Pearl Harbor 1941 and World War II with Barry Jacobsen

Pearl Harbor 1941 and World War II with Barry Jacobsen.....click to listen.. https://t.co/4SNVzbNTR1

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) August 27, 2017

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Song of the day: Mary Hopkin's "The Honeymoon Song"

Mary Hopkin: The Honeymoon Song....

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1967: Che was captured in Bolivia

By 1965, Che Guevara had faded from public life. His disappearance created all kinds of speculation about Che’s relationship with Fidel and Raúl Castro. After all, some close to Castro in 1959 had been killed in accidents, like Camilo Cienfuegos, or stuck in political prisons, like Huber Matos. Cienfuegos’s plane was never found, and Matos was eventually released in some prisoner exchange.  Matos spent the rest of his life in exile.

Che reappeared in 1966 in Bolivia, where he hoped to bring about a revolution.  How did he get there?  Who paid his bills? Why did he suddenly leave Cuba?  Many believe that Fidel and Raúl wanted him out, and starting a revolution in Bolivia was the exit.  I think it’s fair to say that Che had worn out his welcome with the Castro brothers, specially after they saw how popular he was with the international left.  As we learned, there is only one “popular” person in Cuba, and that’s Fidel.

Fifty-five years ago this week, Che was captured and executed by Bolivian troops operating with the CIA.  It happened very fast.  As we learned in his diary, Che and his men lacked food and medicine and were barely surviving in the jungle.  It’s possible that Che would have died of bad health and no medical care.  He was battling asthma attacks constantly.  Also, they were not getting a lot of help from Cuba, either by design or because the supplies could not reach them.  My guess is that Che was happy to get captured and hoped for some prison time and then a return to Cuba.  He did not get his wish.

Che subsequently became “the image” on all those t-shirts.  He became the ultimate anti-U.S. symbol, the image that every left-wing group goes to when its members have a gripe against the U.S.

Ironically, he was captured because the campaign in Bolivia failed miserably.  It failed for two reasons, as Humberto Fontova explained in Exposing the Real Che.  Read the book for more details, but it went down like this:

1) Bolivia was not Cuba.

2) The natives in Bolivia never bought into the idea that a band led by a guy from Argentina and Cubans was there to save them.  In the end, it was the villagers he was trying to “liberate” who turned him in.  Again, the Bolivian campaign was a total failure.  The locals never read the memo about Cuban health care, I guess.

Che was a murderer and a man who said awful things about blacks, for example.  This is from Guillermina Sutter Schneider:

In his diary, he referred to black people as “those magnificent examples of the African race who have maintained their racial purity thanks to their lack of an affinity with bathing.” He also thought white Europeans were superior to people of African descent, and described Mexicans as “a band of illiterate Indians.”

Today, we would call him a racist and a homophobe!  We’d cancel him from universities.  Twitter would delete his account.

So I still remember my father saying in Spanish that they got him.  Indeed they did, and many champagne bottles popped in the Cuban exile community this week in 1967.

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Clemente and the 1971 Pirates

We remember Roberto Clemente and the 1971 Pirates who won the World Series and changed baseball.   On this day in 1971, the Pirates fielded the first all-Black lineup in Major League Baseball history in the team's 10-7 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

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1971: We remember Bob Gibson's no-hitter

On this day in 1971, Gibson pitched a no -hitter against the Pirates.  He struck out Willie Stargell to end the game. 

Gibson won 251 games with a 2.91 career ERA!   He pitched 56 shutouts with 255 complete games.   In 1968, he went 22-9, with a 1.12 ERA and 13 shutouts!  Awesome pitcher!

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1940: "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway

"For whom the bell tolls" by Ernest Hemingway tells one side of the story.   It is a partisan recount of the story.   Nevertheless, it is a look back at the bloody struggle known as The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939.

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June 10, 1959: Rocky Colavito hit 4 consecutive HR.

 

June 10, 1959: 

Rocky Colavito hit 4 consecutive HR....known for monster shots....374 HR overall...

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We remember Levi Stubbs (1936-2008)

We remember Levi Stubbs who was born in Detroit on this day in 1936.  He died in 2008.

In the heyday of Top 40 radio, the DJ's featured something called "the battle of the bands".

It was one group against another, say The Beatles vs The Rolling Stones.

I always had real trouble picking a favorite when it was The Temptations vs The Four Tops.   I loved both their music so much.

It's still hard to pick a favorite from The Four Tops.   I loved their music and Levi Stubb's vocals.

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Humberto Fontova and "The Bay of Pigs"

Humberto Fontova & the 50th anniversary of The Bay of Pigs by Silvio Canto Jr http://t.co/BLzqKga803
— 

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We remember Betty Ford (1918-2011)

Elizabeth Ann "Betty" Ford was born on this day in 1918.  She died in 2011 at age 93 after dealing with health issues for some time.

Yes, I'm old enough to remember the day that Betty Ford became the First Lady.  It was a very tense moment and President & Mrs Ford did a lot to reassure and settled down the country after the Watergate scandal.

As First Lady, she was a bit unconventional and tackled issues like breast cancer. 

After leaving the White House, she started The Betty Ford Center for people with substance addiction problems.

We owe President & Mrs Ford a lot.  I think that history will be very kind to both of them! 

 

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1944: Maureen O'Hara in the movie "Buffalo Bill"

Not long ago, I watched "Buffalo Bill", a western movie with Maureen O'Hara, who died in 2015.  

The movie is about William F Cody, also known as Buffalo Bill, and his early days as an Army Scout to his ownership of a Wild West saloon.   

To say the least, Maureen is beautiful in the role of Louisa Frederici.   She was a US Senator's daughter who became Mrs. Cody.

It is a very nice movie.  It's amazing all of the new stuff that you learn with these old movies.

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We remember Jim Bouton (1939-2019)

We remember Jim Bouton who was born in Newark, NJ, on this day in 1939.    He died in 2019.

Bouton broke with the Yankees in 1962.  He won 21 games in 1963 and 18 in 1964.    He also pitched well in the World Series.  Then his career collapsed and ended up with the expansion Seattle Pilots in 1969.   Overall, he won 62 with a decent 3.57 ERA.

Bouton is best remembered for a book that shook up baseball, or "Ball Four".    I didn't like the book but many people loved it.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

1868: President Andrew Johnson was impeached

On this day in 1868, President Andrew Johnson, the man who succeeded President Lincoln, was impeached.  The trial moved to the US Senate but it failed by one vote.

It all happened in the very difficult period following The Civil War.

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We remember President Washington (1732-1799)

We remember another of George Washington's birthdays.

He was so vital to the success of the new American nation.

Our friends at Power Line call him the indispensable man and they are right.  

Washington led an army of colonists and then held together the new constitution by serving as the first president.

He could have been "president for life" or reelected to a 3rd term.  However, he respected the constitution and set the example by walking away from power.

He was indeed the indispensable man to the new nation.  Where would we be today without the work of George Washington?

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.     

We remember Dom DiMaggio (1917-2009)

We remember Dominic Paul DiMaggio, who was born in San Francisco on this day in 1917. 

Dom, as he was known by his brothers, actually wanted to be a chemical engineer.   Eventually, baseball caught up with engineering, and Dom played in the majors with his famous brother Joe and other brother Vince.

How do you get any attention when your brother Joe is the best paid player in the game and your teammate (Ted Williams) playing right field is arguably the best hitter ever?

Well, Dom did and made the All Star team several times.

Dom had big seasons after his military service. He hit .328 average in 1950 with 193 hits and led the A.L. with 131 runs scored and 15 stolen bases. 

He kept it up in 1951 with a 27-game hitting streak, .296 batting average with 189 hits, and again leading the A.L. with 113 runs. 

Who knows what his career numbers would have looked like without those three full seasons of military service? He was between 26 and 28 years old, or normally the prime years to win a batting title or score a few more runs – a Dom specialty! 

Dom retired in 1953 after playing in seven All Star games and hitting .298 over 1,399 games.

Dom died in 2009 after a successful business career..

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

1964: Fredd Kaps or the man who followed The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show

Who was Fred Kaps?   He was a popular magician and the man who followed The Beatles on their first appearance on US TV. 

It was years ago that Ed Sullivan introduced millions in the US to the Fab Four from Liverpool.

Fred Kaps had to deal with hundreds of girls in the audience who could not get enough of The Beatles.  As we understand, he did it well and entertained many with his magic act.

He died in 1980.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

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January 1971: The Bee Gees put "Lonely days" in the Top 10

At the end of 1970, Bee Gees returned to the US charts with "Lonely days".    It was their first song after a bit of a brotherly feud that nearly killed the group.

They single was one of their best 3 part harmonies ever!     

It was released in the LP "Two years on", a decent LP that was probably rushed to capitalize on the success of the single.   Most of the songs in the LP were solo efforts in contrast to previous efforts.    Nevertheless, it was great to hear the brothers again in the US.

By the way: You can hear "Lonely days" HERE or in the "Number ones" CD.

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