Hiroshima 71 Years Later
At 8:15 am, August 6, 1945, Hiroshima got nuked. It was the start of a new era. Since Japan is 13 hours ahead of Georgia, and standard time was used, the literal anniversary is 8:15 pm, August 5.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi was working in Hiroshima when the bomb hit. He survived, and found a train to take hime to his home town, Nagasaki.
The device dropped on Hiroshima, the Little Boy, had an estimated force of 13 kilotons of Trinitrotoluene, or TNT. A kiloton of TNT is roughly a cube whose sides are ten meters. This device is fairly tiny compared to many of the warheads developed since. Many of the modern appliances are measured in megatons, or millions of tons of TNT. The Soviet Union had a bomb with a capacity of 50 megatons, or 4,000 times the size of the Little Boy.
The largest weapon tested by The United States is the Castle Bravo. This device destroyed Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. The two piece swimsuit was named for this island. The Castle Bravo device had a yield of 15 megatons of TNT. This is roughly 1,000 times the power of the Little Boy.
The decision to drop the bomb has long been controversial. There are a lot of factors and gray areas, and the issue does not lend itself to sound bite solutions. The conventional wisdom is that Japan surrendered because of the nuclear attack. This meant the war was shortened by at least a year, there was no invasion of Japan, and many lives were saved. PG is scared by the moral calculus involved in a decision like this….do 100,000 civilian deaths prevent the deaths of 500,000 soldiers? PG suspects that even G-d herself would lose sleep over that one.
There is also evidence that the bomb was not needed. Japan was whipped in August 1945. The air raids were conducted in daylight with little resistance. A debate was going on in the Japanese government on whether to continue the fight.
An event happened the day between Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, which influenced the Japanese decision to surrender. The Soviet Union had agreed to help the United States with the war against Japan. On August 8, The Soviet Union invaded Japanese occupied Manchuria. There are indications that Japan knew the fight was hopeless at this point, and would rather surrender to The United States than The Soviet Union. This is one of the gray areas that never seems to be mentioned.
The United States wanted the war to end quickly for obvious reasons, and a few subtle ones. America did not want to share the spoils of Japanese war with The Soviet Union. There were already tensions between the two allies, and the cold war was not far off. Many felt The United States used the Little Boy as a warning to The Soviet Union.
When you get your moral software out, you might want to figure in the effect of opening the nuclear Pandora’s box. Would the nuclear bomb have been developed by other countries if America had not led the way? The science is not that complicated…after all, America hit paydirt with the Manhattan Project fairly quickly. Nonetheless, there is karma involved in using a terrible new device on a civilian population. The United States started the wind of the arms race, and has yet to feel the whirlwind.
This is a repost. The pictures are from The Library of Congress. Ansel Adams took pictures of Japanese Americans, in a World War Two internment camp. The ladies in the bridge game are Aiko Hamaguchi, Chiye Yamanaki, Catherine Yamaguchi, and Kazoko Nagahama.
#NPS2016 Semi Finals
When PG left the Decatur Library auditorium wednesday, he thought he was through with the National Poetry Slam. Too much anger. Too much shouting. Going home with a headache is not pleasant. Your right to be angry does not include my obligation to listen.
An email thursday changed that. “Hello All, We also have ten to twelve shifts to fill for Friday that are up for grabs! Please shout out if you can be one of those people :)” Maybe Wednesday afternoon was a fluke, and things would be better with another try. PG replied to the email. The next assignment was a semi-final bout on Friday night. The venue was a chapel at Agnes Scott College. This is the beautiful women’s college just south of downtown Decatur.
The event began like most volunteer NPS gigs. You show up on time, and wait for something to do. The email said something about keeping food out of the auditorium. PG wound up standing at the front door, welcoming people with badges and tickets, and directing those needing tickets to the sales lady. It was the loosest door PG has ever seen. It was basically honor system, and seemed to work pretty well. The chapel was about two thirds full.
The plan was for a few teams, who won the first round, were competing for the finals. People… either solo, in pairs, or in teams… performed the work. The pieces were memorized, not read. Judges gave a score. Somebody was keeping track of the points. At the end, a winner was announced.
When the subject matter got too heavy, PG would step back into the lobby, or go outside. It was not an endurance contest. Most of the first few performers talked about black anger. This is a constant topic at NPS, and the rest of America. PG is sympathetic up to a point. This is a sensitive issue. If listening to all this anger would produce good results, PG would cheerfully do so. Instead, PG just tries to remember that he is one of G-d’s children. These things too shall pass away.
The other hot subject was rape. The winner of the haiku tournament was a lady from Austin TX, Gloria B. She performed a piece about rape. There was a lot of fast, loud, angry talking. PG missed some of the qualifying details. What he did hear was at the end. This is not a verbatim quote. “Men, if you want to know what rape culture is, it is you.” While Gloria B might not have meant that…. that men were rape culture … that is the message the PG heard. When people are shouting, subtleties and nuance go out the window. What comes through is the message… YOU ARE RAPE CULTURE.
Gloria B, and a partner, had a piece later in the show. The two women shouted, both standing up and crouched over. The piece could be summed up by a haiku Gloria B did wednesday… again, this is not a verbatim quote… call me bitch and that gives me permission to show you what one is. The piece was extremely well received by the audience. As for confusing Gloria B with a lady dog ….
There were several rounds of competition. One man did a delicious piece about bacon. A team from Charlotte did a piece where a black man told a poem, and a white man danced. The black Charlotte man later performed a piece, that referenced some of the other performers. The piece acknowledged the anger that drives many of the poets, but also saw a need to move past this into something for the greater good. (This is way one volunteer usher heard it.) PG thought this was the best piece of the night.
The winners were announced. Neo Soul, from Austin TX, goes to the finals. This is Gloria B’s team. PG hung around the chapel for a while, until the late show crew took over. PG had a headache when he left. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. While looking for these pictures, PG found his annual post about Hiroshima. The first atomic bomb was dropped on Japanese civilians seventy one years ago today.
Trump or Jesus?
There is a facebook thingie this morning, Trump or Jesus? When creating the document for this feature, windows decided not to *save* the document with the T 0r J title. That is an omen.
The idea is simple. You get a quote, in contemporary english. You choose whether it was said by Jesus, or Trump. Jesus is in a blue box, while Trump is red. White letters are used for both choices. Those who think Christ is the last name will be confused.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5.
“My IQ is one of the highest… Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure; it’s not your fault.” source
“You know, it really doesn’t matter what the media write as long as you’ve got a young, and beautiful, piece of ass.” source
“Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34.
“If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” Matthew 5:39
“If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously, okay?” source
“If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” Matthew 19:20
“The point is that you can’t be too greedy.” source
“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” John 13:34
“The other thing with the terrorists is you have to take out their families, when you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families.” source
This is not a tough test. It is even easier here, with Bible verses for one, and links for another. Jesus did not tweet. The media, IQ, and Terrorist are modern phrases. (There is evidence that the phrase terrorist was coined by the Jewish rebels fighting to create the state of Israel. Ben Hecht wrote a fund raising ad, Letter to the Terrorists of Palestine. It “appeared on page 42 of the May 14, 1947 edition of the New York Post.”)
We do not know what translation was used in this test. Jesus spoke Aramaic, which was recorded in Greek, and endlessly translated. There are stories of editing by the Catholic church. Many scholars question the validity of some Gospels, especially John. While Jesus may have said something like these verses, they are not verbatim quotes.
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Conservative Liberal Racist
The management of this blog is not responsible for brain damage incurred while reading this post. If you cant take the heat, get out of the kitchen. Those threatened by this discussion, or not interested, are encouraged to skip over the text, and look at the pictures. These images, of Union Soldiers of the War Between the States, are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost.
There is a meme, with the text a conservative is a liberal who has been labeled a racist. A few comments followed publication. Someone was paying attention. Uhm…WTF?! ~ its a long story ~ All three labels are useless and misleading. I try not to let the labels of others describe me, but sometimes it happens. It is a bit of poetic license.
The words liberal and conservative are useless. When he started to make the comment, PG intended to refer to those two expressions. Then he started to type.The realization hit … the word racist was just as obsolete as liberal and conservative, and probably misused more often.
The next day at work, PG began to think. If you saw a mushroom cloud rising over Jimmy Carter Boulevard, that is what you saw. Random thoughts began to emerge.
A- The popularity of con, lib, and rac, derive from America’s blind allegiance to the belief paradigm The general thought is that what you believe is more important than what you do. The dominant religion in America is Jesus Worship, which is based on beliefs rather than practices. While America is not officially a Christian country, their thought processes dominate the way things work here.
B- The belief paradigm filters down to the popularity of silly labels.We have people who claim to be small government conservatives, and who support sending 200k troops to a war eight time zone away. You can treat your black neighbors with kindness and grace, but if you say the wrong things on facebook you are considered a racist. It is a funny system.
C- Conservatives use liberal as an insult. Liberals use racist as an insult.
D- No one is certain what the words conservative, liberal, and racist mean. You should beware of anyone who claims to be certain of what these labels represent.
National Poetry Slam
PG thought he could help out by volunteering for the National Poetry Slam. The 2016 edition is in Decatur GA, just a few dozen red lights down Clairmont Road. Three shifts were involved. They ranged from boring, to enjoyable, to busy/enjoyable, to excruciating.
The first day was registration. There was nothing to do, except sit behind a table, hand t-shirts to people, and point out the “money lady.” Eventually, there were a couple of chats to listen in on, and an urban explorer to compare notes with. Later was volunteer orientation, which was about as interesting as you might expect.
For some reason, PG volunteered to take on another shift. It was for a “Daytime Performing Venue.” PG went to the library, then to the hotel. He saw a schedule. The event was “Rookie Showcase,” held at the dependable Java Monkey.
The poets performed in an open mic format. It was the usual OM assortment, perhaps a touch better than Java Monkey Speaks. One lady talked about the joys (?) of motherhood. A couple of men talked about dealing with G-d. All PG had to do was be there, set up chairs, and pick up chairs when the event was over. It was a pleasant enough way to spend the morning.
The third day was general support at Afternoon events. At one o’clock, the event was “Head 2 Head Haiku.” People were paired off, the green performer and the blue performer. They read a haiku, and the judges held up a green, or blue glow stick, to indicate the winner. Whoever won that round moved into the next round, against another winner. It goes on until one person wins.
The host put PG to work. Working from a list of names, PG copied the names on slips of paper, to be drawn out of a hat. Next, the names were written on postit notes, to be stuck on the wall. After a round, the winner’s postit goes to the next round, and the loser goes on the table.
After a brief intermission, the second event was “Black Poets Speak Out.” A series of poets stood on the stage, and shouted. They were concerned about people being killed, mostly by policemen. After the third performer shouted that “we are in a post racial america, with a black overseer,” PG decided not to endure the toxic rhetoric.
Wednesday morning, four miles south of the Decatur library, 15 year old Keaira Palmer went to the S&N Superette on Glenwood Road. “She was just supposed to be going to the store to get a Sprite, a bag of hot chips and a Slim Jim.” Someone else drove by the store, and started shooting. None of the black poets spoke out about this incident. At least, not before PG left.
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
The End Of Racism
One of the touted TED talks in the weekly email is Color blind or color brave? It is by Mellody Hobson, a POC in the investment business. It is the standard call to talk more about race. Talk, talk, talk, and talk some more. The word listen is not used.
At the 3:13 mark, Mrs. Hobson makes a remarkable statement. “Now I know there are people out there who will say that the election of Barack Obama meant that it was the end of racial discrimination for all eternity, right?” It is possible that someone has said that. There are also people who say the earth is flat.
PG asked Mr. Google about this. The top two results are about the TED talk. The third result is an article in Forbes magazine, Racism In America Is Over. It is written by John McWhorter, one of the “black guys at Bloggingheads.tv.” Dr. McWhorter does say racism is over, sort of. The problems that remain are a lot worse. Too much food for thought, for a population with intellectual bulimia.
There is a quote in the Forbes article that is pure gold. “When decrying racism opens no door and teaches no skill, it becomes a schoolroom tattletale affair. It is unworthy of all of us: “He’s just a racist” intoned like “nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah!””
There are a lot more results. PG is getting tired of looking. If you want to see for yourself, google “the election of Barack Obama meant that it was the end of racial discrimination for all eternity.” Except for a rogue title editor at Forbes, almost nobody has said that. This is a repost. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Mystics And Statistics
In a recent survey, 78.7% percent of the respondents agree with the statement “Statistics can be trusted to give an accurate description of the facts”.
Statistics are a part of modern life. Numbers tell us who is expected to win, who is expected to lose, and how many men wear a tie. Statistics are often misleading, or an outright lie. And yet, people believe statistics. (The middle three letters of believe are lie).
Talk about statistics is little better. Mark Twain gets the credit/blame for popularizing the phrase, “lies, damn lies, and statistics”. According to Wikipedia , Mr. Clemens may have been mistaken. “Twain popularized the saying in “Chapters from My Autobiography”, published in the North American Review in 1906. “Figures often beguile me,” he wrote, “particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force: ‘There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.'”…”The term was popularized in the United States by Mark Twain (among others), who attributed it to the 19th Century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881): “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” However, the phrase is not found in any of Disraeli’s works and the earliest known appearances were years after his death.”
Mr. Twain was in the twilight of his career, and angry at aggressive militarism. Why would he would give credit/blame for a phrase to a conservative Prime Minister of England, dead twenty five years?
When PG took English101, the teacher was an inspiring lady named Ann Peets. Between stories of Faulkner and comma splices, she contributed this gem. ” The best way to win an argument is to use statistics. The best way to use statistics is to make them up. ”
In 1954, a bestselling book came out, “How to Lie with Statistics .” The premise was that the pros knew the tricks, and the public has a right to self defense. There are numerous examples of the ways that you can lie with numbers just like you lie with words. Calculator lips don’t move.
One word to watch out for is average . The three most popular types are mean, median, and mode. Mean is the one most people think of as average…you add all the figures up, and divide by the number of entries. In median, you line up the entries in numeric value, and choose the entry in the middle. In mode, the number that the most entries identify with is the average. Any one of these three can be called average, and yet none might describe the typical entry.
HT to Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub for attributing the LDL&S quote to Mr. Disraeli. MFB was talking about global warming denial, a cesspool of lies and statistics. Pictures are from The Library of Congress. These pictures were taken by Ansel Adams at a relocation camp for Japanese Americans during World War II. Pictures of Mark Twain were recently posted. This is a repost.
Wawa on Walnut Street
OPRAH: other people’s racial attitudes hello ~ @HLMenckenBot God’s worst failure came when He sent His Son to rescue man from sin. It’s hard to imagine any scheme falling further from success. ~ November 9 cannot get here soon enough ~ Monica Lewinski taught him how to inhale ~ I have a problem with the custom of “unfriending” people because of a difference in opinions. ~ @ChArmistead Most authentic Philly moment of the #DNC2016, Apparently Sean Hannity showed up at the Wawa on Walnut Street, and was booed out of the store @ChArmistead Heard this on morning show this AM. Caller sounded legit, but you never know I guess. ~ Someone bought 10 chicken mcnuggets at the McDonalds at 4010 Peachtree Road. It was paid for with amex…1005. The consumer threw the empty mcnugget package, two opened containers of bbq sauce, and a few napkins away on Caldwell Road. ~ the difference between the catholic and protestant version of the lord’s prayer ~ Warren Harding drank, gambled and womanized. Maybe you can be a Warren Harding Republican. ~ If you ever do find it let me know ~ Thank you for this. I am connected to a *radical* community. I have known people who appear to be cis-males, but say they “identify as trans.” I find this to be puzzling. There is a lot of information about this that should be made more available. One problem I have is that some of these IAT (identify as trans) people are assholes.I am only marginally interested in their genitalia. I TOTALLY am not attracted to this person. However, this person says they IAT, without a word of explanation. Asking them what they mean by this is seen as rude, or trans phobic. This attitude seems more than a little bit arrogant. I suspect that transitioning is a process. Ben seems to be at a certain stage. It would be interesting to do a follow up interview in a few years, and see how Ben is progressing. You did not ask Ben what the preferred pronouns are. This is a basic cis-relating-to-genderqueer step. Fortunately, Ben has a short name, and so the use of pronouns is less appealing. G-d forbid you should use the wrong pronoun. If you ever have a run in with the pronoun police, you will nor forget it. ~ @docrocktex26 Wife. Mother. Daughter. Sister. Friend. Doctor. Christian. Longhorn. Liberal. Democrat. Activist. Scorpio. Recycler. Politics Junkie. Proverbial Firestarter. ~ this may be the best endorsment yet @natsecHeather worked for #HillaryClinton & says she is not an asshole ~ Apparently, the al-gore-rhythms agree. This is the “top story” 34 hours later. ~ #FakeIceCreamKnowledge ~ Sean Archilles ~ Stef’An Strawder ~ Man shot, killed in argument outside gas station ~ Bryce McCallum ~ Journey Jones ~ Gloria Starr-Armour ~ Antonio Gray ~ Robert Troy Phillips, Heather Phillips ~ Girl, 14, shot at party in DeKalb County; ~ Police: Homeowner shoots, kills break-in suspect ~ Man found shot to death behind daycare. ~ The False Promise of a ‘Conversation’ About Race ~ White fragility is real: 4 questions white people should ask themselves during discussions about race ~ Have a Problem With Black-Only Spaces? Get Over It ~ György Ligeti (1923-2006) ~ Hannity Smacks Down ‘Total Lie’ That He Was Booed at a Wawa ~ Someone bought 10 chicken mcnuggets at the McDonalds at 4010 Peachtree Road. It was paid for with amex…1005. The consumer threw the empty mcnugget package, two opened containers of bbq sauce, and a few napkins away on Caldwell Road. ~ Were any termites offended by the remarks? ~ Marilyn Mosby speaks out on Freddie Gray case decision ~ Trial of Van Driver in Freddie Gray Case Reveals Prosecutor Violations ~ 7 Actual Facts That Prove White Privilege Exists in America ~ Black Lives Matter Just Delivered Their 10 Point Manifesto, and This Is What They Want ~ Bryce McCallum ,Journey Jones, Gloria Starr-Armour ,Antonio Gray, These are four POC shot to death in the Atlanta area this week #saythenames Did #blackbrunchatl remember these four lives? ~ pictures from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. ~ selah
Citizen On Citizen Crime
There is a lot of angry talk about police killing citizens. Freeways are being blocked, protesters are marching, and facebook is full of memes. People just don’t have the same passion when citizens kill other citizens. Pictures for this feature are from The Library of Congress.
What follows is a list of citizen on citizen shooting. These links were taken from WSB TV. This is one week, in one metro area. For the purposes of this report, the race of the participants will not be discussed. If you want to know what color the people are, you can click on the link.
Man shot, killed in argument outside gas station Two men were dating the same woman. After the incident. the shooter asked bystanders to call the police. Gwinnett County.
Bryce McCallum was shot to death by his stepfather. Cherokee County
Journey Jones was killed at a Stone Mountain apartment complex. Police say the shooting may be drug related. A friend of the victim says it may be gang related.
Gloria Starr-Armour was caught in crossfire, while waiting to get in her Hapeville apartment complex.
Antonio Gray was shot dead in Union City. “… interviewing witnesses to sort out what happened.”
Robert Troy Phillips and Heather Phillips were found shot to death in their Hall County home. Mr. Phillips was “a former Hall County commission candidate.”
Girl, 14, shot at party in DeKalb County; Somebody was asked to leave a party for middle school kids. Later, someone arrived at the house, and started shooting. The young lady is going to recover.
Police: Homeowner shoots, kills break-in suspect Gwinnett County
Man found shot to death behind daycare. Cobb County
Babe, Hank, Barry, And Joe
Barry Bonds was about to break the lifetime record for home runs. Folks said the record was tainted because of steroid use, and because Mr. Bonds was not a nice man. There were calls for an asterisk in the record book. This was odd to PG, who was in Georgia when Hank Aaron broke the home run record in 1974. Back then, the line was that Babe Ruth had fewer at bats than Mr. Aaron. A lot of hateful things were said about Mr. Aaron before home run 714.
PG decided to take a look at the metrics. This post is the result. As a bonus to the reader(s), Joe Torre and Hank Aaron gets a summer rerun. It is based on a column by Furman Bisher, who went to the press box in the sky March 18, 2012. Pictures are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost.
There is a certain controversy these days about the eminent breaking of the lifetime home run record. Currently held by Hank Aaron, the record is threatened by Barry Bonds. Before Mr. Aaron held the title, Babe Ruth was the owner.
Controversy about the lifetime home run record is nothing new. In 1974, when Hank Aaron was about to break the record, the admirers of Babe Ruth said that Mr. Ruth had fewer at bats than Mr. Aaron did. Many attributed this criticism to racism, with a black man besting a white man’s record. The current controversy is two fold. There are allegations that Mr. Bonds took steroids to make him stronger, and that he “cheated”. There are also concerns about the personality of Mr. Bonds.
PG does not think steroid use is a big deal. Ballplayers are abusing their bodies to perform, and if they take the risk of using steroids, that is their business. Many people disagree.
A good question to ask is, would Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron have used steroids if they had the chance? Mr. Ruth was a wildman, who drank during prohibition, and was known for undisciplined behavior. Mr. Aaron played in an era where steroid use was not as common as it is today. The answer to the first question is (Mr. Ruth) probably and (Mr. Aaron) who knows.
While you are keeping hypocrisy statistics, Mr. Aaron and Mr. Bonds played on television, where beer commercials were constant. While alcohol is legal, it is a very damaging drug. Any ballplayer who plays on television promotes its use. This is both steroid users, and non users.
As for personalities, there is the widely circulated story about the college team that Mr. Bonds played on voting 22-3 to kick him off the team. At the very least, he does not charm sportswriters.
In 1917, Babe Ruth was suspended for hitting an umpire. He was known for his outlandish behavior throughout his career. It should also be noted that he played in an era when the press did not scrutinize the behavior of players. How would today’s media treat Babe Ruth?
PG once heard a radio show caller say that Hank Aaron was a mean racist, who would just as soon cut your throat as look at you. He had never heard this said out loud before, but had heard hints about Mr. Aaron’s personality over the years. People who achieve great things are not always friendly.
Mr. Aaron is the only one of the three that PG met, however briefly. In July of 1965, the Milwaukee Braves came to Atlanta to play an exhibition game in Atlanta Stadium. After the game, PG was allowed to wait outside the clubhouse, to get autographs from the players as they left. Joe Torre saw the crowd, hid behind a truck, and made a quick getaway. Hank Aaron came out, patiently signing every autograph, while smoking a cigarette.
The fact is, all three men played in different eras. Babe Ruth never played at night, never flew to California, and only played against white players…many of the most talented players of his era were in the Negro League. Hank Aaron played before free agency, interleague play, the DH, and widespread use of steroids. The only way to determine who is the home run champion is to count how many homers are hit, and award the prize to the man who hits the most.
Which of the three made the most money? Barry Bonds, by a wide margin. He played in the free agent era. Babe Ruth had the best line about his salary. In 1930 Ruth was asked by a reporter what he thought of his yearly salary of $80,000 being more than President Hoover’s $75,000. He replied “yea, but I had a better year than he did.”
Who played on the most teams to win a World Series? Babe Ruth 7, Hank Aaron 1, Barry Bonds 0.
The career of Babe Ruth was a long time ago. He made a greater impact on America that the other two combined. He was one of the first sports superstars, as America emerged from the carnage of World War One. Mr. Ruth broke the single season home run record, he hit 29 homers. The next year, he hit 54. There is a possibility of a livelier baseball.
Babe Ruth captured the imagination of America like few personalities ever have. Playing in New York (which dominated the press) did not hurt. He was a man of his times…it is unlikely than anyone could have that kind of impact on today’s superstar saturated America. While his record has been broken, his place in the history of baseball is the same.
UPDATE: As of July, 2016, the lifetime home run leaders were: Barry Bonds, 762, Hank Aaron, 755, Babe Ruth, 714, Alex Rodriguez, 696. Mr. Rodriguez is said to have used steroids.
Furman Bisher has a piece at the fishwrapper site about Joe Torre. (The link no longer works.) The punch line is that Mr. Torre “grew up” when the Braves traded him to St. Louis. PG was a kid when this was going on, and did not hear a lot of what went on.
In 1965, the Braves played a lame duck year in Milwaukee before moving to Atlanta. One night, there was an exhibition game at Atlanta Stadium, the Braves against the Yankees. PG got his oh so patient dad to take him to the clubhouse after the game, to get autographs. In those days, you could go into the bowels of the stadium and wait outside the locker room. Hank Aaron signed dozens of autographs while smoking a cigarette. Joe Torre came out, hid behind a truck, and took off running.
Mr. Torre was a raccoon eyed catcher for the Braves. In the first regular season game in 1966, he hit two home runs, in a thirteen inning loss. Soon, the novelty of big league baseball in a toilet shaped stadium wore off. Mr. Torre got at least one DUI, and a reputation as a barroom brawler. He was traded to St. Louis in 1968. Mr. Torre hit .373, and won the national league MVP in 1971.
The comments to the feature by Furman Bisher were interesting. Cecil 34 contributes “The reason that Torre was traded is because on the team’s charter flight back to Atlanta back in 68, a drunken Torre got into a fistfight with Aaron. Aaron popped off to Torre, and thus the fight was on, broken up by the other players. Since Aaron was the face of the franchise at the time, Torre was traded. There had been bad blood between them for years before this incident anyway. Reasons vary. But the final nail in the coffin was this fistfight. I was told Torre could pack a punch and Aaron came out on the worse end of it.”
There has been whispering for years about Hank Aaron and his attitude. Furman Bisher made hints once or twice, but there was never anything of substance. It seems that Mr. Aaron does not lack for self confidence. Mr. Aaron was the subject of much racially based abuse while chasing the home run record in 1973, and some anger is justified.
Hank Aaron was known to not get along with Rico Carty. Mr. Carty is a dark skinned man from the Dominican Republic, who was popular with fans. Mr. Carty was eventually traded. Rico Carty had a barbecue restaurant on Peachtree Road in Chamblee, next door to the Park and Shop.
Joe Torre was the manager of the Braves in the early eighties. The team won a divisional title in 1982, but lost the NLCS. This was after Ted Turner bought the team. Mr. Turner fired Mr. Torre in 1984.
Getting back to the comment thread, Misterwax contributes “Turner cut Joe Torre loose because Ted was in love with Henry Aaron and Aaron thought Joe Torre was a white supremacist….A hangover from the clubhouse days when they were teammates…still does today. And THAT is the only reason he was cut…because Hank Aaron said so.”
Hank Aaron was recently quoted on Barry Bonds and Steroids. Joe Torre retired as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2010. He won four World Series as manager of the New York Yankees. Furman Bisher outlived Bear Bryant by 26 years, passing away March 18, 2012. Selah.
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