Should Letterman Be Fired? Did Tecumseh Need a Different Brother? June 16, 2009

Maybe Dave Should Try the Amish Look To Soothe Critics

Did Richard Simmons Already Fire Dave?

Should Letterman Be Fired? There is a mild rumble of noise afoot regarding a spat between Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and David Letterman involving a joke Letterman made referencing the governor’s daughter. At least 2  New York Assemblymen are calling for CBS to fire Letterman. Check out this example of media ignorance, a Denver TV station thinks that a Congressman and State Assemblyman are one in the same.  I was unable to find a story from the AP about the stance of the New York lawmakers, which is interesting.  Letterman apologized (sorta) once for the gaffe but it didn’t calm the storm.   So, he apoligized a second time on Monday night.  But, I’m sure that won’t satisfy a group that calls itself, FireDavidLetterman.com, who probably won’t be fired.  And I don’t think he should be.  Many think that this is comparable with the Don Imus situation.  It’s interesting that, in his defense of Letterman, George Schlatter doesn’t mention Imus at all.  I”m not sure that I agree with Schlatter that we should vote for Letterman, but I don’t think he should have been fired either.  See, I think that people should be less quick to want to end someone’s job or career.   I suspect that those who are so quick to judge have never lost a job before.  Those of us who have would not wish that on anyone.

On This Date In History: In the late 18th Century, there was a young, dissolute Shawnee warrior whom we might call a misspent youth today. His name was Laulewasika and he was prone to drunken brawls. In fact, he lost an eye in one fight. One day, he quietly lit his pipe and he fell over. The tribe thought that he was dead but during the funeral ceremony he suddenly awoke, proclaiming that he had “returned from the Master of Life” and said he was to be called the prophet Tenskwatawna.

Tecumseh(left) and his smarter Brother

It’s unclear whether or not the brother of Laulewasika, the great Shawnee leader Tecumseh, called his brother Tenskwatawna nor if he suspected that his brother was bamboozling everyone. But he certainly should have done the latter because, it just so happened, that the message being preached by this new Indian Prophet coincided with what his great brother had been urging for years. The idea was for all of the Indian tribes to unite against the White settlers. The two brothers went on tour to try and convince the other tribes of their plan with Tecumseh doing the heavy lifting with the political story while Tenskwatawna would woo them with his revival work that renounced the ways of the White man, in particular booze and religion. Their plan worked to the extent that several tribes joined them and the headquarters for their new endeavor was a town they called Tippecanoe, which meant Prophetstown. Bet I know who came up with the town name.

Anyway, this caused the territorial Governor, William Henry Harrison, to challenge the powers of Tenskwatawna in hopes of proving him to be a Charlatan. The challenge was to stop the sun, change the course of the moon and stop the rivers from flowing, among other things. Harrison said if he could do those things, then he was indeed sent by God. Well, I don’t know who made Harrison the arbitor or not, but Tenskwatawna had the answer in his back pocket. See, Tenskwatawna was a pretty smart guy and he not only knew what his brother’s political ideas were he also knew how to read a solar table. On This Date in 1806 Tenskwatawna made the sun go black then asked the Master of Life to bring it back and the sun shone brightly again! The Indians were believers!

Harrison may not have known that Tenskwatawna had read the solar tables and knew of the exact time of a solar eclipse, but he wasn’t persuaded because a few years later, he gathered an army to march on Tippecanoe. Tecumseh left to get others to join in the fight. He left his brother in charge with explicit instructions not to engage the Americans. But Tenskwatawna just couldn’t help it. He had the warriors touch his bean belt to make them immune to bullets and dip their weapons in his magic bowl to ensure victory and he ordered an attack. The Indians were routed by Harrison,the town burned to the ground and the path was set for Harrison to become President of the United States. The survivors were incensed and came after Tenskwatawna who used his powers of BS to get out of it by blaming it on his squaw! That’s right, when the chips were down, he blamed his loss on his wife whom he said stood too close to the bowl of magic potion.

This story ends with a bit of magic power, but it came from his brother Tecumseh, who it is said on his death bed put a curse on the White Man. On March 2, 1841 William Henry Harrison talked for nearly 3 hours in sub-freezing temperatures at his inauguration in Washington, DC. He died of pneumonia 30 days later. It is called Tecumseh’s curse and every president elected in a year that ended in zero has died in office, until Ronald Reagan broke Tecumseh’s curse. Tecumseh was the famous middle name of General William T. Sherman. And you know what, no one remembers the phony faker Tenskwatawna…and it’s just as well. It would teach a bad lesson to kids that being a big fibber is good. That cheaters somehow prosper. Besides, it’s easier to pronounce Tecumseh than it is Tenskwatawna.

You know what’s funny…there are actually people today who are dressing up like Tenskwatawna. Check out this imposter to the right!

SPC Convective Outlook Tue 6.16.09

6.16.09 Tornado Probability

Weather Bottom Line:  Every model that I looked at (GFS, NAM, UKMET, ECMWF,CMC) have anything from a fairly strong shortwave to a very strong shortwave moving through from the southwest to the northeast on Tuesday afternoon.  Look for rain and t’storm activity to pick up around midday.  Should the wave be a little more pokey, then the chances for severe weather will be enhanced.  If its moving quickly, then the chances would be lessened as it would get things going earlier in the day.  The Mon 18Z GFS forecast vertical profile has a very healthy CAPE, BRN, LI and K Index from mid afternoon through the evening.  The SWEAT Index is also pretty high.  The Mon 18Z NAM has similar numbers, but doesn’t raise the roof until late Tuesday night.  I suspect that the NAM is a little late.  Nevertheless, be ready for some strong t’storms by Tuesday afternoon through the evening.  While tornadic activity is possible, the primary risk will be hail and high winds.  I would count on at least  a few warnings issued.   at 9:15am, it appeared that a wave moved through the region that left cloudy conditions.  The main shortwave was a few hundred miles to the west southwest and has a vector that seems to give it a heading exactly how the earlier models suggested.  The NAM was too slow.  Looks like this afternoon it will arrive. If the initial wave can get some legs on it, then the sun will break out and that will destablize the atmosphere ahead of the main short, giving enough extra oomph to support strong storms in the heat of the day.  However, if the clouds to not break out, the severe threat will be inhibited.

6.16.09 Severe Wind Probability

Once the wave moves through, a warm front will follow.  Perhaps and errant t’shower on Wednesday and then we head to the low to mid 90′s to end the week.  A cold front comes through late Saturday bringing back a little cooler but certainly more noticeably less humid air for the second half of the weekend.

DAY 1 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK 
   NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
   0736 AM CDT TUE JUN 16 2009
  
   VALID 161300Z – 171200Z
  
   …THERE IS A SLGT RISK OF SVR TSTMS FROM THE MID MS VALLEY INTO
   SC/GA…
   
 

6.16.09 severe hail probability

  …THERE IS A SLGT RISK OF SVR TSTMS OVER PARTS OF EASTERN CO…
  
   …MID MS VALLEY INTO KY/TN TODAY…
   MORNING WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS A SHORTWAVE TROUGH TRACKING
   EASTWARD ACROSS MO…WITH AN ASSOCIATED LARGE MCS PRODUCING
   SCATTERED SEVERE WEATHER.  THIS FEATURE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE MID MS
   VALLEY TODAY WHILE THE THUNDERSTORM CLUSTER MOVES EAST-SOUTHEASTWARD
   INTO PARTS OF IL/KY/TN.  RELATIVELY STRONG WINDS ALOFT ACROSS THIS
   REGION…COUPLED WITH SIGNIFICANT MESOSCALE ORGANIZATION IN MCS
   SUGGESTS A CONTINUED THREAT OF LOCALLY SEVERE STORMS THROUGH MUCH OF
   THE DAY.  STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO FINALLY WEAKEN AFTER SUNSET OVER
   THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS.  DAMAGING WINDS ARE LIKELY TO BE THE MAIN
   THREAT.
  
   …NORTHERN OK/SOUTHERN KS THIS AFTERNOON…
   UPSTREAM OF THIS AREA…THE UPPER RIDGE IS FORECAST TO BUILD ACROSS
   THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON.  THIS WILL TEND TO
   WARM THE MID LEVELS AND INCREASE THE CAPPING INVERSION ACROSS PARTS
   OF TX/OK.  NEVERTHELESS…THE OUTFLOW BOUNDARY LEFT FROM OVERNIGHT
   CONVECTION EXTENDS ACROSS NORTHERN OK AND MAY BE THE FOCUS FOR
   ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT BY LATE AFTERNOON.  HOT
   TEMPERATURES AND AMPLE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL YIELD HIGH CAPE
   VALUES AND SUGGEST THAT ANY STORM THAT CAN BE SUSTAINED WILL LIKELY
   BE SEVERE.
  
   …EASTERN SD INTO EASTERN KS/WESTERN MO…
   EARLY MORNING VISIBLE IMAGERY SHOWS BACK EDGE OF CLOUD SHIELD
   EXTENDING FROM WEAK UPPER LOW OVER ND TO NEAR OMA…THEN SOUTHWARD
   TOWARD TUL.  STRONG HEATING WILL OCCUR ALONG AND WEST OF THE CLOUD
   SHIELD…BUT UPPER RIDGING IS ALSO FORECAST TO OCCUR.  PRESENT
   INDICATIONS ARE THAT ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ALONG THIS
   CORRIDOR AROUND PEAK HEATING AND PERSIST FOR A FEW HOURS BEFORE
   WEAKENING.  SUFFICIENT WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT AND EFFECTIVE DEEP LAYER
   SHEAR VALUES SUPPORT A RISK OF SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF LARGE HAIL AND
   DAMAGING WINDS.  FURTHER REFINEMENT OF THIS PART OF THE OUTLOOK WILL
   OCCUR THROUGH THE DAY AS FOCI FOR INITIATION AND EXTENT OF
   DESTABILIZATION BEHIND MCS OVER MO BECOME MORE CLEAR.
  
   …EASTERN CO…
   A BAND OF STRONG SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW WILL REMAIN ACROSS CO TODAY WITH
   SUFFICIENT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE FOR SCATTERED SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM
   DEVELOPMENT.  FORECAST SOUNDINGS AND MODEL GUIDANCE SUGGEST A RISK
   OF A FEW SEVERE STORMS BY LATE AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING.  HAIL
   SHOULD BE THE MAIN THREAT.
  
   ..HART/JEWELL.. 06/16/2009

Thunderstorm Watch Today; Tecumseh’s Not So Smart Brother June 16, 2008

The eastern two-thirds of the viewing area is under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 5 PM EDT today. Just after sunrise, some decent little thunderstorms popped up along and either side of the Ohio River and moved east. Now, the main front will move down and the idea is that it may kick off some strong storms in the heat of the afternoon as it moves through. I think this is one of those deals where there’s not a huge chance of us getting storms, but if we do, they have a good chance of being strong. And, if we do, the chances are enhanced the farther east you go. It’s the stability issue…chances are greater for more unstable air to our east. Biggest risk would be gusty winds. But, we probably will get nothing as there is cu forming almost right over us but the boundary is moving through which tells me that any real stuff won’t get going until its to our east. I told you not to get worked up over it.

 The rest of the forecast is on track though there may be some activity on Wednesday as it appears a shortwave will be moving through the flow.

On This Date In History:  In the late 18th Century, there was a young, dissolute Shawnee warrior whom we might call a misspent youth today.  His name was Laulewasika and he was prone to drunken brawls.  In fact, he lost an eye in one fight.  One day, he quietly lit his pipe and he fell over.  The tribe thought that he was dead but during the funeral ceremony he suddenly awoke, proclaiming that he had “returned from the Master of Life” and said he was to be called the prophet Tenskwatawna. 

It’s unclear whether or not the brother of Laulewasika, the great Shawnee leader Tecumseh, called his brother Tenskwatawna  nor if he suspected that his brother was bamboozling everyone.  But he certainly should have done the latter because, it just so happened, that the message being preached by this new Indian Prophet coincided with what his great brother had been urging for years.  The idea was for all of the Indian tribes to unite against the White settlers.  The two brothers went on tour to try and convince the other tribes of their plan with Tecumseh doing the heavy lifting with the political story while Tenskwatawna would woo them with his revival work that renounced the ways of the White man, in particular booze and religion.  Their plan worked to the extent that several tribes joined them and the headquarters for their new endeavor was a town they called Tippecanoe, which meant Prophetstown.  Bet I know  who came up with the town name.

Anyway, this caused the territorial Governor, William Henry Harrison, to challenge the powers of Tenskwatawna in hopes of proving him to be a Charlatan.  The challenge was to stop the sun, change the course of the moon and stop the rivers from flowing, among other things.  Harrison said if he could do those things, then he was indeed sent by God.  Well, I don’t know who made Harrison the arbitor or not, but Tenskwatawna had the answer in his back pocket.  See, Tenskwatawna was a  pretty smart guy and he not only knew what his brother’s political ideas were he also knew how to read a solar table.  On This Date in 1806 Tenskwatawna made the sun go black then asked the Master of Life to bring it back and the sun shone brightly again!  The Indians were believers! 

Harrison may not have known that Tenskwatawna had read the solar tables and knew of the exact time of a solar eclipse, but he wasn’t persuaded because a few years later, he gathered an army to march on Tippecanoe.  Tecumseh left to get others to join in the fight. He left his brother in charge with explicit instructions not to engage the Americans.  But Tenskwatawna just couldn’t help it.  He had the warriors touch his bean belt to make them immune to bullets and dip their weapons in his magic bowl to ensure victory and he ordered an attack.  The Indians were routed by Harrison,the town burned to the ground and the path was set for Harrison to become President of the United States.  The survivors were incensed and came after Tenskwatawna who used his powers of BS to get out of it by blaming it on his squaw!  That’s right, when the chips were down, he blamed his loss on his wife whom he said stood too close to the bowl of magic potion. 

This story ends with a bit of magic power, but it came from his brother Tecumseh, who it is said on his death bed put a curse on the White Man.  On March 2, 1841 William Henry Harrison talked for nearly 3 hours in sub-freezing temperatures at his inauguration in Washington, DC.  He died of pneumonia 30 days later.  It is called Tecumseh’s curse and every president elected in a year that ended in zero has died in office, until Ronald Reagan broke Tecumseh’s curse.  Tecumseh was the famous middle name of General William T. Sherman.  And you know what, no one remembers the phony faker Tenskwatawna…and it’s just as well. It would teach a bad lesson to kids that being a big fibber is good. That cheaters somehow prosper.  Besides, it’s easier to pronounce Tecumseh than it is Tenskwatawna.

You know what’s funny…there are actually people today who are dressing up like Tenskwatawna.  Check out this imposter!

 

Where Were You In 1981? March 30, 2007

What you see here is the official NWS severe probabalistic map for Saturday midday to Sunday midday. A pokey storm system is losing much of its energy as it gets stretched out. A couple of days ago it touched off 63 tornadoes on the front range of the Rockies. Saturday night into Sunday morning will be our best chance for rain and t’storms but the best dynamics, or wind action, will be to our west and the late night/early morning timing will not provide energy from the sun and the heat that is available is also limited. Bottom line, at this point, on early Friday morning, it doesn’t look to fearsome but we’ll keep our nose to the grindstone. Now, last weekend I was talking about highs in the low 50′s for this weekend….well…back that up a few days. We will remain well above seasonal norms this weekend but by the latter half of next week, our tempertures tank and I bet we stay there for several days. Hopefully this nice weather will be back in time for Derby Festival activities.

This Date In History On this date in 1962, my friend Andrew Knox was born…and on this date several years before that, my sister was enjoying her first full day on the planet and my dad began the first day of seeing his hair fall out. However, on this date in 1981, John Hinkley, Jr. became a household name when he took potshots and President Reagan. Other assassins have had other reasons. The guy who shot McKinley was an anarchist, the guy who shot Garfield was a disgruntled…not sure if they used that term in the 19th century… office seeker and Boothe shot Lincoln in some “south’s gonna rise again” scheme. I’m not sure why Lynettte Squeaky Fromme or later her fellow Charles Manson follower took a shot a good guy President Gerald Ford. I think he may have talked to the bullits about his WIN buttons as each approached and they lost interest, like the rest of the nation did…as well as the history books. But whatever the reasons, they could not have been as goofy as that of Hinkley, who shot the President of the United States to try an win the affections of a teenage actress named Jodie Foster, who was either in her first or second year at Yale University. I’ve always wondered how he thought that would work. “Hey, Jodie, I shot the President…you wanna go on a date?”…”gee…wow…sure!” Thankfully for the nation, President Reagan survived and was back on the job in less than two weeks. One of the bullits lodged right near the President’s heart. It was a small caliber bullitt. But this particular type of .22 bullitt was designed to fragment so as to cause maximum damage, but this one by the heart remained in tact. Thus, one might say that Divine Providence had a hand in the Gipper beating Tecumseh’s curse. If you don’t know what that is, go back in the archives…I think it was probably March 4. I’m not explaining it again.

I will conclude with something to give you hope in these days of such pessimism. See, on this date in 1867, many Americans were chiding the Johnson Administration for being stupid. In particular, the Secretary of State William Seward who in the wee hours of the morning of March 30, 1867 signed a treaty with czarist Russia for the purchase of Alaska. Czar Alexander II had been trying to unload it on the US since the Buchannon administration but the US got sidetracked by the Civil War. After the war, Seward really went after it and he ended up increasing the size of the country by about 20% for around two cents and acre. But the people of the time ridiculed the deal. They called it most famously “Seward’s Folly” and also “Seward’s Ice Box” and “Johnsons’s Polar Bear Garden.” The treaty passed in Congress by one vote a few weeks later but funding wasn’t provided by Congress for another year. Seems a bunch of really wise men with great vision of possibility in the future decided the pursestrings were the way they could reign in such a imbecilic President. Fortunately, their foolishness did not prevail, for if it did, the US would have had the Soviet Union as a neighbor and we would have been without all of the resources and beauty of our 49th state. Quite often, what is thought of as truth and fact by a majority of people and politicians later is proven to be false. Thankfully, sometimes history does repeat itself and dire predictions do not always come true. If you read the Memoirs of US Grant, you will find that he felt his biggest failure was not in annexing Santo Domingo. I think today we would call that the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Had he been allowe to do that, its plausible that the US might have also acquired Cuba….and think how history later might have been different. BTW…Grant’s memoirs are considered the greatest Presidential memoir ever. It was published by Mark Twain.