Author: webuiltitblog

As long-time readers know, this has been a featured topic. 

According to Wikipedia, January 1, New Years Day, is the most celebrated holiday worldwide.  Many  historically-significant events have occurred on this date as well as on other dates during the month. Please see below.

1/1/1502 – Portuguese explorers, led by Pedro Alvarez Cabral, landed in present-day Brazil.  They named the location Rio de Janeiro (River of January).

1/1/1660 – Samuel Pepys commenced his famous diary, which was to become a definitive chronicle of life in late 17th century London.  Famous events described in it include The Great Plague of 1664-1665, which wiped out roughly one-fourth of London’s population, and the Great Fire of 1666, which destroyed much of the city.

1/1/1776 – George Washington unveiled the first national flag, aka the Grand Union Flag.

1/1/1863 – President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves in the Confederacy.

1/1/1892 – Ellis Island opened.  Over 20 million immigrants were processed there between 1892 and 1954 when it closed.

1/1/1901 – The British Commonwealth of Australia was founded.

1/1/1959 – Fidel Castro seized control of Cuba.

1/1/1999 – The currency, the Euro, was born.

1/3/1924 – Howard Carter, British Egyptologist, discovered the burial site of Egyptian King Tut.

1/3/1959 – Alaska became the 49th state of the US.

1/7/1714 – British inventor, Henry Mill, received a patent for the typewriter.

1/8/1815 – The Battle of New Orleans, which many historians consider among the most significant in US history, commenced.  The outnumbered and outgunned Americans, under the command of Andrew Jackson, defeated the British.

1/10/1863 – The first underground railroad, appropriately called “The Underground,” commenced operation in London.

1/10/1920 – The League of Nations was born.  It was doomed to failure because the US never joined.

1/10/1946 – The first meeting of the United Nations took place in London.

1/11/1964 – The US Surgeon General issued the controversial report stating that smoking cigarettes may be hazardous to one’s health.

1/12/1932 – Hattie Caraway of Arkansas became the first female US Senator, filling the remainder of her late husband’s term.

1/15/1870 – The first use of a donkey to symbolize the Democratic Party appeared as a cartoon in Harpers Weekly.

1/19/1966 – Indira Gandhi became the first female Prime Minister of India.  Later, she was assassinated by one of her own bodyguards.

1/19/1983 – Klaus Barbie, aka the “Butcher of Lyon,” was arrested in Bolivia.  Eventually, he was extradited to France.  He was tried and convicted of war crimes and died in prison.

1/21/1793 – Following the French Revolution King Louis XVI was guillotined.

1/22/1901 – England’s Queen Victoria died after a 64-year reign, the longest in British history at the time.

1/22/1973 – Abortion became legal in the US.

1/24/1965 – Winston Churchill, arguably England’s greatest prime minister ever, died.

1/24/1972 – A WWII Japanese soldier, who had been hiding on Guam not realizing the War was long since over, was discovered.

1/27/1945 – The Russian Army liberated Auschwitz.

1/27/1973 – Representatives of the US and North Vietnam signed a treaty ending the Vietnamese War.

1/28/1935 – Iceland became the first country to legalize abortion.

1/28/1986 – The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, killing all aboard, including Christa McAuliffe, a teacher, who was slated to be the first “ordinary” citizen in space.

1/29/1919 –  Prohibition was ratified.  The unintended consequence of this ill-advised constitutional amendment was the substantial growth of organized crime, which was only too happy to provide illegal alcoholic beverages to a thirsty populace.  The amendment was repealed on December 5, 1933.

1/31/1943 – The German Army surrendered at Stalingrad in what was generally considered to be the turning point in the European Theatre of WWII.

Birthdays:  Paul Revere, 1/1/1735; Betsy Ross, 1/1/1752; Louis Braille, invented the reading system for blind people, 1/4/1809; Joan of Arc, 1/6/1412; Millard Fillmore, 13th President, 1/7/1800; Elvis Presley, 1/8/1935; Richard Nixon, 37th President, 1/9/1913; Alexander Hamilton, 1/11/1755; John Hancock, 1/12/1737; Benedict Arnold, 1/14/1741; Albert Schweitzer, 1/14/1875; Martin Luther King, 1/15/1929; Andre Michelin, pioneered the use of pneumatic tires on cars, 1/16/1853; Benjamin Franklyn, 1/17/1706; Muhammad Ali, 1/17/1942; Robert E. Lee, 1/19/1807; Edgar Allen Poe,1/19/1809; Ethan Allen, 1/21/1738; Douglas MacArthur, 1/26/1880; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1/27/1756; William McKinley, 25th President, 1/29/1843; Franklyn Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President, 1/30/1882; Jackie Robinson, 1/31/1919.

A plague on both their houses!

I don’t know about you, but I am sick and tired of the dysfunctional Congress we continue to elect.  Politicians are good at only two things – getting elected and getting re-elected.  According to Gallup despite approval ratings consistently in the high teens to low twenties, over 90% of Congressmen win re-election cycle after cycle.  Why?  Your guess is as good as mine.  Perhaps, that inconsistency is at the root of the problem.

Both Dems and the GOP seem more intent on scoring political points than in settling the matter.  Neither side seems willing to negotiate.  This happens repeatedly, with few exceptions.  The latest example of this is the government shutdown.  As of Friday, midnight, all non-essential government spending and services have been suspended.  And, as I write this, all news outlets are reporting that not only is the end not in sight, but to quote CNN, “divides [are] deepening.”  Some have suggested that the GOP senate invoke the “nuclear option” (adoption by majority vote instead of 60 votes), but Senator McConnell and many other senators, both GOP and Dem, are opposed.

What, you may ask, is the burning issue that has caused this mess?  Essentially, the Senate Dems refuse to approve a budget until President Trump and the GOP agree to address the DACA issue.  Conversely, President Trump and the GOP refuse to include DACA as any part of a budget resolution.  They want to address it separately with other border issues, such e-verify, enhanced vetting, ending chain immigration, and The Wall.

Each side is convinced it is in the right.  Each side is blaming the other.  Whose fault is it?  That depends upon your party affiliation.  As I said, I blame both sides, and, in particular, the parties’ leaders, which seem incapable of leading.

This is like a bad movie that we have seen before and are being forced to watch again.  According to Standard and Poors the last shutdown in 2013, which lasted 16 days, cost the country $24 billion, or $1.5 billion per day.  Ultimately, it accomplished little.

So, how will the shutdown affect you?  In truth, unless it’s protracted, the answer is “not so much,” unless you are a member of the military, a “non-essential” federal employee, are looking to visit a national park, renew a passport, get seriously ill, or travel on an airplane.  In those cases, you will probably become collateral damage

According to ABC News:

1.  Payments to military personnel, such as salaries, allotments and death benefits will be deferred until the shutdown has ended.  Yes, they will get their money, eventually, but in the meantime, how do they pay their bills?  Remember, many, if not most, of these families live paycheck to paycheck, and most creditors are not so forgiving.  The aforementioned death benefit is $100,000, which is paid to families of servicemen KIA.  Their families need this for funeral expenses and to defray financial hardship caused by the sudden cessation of military pay.  To me, this is morally reprehensible on its face (although, in the 2013 shutdown Congress passed a special bill to allow these death benefits to be paid).
2. Similarly, “non-essential” federal employees are furloughed and have to deal with interruptions on their salaries.  How well would you survive if your salary were to be terminated suddenly?
3. Most national parks, monuments and museums will remain open, at least through the weekend, then possibly close on Monday.  If you plan to visit any of these places I suggest you verify their status beforehand.
4. Good luck if you need to renew your passport or travel in an airplane.  Many State Department and NTS employees will be furloughed, and services will be likely be severely affected.
5. Due to furloughs many CDC services will be curtailed.  This will likely affect routine programs, such as flu shots, and pray there is not a major outbreak of some serious illness.

Guess what is not affected?  Congressmen’s salaries and benefits.  Perhaps, that is the problem.  We need to change that, but guess who would have to approve the change?  Yep, Congress.

CONCLUSION

In my view, there is plenty of blame to go around.  This should not be a difficult negotiation.  Polls show that most people, including President Trump, want to help the law-abiding DACA people, and most voters favor enhanced border security.  The outline of a deal is in place.  They just have to work out the details.  How hard could it be?

Eventually, this will get resolved, just like the other shutdowns.  As before, each party will blame the other and hope the other side loses at the polls.  Unfortunately, the biggest losers will be the American people.

This blog should come with a warning label.  If you are a Trump-hater, you will not approve of it.  But, to paraphrase the late singer Leslye Gore, “it’s my blog, and I can write what I want to.” All I ask is that you read it with an open mind.  As always, I welcome your comments.

We all know that President’ Trump’s job approval rating has been at historic lows.  According to the latest Harvard CAPS/Harris poll it is at 42%. The latest NBC News/WSJ survey had it even lower at 39%, the lowest for any “modern” president after one year in office.   But, I believe those approval ratings are more reflective of his personality, than his policies.  I will stipulate that, at times, he can be boorish, combative, irreverent and “non-presidential.”  His obsessive tweeting can be inappropriate and embarrassing.  His opponents have called him everything from a racist to a misogynist to a white supremacist and compared him to despicable figures, such as Hitler and Stalin.  However, like most Trump supporters, I focus on what he does, not what he says.

I maintain that, in just one year, he has accomplished at least as much as any other president, and more than most.   For purposes of this blog, however, I will focus solely on the economy and border security.  I will analyze his other accomplishments at another time.

I T E S.  (It’s the economy, st – – -d.)   History tells us that, with few exceptions, such as a war or a 9/11-type terrorist attack, the most important issue for most voters is the economy.  That popular refrain, “Are you better off today than you were four years ago” is very effective.  Voters tend to ascribe, perhaps, too much credit or blame to the president based on whether they are better or worse off than they were when he took office.

That said, let’s take a quick look at the economy for the last year:

1. Unemployment/Job Creation – According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the December 2017 unemployment rate was 4.1%, for the third month in a row. When Mr. Trump took office the rate was 4.8%.  Moreover, the BLS reported nearly 1 million jobs had been created during that period.  In addition, the areas of greatest growth were in the blue collar, working class fields of construction, manufacturing and healthcare.  Thus, at least in this area, the greatest benefit has gone to the very constituency that Mr. Trump’s critics have been maintaining his policies would hurt.
2. Stock Market –  According to Market Watch the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 32% during the past year and closed on January 18 at a record high of 26,017.  What is the significance of this for the country?  First of all, some 43 million households, most of them consisting of working class people, own one or more IRAs.   So, those results are relevant to the abovementioned “Are you better or worse off…” question.  Secondly, the stock market is a leading indicator.  Therefore, the investment community is betting on a further improvement in the economy.  As the late president JFK famously intoned, “a rising tide lifts all boats.”  One could question whether or not this level of optimism is due to President Trump’s policies, but, in my opinion he should get the lion’s share of the credit.
3. Tax Reform – President Trump and his supporters have been extolling the benefits of his tax reform package for months, and his critics have been doing their best to discredit it as a huge giveaway for the rich.  I urge you not to assume it will be detrimental to you.  Run the numbers; you may be pleasantly surprised.  Perhaps, the most significant part of his package was the reduction of the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% (with a special lower rate for repatriated funds).  A recent World Economic Forum survey identified high tax rates as the most problematic factor in doing business.  (One does not have to be a tax expert to realize this.)  I expressed my opinion of the tax package in an earlier blog, and there is no need to repeat myself now.  However, an objective person would have to concede that the early returns have been very positive.  Firstly, many international companies have announced their intention to repatriate profits currently being held in foreign locations to avoid the onerous 35% corporate tax rate.  The Business Insider characterized this as a “tidal wave of internationally-held cash.”  According to Citigroup this amounts to some $2.5 trillion.  Goldman Sachs estimates that approximately $250 billion of that amount is likely to be repatriated to take advantage of the lower tax rate.  The expectation is that this cash will be used to (a) reinvest in the business, (b) increase employment, (c) pay bonuses, and/or (d) buy back company stock.  Any of these would have a beneficial effect on the economy.  Indeed, several major corporations have already weighed in.  For example, Apple, which has reported it has some $250 billion stashed overseas, announced it expects to repatriate most of those funds, expand its physical plant and create 20,000 new jobs; AT&T has paid $1,000 bonuses to in excess of 200,000 employees and pledged to invest $1 billion domestically; Comcast also paid $1,000 bonuses and announced it intends to invest “in excess of $50 billion” on infrastructure over the next five years; Fifth Third BankCorp and Wells Fargo announced they will increase their minimum wage to $15.  Workers should already be seeing the benefits of the reduced tax rates for individuals in their paychecks.
4. Border Security – I have blogged about this many times.  Mr. Trump has been steadfast and adamant on this issue.  Everyone is focusing on The Wall, but there are other elements to his plan, such as e-verify, ending chain migration, enhancing vetting procedures, increasing border patrol personnel, and identifying, capturing and deporting felonious illegal aliens.  Contrary to what his critics have been saying he is not seeking to deport law-abiding DACA persons.  Many, if not most, Dems have been opposed to these policies, labeling them as “racist.”  (A good rule of thumb: whenever someone uses the “R” word, it is because they have no other comeback.  They have already lost the debate.)   The Dems’ fervent defense of illegal immigrants, even to the extent that they seem to be willing to provoke a government shut-down over the DACA issue, leads one to believe they actually favor illegals over their core working class constituency.  The obvious reason for that would be the hope that some day these immigrants would show their gratitude by voting Democratic.

CONCLUSION

Based on the foregoing, I believe any objective person would conclude that Mr. Trump is on the right side of the crucial issues.  After all, who wouldn’t want to feel safer and have more money in their pocket.  Yes, I wish Mr. Trump’s personality were more “presidential,” but assuming you can’t have both, which would you want?

Please answer the following two questions:

1.  If you had to choose a surgeon to save your life, would you select a nice, polite, professional-appearing doctor who is an average surgeon or a nasty, arrogant, SOB who is an exceptional surgeon?
2. Do you lock your doors and turn on your security system when you leave your house or go to sleep or do you open your doors and turn off the system so that  anyone can enter?

I think the answers are obvious.  Remember, many of the celebrities and politicians who lecture the rest of us about borders and other issues live in gated communities with 24/7 security and ride in chauffeured limos or private jets.   For them, it’s “do as I say, not as I do.”

Keith Jackson was one of the most versatile sportscasters of his generation.  During his long, illustrious career he called contests in virtually every major (and not so major) sport, such as, (baseball major and minor leagues), football (NFL, college and USFL), basketball (NBA and college), summer and winter Olympics, boxing, auto racing, golf, speed skating, hydroplane races and ski jumping.  But, it was in college football that he really made his mark.  For some 50 years, if there was a big college football game chances are Jackson was calling it.  To college football fans, he was “Mr. College Football.”

Keith Max Jackson was born in Roopville, GA on October 18,, 1928.  His parents were dirt farmers and very poor, i. e. they barely eked out a subsistence on a farm on mostly barren land without any hired help.  He was the only child in the family that survived childhood.  His favorite leisure pastime was listening to sports on the radio.  After high school he enlisted in the marines.  Following his discharge he took advantage of the GI Bill to earn a college degree in speech communications at Washington State University.

Jackson broke into the business in 1952 when he called a college football game between his alma mater and Stanford University.  He joined ABC in 1964 as a radio news correspondent.  In 1966 he joined ABC sports, and he was on his way.

Some of the highlights of his career were as follows:

1. He covered the 1964 Republican National Convention with Walter Cronkite.
2. Most people do not know that he was the initial announcer on Monday Night Football.  (ABC had wanted Frank Gifford, but Gifford was contractually bound to CBS.  After one year Gifford became available, and ABC replaced Jackson with him.)
3. He called events in ten Olympic Games, including the infamous 1972 Munich Games.
4. He was a regular on the renowned Wide World of Sports.
5. In 1975, while covering the North American Continental Boxing Championships, he spied a young boxer named Sugar Ray Leonard and labeled him as “one to watch.”  As sports fans know, Leonard won a Gold Medal at the 1976 Games and went on to become one of the best boxers of his time.
6. He called the historic 16-inning playoff game between the NY Mets and Houston Astros in 1986, won by the Mets to send them to the World Series, which they won as well.

However, as I said, it was in college football that he made his mark.  He began in an era when the announcers of most games worked alone, without an analyst.  Furthermore, in that prehistoric era there would be very few games on tv, not the plethora of choices we have today.  For the most part, he was assigned to the most important game of the week that reached the widest audience.   The audience knew that if Jackson was calling the game, it was a big one.  In the words of Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, which owns ABC, “For generations of fans, Keith Jackson was college football.”

He called 15 Rose Bowls and 16 Sugar Bowls.  It was he who labeled the former the “granddaddy” of Bowl games.  In addition, he is credited with creating the moniker, The Big House, to describe Michigan University’s huge stadium, which seats in excess of 100,000 fans.

Jackson was known for his “folksy,” “down-home” expressions.  Some examples, “Whoa, Nellie and “Hold the phonnne!,” when, for instance, an official had thrown a penalty flag  on a play.  Frequently, he would refer to huge linemen as “Big Uglies,” or “That guy is a ‘hus’ (horse).”  Somehow, the national tv audience found these expressions to be charming, not offensive.

CONCLUSION

In addition to the foregoing, Jackson appeared in several movies, as himself, such as, The Fortune Cookie (1966), Summer of Sam (1999), and The Bronx is Burning (2007); tv shows (Coach) and commercials (Gatorade, Miller Lite and Shoney’s.

Jackson was the recipient of innumerable awards and honors.  For instance:

1. His alma mater presented him with the (Edward R.) Murrow award for outstanding performances in the communications industry.
2.  He was inducted into the American Sportscasters and National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Halls of Fame.
3. In 1999 The National Football Foundation presented Jackson with its highest honor, The Gold Medal Award.”
4. In 2015 the Rose Bowl renamed the stadium’s radio and tv booths “The Keith Jackson Broadcast Center.”

Jackson passed away on January 12, 2018.  Rest in peace, Keith.  You will be sorely missed.

Tomorrow, January 15, we will celebrate Martin Luther King’s birthday.  The holiday is always celebrated on the 3rd Monday of January, but this year it happens to fall on his actual birthday.

This year will mark the 50th anniversary of his untimely assassination on April 4, 1968.  For some people the day holds no special meaning; it is just a day off from work, a day to spend with family or friends, part of a long three-day weekend. For many of us, however, particularly those of us who were alive in the 1950s and 1960s, it is much, much more.

MLK was born on January 15, 1929. He became the most prominent and influential American civil rights leader in the 1950s and 1960s, maybe ever. MLK was more than just a pastor. He believed that more could be achieved by civil disobedience and non-violence than by violence. He preached peaceful disobedience, sit-ins, marches and demonstrations, often in the face of violence and cruelty by the police and others, rather than rioting. In this regard, he was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. In turn, he inspired others such as the Black Civil Rights movement in South Africa.

He also recognized the power of the press to bring attention to his cause and influence public opinion. For example, as many as 70 million people around the world witnessed the police brutality inflicted on the peaceful black and white marchers in Selma, Alabama, including women and children as well as men. Those images, broadcast live on TV and radio, appalled and disgusted many people and provided an immeasurable boost to the public awareness of the injustices being visited upon blacks in the South.

Unlike any other African American leaders before or since, he had the ability to unite, rather than divide. Although he was criticized by some of the more militant civil rights leaders of the time, such as Stokely Carmichael, he commanded the support and respect of a large majority of blacks and many whites as well. In that regard, he was similar to Nelson Mandela. After his death, despite the urgings of some civil rights leaders who wanted to continue MLK’s philosophy, more militant African American leaders, such as Mr. Carmichael, came into prominence. There was rioting in over 100 US cities, and a slew of violent incidents at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago in front of the national press and millions of Americans. The Civil Rights movement was changed forever.

MLK came into prominence in 1955 when he led a bus boycott, peacefully, in Montgomery, Alabama. The boycott had been fueled by the famous Rosa Parks incident in which she had refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white person. She was arrested on December 1. (Most people don’t know that earlier that year in March a similar incident had occurred, also in Montgomery, involving Claudette Colvin, a black girl who also refused to give up her seat to a white man. However, that case did not receive the same notoriety. Civil rights lawyers declined to pursue it because Colvin was 15, unmarried and pregnant. They chose to wait for a case with a more favorable fact pattern, and they were proven to be right.)

Later, MLK became the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and remained so until his death. He applied his non-violence philosophy to protests in Selma, Ala., St. Augustine, FL, and the March on Washington, D. C., among others. He made it a policy never to endorse a particular political party or candidate. He believed he could be more effective if he were neutral and not beholden to anyone. Furthermore, in his view, neither party was all bad, and neither one was perfect. In his words, “[t]hey both have weaknesses.”

Perhaps, MLK’s most famous moment occurred during the famous March on Washington in August 1963. Ironically, MLK was not the primary organizer of the march. That was Bayard Rustin, a colleague. The primary purpose of the March was to dramatize the plight of blacks in the South. Civil rights leaders, including Roy Wilkins, NAACP, Whitney Young, National Urban League, A. Philip Randolph, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, John Lewis, SNCC, James Farmer CORE, and MLK, wanted to bring awareness of these issues right to the seat of the Federal government. More than 250,000 people of all ethnicities and colors attended. MLK was one of several speakers, and he only spoke for 17 minutes. But, his “I Have a Dream” speech became one of the most famous speeches ever. The March, in general, and MLK’s speech, in particular, are credited with bringing civil rights to the political forefront and facilitating the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Some little-known facts about MLK:

1. His birth name was Michael King, Jr., after his father. In 1931 his father changed his own name to Martin Luther King, after the German theologian, Martin Luther, whom he admired. At the same time, he changed his son’s name.

2. In 1958 MLK was stabbed in the chest after a speech by a woman who had been stalking him and nearly died.

3. The FBI began tapping MLK’s telephone as early as 1963. Robert Kennedy, who was Attorney General at the time and who is viewed as a staunch supporter of civil rights, in general, and MLK, in particular, authorized the tapping.

4. MLK won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 at the age of 35, the youngest age ever at the time.

5. MLK won a Grammy Award in 1971, posthumously. It should be denoted that he won it, not because he displayed a great singing voice, but for a “Spoken Word Album,” “Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam.”  In addition, we won countless other awards and was awarded some 50 honorary degrees from various colleges and universities.

6. The US Treasury has announced that it will be redesigning the $5 bill.  It will still feature Abraham Lincoln on the front side, but the back side will feature depictions of events that have occurred at the Lincoln Memorial, including MLK’s “I have a dream” speech.  The Treasury expects to have these new bills in circulation by 2020.

7.  Even though MLK was one of the great public speakers of his time, inexplicably, he got a “C” in a public speaking course at the seminary. (Kind of like a baseball scout saying Babe Ruth can hit “a little bit.”)

8. MLK is one of three individuals and the only native-born American to have a holiday named after him. In case you’re wondering, the others are George Washington (born in the COLONY of Virginia), and Christopher Columbus.

Some MLK quotes to ponder:

1. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

2. “The time is always right to do what is right.”

3. “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

4. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

5.  “Free at last. Free at last.  Thank God almighty, we are free at last.”

6.  “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

CONCLUSION

Today, there is much division among African Americans as well as their leaders. Some are moderate and want to work within the system; others are more militant. Many of them have their own agendas and look for any excuse to foment distrust and discord. I believe that these militant leaders and we all know who they are, do more harm than good, but that is a subject for another blog.

In my opinion, we have made much progress in the area of civil rights.  For example, we have elected an African American president (twice); an African American sits on the Supreme Court; and African Americans hold and have held positions of prominence in every field of endeavor, including business, entertainment, sports, and the military.  But, still, it is a work in progress and we still have a ways to go.

One can speculate whether and to what extent MLK’s assassination changed the course of history. In my opinion, had MLK lived, the Civil Rights Movement would have been considerably different over the last 50 years, more peaceful and less divisive, with better results. Furthermore, his assassination had a significant impact, not only on the history of the civil rights movement, but also on the overall history of the country, itself.
I hope and believe that eventually a moderate leader will emerge and bridge the gap as MLK did half a century ago.

Today, as you enjoy the day in whatever manner you choose, I ask you to reflect for a moment on where we are as a nation regarding civil rights, where we want to go and how we get there.

Anna Mae Hays, who began her military career as a nurse at a jungle outpost in India during WWII and ended up becoming the nation’s first female general, has passed away at the age of 97.  During a career that spanned four decades and three wars she became known as a fierce advocate for the Army Nurse Corps and for female officers, in general, and was at least partly responsible for many improvements in the treatment of battlefield injuries.

Anna Mae Violet McCabe Hays was born on February 16, 1920 in Buffalo, NY, but she was raised in Allentown, PA.  She was the middle of three children.  Her parents were members of The Salvation Army.  As a child, Hays displayed two interests and talents – music and nursing.  She became adept at playing the French horn, the piano and the organ.  Furthermore, she would pretend to treat wounds by wrapping bandages around the legs of their kitchen table.

After her high school graduation she wanted to attend the Julliard School of Music.  Unfortunately, even though she had been an honor student, she failed to win a scholarship, and her parents could not afford to pay the tuition.  Consequently, she turned to nursing.

In 1941 she graduated from the Allentown General School of Nursing, just in time to enlist in the Army Nurse Corps.  Her first posting was in the jungles of India.  As one can imagine, the conditions were extremely primitive.  The buildings were constructed of bamboo and mud.  The outpost was servicing Army special ops units and construction workers who were building a road to connect India and China.  In addition to the Japanese, one had to deal with malaria, gangrene, dysentery, dengue fever, snakes and leeches.   Normally, most everyone, staff included, was ill with something.  Hays often told the story of the time she was sick and spotted a cobra under her bed.  Rather than panicking, she calmly asked a guard to shoot it.  Her explanation: “When one lives in the jungle, one can expect that sort of thing.”

Later, Hays served in both Korea and Viet Nam.  She rose through the ranks, and by 1967 she had become the head of the Army Nurse Corps, a position she held until her retirement in 1971.  Some of her accomplishments were as follows:

1. During the Korean conflict she helped establish the first military hospital in Inchon.  She characterized the conditions there as being equally as bad as those in India, if not worse, due to the extremely cold temperatures and chronic lack of adequate supplies.
2. She was a staunch advocate of additional funding for the Nurse Corps, which, as Sanders Marble, senior historian in the Army’s Office of Medical History denoted, was a “hard sell at that time.”
3. In 1970 she was responsible for establishing  a policy of maternity leave for officers.  Previously, pregnant officers were automatically discharged.
4. She was responsible for developing, monitoring and improving various nurse educational and training programs, and was a strong advocate of increasing the number of overseas postings.
5. Some of her other postings were head nurse at Fort Dix, NJ, obstetrics nurse supervisor at Valley Forge General Hospital in Phoenixville, PA, head nurse at Fort Myer, VA, and head nurse of the emergency room at Walter Reed Hospital in Maryland.  It was at the latter posting where she met her husband, Dr. William Hays, who was on staff there.  Moreover, in 1956, she had the privilege of treating then-President Dwight Eisenhower, who was recuperating from surgery for ileitis.  They became lifelong friends.  One humorous story that most of you will appreciate:  The Morning Call of Allentown reported that one day Vice President Richard Nixon came to visit. Ike asked Hays if he should see him.   Hays said no.  Ike said okay.  Then, Hays went out to Nixon in the hallway, shook his hand, and said “I’m sorry, but the president doesn’t feel he is able to see you.”  Personally, given the relationship between Ike and Nixon, I believe the story.

CONCLUSION

During her distinguished career Hays continued her education.  She earned a Bachelors Degree in nursing from Columbia University Teachers College in 1958 and a Masters Degree from Catholic University of America in 1968.

Besides her various military honors Hays was named to the Lehigh County’s Hall of Fame.  In addition, Lehigh and Northampton counties honored her by naming the Coplay-Northampton Bridge after her.

The signature moment of her career occurred on June 11, 1970 when she became the US Army’s first female general.  Her official presenter was Mamie Eisenhower.  (For the record, a second female, Elizabeth Hoisington, was also promoted moments later the same day.)   Oddly, until 1968 that rank had been barred to women by law.   The president who signed off on the promotion – Richard Nixon.

Hays was a true trailblazer.  Many others followed, and in 2008 General Ann Dunwoody became the first female four-star general.

Despite all the advances on behalf of female Army nurses and military nursing, in general, Hays did not consider herself to be a feminist, per se, and did not wanted to be identified as one.   She was really proud of her time in the Army Nurse Corps and claimed that if she “had to do it all over again, [I] would do it longer.”  According to the NY Times when asked how she wanted to be remembered, Hays replied “first of all, as the first woman general, but [also] as a very honest person, as a kind individual who did her best – and succeeded.”

Hays passed away on January 7, 2018.  Rest in peace Anna.  You were a true difference-maker and will be sorely missed.

The very disturbing rising tide of anti-Semitism in the world should not be surprising to any person who has been monitoring the news on a regular basis.  I am not referring to instances in the Middle East.  Those are not surprising, given the demographic make-up of those countries.  What I find most disturbing is the rising tide of anti-Semitism in the US and Western Europe, areas that are thought as enlightened and tolerant.  I have published a few blogs that deal with anti-Semitism, but recent disturbing events mandate that I revisit the topic.

Recently, there have innumerable instances in various of these so-called enlightened and tolerant countries.  For example, in just the last couple of months:

1. US – According to a recently-published report by the Anti-Defamation League 1,299 defamatory instances were reported in the US for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, which represented a whopping 67% increase over the same period in 2016.  Even more disturbing was the sharp increase in anti-Semitic-related bullying, taunting and vandalism in K-12 schools and on college campuses.  The highest frequency of these incidents occurred in states, such as NY, Cal., Mass, and FL, where the largest Jewish populations reside.  One could interpret that result as “familiarity breeding contempt” on the part of bigots.
2. I have posted blogs dealing with anti-Semitism on college campuses before, but below please find a few more recent incidents to illustrate my point.
3. The Chancellor’s Office of UC Santa Cruz reported that there were eleven anti-Semitic incidents on campus just during the last calendar quarter.  They included spray-painted swastikas, fliers containing white nationalist language, desecration of an Israeli flag, and the like.  Campus spokesman Scott Hernandez denoted that  there were fewer such incidents compared to last year.  Fine, but even one is one too many.
4. In December at Portland Community College – Cascade dozens of neo-Nazi, anti-Semitic and white supremacist posters, fliers and stickers were distributed around the campus.  One notable poster depicted a sinister-looking man with a hooked nose, the classic caricature of a Jew.  Another flier used the phrase “blood and oil,” the Nazi Party symbol for anti-Semitism and directed the reader to the web site “bloodandoil.org.”  Nice.
5. Also in December, a student at Tufts published an op-ed in the campus newspaper, Tufts Daily, that delegitimized the State of Israel as a “real” country, characterizing it as a “European colonial settlement established by the British Government and now sustained by imperialism and neo-colonial powers…  The supporters of the Zionist movement around the world have no legal or historic right to immigrate, confiscate and claim lands that belong to the indigenous people of Palestine.”  Sounds like the ravings of a lunatic to me, not something one would expect to hear from a college student at a mainstream university, but this is where we are today.
6. For a change of pace, we have a Florida cop who was forced to resign after posting anti-Semitic comments on Facebook.  This was not an isolated instance.  In 2011 he implied that Jews were somehow taking unwarranted advantage of “our system,” adding “put them in an oven and deal with them the Hitler way.”  In 2013 he posted an anti-Semitic joke:  “What’s the difference between boy scouts and Jews?  …  Boy scouts come back from their camps.”
7. In previous blogs I have reported anti-Semitic incidents in various European countries, such as Sweden, UK, France, Belgium, Italy and Spain, among others.  These are part  of a disturbing trend, which, if anything, is accelerating.  Just in December there were incidents in Germany, France and the UK.
8. The New York Post reported that anti-Semitism is “sweeping” Germany.  For example:

a. Charlotte Knobloch, the former president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany and a Holocaust survivor, has opined that “anti-Semitism [is] in the heart of German society.”  Moreover, the word “Jew” has once again become an insult in German schoolyards.”  Knobloch has been pressing the government to appoint a special commissioner to help combat the problem, but, in my opinion, that will not resolve the problem.  People’s basic attitudes will have to change, and I am not optimistic about that happening.

b.  Many Jews are trying to live in the shadows by down-playing their Jewishness.  It is estimated that there are some 200,000 Jews living in Germany, and about half of them are “unaffiliated.”

c.  Many hateful instances have been posted online.  For example, in Berlin a hateful barrage of anti-Semitic insults directed to a restauranteur by a patron went viral.  Moreover, during Hanukkah in Heilbron haters desecrated a public menorah.

d.  I believe, as do many others, that these instances can be attributed, in part, to a substantial influx of immigrants from Russia and predominantly Muslim countries.  Many of them have brought their hateful attitudes with them.  In addition, concurrently, there has been an increase in the power and influence of a right-wing neo-Nazi political party, which has given “cover” to these vile haters.

9.  Youpi, a French children’s magazine, published an article insinuating that Israel was not a “real” country.  The article read, in part,: “There are 197 countries, like France, Algeria, or Germany.  There are a few more, but not all other countries in the world agree that they are real countries (for example, the State of Israel or North Korea).”  Israel’s ambassador to France, Aliza Bin Noun,  stated she was “shocked by this lie taught to children.”  Youpi Magazine’s publisher, apologized for the “mistake” and had the issue pulled from stands, but, obviously, the damage was done.

10.  In the UK the problem is more insidious.  Yes, the country has had its many anti-Semitic incidents, but, worse, many of its major cities, including London, Leeds, and Birmingham, among others, have been electing Muslim and Sharia Law-leaning politicians.  These peaceful, legal “takeovers,” which I believe can be traced to Britain’s “open door” immigration policy, do not bode well for Jews in those cities or for the UK as a whole.

11. Recently, virtually every country, except for the US and a few others, supported a UN resolution criticizing the US’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the bona-fide capital of Israel and move its embassy there.  The official argument was it would hurt the “peace process.”  I say, what “peace process.”  How can there be a realistic “peace process” when most of the Arab countries continue to refuse even to acknowledge Israel’s legitimacy?

CONCLUSION

Once again, we can learn from history.  Don’t forget, Jews lived peacefully in Egypt, Poland, Spain, Russia and many other countries for centuries until the powers that be decided to expel or murder them.  They were welcome until they weren’t.  Presently, Jews all over the world are feeling increasingly uncomfortable in their home countries and are emigrating to Israel.

Time and time again beginning with the Roman Empire, Jews have been a convenient scapegoat for a country’s economic, social and political problems.  Who killed Christ?  The Jews.  Crops failed?  Blame the Jews.  Stock market tanked?  Jewish bankers.  What will Jews be blamed for next?  Global warming?

Ramon Regalado, a Filipino native living in San Francisco, who survived the infamous Bataan Death March in WWII passed away on December 16, 2017 at the age of 100.  The BDM was one of the most heinous and inhumane events of the Asian Theatre, and that says a lot, but more on that later.

Regalado was born in 1917 in the Philippines.  When the Japanese invaded the islands he was one of the thousands of Filipinos who fought bravely alongside American soldiers.  He served as a machine gun operator during the Battle of Bataan.

The situation was desperate.  The Filipino defenses had been ill prepared for the war. Furthermore, much of the American troops, under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, had evacuated.  (Many of you will recall MacArthur’s famous boast to the Filipinos –  “I shall return.”)  The combined forces were heavily outnumbered and outgunned.  Furthermore, the Japanese had already earned a well-deserved reputation for wanton cruelty and a blatant disregard for the stipulations of the Geneva Conventions.

The Japanese attacked the Philippines in January, 1942.  The combined American-Filipino forces fought valiantly but surrendered on April 9, 1942, and that was when the horror began. The Japanese took between 60,000 and 80,000 prisoners and moved them from Bataan to Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac, some 65 miles north.  Any prisoner who was discovered to be in possession of Japanese money or souvenirs was shot or bayonetted on the spot.

Most of the March was on foot; the rest was by train  The March was characterized by extreme and wanton brutality. The Japanese exhibited nothing but contempt for their prisoners. The sick and wounded were not treated.  There was little food and water.  The heat was extreme, and the prisoners were often forced to sit exposed to the unrelenting sun.   They unceremoniously murdered anyone who was unable to keep up.  Some were shot; others were bayonetted.  The dead bodies were merely discarded at the side of the road to be collected and disposed of later, or not.  There is no accurate count of those prisoners who died during the march, but estimates run as high as 650 Americans and 18,000 Filipinos.  For the train portion, as former prisoner, Sargent Alf Larson later recalled: “They packed us in like sardines, so tight you couldn’t sit down…  If someone had to go to the toilet, you went [right] there where you were.”  Only about 54,000 of the original 80,000 prisoners survived the March.

Camp O’Donnell was not much of a relief.  Starvation and disease were rampant.  Several hundred prisoners died every day.  For the most part, the dead were simply dumped into mass graves like so much refuse.  That explains why there isn’t an accurate count and why many have never been identified.

It is not clear when the US government discovered these atrocities, but the American public was unaware of them until January 1944 when Life Magazine published an expose based on the stories disseminated by various escapees.  The government and the military high command were quick to condemn the Japanese in the strongest terms.  For example, General George C. Marshall stated “these brutal reprisals upon helpless victims evidence the shallow advance from savagery, which the Japanese people have made….  {T}he future of the Japanese race, itself, depends entirely and irrevocably upon their capacity to progress beyond their aboriginal barbaric instincts.”  After the war, an Allied military commission concluded that this mistreatment of prisoners constituted war crimes.

Eventually, Regalado escaped with two other prisoners.  At the time, all three were sick with malaria.  Luckily, a friendly farmer gave them shelter.  However, of the three, only Regalado survived.  Eventually, he joined a guerilla unit and continued to fight.  After the war, he emigrated to the US.

CONCLUSION

Regalado was one of some 250,000 Filipinos who served alongside American troops during the war.  Approximately 57,000 of them died.  The US had promised them veterans benefits and US citizenship, but it was many years before those promises were honored.  In addition, this past October the government awarded many of them, including Regalado, the Congressional Gold Medal.

Today, there are dozens of memorials dedicated to the heroism of those who were in the March, including monuments, plaques and schools.  Moreover, the March has been depicted in a 2012 documentary entitled Never the Same: The Prisoner of War Experience.

Regalado was one of the few who lived to see the belated recognition.  Rest in peace, Ramon.  You were a true patriot and hero.

Tonight, people around the world will celebrate New Year’s Eve. Although the specifics of the celebration may differ in various countries, it is generally a time of social gatherings, parties, eating, drinking, and merriment. The Pacific island nations of Kiribati, which is nothing more than a coral atoll in the Central Pacific, and Samoa,, which is the western-most of the Samoan Islands, will be the first to celebrate; American Samoa, which includes seven tiny islands and atolls in the eastern part of the Samoan Islands, and Baker Island, which is an uninhabited atoll 3,100 km southwest of Honolulu, will be the last.

Below please find a sampling of celebration customs in various countries:

1. In the US NYE is celebrated with parties with family and friends and other special events. For example, since 1907 people have been gathering in Times Square to watch the “Ball Drop.” At precisely 11:59 pm, a huge Waterford crystal ball, weighing some 12,000 pounds, begins its descent from the roof of One Times Square down a 70-foot high pole. Exactly one minute later, at midnight, the ball reaches the roof of the building, and huge lights signal the start of the New Year.

Times Square has been the focal point of NYE celebrations in the US since 1904.  That year, the first organized NYE celebration, consisting of an all-day street festival culminating in a huge fireworks display, was held there. It was reported that at midnight the celebratory noise could be heard as far away as Croton-on-Hudson, some 30 miles away.

The celebration was organized by the New York Times owner, Adolph Ochs, to commemorate the opening of the Times new headquarters located in the tiny triangle at the intersection 42nd Street, Broadway and 7th Avenue.  The city renamed the area Times Square in honor of the venerable publication.

[Quiz questions:  1) What other historically significant event occurred in NYC in 1904?  2) What was Times Square’s name prior to 1904?  See below for the answers. ]

Two years  later the City banned the fireworks display.  Ochs’ response  was to replace it with the “Ball Drop.”  The details of this “Ball Drop” have evolved over the years, especially technologically.

The celebration, itself, has also evolved over the years.  Due to the world we now live in, security is tighter than the proverbial “drum.”  For example, regarding the police and “alphabet agencies,” it is “all hands on deck.”  Additionally, for security reasons, there are no food, drinks, waste baskets, toilet facilities, knapsacks, large bags and pocketbooks permitted.   Best to arrive early, and if you have to leave for any reason, good luck returning.

Times Square has become so symbolic of the celebration of New Year’s that it draws approximately one million spectators from all over the world, many of whom stand in the cold without access to food or toilet facilities for hours just to be there.   It is estimated that in excess of one ton of confetti will be dropped at the stroke of midnight. Thankfully, I don’t have to clean it up.

This year, the frigid weather will present an additional complication.  Temperatures are expected to dip into the single digits, with wind chills at or below zero.  Revelers, especially those who arrive early, will have to find ways to keep (relatively) warm.  This would be a good year to watch the festivities in the warmth and comfort of your home.

“The Drop” has inspired similar celebrations in other cities, such as Atlanta (“Peach Drop”) and Nashville (“Music Note Drop”). Entertainment from various venues is also featured.  The most famous and enduring entertainer was Guy Lombardo, who from 1928 to 1976 entertained from the ballroom at the Waldorf-Astoria, first on the radio, then on TV. After his death in 1977 other programs became prominent, most notably “Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve.”   After his death, the mantle passed to Ryan Seacrest and others.  Traditionally, NYE is the busiest day at Disneyland and Disney World, which feature Disney-character shows and fireworks.

2. In Canada the mode of celebrations vary by region. For example, in Toronto, Niagara Falls and other areas of Ontario, there are concerts, parties, fireworks and sporting events. On the other hand, in rural Quebec some people go ice fishing.  Montreal features concerts and fireworks.

3. In Mexico, families decorate their homes in various colors, each of which symbolizes a particular wish for the upcoming year. For example, yellow would symbolize a wish for a better job, green, improved finances, white, improved health, and red, general improvement in lifestyle and love. At midnight, many Mexicans eat a grape with each chime of the clock and make a wish each time. Some people bake a sweet bread with a coin hidden inside. Whoever gets the piece with the coin will be blessed with good fortune in the coming year. Finally, some people make a list of all the bad events that occurred to them over the past year on a piece of paper and then burn the paper to symbolize a purging of all the bad luck.

4. As you might expect celebrations in England focus around Big Ben. People gather to observe fireworks and celebrate. In addition, many celebrate in pubs or at private parties.

At the stroke of midnight it is traditional to sing “Auld Lang Syne.” I have always been curious as to the derivation of this song and why it is sung at New Year’s. The origin is murky, but it has generally been attributed to the Scottish poet Robert Burns. He wrote it in 1788, but it is likely that some of the words were derived from other Scottish poems and ballads. “Auld Lang Syne” literally translates into English as “long, long ago,” “old times,” or “days gone by.”  Thus, at the stroke of midnight we bid farewell to the past year and, at the same time, wish to remember the good times.  In some areas the song is also sung at funerals, graduations and any other event that marks a “farewell” or “ending.” Sometimes the singers gather in a circle and hold hands.

CONCLUSION

As a sign of the times, the Washington Post reported that the city of Berlin will be establishing “safe zones” for women.  No doubt, this is in response to the rash of sexual assaults that have occurred there in recent years as an unwanted part of the NYE celebrations.  This is a smart idea.  Perhaps, other locales will adopt it as well.

Whatever your NYE plans may be and however you may celebrate, I urge you to be careful and drive safely and defensively. Pay particular care to watch out for the “other guy.” This is one night where too many people celebrate excessively and drive under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. These people should not be on the road, but, nevertheless, they are, and they are dangerous both to you and themselves. For this reason, Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson’s long-time side-kick on the “Tonight Show” and a noted party-goer, used to refer to New Year’s Eve derisively as “amateur night.”  New Year’s Day is the second most deadly holiday for drivers. (Thanksgiving is #1.) Moreover, a whopping 42% of the driving fatalities on NYD are the result of DUI.

Answers to quiz questions:  1)  The city’s first subway line opened in 1904.  2) Longacre Square.

Enjoy yourself, but don’t become a statistic.

Rose Marie enjoyed one of the longest careers in show business history.  She entertained audiences for some 90 years.  At the age of three her mother entered her in an Atlantic City talent contest as “Baby Rose Marie,” where she sang.  In her long career she performed in every entertainment medium –  vaudeville, clubs, radio, tv, movies and the theatre.  Although she began as a singer, later generations knew her best as a comedic actress on tv.

Rose Marie Mazzetta was born on August 15, 1923 in NYC to an Italian father and a Polish mother.  Her father had a rather interesting job.  He was an arsonist for Al Capone.  Accordingly, Rose Marie was an acquaintance of various mobsters, such Al Capone and Bugsy Siegel.  As she explained to People magazine in a 2016 interview, “[My father}used to burn down your warehouse if things weren’t going the right way, but I didn’t know that at the time. …. To me, Al Capone was ‘Uncle Al.’ ”   In her autobiography, Hold the Roses, she explained these mob connections often helped her in her career.  For example, she frequently appeared at the Flamingo in Las Vegas, which, reputedly, was own by mobsters.  She said if she wanted to appear at another casino she made sure to get permission from “the boys.”

At five, she began singing in Rudy Vallee’s band on NBC.  She was such a hit that NBC gave her a seven-year contract and her own 15 minute show.  Over the next several years she performed in vaudeville, nightclubs, and on the radio.  She was a star.  She was known as “The Darling of the Airwaves.”

By 1960 she was already a big star when she was signed to co-star as a comedy writer on the Dick Van Dyke Show with Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore and Morey Amsterdam. The show was a big hit and ran from 1961 – 1966.  Rose Marie’s role was a ground-breaker.  In her words, it was one of the few roles in which a woman was not depicted as either a “wife, a mother or a housekeeper.”   Today, such limitations of women’s roles are hard to imagine, but that was the way it was at that time.   She recalled that at one point she bluntly asked Carl Reiner, the show’s creator and producer, why her role was not as prominent as Moore’s.  Reiner replied, just as bluntly, “they [audiences] wanna look at her legs [not yours].”  Rose Marie wasn’t unattractive, but I can’t argue with that logic.

After Van Dyke, she starred on The Doris Day Show and the original version of the Hollywood Squares game show, where she got to demonstrate her comedic talents.  In addition, she was a frequent guest star on such it shows as Murphy Brown and The Dean Martin Show.

CONCLUSION

Rose Marie was one of the few performers who never needed to use a last name professionally. She was extremely versatile.  She performed successfully in every entertainment medium – nightclubs, vaudeville, radio, movies, tv and the theatre.   In addition, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

After her death, the following was posted on her website: “Heaven just got a whole lot funnier.”  How true.