Jay, meet Adolph!
I was just a little kid, not yet in school, when the Nazis staged their big 1934 book burning in Berlin. Obviously I do not remember the actual event, but I have heard it demonized all my life. Today, the very concept of book burning - the literal attempt to destroy the ideas of persons who disagree with your own ideas - is a horror to me. I don't like MSNBC, or the Huffington Post, but let them exist! They are their own worst enemy.
You can then imagine my shock and surprise this week when a United States Senator, Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, actually said he wanted the F.C.C. to shut down MSNBC and Fox News Channel. Of course, he really meant to say only Fox News Channel. Comcast is about to acquire NBC - and MSNBC - so the fate of that cable network, as we know it, is already sealed.
Sure, I meet people who demonize CNN and MSNBC. But they are not United States Senators!
I think the good people of West Virginia, loyal Americans beyond a doubt, should demand that their Senator apologize for his Nazi-like comments.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Once again... Thanks, F.D.R.; Thanks, Harry!
It really began in February, 1945. In that month, Churchill, Stalin and F.D.R. met at Yalta to discuss post-war plans for the world. That was scarcely two months short of Roosevelt's death, and he was hardly well enough to travel, much less plan the fate of the world. Some diplomats in attendance reported that the American president, old, weak and senile, sat nodding, drooling, as the others talked.
The three men divided Germany amongst them, then turned to Asia. Although Russia had played no significant part in the war with Japan, they decided to give the Soviets half of Korea - the other Allies (meaning the U.S.) the lower half.
Stalin installed a puppet Communist government in Korea, and essentially washed his hands of the peninsula. Within about three years, Kim Il-Sung was North Korea's ruling dictator.
Five and one-half years after Yalta, 60 years ago this past summer, I was working at WLDY, a small radio station in Ladysmith, WI.
On June 25, 1950, the bulletin bell rang on the Associated Press teletype machine at WLDY and we received the notice that North Korean forces had invaded South Korea. What followed is well recorded. American forces then in Korea consisted in large part of young, lightly trained men and women, there to help rebuild a nation - not to fight a war. The U.S. did little to reinforce these people. Instead, General Douglas MacArthur amassed a large fighting force and invaded the peninsula far behind North Korea's front line. They quickly swept across the peninsula, trapping North Korea's forces. America easily pushed all the way to the Chinese border. Everyone thought the war was over.
The Chinese Communists owed their very existence to Harry Truman's refusal to help Chiang Kai Shek resist their revolution. They showed their appreciation by attacking the American forces by air, from bases behind the Chinese border. General MacArthur knew the Chinese were weak and wanted to take out the offending Chinese air bases. Truman refused and relieved MacArthur of his command.
Emboldened by Truman's timidity, Chinese ground troops crossed the border to help the North Koreans. Fighting dragged on, claiming 36,576 American lives, plus many lives of other U.N. member nations and multiple times that number in Korean and Chinese lives.
When Harry Truman left office and Dwight Eisenhower was elected, Ike immediately went to Korea and arranged a cease-fire. I believe that the Koreans feared that President Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces which had won the war in Europe, would bring a terrible retribution if they continued their hostilities.
And so, for 57 years, the cease-fire has held. But, again America is displaying Truman-style timidity. And again, North Korea is reaching out for their dream of a unified Korea... under their control.
It really began in February, 1945. In that month, Churchill, Stalin and F.D.R. met at Yalta to discuss post-war plans for the world. That was scarcely two months short of Roosevelt's death, and he was hardly well enough to travel, much less plan the fate of the world. Some diplomats in attendance reported that the American president, old, weak and senile, sat nodding, drooling, as the others talked.
The three men divided Germany amongst them, then turned to Asia. Although Russia had played no significant part in the war with Japan, they decided to give the Soviets half of Korea - the other Allies (meaning the U.S.) the lower half.
Stalin installed a puppet Communist government in Korea, and essentially washed his hands of the peninsula. Within about three years, Kim Il-Sung was North Korea's ruling dictator.
Five and one-half years after Yalta, 60 years ago this past summer, I was working at WLDY, a small radio station in Ladysmith, WI.
On June 25, 1950, the bulletin bell rang on the Associated Press teletype machine at WLDY and we received the notice that North Korean forces had invaded South Korea. What followed is well recorded. American forces then in Korea consisted in large part of young, lightly trained men and women, there to help rebuild a nation - not to fight a war. The U.S. did little to reinforce these people. Instead, General Douglas MacArthur amassed a large fighting force and invaded the peninsula far behind North Korea's front line. They quickly swept across the peninsula, trapping North Korea's forces. America easily pushed all the way to the Chinese border. Everyone thought the war was over.
The Chinese Communists owed their very existence to Harry Truman's refusal to help Chiang Kai Shek resist their revolution. They showed their appreciation by attacking the American forces by air, from bases behind the Chinese border. General MacArthur knew the Chinese were weak and wanted to take out the offending Chinese air bases. Truman refused and relieved MacArthur of his command.
Emboldened by Truman's timidity, Chinese ground troops crossed the border to help the North Koreans. Fighting dragged on, claiming 36,576 American lives, plus many lives of other U.N. member nations and multiple times that number in Korean and Chinese lives.
When Harry Truman left office and Dwight Eisenhower was elected, Ike immediately went to Korea and arranged a cease-fire. I believe that the Koreans feared that President Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces which had won the war in Europe, would bring a terrible retribution if they continued their hostilities.
And so, for 57 years, the cease-fire has held. But, again America is displaying Truman-style timidity. And again, North Korea is reaching out for their dream of a unified Korea... under their control.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
NSSAR
Yesterday I was formally installed as a member of the National Society of the Sons Of The American Revolution. The SAR is a patriotic fraternal organization, membership in which is by virtue of direct lineage of descent from someone who contributed in a meaningful way to the founding of our nation. In my case, it was a French man who came to America and became a member of General Washington's Army, fighting with him at Valley Forge and beyond.
As members of SAR, we claim no credit for the accomplishments of our ancestors. Rather, we pledge to uphold the principles which led them to forsake a life in their native land, arriving in America with their worldly possessions in hand, dreaming of a society based on equality for all men.
Personally, I feel blessed to have descended from a long line of such patriots, and hope it is in my genes to protect and preserve their dream, and all they did to further that dream. I consider it my responsibility to study the Constitution those founders forged for us. I believe I should learn what was wrong with the governments they left behind and what problems they hoped they had solved by forming the government they gave us. And, I hope I will be able to share that knowledge with others.
Yesterday I was formally installed as a member of the National Society of the Sons Of The American Revolution. The SAR is a patriotic fraternal organization, membership in which is by virtue of direct lineage of descent from someone who contributed in a meaningful way to the founding of our nation. In my case, it was a French man who came to America and became a member of General Washington's Army, fighting with him at Valley Forge and beyond.
As members of SAR, we claim no credit for the accomplishments of our ancestors. Rather, we pledge to uphold the principles which led them to forsake a life in their native land, arriving in America with their worldly possessions in hand, dreaming of a society based on equality for all men.
Personally, I feel blessed to have descended from a long line of such patriots, and hope it is in my genes to protect and preserve their dream, and all they did to further that dream. I consider it my responsibility to study the Constitution those founders forged for us. I believe I should learn what was wrong with the governments they left behind and what problems they hoped they had solved by forming the government they gave us. And, I hope I will be able to share that knowledge with others.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
A Gift From The Heart!
When I dressed this morning, I grabbed a printed T-shirt from the shelf. After I pulled it on, I stepped in front of a mirror to read the message it conveyed. Turns out it was from United Blood Services, and I remembered it as a gift for some landmark number of blood donations.
I started donating blood in 1964 when I was a Red Cross volunteer. Being heavily involved in promoting Red Cross bloodmobiles, I was usually first in line for each of their visits. In appreciation, the Red Cross informed me that I had been granted lifetime eligibility - whatever that meant.
In 1970, I returned to Kansas City and became a blood donor at the Community Blood Center. A friend of my wife belonged to some woman's organization and I learned that her organization would be credited if I donated blood in their behalf. I don't think I ever knew what their credit would be, but I wanted them to earn maximum benefit. I donated as often as permitted - every six weeks, I think. The Center used to mail reminders and I complied when possible. When the HIV/Aids scare erupted, I once went in for a donation and they asked if I had recently had sex with another man. That made me angry and I quit donating for a short time. Then someone told me they were required by law, or some regulation, to ask, so I relented and resumed donations.
In 1992 I moved to Phoenix and began donating blood at United Blood Services. In 1994, I moved to New Mexico, also served by U.B.S., and continued donations.
One day, while on a lounge donating blood, a nervous young college girl was brought to a lounge near mine for her first donation. In an effort to reassure her, I struck up a conversation. She asked how many times I had given blood. I told her it was some gallons, but I did not know how many.
That aroused my curiosity and I decided to see if I could learn how many pints of blood I had donated. I called the American Red Cross Blood Center in Wichita, Kansas - the people who had operated the bloodmobiles in Salina in the 1960s. They regretted they had no records of blood donations from that long ago. (Oops... I guess they also have no record of my "lifetime eligibility"). Next I called the Community Blood Center in Kansas City. Same result. No records from that period!
United Blood Service credits me with 50 donations - which would take about seven years. Since I did donate at U.B.S. for longer than that, I suppose it is possible. In reality, I am where I was during that conversation with the college girl. I do not know how many times I have donated blood.
Shortly before my 75th birthday I was refused as a donor because I was anemic! Wow, that had never happened. My doctor did some tests, agreed I was anemic and suggested I should no longer donate blood. I didn't like that, but was told they cut off donating at age 75 anyway. My nearly 40 years of donating blood were over.
During the time I promoted blood donations over the radio, I said, "Someone, somewhere, has experienced a severe accident or illness or is about to undergo surgery. Your gift of blood could save their life." I believed it then. I believe it today.
Donating blood is, truly, a gift from the heart!
When I dressed this morning, I grabbed a printed T-shirt from the shelf. After I pulled it on, I stepped in front of a mirror to read the message it conveyed. Turns out it was from United Blood Services, and I remembered it as a gift for some landmark number of blood donations.
I started donating blood in 1964 when I was a Red Cross volunteer. Being heavily involved in promoting Red Cross bloodmobiles, I was usually first in line for each of their visits. In appreciation, the Red Cross informed me that I had been granted lifetime eligibility - whatever that meant.
In 1970, I returned to Kansas City and became a blood donor at the Community Blood Center. A friend of my wife belonged to some woman's organization and I learned that her organization would be credited if I donated blood in their behalf. I don't think I ever knew what their credit would be, but I wanted them to earn maximum benefit. I donated as often as permitted - every six weeks, I think. The Center used to mail reminders and I complied when possible. When the HIV/Aids scare erupted, I once went in for a donation and they asked if I had recently had sex with another man. That made me angry and I quit donating for a short time. Then someone told me they were required by law, or some regulation, to ask, so I relented and resumed donations.
In 1992 I moved to Phoenix and began donating blood at United Blood Services. In 1994, I moved to New Mexico, also served by U.B.S., and continued donations.
One day, while on a lounge donating blood, a nervous young college girl was brought to a lounge near mine for her first donation. In an effort to reassure her, I struck up a conversation. She asked how many times I had given blood. I told her it was some gallons, but I did not know how many.
That aroused my curiosity and I decided to see if I could learn how many pints of blood I had donated. I called the American Red Cross Blood Center in Wichita, Kansas - the people who had operated the bloodmobiles in Salina in the 1960s. They regretted they had no records of blood donations from that long ago. (Oops... I guess they also have no record of my "lifetime eligibility"). Next I called the Community Blood Center in Kansas City. Same result. No records from that period!
United Blood Service credits me with 50 donations - which would take about seven years. Since I did donate at U.B.S. for longer than that, I suppose it is possible. In reality, I am where I was during that conversation with the college girl. I do not know how many times I have donated blood.
Shortly before my 75th birthday I was refused as a donor because I was anemic! Wow, that had never happened. My doctor did some tests, agreed I was anemic and suggested I should no longer donate blood. I didn't like that, but was told they cut off donating at age 75 anyway. My nearly 40 years of donating blood were over.
During the time I promoted blood donations over the radio, I said, "Someone, somewhere, has experienced a severe accident or illness or is about to undergo surgery. Your gift of blood could save their life." I believed it then. I believe it today.
Donating blood is, truly, a gift from the heart!
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