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The Daily Dose/September 1, 2011
By Gaylon Kent
The Writer's Shack
THANKS FOR THE GREAT LEADERSHIP, GUYS! In a sign we might not ever get any leadership in this country unless Abraham Lincoln is raised from the dead, President Obama, set to solve our problems with a speech to Congress, sent a letter to Congress stating that Wednesday, September 7 worked for him.
Of Course It's A Coincidence: By chance, a Republican presidential debate is scheduled for that night.
It's On: Speaker of the House John Boehner, himself not averse to a squabble, suggested the following day would be better for Congress, especially when you consider how Congress is returning from a recess on the 7th and the security requirements required for a presidential visit to the House chamber.
hOLY lIVING F***!: But even the September 8th date is fraught with peril because the president's speech would probably conflict with what is really important in this country: the opening of football season, as the National Football League has mandated the New Orleans Saints play the Green Bay Packers that night.
FunFact: The president simply cannot summon Congress to meet in a joint session whenever the hell he wants. He must be invited by both the House and the Senate.
FunFact II: Only the president of the United States may address a joint session of Congress. Others address joint meetings of Congress.
PLAY BALL…AND PLAY…AND PLAY…AND PLAY: What was then the longest game in major league history is played on this date in 1906, when the Philadelphia Athletics defeat the Boston Red Sox, then known as the Americans, 4-1 in 24 innings.
As is usual for the era, both starting pitchers, Jack Coombs for Philadelphia and Joe Harris for Boston, go the distance, with Coombs striking out a modern major league record 18 batters.
Oh, Jesus H: At the time, the all-time major league record for strikeouts in a game was 19, done by Hugh Daily, of the Chicago Browns in the Union Association in 1884.
As Long As Your History Books Are Out: Harris would finish the season with a 2-21 record. He would go 0-7 in 1907 and finish with a career record of 3-30, the worst winning percentage (.091) and fewest wins in major league history for a pitcher with more than 300 innings pitched.
Dry, Technical Matter: The longest game record would last until 1920, when Brooklyn and Boston played a 26-inning game, and it would be the longest American League game until Milwaukee and Chicago played a 25-inning game in 1984.
The Post Game Show Is Brought To You By Hertz, Where The Winners Rent: With the win the Athletics move to within four-and-a-half games of the Chicago White Sox, who lost. Boston, safely in last place, keeps pace with Chicago and remains 34 games back.
From The Libya Desk: In a bloodless coup by a group of about 70 army officers, Captain Muammar Gaddafi takes power in Libya on this date in 1969. In celebration of his rise to power, Gaddafi would later promote himself to Colonel.
What The Hell's Going On Here: The dethroned monarch, King Idris, was actually in Turkey receiving medical care, when he got word his reign had come to an end. From Turkey he and his wife made their way to Greece, before settling in Egypt.
Eff This Noise: Despite being tried in absentia and was sentenced to death, Idris died in exile in Egypt in 1983, aged 94.
Back To The Future: 42 years later, Gaddafi is nowhere to be found has his regime continues to disintegrate, although nobody appears to have bothered to tell one of his sons, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. In a recent message to the remaining Gaddafi follower(s), Saif insists total victory and annihilation of the infidels is more or less right around the corner, despite the fact rebels are in control throughout the country, except for Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, which the rebels will have surrounded soon enough.
Mixed Messages: Meanwhile, another son, Saadi, has contacted rebel leaders and offered to surrender.
To Boldly Go…: Pioneer 11 becomes the first spacecraft, from Earth, at least, to visit Saturn on this date in 1979, passing within 13,000 miles of the planet. Pioneer 11 had been launched in 1973 and had reached Jupiter in late 1974. Contact was lost with Pioneer 11 in 1995.
What The Hell's Going On Here: Both Pioneer 11 and it's sister spacecraft, Pioneer 10, which had been launched in 1972, carried plaques bolted to their frame, in case they were ever hijacked by aliens.
The plaques make little sense to an average human. We recognized the naked man and woman, you probably would, too, and the schematic of the solar system was recognizable, but everything else required an explanation, which we didn't understand either, though we can say they did involved lots of binary numbers which, supposedly, all alien races understand.
Let An Authoritarian Regime Ring: Uzbekistan declares its independence from the Soviet Union on this date in 1991. The Soviet Union, itself in the process of being dismantled, isn't in much of a position to do anything about it.
Thought For The Day: Do not trouble your hearts with thought of the road tonight. Maybe the paths that you each shall tread are already laid before your feet, though you do not see them. - J.R.R. Tolkein, The Lord of the Rings
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: Strom Thurmond served 47 years, 159 days in the US Senate.
Today's Stumper: Uzbekistan is one of two double-landlocked countries in the world. What landlocked countries border Uzbekistan. - Answer next time!
Editor's Note: Many of you probably thought we were going to ask what the other landlocked country is, but we've already asked that in this feature. For the record, it is Lichtenstein.
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