Archive for March, 2022

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Brief historical note, suitable for use in schools.

Wednesday, March 9th, 2022

Today is the 106th anniversary of Pancho Villa’s raid on Columbus, New Mexico (also known as the Battle of Columbus).

KXAN has offered us a nice summary of the commemorative events going on in the area.

Short summary: Villa was bouncing around during the revolution, had just lost a battle, and his army was short on everything. He thought it would be a swell idea to do a cross-border raid, especially when he was told there were only about 30 soldiers in Columbus.

There were actually about 350 soldiers in Columbus. Villa sent “about 600” of his people (since he didn’t have enough supplies and ammo for everyone) and his troops had the initial advantage of surprise. However, the American forces rallied and drove off Villa’s forces.

In addition, many of the townspeople were armed with rifles and shotguns.

Armed citizens for the win!

In spite of Villa proclaiming that the raid was a success by evidence of captured arms and equipment from the camp, which included over 300 rifles and shotguns, 80 horses, and 30 mules, the raid was a tactical disaster for him with ill-afforded casualties of 90 to 170 dead from an original force that had numbered 484 men, including at least 63 killed in action and at least seven more who later died from wounds during the raid itself. Of those captured during the raid, seven were tried; of those, one sentence was commuted to life in prison; and six were convicted and executed by hanging. Two were hanged on June 9, 1916; four were hanged on June 30, 1916.

I haven’t read it yet, but I’ve liked Jeff Guinn’s other books, so I’ll mention War on the Border: Villa, Pershing, the Texas Rangers, and an American Invasion (affiliate link), which comes out in trade paperback in May.

Posted in Books, History | Comments Closed

Obit watch: March 8, 2022.

Tuesday, March 8th, 2022

Laurel Goodwin, actress.

She had a somewhat short career, possibly due to bad luck. Her first movie was “Girls! Girls! Girls!” with Elvis. She was in the first (rejected) pilot for a minor 1960s SF TV series, but was cut from the second one. In the meantime, she said she had turned down offers for two successful comedies.

Other credits include “Get Smart”, “The Beverly Hillbillies”, a 1978 TV mini-series based on Dashiell Hammett’s “The Dain Curse”…

…and “Mannix”. (“A Question of Midnight”, season 3, episode 5.)

Posted in 1970s, Elvis, Mannix, Obits, TV | Comments Closed

Do you like tossed salad?

Monday, March 7th, 2022

I broke this obit out into a separate entry because…

…well, to be honest, I forgot I had it in the queue.

But it probably deserves a separate entry, as another one of those obits for a “colorful” newspaper man. He actually kind of sounds like he crossed the border from “colorful” to word that rhymes with “glassbowl”, but I guess some people loved him.

Mike Marley, former sports writer for the NY Post, “but mostly a boxing man unequalled for access, sarcasm, creativity and the ability to dine at the finest restaurants without picking up the check”. He later went on to work with Howard Cosell, and after that became a lawyer.

This is full of great stories, if you like hard-bitten hard-drinking newspaperman stories. There’s the Winter Olympics story. There’s the landlord story.

Marley said he’d leave his stains where they were, as they’d be indistinguishable from the other blood on his clothes.

They don’t make ’em like that any more. And I haven’t made up my mind if this is a bad or a good thing.

Posted in Media, Obits | Comments Closed

Obit watch: March 7, 2022.

Monday, March 7th, 2022

I was running flat out yesterday from 7 AM to 8:30 PM, so I got a little behind in obits. My apologies.

Mitchell Ryan. THR. Other credits (besides those in the headline) include guest shots on a lot of cop shows (“O’Hara, U.S. Treasury”, “Cannon”, “Barnaby Jones”), “High Plains Drifter”, “Magnum Force”, “The Friends of Eddie Coyle”, and apparently he starred in a series called “Chase” that I’ve never heard of.

Tim Considine. THR. Other credits include “Soldier Who Gets Slapped” in “Patton”, “The Shaggy Dog”, and a guest shot on “Ironside”.

…he made a career as a sports and automobile photographer, writer and author. His books included “The Language of Sport” (1982) and “American Grand Prix Racing” (1997).
Mr. Considine even substituted a couple of times for William Safire, writing the “On Language” column for The New York Times Magazine. He explained how “the first Olympic Games, in 776 B.C., in which a line scratched in the dirt served as the starting point” for some events, led to the expression “start from scratch.”

“Great But Forgotten” did a nice tribute to “The Adventures of Spin and Marty” a while back. The idea of a children’s show where the main characters actually grow and change kind of interests me.

(Shallow rabbit hole about “The Shaggy Dog”, because it came up over the weekend. Lawrence was wondering, and according to Wikipedia (the source of all slightly accurate information), “The Shaggy D.A.” was actually a sequel. There was also a two-part TV movie in 1987, “The Return of the Shaggy Dog”, set at some point between the two movies and starring Gary Kroeger.)

Johnny Brown. Other credits include “The Lost Saucer”, “The Wiz”, “Get Christie Love!”, and he played a character called “Huggy Bear” in an episode of “The Rookies”. (I can’t tell if “Streets of San Francisco” [Edited: D’oh! “Starsky and Hutch”! I blame the fact that my parents wouldn’t let me watch any of these shows.] intended for this to be the same character, but they did use Antonio Fargas instead of Johnny Brown.)

NYT obit for Farrah Forke.

Gary North, economist. I’d heard of him, but I never actually read any of his work.

Posted in 1970s, Movies, Obits, TV | Comments Closed

No longer pretty Fly…

Monday, March 7th, 2022

Michael Fly fired as head basketball coach of Florida Gulf Coast University.

Fly went 21-11 this season, by far the best record of his tenure. He was 55-59 in his four years and will have the chance to coach if the Eagles are chosen for one of this month’s postseason tournaments such as the College Basketball Classic.

Derrin Hansen out as basketball coach at Omaha. He’d been coach for 17 seasons, but Omaha has only been a D1 team since 2015.

He was 253-260 overall, and 92-122 in D1 play. The team won five games this season and was 10-45 in the past two seasons.

Sam Scholl out in San Diego. 50-67 in “four plus” seasons, but the team was 15-16 this season.

Posted in Firings, Sports | Comments Closed

Obit watch: March 4, 2022.

Friday, March 4th, 2022

Shane Warne, Australian cricket legend. ESPN.

Warne took 708 Test wickets, the second most of all time, in 145 matches across a stellar 15-year international career.

…

Warne helped Australia win the 1999 50-over World Cup and claimed 293 dismissals in 194 one-day internationals between 1993 and 2005.
In 2000, he was named one of the five Wisden cricketers of the century, alongside Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Jack Hobbs and Sir Viv Richards.

(“Leg spin” and “leg spinner” explained by Wikipedia. Hattip to Lawrence for the obit.)

Edited to add: NYT obit for Mr. Warne.

Also, NYT obit for Alan Ladd Jr.

Posted in Cricket, Obits, Sports | Comments Closed

You’re going down in flames, you tax-fattened hyena! (#83 in a series)

Friday, March 4th, 2022

The former mayor of Beaverton, Oregon, Dennis “Denny” Doyle, has been busted by the Feds.

Doyle, 73, a Beaverton resident, has been charged by criminal information with one count of possession of child pornography.
According to the information, between November 2014 and December 2015, Doyle is alleged to have knowingly and unlawfully possessed digital material containing child pornography, including images depicting minors under twelve.

I have not been able to determine if Mr. Doyle is or was a member of Corrupt Mayors Against Law-Abiding Gun Owners.

(Hattip to Mike the Musicologist, who asked if it counted since he’s a former mayor. I’m going to go ahead and say “yes” in this case.)

Posted in Law, Politics | Comments Closed

Random gun crankery (plus: musical interlude!)

Friday, March 4th, 2022

I’m 99 44/100ths percent sure this is the gun I was talking about in yesterday’s post:

More from the museums.

I’ve been feeling like a little musical interlude is in order. So here you go:

Posted in Guns, History, Music | Comments Closed

Tweets of the day.

Thursday, March 3rd, 2022

I have to ask you to trust me: this Dan Hon thread gets funnier and funnier to me as it rolls along, but I don’t want to spoil his best punch lines.

Also:

On the flip side, interesting thread from eigenrobot on the Cape Town Convention and seizures of Russian commercial aircraft:

Useful phrases in Russian. Use them at work when discussing projects.

Posted in Geek | Comments Closed

NRA news.

Thursday, March 3rd, 2022

I have said before that I’ve avoided covering the NRA’s issues. I do not trust anybody (except a very small handful of people) to report on those issues accurately and fairly. The small handful of people I do trust, I do not have permission to quote here.

That being said:

A judge Tuesday tossed out New York Attorney General Letitia James’ bid to break up the National Rifle Association, while allowing much of the remainder of her lawsuit to go forward.

…

But on Wednesday, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Joel Cohen tossed the claim to dissolve the NRA, finding that there were ways to reform it — such as potentially removing the top executives.
“In short, the complaint does not allege the type of public harm that is the legal linchpin for imposing the ‘corporate death penalty,’” Cohen’s decision reads. “Moreover, dissolving the NRA could impinge, at least indirectly, on the free speech and assembly rights of its millions of members.”
“The remedy of dissolution is, in the court’s view, disproportionate and not narrowly tailored to address the financial malfeasance alleged in the complaint, which is amply covered by the Attorney General’s other claims,” the decision reads.

I think this is the right decision, for the right reasons. If the NRA leadership is committing fraud against the membership, there are remedies for this that don’t involve dissolving the organization, as the judge said. My only disappointment is that the judge did not start the process of disbarring New York Attorney General Letitia James for malicious prosecution and overreach.

I sent this around yesterday to a small group, including two bloggers I know. One blogger agreed with me that it was shocking to see a sensible gun-related ruling from a judge in New York.

The other blogger commented that they had just sent back their NRA board election ballot: they voted for Frank Tait, wrote “Wayne Must Go” in four out of five write in slots, and “Fire Wayne Now” in the fifth.

(If those bloggers want to out themselves in comments, they’re welcome to.)

On a semi-related note:

A Nassau County politician wants Long Islanders to donate guns so he can ship them to Ukraine for use in the ongoing conflict with Russia.

…

[Bruce] Blakeman hopes to collect hunting rifles and civilianized military-style semiautomatic weapons, like AR-15s.

But wait! I thought “military-style semiautomatic weapons” were illegal in New York!

Also:

…he admitted that he had not yet identified a way to get the guns halfway around the world and would likely need federal agencies to sign off on the shipment.

…

Blakeman told The Post he’s setting up a four-day gun collection to run Friday through next Monday, even though he has yet to find a way to ship the guns overseas to the war-torn country.
He said he’s asking individuals to drop off or buy and then donate firearms at a licensed gun store, SP Firearms Unlimited, in Franklin Square, New York.
He said he’s also raised around $20,000 for the effort, as of Wednesday.
“I will be the first to buy a gun and donate it to the Ukrainian people.”

This sounds like a giant sting operation, whether intentional by Blakeman or unintentional but inadvertent.

Also, how is this going to work? Is it like a Lend Lease thing? Will people get their guns back after the war?

(I know this didn’t happen with most of the Lend Lease guns. But I have a very vivid memory – which I can’t back up now – of seeing a target rifle that a prominent marksman sent to the UK during WWII. It had a brass plaque attached to the stock with his name and a short explanation on it: after the war, the rifle found its way back to him. It may be in the NRA museum in Springfield, but again, I’m not sure.)

Posted in Guns, Law | Comments Closed

Obit watch: March 3, 2022.

Thursday, March 3rd, 2022

Farrah Forke, actress. Credits include a recurring role as “Alex Lambert” on “Wings”, and also a recurring role on “Lois & Clark” as “Mayson Drake”.

She was a good Texan, and died at 54.

Alan Ladd Jr. He was a big deal Hollywood producer. Among his credits:

During his tenure, Fox produced some of its most successful films, including Star Wars (1977), which he optioned after Universal rejected it. He championed George Lucas’ movie against the wishes of his board of directors, and the film became one of the most profitable in history.
“The only meeting I had with Laddie about the script, … he said, ‘Look, it doesn’t make any sense to me whatsoever, but I trust you. Go ahead and make it.’ That was just honest,” Lucas once said. “I mean, it was a crazy movie. Now you can see it, know what it is, but before you could see it, there wasn’t anything like it. You couldn’t explain it. You know, … it was like this furry dog driving a spaceship. I mean, what is that?”

More:

As a studio executive and producer, Ladd — the son of screen idol Alan Ladd (This Gun for Hire, Shane) — had a hand in 14 best picture nominees. His imprint can be found on such touchstone films as Young Frankenstein (1974), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), The Omen (1976), Breaking Away (1979), Body Heat (1981), Chariots of Fire (1981), Blade Runner (1982) and Moonstruck (1987).
Before it was fashionable, Ladd supported films with strong female-centric themes, including Robert Altman’s 3 Women (1977); Julia (1977), starring Oscar winner Vanessa Redgrave; 11-time Academy Award nominee The Turning Point (1977); Paul Mazursky’s An Unmarried Woman (1978), starring Jill Clayburgh; Norma Rae (1979), which earned Sally Field an Oscar for best actress; and the Bette Midler-starring The Rose (1979).
Ladd upped the ante by making a woman the main protagonist in a big-budget action film with Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979), starring Sigourney Weaver, and he greenlighted Thelma & Louise (1991), the icon of feminist cinema toplined by Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis.

He won an Oscar for “Braveheart”.

Kirk Baily, voice actor. Lawrence sent me this obit, but I don’t have a source I am willing to link to.

Lawrence also sent over an obit for Katie Meyer, Stanford soccer goalie, who died too young at 22.

Posted in Movies, Obits, Sports, TV | Comments Closed

You’re going down in flames, you tax-fattened hyena! (#81 and #82 in a series)

Thursday, March 3rd, 2022

I’m running a little bit behind due to Ash Wednesday. My apologies.

Number one on the hit parade: Michael Madigan, the former Speaker of the Illinois House, indicted on 22 counts of racketeering.

The 22-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury comes after a yearslong federal investigation and alleges Madigan participated in an array of bribery and extortion schemes from 2011 to 2019 aimed at using the power of his office for personal gain.
The long-awaited charges punctuate a stunning downfall for Madigan, the longest serving leader of any legislative chamber in the nation who held an ironclad grip on the state legislature as well as the Democratic party and its political spoils. He was dethroned as speaker in early 2021 as the investigation swirled around him, and soon after resigned the House seat he’d held since 1971.

…

Also charged in the indictment was Madigan’s longtime confidant, Michael McClain, a former state legislator and lobbyist who is facing separate charges alleging he orchestrated an alleged bribery scheme by Commonwealth Edison.
That same alleged scheme forms the backbone of the indictment returned Wednesday, outlining a plan by the utility giant to pay thousands of dollars to lobbyists favored by Madigan in order to win his influence over legislation the company wanted passed in Springfield.

There’s also some stuff involving a land deal in Chinatown, Jake.

At a news conference Wednesday at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, U.S. Attorney John Lausch said the indictment was yet another sign of the state’s seemingly intractable issue of public corruption.

I haven’t laughed this hard since the hogs et my kid brother.

The indictment was the culmination of a long-running federal probe of Madigan that broke wide open in summer 2020, when prosecutors identified him as “Public Official A” in bribery charges against ComEd.
Four people, including McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former lobbyist John Hooker, and Jay Doherty, a consultant and longtime leader of the City Club of Chicago, were charged that November with bribery conspiracy and are awaiting trial. A fifth, former ComEd Vice President Fidel Marquez, has pleaded guilty to his role and is cooperating with investigators.

Someone asked me yesterday if it counts as a flaming hyena if the politician is out of office. My answer in this case is:

1. Yes, because the alleged conduct took place while he was in office.
II. I have the distinct impression that Madigan, while out of office, probably still wields a lot of power behind the scenes.
C. I’m not going to pass up a chance to kick an Illinois politician.

Number two is a bit more local story, but it has received national attention.

Van Taylor, who represents the 3rd Congressional District (in the Plano area) got 49% of the vote in Tuesday’s primary, and was in a runoff.

At least, until yesterday, when he dropped out.

Why? Well, he was married and having an affair. He paid the woman $5,000 to not say anything but the story came out anyway.

The affair part isn’t so bad, I guess. Consenting adults, between him and his wife, etc. I don’t know where the $5K came from, or if there’s a crime involved with that.

The bizarre part is who he was having the affair with: a woman who became somewhat famous as “ISIS Bride”.

From another source:

[Tania] Joya was born in London and is a UK citizen. In 2003, at 19 years old, she met John Thomas Georgelas, an American-born convert to Islam, jihadist, and supporter of the Islamic State. In September 2013, she moved to Syria and “hated” living there for how they treated women, she told Breitbart News.
“They will kill you or enslave you,” she said of ISIS. “They [Muslim fundamentalists] have medieval ideas,” she added.
Joya later informed American authorities on Georgelas, and afterward worked on counter-terrorism for three years “so we could drone him,” she said of Georgelas.

So I gather she wasn’t married, and got a divorce the old-fashioned way: by informing on her husband, so US drones could turn him into something that looked like tomato paste.

Taylor has until March 16 to remove his name from the runoff ballot, which he plans to do, according to a spokesperson. After he does that, [Keith] Self is automatically the Republican nominee for the district. There is a Democratic nominee for the seat, Sandeep Srivastava, but he faces long odds after the district was redrawn last year to favor Republicans.

I rather liked this Twitter thread:

I think that qualifies as an important safety tip for all of us dudes: have at least one friend who you can trust to tell you “banging an ISIS chick isn’t a good idea, especially if you’re already married”.

Edited to add: Battleswarm has their own take on this, which you should really go read as well.

Posted in Law, Politics, Safety, Texas | Comments Closed

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »