D-Day
D-Day was 80 years ago today. There are around 200 American D-Day vets still around today.
My Dad fought in the European Theater during World War II. Italy, France, Germany and Belgium, including the Ardennes Offensive, better known as the Battle of the Bulge. I asked my Dad where he was stationed on D-Day, and he said his unit had just arrived in southern Italy. Then they headed to France. He was a paratrooper with the 460th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion and handled a 50-caliber heavy machine gun. His unit dropped into France in August of 1944 and the rest is history.
The featured photo is my Dad’s U.S. Army Separation Qualification Record form. Cool.
On a related note, there were a number of Major League Baseball players who served their country during WWII, including Hall of Fame greats Yogi Berra, Bob Feller, Hank Greenberg, Jackie Robinson, Warren Spahn, and Ted Williams.
Yogi Berra fought at Normandy on D-Day and Warren Spahn fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
WWII vets are the best.
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Commentary has said it before. I credit my parents, in particular, my Dad, with our family’s activism and involvement. I would put our family’s record of voting participation against any other family in the USA. We all vote. ALL VOTE.
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June 6 is also the birthday of one of my favorite TV personalities. Commentary is talking about Emmy Award winning journalist Natalie Morales, formerly of Today, who is now a co-host of The Talk. Happy Birthday, Natalie!
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This just in from the Trib:
A team of Democratic strategists unveiled a new group Thursday that aims to turn Texas blue by building up the party’s campaign infrastructure over multiple elections — offering a more practical outlet, in the eyes of the group’s architect, for liberal donors who have spent recent cycles showering cash on losing candidates.
The new outfit, a political action committee dubbed the Agave Democratic Infrastructure Fund, will focus on training campaign staff, recruiting down-ballot candidates and gauging public opinion to help Texas Democrats sharpen their message. The goal is to build a “long-term ecosystem of support, resources, and talent” that “won’t dissolve into thin air after Election Day,” said PAC founder Luke Warford.
“We’ve seen clearly that demographics are not destiny in Texas; that we need to do more to make Texas Democrats sustainably competitive and move past the boom-and-bust cycle of excitement and momentum that centers around specific candidates,” Warford, the Texas Democratic Party’s former chief strategy officer, said in a statement.
The PAC’s launch coincides with the start of the three-day Texas Democratic Convention in downtown El Paso, where delegates are convening to fine tune the party platform, elect the party’s governing executive committee and rally behind a slate of November candidates led by U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, the Dallas Democrat challenging GOP U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.
Here is the entire read: New Democratic group playing long game to turn Texas blue | The Texas Tribune.
Honestly, we have heard this story before. I am talking about a PAC setting up shop and hoping to turn Texas blue. I would have preferred news hearing that a new PAC was going to replace the current structure of the Texas Democratic Party. I will give this new outfit a chance to show me the money.
Commentary can get on a high horse on this because I am probably one of the few folks still around and active who has actually help run a winning statewide Democratic campaign in Texas.
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The Astros lost yesterday. We are off today and play the Angels this weekend in Anaheim.
