"TEXAS TOWER SNIPER"

Today's news is often "stained" by reports of mass killings.  Some Nut-job goes on a rampage with, often a firearm, sometimes a knife or motor vehicle, but always with an evil heart.  It seems so common that the public accepts the talk and the attempt to "ban the gun, you know, the 'Ugly' one good only for killing people".  We never hear of banning knives, or motor vehicles, do we?
But this story is about Charlie Whitman.  The date is August 1st, 1966.  Charlie had viciously killed his mother and his wife with a hunting knife.  That was not enough for his "mindless act".  Whitman made his way the the University, climbed up into the Texas Tower, armed with a semi-automatic, .30 cal. M-1 Carbine and in the next 90 minutes, shot 47 people, killing 16.  His rampage may have been even worse except for a couple of Texas Gents who grabbed their hunting rifles out of their pickups and laid fire on Charlie, thereby forcing him to seek cover, while police made their way up the tower and shot Charlie Whitman to death.
The autopsy on Whitman showed a walnut sized tumor in his brain.  Did that cause him to do this terrible act????...Medicineman!

PRES. THOMAS JEFFERSON!

Thomas Jefferson, a member of the Whig Party (which morphed into the Democrat party) became President of the United States in 1800.  The following is from his first Inaugural address in 1801:

"A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.  This is the sum of good government."

I sometimes wonder---What ever happened to that good government?...Medicineman!

BEHAVIOR IN THE HALLS OF CONGRESS

Both houses of Congress are determined to act like the neighborhood hoodlum from time to time.  Evidence?  Just look at the recent debacle with the Kavanaugh hearings;  the rude shouting, mob action behavior, and that was just from the Democrat members of the committee.  The outsiders allowed in the Hearing Room took their cue from them.
Yes it was certainly a demonstration of the "uncivil mob" we have become.
But a closer look back into our history we will find that those years leading up to the Civil War contained many such incidents.  Some much worse.  Remembering the turmoil preceding that un-civil conflict we find that many members of Congress were so convinced they were right that, if challenged, they would fight, challenge to a duel (the gentelman's way) or even strike one another.
With tempers running high, In May,1856, Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner delivered a firey speech on the floor of the Senate.  Members of the Democrat party in the South were outraged.  Two days later Senator Preston Brooks from South Carolina charged at Sumner (forgetting the gentlemanly challenge to a duel) and struck him repeatedly in the head until his cane broke.  Senator Sumner did not return to Congress for three years....Medicineman!

GEORGE WASHINGTON WISDOM

The following is an excerpt from the Last Will and Testament of George Washington;  "To each of my Nephews, William Augustine Washington, George Lewis, George Steptoe Washington, Bushrod Washington and Samuel Washington, I give one of the Swords or Cutteaux of which I may die possessed; and they are to chuse in the order they are named.  These swords are accompanied with an injunction not to unsheath them for the purpose of shedding blood, except it be for self defence, or in defence of their Country and its rights; and in the latter case, to keep them unsheathed, and prefer falling with them in their hands, to the relinquishment thereof."  dated July 9, 1799.  
I believe that to be very good advice!...Medicineman!

BACK TO THE DECLARATION

Those of you who have been following  my blog have learned that what you knew of the signers of the Declaration of Independence you have mostly forgotten. You should not feel bad, I did the same thing. That is why I have been writing small snippits on the lives of the signers.  Most of them lived unremarkable lives.  Just did their duty as they saw it.  That is the case with today's subject; Francis Hopkinson was born into a rich family in Philadelphia in 1737, and had a good education.  When he was 14 years of age his father died leaving the care of the large family of children on his mother and him.  He studied hard and was admitted to the bar in 1765.  That same year he went to England to visit relatives and returned in 1768.  Soon after he married Ann Borden of New Jersey.   Francis gained a lucrative job in the state of New Jersey which did not last long because of his Republican principles were too much for the British state.
The people of New Jersey held him in high esteem though and elected him to the General Congress in 1776 where he joyfully placed his signature to the Declaration of Independence.  Francis served through the war as Secretary of the Admiralty of New Jersey and held that office until 1790 when Washington made him District Judge of New Jersey.
Hopkinson was a mild, modest and quiet man and seldom took part in debates although ardent in his patriotism, his public life was not filled with demonstration and speeches.
Francis Hopkinson died in May of 1791 of stroke....Medicineman!   

MEET JOHN WITHERSPOON FROM SCOTLAND

John Witherspoon was born in Edinburgh Scotland in 1722.  He was a descendant of the great reformer John Knox.  Born to a minister he became one himself and accepted a call to the town of Beith.  There he was caught up in the battle of Falkirk where he was made a prisoner for a period of time.  In 1766 he was called by the trustees of New Jersey College to fill the post of their president.  He and his family arrived there in August of 1768.
When the British Army invaded New Jersey the College was broken up  and Witherspoon was called  to a new venture.  Early in 1776 he was asked to help form a new Constitution for New Jersey.  Then when made a delegate to the General Congress he had already formed his opinion in favor of Independence.  On August 2, that year Witherspoon set his signature to the Declaration of Independence.
Dr. Witherspoon continued to serve on important committees and worked long and hard on both military and financial matters and special commissions throughout the war.  He left public service in 1783, when the war was over, and returned to the pulpit.  There he continued to preach the gospel message, even after he went blind.  With the help of someone to lead him he filled the Church with the word of God.  When Dr. Witherspoon died in 1794 it was said that a "great man had fallen in Israel."....Medicineman!

HATE vs COMMON SENSE!

As mid-term elections go, this one was a surprise to many of the "experts" who were expecting a "blue wave" to give control of the House (and perhaps the Senate) to the Dems.  Well, some 26 seats did change hands in the House (from red to blue) far short of the hopes of many.  As for the Senate, the blues were sorely disappointed.
The campaign demonstrated the "hatred" by verbal and even physical abuse of, especially, Republicans that we have rarely seen before.  The Kavanaugh hearings were an outrageous example.  Such Vitriol is seldom seen in this country.
If "Common Sense" prevailed the scene would be much different.  Example; The United States has the most competitive economy in the world, according to the World Economic Forum.
In Trump's first two years in office nearly half-million new manufacturing jobs have been added.
Over the past four quarters the  GDP has grown by 3 percent!
Unemployment at its lowest point since 1969!
Blue-collar jobs are growing faster than white-collar jobs!
All these figures largely ignored because of the HATE for President Trump.  Personal hate.  Sure he talks too much and says things, often incorrect, and does not pull his punches.  That is how he has always been in his business world.  Let's face up to the fact that Trump is NO POLITICIAN!...Medicineman!

ELECTIONS & COMMON SENSE?

Election Day has come and gone.  Now, for days, we will hear the results as well as the "talking heads" reasons for this or that.  Why this or that happened in--you name it!
But here is what strikes me about reporting on elections;  we are hearing that "The first Muslim female has won a seat in Congress."  "A black woman is in a very close race for Governor."  Or even this, "The first openly gay person has been elected Governor." 
What is my point?  This is it; we, as a people, are expected to be just that, "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union,etc."  Yes, the preamble to the Constitution suggests to all of us that we are ONE!  But we the people are bombarded daily, everywhere you turn, by "Words of division", words used by every reporter and TV "Talker".  Even our governments require us to, on every form we fill out, declare "Race, Sex (a half dozen spaces there), age etc.
When the Census is taken every citizen is asked to fill in all these spaces, and more.  Universities have "Quotas", so many Black, Hispanic, Asian and, oh yes, Whites.
Tell me this, how can the "Hacks" in Washington expect the people to be "Color blind" when they are not?...Medicineman!

RICHARD STOCKTON, RICHES TO RAGS

Born in 1730 to a wealthy family in New Jersey, Richard Stockton studied hard and was admitted to the Bar in 1754,  He was a staunch supporter of Independence from England and although he had close ties to important people in England he remained loyal to the cause of independence.  He returned from a visit to England in 1767 and the next year was chosen a member of the royal executive council of New Jersey.  Then in 1774 he was placed on the Supreme Court of that province.
Not being ruled by selfish interests he was elected a delegate to the General Congress in 1776 and after hearing the powerful argument made by John Adams he cheerfully signed the Declaration of Independence.  Stockton became a prisoner of the British while trying to find a safe refuge for his family and suffered greatly being beaten and starved before being exchanged.  His health was broken.  His estate was destroyed and he was left destitute.  He developed a cancer in his neck and died in 1781 at age the of fifty one....Medicineman!

LEWIS MORRIS OF NEW YORK--PATRIOT

Lewis Morris was born in Westchester County, New York in 1726.  He fell heir to a large fortune at an early age, being the eldest son.  He entered Yale at age 16 years and graduated high in his class.
Lewis became a loud and persistent voice against the British behavior in the Colonies and voiced his ideas in New York surrounded by the Tories.  In spite of that he was elected to the General Congress from New York and reelected in 1775.
That summer of 1775 he was sent on a mission to pacify the Indians on the Western frontier.  Then in 1776 reelected to the General Congress and attached his name to the Declaration of Independence.  He expressed his disdain for those who were reluctant to sign such a document in light of the strength of the British.
He served during the war years in various duties as an officer after leaving his Congressional seat to his brother, Gouverneur,  and along with three of his sons served through the war years.  After leaving the Army as a Mayor General Lewis went back to restore his almost destroyed property.  Lewis Morris died in 1798, at the age of seventy two, a true American...Medicineman!