Tag: history

I HAVE A DREAM

On Monday, January 20, we will celebrate the birthday of, in my mind, the greatest civil rights leader in American history.  Of course, I am referring to Martin Luther King, Jr.  His birthday is a national holiday, and as is the case with many of our holidays, we celebrate it on a Monday, in this case the third one in January, rather than on the actual day.

This year the holiday will mark the 30th anniversary as a National Day of Service. The NDS was established to honor the life and legacy of Dr. King, and to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities. Martin Luther King Day has been recognized in all 50 states since early 2000, however, some states, such as Alabama and Mississippi, have combined it with “Robert E. Lee Day” to honor the birthday of the commanding general of the Confederacy who was born on January 19.

This year will mark the 57th anniversary of his untimely assassination on April 4, 1968.  Like the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the assassination of President JFK on November 22, 1963, and the terror attack on 9/11/2001 most of us will always remember where we were when we heard the horrible news.

For some people, the holiday 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.  In my opinion, he became the most prominent and influential American civil rights leader in the 1950s and 1960s, if not ever.  MLK was more than just a pastor.  He believed that more advancement in civil rights could be achieved by civil disobedience and non-violence than by violence.  He preached peaceful disobedience such as sit-ins, marches and demonstrations, often in the face of wanton violence and cruelty by the police and others, rather than by rioting and violence.  In this regard, he was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi.  In turn, he inspired many others such as Nelson Mandela and 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, in March of 1965, 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. These events were captured dramatically and realistically in the 2014 movie, “Selma,” which featured David Oyelowo as MLK.  If you haven’t seen it, I recommend it.

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 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, which many believe swung the 1968 presidential election to Richard Nixon. 

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 had 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 signature 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 he 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 noted 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, he won countless other awards and was awarded some 50 honorary degrees from various colleges and universities.

6. 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.”)

7. 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.”

In recent years there has been much division among African Americans as well as their leaders.  Some are moderate and want to work within the system; others are more militant.  In my view, many of these militants are no more than “race hustlers,” have their own agendas and look for any excuse to foment distrust and discord.  They do more harm than good. If you doubt me, just randomly turn on CNN or MSNBC and listen to some of the news coverage. The coverage and commentary of some of the guest commentators (and a few of the news anchors as well) are subjective and divisive.

Most often, crimes are viewed through the lens of race rather than the facts, and the media will very often jump to conclusions without regard of the facts. Later, when the facts become known if, as is often the case they are change the narrative, they are ignored or downplayed. (The recent Jussie Smollett case is a good example of this.) “White on black” crimes get extensive coverage while “black on black” crimes, which are far more numerous, are largely ignored.

In my opinion, the weak and feckless Biden Administration exacerbated the problem. I hope that the incoming Trump Administration will be able to reverse the trend.

CONCLUSION

In my opinion, we have made much progress in the area of civil rights.  For example, we have elected an African American president (twice) and vice president; 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 it is still a work in progress.  We can do more.

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.

Finally, I firmly believe that MLK would have been appalled by the violent, arbitrary and senseless rioting and sharp uptick in crime of the past few years that was instigated, aided, and abetted by BLM, ANTIFA, many Dem political leaders and much of the media.  I find this to be senseless and ironic since most of the victims are themselves poor minorities. How is that helping the civil rights movement?  That is not what MLK stood for.  Furthermore, in my view, he would not have been an exponent of the extreme “cancel culture,” “critical race theory,” DEI, and “political correctness” movements that many see as dividing the country today.

So, as you enjoy the holiday 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.

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PRESIDENTIAL TRIVIA

Good news! Rather than frustrate you with one of my quizzes I will shift gears and present some interesting and informative trivia regarding our presidents.

Did you know that:

  1. George Washington’s dentures were not made of wood as is commonly thought, but rather of ivory,
    gold, and human and animal teeth, among other materials.
  2. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died within hours of each other on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1826. Neither was aware of the other’s demise.
  3. As a teenager, James Monroe was a hero at the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War. He and some 50 other volunteers crossed the Delaware River ahead of Washington’s main force and harassed the Hessian forces.
  4. James Madison, the “father of the Constitution,” was the shortest president. He was only 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighed less than 100 pounds.
  5. Andrew Jackson is the only president to fight in both the Revolutionary War, when as a 13-year-old he was wounded and taken prisoner, and the War of 1812.
  6. John Tyler was the first president to have a veto overridden by Congress.
  7. James Polk was the first president to retire after one term and not seek reelection.
  8. William Henry Harrison delivered the longest inaugural address in history, a
    105-minute speech without a hat or overcoat, on a cold and windy day on March 4, 1841. After
    developing pneumonia, he died in the White House exactly one month later,
    becoming the president with the shortest tenure and the first one to die in office.
  9. Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during WWII, was only an average student at West Point and graduated in 1915 61st in his class of 164.
  10. Millard Fillmore declined to accept an honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law from
    Oxford, saying, “No man should accept a degree that he cannot read.”
  11. Chester Arthur, who acceded to the presidency upon the assassination of James Garfield, was known as the “Dude President” for his fancy attire and indulgence in extravagant luxury.
  12. William Howard Taft started the tradition of the president throwing out the
    first pitch of the baseball season on April 14, 1910.
  13. Grover Cleveland personally answered the White House telephone during his tenure.
  14. Benjamin Harrison was the first president to have electricity in the White
    House. After he once got an electric shock, he was reluctant to touch the light switches and often left the lights on at night.
  15. William McKinley was the first president to use campaign buttons.
  16. Abraham Lincoln was the only president to obtain a patent. In 1849, he
    invented a complicated device for lifting ships over dangerous shoals by means
    of “buoyant air chambers.” (Alas, his patent was never put into practical use.)
  17. Andrew Johnson was buried with his head resting on a copy of the Constitution (ironic since he was the first president to be impeached).
  18. Ulysses S. Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant but changed his name because – wait for it …. – he did not like his monogramed initials (HUG).
  19. Franklin Pierce was the first president to cancel his inaugural ball (due to the death of his son).
  20. James Buchanan is the only president who never married. His niece acted as White House hostess while he was in office.
  21. The much-maligned Herbert Hoover, who presided over the beginning of the Great Depression, refused to accept a salary for his presidency and gave all of his federal paychecks to charity. Some would say he did such a terrible job as president that he didn’t deserve to get paid anyway.
  22. Franklin Roosevelt was a devoted stamp collector who kept up his hobby while in office.
  23. The middle initial ‘S’ in Harry Truman’s name is not an abbreviation and does not stand for another name.
  24. Dwight Eisenhower was an avid golfer who installed a putting green on the White House lawn.
  25. John F. Kennedy was the first person born in the 20th century to become president.
  26. Lyndon B. Johnson graduated from high school at the age of 15.
  27. Richard Nixon was the only president to be elected as both VP and president twice, was the first president to visit all 50 states, and the only president to resign from office.
  28. George H.W. Bush was the only president to serve as United States Ambassador to the United Nations.
  29. Bill Clinton was the only president to have been a Rhodes Scholar.
  30. John Tyler had the most children –15.
  31. Washington, Madison, Jackson, Polk and Buchanan did not have any biological children.
  32. The famous “Teddy Bear” was named in honor of Theodore Roosevelt.
  33. Woodrow Wilson’s picture is featured on the rarely used $100,000 bill.
  34. Herbert Hoover was the only president sworn in by a former president,
    Chief Justice William Howard Taft.
  35. Calvin Coolidge is the only president to take the oath of office in his own home. It was administered by his father who was a notary public.
  36. Presidents John Tyler and Woodrow Wilson were the only presidents who had two official first ladies; both remarried during their presidential tenures.
  37. Grover Cleveland was the only president to be married in the White House (June 2, 1886).
  38. President Joe Biden suffered from a serious stutter as a child. Some of his malicious classmates gave him the nickname “dash.”
  39. Donald Trump is the only sitting U.S. president to set foot in North Korea. On June 30, 2019, he crossed the demarcation line in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea after shaking hands with North Korean leader Jong-Um-Kim. Trump is also the only sitting US President to lay a wreath at the Western Wall in Jerusalem (May 22, 2017).
  40. President Reagan appeared in 53 Hollywood movies from 1937 to 1964, although technically Grover Cleveland was the first president to appear in a dramatic film (albeit a silent one) in 1896.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it, a little history and a little fun.

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JIMMY CARTER

Former President Jimmy Carter passed away on Sunday, December 29 at the age of 100. He was the longest-living president. He served as the 39th president of the US serving from 1976 – 1980. His single term was not without controversy, but this is neither the time nor the place to critique and criticize his tenure. Rather, it is a time to evaluate his life and accomplishments positively and respectfully.

James Earl Carter was born in Plains, GA on October 1, 1924. His father owned a grocery store, and his mother was a registered nurse. As a child, he was ambitious. He began working in the store at the age of ten. His favorite childhood pursuits were following the Atlanta Braves baseball team and listening to political radio programs. In addition, he became deeply religious. As an adult he became a born-again Christian.

Upon his graduation from high school Carter entered the US Naval Academy in 1943. He graduated in 1946 and commenced a career in the Navy. Also in 1946 he married Rosalynn Smith. The marriage endured for 77 years until Rosalynn’s death in 2023 and produced four children.

Carter may have made a career in the Navy were it not for his father’s untimely death in 1953. As a result, he resigned his commission and returned to Plains where he proceeded to manage the family’s peanut farm and care for his mother who was ill.

In 1962 Carter entered politics by running for the US Senate. At the time Georgia was a strongly conservative state with powerful and well-entrenched segregationist and racial influences. Nevertheless, despite his relatively liberal views and policies he won the election. In 1966 he ran for governor, but he was defeated by Lester Maddox, an avowed segregationist and overt racist. Maddox’s views, though abhorrent in today’s world, were in tune with those of many white Georgians at the time.

GA governors were only allowed to serve one term, so in 1970 Carter was able to run again. This time he moderated some of his liberal views, and he won. As governor Carter established himself as a “centrist reformer.” After completing his one term he set his sights on the presidency.

Although he was a Washington outsider and began his campaign with little or no name recognition, he won the 1976 Democrat nomination and faced President Gerald Ford in the election. Although Ford was the incumbent he had not been elected. He had been the VP when President Nixon was forced to resign due to the Watergate Scandal. (A bit of trivia: Ford is the only person to have served as both President and VP without having been elected to either office.) Ford had some baggage mainly as a result of his controversial pardon of the disgraced Nixon. This was deeply unpopular with much of the electorate, but in retrospect it was probably the right decision as it enabled the country to move on.

The country was ready for a change, and Carter appeared to be the right candidate at the right time. At first, he had a sizable lead over Ford, but it steadily narrowed as Election Day approached. In fact, in the final days before the election, several polls showed that Ford had tied Carter, and one Gallop poll found that he was slightly ahead.  

Most analysts conceded that Carter was going to win the popular vote, but the outcome of the electoral vote was uncertain. Ultimately, Carter won, receiving 297 electoral votes and 50.1% of the popular vote. Carter’s victory was partly attributed to his overwhelming support among black voters.

Carter was inaugurated as the 39th president of the US on January 20, 1977. His presidency was characterized by controversy. He was an outsider who resisted conforming to DC’s ways of operating. For instance, he avoided phone calls from members of Congress and, at times, verbally insulted them. Moreover, he was often unwilling to return political favors. Predictably, this resulted in a rift between the White House and Congress and hampered the former’s ability to succeed in getting desired legislation passed.

Furthermore, some of his policies and actions were unpopular and unsuccessful. For example, one of his first acts was to issue an executive order declaring unconditional amnesty for Vietnam War draft evaders. This was to fulfil a campaign promise, but it was very controversial. In addition, during his tenure the country suffered through an economic malaise characterized by persistently high inflation, an average unemployment rate of 6.6% according to the BLS, double-digit interest rates, and an energy crisis instigated by a consortium of oil producers called OPEC. These conditions resulted in a steep and seemingly never-ending recession, which the Carter Administration appeared to be unable to resolve.

Then, the final straw occurred on November 4, 1979, when a group of Iranian students, called the Muslim Students Followers of the Imam’s Line seized control of the US embassy in Tehran.  Fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for the next 444 days. Carter was unable to resolve this matter either. Diplomacy failed. Finally, on April 24, 1980 Carter authorized a rescue mission to try to free the hostages. The mission failed, leaving eight American servicemen dead and two aircraft destroyed. This entire incident made Carter appear weak and ineffectual. The hostages remained in captivity until Ronald Reagan took office on January 20, 1981.

On the positive side, Carter succeeded in calming various conflicts around the world. For example, he negotiated the SALT II nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia and returned the Panama Canal to Panama. His most significant accomplishment, however, was negotiating the landmark Camp David Accords with Israel’s Prime Minister Menachim Begin and Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat. This resulted in Egypt formally recognizing Israel, and the creation of an elected government in the West Bank and Gaza and served to reduce tensions in the ME.

In 1980 he ran for a second term. He had to rebuff a serious primary challenge from Senator Ted Kennedy. Although he was re-nominated, the support of the liberal wing of the Party in the election was tepid at best. He was soundly defeated in the election by the charismatic Ronald Reagan. Reagan’s historic campaign slogan “are you better off today than you were four years ago” strongly resonated with the voters. Carter suffered a humiliating defeat carrying only six states plus DC. He was the first elected incumbent president to lose a reelection bid since Herbert Hoover lost to FDR in 1932.

Historians have ranked Carter’s presidency as below average, although generally he was viewed as “sincere, honest and well-meaning and “a man of high moral principles.”

On the other hand, Carter’s post-presidency was considerably more successful primarily due to his diplomacy skills. He proved to be a very successful mediator and became a strong advocate for human rights. Various presidents appointed him as a special envoy to mediate disputes regarding (1) Egypt, Israel and the PLO, (2) Northern Ireland and England, (3) North Korea, (4) Taiwan, (5) Venezuela, (6) and (7) whites and blacks in South Africa, among others.

Carter was the recipient of many awards including, among many others, the American Academy of Achievement‘s Golden Plate Award, an honorary membership of Phi Beta Kappa, the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights, given in honor of human rights achievements, the Hoover Medal, recognizing engineers who have contributed to global causes, three Grammy Awards (10 nominations) for the Best Spoken Word, and most of all the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his “decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.”

In 1982 he founded the Carter Center, a non-profit organization whose goals were to advance human rights and alleviate human suffering. One of its accomplishments, working in conjunction with WHO was to eradicate Guinea worm disease. Perhaps, he is best known for the Habitat for Humanity program, which was committed to providing housing for the disadvantaged and the Carter Presidential Center, which promoted human rights, which he conceived and developed.

Carter had a variety of hobbies and interests including fly fishing woodworking, cycling, tennis, painting and skiing. Additionally, he and Rosalynn were close personal friends of Elvis.

The Carters, who were already the longest-wed presidential couple, celebrated their 77th wedding anniversary on July 7, 2023. In a 2019 interview with People he said that he never expected to live as long as he had and that the best explanation for his longevity was a good marriage.  

In recent years Carter’s health began to deteriorate. He was suffering from a variety of ailments. He entered hospice care six months before celebrating his 99th birthday at his home. Rosalynn joined him a few days before her passing.

As I said, Carter died at his home in Plains, Georgia, on December 29, 2024, at the age of 100. Following his passing tributes and messages of condolence poured in from all corners, including from all four living former presidents. President Biden characterized him as “an extraordinary leader.” Former President Bill Clinton noted he was “guided by his faith and praised him for “working tirelessly for a better world.” Barack Obama denoted that [Carter] taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and peace.” George W. Bush praised him as a “man of deeply held convictions… loyal to his family, his community, and his country.”

The Biden administration has announced plans to hold an official state funeral and a day of mourning for him on January 9, 2025. Rest in peace President Carter.

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THIS MONTH IN HISTORY – DECEMBER

Many historically-significant events have occurred during the month of December. Below please find what I consider the most significant:

12/1/1955 – Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, AL for refusing to surrender her seat on a bus to a white man. This action precipitated a year-long bus boycott and many other protests against segregation led by the Reverend Martin Luther King, among others, and was what many consider the seminal event for the civil rights movement.
12/2/1804 – Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of France by Pope Pius VII.
12/2/1823 – President James Monroe articulated the “Monroe Doctrine,” which, essentially, forbad any further colonization of the Western Hemisphere by any European power, and which became a key element of the US’s foreign policy prospectively.
12/2/1954 – The Senate condemned Senator Joseph McCarthy for misconduct, effectively ending his irresponsible communist witch-hunt.
12/3/1967 – Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the first successful heart transplant in Cape Town, South Africa.
12/6/1492 – Christopher Columbus “discovered” the “New World,” landing at the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.
12/6/1865 – The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, which abolished slavery, was ratified.
12/6/1973 – Gerald Ford was sworn in as vice president replacing Spiro Agnew who had been forced to resign following his pleading “no contest” to charges of income tax evasion.
12/7/1787 – Delaware became the first state to ratify the US constitution.
12/7/1941 – Japan perpetrated a surprise attack of the US naval base at Pearl Harbor destroying the US Pacific Fleet and precipitating the US’s entry into WWII. FDR called it a “date that will live in infamy,” and it has.
12/10/1896 – Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel died. In his will he stipulated that a committee of the Norwegian Parliament award from his estate annual prizes (valued at approximately $1 million) for Peace, Chemistry, Physics, Medicine, Literature and Economics.
12/11/1901 – Guglielmo Marconi transmitted the first transatlantic radio signal.
12/11/1936 – King Edward VIII abdicated the English throne in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson.
12/13/1642 – Dutch navigator Abel Tasman discovered New Zealand.
12/14/1799 – George Washington died at Mt. Vernon.
12/14/1911 – Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen became the first person to reach the South Pole.
12/15/1791 – Virginia became the 11th state to ratify the Bill of Rights making it an official part of the Constitution. (Ratification of an amendment to the Constitution requires 75% of the states, and Vermont had become the 14th state. The three holdouts were Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Georgia, which did not ratify it until 1939.)
12/15/1961 – Notorious Nazi SS Colonel Adolph Eichmann was sentenced to death in Jerusalem for his role in the Holocaust during WWII.
12/16/1773 – A group of Bostonians, disguised as Indians, boarded British ships anchored in Boston Harbor and dumped 300+ containers of tea overboard as a protest to what they viewed as an unjust tax on the product. This became known as the Boston Tea Party and was a part of the chain of events that culminated in the American Revolutionary War.
12/17/1903 – The Wright Brothers – Wilbur and Orville – made the first successful airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, NC.
12/19/1946 – War broke out in what was then called French-Indochina. Eventually, the French were ousted, and the US got drawn into war in Vietnam, which did not end well for us.
12/20/1860 – South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union. Over the next few months ten other states followed, and the Civil War ensued.
12/21/1846 – Dr. Robert Liston was the first surgeon to use anesthesia (in a leg amputation in London).
12/21/1945 – General George Patton, aka “Old Blood and Guts,” died from injuries suffered in a car accident in Germany. Some historians have postulated that the accident was intentional, but this has never been proven.
12/23/1947 – The transistor was invented at Bell Laboratories.
12/25 – Christmas Day when Christians commemorate the birth of Christ.
12/25/1776 – George Washington led a small contingent of Colonial troops across the Delaware River from Valley Forge, PA to Trenton, NJ in the dead of night, where they surprised and defeated a substantially larger contingent of Hessian mercenaries. This daring and famous victory provided a major boost to the flagging revolutionary war effort.
12/26 – Boxing Day is celebrated in the UK, Canada, and various other countries that, formerly, were part of the British Empire. It has nothing to do with pugilism. Most likely, it has evolved from the 18th Century English custom of giving a “Christmas box” containing gifts, such as food or clothes, to servants and tradesmen as a reward for good service throughout the year.
12/26 – 1/1 – Kwanza, an African – American holiday established in 1966, is observed. It celebrates family unity and a bountiful harvest. The word means “first fruit” in Swahili.
12/29/1890 – The US cavalry massacred in excess of 200 Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee, SD., which became a symbol of the white man’s brutality to Native Americans.
12/31/1781 – The Bank of New York became the first bank to receive a federal charter. It commenced business on January 7, 1782, in Philadelphia.
12/31/1879 – Inventor Thomas Edison first demonstrated the incandescent lamp (light bulb) at his lab in NJ.
12/31 – New Year’s Eve is celebrated throughout the world.

Birthdays – Charles Stuart, American portrait painter (of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, among others), 12/3/1755; Joseph Conrad, Polish novelist, 12/3/1857; Martin Van Buren, 8th President, 12/5/1782; General George Armstrong Custer, 12/5/1839; Walt Disney; 12/5/1901; Ira Gershwin (wrote several hit songs for “Broadway” shows), 12/6/1896; Eli Whitney (cotton gin), 12/8/1765; Clarence Birdseye (invented process for freezing foods), 12/9/1886; Emily Dickenson (poet), 12/10/1830; Melville Louis Kossuth Dewey (invented Dewey decimal system used to categorize books in libraries), 12/10/1851; NYC Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia,12/11/1882; John Jay (first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court), 12/12/1745; General James Doolittle (led audacious bombing raid on Tokyo during WWII), 12/14/1896; Alexandre Eifel (Eifel Tower), 12/15/1832; Ludwig van Beethoven (composer), 12/16/1770; George Santayana (philosopher) (“Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.”), 12/16/1863; Wily Brandt (Chancellor of West Germany), 12/18/1913; Harvey Firestone (Firestone Tire and Rubber), 12/20/1868; Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvli, aka Josef Stalin, 12/21/1879; Claudia Alta Taylor, aka “Lady Bird Johnson,” 12/22/1912; Japanese WWII Emperor Hirohito, 12/23/1901; Christopher “Kit” Carson, frontiersman, 12/24/1809; Howard Hughes, 12/24/1905; Isaac Newton (theory of gravity), 12/25/1642; Clara Barton (nurse who founded American Red Cross), 12/25/1821; Humphrey Bogart, 12/25/1899; Mao Tse Tung, 12/26/1893; Louis Pasteur (pasteurization process), 12/27/1822; (Thomas) Woodrow Wilson, 28th President, 12/28/1856; Andrew Johnson (17th president, first to be impeached), 12/29/1808; Pablo Casals (cellist), 12/28/1876; Rudyard Kipling (poet, wrote Jungle Book), 12/30/1865; Hideki Tojo (Japanese WWII Prime Minister), 12/30/1884; General George C. Marshall (Army Chief of Staff, WWII), 12/31/1880.

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A DATE IN INFAMY

Saturday, December 7, will mark the 83rd anniversary of one of the most heinous, despicable acts in modern history – Japan’s sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.  In 1994 Congress designated December 7 as Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day as a way to remember and pay homage to the 2,400 US military and civilian personnel who were killed and 1,800 wounded in the attack.  The day is not a federal holiday, but flags are flown at half-mast and many organizations hold special ceremonies.   

Each year thousands of people flock to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial and Visitors’ Center to pay their respects. For many years thousands of survivors made the journey to honor their fallen comrades. At the present time it is estimated that there are only a few dozen survivors still alive, and most of them are too old and infirmed to attend.

The 83rd commemoration is scheduled to commence at 6:55 am Honolulu time, the exact time of the commencement of the attack, following a moment of silence. Various ceremonies are scheduled most of which will be livestreamed. Highlights will include ceremonies at USS Arizona, USS Utah, and USS Oklahoma cites, a parade, and the Blackened Canteen Ceremony.

Appropriately, the theme of the parade will be “remembering our past while celebrating that once bitter enemies can become friends and allies.” In point of fact, that accurately characterizes the relationship between the US and Japan for the last 80 years or more.

The annual “Blackened Canteen Ceremony” takes place aboard the Arizona Memorial. The canteen is a relic of an air raid conducted by the US over Shizuoka, Japan in 1945. Afterwards, a local farmer found a blackened canteen amid the wreckage, and the canteen has become part of the annual PH Day Remembrance. US and Japanese survivors will gather on the Arizona, say a silent prayer, and pour whiskey out of a canteen into the water to pay homage to those who were killed in the attack.

As President FDR forecast, December 7, 1941 is truly a date that has lived in infamy.  It is one of those dates we can never forget.  It is burned into our very souls. Mention that date to a person of a certain age and their reaction will be akin to later generations’ reaction to November 22, 1963 or September 11, 2001.  Most any person over the age of five on those dates remembers where he was, what he was doing and how he felt when he heard the news.  Those are dates that had a profound effect on our lives both individually and collectively.

On December 6, 1941 America was still working its way out of the Great Depression, which began in 1929 with the stock market crash.  Unemployment was at 9.9%, not good, but a significant improvement from the peak of 25% in 1932.  Americans were not thinking about war.  After all, we had just fought the “Great War,” (aka, the “War to End Wars”).  Sure, there was a war waging in Europe, but we were not involved directly.  We had no boots on the ground, and we had a vast ocean between us and them.  Most Americans were focused on their own lives, not on world events. America was in full isolationist mode.  All that was about to change suddenly, violently, tragically and irrevocably.

We all know what happened on December 7, 1941.  We know that the Japanese executed a devastating surprise attack on our naval base at Pearl Harbor that precipitated our involvement in WWII.  Approximately, 2,800 lives were lost, civilian as well as military, along with most of our Pacific Fleet and airplanes.  America switched immediately from peacetime mode to wartime mode.  Patriotism and nationalism abounded.  The “greatest generation” was on the march.

As we all know, America recovered to win the war after four years of intense and costly fighting.  There is no need for me to rehash those events.  The Pacific War has been the subject of numerous books, movies, and tv productions.  The central theme of this blog will focus on the events that led up to the war with Japan.

Every war has its immediate cause and its underlying causes. The attack on Pearl Harbor was the immediate cause. But, what were the underlying causes? What would make Japan start a war that it had virtually no chance of winning? Glad you asked. Read on.

Many, if not most, historians maintain that the US actually provoked Japan into starting the war, although we did not intend for them to devastate our naval fleet in the fashion they did.  During the 1930’s we took various actions that, in reality, left Japan no choice, to wit:

1. The US was providing assistance to the Chinese who were at war with Japan.  This included providing airplane pilots, armaments and other supplies and materials. Japan had been at war with China since the 1930’s.  Its extreme brutality was exemplified by the Nanking Massacre, aka the Rape of Nanking, which began in December 1937.  In a six-week period over 300,000 Chinese civilians were murdered, and there was widespread raping and looting.  This shocking brutality was a portent of the Pacific War.

2. Along with the British and the Dutch the US military was actively planning prospective military operations against the Japanese in the Far East to counter its aggression.

3. Japan had few natural resources of its own; it needed to import raw materials, such as coal, iron, oil, rubber and bauxite, from the US and other countries in Southeast Asia to fuel its burgeoning industries.  In the late 1930’s the US began to severely limit its access to these materials by enforcing sanctions, limits and embargoes.  This aided the British and the Dutch, who were concerned about Japan’s aggressive behavior in the Far East, but ultimately it provoked the Japanese.

4. Thus, one can view the attack on Pearl Harbor, not as an isolated event, but rather, as the last act in a long line of connected ones.

Many historians believe that FDR provoked Japan intentionally, because he wanted to go to war against the Axis Powers, and the American people were decidedly against doing so. Before you scoff at that notion, consider that we have fought other wars following provocations that may or may not have been fabricated. For example:

1. The Spanish-American War in 1898 began when the battleship, Maine was blown up in Havana harbor under mysterious circumstances. 75% of her crew were killed. “Remember the Maine” became the signature battle cry of that war.  There is evidence that suggests that the Maine was not blown up by the Spanish but may have blown up by accident or been sabotaged to provide a pretext for us to enter that war.

2. The legal basis for commencing the Vietnam War was the Gulf of Tonkin incidents of August 2 and 4, 1964. A US destroyer, the USS Maddox, exchanged fire with North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf, which is off the coast of Vietnam. As a result, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which authorized President Johnson to assist any Southeast Asian country that was being jeopardized by “communist aggression.”  Johnson was only too eager to do so.  It was later determined that some key facts, such as who fired first, are in dispute.

3. President Bush, 43, “sold” the Iraq War to the American people by asserting there was “proof” that Iraq possessed “weapons of mass destruction.” Such weapons have never been found.

So, if FDR did, in fact, goad Japan into attacking us so that we could enter the war against the Axis Powers, it would not have been the only time the US Government used that tactic. In the 1950’s the renowned historian Harry Elmer Barnes (who, ironically, later lost much of his credibility by becoming a vociferous denier of the Holocaust) published a series of essays describing the various ways in which the US Government goaded the Japanese into starting a war it could not win and manipulated American public opinion.  After the war, Secretary of War Henry Stimson admitted that “we needed the Japanese to commit the first overt act.”

Most historians agree that even the Japanese leadership in the 1930’s knew it could not win a prolonged war with the US. They realized that the US was vastly superior in terms of men, material and resources, and eventually, it would wear down the Japanese.  That, in fact, is precisely what happened.

In 1941 the die was cast when a more militant, nationalistic government came into power headed by Emperor Hirohito and Prime Minister Hideki Tojo.  They spent several months planning the pre-emptive strike. In his best selling book, “Killing the Rising Sun,” Bill O’Reilly denoted that the Japanese sought to imbed spies into the Hawaiian civilian population to gather intelligence.  O’Reilly quoted one senior officer who found out that his Japanese gardener was actually a colonel in the Japanese army.

Many historians believe that the Japanese hierarchy was emboldened, in part, by the successful surprise attack on the Russians in 1905 led by then-Admiral Tojo during the Russo-Japanese War. It had worked once; why not again? Their intention was to neutralize American naval power in the Pacific so that it would be unable to block Japan’s aggression in Southeast Asia. They determined that Sunday would be the best day of the week to attack. They also weighed the advantages and disadvantages of attacking the fleet in the harbor or at sea before settling on the attack in the harbor. Although the battleships were “sitting ducks” in the more shallow harbor, Admiral Chester Nimitz pointed out later that one crucial advantage to the US was that we were able to raze several of them later and return them to active duty.

Despite its years of provocations, the US was ill-prepared for an attack. In addition, we had failed to confront the Japanese directly earlier when they could have been dealt with more easily. So, instead of fighting a small war in the 1930s we ended up fighting a world war just a few years later.

One could argue that there were strong parallels between then and our more recent history with respect to various terrorist groups operating in the Middle East and elsewhere. Once again, we have failed to deal with these problems when they were manageable; once again most of the country has been very reluctant to get involved in “other people’s problems (Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq);” and, we are now embroiled in the more costly aftermath (conflicts, refugees, and a likely nuclear-capable Iran).  History, when ignored, does tend to repeat itself.

CONCLUSION

Ultimately, the Japanese underestimated the US. Their leaders knew we were in isolationist mode. They did not think we had the “stomach” to fight a prolonged, brutal war.  Also, they knew we would be fighting the Germans and Italians as well. Furthermore, they figured that with our Pacific Fleet decimated, if not destroyed, we would be unable or unwilling to counter their aggression in the Far East.  The Far East was their end game for reasons discussed above; they were not interested in attacking the US mainland, although much of the US civilian population feared that they would.

Obviously, the Japanese misjudged us.  They were not the first enemy to do so, and, in all likelihood, they will not be the last.

As an aside, following the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor no one suggested that the US refrain from going all-out to defend itself, to retaliate with full force. Moreover, if anyone had done so we wouldn’t have listened anyway. A nation’s right to retaliate is well established and incontestable. History is replete with instances in which a country that was attacked retaliated against its attackers. On the other hand, I am not cognizant of ANY situation, other than the current one with Israel, in which restraint was advocated. Think about that.

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PRESIDENTS’ QUIZ

Some of you have been requesting a quiz. So, here it is. You know the drill.  No peeking at the internet.  No asking “Alexa” or “Siri.”  Good luck.

  1. Upon his inauguration Donald Trump will become president # (a) 42, (b) 43, (c) 45, (d) 47.
  2. Who was the only president to serve in both WW1 and WW2?  (a) Harry Truman, (b) Dwight Eisenhower, (c) Douglas MacArthur, (d) John F. Kennedy
  3.  Each of the following served as generals in the US Army, EXCEPT: (a) Theodore Roosevelt, (b) Franklyn Pierce, (c) Benjamin Harrison, (d) Andrew Johnson.  Bonus – There were 12 in total.  How many can you name?  See below.
  4. Only two presidents are buried in Arlington National Cemetery, JFK and who else? (a) Eisenhower, (b) Jackson, (c) Taft, (d) Teddy Roosevelt.
  5. Donald Trump will be the second president to serve two terms non-consecutively. Who was the other? (a) Grover Cleveland, (b) James Buchanan, (c) Teddy Roosevelt, (d) Chester A. Arthur.
  6. What was Lady Bird Johnson’s real first name? (a) Eugenia, (b) Claudia, (c) Alice, (d) Mary
  7.  Who is the longest-lived former president?  (a) George Washington, (b) George HW Bush, (c) Jimmy Carter, (d) Ronald Reagan
  8.  Who was the oldest president on his inauguration date? (a) Jimmy Carter, (b) Ronald Reagan, (c) George HW Bush, (d) Joe Biden
  9. Who was the only president who never got married? (a) Andrew Johnson, (b) Warren Harding, (c) James Buchanan, (d) John Quincy Adams.
  10. Who is the only president to have also served as Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court? (a) Woodrow Wilson, (b) James A. Garfield, (c) Benjamin Harrison, (d) William Howard Taft
  11.  Who was the first president for whom “Hail to the Chief” was played? (a) John Tyler, (b) George Washington, (c) Andrew Jackson, (d) FDR.
  12.  Which president’s wife was the first to be dubbed “First Lady?” (a) John Adams, (b) Thomas Jefferson, (c) James Madison, (d) James Polk
  13. Who was the only president to serve in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812? (a) James Monroe, (b) John Quincy Adams, (c) Andrew Jackson, (d) John Tyler.
  14.  Who was the only president to serve as president and vice president without being elected to either office? (a) Gerald Ford, (b) John Adams, (c) James Monroe, (d) Martin Van Buren
  15.  Who was the first president to live in the White House? (a) George Washington, (b) John Adams, (c) Thomas Jefferson, (d) James Madison
  16. Who was the shortest president? (a) John Adams, (b) James Monroe, (c) James Madison, (d) John Quincy Adams.
  17.  Who was the first president to be born an American citizen? (a) Andrew Jackson, (b) George Washington, (c) James Buchanan, (d) Martin Van Buren
  18.  Who had the shortest tenure as president? (a) James K. Polk, (b) William Henry Harrison, (c) Rutherford B. Hayes, (d) Samuel Tilden
  19.  Who was known as “Old Kinderhook?” (a) Franklyn Pierce, (b) Chester A. Arthur, (c) John Tyler, (d) Martin Van Buren.
  20.  How many presidents have died in office? (a) 6, (b) 8, (c) 10, (d) 4
  21.  How many presidents were elected despite having lost the popular vote? (a) 4, (b) 5, (c) 6, (d) 8.
  22.  FDR won four terms as president.  How many VPs did he have? (a) 1, (b) 2, (c) 3, (d) 4.
  23. Who was president during the War of 1812? (a) James Madison; (b) John Adams; (c) Thomas Jefferson; (d) Andrew Jackson
  24. Which state is the birthplace of the most presidents? (a) NY; (b) Ohio; (c) PA; (d) Virginia
  25. Which of the following presidents’ faces is NOT carved on Mt. Rushmore? (a) Thomas Jefferson; (b) Teddy Roosevelt; (c) FDR; (d) George Washington

ANSWERS: 1. (d); 2. (b); 3. (a); [ Washington, Jackson, Zachary Taylor, Franklyn Pierce, Andrew Johnson, US Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, William Henry Harrison, James Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, Eisenhower] 4. c;  5. (a);  6. (b);  7. (c) (100 and counting);  8. (d) (Biden,78);  9. c;  10. d;  11. (a);  12. (c) (President Zachary Taylor referred to Dolley Madison as “First Lady” when he eulogized her at her funeral.)  13. (c);  14. (a);  15. (b);  16. (c) (5′ 4″); 17. (d);  18. (b) (32 days); 19. (d) (That was the derivation of “okay” or “OK”);  20. (b); 21. (b) ( John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, George W. Bush, Donald Trump – 2016); 22. (c) (John Nance Garner, Henry A. Wallace, Harry S. Truman); 23. (a); 24. (d) (8); 25. (c)

Well, there you have it. How did you do?

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THIS MONTH IN HISTORY – NOVEMBER

Below please find a list of what I consider to be significant historical events that have occurred during the month of November.

11/1 – All Hallows Day, aka All Saints Day. Many of us observe the day before this holiday as Halloween. 
11/1/1848 – The first women’s medical school opened in Boston, MA. It was founded by a Mr. Samuel Gregory and “boasted” twelve students. In 1874 it became part of the Boston University School of Medicine, becoming one of the first co-ed medical schools.  According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, today, women comprise approximately 1/2 of all medical students.
11/1/1950 – President Harry S Truman, whom many historians consider to have been one of our greatest and underrated presidents, survived an assassination attempt by two members of a Puerto Rican nationalist movement.
11/2/1962 – President Kennedy announced that all Soviet missiles in Cuba were being dismantled and their installations destroyed, thus signaling the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis. On 11/20 he announced that the dismantling of all said missile sites had been completed. Unbeknownst to the general public, that crisis was probably the closest we ever came to nuclear war.
11/3/1948 – The Chicago Tribune published its famous, or infamous, headline “Dewey Defeats Truman,” arguably, the most embarrassing headline ever.
11/4/1862 – Richard Gatling patented his first rapid-firing machine gun, which utilized rotating barrels to load, fire and extract the spent cartridges. The gun bares his name.
11/4/1942 – In the battle generally considered to be one of the turning points of WWII (along with Stalingrad and Midway) the British defeated the Germans at El Alamein (North Africa).
11/7/1811 – General (and future president) William Henry Harrison defeated the Shawnee Indians in the Battle of Tippecanoe Creek, which was located in present-day Indiana. The battle gave rise to the chief slogan of Harrison’s presidential campaign – “Tippecanoe and Tyler too.”
11/7/1885 – Canada’s first transcontinental railroad was completed, opening up the western part of the country to settlement.
11/7/1962 – Former Vice President Richard Nixon, having lost the California gubernatorial election decisively to Edmund Brown gave his famous farewell speech to reporters, telling them they “wouldn’t have Nixon to kick around anymore, because, gentlemen this is my last press conference.” As we know, Nixon made a comeback in 1968 narrowly defeating Hubert Humphrey for the presidency.
11/8/1895 – Wilhelm Roentgen discovered the electromagnetic ray, aka, X-rays.
11/8/1942 – The Allies landed successfully in North Africa (Operation Torch).
11/9&10/1938 – All over Germany Nazis terrorized Jews, burning, pillaging and vandalizing synagogues, homes and businesses in what became known infamously as Kristallnacht.
11/10/1775 – The Marine Corps was established as part of the Navy.
11/10/1871 – Explorer Henry Stanley finds Dr. Livingston after a two-year search. There is doubt that he actually uttered the attributed phrase “Dr. Livingston, I presume.”
11/11/1973 – Egypt and Israel signed a momentus cease-fire accord sponsored by the US.
11/13/1927 – The Holland Tunnel, the first underwater tunnel built in the US, which is named not for the country, but for Clifford Holland, the engineer who designed and led the construction of the project, opened connecting NYC and NJ.
11/13/1956 – The Supreme Court declared racial segregation on public buses to be unconstitutional.
11/15/1864 – Union soldiers, under the command of General William Sherman, burned much of the City of Atlanta.
11/17/1869 – The Suez Canal opened after taking 10+ years to complete.
11/19/1863 – President Abraham Lincoln delivered the famous Gettysburg Address.
11/20/1789 – NJ became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights.
11/20/1945 – The Nuremberg War Crimes Trials began. Twenty-four former leaders of Nazi Germany were tried for various war crimes.
11/22/1963 – President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald who, in turn, was later assassinated by Jack Ruby. Hours later, Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as president while on board Air Force One.
11/28/1520 – Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan rounded the southern tip of South America, passing through what is now known as the Strait of Magellan, crossing from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans.

In addition, the following notables, who made significant contributions to society, were born during November:

Daniel Boone (frontiersman) – 11/2/1734; President James K. Polk (11th President) – 11/2/1795; Will Rogers (humorist) – 11/4/1879; Walter Cronkite (tv anchor/journalist) – 11/4/1916; John Philip Sousa (musical conductor) – 11/6/1854; James Naismith (inventor of basketball) – 11/6/1861; Marie Curie (chemist who discovered radium) – 11/7/1867; Billy Graham (evangelist) – 11/7/1918; Edmund Halley (astronomer/mathematician who discovered Halley’s Comet) – 11/8/1656; Christiaan Barnard (pioneer of heart transplant operations) – 11/8/1922; Richard Burton (actor) – 11/10/1925; George Patton (WWII General) – 11/11/1885; Auguste Rodin (sculptor of “The Thinker,” among others) – 11/12/1840; Elizabeth Cady Stanton (suffragist) – 11/12/1815; Grace Kelly (actress/princess) – 11/12/1929; Louis Brandeis (Supreme Court justice) – 11/13/1856; Robert Louis Stevenson (author) – 11/13/1850; Robert Fulton (inventor of the steamboat) – 11/14/1765; Claude Monet (pioneered impressionist painting) – 11/14/1840; Jawaharlal Nehru (India’s first Prime Minister) – 11/14/1889; Louis Daguerre (invented daguerreotype process of developing photographs) – 11/18/1789; James A. Garfield (20th President) – 11/19/1831; Indira Gandhi (Indian Prime Minister) – 11/19/1917; Edwin Hubble (astronomer for whom the Hubble Space Telescope is named) – 11/20/1889; Robert Kennedy (JFK’s brother, Attorney General and US Senator from NY) – 11/20/1925; Charles De Gaulle (French WWII hero and president of France) – 11/22/1890; Franklyn Pierce (14th President) – 11/23/1804; William (Billy the Kid) Bonney (notorious outlaw – 11/23/1859; William Henry Platt (aka Boris Karloff) (famed horror movie star) – 11/23/1887; Zachary Taylor (12th President) – 11/24/1784; Andrew Carnegie (financier and philanthropist) – 11/25/1835; John Harvard (founder of Harvard University in 1636) – 11/26/1607; Anders Celsius (invented Celsius, aka centigrade, temperature scale) – 11/27/1701; Mark Twain, (author) – 11/30/1835; Chaim Weizmann (Israeli statesman) – 11/27/1874; Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, (author) – 11/30/1835; Winston Churchill (British Prime Minister during WWII) – 11/30/1874.

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VETERANS DAY

This year, Veterans Day will be celebrated today, Monday, November 11.  VD is one of 11 federal holidays. Can you name the others? See below.

The holiday is always celebrated on the same date unless it falls on a Sunday, in which case it is celebrated on Monday, November 12.  This is a day on which we celebrate our living veterans as opposed to Memorial Day, which is reserved for those who gave their lives for our country.

The US Postal Service, schools, banks and most government entities, such as the DMV and local libraries will be closed today. Financial markets will be open. Most retailers and other businesses will be open. Traditionally, many restaurants and golf courses offer discounts or freebies for veterans.

Many cities will hold parades. Who doesn’t love a parade? The largest parade will be in NYC (where else?), which will be returning for its 105th year. According to parade organizers some 20,000 participants, 150 vehicles, and 25 floats will take part. Additionally, some 400,000 spectators are expected.

Many of you have requested a quiz.  So, here it is, and in honor of Veterans Day it has a military theme. Good luck and no peeking at the internet. No consulting “Alexa” or “Siri.”

1. Who was the US president during the first war against the Barbary Pirates? (a) George Washington, (b) John Adams, (c) Thomas Jefferson, (d James Monroe

2. The WWI battle that inspired the poem “In Flanders Field” took place in (a) Ardennes, (b) Charleroi, (c) Gallipoli, (d) Ypres

3. Each of the following presidents had been renowned generals, EXCEPT: a) Teddy Roosevelt, (b) Andrew Jackson, (c) Zachary Taylor, (d) Franklyn Pierce

4. “Pickett’s Charge” was the turning point of what Civil War battle? (a) Bull Run, (b) Manassas, (c) Gettysburg, (d) Fredericksburg

5. The “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” refers to which Revolutionary War battle? (a) Boston, (b) Lexington, (c) Concord, (d) NY

6. Tripoli, the stronghold of the Barbary Pirates, was located in what present-day country? (a) Libya, (b) Algeria, (c) Tunisia, (d)Egypt

7. The Alamo is located in which city? (a) Houston, (b) San Antonio, (c) Austin, (d) Galveston

8. The US fought the Gulf War against (a) Iran, (b) Syria, (c) Kuwait, (d) Iraq

9. Who said “Damn the torpedoes; full speed ahead.” (a) David Farragut, (b) John Paul Jones, (c) Ethan Allen, (d) Jonathan Eli

10. Which war resulted in the highest number of casualties? (a) WWI, (b) WWII, (c) Korean War, (d) Civil War

11. Fort Sumter is located in which state? (a) North Carolina, (b) South Carolina, (c) Georgia, (d) Alabama

12. Custer’s Last Stand took place in which modern-day state? (a) North Dakota, (b) South Dakota, (c) Montana, (d) Idaho

13. Each of the following was a WWII battle in the Pacific theatre, EXCEPT (a) El Alamein, (b) Guadalcanal, (c) Okinawa, (d) Midway

14. Who was the US President during WWI? (a) Teddy Roosevelt, (b) Woodrow Wilson, (c) William Howard Taft, (d) Warren Harding

15. When General Douglas MacArthur said “I shall return,” to which country was he referring? (a) Australia, (b) New Guinea, (c) Guam, (d) Philippines

16. The Korean War began in (1) 1949, (b) 1950, (c) 1951, (d) 1952

17. Who was president during the Spanish-American War? (a) Grover Cleveland, (b) James Garfield, (c) Rutherford B. Hayes, (d) William McKinley

18. Where is Mt. Suribachi? (a) Iwo Jima, (b) Okinawa, (c) Tarawa, (d) Japan

19. Where is Vicksburg? (a) Alabama, (b) Louisiana, (c) Missouri, (d) Mississippi

20. When was the Veterans Administration founded? (a) 1870, (b) 1930, (c) 1950, (d) 1972

21. Which of the following was NOT a landing site on D-Day? (a) Silver, (b) Omaha, (c) Juno, (d) Sword.

22. Which British general surrendered at Yorktown ending the Revolutionary War? (a) Howe, (b) Clinton, (c) Cornwallis, (d) Burgoyne.

23. Each of the following cities was the site of fighting in the Iraq War battle EXCEPT: (a) Mosul, (b) Fallujah, (c) Baghdad, (d) Kamaleshwar.

24. Approximately, how many veterans are there living in the US? (a) 9.5 million, (b) 12.5 million, (c) 15.8 million, (d) 19.5 million?

25. Who was president during the War of 1812? (a) Thomas Jefferson, (b) John Adams, (c) James Monroe, (d) James Madison

ANSWERS: 1. c; 2. d; 3. a; 4. c; 5. c; 6. a; 7. b; 8. d; 9. a; 10. d; (more than all the other wars combined. 11. b; 12. c; 13. a; 14. b; 15. d; 16. b; 17. d. 18. a; 19. d; 20. b.; 21. a; 22. c; 23. d; 24. c; 25. d.

Federal holidays: New Year’s Day; MLK’s Birthday; G. Washington’s BD; Memorial Day; June teenth National Independence

Federal holidays: New Year’s Day; MLK’s Birthday; G. Washington’s BD; Memorial Day; Juneteenth National Independence Day; Independence

Federal holidays: New Year’s Day; MLK’s Birthday; G. Washington’s BD; Memorial Day; Juneteenth National Independence Day; Independence Day; Labor Day; Columbus Day; Veterans’ Day; Thanksgiving; Christmas.

Well, there you have it. Tell me how you did, well or (as my grandson used to say) “not so good.”

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TRUMP AT MSG. SUPPORTERS 20,000, NAZIS 0

As you all know, this past Sunday Donald Trump held a massive rally at Madison Square Garden in NYC. The concise headline in the NY Post summed it up perfectly, “A MEGA MAGA AT THE MECCA.”

Trump boldly decided to stage a massive rally in arguably the bluest of blue venues, NYC. This is the same NYC that virtually always votes for Dem candidates from the president on down to the City Council and for every office in between. This is the same NYC that hosted his Stalin-era “show trial” a few months ago on “trumped up” charges that resulted in a conviction, which will certainly be overturned by the higher courts.

According to multiple media reports the Garden was filled to capacity; plus, there were thousands more people outside who could not get in. Among the attendees were my grandson, Mason, and three of his friends. Despite the inane and execrable statements that have been spewed out by many Dems and their allies in the media regarding those who attended the rally I can assure you that my grandson and his friends are not Nazis. They, like all the other attendees are people who are fed up with the state of the country and believe that Trump will fix it.

According to Mason there was a wide cross-section of people of all ages, genders, and races with nary a Nazi in sight. Other eyewitness accounts published in multiple media outlets have confirmed this. For example, Lily Zuckerman, reported in the Post seeing several Jews wearing Stars of David and traditional Orthodox garb such as kippahs and black hats. She added that people were generally upbeat, vibrant, joyous, and friendly. More gaslighting by desperate and duplicitous Dems exposed.

Mason and his friends got up at 6:00 am, arrived at around 7:40, and reported there were already a goodly number of people there. The Post reported that some 2,000 people had been camping out for as long as 48 hours. The crowd was peaceful and in festive spirits. They waited outside several hours before the doors were opened, but they were able to get good seats inside. Much of the overflow that could not get in watched the proceedings from inside nearby restaurants and bars, but thousands more remained outside, content just to be part of the event. Once the proceedings commenced the crowds were raucous and enthusiastic but peaceful. The Post compared the atmosphere and enthusiasm to that seen for rock stars. Many fans had driven hundreds of miles and camped out for days to be a part of it.

As I said, there was a wide cross-section of people in attendance. But do you know what was missing from the rally? Nazis. There was nary a Nazi flag or swastika in sight. Speaker Hulk Hogan, in his blunt, bombastic manner, bellowed “I don’t see no stinking Nazis in here!” Do you know what else was missing? Protesters. One secret service agent was quoted as estimating the number of protesters at about 150, hardly a blip.

In a demonstration of unity, the program included speeches by a wide cross-section of supporters including allies such as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, former opponents such as Vivek Ramaswamy and RFK, non-political luminaries such as Rudy Giuliani, Hulk Hogan and Tucker Carlson, former Dems such as Tulsi Gabbard, VP nominee J. D. Vance, and the former First Lady, Melania (not a Nazi among them either). Indeed, in what world would one find Orthodox Jews and pro-Israel banners at a Nazi rally? Many of the speakers specifically defended Israel and criticized BH for the manner in which they have treated it.

The massive and enthusiastic crowd counteracted the claim by the Dems that he is unfit for office. In addition, columnist Piers Morgan characterized Clinton’s comparison of this rally to the 1939 pro-Nazi rally as “despicable” but consistent with the Dems “incessant and hysterical demonization” of Trump. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Trump led off his speech with the standard question, “are you better off today than you were four years ago?” Of course, that got the crowd fired up, because for 90% of us the answer is a resounding NO! Then, he covered the usual topics, such as the economy, the border, mass deportation of illegal migrants, reinstituting drilling for oil and gas, no tax on social security, tips, and overtime, and fighting crime. He introduced a new tax initiative – a tax cut for caregivers who look after family members. He introduced a new tag line, which I think will resonate. “Kamala broke it, but I will fix it.”

The Dems have gotten so desperate it’s pathetic. In every previous election in my lifetime each candidate had bona fide issues that he could run on. Voters might not agree, but at least there was something to discuss. This is the first election I can recall in which the incumbent, Harris, has had nothing bona fide to run on. She has been VP for four years and she has no accomplishments to point to. None.

The economy is as bad as at any time since the Great Depression. The border is wide open. Illegal immigrants are pouring in at will. (Presently, we actually have no real southern border.) Crime is skyrocketing and becoming more random, especially in the cities run by Dems. There are no longer any “safe, crime-free” areas. Due to “no-bail” laws criminals are often released from jail before the paperwork for their arrest has been completed. Moreover, they are often not even getting prosecuted due to “woke” DAs. Businesses and people have been abandoning the crime-ridden cities for more law-abiding locales. Those who have remained are afraid to go out. There are wars in the ME and in Ukraine, which are threatening to metastasize into WWIII. We have abandoned our allies and placated our enemies.

Even worse, the country is as divided as I have ever seen it. GOP vs Dem, progressive vs. conservative. Antisemitism is as overt as I have ever seen it. The atmosphere is almost as bad as it was under the Nazis in pre-WWII Germany. Colleges are being controlled by pro-terrorist, anti-Jewish administrators and agitators. Many Jews are afraid to identify themselves as Jewish. All of the foregoing has developed and spun out of control in the last four years under Biden-Harris. They have been unable or unwilling to deal with it.

So, I repeat, Harris has nothing positive to claim in her four years. So, what have she and her cohorts done? They have manufactured issues, and they have lied. “Trump” is a Nazi.” “Trump is Hitler.” “Trump’s rally at MSG is reminiscent of the infamous Nazi rally of 1939.” “Trump should be in prison.” “Trump is a threat to democracy.” “Trump wants to be a dictator. He will never leave office.” “Trump wants to outlaw abortions.”

Of course, none of these is even remotely true. The Dems know they are losing, possibly badly. They are desperate. They are flailing, trying to foment hate, division, fear and dissension. Personally, I find some of above characterizations as very offensive, particularly the references to Hitler and Nazis. Perhaps, Harris and her campaign are unaware of the Holocaust in which Hitler and the Nazis murdered six million Jews and millions of others. Every Jew, indeed, every Trump supporter, should be outraged.

The fact of the matter is that if anyone is antisemitic it is Harris and her cohorts given their tepid support of Israel and laissez faire attitude toward the bias being visited upon Jews at the present time. I have discussed this in detail in previous blogs.

If anyone is a threat to democracy it is these same power-hungry phonies. It was they who carried out a four-year deception against the American people by hiding Biden’s deteriorating cognition, thus allowing a president to remain in office who was unfit to serve. Who was actually running the country? We don’t know. Certainly not Biden. They should have invoked the 25th amendment, which had been enacted for this very situation. By not doing so they violated the Constitution in order to maintain their power and control.

I have noticed that whatever outlandish accusation the Dems make against Trump they themselves are guilty of it. For example, they say he is antisemitic and a threat to democracy, but those are traits that they have exhibited. It was they who threw a duly elected president and duly nominated presidential candidate “under the bus.” It was they who cast aside a candidate who had received 18 million primary votes in favor of one who had not received any. It was they who blocked a bona fide candidate, RFK, Jr., from pursuing his candidacy, and sought to keep Trump off the ballot in various states for no bona-fide reason. It was they who sought to imprison Trump on “trumped up” charges because they realized they couldn’t beat him fair and square. It is they who have fomented divisiveness and hatred even though they know it is likely to encourage some mentally and emotionally unbalanced person to try to assassinate Trump. It is they who have not provided Trump with sufficient Secret Service protection despite two previous assassination attempts and credible threats of others. And it is they who are trying any means, nefarious and otherwise, to hold on to power.

Conclusion

The polls still indicate that the race is very, very tight, both nationally and in the battleground states, but there are signs that that may not be the case. For whatever reason in every election the polls have underestimated Trump’s support. In both 2016 and 2020 Trump outperformed the polls in the actual election. Those polls reported him to be behind both Clinton and Biden. Yet, he won in 2016 and lost by a hair in 2020. Also, he is ahead of where he was on this date in those election cycles.

Additionally, one cannot ignore the large and enthusiastic crowds he attracts wherever he campaigns, even in a deep blue venue such as NYC. Harris’ crowds have not come close.

Finally, one can sense the desperation in the Harris campaign. For example, she agreed to an interview on Fox News where she knew she would not be able to get away with her normal evasive, non-answer answers. This was way out of her comfort zone, and it showed.

Finally, the Harris campaign has called out the “big dogs,” the Obamas and the Clintons, to help. They, too, know she is losing.

All that said, we all know that the only poll that counts is the one on ED. We’ve learned that lesson many times, most recently in the 1948 and 2016 elections.

So, GOPers, don’t be complacent. Your vote counts. The GOP needs to expand its majority in the House and flip the Senate. Trump needs a clear and decisive mandate in order to govern effectively.

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

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THIS MONTH IN HISTORY – OCTOBER

October has had more than its share of significant historical events. Please see below:

10/1/1908 – The first Model T cars, designed by Henry Ford, went on sale.
10/1/1938 – German troops occupied the Sudetenland section of Czechoslovakia.
10/1/1949 – The Peoples’ Republic of China was founded with Mao Zedong as its leader.
10/1/1979 – The US formally turned the Canal Zone over to Panama.
10/2/1967 – Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first African American associate justice of the Supreme Court.
10/3/1863 – President Abraham Lincoln promulgated a proclamation designating the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving (later changed to the fourth Thursday).
10/3/1929 – The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was officially renamed Yugoslavia.
10/3/1932 – Iraq gained its independence from Great Britain.
10/3/1974 – Hall of Famer Frank Robinson became the first African American to manage a major league baseball club (the Cleveland Indians). Later, he also became the first AA manager to be fired.
10/3/1990 – East and West Germany were united as the Federal Republic of Germany ending 45 years of separation.
10/4/1830 – Belgium gained its independence from the Netherlands.
10/4/1957 – Russia ushered in the Space Age as it launched the first satellite, named Sputnik.
10/5/1908 – Bulgaria proclaimed its independence from the Ottoman Empire.
10/6/1927 – “The Jazz Singer,” the first “talkie,” opened in NYC.
10/6/1928 – Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek became the president of the Republic of China.
10/6/1973 – The “Yom Kippur War” commenced as Egypt and Syria launched surprise attacks against Israel, which was busy celebrating the most sacred of Jewish holidays.
10/6/1981 – Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated.
10/7/1985 – Palestinian terrorists seized the cruise ship, “Achille Lauro,” and threatened to blow it up if their demands were not met. They infamously murdered an elderly wheelchair-bound passenger, Leon Klinghoffer, by pushing his wheelchair off the deck into the sea.

10/7/2023 – Hamas terrorists perpetrated the worst attack on Israeli civilians since the Holocaust murdering, raping and terrorizing thousands of innocent women, children and elderly people.

10/8/1871 – The Great Fire of Chicago destroyed much of the city. Legend has it that Mrs. O’Leary’s cow started it by kicking over a lantern in her barn.
10/8/1918 – Sergeant Alvin York, arguably the US’s greatest war hero, single-handedly took out a German machine-gun battalion, killing and capturing nearly 150 enemy soldiers. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and the French equivalent, the Croix de Guerre.
10/8/1998 – The House of Representatives voted to launch a formal impeachment inquiry of President Bill Clinton.
10/9/1962 – Uganda gained its independence from Great Britain.
10/10/1973 – Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned amid allegations of income tax evasion stemming from his tenure as Governor of Maryland.
10/11/1939 – Scientist Albert Einstein issued a warning to President FDR that Germany was seeking to develop an atomic weapon. His warning led the US to marshal its resources to develop its own atomic weapon (the Manhattan Project).
10/12/1492 – Christopher Columbus landed in present-day El Salvador, erroneously thinking he had found the elusive northwest passage to India.
10/12/1811 – Paraguay declared its independence from Spain.
10/12/1822 – Brazil declared its independence from Portugal.
10/13/1792 – George Washington laid the cornerstone of the White House.
10/13/1884 – Greenwich, England was established as the basic time zone from which all time is calculated.
10/14/1066 – The Normans defeated the English at the decisive Battle of Hastings, which resulted in the Normans’ conquest of England.
10/14/1912 – Former president Theodore Roosevelt was shot while campaigning for re-election, but he survived.
10/14/1947 – Test pilot Chuck Yeager became the first to break the sound barrier.
10/14/1964 – Martin Luther King became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
10/15/1991 – Following several days of contentious hearings regarding allegations of sexual harassment against a former aide, Anita Hill, the Senate confirmed Clarence Thomas as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
10/16/1701 – Yale University was founded in Killingworth, CT as the Collegiate School of Connecticut.
10/16/1793 – French Queen Marie Antoinette, known for her extravagance and contempt for her subjects (“Let them eat cake.”), was beheaded.
10/16/1853 – The Crimean War (Russia, England and France vs. the Ottoman Empire and parts of present-day Italy) began.
10/16/1995 – Louis Farrakhan led the Million Man March on Washington.
10/17/1777 – The Colonial Army defeated the British at Saratoga in what many historians believe was the turning point of the Revolutionary War.
10/17-25/1944 – The US succeeded in decimating the Japanese Navy at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, which was the largest naval battle in history.
10/18/1945 – The Nuremberg War Crimes Trial commenced with indictments against 24 former Nazi leaders.
10/19/1781 – English General Cornwallis surrendered to the Colonial Army at Yorktown, VA. marking the end of the Revolutionary War.
10/19/1987 – This day was dubbed “Black Monday” on Wall Street as stocks plunged 508 points or 22.6%, the largest one-day decline ever.
10/20/1818 – The US and Great Britain agreed to establish the US-Canadian border at the 49th parallel. The 5,525-mile border is the longest in the world between any two countries.
10/20/1944 – General Douglas MacArthur, who upon fleeing the Philippines in 1942 to escape the Japanese Army boldly asserted “I shall return,” returned as promised.
10/20/1968 – Jacqueline Kennedy, widow of President John Kennedy, married Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.
10/21/1805 – The British Navy defeated the combined naval forces of France and Spain at the Battle of Trafalgar, obviating the threat of their invasion of England.
10/21/1879 – Thomas Edison successfully tested an incandescent lamp.
10/21/1915 – AT&T transmitted the first successful transatlantic radio voice message (Virginia to Paris).
10/22/1962 – President Kennedy warned Americans of the existence of Russian missiles in Cuba. The so-called “Cuban Missile Crisis” was probably the biggest threat of nuclear war during the Cold War.
10/23/1942 – The British Army led by General Bernard Montgomery launched a major offensive against the German Afrika Corps, led by General Erwin Rommel, at El Alamein, Egypt. Montgomery’s victory marked a major turning point in WWII.
10/24/1931 – Notorious Chicago gangster, Al Capone, was sentenced 11 years in prison for income tax evasion.
10/24/1945 – The UN was founded.
10/25/1854 – 673 British cavalrymen took on a Russian force in the Battle of Balaclava. This famous Crimean War battle was immortalized in a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson entitled “The Charge of the Light Brigade.”
10/26/1881 – In the infamous shoot-out at the OK Corral the Earp brothers and “Doc” Holliday defeated the Clanton Gang.
10/26/1825 – The Erie Canal, the first man-made waterway in America, opened for business.
10/27/1904 – The NYC subway system opened with a run from City Hall to West 145th Street as the first underground and underwater system in the world.
10/27/1978 – Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat shared the Nobel Peace Prize.
10/28/1636 – Harvard University, the oldest university in America, was founded in Cambridge, MA, funded by donations provided by John Harvard.
10/28/1846 – The ill-fated Donner Party departed Illinois for California.
10/28/1918 – The Republic of Czechoslovakia was founded by combining three provinces that were formerly part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire – Moravia, Slovakia, and Bohemia.
10/28/1919 – Prohibition commenced as Congress enacted the Volstead Act.
10/28/1962 – Russia agreed to halt the construction of offensive missile bases in Cuba and dismantle existing bases, thus ending the Cuban Missile Crisis.
10/29/1929 – The stock market “crashed” ushering in the Great Depression.
10/30/1938 – A radio broadcast of H. G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds” without commercial interruption caused widespread panic, as many people thought that Martians had actually invaded Earth.

10/31/41- The sculptures of four US presidents on Mt. Rushmore was completed. Can you name them? (See below).

10/31/50 – Earl Lloyd became the first AA to play in the NBA (Washington Capitols).

10/31/84 – Indian Prime Minister Indira Ghandhi was assassinated.

BIRTHDAYS – Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi – 10/2/1869; Rutherford B. Hayes (19th President) – 10/4/1822; Frederic Remington (artist)- 10/4/1861; Chester A. Arthur (21st President) – 10/5/1830; Robert Goddard (“Father of the Space Age”) – 10/5/1882; George Westinghouse (engineer and inventor) – 10/6/1846; John Lennon – 10/9/1940; Eleanor Roosevelt – 10/11/1884; Mary Ludwig (aka Molly Pitcher (Revolutionary War heroine of the Battle of Monmouth, NJ) – 10/13/1754; William Penn (founded the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which bears his name) – 10/14/1644; Dwight (Ike) Eisenhower (WWII commanding general and 34th President) – 10/14/1890; Lido Anthony (Lee) Iacocca (auto industry executive) – 10/15/1924; Noah Webster (teacher and journalist who compiled the first dictionaries) – 10/16/1758; Oscar Wilde (Irish playwright and poet) – 10/16/1854; David Ben Gurion (“Father” of Israel) – 10/16/1888; Eugene O’Neill (playwright – “The Iceman Cometh”) – 10/16/1888; William O. Douglas (associate justice of the Supreme Court) – 10/16/1898; John Birks (Dizzy) Gillespie (jazz musician) – 10/21/1917; Pablo Picasso (artist) – 10/25/1881; Hillary Rodham Clinton – 10/26/1947; James Cook (English explorer) – 10/27/1728; Theodore Roosevelt (26th President) – 10/27/1858; Dr. Jonas Salk (polio vaccine) – 10/28/1914; Bill Gates (Microsoft) – 10/28/1955; John Adams (2nd President) – 10/30/1735; Emily Post (arbiter of etiquette) – 10/30/1872; Admiral Will (“Bull”) Halsey (WWII fleet commander) – 10/30/1882.

Quiz answer: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.

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