Ho Chi Minh

February 9, 1950 And Now: The Ugly “Red Scare” Revived!

Ronald 7 Comments

On this day in 1950, Wisconsin Republican Senator Joseph R. McCarthy came to notice when he accused the Truman Administration of being “soft on Communism”.    This  began a nearly five year rampage of accusations against government officials, college professors, journalists, actors, and many ordinary citizens, that they were either “pinkos” or were actually Communists who had undermined the nation in favor of the interests of the Soviet Union and Communism.

Many politicians and others joined the crowd of attacks, and many others in and out of government were terrified, and kept silent, as people’s lives were ruined.  This had begun even before McCarthy became infamous, and the film TRUMBO well portrays what happened to Hollywood writers in the later 1940s, and the role of actor John Wayne, actor Ronald Reagan, and Congressman Richard Nixon, among others, in that “witch hunt”.

This is a day to recall, because it is clear that we are witnessing the beginning of attacks on Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a democratic Socialist, who just became a member of the Democratic Party this past year, and is now, contending for the Democratic Presidential nomination seriously. Bernie Sanders is no danger in any sense, but he is now facing vicious attacks beginning, and they will not stop as long as he has a serious chance to be the Democratic Presidential nominee in 2016.

Donald Trump has called Sanders a “Communist”, and if Sanders becomes more of a serious contender beyond his expected win in New Hampshire, then we will see a slew of such attacks by Republicans and the right wing, making Sanders out to be Joseph Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, Ho Chi Minh, and Fidel Castro, all wrapped in a 74 years old Senator, who is the longest serving Independent in all of American history!

This is very disturbing, and all good people MUST, whether they support or oppose Bernie Sanders, fight against a new “McCarthyism”, as to have a new period of a Red Scare is simply intolerable, and it must be exposed for the evil that it is!

Fifty Years Ago Today, The Vietnam War Was Escalated Dramatically!

Ronald Leave a comment

Fifty years ago today, America became finally aware that we were engaged in a war that would require a major commitment, as Vietcong guerrillas attacked Americans at a military base, Camp Holloway, at Pleiku, South Vietnam.

Eight American soldiers were killed, 126 men injured, and also, ten aircraft destroyed and fifteen damaged. The reaction of President Lyndon B. Johnson was to begin retaliatory air attacks on North Vietnam, including Hanoi, the capital; and Haiphong, the major port, where Soviet supplies were regularly being imported, to back Ho Chi Minh and the North Vietnamese Communist government.

Within a few months, we saw not only an escalation of bombing, but also of American troops, including draftees, and we were on the way to a grand total of 58,000 Americans killed by the end of US involvement in the Vietnam War from 1961-1973. The troop totals reached a high of 549,500 men in March 1968.

This was the fourth greatest loss of life in American history in warfare, only surpassed by the Civil War, the Second World War, and the First World War.

It divided the nation as it had not been divided since the Civil War, and led to Johnson’s decision not to run for another term as President in 1968; the election of Richard Nixon, and the continuation of the unpopular war for another four years; and the general, growing disillusionment with government, that remains a part of the American psyche a half century later!