We remember Buck O'Neill (1911-2006)

The great Buck O'Neill was born in Florida on this day in 1911.  He died in 2006.

Most baseball fans were introduced to the late Buck O'Neill in Ken Burns' baseball series. Buck related so many stories of the old Negro Leagues.

O'Neill was a pretty good player in the Negro Leagues' greatest team, the Kansas City Monarchs.

O'Neill won't get in the Hall of Fame because of stats. He did not hit titanic home runs like Josh Gibson or cut down batters like Satchel Paige.

Buck gets my vote because he became a wonderful ambassador for baseball with kids.    For example, he came to Dallas and spoke to inner city kids about integrity, character, and even playing baseball for a living.   It's hard to think of a greater spokesman for the game than the late Buck O'Neill!

Let's hope that the writers put him in next year!

I should add that baseball created The Buck O'Neill Award in 2008.  

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We remember Mel Stottlemyre (1941-2019)

We remember Mel Stottlemyre who was born in 1941 and pitched for the Yankees, 1964-74.   He died in 2019.

Stottlemyre pitched during a very difficult time for the Yankees.   He came up in 1964 and pitched very well for the AL Champs.   Unfortunately, he never pitched for another contender after that.    In fact, the Yankees did not return to the post season until 1976. 

Stottlemyre won 164, completed 152, threw 40 shutouts and retired with a fantastic 2.97 ERA.   Wonder how many games he'd won with better Yankee teams?   It's hard to say but 250 is a real possibility.   

After baseball, Mel served as pitching coach for the Yankees.

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1982: The Vietnam War Memorial Wall

On this day in 1982, the Vietnam War Memorial Wall went up in Washington DC.   It was a tribute to the 57,939 Americans who died in the conflict.  The names of the men are arranged in order of death.

It is an amazing place to visit, specially for those who remember that very controversial war.

My favorite book about the Vietnam War was written by President Nixon in 1983 after leaving office.

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Tariffs & new plants plus a word about caravans

 

Tariffs & new plants plus a word about caravans....

What about those tariffs?

What about those tariffs?:

Do we really want to cancel the tariffs? Which plant do you want to close? 

Happy # 81 Neil Young

We say happy birthday to Neil Young, one of our favorite rock performers.   Neil was born in Toronto on this day in 1945.   He recorded with Buffalo Springfield, Crosby Stills Nash & Young and on his own.     

"Heart of gold" is one of my real favorites....

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1967: "Incense and peppermints" on the radio

We remember Strawberry Alarm Clock, a one-hit wonder, and "Incense and peppermints".    We called it "Psychedelic music".   The song is a fantastic arrangement:    2 minutes & 55 seconds.    The intro is super and I love the ending.

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We remember Grace Kelly (1929-1982)

We remember Grace Kelly who was born on this day in 1929.  

Back in 1956, "High society" was released.    It was Grace Kelly's last movie before marrying Prince Rainier of Monaco.    She was one of the most popular ladies of Hollywood in the 1950s.

She died in 1982 after an automobile accident.   It was quite a shock.  I remember hearing about the car crash and the death the next day.    

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The week in review with Bill Katz, the editor of Urgent Agenda

 

The week in review with Bill Katz, the editor of Urgent Agenda...

Will they still cheer for the Cubs?

Will they still cheer for the Cubs?:

Chicago is a city that has a state. 

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llinois is a state where a major city runs the show and elects the two U.S. senators. Chicago has the microphone, and the rest of the state is left to pay taxes and talk secession. Let's look at the details:

The blue wave that has delighted so many in the Chicago area has been more complicated for downstaters, many of whom do not align with the ascendent Democratic super-majority in Springfield.

In the midterm election Tuesday, 12 more downstate and western Illinois counties voted to explore seceding from Illinois. These counties are: Coles, Ford, Gallatin, Hamilton, Henderson, Macoupin, McDonough, Monroe, Piatt, Saline, Warren and Washington.

They join 33 counties that have already voted for such an exploration.

With these latest votes, 45 of Illinois' 102 counties, or 44%, have approved referendums exploring separation.   

Obviously, this is very far from 44% of our state's residents. The 12 rural counties that voted Tuesday to explore separating from Illinois have a combined population of just over 252,000 people, according to 2025 Census estimates, roughly 2% of Illinois' population. That's a fraction of Chicago's 2.7 million people.

But that doesn't mean individual voters in Saline County should be heard less than the individuals up here in the Chicago area. In Saline County, they were able to separate -- no pun intended -- a national blue wave from single-party politics closer to home.

Incoming Springfield Democrats ignore this sentiment at their own peril. Not because they need these votes -- clearly and demonstrably they don't. But choosing to write off legitimate (and peaceful, we'll add) votes of discontent risks fracturing our state even further.

Well, 44% is not 51%, but Rome wasn't built in a day. The problem is obvious, as we see in Washington and Oregon and elsewhere. A large city runs the state legislature, and candidates for the U.S. Senate just pay attention to urban interests. The rurals get the short end.  

I don't see a quick fix. The rurals are a small minority and don't have the votes, no matter how legitimate their complaints are. On a larger scale, I don't see that the "direct election" amendment will be reversed soon so Senator Jon Ossoff will continue to be the U.S. senator from Atlanta rather than Georgia.  

In the meantime, the people from the rural counties will continue to accumulate their anger, and the folks in Chicago will write them off. Sooner or later, it will explode, but it will be later rather sooner, unfortunately.    

Maybe this is what the Founding Fathers feared when they designed the Senate differently than the House.   

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