Saturday, August 24, 1946. Portents and changes.

Norma Jean Baker adopted the name of Marilyn Monroe for the firs time in a contract at the suggestion of Ben Lyon of 20th 'Century Fox.

For her stage name, she adopted the names of actress Marilyn Miller, and her mother, Gladys Monroe, who was a tragic figure.

Marilyn Miller

Miller had died in 1936 at the age of 37.  Hardly anyone remembers her now.  The choice of her name was a portent.  Miller, who was married four times (her first husband died leaving her a widow), had a sinus condition made worse by her alcoholism, which lead to her early death.

She was a major star of her day, but not like Monroe, who remains one to this very day.

May they perpetual light shine upon both Baker and Miller.

Philippine Communist leader Juan Feleo was stopped by a large band of "armed men in fatigue uniforms" in Gapan, Nueva Ecija and killed, in something that would result in fueling the Hukbalahap Rebellion.

The Japanese House of Representatives approve the new MacArthur drafted constitution.

Last edition:

Friday, August 23, 1946. British create North Rhine-Westphalia.

Labels: 1940s, 1946, 1946 at the movies, actors and actresses, Afghanistan, Alexander the Great, Allied Occupation of Germany, Germany, Movies, Westphalia

Sunday, July 28, 1946. Wells exposes the assault of Sgt. Isaac Woodard, War Crimes in the Philippines, the passing of St. Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception.

Howard C. Petersen, Assistant Secretary of War, announced that 131,028 American and Filipino citizens, mostly civilians, had died "as a result of war crimes" from December 7, 1941 until the end of World War II.  All but 595 of that figure were Filipino.

St. Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception, an Indian native, died at age 35.  She is the first woman of Indian origin to be canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church, and the first canonized saint of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.

Orson Welles read the affidavit of Sergeant Isaac Woodard on his radio show.  Woodard had been blinded in a race based assault.

Last edition:

Saturday, July 27, 1946. No to a united India.

Labels: 1940s, 1946, Bangladesh, British Empire, Ethnicities, Georgia, India, Pakistan, Racism

Tuesday, July 27, 1926. The Filipino House votes for an independence plebiscite.

The Philippine House of Representatives voted to approve a resolution calling for a plebiscite on independence for the U.S. Territory.  It was vetoed by U.S. Military Governor, Leonard Wood, but the legislature overrode the veto and the measure then went to the final consideration of U.S. President Coolidge, who vetoed the measure the following year.

The US and UK entered into an accord to address alcohol smuggling.

Hearst newspapers ran this editorial:

Last edition:

Monday, July 26, 1926. Ports of call.

Labels: 1920s, 1926, Abraham Lincoln, Bahamas, Diplomacy, Mountain Climbing, Straits of Hormuz, Swiss Army, Switzerland, United States and Israel v. Iran, Weather

Thursday, July 22, 1976. Japan's last payment to the Philippines. A President has a sane day.

Japan made its final reparations payment to the Philippines for its actions in World War Two.

President Ford's day:

A couple of observations.

First of all, nice to see a daily Presidential agenda that wouldn't read like today's must:

7:15:  President had Coca Cola and goes into a hate filled Tweet rage

8:00:  President claims Joe Biden stole his Coca Cola.

8:15:  President falls asleep. . . 

Secondly, this was election season and Ford was contacting some state delegates, including some from Wyoming, none of whom I've heard of.

Last edition:

Tuesday, July 20, 1976. Viking I lands on Mars.

Labels: 1970s, 1976, baseball, Indochina, It was because of the Vietnam War, Mars, NASA, Outer space, Sports, Thailand, The Cold War

Thursday, July 4, 1946. Philippine Independence.

The US recognized the independence of the Republic of the Philippines.

An armed uprising sparked by rent issues occured in Kadavendi, India.

The Kielce pogrom took place in Poland in which 40 Jews were murdered by a mob in Kielce, Poland.  The police did not intervene.  The event, in which soldiers and police participated, was sparked by a false accusation of kidnapping.

Female Stutthof Concentration Camp Guards Elisabeth Becker, Wanda Klaff was hung for war crimes.

Stutthhof is unusual in that the majority of the inmates there were Catholic Poles, many of whom were ethnic Germans.

Last edition:

Wednesday, July 3, 1946. Breaking the meat famine in Denver.

Labels: 1940s, 1946, Canadian Army, Food, Immigration, Office of Price Administration, Post War United States (and Canada), Rationing

Tuesday, July 2, 1946. They were Nazis, but maybe they didn't know what they were doing?

The Luce–Celler Act of 1946 was signed into law giving all Philippines citizens living in the United States the right to become naturalized U.S. citizens.

Lucius Clay

Deputy Military Governor of the American Zone of Occupation in Germany Lt. Gen. Lucius D. Clay pardoned all Nazis under 27 years old, except for those accused of war crimes, and restored one million men to German citizenship.

His act was based on the presumption that men of that age had largely not appreciated what they were doing.

The great postwar accomodation of the Nazis in West Germany had begun.

The News discussed the first OPA free day.

Of note, the Pappy O'Daniel was the Senator from Texas, for which he'd previously been Governor.  Hh also hosted a radio show.  He'd become Senator O'Daniel in the controversial 1941 special election following the death of Morris Sheppard by defeating defeated Lyndon Johnson by 1,311 votes.  He as a Southern, anti Roosevelt, Democrat.  He ran again for governor in 1956 and 1958 during which he claimed Brown v. Board of Education was part of a Communist conspiracy. He finished third in the Democratic primaries both times. After his 1958 loss he accepted the nomination of the Constitution Party, but did not appear on the general election ballot due to the state's "sore loser" law.  That nomination is somewhat interesting in context in that far right wing wackadoodle Rebecca Bextel, who is from the well funded Teton County carpetbagger wing of the GOP, is running on their ticket this year due to moronic thesis that cross over Democrats are going to get Barlow nominated for the GOP Governor slot and then she can come in and save the day by all the real Republicans voting for her in the general, something that shows a real deficit in mathematical understanding.

Orson Wells released The Stranger, his first film noir.

Last edition:

Monday, July 1, 1946 Crossroads Able.

Labels: 1940s, 1946, Bikini Atoll, boats and ships, Economics, Office of Price Administration, Operation Crossroads, Pacific, Post War United States (and Canada), Sex, U.S. Navy, United States Air Force Academy, Weapons

Wednesday, December 9, 1925. Metropolitan Peter of Krutitsy arrested.

Metropolitan Peter of Krutitsy was arrested on charges of conspiring with Russian citizens who had emigrated from the Soviet Union. He'd be executed after long imprisonment and exile in 1937.

He was canonized a Hieromartyr by the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Governor General of the Philippines, Leonard Wood, vetoed a bill calling for a plebiscite on independence.

Last edition:

Tuesday, December 8, 1925. Coolidge delivers his third State of the Union Address. New Patriarch of Melkite Greek Catholic Church installed.

Labels: 1920s, 1925, Calvin Coolidge, Cartoons, Catholic, Christianity, Eastern Rite Catholic, Equine Transportation, Health, J.R. Williams, Medicine, Mexican Army, the spoken word, The written word

Thursday, October 11, 1945. Racism in "the good old days".

The Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow Trinidadian-born pianist Hazel Scott to give a concert at Constitution Hall in Washington because of her race.

It's worth remembering that the "good old days" some would return us to, weren't so good.

Chile and the Philippines ratified the United Nations Charter.

Last edition:

Wednesday, October 10, 1945. Uncle Mike: "The World's Worst Series".

Labels: 1940s, 1945, 1945 World Series, baseball, Chiang Kai-shek, China, Chinese Civil War, Collaborators, Communism, Korea, Mao Zedong, Nazi Party, Sports, technology, television, Vichy France, World War Two

Wednesday, October 1, 1975. Thrilla in Manila.

Muhammad Ali beat Joe Frazer in the "Thrilla in Manila"

Morocco and Mauritania reached a secret agreement to invade the Western Sahara and divide the territory between themselves following Spain's announcement that it would hold a referendum in the colony.

The Safeguard Program anti-ballistic missile complex became fully operational in Cavalier County, North Dakota with two radar complexes and 32 silos.  The House of Representatives voted to shut down the program the next day due to questions on its effectiveness.

Last edition:

Monday, September 29, 1975. Driving 55.

Labels: 1970s, 1975, baseball, Gerald Ford, Government, Henry Kissinger, Highways, law, The Practice of Law, Transportation, University of Wyoming, Vietnam, Vietnam War

Saturday, September 1, 1945. Truman addresses the nation. This Land is Your Land.

Truman addressed the nation by radio.

The thoughts and hopes of all America—indeed of all the civilized world—are centered tonight on the battleship Missouri. There on that small piece of American soil anchored in Tokyo Harbor the Japanese have just officially laid down their arms. They have signed terms of unconditional surrender.

Four years ago, the thoughts and fears of the whole civilized world were centered on another piece of American soil—Pearl Harbor. The mighty threat to civilization which began there is now laid at rest. It was a long road to Tokyo—and a bloody one.

We shall not forget Pearl Harbor.

The Japanese militarists will not forget the U.S.S. Missouri.

The evil done by the Japanese war lords can never be repaired or forgotten. But their power to destroy and kill has been taken from them. Their armies and what is left of their Navy are now impotent.

To all of us there comes first a sense of gratitude to Almighty God who sustained us and our Allies in the dark days of grave danger, who made us to grow from weakness into the strongest fighting force in history, and who has now seen us overcome the forces of tyranny that sought to destroy His civilization.

God grant that in our pride of the hour, we may not forget the hard tasks that are still before us; that we may approach these with the same courage, zeal, and patience with which we faced the trials and problems of the past four years.

Our first thoughts, of course—thoughts of gratefulness and deep obligation—go out to those of our loved ones who have been killed or maimed in this terrible war. On land and sea and in the air, American men and women have given their lives so that this day of ultimate victory might come and assure the survival of a civilized world. No victory can make good their loss.

We think of those whom death in this war has hurt, taking from them fathers, husbands, sons, brothers, and sisters whom they loved. No victory can bring back the faces they longed to see.

Only the knowledge that the victory, which these sacrifices have made possible, will be wisely used, can give them any comfort. It is our responsibility—ours, the living—to see to it that this victory shall be a monument worthy of the dead who died to win it.

We think of all the millions of men and women in our armed forces and merchant marine all over the world who, after years of sacrifice and hardship and peril, have been spared by Providence from harm.

We think of all the men and women and children who during these years have carried on at home, in lonesomeness and anxiety and fear.

Our thoughts go out to the millions of American workers and businessmen, to our farmers and miners—to all those who have built up this country's fighting strength, and who have shipped to our Allies the means to resist and overcome the enemy.

Our thoughts go out to our civil servants and to the thousands of Americans who, at personal sacrifice, have come to serve in our Government during these trying years; to the members of the Selective Service boards and ration boards; to the civilian defense and Red Cross workers; to the men and women in the USO and in the entertainment world—to all those who have helped in this cooperative struggle to preserve liberty and decency in the world.

We think of our departed gallant leader, Franklin D. Roosevelt, defender of democracy, architect of world peace and cooperation.

And our thoughts go out to our gallant Allies in this war: to those who resisted the invaders; to those who were not strong enough to hold out, but who, nevertheless, kept the fires of resistance alive within the souls of their people; to those who stood up against great odds and held the line, until the United Nations together were able to supply the arms and the men with which to overcome the forces of evil.

This is a victory of more than arms alone. This is a victory of liberty over tyranny.

From our war plants rolled the tanks and planes which blasted their way to the heart of our enemies; from our shipyards sprang the ships which bridged all the oceans of the world for our weapons and supplies; from our farms came the food and fiber for our armies and navies and for our Allies in all the corners of the earth; from our mines and factories came the raw materials and the finished products which gave us the equipment to overcome our enemies.

But back of it all were the will and spirit and determination of a free people—who know what freedom is, and who know that it is worth whatever price they had to pay to preserve it.

It was the spirit of liberty which gave us our armed strength and which made our men invincible in battle. We now know that that spirit of liberty, the freedom of the individual, and the personal dignity of man, are the strongest and toughest and most enduring forces in all the world.

And so on V-J Day we take renewed faith and pride in our own way of life. We have had our day of rejoicing over this victory. We have had our day of prayer and devotion. Now let us set aside V-J Day as one of renewed consecration to the principles which have made us the strongest nation on earth and which, in this war, we have striven so mightily to preserve.

Those principles provide the faith, the hope, and the opportunity which help men to improve themselves and their lot. Liberty does not make all men perfect nor all society secure. But it has provided more solid progress and happiness and decency for more people than any other philosophy of government in history. And this day has shown again that it provides the greatest strength and the greatest power which man has ever reached.

We know that under it we can meet the hard problems of peace which have come upon us. A free people with free Allies, who can develop an atomic bomb, can use the same skill and energy and determination to overcome all the difficulties ahead.

Victory always has its burdens and its responsibilities as well as its rejoicing.

But we face the future and all its dangers with great confidence and great hope. America can build for itself a future of employment and security. Together with the United Nations, it can build a world of peace rounded on justice, fair dealing, and tolerance.

As President of the United States, I proclaim Sunday, September the second, 1945, to be V-J Day—the day of formal surrender by Japan. It is not yet the day for the formal proclamation of the end of the war nor of the cessation of hostilities. But it is a day which we Americans shall always remember as a day of retribution—as we remember that other day, the day of infamy.

From this day we move forward. We move toward a new era of security at home. With the other United Nations we move toward a new and better world of cooperation, of peace and international good will and cooperation.

God's help has brought us to this day of victory. With His help we will attain that peace and prosperity for ourselves and all the world in the years ahead.

The speech, set out above, declared September 2 VJ Day, the third such day to claim that title. 

The War Department issues a report regarding an anticipated world wide coal shortage.

From Sarah Sundin's blog:

Today in World War II History—September 1, 1940 & 1945: US soldiers liberate two civilian internment camps in the Tokyo area. US ends military rule in the Philippines and turns over civil administration to President Sergio Osmeña. Britain reduces clothing ration to 3 coupons pe

Military rule in the Philippine government ended.

A temporary government was established by the British in Hong Kong.

The Xinghua Campaign ended in communist victory in China and the Battle of Dazhongji began.

The lyrics to This Land Is Your Land by Woody Guthrie were published.  The song had been written in 1940, but not released.  The recording would not be released until 1953.

In my view, it's one of the greatest American folk songs.

Last edition:

Friday, August 31, 1945. New dances.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Diplomacy, Finland, Japan, Marcus Island, Music, Occupation of Japan, Rock Music, United States, USSR, World War Two

Pandemic Part 10. A new paradigm?

 

February 17, 2022

The Center for Disease Control estimates that, taking the massive spread of Omicron around the country into account and the final relatively high vaccination rate in the country, 73% of the nation is now immune from the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, i.e. COVID 19.

Nobody is really sure exactly what that means.  But it might mean that we're entering a phase where the virus doesn't disappear, but it's much less disruptive to society.

It's still the case, however, that it remains a danger for the unvaccinated.

March 1, 2022

Wyoming's public health emergency shall expire on March 14.

March 21, 2022

A new variant of Omicron has developed, which is about 30% more transmissible than the already more transmissible Omicron.  It's spiking in Europe and in Hong Kong has caused an outbreak with a massive death rate, mostly concentrated in the unvaccinated elderly.

China has reported its first deaths in many months.

According to experts, the world is about 50% through the probable course of the pandemic.

April 14, 2022

Over 1,000,000 Americans have now died from the COVID 19.

July 22, 2022

President Biden has COVID 19.

At this point, two members of our four member family also have, with one having had it quite recently and finding it awful, but being grateful accordingly for having been vaccinated.

A new, more traditional type of vaccine, has now been approved.

September 20, 2022

On 60 Minutes over the weekend, President Biden stated; "The pandemic is over. We still have a problem with COVID. We're still doing a lot of work on it. But the pandemic is over."  The HHS Secretary later confirmed that position.

Epidemiologically, it isn't over, but then neither is the plague's pandemic either.  The statement has been criticized, with 400 people per day dying of the disease, but by and large it reflects the mood of the public which has largely gone back to a new post Covid introduction, world in which COVID 19 is part of the background.

December 15, 2022

The new defense spending authorization includes a requirement that the Secretary of Defense rescind vaccination requirements for troops because, well because that's the idiotic sort of thing that politicians like to stick into bills.

All of the troops should be vaccinated.

December 24, 2022

China, which has not accepted western vaccines, reported 37,000,000 new vaccinations in a single day.

January 2, 2023

A new variant of Omicron, XBB.1.5, now makes up 40% of the new cases in the U.S.

And Covid is still killing.

January 20, 2023

Governor Gordon Tests Positive for COVID-19

CHEYENNE, Wyo. –  Governor Mark Gordon has received results of a COVID-19 test that showed he is positive for the virus. The Governor is experiencing only minor symptoms at this time and will continue working from home on behalf of Wyoming. 

March 1, 2023

The Washington Post broke a story that the Department of Energy issued a report believing, with "low confidence", that the SARS-CoV-2 virus originated in a Chinese lab.

A really good analysis of this story can be found here:  

Why Scientists, Lawmakers & Diplomats Care Where COVID Began

In actuality, the Biden Administration early on ordered governmental intelligence agencies to get to the bottom of the virus' origin.  Eight intelligence agencies were assigned to the tasks, two of which have concluded, but with confidence doubts, that the virus was natural in origin. Two, we know now, felt the opposite, with it already known since 2021 what the FBI felt, with "moderate confidence" that the origin was a Chinese lab.  Two just haven't reported.

None of this kept some from claiming that it's now proven that the virus originated in the lab.

FWIW, private scientists, as opposed to intelligence agencies, overwhelmingly feel that it originated due to animal transfer in the Wuhan market.

March 18, 2023

Recent evidence points to raccoon dogs at the Wuhan market as the source.

April 11, 2023

President Biden declared the COVID emergency to be over.

August 22, 2023

Declared over or not, two new strains are on the loose and a new booster should be available mid September.

April 12, 2024

The CDC has found there's no link between the COVID vaccines and cardiac arrest in young people.

Not that this is a surprise.

It'll make no difference in the anti-scientific atmosphere of the day. A society that can believe that legalizing marijuana, which is largely untested and wholly unregulated, and that Donald Trump won hte 2020 election, will still believe that the vaccine is risky, but cause it wishes to.

June 15, 2024

Reuters has revealed that during the height of the pandemic, the US ran an anti-vax campaign in the Philippines to try to undermine Chinese efforts there.

There's no excuse for that whatsoever.

November 18, 2024

Is it the flu or is it COVID? One at-home test can tell you

January 26, 2025

The Central Intelligence Agency revised its report on the origin of COVID reporting, with low confidence, that a Chinese laboratory is to blame.

This was a report that was completed during the Biden Administration and was just now released.  It's being released now is unfortunate, in that it comes during the Trump Interregnum which is packed with people who generally have a contempt for science, which this will slightly fuel if anyone notices it given all the distraction at the present time.  Most Scientists think the most likely hypothesis is that it circulated in bats, like many coronaviruses, before infecting another species.

May 21, 2025

The Trump Administration is limiting vaccine updates to those over 65 or in high risk categories, and requiring extensive testing for new updates.

August 20, 2025

The American Academy of Pediatrics is strongly recommending COVID19 shots for children ages 6 months to 2, putting it in conflict for the first time with HHS, lead by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, which doesn't recommend the shots for healthy children.  The AAP's recommendation is based on science, the HHS's by waiving a fryer chicken above Robert F. Kennedy's head while singing the Hockey Pokey.

The HSS point of view will get people killed, which means RFK Jr. has blood on his hands.

Last prior installment:

Pandemic Part 9. Omicron becomes dominant

Wednesday, August 19, 1945. Bataan I and Bataan 2.

Japanese officials arrived in Manila to conclude the surrender there.  They flew in two Mitsubishi G6M1- with green crosses rather than Japanese roundels.

Bataan 1 and Bataan 2 on Ie Shima., where they stopped for refueling.

The planes were assigned the flight names Bataan 1 and Bataan 2.

The Red Army kept on with its war against Japan, landing at Maoka on South Sakhalin. 

Chiang Kai-shek forbid Japanese forces from surrendering to the Red Chinese forces and demanded of the Communists that they not advance.

The Chinese Communist prevailed at Yongjiazhen.  1300 Warlord/Nationalist and twentyone Japanese troops were killed on the Nationalist side.. Ninety-eight Nationalist troops and twenty-one Japanese troops were captured.

The Red Army took Tsitsihar in the Manchurian Plain and linked up with Chinese Communist forces in the region.

Last edition:

Saturday, August 18, 1945. The last American KIA of World War Two. Anthony J. Marchione.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Battle of Shumshu, Imperial Japanese Army, Imperial Japanese Army Air Service, India, Kuril Islands, Red Army, U.S. Air Force, World War Two