Monday, June 16, 2014

The LuLac Edition #2676, June 16th, 2014

ARLINGTON @ 150
Arlington National Cemetery celebrated 150 years yesterday. That is worth noting since it has been a resting place for those who gave service to our country.
Ironic that the original grounds were the home of General Robert E. Lee who resigned his commission in 1861. Days after resigning from the U.S. Army on April 20, 1861, to take command of Virginian forces in the Civil War, Robert E. Lee left the Arlington estate where he had married Mary Lee and lived for 30 years. He would never return. After Virginia seceded from the Union on May 23, 1861, Union troops crossed the Potomac River from the national capital and occupied the 200-acre property and house that been built by George Washington Parke Custis, Mary’s father and the step-grandson of George Washington. After Mary Lee, confined to a wheelchair, sent a representative instead of appearing personally to pay a $92.07 tax bill, the government seized the property in 1864. With Washington, D.C., teeming with dead soldiers and out of burial space, Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs formally proposed Arlington as the location of a new military cemetery. On May 13, 1864, 21-year-old Private William Christman of Pennsylvania, who had died of peritonitis, became the first military man buried at Arlington.
Since then the war dead of every single conflict since then has been buried on what can be noted  as this nation’s most hallowed ground.
I was at Arlington twice and each time it was a moving experience. To truly understand the sheer magnitude of the cost of war, and service to it, you must experience Arlington.
150 years and a grateful nation is still sobered by the devotion to service and country.
Here’s the website link for information to visit:
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/visitorinformation/
Partial Sources: Arlinton website, History.com.

CASEY KASEM

Casey Kasem in the early days. (Photo: CNN.COM)
Casey Kasem died Sunday at the age of 82. The death was not unexpected given the drama surrounding his last days. When you have a second wife and then children from a previous marriage, things can get problematic.
But let’s dwell on his career. America has always loved the countdowns. Starting with America’s Your Hit Parade on TV in the 50s to the top forty countdown shows on nearly every rock and roll station in the sixties, America and music lovers wanted to know where their favorite groups stood.
On Saturday night from 5 to 6pm I was glued to Ron Allen on WARM doing the final leg of the top 40 show. (It began at 1PM). By the time the late 60s rolled around, radio stations eschewed the top 40 countdown shows. Some just played  music, others did a top survey sheet. In our area, WARM, WSCR, WILK and WBAX at one time had printed survey sheets.
But by 1970, the kids who collected them were getting older. But there was still a need to see who was inching near the top. There was a void to fill and Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs filled that void. Their company was called Watermark Productions and Tom Rounds was responsible for getting pop music stalwart magazines like Bilboard, and Cashbox to promote it. In the spring of 1970 full page ads began to run in the music trades..
By 1970, American Top 40 launched and WILK was the station in this market to carry it on a Saturday night. (It moved to various times later on).
American Top 40 hosted by Kasem did three things:
1. It kept the countdown alive as the onslaught of album cuts and progressive music took hold in America. The program was diverse too giving various artists in every genre exposure.
2. It gave radio stations an opportunity to run syndicated rock and roll programming without doing an extra weekend hire. It also signaled the beginning of radio automation for the weekends. Now it is not uncommon for radio stations to have voice tracks on almost every radio station in America.
3. AT40 was so well done that it still can be heard on Sirius XM and locally on the GEM Oldies stations out of Tunkhannock. The creators put together a quality but more importantly time tested program that can easily last as long as this type of music remains popular.
Casey Kasem was born Kemal Amin Kasem in Detroit, Michigan. His American Top 40 show was also known for his long distance dedications. Before the internet, e mail, face boo,twitter and everything else we have today, Kasem would read a letter, tell a story and dedicate a song to a listener.
Our long distance dedication to Kasem is simply this: "Casey, thanks for the innovation, the information, entertainment and eloquent presentation of the music of our times. May you always hear the sweetness of that music for all eternity”.

CARTWRIGHT STATEMENT ON ENDA EXECUTIVE ORDER

Congressman Matt Cartwright. (LuLac archives).
Representative Matt Cartwright released the following statement after the White House announced that President Obama has ordered his staff to draft an executive order banning discrimination by federal contractors on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity:
“Discrimination has no place in our nation. President Obama’s executive order is an important step forward for LGBT Americans. We must continue to work to ensure that basic standards of fairness apply in all workplaces.”

8 Comments:

At 9:13 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Casey Kasem was indeed a legend with his show. His voice was unique. It was also carried on the Armed Forces Radio Network (AFN), entertaining lots of home-sick GI's around the world. I still listen on GEM when I come across it- I believe it's on Sunday afternoon......

 
At 9:53 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

With so very few Class Acts in sports today we celebrate one, the San Antonio Spurs who showed what basketball is supposed to be and was in the great days of the Boston Celtics and LA Lakers of old and we mourn the loss of another, Tony Gwynn. A great ballplayer and a rare man. RIP, Tony. You belong with the greats of any era.

Pete

 
At 11:01 PM, Blogger David Yonki said...

IN RESPONSE
I still listen on GEM when I come across it- I believe it's on Sunday afternoon...
I DO TOO. AND I ENJOY THE WAY GEM PROMOS THE SHOW DURING THE WEEK. IT'S ON NOON TO 3PM SUNDAYS.

 
At 11:05 PM, Blogger David Yonki said...

IN RESPONSE
With so very few Class Acts in sports today we celebrate one, the San Antonio Spurs who showed what basketball is supposed to be and was in the great days of the Boston Celtics and LA Lakers
LIKED THE WORK ETHIC OF TIM DUNCAN, ALWAYS THOUGHT THE COACH WAS A SARCASTIC BULLY. NOT FOND OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO BUT I RESPECT WHAT YOU ARE SAYING.
we mourn the loss of another, Tony Gwynn. A great ballplayer and a rare man. RIP, Tony. You belong with the greats of any era.
LAST GUY TO COME WITHIN REACH OF .400. MET HIM BRIEFLY ONCE IN THE 90s AT SHEA. A TRUE GENTLEMAN AND GONE TOO SOON.

 
At 8:51 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You have got to be kidding me. Obama makes a statement that doesn't need to be made, saying something that's already illegal shouldn't be done. To top that, our MSNBC talking head Congressman has to praise Obama for it? That's like praising your 12 year old for not crapping in his pants. What a joke.

 
At 11:56 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yep! More money and military hardware, which will end up in the hands of the militants and of course some quick training to replace the 11 years of training so far given to the Iraqi troops will solve the problems in Iraq!That along with bombing which as history has taught anyone willing to learn never accomplishes the mission without troops is the answer. Based on this kind of thinking, how long before we deploy?

 
At 8:03 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I try to like Lou Barletta. Honestly I do. He seems to be a decent man, but is now the time to talk impeachment? Get over it republicans, Obama won for the second time. Not only that he beat your guy last time out like the Spurs trounced the Heat. The country is faced with troubles in all directions and Lou wants to talk impeachment? Like it or not the Iraq problem dates directly to Geo Bush's blunder into war. Anything Obama has tried to accomplish has been thwarted by the party of NO. Lou please do us all a favor and shut up and pay attention for awhile. Perhaps someday you'll get an idea of whats going on, but you Sir are in no way a national leader and show no signs of becoming one anytime soon.

 
At 9:52 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

David!!!!
Watch you on WBRE. Good job. I can honestly say you got your start on the tube with yours truly dancing away on Komotion.
I remember how excited you were when American Top 40 hit the airwaves and having it on the radio in your mom's Caprice with the power windows. We thought we were it.

YOUR KOMOTION DATE FROM DURYEA

 

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