Thanksgiving 2003: President Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq

Back in 2003, President Bush showed up in Iraq for Thanksgiving.   It was a great story and must have been quite a treat for the soldiers enjoying some turkey.

For security reasons, the President's trip was such a secret that even First Lady Laura Bush, and his parents, were not told about it.    The announced plan was a trip to Crawford, Texas, but Air Force One turned east to Iraq.

A few years later, President Bush wrote about Iraq in a great book.   

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We remember Warren Spahn (1921-2003)

We remember one of the great left handed pitchers in major league history.  

Warren Spahn was born on this day in 1921 in Buffalo, New York.  He joined the Boston Braves in 1942 and moved to Milwaukee with the team for the 1953 season.   

It was in Milwaukee that he got to play with Lew Burdette, Eddie Matthews and Henry Aaron.   They won the 1957 World Series and the 1958 NL pennant.

His numbers were awesome:  363 wins, 3.09 ERA, 382 complete games, 5,243 innings pitched and 63 shutouts.   He pitched no-hitters in 1960, 1961 and was selected to The Hall of Fame in 1973.

Spahn's greatest pitching performance may have been a 1-0 loss to Juan Marichal in 1963.  He pitched 16 innings before giving up a HR to Willie Mays.

Spahn died in 2003!

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We remember Mongo Santamaria (1917-2003)

Ramón “Mongo” Santamaría Rodríguez was born in Havana on this day in 1917.      He died in Miami in 2003.

According to his biography, he moved to New York City in 1950 and made his US debut with Pérez Prado.   He followed that by performing with Tito Puente and and recording with Cal Tjader (1957-1960).

In 1963, he put “Watermelon man” in the Top 10 of Billboard USA.    The rest is musical history and many of us danced to his recordings for a very long time.

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Saddam Hussein is dead and gone

It was March 19, 2003 or the day that President Bush led military forces into Iraq.  At the time, I supported the military decision because the US could not give Saddam Hussein the benefit of the doubt after 9-11.  

Everything changed in 1998 when Saddam kicked out the inspectors and gave everyone the finger. By late '98, it was clear that Saddam Hussein had no intention of respecting any international agreement or the cease fire that ended the First Gulf War.

Between '93, when the cease fire when into effect, and 1998, Saddam shot at US planes, did not allow UN inspectors access to Iraq's labs and military bases plus tried to kill the first Bush during a private visit to Kuwait.  Last but not least, he did not comply with any of the cease fire requirements.  This is why the Clinton administration supported The Iraq Liberation Act or making regime change the policy of the US.

Saddam was given one more chance in September 2002.  This is when President Bush went to the UN and enumerated all of the violations.  The UN then passed one more resolution calling on Saddam to do his duty or face consequences.  The inspectors went back in after a 4 year absence. Once again, Saddam did not allow the inspectors to move freely and do their work.

So President Bush acted and Saddam was removed!   The bottom line is that the world is better off without Saddam in Iraq.

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2003: Columbia exploded

We woke up to a terrible report about Columbia.     

On this day in 2003, television crews captured Columbia‘s tragic disintegration upon reentering the earth’s atmosphere. All aboard were killed. 

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We remember Robert Stack (1919-2003)

We remember Robert Stack who was born in Los Angeles on this day in 1919.    

Many of us remember Stack for the role of  Eliot Ness on the wildly popular television series, "The Untouchables "(1959).   

He died in 2003.

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We remember Maurice Gibb (1949-2003)

Maurice Gibb of The Bee Gees died on this day in 2003.  It was a sudden death unlike Robin who battled cancer for over a year.  The news flash was a shock to say the least.

Maurice was known as the "Man in the middle".  He did not do a lot of lead vocals.  His contributions were the indispensable 3rd voice in the group's harmonies and arranging their hit songs.  He played bass, guitar, piano and organ.

We remember "It's just the way", one of Maurice Gibb's best lead vocals & "Toast and marmalade for tea", a song that Maurice produced for Tin Tin.

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column.

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We remember Maurice Gibb (1949-2003)

Maurice Gibb of The Bee Gees died on this day in 2003.  It was a sudden death unlike Robin who battled cancer for over a year.  The news flash was a shock to say the least.

Maurice was known as the "Man in the middle".  He did not do a lot of lead vocals.  His contributions were the indispensable 3rd voice in the group's harmonies and arranging their hit songs.  He played bass, guitar, piano and organ.

We remember "It's just the way", one of Maurice Gibb's best lead vocals & "Toast and marmalade for tea", a song that Maurice produced for Tin Tin.

This is a great CD box set that covers four decades of hits and songwriting.

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column.

 

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