Happy July 4th and the men who signed The Declaration of Independence

Back in 1776, 56 men signed the Declaration of Independence.

The Declaration is forever known for this:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

The signers understood the risk in putting their name on this document. This is how they concluded the declaration:

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

This is a list of the men who signed the document. Let's remember them today:

Delaware
• George Read
• Caesar Rodney
• Thomas McKean

Pennsylvania
• George Clymer
• Benjamin Franklin
• Robert Morris
• John Morton
• Benjamin Rush
• George Ross
• James Smith
• James Wilson
• George Taylor

Massachusetts
• John Adams
• Samuel Adams
• John Hancock
• Robert Treat Paine
• Elbridge Gerry

New Hampshire
• Josiah Bartlett
• William Whipple
• Matthew Thornton

Rhode Island
• Stephen Hopkins
• William Ellery

New York
• Lewis Morris
• Philip Livingston
• Francis Lewis
• William Floyd

Georgia
• Button Gwinnett
• Lyman Hall
• George Walton

Virginia
• Richard Henry Lee
• Francis Lightfoot Lee
• Carter Braxton
• Benjamin Harrison
• Thomas Jefferson
• George Wythe
• Thomas Nelson, Jr.

North Carolina
• William Hooper
• John Penn
• Joseph Hewes

South Carolina
• Edward Rutledge
• Arthur Middleton
• Thomas Lynch, Jr.
• Thomas Heyward, Jr.

New Jersey
• Abraham Clark
• John Hart
• Francis Hopkinson
• Richard Stockton
• John Witherspoon

Connecticut
• Samuel Huntington
• Roger Sherman
• William Williams
• Oliver Wolcott

Maryland
• Charles Carroll
• Samuel Chase
• Thomas Stone
• William Paca

Happy July 4th! 

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Happy July 4th!

Let's take a minute from politics and remember July 4, 1776.

The US is the only country ever founded on an idea, as Jeff Jacoby reminds us:

"America was the first nation self-consciously founded as the embodiment of an idea — the “self-evident” truth that “all men are created equal” and endowed by God with an “unalienable” right to life and liberty. 
In a world that had always connected nationhood and citizenship to blood, soil, and ethnicity, the democratic republic born in 1776 presented a prospect that was revolutionary in the profoundest sense imaginable — and Americans from the outset were certain that their model of self-government was destined to radiate outward, shaping the course of human events."

It may sound a bit old fashioned now but those ideas were very revolutionary when they were written in 1776.

Happy July 4th:  Remember that today is about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!

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"Dead of night" from 1946 was a strange movie

Not long ago, I came across "Dead of night" on the retro channel.   It is apparently a classic among British horror films.  

Frankly, it was very interesting but would like to watch it again to understand the plot better.

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Dead of Night [VHS] Republic Pictures https://t.co/yfjJqMfqVO via @amazon

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) July 11, 2016

2010: A chat with the late Joel Akerman (1938-2019)

Our friend Joel Akerman passed away July 2019.   This is a show that we recorded with him in 2010............

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Paul McCartney after The Beatles!

In the 1960's, it was Paul and the Beatles. It's hard to think of the 1960's without whistling a Lennon-McCartney tune.

Paul left the Beatles in 1970. He recorded a bunch of great songs by himself or with Wings. They were good songs and the common denominator was Linda.

From 1969 til her death from cancer in 1998, Paul and Linda had a great marriage.  It shows in all of their videos and recordings from that period!

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1955: Harmon Killebrew hit the first of 573 HR

On this day in 1955, a young Harmon Killebrew hit # 1 as a member of the Washington Senators who became the Minnesota Twins in 1961.   

Harmon Killebrew was one of the great power hitters that I grew up watching and following.    

He finished his career with 573 HR & 1,559 RBI.

Killebrew won 6 HR titles and led the AL in RBI 4 times.   He was the AL MVP in 1969.

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We remember Ken Johnson (1933-2015)

We remember Ken Johnson who was born in Florida on this day in 1933.   He died in 2015.

Ken Johnson went down in baseball history for something that happened on April 23, 1964 or the day that he pitched a no-hitter but lost 1-0.  

Ken broke with the A's in 1958 but became a starter with the expansion Astros in 1962.   He pitched well and won 32 games over 4 seasons.

In 1965, Johnson was traded to the Braves winning 45 games in 4 seasons.

Johnson retired in 1970 with 97 wins and a good 3.46 ERA.

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Tony Snow died much too young!

We remember Tony Snow who was born in Kentucky on this day in 1955.  

Back on July 12,  2008, we heard that Tony Snow died of cancer.

Tony was a journalist, a speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush and the first host of FOX News Sunday.

After that, he became President George W. Bush’s press secretary until his resignation for health reasons.

One of my memories of Tony Snow’s career was his responses after Fidel Castro resigned in 2006:

Q: With Castro sidelined, has the United States reached out to his brother, Raul, to try to turn the page, look for anything new?

MR. SNOW: No. Look, the one thing that this President has talked about from the very beginning is his hope for the Cuban people finally to enjoy the fruits of freedom and democracy. And for the dictator, Fidel Castro, to hand off power to his brother, who has been the prison keeper, is not a change in that status. So Raul Castro’s attempt to impose himself on the Cuban people is much the same as what his brother did. So, no, there are no plans to reach out.

Unfortunately, the Obama administration reached out and we know how that turned out.

We miss Tony Snow. Our best to his wife and children.

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We remember the great Sam Johnson (1930-2020)

Back in 1994, I had the chance to catch a speech by then Representative Sam Johnson.  He was fascinating, specially when he related his amazing military story.

Former US Representative Sam Johnson died in Texas on May 27.  He had a wonderful life, as you can see in this obituary:  

Former U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson, a Texas congressman for more than 25 years and Vietnam War hero, died Wednesday in Plano, a family spokesperson said. He was 89.

First elected to Congress in 1991, Johnson gained a reputation as a strong conservative voice in the Texas delegation. In 2010, he was tied for the most conservative member of Congress, according to the National Journal’s rankings.

Johnson flew combat missions during the Korean and Vietnam wars as a fighter pilot. While flying over North Vietnam in 1966, his plane was struck down. He was held as a prisoner of war for nearly seven years, including a stint at the Hoa Lo Prison known as the Hanoi Hilton.

Along the way, he flew fighter jets in Korea, Vietnam, shared a cell with the late Senator John McCain and became a prominent member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Best of all, he was always happy to talk to a constituent even when they disagreed.  He was a first-class gentleman and true patriot.

Rest in Peace, Congressman Johnson.

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2006: Does anyone remember Barry Bonds passing the Babe?

Does anyone remember?  I recall a lot of controversy surrounding this.  On this day in 2006, Barry Bonds became the third man to hit 715 home runs.  

Some of us are old enough to remember Mantle's last home run in '68. Or, Mays and Aaron hitting their 500th, 600th and so on.

Of course, I remember Aaron tying and breaking Ruth's record. It was a Monday Night Game early in '74. The pitcher was Al Downing of the LA Dodgers. I can remember Aaron rounding the bases and getting a handshake from Bill Russell, the Dodgers' shortstop.

He was greeted at the plate by a young Dusty Baker. Tom House, who later served as the Rangers' pitching coach caught the ball in the bullpen.

It was very exciting. Like many fans, I was invested in Aaron's achievements.

Sorry but I was not excited about this achievement.  I don't know if it had something to do with steroids'  or just loyalty to the others.  Bonds just did not have the same positive impact on me that Aaron or Mays did.

Maybe it's because I grew up loving Mantle, Aaron and Mays. Maybe it's all the stuff about steroids.

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