The View from Right Field

The Great January 6 “What-If”

The House of Representatives’ January 6 Committee¹ has issued its report.  I’m not going to go into its conclusions.  What Donald Trump did on January 6, and what he did not do that he should have done,  was appalling, but then I knew that on January 6.  As I have said before,² the only question after January 6 was: what was the best way to make sure then-President, now former President, Trump went away and never came back again.  But that is not the question for this post. 

Rather, the “what-if” question for this post is this: What if the Capitol had had better security on January 6?  What if there had been enough police officers, and national guard personnel, etc., so that the protestors, aka rioters (aka insurrectionists or whatever you want to call them), had not been able to break into the U.S. Capitol building that day?  In one way, things would have been the same.  Then-President Trump would have still tried to convince Mike Pence to put off the counting of the electoral votes (or whatever other cockamamie scheme then-President Trump was pushing).  Some idiot Republicans would have objected to the counting of the electoral votes.³  And Vice President Pence would have told them all to, in effect, “pound sand.” 

Another Favorite Christmas Memory: Bob Hope Entertaining the Troops

Following up on last week’s post about our family Christmas in Berlin in 2010, I wanted to list one of my favorite non-family Christmas memories.  And it’s appropriate to mention it this year because this is the 50th anniversary of what was just about the last Bob Hope Christmas tour to entertain the troops. Bob started entertaining the troops during World War II (actually, before)  His last tour was in 1990, to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain for the Gulf War.  But the ones I remember most were the shows during Vietnam.  He would go at Christmas time and then the Bob Hope Christmas Special would be on TV in January.  It was a “must watch” for me. 

I think the one I remember the most was 1972, his ninth, and last, trip to Vietnam.  Back in the 2000s (i.e., the decade, not century or millennium), I bought a set of DVDs, “Salute to the Troops: Bob Hope: The Vietnam Years,” which included Bob Hope’s monologues from all of his trips to Vietnam, from 1964 through 1972.  It’s great.  I also tape recorded (audio, obviously) a part of his 1972 Christmas Special (which aired in January 1973).  I listen to it every year as I put the lights on our Christmas tree.  It’s one of my personal Christmas traditions.

What Christmas Is All About

My annual Christmas Eve post:

Charlie Brown: "Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"

Linus: "Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.  Lights, please?

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them.  And they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you.  Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men.’

"That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

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PS: As I have said before, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is also to be treasured because it is one of the too few places today where you can hear the story of our Savior's birth in the words of the King James Version, which have a magnificence of language that is timeless.

A Christmas to Remember: Berlin, 2010

I recently listened to a podcast that asked the participants for one of their best Christmas memories, which got me thinking.  I have a lot wonderful Christmas memories.  For many years, it was mostly the five of us, my mother, Jennie, Ross, Susan, and me, and they were great.  Then, after my mother passed away, the four of us did some traveling over Christmas: Guadeloupe, Peru, and maybe the best: Berlin in 2010.

We went to Germany in December, 2010, to see the Christmas markets – and Germany in the snow.  And there was a lot of snow in 2010.  We decided to stay until December 26, so we could celebrate Christmas in Berlin. 

On Christmas Eve, we ended our sightseeing early and went back to the hotel for our own Christmas celebration.  Susan bought gifts for everybody at KaDeWe.  I bought what I call “Kindereier” at Kaiser’s, a food store¹ (and brought baseball cards with me – because you always give baseball cards for Christmas).

Being a Happy Person At Christmas – From “GeneracionY”

In this holiday season, it is perhaps useful to read about how other people approach the season.  These are excerpts from a post by Yoani Sanchez at the GeneracionY blog.  You can read the whole thing here.  Follow Ms. Sanchez and this blog,  You will learn a lot – and realize how much we have to be thankful for:

“Those December days are approaching when we all take stock, set new goals and forecast what is going to happen. The year 2023 arrives on an Island plunged into a deep crisis, with an uncertain outlook. In the absence of certainties, I want to venture on this list (very particular, subjective and absolutely determined by my circumstances) my personal and national toeholds, what I think will happen next year:

“The Road Less Traveled” by Philip Zelikow: A Great History with Mindboggling What-Ifs

Here is a gift for almost anybody on your Christmas list: The Road Less Traveled: The Secret Battle to End the Great War, 1916-17, by Philip Zelikow.^1,2  This is a fascinating book on several levels.  First, it is a great history of the efforts and discussions among the Germans, British, French, and Americans on the Great War and how it might be ended in 1916 or early 1917.  As you read Professor Zelikow’s account, you see an end to the war just beyond the reach of the parties.  Each party wants the war to end, but they can never seem to get there at the same time.  Even knowing that the efforts will fail, the book grips the reader and pulls them along.

Second, the book is, in a way, a story of alternate history.  As we see the possibility of an end to the Great War in 1916 or early 1917, we can’t help but think: Would such a peace have been so bitter for Germany as the Treaty of Versailles?  If the war had ended before the Tsar was overthrown, what would have happened in Russia: might the Tsar might have stayed in power; might Kerensky have succeeded?  Perhaps most importantly, the likelihood of a successful Bolshevik revolution would have been small.  The idea of a world with neither Hitler nor Stalin is amazing.  And there are all those people who would not have died.

Are Investors Being “Un-American” for Not Drilling More?

An article in the Financial Times last Monday quoted Anne Hochstein, President Biden’s international energy envoy, as saying:

“I think that the idea that financiers would tell companies in the United States not to increase production and to buy back shares and to increase dividends when profits are at all-time highs is outrageous.  It is not only un-American, it is so unfair to the American public.

You want to pay dividends, pay dividends.  You want to pay shareholders, pay shareholders.  You want to get bonuses, do that, too.  You could do all that and still invest more.  We are asking you to increase production and seize the moment. …

Yes, You Can Buy a Championship in Baseball. The @Cubs Did It in 2016.

In writing about the Winter Meetings, Paul Sullivan reminds us that Tom Ricketts said, back in September, “The fact is you can’t buy a championship in baseball.”  Well, yes – and no.  You can’t buy a whole team, but you can buy missing parts, maybe even a lot of them.  Because that’s how the Cubs won the World Series in 2016.  They signed Jon Lester for $155 million (five years), Jason Heyward for $185 million (eight years), Ben Zobrist for $56 million (four years), and John Lackey for $32 million (two years). 

So, yes, you can buy a championship in baseball.  Once you have a good base, you can buy a championship by signing free agents to fill in the missing parts.  To the extent the Cubs are not doing this now, it means that Cubs management and ownership do not think the Cubs have a good enough base to do it.