Ronald Reagan on the Media

 

Ron DeSantis on Mask Mandate Changes

 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has been a vanguard on coping with COVID-19, much to the consternation of authoritarian leftist politicians and the lapdog legacy media.  

DeSantis' suffered the slings from elites elites and produced some pushback, making him a serious contender for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, especially if former President Donald Trump does not run.

While DeSantis' message is right and his no-nonsense approach is noteworthy, his messaging needs to be more pithy. 

Apollo 8: Christmas Message Orbiting the Moon

 Three NASA astronauts circled the Moon in December 1968 on a mission to prepare for the first human landing on the Moon the next year. 






When transmitting to Mission Control in Houston, Frank Borman and the crew of Apollo 8  gave a Christmas Eve prayer which might scandalize avowed atheists or today's adherents to the creed of political correctness.

[This piece was originally posted on DCLausDeo.US]

The Story of NORAD and the Santa Tracker

A family tradition in my youth was worshiping at a Vigil Mass on Christmas Eve and driving around nearby neighborhoods with wonderful holiday light displays while listening for NORAD reports on Santa Claus' whereabouts.  As a jaded grown-up, I presumed that these reports were performance shtick on a long media night.  Little did I know that the reports were real and that a typo and the good cheer of an Air Force colonel brought joy to the world.

During the 1950s, America was engaged in a Cold War with the Soviet Union which threatened to become hot at any moment. School children of the era was raised to be prepared to duck and cover at any given moment due to a sneak nuclear attack from the enemy.  Soon, Sputnik's successful launch made watching the skies even more important.

In Colorado Springs,Colorado at  the Continental Air Defense Command    a.k.a. CONAD (the predecessor to the North American Aerospace Defense Command or NORAD), there was a red telephone on the commander's desk which had a secret telephone number known only by a four star General at the Pentagon, which would have been used to convey news of an enemy aerial attack.

However, in December 1955, the CONAD commander's red phone rang and the voice on the other line was a little voice which asked "Is this really Santa Claus".  At first the Colonel was upset at what he thought was a crank call, but when he heard crying, the straight laced Colonel changed his demeanor.  The CONAD commander ho-ho-hoed and asked the caller if he had been a good boy.  Afterwards, the Santa Colonel asked to speak to his mother.

It seems that a copy for a Sears Roebuck newspaper ad had a misprint, so "Santa's private phone" number not connecting to Toyland but was actually the secret military number for what is now NORAD. Colonel Shoup delegated a few airman to act like Santa Claus for kiddie red phone callers.

Col. Shoup's daughter,  Terri Van Keuren, recounted: "It got to be a big joke at the command center. You know, 'The old man's really flipped his lid this time. We're answering Santa calls".  So much so, on Christmas Eve 1955, airmen modified the big glass board used to track air flights and included a drawing of a sleigh and eight reindeer coming from the North Pole.

When Col. Shoup saw this modified big board, he exclaimed: "What is this?".  His subordinates apologized and insisted that they were just making a a joke.  Shoup pondered the predicament for a bit and then telephoned a radio station with the message: "This is the Commander at the Combat Air Center, and we have an unidentified flying object.  Why, it looks like a sled.".  Hence the tradition began.

Now kids can call 1-877 HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) to talk to NORAD staff about Santa's exact location.  The internet tracker for the big man in red began in 1998 with the SantaCam.  At noradsanta.org, people can view the SantaCams from around the world as well as understand NORAD's main mission. Last year, "Operation Feel" had F-18 fighter jets escorting Santa and his sleigh, which led CNN reporters questioning if the US military had taken possession of Santa Claus.  Of course, these reporters failed to report on "Operation Noble Eagle" with the Royal Canadian Air Force escorts over their territory or how these videos infuse some of NORAD's primary mission to girls and boys along with the spirit of the season.






Colonel Shoup died in 2009.  But even in his 90s, Shoup proudly carried a briefcase which he treated like had top secret information that contained letters thanking him for having a good sense of humor in allowing NORAD to track Santa.



h/t: NPR
      NORADSanta.org 

[This piece was originally published on DCBarroco.blogspot.com]

Einstein on Stupidity

On Einstein's birthday, it is worth considering how Einstein expanded the boundaries of genius (with the help of the Animaniacs).

No wonder Einstein did not want the Warner Brothers's  (and sister too) cookies-- Einstein hankered for Pie.

Remembering Lincoln's Birthday

 On the 212th anniversary of his birth, here is a re-enactment of Abraham Lincoln's brief Second Inaugural Address, delivered on March 4th, 1865, less than six weeks before he was felled by an assassin's bullet.



If only blue and grey partisans had taken Lincoln's words urging reconciliation to heart.  Instead we had twenty years of antagonistic Reconstruction and nearly a century of  Jim Crow laws.

These noble words are poignant today for real efforts of national unity. 

Newt Gingrich on the Snap Impeachment Trial

 

Nipsey Russell Questions Congress

 

Remembering Ronald Reagan's Birthday

 

 Happy Birthday to the Gipper!  His favorite candy were Jelly Bellys, which inspired artist Peter Rocha to  to use 10,000 little candies when making his portrait. 

If the mural that was made out of Jelly Bellies, Reagan's favorite candy, wasn't sweet enough, let them eat cake.

Molly Hemingway on the Biden White House Press

 Is it any surprise that the Biden White House Communication staff have requested that the press submit questions before the daily pressers? What a wonderful way to avoid addressing tough subjects.

Even with that prescreening advantage, it is remarkable how often Biden Chief Spokesperson Jen Psaki has to "Circle back."

H/T  Molly Hemingway

Matt Gaetz on Impeachment

 

A Gaffe That Will Be Hard For Schumer To Live Down

 

During his first days as the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), preened over his newfound power to set the agenda.  But Schumer's smarmy remarks about the snap Second Impeachment of Donald Trump will be hard to live down.

 

 Smooth move Chuck. Are you vying to replace President Biden as a walking gaffe machine?

MLK on Darkness and Hate

 

Matt Gaetz on a Snap Second Trump Impeachment

 

Ronald Reagan on Liberalism

 

Mike Pompeo on Authoritarianism

 

On Polity and Media

Perhaps this illustrates a less cynical vision on preserving American Free Speech in a Democratic Republic 

 

 

Thomas Sowell on Tolerance

 

Margaret Thatcher on Consensus Politics

 

Walter E. Wiliams on Capitalism