Author: webuiltitblog

Today, Sunday, May 13, most Americans will celebrate Mother’s Day.  Mother’s Day is celebrated all over the world in some form.  Different countries have their own way of celebrating the day and even celebrate on different dates.  Some countries have replicated the US traditions – hallmark [or email (tacky)] card, flowers, chocolates, and family gatherings; others have incorporated it into other holidays honoring women or mothers; and in still others, a combination of the two has evolved.

Restauranteurs claim that Mother’s Day is their busiest day of the year. Evidently, one of the perks for mothers on MD is a day off from cooking.  And why not?  (On the other hand, on Father’s Day the restaurants are relatively empty as many fathers are put to work barbecuing.

In the US MD was first celebrated in 1908 when a lady named Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother.  Ms. Jarvis had been campaigning for the country to recognize a day to honor mothers since 1905 when her mother had passed away.  In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson signed an official proclamation establishing the second Sunday in May as MD.  It was to be a day to honor mothers and the concept of motherhood and their contributions to society.

Eventually, Ms. Jarvis became disillusioned with the commercialization of the holiday. By the 1920’s the greeting card, candy and flower industries were marketing their products aggressively to take advantage of the holiday. Jarvis strongly advocated that people should demonstrate their love and respect for their mothers through personalized, handwritten letters instead.  Being a person of action she organized protests and threatened boycotts of these industries.  At one point, she was arrested for disturbing the peace at a candy manufacturers’ convention.

Despite her efforts, commercialization of the day has continued to grow.  Americans, in particular, tend to demonstrate their love in tangible, material ways through the giving of gifts.  Today, MD is one of the biggest days for the sale of flowers, candy and greeting cards. According to CNN this year Americans will spend an average of $180 on their mothers for the holiday.  In addition, it is the third-biggest day for church attendance behind Christmas Eve and Easter.

As I stated, MD is celebrated in many countries in different ways and at different dates. For example:

1. The most common date is the second Sunday in May, which is May 13 this year. Besides the US, some of the countries that celebrate it on this date are Canada, Italy the Peoples Republic of China and Turkey.

2. Some countries, such as the UK, Ireland and Nigeria, celebrate it on the fourth Sunday of Lent. The UK incorporated it into a previously existing holiday called “Mothering Sunday.” ” Mothering Sunday” dates from the 16th Century.

3. Many Arab countries, such as Egypt, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia celebrate it on the vernal equinox (March 21).

4. Russia used to celebrate MD on March 8 in conjunction with International Women’s Day, but in 1998 the date was changed, by law, to the last Sunday in November.

5. Bolivia celebrates it on May 27, which is the date of an historically significant battle in which women played a key role.

6. Since 1950 France has celebrated MD on the fourth Sunday in May, except when the date conflicts with Pentecost in which case it is delayed to the next Sunday.

7. Hindus celebrate MD on the new moon day in the month of Baisakh (April/May).

CONCLUSION

Some of you may have noted that I spelled MD as Mother’s Day.  This was not an error.  The official holiday is spelled in the singular tense.    According to Ms. Jarvis the day is intended to honor “the best mother who ever lived, yours.”

MD is one of the few truly internationally recognized holidays.  One of the charming features of the day is the variety of ways and dates on which it is celebrated. This is derived from the differences in customs and cultures around the world.

One thing is certain now and will remain so prospectively: on this day the mother/wife is truly in charge.

Men, all together now, let’s repeat the two-word mantra for a successful marriage:
YES, DEAR!

President Trump has opted out of the Iran Nuke Deal, formally called The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) and one would think Armageddon was upon us.  The Dems and the usual suspects in the media would have you believe that Trump’s “irresponsible,” “reckless” action will make the world less safe and will more likely lead to nuclear war.  The Nation labeled it the “most reckless policy move yet” and a “prelude to war.”  Oh my!  Let’s all take a deep breath and analyze the situation rationally.

1.  The first point to comprehend is that Mr. Trump was within his rights, legally, to take the action he did.  The deal was never ratified by the Senate.  President Obama, perhaps, realizing that the Senate would have been unlikely to ratify such a flawed agreement, committed the US to it by executive action.  Therefore, Mr. Trump was within his rights to undue it the same way.
2. There are many flaws in the deal but, to me, the two most egregious are (1) the absence of inspection and verification by an independent body and (2) the “sunset provision.”  The absence of independent inspection and verification would have made it easy for Iran to cheat.  Raise your hand if you trust Iran to comply.  The sunset provision made Iran’s neighbors very uneasy, not just Israel, but Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey as well.  Mr. Trump stated that he feared it would trigger a nuclear arms race as other countries in the region would seek to protect themselves by developing their own nuclear stockpiles.
3. The $1.7 billion cash payment to Iran defies all logic. Obviously, it has been and will continue be used to fund terrorist and destabilizing activities in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Mr. Trump’s action should have come as no surprise.  During his campaign he railed on and on about the deal, characterizing it as “the worst deal ever.”  In addition, he called Iran the “leading state sponsor of terror.”  Furthermore, Iran has repeatedly and unabashedly stated its intention to “wipe Israel (the US’s staunchest and most reliable ally in the region) off the face of the earth.”

The deal may not have been quite the “worst,” but it was very bad.  It was dangerous, because it presented the illusion of protecting the US and its allies, yet it failed to do so.  The false sense of security and positive “spin” by Messrs. Obama, Kerry, Clinton  and others reminded me of Neville Chamberlain and the Munich Pact in 1938.  “Peace in our time,”  he had proclaimed, jubilantly.  We all know how that turned out.

Mr. Trump called for the reinstitution of sanctions, which had been terminated in 2015 as part of the deal, to be phased in over the next six months.  Moreover, he warned that any country that provides assistance to Iran’s nuclear program could also face sanctions.

CONCLUSION

By now, we should all be familiar with President Trump’s methodology, and he is following it here.

1. He will endeavor to undue or, at least, modify deals and agreements that he perceives as disadvantageous to the US.  The much quoted and often maligned slogan “America first” is not an empty promise to him.  Some examples include NATO, TPP, NAFTA, the climate change deal, and North Korea.
2. The NOKO situation is particularly instructive.  First, he took a tough position toward Kim, which Mr. Trump’s critics called “inflammatory,” “ill-advised,” “reckless” and worse.  But, in the end he has brought NOKO to the bargaining table, and got them to free three hostages, UNHARMED AND AT NO COST.  It’s called negotiating, and it is what Mr. Trump has done very successfully all his adult life.  As I keep saying, focus on what Mr. Trump does, not on what he says.
3. You will note that the sanctions are being phased in over the next six months.  Lots of things can happen in the next six months.  Iran will bluster. Mr. Trump’s critics will bloviate.  Britain, France and Germany will complain publicly, but privately they will likely open back channels to Iran.  After all, everyone has much to lose economically.  Don’t be surprised if the deal is modified to something the US can live with.

Can President Trump win the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his bringing North and South Korea together to sign a peace treaty “de-nuclearizing” the Korean peninsula?    Should he? Will he?  Three questions, possibly different answers.  In my opinion they are “yes,” “yes,” and “perhaps.”

First, a little background for those who are unfamiliar with the Nobel Prize, how it’s awarded and, perhaps, who Nobel even was.

1.  The so-called Nobel Prize consists of five individual awards that recognize achievement or advances in Chemistry, Physics, Literature, Medicine and Peace.  Following a lengthy nominating process, the first four are awarded by a board of prominent Swedish citizens; the peace prize honoree is selected by a Norwegian Nobel Committee.  Aside from enduring fame, the winner, or laureate as it officially called, receives a gold medal, a diploma and a sum of money.  In 2017 this sum was in excess of $1 million.
2. The  awards are named after Alfred Nobel, a renowned 19th century chemist, engineer and inventor.  Nobel was born in Stockholm, Sweden on October 21, 1833.  During his lifetime he amassed a fortune, primarily in the manufacture of armaments, notably explosives.  He is credited with some 350 inventions.  One of his most well-known was dynamite.  In his will, he stipulated that his fortune be used to fund a series of “prizes” to be bestowed annually upon those that confer “the greatest benefit on mankind” in the abovementioned categories.  The Peace Prize may be, and has been, awarded to an institution as well as an individual.  Moreover, the prizes may be, and often have been, shared.
3. Nobel died in 1896.  (As an aside, in 1888 Nobel actually read his own obituary published in a French newspaper.  The headline was “the merchant of death is dead.”  Obviously, it was an error.  In point of fact, it Nobel’s brother who had died.)
4. A few individuals have been awarded more than one prize.  Only one, however, Marie Curie, has been awarded prizes in two different disciplines (Physics and Chemistry).  Furthermore, the extended Curie family has won four prizes.

What did the three US Presidents do to win their respective Peace Prizes?

1. Teddy Roosevelt won in 1906 for mediating the terms of the Treaty of Portsmouth, which ended the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905).
2. Woodrow Wilson won in 1919 for helping end WWI and for his staunch efforts in conceiving and promoting the League of Nations.  Ironically, the League was DOA since the US never joined.  In addition, many historians maintain that Wilson’s tireless and ultimately futile efforts to convince the US Senate to vote to approve the US’s joining the League contributed to his fatal stroke.
3. Barack Obama won in 2009 for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”  Obama was a curious choice.  Some members of the committee denoted that he had only been President for a couple of weeks and had “not yet secured the achievements to merit such an accolade.”  Obama, himself, was quoted as saying he did not feel deserving of such an award.  He may have been just being modest, although if one compares his achievement to that of other laureates one would have to agree.

So, back to President Trump.  What is his achievement?  It relates to the Korean peninsula.  The Korean War (officially a “conflict”) began on June 25, 1950.  North Korea was supported mainly by China and the USSR.  South Korea had the backing of the UN (basically, the US).  After three years of often brutal fighting the parties agreed to an Armistice on July 27, 1953.  No formal peace treaty was ever signed, so, technically, NOKO and SOKO are still in a state of war.  Tensions have been very high for some 65 years.  During this time, the US has been trying to ease tensions, but to no avail.  Every president has failed.

Now, the tension has ratcheted up as NOKO is on the verge of becoming a nuclear power, if it has not already.  President Trump has succeeded in getting NOKO at least to agree to join negotiations for denuclearization and other matters, possibly a treaty.  We don’t know how it will end up, but at least we have a good start.  For the first time a thaw in relations between NOKO and SOKO seems possible.

CONCLUSION

I realize that the selection of the Nobel laureates is based on politics as well as actual achievement.  Therefore, Mr. Trump may be denied the prize many think he deserves, because many dislike him, personally, or disagree with his politics.  In my view, however, personal or political factors should not be relevant.  After all, Yasser Arafat, a terrorist, was selected as a laureate in 1994 for his efforts to make peace between Palestine and Israel.  We can all see how that has worked out.

I maintain that President Trump has earned the award, regardless of the outcome of the negotiations.  After all, efforts at peace have been recognized in the past, and we likely will not know the true outcome of the peace talks for many years.

The Nobel Committee may even deem it appropriate to award a share to Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-in.  Okay by me.

My darling and devoted wife claims I have very limited knowledge of pop culture. Perhaps, but let’s test your knowledge. You know the drill: no peeking at the internet. Don’t ask “Alexa.”  Good luck.

1. Each of the following movies won the Oscar for “Best Picture, EXCEPT:

(a) Crash; (b) Argo; (c) Hacksaw Ridge; (d) Moonlight

2.  President Trump has been mentioned as a possible winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.  How many previous US presidents have been so honored?

(a) 1; (b) 2; (c) 3; (d 4)

3.  Which famous entertainer was born in Steubenville, Ohio?

(a) Dean Martin; (b) Bing Crosby; (c) Jack Benny; (d) Liberace

4.  Which of the below actors played “Danno” on the original “Hawaii 50” tv series?

(a) Al Harrington; (b) Buddy Ebsen; (c) Larry Manetti; (d) James MacArthur

5.  Alfred Hitchcock directed each of the below movies, EXCEPT:

(a) “Psycho;” (b) “Marnie;” (c) “The Birds;” (d) “The House of Wax”

6.  Each of the below was a 2017 Emmy Award winner, EXCEPT:

(a) John Lithgow; (b) Viola Davis; (c) Nicole Kidman; (d) Sterling Brown

7.  Which of the below actors won the 2018 Oscar for “Best Actor?”

(a) Gary Oldman; (b) Daniel Kaluuya; (c) Denzel Washington; (d) Woody Harrelson

8.  In the famous Abbott and Costello comedy routine “Who’s on First,” the name of the second baseman is:  (a) What; (b) When; (c) Tomorrow; (d) I don’t know.

9.  Which child actor debuted in the tv show “Little House on the Prairie?”
(a) Ed Furlong; (b) Richard Thomas; (c) Jerry Mathers; (d) Jason Bateman

10.  Each of the following is a show created by Dick Wolf, EXCEPT:

(a) South Beach; (b) Law and Order; (c) Boston Legal; (d) Chicago Justice

11.  Which movie featured music by Simon and Garfunkle, including megahit “Sounds of Silence?”

(a) The Apartment; (b) The Graduate; (c) Eyes without a Trace; (d) A Patch of Blue

12.  Which of the below actresses won the 2018 Oscar for “Best Supporting Actress?”

(a) Octavia Spencer; (b) Mary Blige; (c) Allison Janney; (d) Sally Hawkins

13.  The rock ‘n roll song, “Rock Around the Clock” was featured in which of these movies?

(a) Blackboard Jungle; (b) The Rockers; (c) The Survivors; (d) Teen Angel

14.  Each of the following was a member of the “Rat Pack,” EXCEPT:

a.  Peter Lawford; (b) Dean Martin; (c) Vic Damone; (d) Frank Sinatra

15.  Who was the host of the “Newly Wed Game?”

(a)  Pat Sajak; (b) Alex Trebek; Marc Summers; (d) Chuck Barris

16.  Which famous actor appeared on “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air?”

(a) Will Smith; (b) Denzel Washington; (c) Brian Forster; (d) Fred Savage

17.  The hit song, “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” was featured in which movie?

(a)  Bonnie and Clyde; (b) Cool Hand Luke; (c) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; (d) Eyes without a Trace

18.  Whose birth name was Joseph Barrow?  (a) Cary Grant; (b)  Joe Louis; (c) Robert Mitchum; (d) Peter O’Toole

19.  Which rapper was born Curtis James Jackson, III

(a) Lil Wayne; (b) Eminem; (c) LL Cool J; (d) “Fitty” Cent

20.  Name the original host of the tv game show, “The Match Game.”
(a) Don Pardo; (b) Art Fleming; (c) Pat Sajak; (d) Gene Rayburn

ANSWERS

1. (c);  2. (d) (Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama);  3. (a);  4. (d);  5. (d);  6. (b);  7. (a);  8.  (a);  9. (b);  10. (c); 11. (b); 12.(c); 13. (a); 14. (c); 15. (d);  16. (a);  17. (c); 18. (b) (Joseph Louis Barrow); 19. (d);  20. (d)

Let me know how you did.  Also, I am happy to accept suggested questions for my next quiz.

Tomorrow, many of us will eat tacos and enchiladas and drink margaritas in celebration of Cinco de Mayo. Typically, most Americans have no idea of the significance of the holiday. They may assume that it is some religious festival or has something to do with Mexico’s independence from Spain. That would be wrong and wrong.

Back in 1861 France invaded Mexico. Napoleon III, the ruler of France at the time, correctly perceived that Mexico was “ripe for the picking.”  The Mexican-American War of 1846-48 had virtually bankrupted the country. The US was distracted by its impending Civil War and thus, unable to oppose France in Mexico. The other European powers, notably Spain and England, were not in the picture.

At first, the French, with their superior numbers, equipment and training, routed the Mexicans, but on May 5, 1862 the Mexicans surprisingly defeated the French decisively in a major battle near Puebla, halting their advance. The Civil War ended in 1865, and, thereafter, the US was able to assist Mexico. Eventually, the French needed their military assets at home to prepare to fight the Prussians [in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71)], so they abandoned their plans to conquer Mexico and withdrew.

The battle at Puebla was significant for several reasons:

1. Though largely symbolic, this victory gave the Mexicans a much-needed infusion of patriotism and national pride.
2. Since then, no country in the Americas has been invaded successfully by a European country.
3. Most importantly for the US, many historians believe that France’s ultimate goal was to enable the South to break away from the North. Mexico could have been used as a military base from which France could have funneled men and equipment to the Confederacy. If they had not been defeated at Puebla, who knows how far north their army would have pushed and who knows what military and political pressure they would have brought to bear against the US. Consequently, it can be posited that that victory helped preserve the Union.

Cinco de Mayo is celebrated not only in Mexico, but also in many other countries. Cities in the US, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Australia, New Zealand and Japan hold festivals featuring Mexican music, food and drink and celebrating Mexican culture. Technically, Cinco de Mayo, though recognized as a day of celebration throughout Mexico, is not a national holiday, although it is a holiday in the State of Puebla. Throughout the country, the public schools are closed and many towns hold parades or re-enactments of the battle of Puebla. It should be noted that Cinco de Mayo is NOT to be confused with Mexican Independence Day, which is September 16.

CONCLUSION

In another example of PC overreach, this year the University of New Hampshire has decided to call May 5 “Unity Day” instead of Cinco de Mayo.  Why?  Apparently, last year “some members of the Latino community” were “offended” when some students wore sombreros and ponchos.  They viewed that as “cultural appropriation.”  Well, boo hoo!  It’s not as if they painted offensive sayings or mocking cartoons.  Those actions did not rise to the level of, say, anti-Semitic scribblings on walls or fire-bombing synagogues.  THOSE are offensive, or worse.  Wearing sombreros and ponchos merely strikes me as students getting into the holiday spirit, not being mean-spirited.  Besides, I would wager that one could count the numbers of protestors on one hand.

Once again, we are all being subjected to the tyranny of the vocal minority.  I have to say that when I was in college if the administration came out with an inane suggestion like that, a bunch of us would have made sure to parade through the campus wearing sombreros and ponchos dancing the Mexican hat dance.  Times have sure changed, and not for the better.

Someone should inform these protestors and the university’s administrators, for that matter, that Cinco de Mayo is a great source of pride for people of Mexican descent, as well it should be.  It commemorates a significant military victory over a better-equipped, numerically superior force. As denoted above, the victory held historical significance not only for Mexico but for the US as well. In my opinion, if the administration wants to hold a “Unity Day” to foster better race and cultural relations, fine, but do it on some random day.

So, tomorrow, when you raise a glass of Tequila or dig into an order of guacamole give a toast to the brave men of Puebla.  And, if you want to wear a sombrero or a poncho, by all means, do so.

Should President Trump be impeached?  That question has been percolating among Americans virtually since the day after he was elected.  It didn’t matter what he did or what he said, they wanted him out, even before he was inaugurated.  Voter fraud, collusion, any “trumped up” charge would do.

According to most polls about 40% of the electorate are in favor of impeachment. As one would expect, the issue is extremely divisive: about 70% of African Americans and Dems are in favor, compared to only 30% of whites.  Hispanics and women are virtually split.

Let’s examine the situation.  Although I am a Trump supporter I will endeavor to be objective.

First of all, it is important to understand what impeachment is, what are the criteria for it and what the procedure is.  I maintain that few of us who are not constitutional lawyers have the foggiest idea of the answers to those questions, which, to me, casts doubt on the validity of those aforementioned polls.

1. Basically, impeachment is the process by which certain officeholders can be removed.  In this case we are discussing the possible impeachment of the President.
2. The constitution lays out the procedure.  Firstly, the House of Representatives, brings charges, aka the articles of impeachment.  Passage would be by a simple majority of those present and voting. Passage means the President has been impeached, but it does not mean he is removed, not by a long shot.  It is merely the first step, much like an indictment in a criminal case.
3. The Senate then tries the President.  The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over the trial.  Conviction (and removal) requires a 2/3 vote.
4. The constitution spells out the grounds for impeachment as “treason, bribery, or other ‘high crimes and misdemeanors.’ ”  It does not clarify what exactly constitutes a “high crime and misdemeanor,” but in 1970 then-House Minority Leader, Gerald R. Ford famously opined that an impeachable offense is “whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history.”  Some examples would be perjury of oath, abuse of authority, bribery, intimidation, misuse of assets or dereliction of duty.

Only two presidents have ever been impeached, and neither was convicted. Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868 for violating the Tenure of Office Act.  (This law, which was annulled in 1887, restricted the authority of the President to remove certain officeholders without Senate approval.)  Remember, Johnson, who was very unpopular, had been elected vice president, not president, and had succeeded to the presidency upon the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.  Although a simple majority of the Senate (35 – 19) voted for conviction it fell one vote short of the required 2/3 majority, so Johnson was acquitted.

President Clinton was impeached in 1998 on the grounds of perjury and obstruction of justice.  He was also acquitted.

CONCLUSION

The “bar” set by the constitution is very high and deservedly so.  Overturning the will of the voters in a legal election should NOT be undertaken lightly.

Furthermore, you will note that the grounds for impeachment DO NOT INCLUDE disliking the President or his policies.  I would “bet the farm” that a large majority of those voting in the aforementioned polls do not understand the process or the criteria, and many of them did not even deign to vote in 2016.

Roughly half of the country dislikes Mr. Trump intensely.  Fine.   In my opinion, much of their animus has been fueled by an extremely biased media and an opposition that 18 months later still cannot believe how they could have possibly lost the 2016 election.  But, that doesn’t matter now.  There are no “do-overs.” Mr. Trump won fair and square, and the constitution does not consider disliking an officeholder to be grounds for impeachment.

In my opinion, if we had impeached every president who was unlikeable, personally, or a womanizer very few presidents would have been able to serve out their terms.  Think back through history, and tell me I am wrong.  My message to Trump-haters is get over it and work harder to vote him out of office in 2020.

A couple of my loyal readers have requested me to write a blog featuring influential women.  My research has identified hundreds of women who have contributed significantly to society through the ages, beginning with Sappho in the 6th Century BCE.  Unless you are a Greek scholar chances are you have never heard of her.  She was one of the first female writers and poets, and the renowned Plato considered her to be one of the top ten poets of the day.

Some, such as Queen Victoria and Oprah Winfrey, are well known.  Others, such as Margaret Thatcher, Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks, have already been the subject of one of my blogs.  I have chosen not to focus on any of them.  Rather, I selected a few who, despite having made significant contributions to society, are not well-known to today’s public.  In my view, they and their contributions are underappreciated or, perhaps, forgotten.

Marie Curie

Curie was a physicist and a chemist who was renowned primarily for her ground-breaking research on radioactivity.  She was the first female to win a Nobel prize, the first person and only woman to win two of them, the only person to win one in two different disciplines, the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris, and the first woman to be entombed (on her own merits) in the Pantheon in Paris.

Maria Salomea Sklodowska was born on November 7, 1867 in Warsaw, but she moved to Paris at the age of 24 and lived most of her life there.  It was there that she completed her education and married fellow scientist Pierre Curie.

Her most significant work was with radioactive materials and the theory of radioactivity.  She perfected techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes; she discovered two elements – polonium and radium; pioneered the treatment of neoplasms using radioactive isotopes, and founded the Curie Institutes in Paris and Warsaw, which to this day are major centers of medical research.   Oh, and along the way, as noted above, she won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1903 (sharing it with Pierre) and the 1911 Prize in Chemistry.

Her discoveries had many practical uses. One of polonium’s uses is in photography; one of radium’s uses is in cancer treatment. Perhaps, the most significant application is in assessing and treating battlefield injuries.  Two examples were the X-ray machine and mobile radiography units, which became known as petites Curies.  In addition, Curie served as director of the Red Cross Radiology Service and established France’s first military radiology enter in 1914.

In addition to the aforementioned Nobel Prizes, Curie was the recipient of several awards, honors and tributes.  In a 2009 poll conducted by New Scientist magazine she was named “the most inspirational woman in science.”

Curie died in 1934.  Sadly and ironically, the cause of her demise was radiation poisoning.  At the time, the dangers of handling radioactive material were unknown and the extensive precautions that are standard today were not taken.

Helen Keller

Helen Keller was an author, lecturer and an advocate for women’s rights.  And, by the way, she was deaf and blind.  She was not born with those afflictions.  At the age of 19 months she contracted a mysterious illness that her doctors diagnosed as “an acute congestion of the stomach and the brain.”  She recovered but was left blind and deaf.

In those years such a condition would normally have consigned a person to a life of irrelevance and dependency, perhaps, in an institution.  Not Keller.  She became the first deaf-blind person to earn a BA degree.  Her entire life was a living testament that a person with her afflictions could accomplish anything that a person without those afflictions could.

Helen Adams Keller was born on June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, AL.  Her family tree was quite interesting.  Her father had been a captain in the Confederate Army; her mother was the daughter of a Confederate general; and her paternal grandmother was a second cousin of Robert E. Lee, the Commanding General of the Confederate Army.

The turning point of Keller’s life was when her parents hired a  20-year -old visually impaired young lady named Anne Sullivan to tutor her.  Sullivan and Keller “clicked,” and, as they say, the rest was history.

As I said, Keller,  became an inspiration for all impaired people, not just women.  She became a strong advocate for women’s rights, particularly suffrage, a prolific writer, publishing more than a dozen books and articles, and a tireless lecturer.  Politically, she was a socialist and a strong advocate for the working class.

In the 1960s Keller suffered a series of strokes and spent the last few years of her life at home, essentially bedridden.  In 1964 President Johnson awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and in 1965 she was elected to the National Women’s Hall of Fame.  Her likeness is on both  a postage stamp and the Alabama state quarter (in braille).

She died on June 1, 1968, but she left behind a powerful legacy that one should not allow himself to live as a victim of his or her physical limitations.

Keller’s story was portrayed in the 1962 movie, The Miracle Worker, which starred Patty Duke as Keller and Anne Bancroft as Sullivan. It is a very powerful movie, and I recommend it.

Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale was a social reformer and a statistician, but she is primarily known as the founder of modern nursing.  She rose to fame during the Crimean War for training nurses and tending to wounded soldiers.  She was a tireless caregiver, even making rounds of the wounded at night carrying a lamp.  Thus, she became known as “The Lady with the Lamp.”  Although some historians have claimed her contributions during the war were exaggerated by the contemporary press, her post-war achievements in the nascent field of nursing cannot be denied.

Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820 in Florence, Italy.  Her name is derived from the city of her birth.

Her family was wealthy and well connected.  When she developed an interest in nursing her family was strongly opposed.  Florence was expected to conform to the social norms of the day for wealthy, well-bred women – marry well and raise children.  However, Florence was not to be denied.  She educated herself as to the science of nursing and eventually her family accepted her desire to become a nurse.

In 1853 the Crimean War broke out on the Balkan Peninsula (southeastern Europe) between Britain, France, Sardinia and the Ottoman Empire on one side and Russia on the other.  It was a particularly brutal war and many more soldiers were dying from illness than battle wounds.  Florence convinced the British government to permit her to travel to the area accompanied by some 38 nurses she had trained.  She found the sanitary conditions to be appalling.  Medicines were scarce; proper hygiene was non-existent; hospital tents were overcrowded and poorly ventilated; and mass infections of typhus and cholera were common.  The simplest wound was often a death sentence.  Reporting back to the British government she convinced them to improve conditions.

It was during this time that she earned the moniker “The Lady with the Lamp.”  It was derived from a story filed by a reporter for the London Times, which read, in part: “she is a ‘ministering angel’ … every poor fellow’s face softens with gratitude at the sight of her… she may be observed alone, with a little lamp in her hand, making her solitary rounds.”  Whether exaggerated or not, there seems to be little doubt that Florence’s contributions saved thousands of lives.

After the war Florence continued her work, advocating for improved sanitary conditions and training nurses.  For example, she spent time in India where she noted that contaminated water and poor drainage were contributing to illness.  Many of the nurses she trained when on to ply her philosophy in other countries, notably the US during the Civil War.

Florence died on August 13, 1910 in London, but her contributions to society will live on.

CONCLUSION

Limitations of time and space limited me to just the above three women.  We all know that there have been many, many more.  Please advise me of  others that I may have  omitted.

Most of us are well aware of various stories of extreme heroism during the Holocaust like, for instance, those depicted in Schindler’s List and The Zookeeper’s Wife, but the following is about another story of heroism of which you are probably not cognizant.

It is a little-known story that between 1937 and 1941 some 1,200 Jews fleeing the Holocaust found a safe haven in, of all places, the Philippines.  Most of us are aware that many countries were unwilling to admit Jewish refugees either because of anti-Semitism or opposition to immigrants, in general, or, if they did, the Nazis eventually got them anyway.  For example, take the sad plight of the St. Louis. 

On May 13, 1939 the St. Louis sailed from Hamburg to Havana carrying 937 passengers, almost all of them Jews fleeing the Nazis.  They had been told they would be able to enter Cuba, and most of them had even obtained visas to enter the US, which they intended to do after a short stay in Cuba.  However, when the St. Louis arrived only 28 of them were admitted.  The reasons were not clear, but apparently it was due to a combination of internal politics, anti-Semitism and a bias against immigrants, in general.  The remaining 908 passengers were also denied admittance to the US for the same reasons even though the ship passed close enough to Miami that they could actually see the city’s lights.  How frustrating was that!  Many Jews blamed FDR.  He was a great president, but this was not exactly his finest hour. 

Eventually, the ship returned to Europe.  Its passengers were disembarked in England,  the Netherlands and Belgium.  Those who went to England survived the war, but the majority who went elsewhere did not.  One may view the heart-wrenching story of the St. Louis in greater detail at the Museum of Jewish Heritage located in lower Manhattan.

Now, back to the Philippines.  It was not easy to bring in large numbers of immigrants.  At the time, the Philippines were under US supervision and control.  A group that included President Manuel Quezon, Dwight Eisenhower and a cadre of wealthy and influential Jewish businessmen forged a workaround.  They focused on highly skilled professionals, such as doctors, mechanics, rabbis, scientists and accountants who were in short supply and great demand.   One emigrant, Herbert Zipper, was a musical conductor who went on to found the Manila Symphony.  Quezon’s original goal was to admit 10,000 Jews, but the Japanese invasion thwarted that.

The Jews’ joy and relief of escaping the Nazis was soon tempered by the fact that they found themselves in the cross-hairs of the brutal Japanese.  According to Lottie Hershfield, age seven at the time, “we were going from the frying pan to the fire.”

Hershfield added that for the most part the Filipinos accepted the Jews and treated them well, but it was a culture shock, especially for the adults.  The kids adapted more easily as kids do, but the adults stayed among themselves, and had difficulty adapting to the intense heat and humidity, learning the language, and familiarizing themselves with Filipino customs.  Also, many of them had been wealthy professionals or business owners in Europe and were faced with the daunting task of starting all over.

Ironically, for the most part, when the Japanese conquered the Philippines the Jews were treated better than the Filipino natives.  Ursula Miodowski, age seven at the time, told CNN, that was likely because their passports had the Nazi swastika on them.  That may also have been the reason why many Jews were not interned, like the British and Americans.  Nearly 1 million Filipino civilians were murdered during the Japanese occupation.

Better treatment did not, however, mean avoiding Japanese brutality altogether.  Survivors told stories of starvation, rapes, torture, beheadings, hiding in jungles and muddy ditches, and wanton destruction of property.  However, Miodowski was quick to add that it beat being interned in a concentration camp.  “We would not be alive today if not for the Philippines,” she said.

CONCLUSION

A handful of the refugees are still alive today.  Their story has been told in two documentaries, “Rescue in the Philippines” and “An Open Door:  Jewish Rescue in the Philippines.”  Additionally, Frank Ephraim, one of the survivors, depicted his experiences in his biography, entitled “Escape to Manila: From Nazi Tyranny to Japanese Terror.”  The title pretty much tells the story.

In 2009 Israel memorialized the Philippines’ actions with a monument at the Holocaust National Park in Rishon Lezion.

Finally, in an illustration of “what goes around comes around,” in 2013 when a typhoon decimated the Philippines, workers from the American Distribution Committee provided much-needed help.  The team was led by a man named Dan Pins, whose mother and grandparents had been among the WWII Jewish refugees that had been saved by the generosity of the Philippines.  Pins was happy to return the favor.

Many significant events have occurred in April.  Below please find some of them:

April 2, 1513 – Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon landed at present-day St. Augustine, and claimed FL on behalf of Spain.  St. Augustine is the oldest city in the continental US.

April 2, 1982 – Argentinian troops seized the Falkland Islands, a British territory just off the Argentinian coast, thus beginning the Falkland Islands War.    Britain recaptured the islands on June 15.

April 3, 1860 – Pony Express mail service commenced in St. Joseph, MO.

April 3, 1865 – Richmond. the capital of the Confederacy, surrendered.

April 3, 1948 –  President Truman signed the Marshall Plan, an economic aid package that is largely credited with halting the spread of communism in post-War Europe.

April 3, 1995 –  Sandra Day O’Connor became the first female Justice of the Supreme Court.

April 4, 1949 – NATO was created.

April 4, 1968 – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated.

April 6, 1896 – The first “modern” Olympics was held in Athens.

April 6, 1917 –  The US entered WWI.

April 8, 563BC – Celebrated as Bhudda’s birthday.

April 8, 1913 – The US ratified the 17th Amendment to the Constitution mandating the election of US senators by direct popular vote instead of appointment by State legislatures.

April 9, 1865 – Robert E. Lee formally surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant ending the Civil War.

April 9, 1866 –  The US passed the Civil Rights Bill of 1866, which granted AAs the rights and privileges of US citizenship.

April 10, 1942 – The Bataan Death March began.

April 10, 1945 – The Buchenwald concentration camp was liberated by US troops.

April 11, 1968 –  The US adopted the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

April 12, 1861 – The Civil War commenced as Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter.

April 12, 1945 – FDR died in Warm Springs, GA of a cerebral hemorrhage.

April 12, 1961 – Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, became the first human in space.

April 14, 1828 – Noah Webster published the first American-style dictionary.

April 14, 1865 – President Abraham Lincoln was mortally wounded by assassin John Wilkes Booth at Ford Theatre.  He died the next day.

April 15, 1912 – The “unsinkable” Titanic, which had struck an iceberg the previous night, sunk.  Some 1,500 of the 2,224 persons on board perished.

April 17, 1961 – The so-called Bay of Pigs invasion, which was intended to precipitate the overthrow of Fidel Castro, failed disastrously.

April 18, 1775 –  Paul Revere embarked on his famous “Midnight Ride” to warn the Patriots that “the British [were] coming.”

April 18, 1906 – The infamous San Francisco Earthquake and fire began.

April 18,1942 – A squadron of airplanes led by General James Doolittle successfully bombed Tokyo, providing a much-needed morale boost to Americans by demonstrating that Japan was not invulnerable.

April 19, 1775 – Patriots fire the “shot heard ’round the world” at Lexington, which marked the commencement of the Revolutionary War.

April 19, 1943 – The Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto began armed an insurrection against their Nazi captors.

April 20, 1999 – The “Columbine Massacre” occurred in Littleton, CO, leaving 13 dead and 20 more wounded.

April 21, 1836 – Texans under the command of Sam Houston decisively defeated a Mexican force at San Jacinto (near present-day Houston), which led to Texas’ independence from Mexico.

April 21, 1918 – Baron Manfred von Richtofen, the infamous “Red Baron” who was credited with some 80 kills, was shot down over France.

April 22, 1889 –  The “Oklahoma land rush” began.

April 24, 1800 – The Library of Congress, the world’s largest library, housing some 145 million items, was established.

April 26, 1986 – The nuclear power plant at Chernobyl, Ukraine, exploded, spreading a radioactive cloud extending over much of Europe.

April 26, 1994 – Apartheid in South Africa officially ended as the country held its first multiracial elections with some 18 million blacks participating.  Nelson Mandela was elected President.

April 28, 1789 –  Led by Fletcher Christian, the crew of the HMS Bounty mutinied against Captain William Bligh.

April 30, 1789 –  George Washington was sworn in as the first President of the US.

April 30, 1948 – Palestinian Jews declared their independence from the British and established the State of Israel.

Birthdays – 4/2/1805 – Hans Christian Anderson (Danish fairy tale author); 4/5/1856 – Booker T. Washington (AA educator); 4/10/1847 – Joseph Pulitzer (publisher); 4/13/1743 – Thomas Jefferson; 4/16/1867 – Wilbur Wright (aviator pioneer); 4/16/1889 – Charlie Chaplin (silent film comedian); 4/17/1837 – John Pierpont Morgan (financier); 4/18/1857 – Clarence Darrow (renowned attorney); April 20, 1889 – Adolph Hitler; 4/22/1870 – Vladimir Lenin; 4/23/1564 – William Shakespeare (writer); 4/23/1791 – James Buchanan (15th US President; 4/25/1874 – Guglielmo Marconi (invented the radio; 4/27/1791 – Samuel F. B. Morse (telegraph inventor); 4/27/1822 – Ulysses S. Grant (civil war commanding general and 18th US President); 4/28/1758 – James Monroe (Founding Father and 5th US President); 4/29/1863 – William Randolph Hearst (publisher).

Barbara Bush was one of the most popular and respected First Ladies in recent times.  She was known for her complete lack of pretense, glamor and vanity.  For example, she made no effort to color her hair or wear fancy designer clothes.  Moreover, she freely admitted her passions were gardening, the church and her family.  I never heard anyone utter a negative comment about her.  She brought dignity to the office of First Lady.  To me, she was everyone’s grandma (and I mean that in the nicest, most respectful way).  What you saw was what you got.  At times, it appeared that she was more popular than George.

Barbara Pierce was born on June 8, 1925 in New York City.  She was raised in the affluent suburban town of Rye in Westchester County, which is just north of the City.  Her father was the president of McCall Corporation, which published the popular women’s magazines McCall’s and Redbook.  Barbara was a distant cousin of Franklyn Pierce, the 14th president of the US, and the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

She met George at a dance when she was but 16.  They had a whirlwind romance, not uncommon in wartime.  Just 18 months later they were engaged and he was off to war as a navy bomber pilot. They were married on January 6, 1945 while George was on “leave.”

Bush family members readily identify Barbara as the glue of the family.  Like most husbands of that generation George was busy with his careers – Navy pilot, oilman, corporate executive and, of course, politician.  Meanwhile, Barbara raised the family.  Apparently, their respective areas of responsibility and authority were well defined.  “I don’t fool around with his office,” she once said, “and he doesn’t fool around with my household.”

It seemed like the family was never in one place long enough to establish roots.  They moved some 30 times during their 73 years of marriage.  Through it all, Barbara raised their six children.  The family also included 14 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

George entered politics in 1963 as Harris County (TX) Republican Party Chairman.  As he worked his way up the political ladder over the next 30 years Barbara had to adjust to life as a public figure.  She did so with aplomb, immersing herself in various charities and women’s groups.

At times, her political views diverged from those of her husband’s and many of his key supporters. For example, She was pro-choice on abortion, opposed the sale of assault weapons, and supported the Equal Rights Amendment. On one occasion her forthright manner did get her into some difficulty.  During the 1984 campaign she referred to Geraldine Ferraro, VP candidate on the Dem ticket against George, as “that $4 million – I can’t say it, but it rhymes with ‘rich.’ ”  She apologized to Ferraro, and the matter blew over.

As Second Lady she adopted the cause of literacy.  Using the power and influence of her office, she worked tirelessly with various literacy organizations giving speeches, researching the causes and publicizing the issue.  To her, literacy was “the most important issue we have.”  Probably, she was influenced, in part, by the fact that her son, Neil, was struggling with dyslexia.

Barbara did not seek the limelight, but she could be a very effective speaker, and she was not afraid to speak her own mind.  For example, when George announced his candidacy for president in 1988 Barbara became only the second candidate’s wife to address the convention.  [Can you guess who was the first?  See below.]  One of the highlights of her speech came when she forthrightly told the assembled delegates “what you see with me is what you get.  I’m not running for president – George is.”  In addition, when she gave the commencement speech for Wellesley College’s graduating class of 1990 “American Rhetoric” ranked it as number 45 on its list of the Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century.

The Bushes 73 years of marriage was the longest of any presidential couple.  Furthermore, Barbara was only the second First Lady to bear a son who was also elected president.  [Can you name the other one?]

CONCLUSION

Barbara was the recipient of several awards and honorariums.  For example, she was a longstanding member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the recipient of the DAR Medal of Honor.  In addition, she was the recipient of honorary degrees from some 30 colleges and universities.

In recent years Barbara was in ill health.  In 2008 she was hospitalized for abdominal pains and underwent surgery on her small intestine.  In 2009 she had an aortic valve replacement.  In 2013 she was hospitalized for pneumonia.  In addition, she was suffering from congestive heart failure, pulmonary disease and Graves’ disease.

Finally, on April 15 she chose to cease further treatment, except for “comfort care.”  She passed away on April 17.  Barbara was one of those few people who truly made a difference.

Rest in peace Barbara.  You will be sorely missed.

Quiz answers: (1) Eleanor Roosevelt (1940).  (2) Abigail Adams (husband of John; mother of John Quincy)