This deadly day in history

Posted: June 6, 2023 by chrisharper in Uncategorized
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By Christopher Harper

June 6 is the deadliest and arguably the most important date in history.

As Martha Gellhorn puts it, “It was good bombing weather.”

Most Americans know that the invasion of Normandy was launched on June 6, 1944; a total of 4,414 Allied troops were killed on D-Day itself, including 2,501 Americans. More than 5,000 were wounded. In the ensuing Battle of Normandy, 73,000 Allied forces were killed and 153,000 wounded. The battle — and especially Allied bombings of French villages and cities — killed around 20,000 French civilians.

But the carnage of June 6 goes far beyond 1944.

On June 6, 1813, the Battle of Stoney Creek [Ontario] was a turning point in the battle between American and British troops in which an English force of 700 troops defeated a U.S. force twice that size.

On June 6, 1918, the U.S. Marine Corps suffered more than 1,000 dead and wounded in the Battle of Belleau Wood [France] during World War I. Marines finally took the area from the Germans.

On June 6, 1942, the U.S. Navy’s victory over the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Midway was a turning point in World War II. All four Japanese fleet carriers were sunk—as was a heavy cruiser Mikuma.

On June 6, 1967, Israel captured Egypt’s Gaza Strip on the second day of the Arab-Israeli War. The six-day war resulted in the defeat of the Arab armies and a major reshuffling in Arab government throughout the region.

On June 6, 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon to force the Palestine Liberation Organization to lead the Levant. According to Lebanese sources, between 15,000 and 20,000 people were killed during the conflict, mostly civilians.

On June 6, 2017, the Battle of Raqqa began with an offensive by Syrian democratic forces to capture the city from the Islamic State.

Although the date included a variety of military battles, a few good things happened on June 6.

On June 6, 1978, for example, ABC News launched 20/20, which became a well-watched venue for news and entertainment. I spent nine good years there as an investigative producer. Alas, today’s program limps along with reports about meaningless subjects.

The left has been insisting we define ” Woke” lately. It’s actually very easy and I shall do so here using my favorite example within.

Woke comes in four stages:

Stage 1: Delusional:

Mr. Shellhammer: But… but maybe he’s only a little crazy like painters or composers or… or some of those men in Washington.

Miracle on 34th street 1947

The first stage of woke is delusional. In this respect “delusional” is defined as believing something that is blatantly false.

This is the most common stage and the one where you can function in society normally. If one is deep into this state the delusional person may act on this delusion but only in their private life. It’s worth noting that most delusional people aren’t woke, but ALL woke people are delusional.

Example: If you believe you’re the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, you’re delusional.

Footnote: At this stage except in casual conversation it’s nobody’s damn business and unless brought up in conversation they should be left alone to think what they want. That’s freedom.

Stage 2: Crazy

Babe Heffrom: Crazy Joe McCulsky

Wild Bill Guarnere: What?

Babe Heffrom: This guy who used to hang at the front of Delancy’s you know and just stare at people.

Band of Brothers Bastonge 2001

The 2nd stage of woke is crazy. In this respect “crazy” is defined as acting on this delusion in your public and personal life to be noticed. This person can function in society to a degree but will always attract looks and stares. It is also the stage where their employment options might be limited as they can be at best disruptive and at worst destructive in the wrong job, particularly if such a job involves interaction with the public or one that requires decision making that effects others.

This can also be the most complicated point. Not only do you see people doing this to themselves but if this involves a group of people there are also those who might go into this stage to fit in. If this involves someone you love or care about this is the place to intervene to try and shake the delusion before it becomes dangerous, but if the person declines, the default position must be to respect their right to make bad decisions for themselves.

Again not all people who are crazy are “woke” but ALL woke people are crazy.

Example: If you believe you’re Napoleon Bonaparte, and then dress like Napoleon, speak like Napoleon and or get your self surgically altered to be Napoleon you’re crazy.

Footnote: This is the point of greatest danger to society in the sense that there are those who will go along or even affirm this person’s crazy delusion thinking they are being “kind” or “tolerant” or loving. What you are actually doing is at best being indifferent and at worst cowardly because you are enabling someone’s self destruction either because you don’t care or don’t want to get involved.

Stage 3: Batshit Crazy

The Joker: As I was saying since every fish in Gotham now bears my famous and frankly fabulous face I should get a profit from every fish product sold. Let’s say a nickel per fish sandwich, fifty cents for sardines. Millions of dollars a day to finance my happily hedonistic lifestyle. So which of your copyright forms do I fill out first? You may speak now.

G Guy Francis: No one can copywrite fish, they’re a natural resource.

The Joker: But they share my unique face. Colonel what’s his name has chickens and they don’t even have mustaches!

G Guy Francis: I can’t help it, it’s the law.

The Joker: Oh trying to cheat the Joker are you? We’ll see who has the last laugh. You have until midnight to change your mind Francis or you’ll be the poorest fish of all

Batman the Animated Series The Laughing fish 1993 adapted from Detective Comics 475 Feb 1978

The 3rd stage of woke is batshit crazy. In this respect “batshit crazy” is defined as demanding that others not just tolerate your crazy delusion but acknowledge it as fact rather than delusion. At this stage the person will use everything from, intimidation to violence to force you to acknowledge a reality that isn’t true. This can be the most dangerous of all the stages in the sense that people who do not actually believe the batshit crazy person’s delusion might decide said person can be manipulated and their batshit crazy delusion used and weaponized against their foes for the sake of power and wealth. There will also be a fair amount of joiners who see this manipulation as a way of personal advancement or will be too afraid to speak out. Such batshit crazy people can only function in society within the woke bubble and will do all they can to create and expand the woke bubble to preserve their delusion.

Example: If you believe you’re Napoleon, and then dress like Napoleon, speak like Napoleon and or get your self surgically altered to be Napoleon and demand that people acknowledge you publicly as Napoleon Bonaparte you’re batshit crazy.

Footnote: Under no circumstances should the person at the batshit crazy stage of woke be affirmed! Not only is it an offence against truth but you will shortly discover that simple affirmation is never enough. If this is not stopped and defeated here then it invariably goes to the final stage

Stage 4: Fully Woke

Jesus Christ: I have told you this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God. They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me.

John 16:1-3

The 4th stage of woke is fully woke. In this respect “fully woke” is defined as using the full power of an institution, the law and the state to not only affirm their batshit crazy delusion as fact but to crush anyone who refuses to do so or publicly calls out their batshit crazy delusion for what it is and encourages others to have the courage to do so. The Batshit Crazy woke person can’t get to this stage without allies or acolytes or immense personal wealth. And because their allies are gaining wealth power and prestige from this batshit crazy delusion there is no limit to the steps they will take to silence you once this state is reached. They will destroy you economically, socially or even physically and do it while proclaiming how virtuous they are being in doing so. They will further demonize any bit of society, an institution, a city, a state, that does not go along with the Woke Batshit crazy delusion because the greatest threat to them at this stage is actual reality. Furthermore if you are a member of the fully woke society you will find that any deviation from the Fully woke batshit crazy delusion, however slight, will cause you to be expelled and considered a non-person.

Example: If you believe you’re Napoleon Bonaparte, and then dress like Napoleon, speak like Napoleon and or get your self surgically altered to be Napoleon and demand that people acknowledge you publicly as Napoleon Bonaparte and use the power of the state and the law to punish and/or oppress any who refuse to shout: Vive L’Empereur!  when you walk by, you’re fully woke.

Footnote: The fully woke person can’t be reasoned with, can’t be debated, they can only be defeated and when defeated must be defeated utterly

Addendum: On very rare occasions a person hitting the fully woke stage or even the Batshit Crazy stage might find themselves shocked into reality. These persons are the greatest threat to the Fully woke and are hated by them even more than those who fought them from the start.

By John Ruberry

By all accounts, crime was the biggest issue in this year’s Chicago mayoral election. Voters in America’s third-largest city had a choice between two Democrats in the runoff matchup in April, Paul Vallas, a moderate who ran on a law-and-order agenda, and Brandon Johnson, who until late last year was a defund-the-police advocate.

Johnson won and he was sworn in as Chicago’s 57th mayor on May 15. 

But his brief time as mayor-elect was rough. While Johnson of course denounced a late April downtown flash-mob riot, he did so with a caveat, declaring that the riotous thugs “shouldn’t be demonized,” even though they acted demonically. A few days later outside Illinois’ state capitol building, Johnson doubled down on his naivete, explaining his feelings about the rioters, “They’re young. Sometimes they make silly decisions.”

A big test for any Chicago mayor is Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer is also traditionally when violence ramps up. 

One new wrinkle for this year’s holiday weekend was implementation of yellow-vested “peacekeepers” to control the mayhem, including 30 funded by the state. While I don’t believe Johnson dispatched any of his own peacekeepers, he’s on board with the concept. 

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it, Johnson’s not even been mayor for a month, but if Memorial Day weekend’s crime fighting results are any indication, Chicago is in for a tough four years.

The last weekend in May was Chicago’s most violent Memorial Day weekend since 2016–eleven people were shot to death, 42 others were wounded, and one woman was beaten to death. Let’s take a closer look at that last one. The deceased was brutally and fatally beaten with a baseball bat two blocks from Johnson’s West Side home–the alleged murderer lives across the street from the mayor.

The beating victim and nine of the eleven weekend shooting victims were killed last Saturday. Only Hey Jackass Chicago among the local media noticed that it was one of the few double-digit murder days in the last decade the city has suffered. 

Now, back to the yellow-donned peacekeepers. The concept is ripe for a parody. For instance, on my own blog, I noted that Leslie Barbara, one of the less imposing cadets of the motley class in “Police Academy,” was wearing a yellow blazer when he was tossed by hooligans into a river from a bridge–along with his photo kiosk. The aforementioned Hey Jackass Chicago is selling official peacekeeper T-shirts on the “Buy Crap” section of its website.

One of those real peacekeepers, whom a veteran of the Obama administration hilariously defended as someone who “mishandled the stress” of being a peacekeeper, was arrested after allegedly beating and robbing a man. The accused, an ex-con who was on parole, was allegedly in the process of removing his yellow peacekeeper vest as the cops approached him.

Okay, skeptics may object and tell me that Memorial Day weekend was just one weekend, and a long one at that. What about this weekend?

Well, as of 9am Sunday morning Chicago time, nine people have been shot to death this weekend so far and at least 33 others wounded. Included in those numbers is mass shooting in Johnson’s neighborhood in Austin, where one person was killed and six others were wounded.

Let’s go Brandon!

John Ruberry regularly blogs at Marathon Pundit.

Waiver List for the 1971 Dynasty League

Posted: June 4, 2023 by datechguy in Uncategorized

This is the waivers list for the 1971 Dynasty league that I’m running. This consists of every player with a Dynasty card not drafted or retained by a team


You’ll notice that there aren’t all that many players and less than 10 pitchers, that because we have 20 teams with big rosters.

Interesting note: every single Dodger and A’s player was drafted

Pitchers:

  • Cal Koonce Boston Right Long/20 spot 1
  • Bill Greif Hou Right Long/20 spot 3
  • Steve Barber Right 20/Long spot 2
  • Pete Hamm Right 20/Long spot 8
  • John O’Donoghue Left Long
  • Al Closter Left Long/20 spot 1
  • Lowell Palmer right Long/20 spot 1
  • Bill Laxton Left Long
  • Jackie Brown Right 20/Long spot 9

Catcher

  • Don Pavletich Bos Right Pull
  • Art Kusnyer Cal Right Spray
  • Danny Breeden Cubs Right Spray
  • Pat Corrales Cin Right Spray
  • Tim Hosley Det right pull
  • Gene Lamont Det Both Spray
  • Jim Price Det Right Pull
  • Buck Martinez KC Right Spray
  • Dennis Paepke KC Right Pull
  • Paul Ratliff Mil Left Pull
  • Tom Tischinski Min Right Pull
  • Fred Kendall SD Right Pull
  • Russ Gibson SF Right Spray
  • Dave Rader SF Left Spray
  • Bill Fahey Wash Left Spray
  • Rick Stelmaszek Wash Left Spray

1B

  • Tommie Aaron Atl: Right Spray
  • Mike Fiore Bos: Left Spray
  • Bob Spence C-Sox Left Spray
  • Pat Bourque Cubs Left Pull
  • Hal Breeden Cubs Right Pull
  • Willie Smith Cin Left Spray
  • Chuck Harrison KC Right Spray
  • Dave McDonald Mont Left Spray
  • Bob Burda StL Left Spray

2B

  • Chico Salmon Balt Right Pull
  • Chico Ruiz Calif Both Spray
  • Gus Gil Mil Right Spray

SS

  • Gil Garrido Atl Right Spray
  • Luis Alvarado C-Sox Right Spray
  • Hector Torres Cubs Right Spray
  • Darrel Chaney Cin Both Spray
  • Jack Heidemann Cle Right Spray
  • Cesar Gutierrez Det right spray
  • Bobby Floyd KC Right Spray
  • Frank Baker NYY Left Spray
  • Tommy Dean SD Right Spray
  • Don Wert Wash Right Spray

3B

  • Zollo Versalles Atl Right Spray
  • Ron Hansen NYY Right Spray

LF

  • Curt Motton Balt Right Pull
  • Carmen Fanzone Cubs right Pull
  • Al Ferrara Cin Right Pull
  • Chuck Hinton Cle Right Spray
  • Ted Savage KC Right Spray
  • George Thomas Right Spray
  • Jim Gosger Mont Left Spray
  • Danny Walton NYY Right Pull
  • Angel Bravo SD Left Spray

CF

  • Oscar Brown Atl Right Pull
  • Ty Cline Cin Right Spray
  • Mike Jorgensen NYM Left Spray

RF

  • Terry Crowley Balt Left Spray
  • Tommie Reynolds Cal right spray
  • Lee Maye C-Sox Left Spray
  • Gene Hiser Cubs Right spray
  • Ted Ford Cle Right Spray
  • Norm Miller Hou Left Spray
  • Bernie Smith Mil Right Pull
  • Jim Lyttle NYY Left Spray
  • Dave Marshall NYM Left Pull
  • Art Shamsky NYM Left Pull
  • Ron Stone Phil Left Spray
  • Carl Taylor Pit Right Spray