January 30, 2011
January 30 is … Escape Day
BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND
The news as I see it and the views as I want them
One of the main morons in Congress has apparently listened to someone on his staff or in his family with a brain. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) said Friday he has settled his legal action against Compass Group, the operator of a congressional cafeteria, over a sandwich that broke his tooth when he bit into an olive pit. Details of the settlement were not released, but both sides "have resolved the matter for an amount all parties believe reflects the actual out-of-pocket expenses related to this incident," the congressman said in a statement on his website. "I feel the defendants have responded fairly and reasonably," Kucinich said.
In my business, the wording of the statement by the Congressman is code for “I wised up and decided this wasn’t going anywhere. I dismissed the lawsuit.” I would bet he got nothing except for bad press and several jokes made about him. Kucinich said, he underwent three dental surgeries, none of which was covered by his insurance. He did not say they were not covered by insurance just not his insurance. The restaurant’s insurance likely covered the cost if not his wife’s or some Congressional perk.
The famous radio western, The Lone Ranger, was heard for the first time on this day in 1933. The program ran for 2,956 episodes and came to an end in late 1954.
George Seaton (Stenius) was the first voice of the Lone Ranger. Jack Deeds and Earle Graser followed in the role. However, it was Brace Beemer who is best remembered as former Texas Ranger, John Reid. He played the part of the black-masked ranger, fighting for frontier justice for thirteen consecutive years.
Riding alongside the Lone Ranger was Tonto, the Indian who had rescued him from death and nursed him back to health after an outlaw ambush had massacred his entire company. The part of Indian scout, Tonto, was played for almost the entire run by a bald-headed Irishman named John Todd. Jim Jewell also fondly referred to the Lone Ranger as ‘kemo sabe’. Jewell produced and directed the series for many years. Silver played the part of the ranger’s horse, while Scout was Tonto’s steed.
(Clayton Moore [1949-1952 & 1954-1957] and John Hart [1952-1954] as the Lone Ranger, and Jay Silverheels as his faithful Indian companion, Tonto, took to the TV airwaves for years. Moore and Silverheels would also make 1956 and 1958 film versions of The Lone Ranger.)
Created by Fran Striker (of The Lone Ranger comic-book character fame) and George Trendle, this Western radio adventure series had an interesting twist. The Lone Ranger had a nephew, Dan, who was the father of Britt Reid, another avenger of crime known as The Green Hornet. There was no coincidence that Striker and Trendle also were the creators of The Green Hornet.
But no show began as dramatically as The Lone Ranger with Rossini’s William Tell Overture and the voice of announcers, Fred Foy, Harold Golder, Bob Hite, Brace Beemer, Harold True or Charles Woods proclaiming, “A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty ‘Hi-yo, Silver!’ The Lone Ranger rides again!”
And, at the end of each show, with a “Hi-yo, Silver, away!” and the sound of hoof beats fading into the distance, you would almost believe that there was a silver bullet lying by your radio.
Lack of civility by politicians is not a new concept. On this date in 1798 the first brawl in the U.S. House of Representatives was witnessed by legislators. Congressmen Matthew Lyon and Roger Griswold duked it out right there on the House floor. The spat occurred when Lyon spit in Griswold’s face.
In 1894, C.B. King of Detroit, MI, interested in all things pneumatic, earned himself a patent for the pneumatic hammer, the heavy jackhammer that runs on air and makes quite a racket.
A key member of a Miami-based marijuana-smuggling ring was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service on Thursday, more than 31 years after skipping out of a federal trial. Mark Steven Phillips, 62, was arrested in his apartment at Century Village, a senior’s community where he had been living in recent months, according to a press release by the U.S. Marshals Service. Along with 13 others, Phillips was charged in May 1979 in what was then the country's largest marijuana importation prosecution in history. The ring, known as the "Black Tuna Gang," derived its name from the radio moniker for the group's Colombian source for marijuana. Phillips, who faces sentencing for a racketeering conviction and adjudication of fugitive charges, told U.S. Magistrate Edwin Torres that he has no property, $600 in a bank account and receives $667 in monthly Social Security benefits, the Miami Herald reported. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Phillips was sleeping when deputies went to his apartment on Monday and was told the "judge wants to see you, Mark" by the lead deputy marshal. "The judge wants to see me from 30 years ago," Phillips replied. Authorities estimate that the ring smuggled 500 tons of marijuana into the U.S. in the mid-'70s. These days, this is a daily event that doesn’t even make the national news.
I assume the authorities were not looking too hard for this guy. He was receiving Social Security benefits from the government looking for him. They had his address. They must have had it for years. He apparently was filing tax returns to establish his entitlement to Social Security. A simple cross-checking computer program should be able to catch these sorts of things. It is probably cheaper to give him $667.00 a month in Social Security than house him in a Federal Prison but either he is a fugitive from justice or he isn’t. Assuming he has been reasonably law-abiding for the past thirty years, just leave him alone. Have a Federal Judge quietly quash all warrants and close the case satisfactorily. There is law and there is justice. I went to law school not fair school and not justice school.
Top of the Music charts through the years on this date:
1950
1958 At the Hop - Danny & The Juniors. Let’s get down and rock n roll at the sock-hop.
1966 We Can Work It Out - The Beatles
1974 You’re Sixteen - Ringo Starr
1982 I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do) - Daryl Hall & John Oates
1990 How Am I Supposed to Live Without You - Michael Bolton
BRUCE A. BRENNAN
DEKALB, IL 60115
COPYRIGHT 2011
Email: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com
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