The Beatles were never known for having wild concerts. (Other than their fans, that is.)
Today in 1960, the Beatles played their first of 48 appearances at the Indra Club in Hamburg, West Germany. The Indra Club’s owner asked the Beatles to put on a “mach shau.” The Beatles responded by reportedly screaming, shouting, leaping around the stage, and playing lying on the floor of the club. John Lennon reportedly made a stage appearance wearing only his underwear, and also wore a toilet seat around his neck on stage. As they say, Sei vorsichtig mit deinen Wünschen.
Four years later, the council of Glasgow, Scotland, required that men who had Beatles haircuts would have to wear swimming caps in city pools, because men’s hair was clogging the pool filters.
Today in 1968, the Doors had their only number one album, “Waiting for the Sun”:
Today in 1962, the Beatles replaced drummer Pete Best with Ringo Starr. Despite those who claim Starr is the worst Beatle musically, the change worked out reasonably well for the group.
We begin with an interesting non-musical anniversary: Today in 1945, Major League Baseball sold the advertising rights for the World Series to Gillette for $150,000. Gillette for years afterward got to decide who the announcers for the World Series (typically one per World Series team in the days before color commentators) would be on first radio and then TV.
Sports Illustrated asked a number of prominent sports announcers for their opinions of the greatest sports calls announced by someone other than themselves.
The number one call is not surprising.
Followed by …
(I have heard six calls of Gibson’s home run, including Vin Scully on NBC, Jack Buck on CBS radio, Don Drysdale for the Dodgers, Bill King for the Athletics, and this Spanish radio call. There is no bad call of this moment.)
Al Michaels, of “Do you believe in miracles?” fame, said that just popped into his head as the moment took place. He said he has never preplanned a call because then it will sound canned. That included the Miracle on Ice because before the broadcast, Team USA’s presence in that game was so improbable that, Michaels wrote, he and analyst Ken Dryden just hoped the game would be close.
I have a strange mental exercise before big games. I always write out my opens so I get in what I want to without the, uh, you know, kind of verbal wandering that, um, can happen. On the opposite end of the broadcast, I sort of plan what I will say — not a clever catchphrase, but the mechanics of it — if the team I am covering loses, as in “(insert win here) beats (insert loser here) (insert score here); the (winners) go to state, and the (losers’) season ends at (number of) wins and (number of) losses.”
I have a psychological rationale I figured out some years ago. George S. Will once said that pessimists are the happiest people because either something happens and they were correct, or they are pleased to be proven wrong. I am not a fan of announcers who lose their, uh, stuff when the wrong team wins:
I got to do one of those kinds of games earlier this season — a girls basketball team that had gotten to the sectional level three previous seasons without getting to state. The sectional final was the last and best chance to get to state for the undefeated team.
Big news in the political world. Just hours ago, Joe Biden’s handlers announced they have selected Senator Kamala Harris of California to run as Biden’s vice president. We will admit, we did not see this coming. In fact, just last night on this show, we told you Susan Rice was likely to get that job. Rice is a hardened partisan but she’s not stupid. And more to the point,Rice has sincere beliefs, whether you like them or not, and we don’t.
But Kamala Harris is the opposite of that. Harris may be the single most transactional human being in America. There are time-share salesmen you would trust more than Kamala Harris. You could find payday lenders who are more sincere. So it seemed inconceivable that given his current state, Joe Biden would chose someone so transparently one-dimensional as Kamala Harris. Someone as empty as he is. It would be the first entirely hollow presidential ticket in American history and we thought it could never happen. But it is, they’re doing it anyway. Biden-Harris, that’s what they are going with.
And the choice tells you a lot about the current state of the Democratic Party. America is still technically a democracy yet neither Biden nor Harris has ever been popular with actual voters. This is Joe Biden’s third run for president. The first two attempts ended in embarrassing disasters. The third was headed at high speed in that direction and then a series of unforeseen flukes and highly crowded primary field left Biden the last man in the race. He was clearly shocked by his own victory. On election night, the night he clinched the nomination in March, Biden was so rattled he mistook his sister for his wife during the acceptance speech.
At the time, Joe Biden’s relative unpopularity seemed like a major problem for Democrats. This is politics, after all. The people who tend to have the most support tend to win. So, if you’re choosing a presidential nominee, you think you’d want someone with built-in constituency, a base of passionate voters you can count on election day. But as it turns out that’s the last thing leaders of the modern Democratic Party wanted. They already had a candidate like that, in fact, his name was Bernie Sanders. And they did everything they could to stop him.
No. What they wanted instead was someone they could control and Joe Biden for that discretion perfectly. Biden was eager, malleable, and totally blank. He was willing to be whatever his handlers wanted him to be. Kamala Harris will be every bit as eager and that’s the point. If Biden-Harris still doesn’t make sense to you as a ticket, it’s only because you are not cynical enough. Harris clearly wasn’t picked for her personal charm. More than 30 years ago she dated a man called Willie Brown, who was later the mayor of San Francisco. She was 29 years old at the time, Brown was 60 and still married. Brown launched Harris’ political career. He knows her very well. Last week Brown publicly urged Joe Biden not to pick Kamala Harris as his running mate. It turns out Willie Brown’s opinion no longer matters in the Democratic Party. Jeff Bezos’ opinion matters, so do the opinions of his fellow Bay Area tech titans and the finance moguls in New York. These are the people who bankroll the Democratic Party. They are the economic engine of the left, and they love Kamala Harris. Not personally. It’s business. Their main interest is in keeping the government carve outs that have made them rich. They know the last thing Kamala Harris will do is threaten any of those. Never, under any circumstances. One thing you can be certain of the in a Biden-Harris administration, private equity barons will still pay half the tax rate you pay. That’s the real point.
Voters may not like Kamala Harris but Wall Street does. Just in case you’re wondering who’s actually in charge. And yet still, even politicians have souls, technically anyway. How could Joe Biden pick a running mate who once publicly denounced him as a racist? You remember the moment. It was in the debate last summer.
CARLSON: ‘I do not believe you are a racist. I do not believe you beat your wife.’ Right. Kamala Harris, civil rights icon. Actually, Harris group mostly in Canada and in any case forced busing was a disaster from the beginning to the end. Nobody liked it, including black families. Joe Biden may be a bigot but it’s not because he opposed forced busing. But apparently he has forgiven Harris for that slur. Maybe he doesn’t member it. But even a dimming 77-year-old must have some memory of what Harris once said about his purported sex crimes. Just last year, several women came forward to say Joe Biden had touched them in sexually aggressive ways, both on and off camera. Kamala Harris wholeheartedly endorsed their claims. “I believe them and I respect them being able to tell their story and having the courage to do it.” Wait, what? You believe that Joe Biden sexually assaulted a number of women, sexually assaulted them. But you’re joining his presidential ticket anyway? How does that work exactly? How can you do that? As it turns out, she can do it happily, shamelessly without even taking a breath. Just tell Kamala Harris what to say and she will say it. That’s the whole point of Kamala Harris. It’s why she’s so useful. And for the next several months, Harris is going to say that Donald Trump is a racist. She will say that every day until November. That’s her job now. You watch. But keep in mind as you watch that there’s no fighting back. It’s not allowed. Kamala Harris is a “historic” candidate and that means you have no right to criticize her regardless of what she says. They are already telling you that. They are making a clear.
Just last week a group of abortion lobbyists … sent a letter to media organizations around the country about Biden’s upcoming VP pick. It was addressed to editors, news directors, reporters. The choice of the vice presidential candidate was most certain to be a black woman they said. They were right and they wanted to warn reporters that in the wake of George Floyd’s death, any critical coverage of Joe Biden’s VP pick what amount to “systemic racism.” That wasn’t guidance. It was an unveiled threat. They made it because they knew it would work and in fact it’s already working. Immediately after Harris was chosen today “The New York Times” sent out a bulletin describing her as “a pragmatic moderate.” Got that? A pragmatic moderate, not some kind of kooky ideologue, not someone flaky liberal from San Francisco. Not at all, no. Instead someone who wants to solve America’s toughest problems and solve them without regard to orthodoxy or partisanship. A sober, steady leader in troubled times. Actually it might be nice to have someone like that. But that’s not kamala Harris, not even close. Harris has endorsed forcing schools to let biological males play on girl’s athletic teams. That’s not a majority position. It is nuts. But it’s not as crazy a subsidized abortions for biological men. Harris is for that too, she has announced it. Men can’t get pregnant so how do we pay for their abortions? Harris has never explained, of course, at this point it would be ‘systemically racist’ to ask her so no one ever will ever ask. Shut up. No questions allowed. Meanwhile there is not a fashionable rich lady position that Kamala Harris doesn’t have. Plastic straws are bad. Red meat is worse. If there was a bill to make SoulCycle mandatory, Kamala Harris would get behind it. …
But she has non-frivolous positions too. On health care Harris believes illegal immigrants have every bit the right to taxpayer-funded medical treatment that you do as a citizen. This is yet another position, whatever you think of it, that the majority of Americans do not support. But as we have noted, Harris doesn’t care what most people want. They are not her audience. She was told to support free health care for foreign nationals who break our laws and so she does support it. …
Kamala Harris isn’t an idiot and she knows what she just suggested is actually impossible. You can have a welfare state. Lots of countries do. You can have open borders. But you can’t have both. No country can survive with a welfare state and open borders. That’s obvious. No one disputes it. But Kamala Harris doesn’t care either way. The survival she cares about his or her own survival. By the way, if you think you can keep your family safe as a country collapses around her ambitions, you’re wrong because she plans to disarm you first.
We could go on and on. Oh, the ironies. The party that is angry about police brutality has just hired the former chief law enforcement officer of California. Again, there’s a lot to say and in coming weeks we’ll say it. There’s a lot of available tape and Harris will soon provide more. But we’re going to sum Kamala Harris this way: Last year when actor Jussie Smollett staged his fake hate crime, Harris was one of the first national leaders to jump in with position of support. Smollett was ‘the kindest, most gentle human being Harris had ever met,’ she wrote. The attack on him was ‘An attempted modern-day lynching.’ Okay, she fell for it. Lots of credulous rich people did but what makes Kamala Harris a remarkable figure is it in the face of changing evidence she never recanted her support. That tweet is still up, she did not delete it. You can still read it on her Twitter feed tonight. Smollett’s story was entirely concocted. Harris knows it. We all know it. But she doesn’t care. In fact, Harris understands perfectly well why Smollett lied, by smearing Trump supporters as bigots, he hoped to advance his career. And Kamala Harris of all people can respect that.
A July 31 email sent to employees by the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reportedly reminded them that Gov. Tony Evers’s (D) mask mandate went into effect the next day.
Natural Resources Secretary Preston Cole said in the email that staff has to wear masks in DNR buildings and in virtual meetings, according to the Journal Sentinel.
“Also, wear your mask, even if you are home, to participate in a virtual meeting that involves being seen — such as on Zoom or another video-conferencing platform — by non-DNR staff,” Cole reportedly wrote. “Set the safety example which shows you as a DNR public service employee care about the safety and health of others.”
The governor’s mask order requires face coverings to be worn in indoor public spaces, and does not include residencies.
Health experts say people should wear masks in their homes if they are living with people who are susceptible to serious illness from the coronavirus. But otherwise, they say, there isn’t much need to.
DNR spokesperson Megan Sheridan told McClatchy that the department wanted its employees to set an example for others by displaying their masks.
“By wearing a mask while video conferencing with the general public, we visually remind folks that masking is an important part of navigating the business of natural resources during this tumultuous time,” Sheridan said.
She added that screenshots of virtual meetings could also be “taken out of context” and “could be misinterpreted to suggest that state employees are not properly following” the mandate.
State Rep. Joe Sanfelippo (R) told the Journal Sentinel that he thinks most people should wear masks in public but called the DNR’s policy for teleconferences ridiculous.
“I’m more inclined to support things that actually do help as opposed to just putting on an appearance of helping,” he told the newspaper.
The state agency’s guidance comes as several Republican lawmakers in the state are advocating to overturn Evers’s mask mandate.
“Social Justice” has devolved into mob justice in Wauwatosa.
On Saturday, a mob of Black Lives Matter protesters “targeted” Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah, venadlized his girlfriend’s home and fired a shotgun at the back door, according to a police report.
“Officer Mensah attempted to establish a dialogue with the group but was ultimately physically assaulted outside his home,” the report states, adding that the group was estimated between 60 and 70 people.
Mensah is on paid administrative leave while investigators look into the officer’s fatal shooting of 17-year-old Alvin Cole. The black teen allegedly fired a handgun at officers at Mayfair Mall during the Feb. 2 shooting.
Mensah has fatally shot three men in five years; the two previous officer-involved shooting cases have been ruled justified, that Mensah acted in self-defense.
Black Lives Matter protesters have made Mensah the face of police brutality and social injustice in suburban Milwaukee, demanding the black police officer be fired and charged with homicide. They’ve received the backing of most on Wauwatosa’s woke city council.
Mensah detailed Saturday’s events on his Facebook page. His description is a harrowing account of mob justice.
“Last night, protesters came to my girlfriend’s house while I was there, and tried to kill me,” he wrote. The officer went on to write:
“I was unarmed and tried to defend my property and the property of my girlfriend. We were both assaulted, punched, and ultimately shot at several times. A shotgun round missed me by inches. Not once did I ever swing back or reciprocate any (of) the hate that was being directed at me. I am all for peaceful protests … even against me, but this was anything but peaceful. They threw toilet paper in her trees, broke her windows, and again, shot at both of us as they were trying to kill me. There are children that live there … The irony in all of this is that they chanted Black Lives Matter the entire time, but had zero regard for any of the black children that live there or me, a black man.
The Wauwatosa Police Department received assistance in disbursing the crowd from numerous neighboring agencies. Police say the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
As city officials continued to placate the mob, area lawmakers demanded an end to criminal violence excused as “peaceful protest.”
“The attack on Wauwatosa Police officer Joseph Mensah cannot be justified. It was not a ‘protest.’It was an attempt to circumvent two ongoing investigations and insert vigilante justice targeting his family, his neighbors, and those that may support him. It was fueled by hate, not legitimate action for change,” state Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine), a former law enforcement agent, said in a press release Monday.
“No one should be targeted for violence and intimidation because of the job they hold – whether they are police officers, teachers, nurses, or referees – anyone.”
State Sen. Dale Kooyenga (R-Brookfield) said the mob attack amounted to an assassination attempt on Mensah’s.
“I encourage local, state, and federal authorities to investigate the incident and bring all parties to justice. Arrests should be made of the shooter and all parties that trespassed on private property, witnessed the incident, and fled,” Kooyenga said.
Wauwatosa Police issued a statement Tuesday refuting claims made by Rep. David over the events that took place Saturday outside of Joseph Mensah’s home.
“This includes inaccurate information and allegations contained in an official press release, from a State elected official who was outside of the home while criminal conduct and a shooting occurred,” a police statement released Tuesday said.
The incident in question happened Saturday when Joseph Mensah, a Black Wauwatosa police officer involved in three fatal shootings of people of color over the past five years, was attacked and allegedly shot while at home. Police said a group of 50-60 people showed up at the officer’s home near 100th Street and Vienna Avenue in the Milwaukee suburb around 8 p.m., “targeting” him.
The large group first vandalized the home and then became more violent, Wauwatosa police said in a Sunday’s news release.
“Officer Mensah attempted to establish a dialogue with the group but was ultimately physically assaulted outside his home,” police said in a statement. “As Officer Mensah retreated into his home, armed protesters approached the rear door and a single shotgun round was discharged by a member of the group into the backdoor,” Sunday’s release said.
In Tuesday’s statement, police said what occurred Saturday night was not an organized or peaceful protest. “It was a targeted, planned act of violence against one of our police officers and our community,” the release said.
Police said this is an active, on-going investigation and evidence continues to be gathered regarding the events of August 8th. Investigators are looking through a large amount of high quality, video footage from the scene and are working to identify suspects and vehicles involved in any illegal activity.
“At the point in the investigation probable cause is developed to support the arrests of individuals
involved, arrests will be made regarding this incident,” Tuesday’s statement said.
“The Wauwatosa Police Department will not stand by and allow this type of intimidating, aggressive, dangerous, illegal behavior to occur, especially under the guise of peaceful protests.” Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber said in the statement.
The Wauwatosa Police and Fire Commission has called a special meeting for August 14 at 11 a.m. The virtual meeting has no listed agenda yet.
The controversy over what happened has led to elected officials release statements. Wisconsin Rep. David Bowen, stated on Facebook he was there when the incident unfolded.
“What I observed on Saturday outside Officer Mensah’s home was an out-of-control, yelling & aggressive man that came out of his house with the goal to provoke peaceful protestors and incite violence,” Bowen’s statement said.
Bowen said Joseph Mensah “choosing to come out of his house aggressively to provoke these passionate people, many of whom have lost someone they loved, who want to change this broken system is disturbing. None of them displayed any behavior to welcome the provoking threats of violence by Joseph Mensah”.
Bowen called the narrative by Mensah and the Wauwatosa Police Department, “totally inaccurate, irresponsible and false”.
In Bowen’s statement, he said he felt threatened by Mensah’s actions such as “spraying pepper spray into the crowd, yelling and inviting protestors to fight him, taking his big dog out to potentially attack people”.
Bowen stated this was not the first protest in front of leaders’s homes such as Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber, Former Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales, and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett all ended without incident.
“No one tried to kill him or his girlfriend. That’s a lie. No one tried to enter his home. That’s a lie. There weren’t several shots fired. Another lie. No protestor shot at the back door. That’s the biggest lie. Joseph Mensah chose to engage with a protestor, and pulled the trigger on that individual’s firearm,” Bowen’s statement said.
“The Wauwatosa Police Department has seen Rep. Bowen’s statement, and the facts do not support his comments. The investigation remains open and ongoing. We anticipate releasing more information once it is completed,” the post said.
“Last night, protesters came to my girlfriend’s house while I was there, and tried to kill me. I was unarmed and tried to defend my property and the property of my girlfriend. We were both assaulted, punched, and ultimately shot at several times. A shotgun round missed me by inches. Not once did I ever swing back or reciprocate any the hate that was being directed at me. I am all for peaceful protests, even against me, but this was anything but peaceful. They threw toilet paper in her trees, broke her windows, and again, shot at both of us as they were trying to kill me. There are children that live there any the knew that. The irony in all of this is that they chanted Black Lives Matter the entire time, but had zero regard for any of the black children that live there or me, a black man.”
Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride released a statement encouraging all members of the community “to reflect on their personal responsibility to engage in responsible and civil behavior.”
“In recent weeks, various groups have protested in Wauwatosa, demanding that Officer Mensah be fired. The City of Wauwatosa has always supported and protected the right to peaceful protest,” McBride said.
McBride said the incident was not a peaceful protest; it was criminal behavior.
The mayor said in his statement he is meeting with Police Chief Barry Weber, the city administrator, the city attorney, and other city officials to determine “which steps can be taken to ensure that Officer Mensah is fully protected and that criminal behavior of this kind will not happen again.”
Steve Prestegard.com: The Presteblog 