The second one did something to his mind, and he took to drinking. He was never quite right the rest of his life. His son adored him anyway. When you put yourself in those loafers for a while, you began to taste the ingredients, in that stew we called Lewis Grizzard.
PG still remembers the anger that those columns caused … PG has his own story, and knows when his toes are stepped on. The thing is, after listening to this show, PG has an idea of why Lewis Grizzard wrote the things that he did. Maybe PG and Lewis aren’t all that different after all.
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