President Eisenhower said goodbye on this day in 1961. His speech came after 8 years as president and an impressive military career. Many remember this speech for one line about the "military industrial complex". Some say that his speech was misunderstood or that the line was taken out of context. Others say that he was warning us about a corrupt relationship between government and the military industry. In fact, it was not the anti-military speech that so many in the left make it out to be, as David Greenberg pointed out. Overall, a good speech that should be read for what it said, i.e. spend wisely and watch for corruption.
It wasn't James Bond's "Thunderball" or the story of the famous secret agent looking for lost A-bombs off Bahamas. It was a lot more complicated in the real world. It started on this day in 1966 when a B-52 bomber collided with a KC-135 jet tanker over Spain’s Mediterranean coast. The collision dropped three 70-kiloton hydrogen bombs near the town of Palomares and one in the sea. Thankfully, nothing exploded but it caused an international crisis for the Johnson Administration. It must have been a very scary time for the people of Spain!
We remember Don Zimmer who was born in Cincinnati on this day in 1931. He was drafted by the Dodgers in 1949 as a shortstop. As a player, he hit .235 over 1,095 games with 5 teams. Most of us remember him as a manager and Joe Torre's dugout coach with the Yankees.
Back in 2009, we said thanks to President George W. Bush. Jules Crittenden was the Boston Herald city editor and columnist. He has reported on politics, crime, science, maritime matters, foreign affairs and conflict in the United States, Asia, the Balkans and the Middle East. After Obama defeated McCain, Crittenden looked at the world in 2008 and compared it with 2001. Without doubt, Crittenden was right that President Bush left us in a better position around the world than we were in when he came into office:
"As the transition progresses and Barack Obama's inauguration draws closer, it's a good moment to mull the gifts George W. Bush has left for the incoming president.
Bush has made the world a better place, and if Obama wants to do the same, he will take the good things Bush has done and move forward with them."