To the Rescue! Garrett Morgan Underground

The incredible story of an Amercan inventor who's creative ideas came from wanting to help others. Two of his inventions, a smoke mask and a three signal stop light, were inspired after seeing and hearing of incidents where peoples were injured and killed in accidents.

What led me to the discovery of Garrett Morgan's story was my research of Confederate generals of the American civil war. I learned that confederate Brig. General John Hunt Morgan might've been the biological grandfather of inventor Garrett Morgan by way of a slave woman.

The general is best remembered for leading a 46 day Confederate military campaign named after him "Morgan's Raid." It's goal was to divert union troops from the major campaigns of the war and frighten northern citizens. The 1863 raids had some success but ended with Morgan's surrender in Ohio.

Though the relation between black inventor and white Confederate general is alleged, I find it ironic that the inventor might never have been free to create his life saving inventions had the general and his confederate states of America government been successful in their rebellion.

When we look at solving the issues of race in America today, we must consider the history of how we as a nation have condoned separate and unequal treatment of peoples of color at a cost to the nation. All the labor and creative ideas that peoples of color have contributed to making America great, might not have been, had white supremacist separatists had they're way in 1860's America. Unfortunately, there are still sentiments of Confederacy politics in America. It took a war to overcome American slavery, let's hope the nation remembers the lessons learned from that awfully bloody civil war.



CanLit for LittleCanadians: To the Rescue! Garrett Morgan Underground (Great I...: by Monica Kulling Illustrated by David Parkins Tundra Books 978-1-77049-520-3 32 pp. Ages 5-8 January 2016 The son of former...

Philadelphia Eagles To Face Referees in Super Bowl LII

What's That, We're Playing Philly?

I always find it amusing when Philadelphia's professional football team is in the spotlight for good reasons. Known to have some of the most bitter and crude fans in sports (Philly fans once booed Santa Claus) the "City of Brotherly Love" tends to be anything but brotherly or loving when  it comes to their sports teams losing or getting the shaft. Their professional baseball team mascot, who's had his share of run-ins with opposing teams and referees, is named the Philly Phanatic (as in fanatic.)

Lucky for the rest of the sports world that the Super Bowl is not being played in Philly. With the way social media is blasting the referees who appeared to be favoring the Patriots in calling penalties and such yesterday in the AFC title game, today's headline sports news would feature a cartoon pic of a maniacal Ben Franklin boot stomping a striped-shirted referee into the frozen turf.

Trust me, Jacksonville is no Philadelphia. Sure, the Jags are angry about the lopsided penalty calls (6 for 98yds to 1 for 10 yds), but they're not blaming the referees as much as themselves. The Eagles and their fans would go all out crazy over some of the things seen, or unseen, by the referees in their unbalanced penalizing of the Jaguars yesterday.

And so we fans of professional football have at least one, if not two good reasons to tune into another Super Bowl featuring the New England Patriots; to watch the black and white stripe shirted referees attempt to shaft the Philadelphia Eagles and to witness firsthand the "City of Brotherly Love" players and fans go 51/50 on anyone who tries to stop them from wringing the neck of a dirty, rotten, cheating referee. Either way, its gonna be great!

Stealth Over Rose Bowl - Picturesque

Mark Holtzman‏ @westcoastaerial Jan 1

Aerial Photo of the B2 Stealth Bomber Flyover at the 2018 Rose Bowl Game #UGAvsOK #RoseBowl #sooners #Bulldogs #Oklahoma #UGA #UGAvsOU #ouband #ugaband @rosebowlgame @RoseBowlStadium @OU_Athletics @OU_Football @UGAAthletics @FootballUGA #Pasadena
More at http://www.markholtzman.com

Diggs Touchdown Goes TITANIC!

Great Video/Audio Splice BBD Productions, Titanic.......

Stefon Diggs Touchdown - Immaculate!

Who is Stefon Diggs and Why is he the Man of the Moment?

Well, he's only a football player who scored the most improbable touchdown of a playoff game since maybe the Immaculate Deception, that's who he is.

With 10 seconds left in the game and his team down by a point, Diggs caught a pass just as the defender ducked down to avoid a possible pass interference penalty.  He then used his acrobatic balance and speed to race to the end zone untouched, ending a hard fought NFC Divisional Playoff game. He could have and should've been tackled. He could have easily stepped out of bounds. He could have lost his concentration and simply dropped the ball or let it bounce off his hands as he looked to avoid contact and run. Instead, #14 simply saw ball, caught ball and ran like a bat out of hell to the end zone for a game winning touchdown.

The opposing Saints team was stunned. The Vikings home fans were launched into pandemonium. The Vikings players were seen hands on heads, eyes wide open as they mouthed in slow motion "Oh My God."  Vikings WR Stefon Diggs stood in the end zone, arms outstretched to his sides still holding the ball and basking in the thunderous, heavenly glory.

And that's how we American football fans ended our NFL Football Divisional Playoff Weekend; frozen in a moment of time with fellow fans as we watched the football Gods bless one team while cursing another. 

Final Score

Saints 24

Vikings 29

Notes on My Sports Teams

San Francisco Giants second baseman Joe Panik has agreed to a contract with the team. I was a bit worried that my guy from the Hudson Valley New York area would sign with another club.  Joe has contributed not only his impeccable infield skills to the team, but he brings that ol'skool blue collar type of player who would play the game for peanuts. 

The 27-year old is far from the kid who joined the team in 2014 and helped them earn their third world series championship in a five year period. The kid is now a veteran with a calming presence in the infield. He's a part of the winning chemistry that makes the Giants a threat to win it all every year.

There's a time to move on from aging players who's skills begin to diminish after giving they're all to a team. Joe Panik is not in that bracket of players just yet. I'm so glad the Giants organization see the benefits of keeping the kid and trusting in his great baseball skills. Every team needs a kid like Double Play Joe; one who seems to never get old and plays for the love of the game. 

To be honest I believe we have two; Hunter Pence, the loveable Giant that all us fans will hate to see go someday, is still a Giant as far as I know. Pence is the will and soul of this team. He's starving and ready to go hunting for another championship this upcoming season.  

Giants also welcome third baseman Evan Longoria to the 2018 lineup. Longoria is 32-years old but still has some pop in his bat and one heck of a glove.

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Cable

Marvel Comics

Oakland Raiders Install Cable.  That's right Raider Nation, the Raiders have brought back two former head coaches for the 2018 season. Newly announced head coach Jon Gruden will be installing Tom Cable as the new offensive line coach of the Raiders. Cable has been with the Seattle Seahawks since being cut by the Raiders after the 2010 season. He's a reputable O-line coach and someone who's worked with other Gruden hires. The fact he was in Seattle during Marshawn Lynch's beastly runs there is hopefully a hint that Beast Mode will be returning to the Raiders next season.  Welcome back coach.

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Golden State Warriors, with Steph Curry, blow a 27 point lead but find a way to hold off the resurgentToronto Raptors in a 127-125 victory. Another impressive game from second year forward Kevon Looney. The Warriors got careless in the second half and let up off the gas. That gave the Raptors, with always dangerous shooting guard DeMar DeRozan (42 pts), enough fighting fuel to make a run and force the Warriors to scrap and claw for every basket and rebound the rest of the way. It also made Warriors coach Steve Kerr raise his level of intensity  and re-ignite a fire in his players that had been almost totally extinguished in the second half. The Warriors barely pulled this one out. It was good to see them muscle their way toward victory.

Warriors have improved their season record to 35-9, best in the NBA.

Bama Is National Champion Once Again

The College Football Championship game last night between the Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide was a great game. You had the Bulldogs playing in their backyard and seeming to have the powerhouse Crimson Tide team under control throughout much of the first half. Then you had Bama, down 13-0 at the half, inserting a freshman quarterback by the name of Tua Tagovailoa in to begin the third quarter. The freshman delivered with sensational play as the Alabama Crimson Tide "TOOK" the championship out of the grasp of the Bulldogs with stout defense and electrifying offense.

Tua would throw the game winning touchdown in overtime to seal what could have easily been a Bulldogs post-game celebration. One play on a crucial 3rd down had Tua escaping a sure sack and instead scrambling for a first down. I agree with one post-game announcer who identified that play as the defining moment which began Alabama's resurgence. The entire team, offense and defense, was energized by the play of the freshman quarterback from then on; and I'm sure coach Saban was convinced by that Russell Wilson like scramble, to keep the freshman in the game for better or worse.

Gotta give head coach Nick Saban credit for making all the right calls and adjustments to get his Alabama team back to playing the kind of football that has defined their program over the past nine seasons. They've won five championships in that time.

Congratulations Alabama and Tua for a hard fought and well deserved Championship. 

Roll Tide!

Final Score (OT)

Alabama 26

Georgia 23

Nick's Kids Foundation "Nobody stands as tall as he who stoops to help a child"

Raiders Re-Introduce Jon Gruden as Head Coach

Throwback Tuesday is here folks, and that can only mean one thing for Raider Nation; Jon Gruden officially becomes Head Coach of the Oakland Raiders. No more speculation, no more what if's or maybe's. Gruden is back in silver & black and if you ask any Raiders fan they'll tell you, he owes us a Super Bowl.

Personally, I'm not that big on the Chucky return. When the Raiders brought back Art Shell for a second stint as Head Coach in 2006, the team went 2-14. Nostalgia does not win championships.

My concern with Gruden coming back is all the hype and hoopla surrounding his return. It's possible that the attention given Chucky as head coach, both positive and negative, could take away from the focus needed by players and coaches alike come next season. And just out of curiosity, did Mark Davis even consider going after Bill Belichick, a hall of fame coach who's rumored to be having issues with New England? Maybe then I could get excited about the new head coach, but don't play with my nostalgic football emotions and expect to win me over immediately.

So here we are Raider Nation with yet another hurdle to leap over to get to the promised land of a Super Bowl championship. We have a celebrity coach who supposedly knows his X's and O's. He has a reputation for firing up his players. Will he be the difference in how the Raiders play in seasons to come? Time will tell.

Honestly, I'm not buying into the Chucky knows football hype. Being a long-time Raiders fan has conditioned me to be more a wait-and-see type guy. I'm hopeful that the game hasn't passed Gruden by as a head coach. It's easy to bark out what's wrong or right with schemes from the commentator booth, after the fact. Let's see if he can return to doing it from the sideline during live action football games. Because regardless of how experts analyze and breakdown post-game footage, being in the heat of  battle on gameday is not Child's Play. It's take's a fearless leader with the guts to do whatever needs to be done to win.

Welcome back Jon "Chucky" Gruden. Just Win Baby!

What's More Important Than Sports?

To fans like myself, sports is more an entertainment than a way of life. But there are many who could hear that the sky is falling and their only concern would be whether the game will be delayed. These are the "sports fanatics," and they might just be the only humans on the planet who see the Trump vs Kim Jong Un  debacle as something to bet on. 

Us not so fanatical sports fans are definitely looking for the world referees of foreign politics to step up and call a time out or throw a flag, something. Because nobody wants to see launched nuclear weapons enter the game of world politics, especially not with the playoffs and Super Bowl being right around the corner.

I recently engaged in a discussion about the mental and physical health of the President of the United States, Donald Trump. Speculation pointed to the possibility that Trump might be suffering from early stage dementia. One in the group discussion referenced his senior grandmother's symptoms as an example : speed of thought, memory, reasoning and judgment, language and behavior. I heard enough to make me become very afraid that this is the man with the nuclear missile launch codes. 

In 2008 many Americans feared that Sarah Palin might end up in a position where she'd be "carrying the football." The country and world got a reprieve when Sen. Barak Obama and the Democrats won the election. Today, almost ten years later, we have a newly elected President who seems to enjoy toying with the idea of launching nuclear missiles, and none of the world leaders are upset or fearful?


At least in 2008, Republican vice president nominee Sarah Palin claimed correctly that she could see parts of Russia from some points in Alaska, her home state. With Robert Mueller still investigating Russia's involvement with the 2016 Presidential election, our current Republican President won't let the name Russia pass through his lips. Sounds like a language and behavior issue tome.


ROBERT JAY LIFTON: I also belong to a group called the Duty to Warn, which is a group of psychiatrists and psychologists who feel we have the right and the obligation to speak out about Trump’s psyche when it endangers the country and the world. And what we’re seeing—you mentioned the potential unraveling of the pact with Iran. There’s also the potential unraveling of Donald Trump, which seems to be occurring. It’s hard to read him, because his behavior, as I understand it, is completely solipsistic. He sees the world through his own sense of self, what he needs and what he feels. And he couldn’t be more erratic or scattered or dangerous.

When you have "testimonials from more than two dozen psychiatric experts assessing Trump's mental state," and questioning whether he is mentally fit to carry out the duties of commander in chief, I say it's definitely time to worry and speak out.

More than a dozen lawmakers last month met with a Yale University psychiatry professor for two days to discuss President Trump's fitness for office, Politico reported Wednesday.

Here's one news article that speaks to the concerns of Donald Trump's mental health. They point out the slur in his speech that was heard around the world, as well as, other indications of his falling apart under stress. Here's what they're saying:

Lawmakers briefed by Yale psychiatrist on Trump's mental health: report

Washington's growing obsession: The 25th Amendment

Lawmakers concerned about Trump's mental health invited a Yale psychiatry professor to brief them in December.

President Trump will have a medical examination this month

The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump