1944: Siege of Leningrad

On this day in 1944, the siege of Leningrad ended.  It was the 900-day German-enforced containment of the city and cost thousands of Russian lives.

We discussed Hitler's decision to invade the USSR with Barry Jacobsen.

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Happy New Year

WE WISH YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR..........

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We remember Glenn Miller who disappeared on this day in 1944

On this in 1944,  Glenn Miller was lost over The English Channel.

1944 was a very tough year, from Europe to the Pacific, D-Day, the Battle of The Bulge and the loss of Glenn Miller in December.

Miller was travelling to Paris for a Christmas concert and his plane was lost over the English Channel.    

His plane was never found and Miller is still listed as MIA.

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Real communism

We are having a debate about socialism among some of our young people.  From Alejandra Ocasio-Cortez to Bernie Sanders, we’re hearing that some are inspired concerning socialism.  

The Democrats are even running candidates who claim to be “democratic socialists“!  I guess that means that they will take a vote before taking your property away or something like that.

Well, two recent anniversaries will remind the young what real communism is all about.

First, Warsaw Pact tanks marched into Prague this week in 1968.  They were there to crush a freedom movement, as we remember from our history:   

On the night of August 20, 1968, approximately 200,000 Warsaw Pact troops and 5,000 tanks invade Czechoslovakia to crush the “Prague Spring” — a brief period of liberalization in the communist country. Czechoslovakians protested the invasion with public demonstrations and other non-violent tactics, but they were no match for the Soviet tanks. The liberal reforms of First Secretary Alexander Dubcek were repealed and “normalization” began under his successor Gustav Husak.

By the way, the confused young must be reminded what Mr. Husak meant by “normalization”.  It meant shut up or we will throw you in prison.  And your family won’t know what happened to you, either.  In other words, no “habeaus corpus” or right to a speedy trial under communism.

The second anniversary is less known but very important.  It shows how communists deal with those they disagree with.  I am talking about the killing of Leon Trotsky on August 21, 1940:  

Exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky is fatally wounded by an ice-ax-wielding assassin at his compound outside Mexico City. The killer – Ramón Mercader –was a Spanish communist and probable agent of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Trotsky died from his wounds the next day.

This is the real story of communism, along with a health care system that stinks in Cuba, or people eating grass in North Korea, or people risking their lives to jump over the Berlin Wall.

Let’s remember communism, and its convenient mask called socialism.  In both cases, they take your property and freedom.  

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We remember Walter Johnson (1887-1946)

We remember Walter Johnson who was born on this day in 1887.   He died in 1946.

Check out these awesome statistics:  417 wins, 2.17 career ER, 3509 Ks, 531 complete games and 110 shutouts.   

He also lost 279 games!

Johnson had a .599 winning pct.   In other words, he lost 40% of his games.  

How do you lose 40% of your games with a 2.17 career ERA?   He must have had a lot of 1-0 or 2-1 complete game losses.

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May 25, 1977: "Star Wars" was released

“Star Wars” opened across the US in 1977.    The characters quickly became known from coast to coast:

Mark Hamill as “Luke Skywalker”, “Han Solo” (Harrison Ford) “Princess Leia” (Carrie Fisher) and “Darth Vader” (James Earl Jones).      

Stars mania began years ago!     Soon, “Star Wars” hit the music charts too. 

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Gary Cooper and so many great movies

Gary Cooper was born on this day in 1901. 

He made some great movies.   My favorite are "Pride of the Yankees" from  1942 and "High Noon" from  1952.

A great actor, an American original.

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1964: Clay beat Liston for his first heavyweight crown

By February 1964, Cassius Clay was a 22-year old Olympic gold medalist (1960) and looking for first title.   

On this day in 1964, he got it with a technical knockout of Sonny Liston.   

It was the beginning of the legend of Ali.

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February 1977: Fleetwood Mac released "Rumours"

Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" was released in early February 1977.     It became one of the top LP's of the 1970's.      My guess is that most fans did not know that the group was going through some serious conflicts during the recording of this album.

It sounds good 40-something years later.   There were great songs like "Go your own way"!

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1977: Ernie Banks selected to the Hall of Fame

Ernie Banks was selected to the Hall of Fame on this day in 1977.   

Banks was a three-time .300 hitter and retired with a .274 average,  2,583 hits, 1,305 runs scored, and 1, 636 RBI.    He won the NL MVP in 1958 and 1959 despite playing for some bad Cubs' teams.

On May 12, 1970, Banks hit # 500 and finished with 512.   He died in 2015.

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