Churchill and "The gathering storm"

This is a great movie:   Check it out!

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Another anniversary for The Warren Commission

A post from 2015:

A few weeks ago, we got together with some friends for another Saturday night of good food and conversation.

We discussed the subject of another movie about the Kennedy assassination that was being filmed around Dealy Plaza.  Naturally, a good family friend raised the conspiracy question.  I stayed a bit quiet, because another “who shot JFK” conversation is the last thing that I want to talk about.

However, I had to say something when it came around to me.    

I said that I believe that Oswald did it, or pretty much the official conclusion.

A week after President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, his successor, President Johnson, created the Warren Commissionto investigate the murder:

During its almost year-long investigation, the Warren Commission reviewed reports by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Secret Service, Department of State and the attorney general of Texas. It also poured over Oswald’s personal history, political affiliation and military record. Overall, the Warren Commission listened to the testimony of 552 witnesses and even traveled to Dallas several times to visit the site where Kennedy was shot. The commission concluded that Oswald had acted alone and that the Secret Service had made poor preparations for JFK’s visit to Dallas and had subsequently failed to sufficiently protect him.

We’ve had a lot of books and films since the commission made that conclusion.  I remember that a lot of authors brought their papers and books to a JFK conference held around here in 1993, or the 30th anniversary.  I heard some of their presentations.  I even heard comments about a minister who spoke with Jack Ruby at the Dallas city jail.

Some of the authors made strong cases, although I still don’t know how the conspirators could keep a secret that long.  In other words, it’s hard to believe that so many people could stay quiet.

Some of movies were just bizarre and irresponsible, such as Oliver Stone’s JFK.  I remember watching the movie in 1991 and going home furious.  The movie was absurd, a hate piece against the U.S.

One of my favorite books, and the one that persuaded me that The Warren Commission got it right, was Case Closed by Gerard Posner.  As I read in a recent book review:

Like Mr. Posner, I firmly believe that Oswald, by himself, was responsible for the murders of JFK and Dallas city policeman J.D. Tippit. And while re-reading “Case Closed” recently, I came across many outstanding hunks of fascinating text, including a good collection of direct quotes from various individuals that were placed into the book by author Posner in his efforts to provide the reader with a complete picture of Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who was charged with killing America’s 35th President in Dallas.

I’ve listed some of what I think are this book’s most intriguing passages and quotes below, which give a good general indication as to the type of person Lee Oswald truly was (i.e., a strange, disconnected, secretive, violent, and abusive young man who embraced Communism and hated the American society he was living in).

In other words — Lee Harvey Oswald was the exact type of individual who might just have had an urge to take his mail-order rifle with him to work one day (a day when the President’s motorcade was scheduled to pass right in front of the building he worked in) and fire a few shots at JFK from a secluded sixth-story perch.

The evidence in the John F. Kennedy murder case, in fact, tells the world that Mr. Oswald did that very thing on Friday, November 22, 1963.

We will never know 100%, because life is that way.  However, put me down as one who believes that the Warren Commission got it right.  It’s a testament to the integrity of the commission, made up by very good people, including future president Ford.

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1963: And my mother said: “Mataron a Kennedy”

November 22 means another anniversary of the Kennedy assassination. It always takes me back to that day in Cuba when we got the news.

We were "gusanos waiting for el telegrama" to leave Cuba. We eventually left in July '64.    

"Gusano" is Spanish for worms.  This is what the Castro opponents were called in Cuba.   I heard later that Castro got the idea from Hitler who referred to Jews as "worms" too.  Frankly, I don't know if that Castro-Hitler connection is true but it sounded plausible to us back then.

Kennedy's assassination was a time of terrible tension and fear that "el comite" would find some excuse to delay our exit or make life miserable for our parents.    "El comite" was the neighborhood spy committee.  It was their job to keep an eye on "gusanos".

It was the daily grind of a repressive communist society. You couldn't trust anybody beyond family and a very select number of friends.

Such is life in a communist country. Yes, that was the "gusano way" in Cuba!

My father was working at a friend's "pasteleria", or bakery, after the banks were "nationalized", i.e. stolen from their rightful owners.

My mom was constantly arguing with the local "comite" president about food shortages. She would always scream at them: "Esta revolucion no tiene pan o leche"!   It translates to this revolution has no bread or milk!

On the afternoon of November 22nd, my brother and I were playing that game of "beisbolito" that we loved so much.  "Beisbolito" was a board game that Cuban boys used to play. I miss those "beisbolito" games against my brother. We had teams, batting averages and each team had a play by play announcers.

The phone rang and my mom answered. She said the usual "oigo" and yelled: "Mataron a Kennedy".

My father got home a bit later and tuned in the Voice of America for more news. We got more details, such as that it happened in a place called Dallas, in the state of Texas, and that someone had been picked up by the police.

Dallas, Texas? That's where I live now!

Later that night, or maybe the next day, I sat down with my father and watched Castro talk about the assassination. I don't recall what he said but my father found it interesting. I learned years later that there were all kinds of conspiracy theories about the assassination.

The funeral came a few days later. We heard it on VOA. I recall everybody talking about the little boy saluting the flag. (I saw that picture of little John later when we came to the US).

From the communist takeover, to the tragedy at The Bay of Pigs, to the tense Missile Crisis to the assassination of President Kennedy, it seems like I was in the middle of some of the most dramatic moments of the 20th century.

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We remember Lyman Bostock (1950-1978)

We remember Lyman Bostock who was born in Alabama on this day in 1950.  He was killed in 1978.

Bostock broke with the Twins in 1975.  Over the next four seasons, he hit .311 over 526 games with the Twins and Angels.

Sad story.

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September 2006: Can I go to Caracas and say all of this about Chavez?

A post from September 2008:

We just saw a good example of why most people would rather live in the US than Venezuela or Iran.

In the US, you can criticize the President without consequence. In Venezuela or Iran....that's another story!

The Iranian president went to a New York news conference and said that US was guilty of ‘hegemony’ and ‘hypocrisy’.

Yet, Ahmedinejad and Chavez would not have allowed anyone to make similar comments about them in Tehran or Caracas.

Freedom matters and that's why so many dictators hate the US.

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We remember Mike Garcia (1923-1986)

We remember Edward Miguel "Mike" Garcia who was born on this day in San Gabriel, California.  He died in 1986.

Mike broke with the Indians in 1948 and won the AL ERA title in 1949 (2.34).    He won 104 games over the next 7 seasons, including a trip to the World Series in 1954.

He retired with 142 wins & 3.27 ERA.   Garcia pitched for the legendary 1954 Cleveland team that won 111 games but was swept by the Giants in the World Series.

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2011 post: Will Jackson & Sharpton call on stores to stop selling images of that racist named Che?

Fausta Wertz of Fausta's Blog alerted me to the latest article about Che Guevara, the leftist folk hero: Che's Secret Diary

It turns out that Che, the icon of so many in the left, had a bit of a "diversity" problem:

"Reading The African Dream, it's easy to understand Debray's conviction.  

Guevara casts serious doubts on the possibility of anything like world revolution. 

Everything went wrong, and the racial politics were hardly progressive.

The Congolese had decided that Guevara should not be viewed as the leader of the Cuban-Congolese forces, but rather as a Cuban "councilor," so it would not appear that a white man was giving them orders.

After discovering that so many of the African fighters were incompetent, Guevara took charge anyway, breeding bad blood.  He had ongoing problems, too, with his black Cubans acting superior to and contemptuous of the native Congolese.

As for igniting revolutionary fervor among people he believed would lie -- and lie preposterously -- at the least provocation, Guevara found it just impossible.

The beloved revolutionary icon sounds pretty much like an old-fashioned racist when it comes to evaluating his black brothers in arms."

Of course, this is not a shock to those of us who knew the real Che.   I don't mean to break your leftist heart but Che was not at all like the figure that we've seen idolized in movies or rallies.

Yes, it's true that a younger Che took a motorcycle trip through the continent.  So what?  At the end of the day, Che is a killer no  matter how much leftist movie makers want to present him as some romantic figure out to change the world!  

Furthermore, Che's ideas failed miserably in Cuba.  His revolution was a disaster in Bolivia.  Che only succeeds in the minds of the corrupt left or the many idiots who wear his T-shirts thinking that he is Jim Morrison of The Doors or some guy who played drums for The Grateful Dead.

We've discussed Che with Humberto Fontova, Carlos Eire and others on our show.  You can read The Babalu Blog for more "historically correct posts" about Che, a man who should be known as a criminal rather than some kind of revolutionary who fought for the common man.

Is Rev Sharpton going to organize a "rally" in front of one of those stores that sell "Che" shirts?  He should!  He should consult with Rev Jackson and demand that all of those stores stop promoting "racism" by selling Che T-shirts!

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November 1982: We remember Lech Walesa

Today, we recall Lech Walesa, the man who became the face of freedom and anti-communism in 1980's Poland and who led the workers against the Polish state.  On this in 1982, he was released from jail.

Eventually, he was elected president of Poland.  

He was a hero, a freedom fighter and a man who challenged Soviet repression. 

It takes a lot of courage to stand up to communist oppression and these men and women did it many years ago. 

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The late President Ford made history in 2006

On November 14, 2006, President Gerald R. Ford became the oldest former president in U.S. history.   At 93 years and 4 months, he overtook Ronald Reagan, who previously held this distinction.

He died a month later.    Well done Pres. Ford.

 P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, click send drop a dime here.

Is there really a summer place called "Temma Harbour"?

Mary Hopkin was one of the first recording stars who scored big hits on the Beatles' Apple label!

I remember "Temma Harbour".  It was a song about a summer paradise that sounded awfully good on that Apple Records 45 rpm single that I used to play.

This week, I was driving around Dallas and I heard that song again. 

It reminded me of a question that I never got an answer to: Is Temma Harbour a real place in the planet?  

Is there such a beautiful spot?  What place was Mary Hopkin singing about?

I don't know the answer but spending a weekend in Temma Harbour sounds great when our afternoon temperatures go over 100!

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November 2006: A word about Nathan Aguirre's funeral

Our community came together yesterday and said goodbye to Nathan Aguirre. 

As I wrote before, Nathan was a very popular young man who died in Iraq.

The church was full. The streets were full of school children and others. It was a wonderful sight.

Remember him on Memorial Day.

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1938: The Nazis launched Kristallnacht

On this day in 1938, the Nazis launched Kristallnacht.   For a couple of days, windows of Jewish-owned establishments were smashed, killing 100 and destroying businesses, synagogues, homes, schools and graveyards.   It was one of the ugliest incidents of the 20th century.

Back in September 2010, we spoke with Max Glauben.  Max is a Holocaust survivor and related great stories about that terrible moment in world history.

Click here for the show..................

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1976: Jim Palmer won 3rd Cy Young in 4 years

On this day in 1976,  Jim Palmer won his 3rd Cy Young Award in 4 years.    He was just awesome during that stretch.

Palmer won 268 and was selected to the Hall of Fame in 1990.

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2016 like 1896? A new book by Karl Rove

Love or hate him, Karl Rove was born to analyze politics.   You can see him on Fox News and he writes a weekly column at The Wall Street Journal.

His new book is "The triumph of William McKinley" is about the election of 1896.   Rove believes that our politics today resembles that of 1896.

Let's read the book!

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