We remember Carl Wilson (1946-98) & "God only knows"

We remember Carl Wilson, one of the Wilson brothers, who formed The Beach Boys.  Carl was born on this day in 1946 and died in 1998.

Carl was the lead vocalist in "God only knows", one of the greatest love songs ever.    

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1988: Pan Am 103 still hurts so many years later

It happened on this day in 1988:

"Pan Am Flight 103 from London to New York explodes in midair over Lockerbie, Scotland, an hour after departure. A bomb that had been hidden inside an audio cassette player detonated inside the cargo area when the plane was at an altitude of 31,000 feet. All 259 passengers, including 35 Syracuse University students returning home for the holidays, were killed in the explosion. In addition, 11 residents of Lockerbie were killed in the shower of airplane parts that unexpectedly fell from the sky."

It was a horrific act of terrorism.  

By the way, Syracuse University held a special 25th celebration in 2013.    As we mentioned above, 35 young students were killed by this act of terrorism.

We can not forget the innocent lives of PAN AM 103.

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December 1970: Elvis met President Nixon

Who would have believed this?   On this day in 1970, Elvis Presley paid a visit to President Nixon in the White House.    

As we know now, Elvis was offering his status as a celebrity to help fight the war on drugs.

Nothing happened but there are some great pictures of the meeting.

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Government shutdowns and more

 

Friday's video: Government shutdowns and more

New U.S. embassy, new U.S. ambassador in Mexico City

New U.S. embassy, new U.S. ambassador in Mexico City: If you're travelling to Mexico City, make sure to stop by the new U.S. Embassy. For the record, I've been to the old one a few times. Renewed my U.S. passport there and voted too. Nice place and location. As Kellin Dillon wrote:

Click to read:

New U.S. embassy, new U.S. ambassador in Mexico City - American Thinker https://t.co/GxKKVIP7WG

— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) December 20, 2024

Happy # 77 to Gigliola Cinquetti

Gigliola Cinquetti was born on this day in Verona, Veneto, Italy in 1947.  Gigliola received attention at the young age of 16.   She triumphed at the annual San Remo Song Contest in early 1964.  A few weeks later, she swept the awards at Eurovision.

My introduction to Gigliola was listening to an LP that she recorded with Los Panchos, the great trio of Spanish music.

Have a nice day Gigliola!

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1957: Elvis and the draft

(My new American Thinker post)

During the GOP debate a few days ago, some candidates avoided the draft question.  In other words, they want to send troops to the Middle East but continue to do so with a volunteer army.

For the record, my son served as a volunteer in the U.S. Army.  I am very proud of him.  Also, our volunteer army performed admirably in recent wars, from the Gulf War of 1991 to Iraq to Afghanistan.

A lot of people have forgotten that we used to have a draft, or required service in the U.S. armed forces.  The draft ended in 1973.

On this day in 1957, Elvis Presley got his draft notice:

After six months of basic training–including an emergency leave to see his beloved mother, Gladys, before she died in August 1958–Presley sailed to Europe on the USS General Randall. For the next 18 months, he served in Company D, 32nd Tank Battalion, 3rd Armor Corps in Friedberg, Germany, where he attained the rank of sergeant. 

For the rest of his service, he shared an off-base residence with his father, grandmother and some Memphis friends. After working during the day, Presley returned home at night to host frequent parties and impromptu jam sessions. At one of these, an army buddy of Presley’s introduced him to 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, whom Elvis would marry some years later. 

Meanwhile, Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, continued to release singles recorded before his departure, keeping the money rolling in and his most famous client fresh in the public’s mind. Widely praised for not seeking to avoid the draft or serve domestically, Presley was seen as a model for all young Americans. 

After he got his polio shot from an army doctor on national TV, vaccine rates among the American population shot from 2 percent to 85 percent by the time of his discharge on March 2, 1960.

I remember telling my sons a few years ago about Elvis getting drafted.  They said, What?

The draft should be brought back.  It makes your armed forces more representative of the population.  It will also force some young people to understand that there are unique responsibilities to being a superpower, such as defending our way of life.

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Paul McCartney's "Pipes of Peace": Christmas 1914

PAUL MCCARTNEY

PIPES OF PEACE

"I light a candle to our love In love our problems disappear

• But all in all we soon discover

  That one and one is all we long to hear
• All round the world Little children being born to the world

  Got to give them all we can till the war is won

  Then will the work be done
• Help them to learn (help them to learn)

  Songs of joy instead of burn, baby, burn, (burn, baby burn)

  Let us show them how to play the pipes of peace

  Play the pipes of peace
• Help me to learn
• Songs of joy Instead of burn, baby, burn

  Won't you show me to play, (how to play) the pipes of peace, (pipes of peace)

  Play the pipes of peace
• What do you say? (what do you say)

  Will the human race be run in a day? (in a day)

  Or will someone save this planet we're playing on?

  Is it the only one? (what are we going to do?)
• Help them to see (help them to see)

  That the people here are like you and me, (you and me)

  Let us show them how to play, (how to play)

  The pipes of peace (pipes of peace)

  Play the pipes of peace Ooh...

  I light a candle to our love In love our problems disappear

  But all in all we soon discover That one and one is all we long to hear
• All 'round the world Little children being born to the world

  Got to give them all we can 'til the war is won

  Then will the work be done
• Help them to learn (help them to learn)

  Songs of joy instead of burn, baby, burn(burn, baby burn)

  Let us show them how to play the pipes of peace

  Play the pipes of peace
• Help me to learn
• Songs of joy instead of burn, baby, burn

  Won't you show me to play(how to play) the pipes of peace(pipes of

  Peace) Play the pipes of peace
• What do you say?(what do you say)

  Will the human race be run in a day? (in a day)

  Or will someone save this planet we're playing on?

  Is it the only one? (what are we going to do?)
• Help them to see (help them to see)

  That the people here are like you and me (you and me)

  Let us show them how to play(how to play)the pipes of

  Peace(pipes of peace) Play the pipes of peace

  Ooh  I light a candle to our love In love our problems disappear

  But all in all we soon discover That one and one is all we long to hear......."
• 
  

This is an editorial from today's Dallas Morning News..........

A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER

One hundred years ago today, something of a battlefield miracle occurred amid one of the world’s bloodiest conflicts. Soldiers on both sides of the Great War’s front lines let down their guard and allowed faith in the goodness of their fellow man to prevail over hatred and distrust. Warring soldiers put down their weapons, emerged from their trenches and sang “Silent Night” together.

It began with a simple call by Pope Benedict XV on Dec. 7, 1914, “that the guns may fall silent at least upon the night the angels sang.” The pope’s words were deemed by many to have resonated throughout the cold trenches of Flanders, where Germans and Britons were locked in mortal struggle.

It was as if both sides grasped the hypocrisy of Christians killing fellow Christians on a day devoted to the peaceful message of Christ’s birth. No account from the witnesses recalls anyone articulating such thoughts. Yet all seemed to grasp the opportunity presented by this special day.

Those who were present in Flanders described an unusual silence that morning as the smoke cleared from incessant artillery and machine-gun fire. British troops heard the faint sound of a German band playing familiar Christmas tunes. One side broke out in a carol, answered by one from the other side. Back and forth, growing louder and more boisterous with each exchange.

Then came a German’s voice: “We good. We no shoot,” recounted British soldiers Frank and Maurice Wray, of the London Rifle Brigade. Soldiers from both sides cautiously approached one another across a no-man’s land, unsure whether this might be a setup for a surprise attack.

What each encountered was nothing more than a few lonely soldiers, anxious to set aside the fighting and celebrate Christmas with their fellow man. Some chatted. Others exchanged small gifts of food, cigarettes, beer or mementos. They sang more songs. A few tried to improvise a soccer match.

Up and down the front lines, word spread of the unofficial Christmas truce. An estimated 100,000 troops joined in.

Of course, the world knows about the awful fighting and millions of deaths that followed. But, for today at least, let’s focus on the message of hope that emerged from a battlefield far away and long ago.

“So Christmas, the celebration of love, made sure that the hated enemies turned into friends for a short time,” German Lt. Kurt Zehmisch wrote in his diary that day. “This Christmas will remain unforgettable.”

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1972: Operation Linebacker had the communists running for their lives

By Election Day 1972, most U.S. troops were out of Vietnam.  The election results had confirmed that most Americans were supportive of the Nixon approach.

President Nixon had two objectives: first, get North Vietnam to agree to ending the conflict and arrange for the release of POW’s.

Like good communists, North Vietnam decided to play games with secretary of state Henry Kissinger.  The North Vietnamese decided to delay the accords and play games with international opinion.

President Nixon had enough and decided to send a Christmas greeting to North Vietnam.  It was called Operation Linebacker II.  We call it the Christmas bombing of 1972:

President Nixon initiated the full-scale bombing campaign against North Vietnam on December 18, when the North Vietnamese – who walked out of the peace talks in Paris – refused an ultimatum from Nixon to return to the negotiating table.  

During the 11 days of the operation, 700 B-52 sorties and more than 1,000 fighter-bomber sorties dropped an estimated 20,000 tons of bombs, mostly over the densely populated area between Hanoi and Haiphong. 

President Nixon was vilified at home and abroad for ordering the “Christmas bombing,” but on December 28, the North Vietnamese did agree to return to the talks in Paris. When the negotiators met again in early January, they quickly arrived at a settlement. 

The Paris Peace Accords were signed on January 23 and a ceasefire went into effect five days later. 

Naturally, President Nixon was called every name on the book, from war criminal to Hitler to whatever else the left could come up with.

However, the bombing worked, and the accord was signed, ending the war and recognizing South Vietnam.

Also, a timetable for releasing POWs was accepted.  They started coming home in March.  That was also awesome – to watch those men get out of the planes and greet their families.

Operation Linebacker was a great name, and it clearly stymied the communists’ offense.  It was fun to watch a U.S. president exercise power and get results.  Unfortunately, Vietnam was lost later, when the Democrats pulled the plug.

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Christmas 1971: John Lennon and "Happy Christmas"

By Christmas 1971, all four Beatles had active solo careers.   John had just released his "Imagine" LP and the title song had been a best seller around the world.    

He followed that with a happy Christmas song with a very strong anti-war message.   

It was called Happy Xmas (War Is Over)................

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1843: "A Christmas Carol" was published

It is one of my favorite Christmas stories.   My guess is that most of us read it at some point in our youth, or maybe later.

Charles Dickens published "A Christmas Carol" on this day in 1843.    

I love the story.      

You can get a copy of the book:  CLICK!

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---

"The Christmas Story" is great because it is politically incorrect all the way!

(My new American Thinker post)

Every year, The Christmas Story is a holiday feature. I enjoy it a lot!

The Chinese restaurant ending is great!  Everything about this movie is so politically incorrect, from the old man to Mrs. Parker, to just about everything else.  Remember the line about the old man being as good as an “Arab trader” when they are looking for Christmas trees?  What about the lamp?

The late Roger Ebert reviewed this movie in 2000.  I’m not sure why he waited so long but he nailed it.  This is Mr. Ebert’s review:

One of the details that ‘A Christmas Story’ gets right is the threat of having your mouth washed out with Lifebouy [sic] soap. Not any soap. Lifebouy [sic]. Never Ivory or Palmolive. Lifebouy [sic], which apparently contained an ingredient able to nullify bad language. The only other soap ever mentioned for this task was Lava, but that was the nuclear weapon of mouth-washing soaps, so powerful it was used for words we still didn’t even know.

There are many small but perfect moments in ‘A Christmas Story," and one of the best comes after the Lifebouy [sic] is finally removed from Ralphie’s mouth and he is sent off to bed. His mother studies the bar, thinks for a moment, and then sticks it in her own mouth, just to see what it tastes like. Moments like that are why some people watch ‘A Christmas Story’ every holiday season. There is a real knowledge of human nature beneath the comedy.

Yes.  This is a movie that touches every nerve of growing up.  As for me, Mrs. Parker sticking that soap in Ralphie’s mouth brought back some memories of my mom freaking out over certain Spanish words that we weren’t supposed to say.  The other scene when she breaks up a couple of boys fighting reminded me of a few times in my life when stuff like that used to happen.

As Mr. Ebert points out, this movie is about Christmas, BB guns, and childhood—to that last element I would add “before computer games killed it.”

Merry Christmas and enjoy this classic.   I believe that it was released 40 years ago and will be enjoyed for a lot longer.

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‘The Christmas Story’ is great because it is politically incorrect all the way! - American Thinker https://t.co/xotrbKsgkC

— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) December 20, 2023

My friend Carlos Eire and "Waiting for snow in Havana"

Like 14,000 other kids, Carlos Eire came to the US in what we would later call the "Pedro Pan" program.   

He settled in Illinois and eventually became a professor at Yale.  This is his story.

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Christmas 2024 chat with Leslie Eastman, Legal Insurrection