Category: History

An Ominous Day In History

On this date in 1945 the United States exploded a nuclear device over Nagasaki, Japan, instantly killing an estimated 39,000 people. The explosion came three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.  That second bomb quickly brought an end to WWII.  Those two bombs brought the world into a frightening nuclear age that may yet see the destruction of the world.

The unfortunate reality is that Germany was working on the development of the atomic bomb too.  How would the world be today if they had developed and dropped the bomb before the United States?

The fear that another mad man might obtain and detonate a bomb today is real.  The United States and its allies must take every measure to prevent Iran and North Korea from obtaining the ability to have bombs.  Intimidation by the threat of a nuclear attack on their neighbors and the United States cannot be permitted.  Nations near Iran and North Korea have every right to take all necessary action to prevent those countries from acquiring nuclear capabilities.

Walter Cronkite

The legendary CBS News Correspondent Walter Cronkite lived in everyone’s living room every weekday night.  He told us everything we needed to know about the world.  From D Day to JFK’s assassination, to landing on the moon, and the Vietnam War; he told us the way it was.  We all trusted his reporting.  He will be remembered as the total embodiment of the best news reporter that could exist in the 20th century.  I will never forget Walter Cronkite.

Defense Secretary During the Vietnam War

For all his faults Robert S. McNamara (June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) took on the job that few of us would take.  America’s leaders really believed that the fall of Vietnam would result in communist domination of South East Asia.  Forgotten by most of us is the fact that the West was in the midst of a war with the U.S.S.R. on the future of world economies.  Both McNamara and LBJ were wrong but thought they were right.  I do not buy McNamara’s contention that he thought the war was wrong.  He adopted that view after he saw that it was a losing proposition costing thousands of American lives.  American right wing radio still believes we did the right thing and so do many Americans.   As recently as last week radio show host Hugh Hewitt was talking about the war and why it was the right thing to do.  I initially supported the war until I realized we had no offensive plan to end the war and the South Vietnamese were not interested in winning the fight.

Non-White People Are Part of America

If you are not a White Christian can you be part of America?  The answer is an emphatic yes.  The question is personal to me.

Just 25 years ago a salesman at my employer asked me if I celebrated Thanksgiving considering that I am Jewish.  Huh, what does my religion have to do with celebrating a national holiday?  In his mind I was not part of America because I am not a White Christian.  He was wrong.  President Barack Obama has settled that question.

James W. von Brunn, the white supremacist, charged with the killing of Stephen Tyrone Johns, a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. is an aberration.

Non-White Americans are all as much a part of this nation as White Christians.  Laws related to Affirmative Action have become more irrelevant as employers and most people have realized that color, ethnicity, and religion are not tests of a man’s quality.

That is what was stated in Declaration of Independence.  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  We, our parents, or grandparents emigrated to the United States because we/they believed those words.  It’s a goal this country is still trying to achieve.  We are getting closer.  Happily the KKK is becoming history.

White Men Founded America

Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s choice to sit on the Supreme Court ,has repeatedly said these words many times in both writing and in speeches. “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”

Sotomayor’s words are not racist.  However, her words and thoughts should be challenged.  One need only look at the history of the United States to know that those dammed white males are the ones who brought this country to this place in the 21st century.

It was white men who founded America.  They were primarily men of European decent.  The Dutch colony was New Amsterdam (it became New York).  There were Quakers who founded Pennsylvania and the city of brotherly love (Philadelphia), Amish, French, and Germans.  Most prominent were the English.

So those white males, that Mrs. Sotomayor despises so much, were the ones who wrote the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, made the legal decisions and fought the wars that made America second to none.

Now Mrs. Sotomayor thinks she can reach better conclusions.  My question to her and all of those who doubt American intent is, Why did your family decide to move to this country?  White men have proven their resolve to build a better nation.  Did your native country do as well?

The End of the American Empire?

As horrifying as the thought may be the theory of “manifest destiny” may have been correct in the 19th and 20th centuries.  Just as the evolution of man himself perhaps the nation we built was just going to happen no matter how badly or well we managed things.  After all our founding fathers really weren’t different than many other men of their time.  George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson all had their own personal issues.  Other people of that time could certainly have stepped into the roles those men played.  History books support this understanding.

“What’s good for GM is good for America” was a mantra of big business throughout the 20th century.  General Motors (GM) was founded on September 27, 1908.  Just one hundred years later the company found itself asking for government aid to stay in business.  It isn’t just GM that has faced serious decline; many other companies that had been considered permanent parts of America have seen their life end or seen their fortunes fail dramatically.  U.S. Steel, Circuit City, Zenith, A&P are all examples of companies that either no longer exist or are significantly dwarfed from their previous size.

Apple, Xerox, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and DuPont are examples of companies that have turned back from potential failure.  Ford Motor Company has faced collapsed on more than one occasion and returned to success.  

So the question asked by Jim Collins (author of How The Mighty Fall) to 12 U.S. Army generals and 12 social sector leaders was: Is America renewing its greatness or is America dangerously on the cusp of falling from great to good?  The response was a great debate.

When you consider how the United States has coped with the world since 9-11-2001 it is easy to see where the nation has failed at what most of us thought about our nation.  We are the only super power in the world.  Russia invaded Georgia and has thumbed its nose at America.  Iran and North Korea have been successfully doing what they want without regard to the American government.  However, America was stunned but not defeated by the attack on Pearl Harbor.  The United States went forward to defeat its enemies.

No superpower nation has withstood the test of time.  Is the United States riding the crest of a wave?  There are many indications that this is the situation now.  General Motors may be an early indicator or maybe not.

Right now we lack the FDR or Abraham Lincoln to lead the way.  History has shown that a new leader will appear.  I can’t believe it’s all over.

Not From Walmart or Costco

The New White House Place Settings

This place setting photograph of the new George W. Bush State China Service shows one of 320 14-piece place settings that cost a total $492,798.  Although it was paid for by a private association trust it is utterly astonishing to me.

 

First of all George W. Bush will be leaving office in less than two weeks.  The choice of this china should have been made by the incoming president or his wife.  To my way of thinking, this is an insult to the incoming presidential family.

 

Second is the outrageous cost.  The cost per place setting is $1,539.99.  Of course you could say that this will be the china used to serve heads of state, kings, queens and other high level dignitaries.  While this is an accurate fact it is also a fact that the United States has historically avoided honoring our presidents or other dignitaries with special tributes.  In David McCullough’s biography of John Adams he specifically identifies Mr. Adams’ failure to give the president any specific title beyond “Mr. President.”

Abraham Lincoln, Harry Truman, Barack and Michelle Obama all came from modest environments and they have all done quite well.  While we want to honor the president and his guests there is no need to treat them as aristocracy.

The Katrina Years

The Katrina Hurricane is metaphor for the incompetence of George W. Bush and all the people who surround him.  “Good job Brownie” could just as easily be “Good job Paulie” for the financial implosion that is now being managed by Henry Paulson.  Let’s not forget Donald Rumsfeld and the great job he did taking us into a war zone that has gone on for seven years.  Then there is the extraordinary debt that our government has now that is growing in the final day of the Bush presidency.

 

We are down to the last 59 days of a storm that will have lasted for eight years.  George W. Bush will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the worst presidents in America’s history.  He is perhaps the very worst.  Just “Google” the words ‘worst American president’ and you will obtain a long list of articles.  Of course we are focused on President Bush but there here have been others who do deserve to be considered in the bottom 10.

 

U. S. News and World Report offered their list of the ten worst presidents but gives its readers the opportunity to provide their own opinions. Not surprising George W. Bush received 71% of all those voting for the worst president.  The History News Network states that in a poll of historians, 61% rated Bush the worst.  I almost forgot about Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter who rated in the worst ten too.

 

I really would like someone to identify one thing that President Bush did that was a success (other than lower taxes for the rich).  I know that many will say that we have not had another attack like 9-11 but is that because of any action taken by this man?  After all entering this country illegally is still very easy and entering legally and staying beyond your appointed departure is still very easy to do.

 

Back when Richard Nixon resigned from office we could not imagine a worse president.  Perhaps George W. Bush will not be the very worst president after all.  He certainly is giving the try for this award his very best effort.