Tribute

 

Partial Shutdown

From the AP:

“What to know about the partial government shutdown and its impact”

The partial government shutdown that started Saturday is vastly different from the record closure in the fall. That is mostly because the shutdown may not last long. The House will try to pass funding legislation quickly when lawmakers return Monday, and that would end the shutdown. Congress already has passed half this year’s funding bills, ensuring that several important federal agencies and programs continue to operate through September. Nutrition assistance programs, for example, should be unaffected. Funding will lapse, at least temporarily, for the Pentagon and agencies such as the departments of Homeland Security and Transportation. Essential functions will continue, but workers could go without pay if the impasse drags on. Some could be furloughed.

Why is there another shutdown? The government funding process had been going smoothly, with key lawmakers in the House and Senate finding bipartisan agreement. But the shooting deaths this month of two U.S. citizens, Alex Pretti and Renée Good, by federal agents in Minneapolis, changed the dynamic. Democrats were incensed after Pretti’s killing and demanded that one of the six remaining funding bills, for DHS and its associated agencies, be stripped from the package passed by the House. They said the bill must include changes to immigration enforcement, including a code of conduct for federal agents and a requirement that officers show identification. Eager to avoid another shutdown, President Donald Trump’s White House struck a deal with Democrats to temporarily fund DHS at current levels for two weeks while the negotiations play out. The Senate passed the five-bill funding package Friday, but it must pass the House again before becoming law. The House is not returning until Monday, ensuring funding will lapse for parts of the government, at least temporarily.

Have there been previous brief or weekend shutdowns? Yes, and typically the effects were not very visible to anyone hoping to use government services. There were a couple of these in Trump’s first administration. In January 2018, a dispute over immigration protections resulted in a weekend shutdown. Some federal workers were furloughed or worked without pay. Benefits such as Social Security and Medicare were uninterrupted, many people did not notice the shutdown and federal offices reopened the following Monday after a deal was in place. In February 2018, the shortest shutdown in U.S. history lasted about nine hours, overnight, and most people did not notice any impact. While agencies technically shut down after funding lapsed, it was so brief that furlough notices were not all sent out, and nothing was closed during business hours.

What funding is impacted? The funding lapse affects the Pentagon and agencies such as the Transportation Department and DHS, which includes the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Experts have said FEMA should have enough money to respond to the massive winter storm still affecting large swaths of the country. FEMA would have about $7 billion to $8 billion in a fund for disaster response and recovery efforts and the staff who work on them. An extended shutdown could put more pressure on that fund, especially if FEMA must respond to new disasters. Other FEMA operations, such as the ability to write or renew National Flood Insurance Program policies, would pause, as they did during last year’s 43-day shutdown. That shutdown took a toll on the traveling public as delays and cancellations mounted, and there is now a risk of air travel disruptions again: One of the spending bills awaiting House passage covers the Department of Transportation, which is responsible for the air traffic control system and its workforce. Air traffic controllers would still report for duty, but would be doing so without pay until a funding bill is passed.

Will SNAP and other food assistance programs be affected? No. That is a major change from the fall shutdown, when many people had to do with little-to-no assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during the final weeks of the government closure. The bill to end that shutdown funded the Department of Agriculture and the programs that it administers through the remainder of the budget year, which ends Sept. 30. That means full SNAP benefits will continue now. The federal food program serves about 42 million people, about 1 in 8 Americans, in lower-income households. They receive an average of around $190 monthly per person. Another key program fully funded for the year is the federal supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children, known as WIC. It provides pregnant women and young children with healthy food and nutrition counseling.

 https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-homeland-security-pentagon-transportation-2dd3464f56295ff79f136c1c5c24a532

Market Simpsons

 

Well

 

O'Hara's Life

Catherine O'Hara

Catherine O'Hara was born on March 4, 1954 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada the 6^th of 7 Children.

In 1974, O'Hara graduated from Burnhamthorpe Collegiate Institute.

Also, in 1974 O’Hara started her Comedy Career at Second City in Toronto.

In 1992 she married Bo Welch (Robert W. Welch III) whom she met on the set of “Beetlejuice.”

They had two Sons: Matthew and Luke.

In 2017, O'Hara was appointed to the Order of Canada.

She held dual Canadian and American Citizenship.

Her Credits include: Beetlejuice (1988),  Saturday Night Live (1988), Home Alone (1990), Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (1992), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Schitt’s Creek (2015-2020), The Adams, Family (2019), Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) and John Candy: I Like Me (2025.)

Catherine O'Hara died on 30 January 2026 at her home in Los Angeles after a brief illness at the age of 71.

Catherine O'Hara

 

Catherine O’Hara, ‘Schitt’s Creek’ and ‘Home Alone’ actress, dies at 71.

Buckle It Up

 

Urquhart Castle

 

I have visited Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness in Scotland 9 times in the Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall.

It is one of my favorite places in the world.

I really wish I could go back there one last time.

Snow Pictures

I was asked for more pictures of our snow.

Here's what you can do if you live in a place with no snow:

1. Take a piece of Printer Paper out and hold it up to your eyes - see snow.

2. If you want to see a Blizzard shake the Paper.

The Big Lift

 

I have seen “The Big Lift” many times.

It stars Montgomery Clift (in his second film filed in 1940s Post-War Germany) and was filmed on location in West Berlin, East Berlin and in West Germany with real American Soldiers as the Extras and released in 1950.

It is about the Soviet Blockade of Berlin (located 100 miles inside the Soviet Zone of Occupation) from June 25, 1948 until May 12, 1949 (323 Days) when the Soviets tried to starve the Citizens of West Berlin and to force the French, the British and the Americans from West Berlin.

The Soviets closed all Train, Land and Sea Traffic to West Berlin and offered extra Food Rations to any West Berliners that moved to East Berlin (the Berlin Wall stopping traffic between West and East Berlin wasn’t built until 1961.)

There were only 8,973 Americans, 7,606 British and 6,100 French Soldiers in West Berlin at the time. There were an additional 48,000 Americans in the rest of West Germany.

There were 1.5 Million Soviet Troops in and surrounding Berlin at the time.

Since the Soviets blocked all other routes the Western Allies started the Berlin Airlift to fly supplies (food, coal, medicines, into Berlin) using 3 twenty-mile-wide Air Corridors from West Germany to West Berlin.

The planes (from the French, the British and the Americans) going to supply West Berlin flew out of Lubeck or Rhein Main and those returning from West Berlin flew into Celle.

Based on a Minimum Daily Ration of 1,990 Calories the American Military Government set a total of daily supplies needed at 646 tons of flour and wheat, 125 tons of cereal, 64 tons of fat, 109 tons of meat and fish, 180 tons of dehydrated potatoes, 180 tons of sugar, 11 tons of coffee, 19 tons of powdered milk, 5 tons of whole milk for Children, 3 tons of fresh yeast for baking, 144 tons of dehydrated vegetables, 38 tons of salt and 10 tons of cheese.

 In all, 1,534 tons were required each day to sustain the over 2 Million People in West Berlin.

 Additionally, for heat and power, 3,475 tons of coal, diesel and petrol were also required daily.

The Planes flew one after another and only had a few minutes to attempt to land in West Berlin or abort (due to the weather,

interference from Soviet planes, or plane malfunction) and returned to West Germany without delivering their supplies.

1 Western Allied plane reached West Berlin every 30 seconds where West German Workers worked fast to unload the supplies so the plane could return to West Germany.

Colonel Gail Seymour "The Candy Bomber" Halvorsen, besides, bringing much-needed supplies to West Berlin, also dropped American Chocolate Bars (23 tons total) to the Children in West Berlin. Halvorsen died in 2022 at 101 years old.

Stalin and the Soviets saw they had failed in getting the French, the British and the Americans to abandon West Berlin as well as for West Berliners to flee to Communist East Berlin and so they ended the Blockade of Berlin in May 1949 (the Airlift continued until September 1949 – to stock-up in case the Soviets tried another Blockade.)

After the Blockade more East Germans and East Berliners moved to West Berlin (rather than the other way around as expected by the Soviets.)

39 Brits, 1 Australian and 31 American Soldiers were killed during the Berlin Airlift.

The Blockade cost the Western Allies US $500 Million Dollars (equivalent to $6.15 Billion Dollars in 2024.)

I often went to the places in Germany that were used during the Berlin Blockade including the Wiesbaden Air Base and the Rhein Main Base.

Dogs Guide

 

Squirrel

"Focus your attention." - What do they mean focus my ......... squirrel!

Common Sense

 

Thursday

 

Stay In Bed

 

Groundhog Bribes

 

2026 Winter Paralympics

 

The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games (Italian: Milano Cortina 2026 Giochi paralimpici invernali), also known as the 2026 Winter Paralympics will take place from March 6-15, 2026 across northern Italy (Lombardy and Northeast Italy.)

2026 marks the 50th Anniversary of the Winter Paralympic Games.

The Opening Ceremony is scheduled for March 6, 2026 at the Verona Arena in Verona, entitled "Life in Motion,"

The Closing Ceremony is scheduled to take place on March 15, 2026 at the Cortina Olympic Ice Stadium in Cortina d'Ampezzo, entitled "Italian Souvenir."

The 2026 Paralympic Winter Games are expected to feature 79 Events in 6 Winter Paralympic Sports.

There will be 52 participating National Paralympic Committees competing.

Here are some of the Countries participating:

Australia: 8 Participants

Canada: 48 Participants

France: 16 Participants

Germany: 39 Participants

Great Britain: 17 Participants

Israel: 1 Participant

Italy: 41 Participants

Kazakhstan: 7 Participants

Latvia: 8 Participants

The Netherlands: 9 Participants

New Zealand: 4 Participants

Poland: 8 Participants

Puerto Rico: 1 Participant

Spain: 5 Participants

Ukraine: 23 Participants

The United States: 70 Participants

Note: Russia remains banned from participating in the Olympics because of its War in Ukraine.

2026 Winter Olympics

 

The 2026 Winter Olympics (Italian: Olimpiadi invernali del 2026), officially the XXV Winter Olympic Games will take place from February 6-22, 2026 across northern Italy (Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.)

The Opening Ceremony will be held on February 6, 2026 at Stadio San Siro (Milan), entitled "Armonia" (Harmony). The Opening Ceremony will also feature a special performances from American singer Mariah Carey and Italian artists Laura Pausini and Andrea Bocelli.

The Closing Ceremony will be held at the Verona Arena on February 22, 2026, entitled "Beauty in Action".  Along the cultural segments the ceremony will feature the closing remarks, and the formal handover to the French Alps as the host region of the 2030 Winter Olympics.

The 2026 Winter Olympics are scheduled to feature 116 Medal Events in 16 Disciplines, an increase of 7 events and one Discipline over Beijing 2022.

There will be 92 National Olympic Committees and the Independent Olympic Athletes competing.

Here are some of the Countries participating:

Australia: 54 Participants

Canada: 207 Participants

Cyprus: 2 Participants

France: 155 Participants

Germany: 184 Participants

Great Britain: 84 Participants

Individual Neutral Athletes: 20 Participants

Israel: 9 Participants

Italy: 196 Participants

Kazakhstan: 36 Participants

Latvia: 67 Participants

Malta: 1 Participant

The Netherlands: 39 Participants

New Zealand: 17 Participants

Poland: 59 Participants

Puerto Rico: 1 Participant

Spain: 20 Participants

Ukraine: 45 Participants

The United States: 255 Participants

Note: Russia remains banned from participating in the Olympics because of its War in Ukraine.

Good Winter

 

96: Seeing Eye

 

96 years ago today (January 29, 1929) Morris Frank founded the first Guide Dog School in the US.

Morris Frank, himself blind, founded The Seeing Eye in Nashville, Tennessee. Frank had brought the first U.S. Seeing-Eye Dog, Buddy, into the U.S. from Switzerland.

January 29th is National Seeing Eye Dog Day. Seeing Eye Dogs are service dogs specially trained to be the eyes for their visually impaired owners. Typically, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds are chosen as Seeing Eye Dogs, since these breeds are capable of complex training, and staying calm and focused when necessary.

Frank worked with Buddy until her death in 1938.

Between 1928 and 1956, Frank, as The Seeing Eye's Vice President, traveled throughout the United States and Canada, spreading the word about The Seeing Eye and the need for equal access laws for people with Guide Dogs.

He met with U.S. President Herbert Hoover in 1930 and with U.S. President Harry Truman in 1949.

Between 1954 and 1956 alone, Frank met with 300 Ophthalmologists and met with Seeing Eye graduates in all 48 States and throughout Canada.

Frank constantly championed for the right to be accompanied by his Guide Dog. In 1928, Frank was routinely told that Buddy could not ride in the passenger compartment with him; by 1935, all railroads in the United States had adopted policies specifically allowing Guide Dogs to remain with their owners on trains, and by 1939, The Seeing Eye informed the American Hotel Association that the number of hotels that banned guide dogs from the premises was small and "growing smaller constantly".

By 1956, every State in the country had passed laws guaranteeing blind people with guide dogs access to public spaces.

Frank retired from The Seeing Eye in 1956, at age 48, to found his own insurance agency in Morristown.

He died on November 22, 1980, at his home in the Brookside section of Mendham Township, New Jersey.

The Homeless

 The Homeless

With People and Politicians saying it is legal for places to ban the Homeless across the Country and many Towns, Cities and States banning them take a moment to stop and think about who the Homeless actually are.

It is estimated that there are at least 771,800 Homeless in the US (the number is much higher.)

They are Men, Women and Children.

They are Working People who work Full-Time during the day and sleep outside or in their Car at night since they can’t afford a hotel, rent or a mortgage.

28% of the Homeless are whole Families with Parents and their Children.

12% of Homeless People have a dog or a cat.

At least 40,000 Veterans are Homeless.

59% of all 360 Million Americans are just 1 or 2 paychecks away from being Homeless.

I regularly donate money, food and warm weather supplies to Local, National and International Charities that help the Homeless (People and Animals.)

It is not something I just started.

When I was 13 years old and living in Germany I did a Homeless Project for my Boy Scout Troop where I raised 2,315 Deutsche Marks ($1,216 US Dollars) to help the Homeless.

When I was 16 years old and living in New York I spent 2 nights sleeping outside with just the clothes on my back in the snow and cold (it was 24 F or -4 C) to show how bad it is for anyone to have to spend even 1 night outside.

I was even on the Local News and people donated to various Homeless Shelters in my area afterwards (that raised $6,228.)

Being Homeless is not and should never be a crime, but it should be a crime to let people be Homeless.

I Stand With

In a time where saying or writing this can get you physically and verbally attacked I will continue to say:

I am NOT Homeless, but I stand FOR Homeless Rights!

I am NOT a Woman, but I stand FOR Women’s Rights!

I am NOT Homosexual, but I stand FOR Homosexual Rights!

I am NOT in an Interracial Relationship, but I stand FOR Interracial Couple’s Rights!

I am NOT Jewish, but I stand WITH the Jews!

I am NOT Ukrainian, but I stand WITH Ukraine!

I am NOT a Veteran, but I stand FOR Veteran’s Rights!

I am NOT Disabled, but I stand for Disabled Rights!

Don’t let any Person, Politician, Religious Leader or Organization try to place blame or incite fear towards the above Groups.

They are merely trying to use them as Scapegoats so we don’t look too deep at the real reasons for our current problems.

Wednesday

 

90: Alan Alda

 

40: Christa McAuliffe

Christa McAuliffe

Sharon Christa McAuliffe (née Corrigan) was born September 2, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Christa was the oldest of 5 Children born to Edward and Grace Corrigan.

From a young age she went by her Middle Name, Christa.

Christa attended Marian High School in Framingham, Massachusetts and graduated in 1966.

She went on to earn a Bachelor's Degree in 1970 from Framingham State College (today Framingham State University.)

In 1970, she married Steven J. McAuliffe and they moved to the Washington DC area so Steven could attend Georgetown University Law Center where they had two Children.

Also in 1970, Christa taught American History at Benjamin Foulois Junior High School in Morningside, Maryland.

From 1971 to 1978, she taught History and Civics at Thomas Johnson Middle School in Lanham, Maryland.

While Teaching she also received here Master of Arts in Education Supervision and Administration from Bowie State University in Maryland.

In 1978, they moved to Concord, New Hampshire, when Steven accepted a job as an Assistant to the New Hampshire Attorney General.

Christa taught 7^th and 8^th Grade American History and English in Concord, New Hampshire, and 9^th Grade English in Bow, New Hampshire, before taking a teaching post at Concord High School in 1983.

In Concord, Christa and taught several courses including American History, Law, and Economics, in addition to a self-designed course: "The American Woman".

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan announced the Teacher in Space Project to find an “Ordinary Person” and Teacher who could teach Students from Space.

Christa became one of more than 11,000 Applicants and on July 19, 1985 Christa was announced as the new Teacher Astronaut.

After being chosen to be the first Teacher in Space, McAuliffe was a guest on several Television Programs, including Good Morning America; the CBS Morning News; the Today Show; and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

There was a renewed interest in the Space Program not seen since the 1960s.

On January 28, 1986, Christa McAuliffe boarded Challenger with the other 6 Crew Members of STS-51-L.

Only 73 seconds into its flight at an altitude of 48,000 ft the Shuttle broke apart, resulting in the deaths of all 7 Crew Members.

Millions of Americans (including School Children) watched this happen live on TV.

Christa McAuliffe was 37 years old.

Christa McAuliffe was buried at Blossom Hill Cemetery in Concord. New Hampshire.

Many Scholarships and Memorials bear her name across the United States.

The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, New Hampshire was built in 1990.

On September 2, 2024 - McAuliffe's 76thBirthday - a Atatue of the Astronaut was unveiled at the New Hampshire State Capitol.

40: Challenger

 

40 years ago today (January 28, 1986) the launch of STS-51L ended in tragedy when the Space Shuttle Challenger and Crew were lost 73 seconds after liftoff.

Here are the seven Astronauts on board: Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis, Judith Resnik, Mike Smith, Dick Scobee, and Ron McNair.

Elie Wiesel

I was privileged to meet Elie Wiesel when I worked at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) in Washington DC.

He signed my copy of his book "Night", I spoke to him for 3 minutes and he shook my hand.

He was an amazing person.

 

 

Clay Model

Mieczyslaw Stobierski’s Clay Model of a German Gas Chamber at Auschwitz from World War 2 (the Model is found in many Holocaust Museums around the World.)

Model 1: The whole replica.

Model 2: The Men, Women and Children enter.

Model 3: The Men, Women and Children are murdered inside the Gas Chamber.

Model 4: A close-up of the people inside the Gas Chamber trying to fight and claw their way to the top where the fresh air is.

Model 5: The dead bodies being burned in the Crematoria.

53: The Draft

 

53 years ago today (January 27, 1973) the United States ended the Military Draft.

It had been in place, in different forms, throughout most of American History.

In Colonial America (1492-1776) the Thirteen Colonies used a Militia System for Defense which required  able-bodied White Males to enroll in the Militia, to undergo a minimum of Military Training, and to serve for limited periods of time in War or Emergency.

The same Militia System was used after the United States became independent in 1776, but was done at the State Level (not the Federal Level) until 1789.

During the American Revolutionary War, the States sometimes Drafted Men for Militia Duty or to fill State Continental Army Units. This First National Conscription was irregularly applied and failed to fill the Continental Ranks.

Post Ratification of the Constitution in 1789, Article I.8.15, allows for Congress to Conscript. Giving it the power to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions; Section 8.16 of the same article, allows Congress to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress.

Article II.2.1 makes the President the Commander in Chief of the Militia.

Conscientious Objection was allowed and you could pay a fine instead of serving.

The Second Militia Act of 1792 defined the First Group who could be called up as "each and every free able-bodied White Male Citizen" between the ages of 18 and 45.

During the War of 1812 (1812-1815): President James Madison unsuccessfully attempted to Federally Draft 40,000 Men.

During the American Civil War (1861-1865) both the Union and the Confederacy used the Draft.

In The Confederacy South: The First Conscription Act, passed April 16, 1862, made any White Male between 18 and 35 years old liable to three years of Military Service.

On September 27, 1862, the Second Act extended the age limit to 45 years.

The Third Act, passed February 17, 1864, changed this to 17 to 50 years old, for service of an unlimited period.

From 1862-1864 those Drafted could hire a Substitute to fight for them.

There were exemptions to the Draft (most notably the “Twenty Negro Law” where any White Man that owned 20 or more Black Slaves couldn’t be Drafted.)

It lasted until the Confederacy was defeated in 1865.

Conscientious Objection was allowed and you could pay a fine ($500 or $9,141.41 in today’s money) instead of serving.

In the Union North: The Militia Act of 1862 authorized a Draft within a State when the State could not meet its quota with Volunteers.

The Act, for the first time, also allowed Blacks to serve in the Militias as Soldiers and War Laborers, but in Segregated Units headed by White Officers.

Anyone Drafted could hire a Substitute (someone not themselves eligible to be Drafted) to fight for them. 2% of the Union Soldiers who fought were Draftees and 6% of the Union Soldiers who fought were Draftee Substitutes.

Conscientious Objection was allowed and you could pay a fine ($300 or $5,484.85 in today’s money) instead of serving.

The Enrollment Act of 1863 also known as the Civil War Military Draft Act was the first genuine National Conscription Law. The law required the enrollment of every Male Citizen and those Immigrants who had filed for Citizenship, between 20 and 45 years of age, unless exempted by the Act.

The Act replaced the Militia Act of 1862. It set up under the Union Army an elaborate machine for enrolling and Drafting Men for Conscription. Quotas were assigned in each State, and each Congressional District, with deficiencies in Volunteers being met by Conscription.

The hiring of Substitutes was still allowed. Draft Boards were local.

Once the Civil War ended in 1865 the Draft also ended and until 1917 the US Military had only Volunteers (including during the Mexican-American War 1846-1848, the Second Opium War 1856-1859, the Various Indian Wars 1860s -1920s the Spanish-American War 1898, the Philippine-American War 1899-1902, the Boxer Rebellion 1899-1901 and the Mexican Border War 1910-1919.)

The Selective Service Act of 1917 allowed for the Draft during World War 1. All Males aged 21 to 30 were required to register to potentially be selected for Military Service.

At the request of the War Department, Congress amended the Law in August 1918 to expand the age range to include all men 18 to 45, and to bar further Volunteering.

Unlike during the Civil War no Draft Substitutes could fight for you.

The US Military was still Segregated. Draft Boards were local.

Conscientious Objection was allowed, but you had to serve in Non-Combat Military Roles.

By the end of World War I, some 2 Million Men Volunteered for various branches of the Armed Services, and some 2.8 Million had been Drafted.

 

The Draft ended when World War 1 ended on November 11, 1918.

From 1918-1940 the US Military only had Volunteers.

The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, also known as the Burke–Wadsworth Act, was the first Peacetime Conscription in United States History.

This Selective Service Act required that Men who had reached their 21st Birthday but had not yet reached their 36th Birthday register with local Draft Boards.

From 1940-1942 there was a National Draft Lottery.

When the U.S. entered World War II in 1941, all Men from their 18th Birthday until the day before their 45th Birthday were made subject to Military Service, and all Men from their 18th birthday until the day before their 65th Birthday were required to register and those Drafted served for the “duration of the War plus 6 months.”

From 1942-1945 the National Draft Lottery was replaced with the Local Draft Boards.

Conscientious Objection was allowed, but you had to join the Civilian Public Service (working in Soil Conservation, Forestry, Firefighting, Agriculture, Social Services and Mental Health Services.)

12,000 Americans served in the CPS.

By 1945, 50 Million American Men had registered for the Draft and 10 Million were Drafted.

From 1946-1948 the US Military had all Volunteers.

The Selective Service Act of 1948, also known as the Elston Act, was a major revision of the Articles of War of the United States enacted on June 24, 1948 that established the current implementation of the Selective Service System.

The new Law required all Men of age 18 to 26 to register. The US Military also  became Integrated in 1948.

During the Korean War 1950-1953 The Selective Service System used Local Draft Boards to Draft 1.5 Million Men.

In 1953 President Eisenhower ended the Paternity Deferment for Married Men.

In 1962 President Kennedy ordered that Men with Children be placed at the bottom of the Draft List and Married Men without Children be placed right above those with Men with Children.

President Johnson ended both of these policies in 1965.

During the Vietnam War 1964-1973 8,744,000 Americans served in the US Military of whom 3,403,000 were deployed to Southeast Asia with 2,215,000 of them Draftees.

Of the nearly 16 Million Men not engaged in active military service, 96% were Exempted (typically because of jobs including other Military Service), Deferred (usually for Educational Reasons), or Disqualified (usually for Physical and Mental Deficiencies but also for Criminal Records including Draft Violations).

 

On December 1, 1969, a National Draft Lottery was held to establish a Draft priority for all those born between 1944 and 1950.

This was done by President Nixon because the Local Draft Boards were seen as favoring the White and Rich. A National Draft Lottery was also held in 1970, 1971 and 1972.

Conscientious Objection was allowed, but you had to serve in a Non-Combat Military Role or go to Prison.

On January 27, 1973 the US officially ended the Military Draft (after the Paris Peace Accord between the US and North Vietnam – also signed on January 27, 1973.)

From 1973-1980 not only was the US Military All-Volunteer, but Men no longer had to register for the Draft with the Selective Service System.

In 1980, after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, President Carter started requiring all Men to register for the Selective Service System from the time they were 18 until they were 25.

This requirement remains in place today with many Federal and State Penalties for not registering (ie. a Federal Felony punishable by up to 5 years Imprisonment or a $250,000 Fine.)

Today, the Selective Service System continues to update its policies with Congress in case the Draft is ever brought back.

If the Draft was returned there would be a National Draft Lottery to ensure equality (although Women still won’t be Drafted even though they have been allowed in Combat Roles since 2016.)

College Deferments would only last until the end of that Semester and not when you graduated.

Current Change to any National Draft Lottery: The Men called first would be those who are or will turn 20 years old in the calendar year or those whose Deferments will end in the calendar year.

Each year after, the Man will be placed on a lower priority status until his liability ends.

For 53 years the US Military has been an All-Volunteer Force.

They have fought in: the last days of the Cold War 1973-1991, Lebanon 1982-1984, Grenada 1983, Libya 1986, Panama 1989-1990, the Gulf War 1990-1991, Iraqi No-Fly Zone 1991-2003, Somalia 1992-1995, the Former Yugoslavia 1992-1996, Haiti 1994-1995, Kosovo 1998-1999, Afghanistan 2001-2021, Yemen 2002-Present, Iraq 2003-2021, Pakistan 2004-2018, Somalia 2007-Present, Indian Ocean Pirates 2009-2016, Libya 2011, Uganda 2011-2017, Syria 2014-Present and Libya 2015-2019.

A Poll conducted in 1973 (when the Draft ended) found that 84% of every American either served or knew a Loved One that served in the US Military.

A Poll conducted in 2019 found that 0.01% of every American either served or knew a Loved One that served in the US Military.

Holocaust Remembrance Day

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Today is International Remembrance Day: 2026 is the 81st Anniversary of the Liberation of the German Concentration and Death Camps by the Allies and the end of the Holocaust.

Between March 1933 and May 1945 the Germans ran around 42,500 Concentration, Labor, POW and Death Camps and Ghettos throughout occupied Europe. Between 15-20 Million Men, Women and Children were imprisoned and/or died at these sites.

That number includes:

8 Death Camps (in German-Occupied Poland: Auschwitz, Chełmno, Bełżec, Sobibór, Treblinka, Majdanek, Maly Trostenets in German-Occupied-Belarus) and Sajmiste in German-Occupied Serbia)

980 Concentration Camps

30,000 Slave Labor Camps

1,150 Jewish Ghettos

500 Brothels filled with Sex Slaves

8 Disabled Killing Centers (Am Spiegelgrund Clinic in Austria, Bernburg Euthanasia Centre in Germany, Brandenburg Euthanasia Centre in Germany, Grafeneck Euthanasia Centre in Germany, Hadamar Euthanasia Centre in Germany,  Hartheim Euthanasia Centre in Germany, Soldau Concentration Camp in German-Occupied Poland and Sonnenstein Euthanasia Centrein Germany)

1,000 POW Camps

 

Targeted Groups Murdered By Nazi Germany:     1933-1945

Jews:   6 Million Men, Women and Children.

Soviet Prisoners of War: 3.3 Million Soldiers (including 50,000 Jewish Soldiers.)

Non-Jewish Polish Civilians: 3 Million Men, Women and Children.

Serb Civilians (on the territory of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina): 600,000 Men, Women and Children.

People with Disabilities: 270,000 Men, Women and Children (doesn’t include the 375,000 Disabled who were Forcibly Sterilized.)

Roma and Sinti (Gypsies): 500,000 Men, Women and Children.

Jehovah's Witnesses:  5,000 Men, Women and Children.

Homosexuals:  9,000 Men in Concentration Camps (Doesn’t include the 50,000 Men held in Regular Prisons.)

Popular Vote

 

Rani Gvili

 

After 2 years, 3 months, 2 weeks and 5 days (since October 7, 2023) the final Israeli Hostage has been brought back to Israel.

Rani Gvili, 24 years old, served in the Israeli Police Special Forces and was killed by Hamas during their October 7^th Terrorist Attack on Israel.

Hamas brought his dead body back to Gaza.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) found his grave in northern Gaza and dental records identified the body.

During the October 7^th Attack Hamas killed 1,219 Men, Women and Children in Israel and wounded another 3,400 Men, Women and Children.

Hamas took 251 Men, Women and Children Hostage and brought them to Gaza.

84 of the 251 died while being held hostage.

And The Rain Falls

Ilse Weber’s (1903-1944) “Und der Regen rinnt” (“And The Rain Falls”) written by her in the Terezin Concentration Camp about her Son Hanus. She died, along with her Son, Tomas, in Auschwitz on October 4, 1944.

 

 

Und der Regen rinnt

Und der Regen rinnt, und der Regen rinnt...

Ich denk im Dunklen an dich, mein Kind.

Hoch sind die Berge und tief ist das Meer,

mein Herz ist müd und sehnsuchtsschwer.

Und der Regen rinnt, und der Regen rinnt...

Warum bist du so fern, mein Kind?

 

Und der Regen rinnt, und der Regen rinnt...

Gott selbst hat uns getrennt, mein Kind.

Du sollst nicht Leid und Elend sehn,

sollst nicht auf steinigen Gassen gehn.

Und der Regen rinnt, und den Regen rinnt...

Hast du mich nicht vergessen, Kind?

 

And the rain falls

And the rain falls, and the rain falls,

In the darkness I'm thinking of you, my child.

The mountains are high, and the sea is deep,

My heart is tired and weighted with longing.

And the rain falls, and the rain falls,

Why are you so far away, my child?

 

And the rain falls, and the rain falls,

God himself has separated us, my child.

You are not to see pain and suffering,

[You are] not to walk upon stony streets.

And the rain falls, and the rain falls,

Have you not forgotten me, my child?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqoSWYpeerM

Ilse Weber

Ilse Weber

Ilse Weber (nee Herlingerová) was born on January 11, 1903 in Witkowitz, Margraviate of Moravia, Austria-Hungary (today Vítkovice, the Czech Republic.)

Born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire she learned to speak in both Czech and German.

Her Father died when she was 10 years old.

She wrote Poetry, Children’s Books and Songs that were published throughout Europe.

In 1930 she married Willi Weber and had their first Son, Hanus in 1931.

They then moved to Prague where she worked with the Czechoslovak Radio including as a Producer.

When the Germans invaded Czechoslovakia in 1939 Ilse was able to send her Son, Hanus, to England in the Kindertransport (a rescue program in 1938-1939 that saved 10,000 Jewish Children from Nazi Germany and German-Occupied Austria and Czechoslovakia and brought them to the United Kingdom.)

Ilse, Willi and their younger Son, Tomas were sent to the Terezín (Theresienstadt) Concentration Camp near Prague on February 8, 1942.

There Ilse worked as a Night Nurse in the Children’s Hospital doing everything she could for the young Patients without the aid of medicine – which was forbidden by the Germans.

At the same time she wrote 60 poems and songs. Setting her songs to deceptively simple tunes and imagery to describe the horror of her surroundings.

Ilse was so sad about having to give up Hanus that she wrote the song “Und der Regen rinnt” (“And the Rain Falls”) while in Terezin.

In the beginning of October 1944 Willi was placed on the deportation list to go to Auschwitz in German-Occupied Poland.

Ilse and Tomas volunteered to go with him so they would not be separated.

Before leaving, Willi hid Isle’s poems and songs.

They arrived at the Auschwitz Death Camp on October 4, 1944 where Ilse and Tomas were gassed to death and their bodies burnt within hours of arriving.

It is reported by a Member of the Sonderkommando (the Group of Prisoners the Germans forced to work inside the Gas Chambers and Crematorium) that Isle sang Tomas a lullaby while they were undressing before going to the Gas Chamber.

Willi survived Auschwitz and the War and returned to Terezin and found Ilse’s poems and songs.

Hanus survived the War and was reunited with Willi in Prague.

During the Prague Spring in 1968 Hanus fled Communist Czechoslovakia and moved to Sweden where he lived until he died in 2021.

On April 15, 2018, one of her Patients from Terezín, Aviva Bar-On, sang one of Ilse Weber's songs during a concert in Jerusalem, without a written trace and only from memory.

Tired Of Snow

 

Anita Lasker-Wallfisch

 Anita Lasker-Wallfisch

Anita Lasker-Wallfisch (nee Anita Lasker) was born on July 17, 1925 in Breslau, Germany (today Wroclaw, Poland.)

Her Father, Alfons, was a Lawyer who was awarded the Iron Cross during World War 1 and her Mother, Edith, was a Violinist.

Her Uncle was Edward Lasker (an International Chess Master and the Inventor of the Mechanical Breast pump, which saved many premature infants' lives.)

In 1939 Anita’s Parents were able to send their Daughter, Marianne, to the UK on the Kindertransport.

In 1942 her Parents were deported by the Nazis and murdered near Lublin, German-Occupied Poland.

In September 1942 Anita and her Sister, Renate, tried to flee Nazi Germany for France and were arrested at the Breslau Train Station.

Coming from a Regular German Prison the Sisters were sent to the Auschwitz Death Camp in German-Occupied Poland by Regular Train and not the usual Cattle Cars in December 1943 (on different Trains.)

Anita received the Tattoo Number of 69388 on her arm upon arrival.

Anita, being a Cello Player, was chosen for the Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz (German: Mädchenorchester von Auschwitz.)

The Orchestra played marches as the Slave Laborers left the Camp for each day's work and when they returned.

They played for the Men, Women and Children whom the Germans selected to be killed in the Gas Chambers.

They also gave forced Concerts for the SS.

In October 1944 Anita was moved to the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp in Germany where she survived 6 Months with Starvation Rations and Disease until being liberated by the British on April 15, 1945.

During the Belsen Trial, which took place from September to November 1945, Anita testified against the Camp Commandant Josef Kramer, Camp Doctor Fritz Klein, and Deputy Camp Commandant Franz Hössler, who were all sentenced to Death and hanged that year.

In 1946 Anita and Renate moved to the United Kingdom with the help of their Sister, Marianne.

Anita Co-Founded the English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) in 1948.

Anita married Peter Wallfisch (a Pianist also from Breslau, Germany who immigrated to British Palestine -Present-Day Israel-  in 1938 before immigrating to the UK in 1951)  in 1952.

They have 2 Children: her Son is the Cellist Raphael Wallfisch, and her Daughter, Maya Jacobs-Wallfisch, is a Psychotherapist.

Peter Wallfisch died in 1993.

Since 1994 Anita has visited German and Austrian Schools to talk about and explain her experiences during the Holocaust.

In 1996 she published her Memoir “Inherit the Truth.”

In 2018, she gave a Commemorative Speech in the German Bundestag to mark the 73rd anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz.

In December 2020 Lasker was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, which was conferred by the Federal President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

A 1980 Movie “Playing for Time” deals with the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz.

Today, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch lives in London,  is 100 years old and is the last surviving Member of the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz.

Tomorrow, January 27^th, is International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

There For You

 

Stay Safe

 

The Expert

 

Neighbor Check

 

48: Zelenskyy

Today (January 25th) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy turns 48 years old.

Born under Soviet Communism he was 13 years old when the Soviet Dictatorship in Moscow Collapsed and Ukraine became an Independent Country.

Now he leads Ukraine in their fight against another Dictatorship in Moscow (Putin’s) and for Ukraine’s (and the World’s) Survival.

Happy Birthday President Zelenskyy!

З днем народження Президент Зеленський!

What's A Survivor

220,800 Holocaust Survivors are still alive as of January 2026.

Most of the Holocaust Survivors live in either Israel (50%) or the United States (16%) and 1/3 of them live below the Poverty Line.

In 1945 there were 3.5 Million Holocaust Survivors.

A Holocaust Survivor is any Jewish Person who was even 1 minute old from when the Nazis formed Germany’s Government on January 30, 1933 until the Nazis were defeated on May 8, 1945 and lived in Nazi Germany or in Nazi-Occupied Europe and North Africa:

Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the British Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey, Helm and Sark), Czechoslovakia (the Czech Republic and Slovakia), Denmark, Estonia, France, French North Africa (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia),  Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Monaco, Norway, The Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, the Soviet Union (Belorussia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine), Yugoslavia (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia.)

A Holocaust Survivor could have been: Hidden, Forced to Flee as a Refugee, Fought with the Partisans, Fought with the Resistance, been in a Ghetto, done Forced Labor, been in a Prison, been in a Concentration Camp, been in a Labor Camp, been in a Death Camp, etc.

A Holocaust Survivor watched their Friends and Family shot over open pits, pushed into Gas Chambers, worked to death, starved to death, froze to death. They themselves were beaten, shot, experimented on, tortured, starved, etc.

A Holocaust Survivor ranges from 79 years old to in their 100s.

I have met a total of 86 Holocaust Survivors (and not all of them while working at the US Holocaust Museum in Washington DC.)

Every single Holocaust Survivor deserves to live the rest of their days with no worries about Food, Housing, Heat, Medicine, being attacked for being Jewish, etc.

January 27, 2026 is the 81st Anniversary of the Liberation of the Auschwitz Death Camp in German-Occupied Poland and International Holocaust Remembrance Day.