The Big Squeeze

In 1959 Nikita Khrushchev, the Russian Premier, spent 10 days in the United States
During which Khrushchev and wife Nina accompanied President Eisenhower in public view
In a shared limousine ride to downtown Washington, D.C.
In which Eisenhower was seated between the two

I took the occasion to stand on the route through which they passed
And was perhaps 10 yards from their limousine
Nikita and Nina had broad smiles on their faces, and were merrily waving their hands
Ike, on the other hand, had a very grim mien

You could assume that Ike’s sour expression reflected his opposition to communism
But in my opinion that would not be the best guess
I believe he was very uncomfortable being squeezed between 2 very heavy people
It looked like Nikita weighed at least 250 pounds, and his wife perhaps 50 pounds less

The motto I draw from the above
Is that whatever your power or whatever your net worth
Never allow yourself to be seated between
Two people of far greater girth

Hedy Lamarr

There are few in my generation, geezers in their eighties
Who would not be aware of Hedy Lamarr
She was a movie actress for over 30 years
And very much a prominent star

Lamarr became a film star from the 1930’s to the 1950’s
She was cast into glamorous parts alongside the leading male actors of yore
These included Charles Boyer, Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable
Jimmy Stewart, Robert Young and Victor Mature

Lamarr’s first film, when she was 18, entitled Ecstasy, considered quite racy at that time
Her first husband (she was married six times), Friedrich Mandal
Reportedly bought up as many copies of Ecstasy as possible
Deciding public exposure of the film was more than he could handle

Mandal, an arms dealer, had Lamarr accompany him to business meetings
Where he discussed military technology with various technicians
These meetings were Lamarr’s introduction to applied science
Which ultimately lead to significant inventions in a number of fields, primarily munitions

Mandal was an extremely jealous man, and their marriage became unbearable to Lamarr
Lamarr feared his reaction if she sought to end the marriage via the divorce route
She wore all her jewelry for a dinner with Mandal, then fled to Paris with jewelry intact
Where she met Louis B. Mayer, a major film producer, scouting for talent in Europe

From that time on, her acting career flourished
As did her ability to design scientific innovations
Her earliest inventions included an improved traffic spotlight
And a tablet that would dissolve in water to create a carbonated beverage

With George Antheil, a neighbor in California,
She discussed the jamming of radio controlled torpedoes by a wartime foe
Which caused the torpedo to go off course
To solve the problem they developed the idea to use frequency hopping to avoid such woe

Frequency hopping involved using a piano roll to unpredictably
Change the signal sent between a control center and torpedoes launched by our nation
It was impossible for an enemy to jam all 88 frequencies (Antheil was a musical composer)As they lacked the calculating power to adjust to such extreme variation

In 1942 a patent was issued to Lamarr and Antheil on this device, (later used in Wi-Fi)
Though initially rejected by the Navy, it was adopted during the blockade of Cuba in 1962
In 2014 Lamarr and Antheil were inducted into the Inventor’s Hall of Fame,
Bringing her scientific accomplishments into greater view

Lamarr has a star in the Hollywood Hall of Fame
So she achieved the rare distinction of being an a great inventor as well as a movie star
So a warning to males who may assume a beautiful woman lacks an acute brain
Her mental capacity may exceed yours by far

Moe Berg –Catcher and Spy

If asked to name the greatest baseball player of all time
From baseball fans many names would emerge
But as to the smartest person that ever played the game
The answer would most probably be Moe Berg

Berg played for a number of teams from 1923 to 1939
And in 1940 and 1941 he was a coach
Although not an outstanding athlete, he utilized his acute intelligence, particularly when catching rookie pitchers
To accurately analyze what steps constituted the best approach

Berg was a magna cum laude graduate of Princeton, where he studied seven languages,
Berg was a good fielder and catcher, but not much of batter
Understating his linguistic ability, one of his managers stated
Berg could strike out in 5 languages, which was what he thought mattered

After the season ended in 1923, he traveled to Paris
And at the Sorbonne enrolled in classes, 32 in all
In 1926, while playing for White Sox, he simultaneously attended Columbia Law School
From which he ultimately graduated, and was admitted to the practice of law

But Berg’s most significant accomplishments were not in baseball
Or in the practice of law
But in his services as a spy with the Office of Secret Services
During the Second World War

In September 1943, Berg was assigned to the OSS Secret Intelligence Branch,
Having become an expert in physics, in 1944 he began his predominant activities with the OSS
Trying to lure Italian physicists to defect to the United States
But simultaneously attempting to determine the state of German atomic bomb progress   

And this resulted in one of the most dramatic incidents in the war
A key to understanding what progress had been made by the Germans
Was to ascertain the level of scientific awareness of Werner Heisenberg
Who would be the leading physicist in any atomic programs

The OSS learned that Heisenberg was scheduled to give a lecture in Zurich, Switzerland
And arranged for Berg’s credentials as a graduate student so he could attend his speech
If Berg determined from the lecture that the Germans might be close to the atomic bomb
He was instructed to shoot Heisenberg immediately while he was in reach

Berg concluded that the Germans were not close to an atomic bomb
And thus didn’t attempt the Heisenberg assassination
However he took copious notes during his lecture
Which provided useful info to track future progress by the German nation 

Berg left the OSS in 1945, but was hired by the CIA in 1952, to follow Russian atomic developments
He was fired in 1954 and subsequently had no regular employment and lived with friends and relatives to his life’s end
And didn’t seem to have any persistent interests
Except the huge number of books he read

It’s not clear what caused the inertia in the last 20 years of Berg’s life
A possible explanation is that nothing could give him the emotional high
Of his work with the OSS
As an atomic spy

The Gettysburg Address

 

When Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg address in 1863

He took about two minutes to state what actions were best for the nation’s strength
Edward Everett shared the platform with Lincoln that day
And his speech was about two hours in length

Edward Everett was the ex- President of Harvard and the ex-governor of Massachusetts

A former U.S. Senator, and Congressman, all in all, a man very eminent
He was so highly regarded that it was thought by many
That his speech would be as  important as that delivered by the President 

Everett’s speech touched on ancient Greek history, current political and military developments, and various other subjects

In a very complicated and abstruse way
Fortunately for him, he spoke before Lincoln, so he retained much of his audience
Because to hear Lincoln they had to stay 

Lincoln said that day “The world will little note nor long remember what we say here"

But of course about that he was absolutely wrong
And today virtually every one past kindergarten age is familiar with what he said,
And many can remember every word of the speech that was two minutes long 

So if you want people to remember

What you expressed as your thoughts
The primary rules to remember
Are to keep it simple and keep it short

George Foreman

 

Most adults are aware of George Foreman’s fight in Zaire with Mohammed Ali
In the bout Ali won using his rope-a-dope technique
But there are many aspect’s to Foreman’s life
Which make him a person who is truly unique

Foreman had a very successful boxing career
He has been inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame
His overall record was 76 wins and 5 losses, with 68 knockouts
Ring Magazine ranked him as the 9^th greatest puncher ever in the fighting game

But even more remarkable than his many wins
Was the span of time in which he was great
Foreman’s professional debut occurred in 1969, at age 20
And his last fight took place in 1997, at age 48

Thus Foreman’s professional career spanned 28 years
In 1973 he first won the heavyweight title, after his opponent Joe Frazier six times hit the floor
And then became the oldest fighter to ever win the heavyweight crown
When he won it again at age 45 in 1994

After first retiring in1977, he was successful returning 10 years later
He attributed this to eating healthy
This lead to an alliance with the makers of a fat reducing grill
Which ended up making Foreman very wealthy

Foreman served as spokesman for this product, renamed the George Foreman Grill
The Grill was very successful, and he was paid $137 million dollars in 1999 to buy out the use of his name
Together with prior payments, it is estimated he earned about 200 million
Substantially more than the total earned in the boxing game

In his early days Foreman presented a menacing image
But later in life developed a genial, self-deprecating personality, with his snarl replaced by a grin
He explained this transformation by saying that Jimmy Young, with whom he had a tough fight
Had knocked the devil out of him

Along the way Foreman became an ordained minister,
Using some of his wealth to support a youth facility
He also fathered 12 children, 7 girls and 5 sons, all named George
So his money came in handy to support his family

There are two important lessons we can learn from George Foreman’s life
If you keep in shape, and have the determination
You can maintain physical rigor
Far beyond normal expectation

His experience with the George Foreman Grill
Demonstrates that we need not limit ourselves to what we normally do
If we keep alert, and examine all the possibilities
There is always an alternative to pursue

 

The Tenth Mountain Division

What became the 10^th Mountain Division
In July 1943, came into being
They trained in part at Camp Hale in Colorado
Ultimately shipped in 1945 to fight in Italy, experts in both climbing and skiing

The Tenth Mountain initially fought in February 1945
And significantly contributed to several German defeats
The last battle for the Tenth Mountain occurred in late April 1945
And on May 2^nd, 1945 German resistance in Italy ceased

May 8^th marked V-E Day, the end of the war in Europe,
The 10^th Mountain was scheduled to be sent to the Pacific, but that was not their fate
Following two atomic bombings, the Japanese surrendered in August, 1945
And the 10^th Mountain returned to the United States

In 114 days of combat in the fighting in Europe
The 10^th Mountain suffered nearly 1000 deaths and wounds were inflicted on over 4000 members
It’s hard to say in view of such losses, that the 10^th was lucky
But their losses would have greatly increased, but for the timely Japanese surrender

After the war, ex-soldiers from the 10^th
Constituted the modern ski-industry core
They founded Vail, Aspen, Sugar Bush, White face Mountain
And many more

Not only did they found numerous resorts
But frequently employed ex Tenth Division veterans as principal aides
Thus brothers in arms became brothers in business
And this is how their road to prosperity was paved

For using their mountain skills to hasten the end of the European war
The 10^th Mountain vets merit much loud applause
And many showed excellent financial sense
To become millionaires by founding a post war ski resort

Jack Dempsey

Dempsey grew up poor, and left home at sixteen
His early fights were of the bar room variety
Where the purse came from passing the hat
And certainly created no national notoriety

But as his record of bar room victories grew
He became a professional fighter regarded as first rate
He was world champion from 1919 to1926
And one of his fights produced the first million dollar gate

And herein lies a strange paradox
Between the wealth of Dempsey
And the fact he almost bankrupted Shelby, Montana
As a result of his fight there in 1923

In 1923, Shelby was a growing oil town,
Where the population had grown fivefold in recent years, of which the town’s people were quite proud
The best way to bring some excitement thought the Chamber of Commerce
Was to host a Jack Dempsey fight, which they felt would draw a large crowd

Jack Kearns was Dempsey’s manager at that time
He was excellent at negotiating favorable terms
And Shelby guaranteed $300,000 would be paid to Dempsey in three installments before the fight began
Without regard to the actual gate, this commitment was firm

A stadium was constructed for the fight which would seat 40,000 people
However when Kearns said the fight would be cancelled because the third installment had not been made
Many would be attendees cancelled their rail reservations to Shelby
And thus only 7,000 patrons attended the fight who actually paid

At the last minute, Shelby raised the final $100,000 guarantee to Dempsey
And the fight took place on July 4, 1923, with Dempsey the winner
The small paid attendance put the fight’s promoters in a severe financial hole
It was insufficient to pay Dempsey’s purse, let alone the cost of the new arena

After the fight three Shelby banks closed, and another left town
For many citizens of Shelby it caused financial mayhem
There was no Federal Deposit Insurance at the time to protect customers’ accounts,
So many Shelby residents lost their entire savings

In the town of Manassa, Colorado, where he was born, there is a Jack Dempsey Museum
On Main Avenue, in Durango, there is a large representation of one of his fights on a building wall
But I venture to say that in Shelby, Montana you probably won’t findAny municipal tribute to Dempsey at all

Hadacol

I doubt that any here present
Have heard any Hadacol tales
But for a substantial period beginning in the 1940s and fifties
It generated millions in annual sales

Hadacol was a health tonic
Containing 12 ounces of alcohol according to the label description
Sold extensively in the then dry counties of the South
Freely available, as a purchase required no prescription

One of the unusual ingredients
Was a diluted form of an acid, which by and by
Opened the arteries to allow quick absorption of its alcohol content
Thus creating a rapid alcohol high

The Hadacol Company was owned by a man named Leblanc
Who promoted Hadacol very broadly
Turning the jingle “Hadacol Boogie”
Into a popular recording

He created the Hadacol Caravan, featuring many Hollywood stars
Touring shows that played at places where many thousands could be seated
Utilizing ball parks, race tracks,
Wherever else there were large bleachers

In 1950, Leblanc offered a substantial financial incentive
To any parrot owner if he was trained to say “Polly Wants Hadacol”, a very imaginative promotion
Which apparently did not produce the desired parrot
But certainly caused considerable commotion

In a 15 month period ending in March, 1951
Hadacol exceeded 3 Million in sales
Six months later he sold the Hadacol Company for over 8 million
So Leblanc prospered financially, although the Company later failed

In 1952 in an interview with Groucho Marx
In response to Groucho’s question as to how Hadacol helped improve people’s lives
It was good for five and one half million for me last year
LeBlanc frankly replied

So the moral of this story is that
As long as health tonics containing alcohol can legally be sold, goes this odd mentality
The voters will continue to stagger to the polls
And ban its sale as an expression of public morality

The Battle of New Orleans

 

During the War of 1812

The battle that most did matter

Was that fought on January 14, 1815 at New Orleans

With the Americans led by Andrew Jackson, who ultimately caused the British to scatter 

The Americans were outnumbered

And it seemed New Orleans would fall

To a large British fleet

With some 8,000 soldiers and sailors aboard 

But Jackson was an excellent commander

And despite many predictions of his defeat

Managed to overcome his lesser numbers

And in the end the British did retreat 

As a result of his victory

Jackson became a man with much public favor

And he became our President

Some 14 years later 

In 1959 Johnny Horton wrote the lyrics to The Battle of New Orleans

It became a huge success, with the actual facts substantially blurred

A comic approach was substituted

For what actually occurred 

Thus the New Orleans battle seemed to produce great results

An American victory, Jackson becoming President

A song later written which enjoyed great popularity

But the battle took place when the war was over, as a result of the Treaty of Ghent 

The Treaty of Ghent was a peace treaty signed on December 24, 1814

Ending the war between the United States and Britain, with a pen stroke

It was ratified by Parliament on December 30, 1814

And ratified by the U.S. Senate the following February with a unanimous vote 

Thus if Jackson and the British commander knew of these events

The Battle of New Orleans would have been suspended

Confirmation of the Treaty by the Senate appeared certain

But communications in those days was slow, and neither knew the war had ended 

So the moral of this story is really quite simple, before you wage a battle against your foe

Make sure you keep your political leaders in sight

To make sure the war is still in progress

Or you’ll be sustaining casualties in a meaningless fight

Disputes between the Parties

The current Democratic leader of the Senate is Harry Reid

The current Speaker of the House is Republican John Boehner

To expect nasty verbal exchanges between them

Would be a no-brainer

Boehner blames Reid and the Democrats for disasters at Benghazi, and Veteran’s Administration care,

And asserts the Southern Border is really an open door

Reid claims Boehner and the Republicans

Are waging war on women, gays and the poor 

Of course these attacks are not physical in nature

No fisticuffs take place because of differing views of the course best for our nation

The weapons involved are press releases and the human voice

Pitched at a high level of indignation 

If you assume this was always true

You would not have been told

Of what occurred on the Senate Floor

On May 22^nd, 1856, in an attack that was outrageously bold 

The major dispute at the time was whether Kansas should be admitted to the union as slave or free

Senator Charles Sumner strongly favored admission as a free state

Representative Preston Brooks believed expanding slavery was his personal mission

This was the background to the incident that significantly altered both men’s fate 

One day Congressman Brook appeared on the Senate Floor

And with his metal tipped cane repeatedly struck Sumner in the head

And then walked off the floor unobstructed

Probably thinking Sumner was dead 

In any event, Sumner slowly recovered

And resumed his anti-slavery mission

Overnight he and Brooks became heroes

To supporters of their respective position 

The current Republicans and Democrats now utilize

Derogatory verbal comments and snide press releases to justify their view

Both would be horrified at the prospect of being physically attacked by an opponent

Who felt so strongly that he concluded violence was his due

Waterloo and Carrier Pigeons

In 1815 Russia, Prussia, and Austria

Had allied with the British

Hoping at the battle of Waterloo

To finally bring Napoleon to a finish 

The battle had epic political implications

But for the Rothschilds the concern was financial

The result of the battle on a variety of investments

Would be very, very substantial 

In those days roads were rough

There were no transmissions by wires

So often battle results were generally known

Only after some time had expired 

But the Rothschilds figured a way to get battle results fast

A very inventive family indeed

They utilized trained carrier pigeons

Which their agents used to send Waterloo results with great speed 

The Rothschilds already were quite wealthy before 1815

But it is estimated their fortune increased 20 times their pre-war capital

As a result of being the first financiers

To be aware of Napoleon’s defeat at the Waterloo battle 

For several decades, in the Middle East,

The United States has employed drones, satellites and other devices of great sophistication

To try to keep current on threats to our security, unfortunately with limited success

In a frustrating effort to protect our nation 

So maybe we should take note

Of what the Rothschilds did at Waterloo, to protect their interests

And try to keep current on what’s going on

With a corps of military carrier pigeons

 

Counting the Odds

It’s an expression we’ve all heard

“If you can, do, if you can’t, teach”

The clear implication being that if you’re an academic

Entrepreneurial success is likely out of reach 

Contrary to the above, in the 1950’s

A math professor, Edward Thorp, probably the greatest gambling mind in our nation

Already a billionaire hedge fund operator, developed a complicated system of card counting for black jack

Which, if followed, shifted the advantage to the casino patron 

Basically, Thorp’s system was based

On varying the amount bet

After some cards had been played

From the casino deck 

The system was called counting

And for those with the ability to so keep track

Would bet heavily when the composition of the remaining cards

Gave an edge to the player for the rest of the stack 

The casinos, of course, did not quietly accede to this situation

As losses to some black jack players grew in amount

They developed techniques to nullify the advantage

To those who could successfully count 

Instead of one deck in a game

Four were put into play

Also the dealers frequently shuffled the deck

As the game proceeded on its way 

These changes made it exceedingly difficult

For a card counter to continue to gamble and avoid any significant loss

Statutes were enacted to ban this practice

For the tiny number who could still pull it off 

So the lesson here is plain to see

Whatever systems or techniques gamblers employ against the house

The casino will eventually prevail

And on that you can really count

Mayor La Guardia and Dick Tracy

Most would identify La Guardia as a very busy airport

Knowledge of his 12 years as New York’s mayor would probably be a mystery

Except for those with a particular interest

In New York City history 

La Guardia was indeed an extraordinary person

He had learned several languages, including, Croatian, German Italian, and Yiddish

And often campaigned before ethnic groups

In a language with which they were familiar

A 10 year congressman, 12 years as New York’s Mayor

There were certainly many accomplishments along the way

But the most unique event in his public life occurred on July 1, 1945

When he read the comics on the radio on that day 

A little background is necessary here

On June 30, 1945 a strike was started by those who drove newspaper delivery vehicles

Since the comics then appeared only in newspapers

New York’s children seemed destined to face life without the comic serials 

New York City had a radio station, WNYC, which broadcast daily

At which the Mayor on Sunday gave his political views

On July 1, 1945, after completing his discussion of City matters

LaGuardia began reading Dick Tracy from the Sunday Daily News

This required both describing the drawings in the comics

And then voicing the dialogue

Not an easy task for anybody

But La Guardia handled it like a comic God 

He also promised he would read the Sunday comics every Sunday

As long as the strike continued on its way

And that someone from WNYC

Would read the dailies every day 

Having the comics read over WNYC

Avoided for children a potentially unpleasant situation

And grateful parents made LaGuardia

One of the most popular mayors in our nation

Modern day politicians would scoff at reading comics

Preferring their usual contentious speech

Which I think is often as realistic

As Orphan Annie and Little Bo Peep

The Notorious Truman Letter

Whether or not you
You were alive at the time
Most are aware that Harry Truman
Became our President in 1945

As President, Truman made many decisions
Many of vast significance

Dropping the atomic bomb
Fighting North Korean belligerence

But there was one Truman decision
That had virtually no world wide meaning
His 1950 letter to Paul Hume
Who had criticized his daughter Margaret’s opera singing

She cannot sing very well
Wrote music critic Hume

Adding she has not improved over the years
Basically saying, she cannot carry an operatic tune

Truman then wrote to Hume that if they met
Truman would inflict many a blow
Hume would then need  beef for a black eye, a new nose
And perhaps a supporter below

Afterward , Hume sold the letter
For what was then a hefty price
Margaret became a very successful mystery writer
Perhaps interpreting Hume’s criticism, as really good career advice

After completing his 2nd term in 1952
Harry resumed his life as a Missouri resident
Perhaps wondering in an idle moment
What would have happened if he ran into Hume, when he was President

A Really Nasty Election

 Historical note-Before the adoption of the 19^th amendment  in 1920 barring states from disenfranchising women, the vast majority of states banned women from voting

In 2012, so called birthers, claimed Obama couldn’t be President
because he was really a Kenyan man 
Some attacked Romney for animal cruelty
For allegedly tying his dog  to the roof of his van

But primarily the election was fought more traditionally

The Democrats claimed Romney would neglect the poor
The Republicans claimed Obama
Would make it difficult for any entrepreneur

So to put this all in historical perspective
You should really recall
The Presidential election
Of eighteen eighty four

The Democratic candidate was bachelor Cleveland
Who dallied with his Buffalo honey
Who gave birth to a son adopted by Cleveland
Who supported him with generous gifts of money

When in public office the Republican Blaine
From the railroads and others  took bribes
Which he tried to cover-up
With half-truths and obvious lies

So a real moral battle emerged
Cleveland, the honest philanderer
As opposed to Blaine
The bribe taking business panderer

The Republicans yelled
That Cleveland was full of lust
The Democrats responded
That Blaine had violated the public trust

During the campaign the Republicans yelled
“Ma, Ma where’s my Pa?”
When Cleveland won, the Democrats added
“He’s in the White House, Ha, Ha, Ha”

So the lesson from all this
that you should note
Don’t chide a male philanderer
When overwhelmingly only males could vote