But first, a thing or two about Opening Day for most of Major League Baseball. I yesterday showed you how I was celebrating, spending essentially all of 9AM to 7PM, Hawaii Time, watching the games.
That was brunch, and for the remainder of the day I had a variety of peanuts and chips with Johnny Walker Blue Label on rocks and a gin martini. I also went down for a short dinner and had two glasses of Burgandy.
- Their ownership group, including Magic Johnson and Billie Jean King, raised the Dodger championship flag behind center field.
- In the audience was 92-year old Phil Brooks, a retired physician who was attending his 60th consecutive Dodger opening. Accompanying him was his son Stan, only his 40th consecutive opener.
- Ice Cube, who has become a Dodger celebrity, drove up to pass on the World Series Championship Trophy to the team.
- Kirk Gibson, who in 1988, while obviously hobbling, hit a walk-off homer in Game 1 of the World Series, threw out the opening pitch to the limping Freddie Freeman, who himself hit a walk-off homer in Game 1 of the World Series against the Yankees last year.
- Josh Groban sang the National Anthem.
- The the Dodgers went on to beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-4, with Shohei Ohtani homering, just enough to win the game. And they did against the best pitcher in baseball, Tarik Skubal, who won the American League Cy Young Award last year.
- Only 3-0 this year, but what about 162-0? Won't happen. In the history of this sport, the best was the 1906 Chicago Cubs, who lost 36 (won "only" 71.6% of games played) in a shorter season then, 152 games. The Dodgers lost 64 games last year.
- Part 2 of the pre-game ceremonies will occur later this afternoon, beginning at 9:15 PM EDT. You can watch this and the game on SportsNet LA, which comes free to Honolulu.
- Was born in 1889 in what is today Austria.
- His father, Alois Hitler, was an illegitimate child, with one theory being that his mother, who was housekeeper for a Jewish family, and that a son, Leopold Frankenberger, was Alois's true father.
- Adolf did not get along with his father, who beat him, perhaps initiating what led to the final solution. Wanted to become an artist, but was denied this path by his father.
- Nevertheless, at the age of 18, went to Vienna to study fine art, partly supported by his mother, who died that year. Led to his bohemian life living in homeless shelters. There was huge antisemitic sentiment in Vienna, and he later mentioned in Mein Kampf about his feelings.
- Was wounded several times in World War One.
- Took two months in a hospital recovering to a shell explosion.
- Won several medals.
- Iron Cross, Second Class for bravery.
- Black Wound Badge.
- Iron Cross First Class, an exceptional award considering his low rank.
- Temporarily blinded by a mustard gas attack in 1918. Then again, maybe not. Anyway, that is him below the x on the left bottom.
- Recovered in a hospital, but on 15October1918 suffered a second bout of blindness after receiving the news that Germany lost World War I.
- He blamed the home front of Jews, Marxists and others for signing the armistice.
- Note that Germany did not start WWI.
- Nevertheless, the Treaty of Versailles imposed sanctions, territorial loss, reparations and an order to demilitarise. Hitler and many others in Germany saw the treaty as an unjust humiliation.
- After the war, returned to Munich, and with any formal education or career prospects, remained in the Army.
- In 1919 was appointed an intelligence agent to infiltrate the German Workers' Party(DAP).
- Impressed Party chairman Anton Drexler, who gave Hitler a copy of his pamphlet containing antisemitic, nationalist, anti-capitalist and anti-Marxist ideas.
- Met one of the DAP founders, Dietrich Eckart, who became Hitler's mentor.
- Hitler became party member 55.
- Already, Hitler felt that the aim of government was the removal of all Jews from leadership.
DAP essentially became the Nazi Party, and HITLER HIMSELF DESIGNED THE PARTY'S BANNER, THE SWASTIKA.
- Began working full time for the Nazi Party in 1920.
- He became a specialist at crowd manipulation, and in 1921 spoke to crowd of 6,000, and impressed people for his oratorical skill, particularly polemic speeches agains the Treaty of Versailles and Jews.
- He became their leading public figure and in 1921 became party chairman by vote of 533 to 1. There were then 3680 members.
- Then the 1922-23 German hyperinflation hit.
- Hitler had a coup plan.
- Wanted to emulate Italy's Benito Mussolini's March on Rome. But Hitler did not actually meet him until 1934
- In 1923 enlisted the help of WWI General Erich Lundendorff
- On 8November1923 led the Nazi Party storm troopers on his Beer Hall Putsch in Munich.
- This was a failed coup d'état by the Adolf Hitler.
- Brought Hitler national attention for the first time.
- Fled, and by some accounts, contemplated suicide.
- Was arrested two days later and sentenced to five years in jail, but spent only a year behind bars.
- Hitler renounced his Austrian citizenship, but did not bother to gain German citizenship until 1932.
- Note how similar this was to Donald Trump after his first failed coup attempt.
Essentially wrote Mein Kampf in prison. The book laid out Hitler's plans for transforming German society into one based on race, where Jews are equated to germs. Sold 228,000 copies between 1925 to 1932, reaching one million in 1933.
- The U.S. stock market crashed on 24October1929, and the impact on Germany was dire.
- But this created the opportunity for Hitler and his Nazi Party an excuse for delivering on their promises.
- Many feel that Hitler would never have attained nation-wide support without the Great Depression.
- Nazi Party election votes rose from 810,100 in 1924 to 6.4 million in 1930 to 13.7 million in 1932.
- That year he came in second to Paul von Hindenburg for president.
- However, Hitler convinced other minority parties to have him appointed Chancellor by Hindenburg.
- Through all this uncertainty, Hitler's cronies set the Reichstag building (like the U.S. Capitol) on fire, allowing for emergency powers. Trump, missed out on taking this step.
- Got 17.3 million votes in 1933, and a lot is left out here, but on 14July1933, the Nazi Party was declared the only legal political party in Germany. Trump, a hint at what you might do.
- At the end of June 1934 to July 2, urged by Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler, Hitler purged his opposition in the Night of the Long Knives, and shot many of them, consolidating his power. While 85 were officially killed, estimates range up to 1000.
- A particular target was Ernst Röhm who had called Hitler a ridiculous corporal (highest rank in the army), who on 30June1934, Hitler personally placed under arrest. Be careful not to call Donald Trump a draft dodger. Part of the reason was moral turpitude, for Rohm was a known homosexual. The following day, Rohm was shot.
- Hitler dispensed with the Reichstag, but Hindenburg still had control of the military. However, he died of natural cause on 2August1934. The office of the president was abolished, and Hitler became Führer und Reichskanzler, becoming commander in chief of the armed forces.
- Unemployment of 6 million in 1932 fell to 1 million in 1936, another sign of Hitler's success.
- By 1939, the average German was working between 47 and 50 hours/week.
- Hitler prepares for war.
- Hitler consolidating power and found ways to get rid of his War Minister and Army Commander, plus 16 generals, replacing them with his people (something Trump has done), for Hitler had a major war in mind.
- In 1933, withdrew from the League of Nations and the World Disarmament Conference.
- In 1935, announced expansion of his army to 600,000 members, 6 times the number permitted by the Versailles Treaty. Sure, this was condemned by world leaders, but there was nothing they could do.
- Reoccupied Rhineland in 1936, another violation, and ordered Göring to implement a Four Year Plan to prepare Germany for war.
- The following is from the book, Hitler's War, by David Irving, published in 1977.
- About the real Hitler.
- The allied nations slandered Hitler. Films depicted him as a numbskull. On the contrary, Hitler was a rational intelligent politician, whose goal was to overcome the difficulties brought about by the Versailles Treaty, for German prosperity and influence.
- It was Great Britain that was primarily responsible for starting WWII. Irving is British.
- His command to attack the Soviet Union was not an overreach. The Soviet Union was on the verge of attacking Germany.
- Argues that Hitler had no detailed knowledge of the Holocaust. Heinrich Himmler minimized info to Hitler.
- The book was largely panned by most, but became a best seller.
- Who really is David Irving, who is still alive?
- Born in in Essex, England in 1938.
- Father was a career naval officer and commander.
- Studied physics at Imperial College London.
- In college, called Hitler a unifying force force in Europe.
- Left for West Germany in 1959 to become a steelworker and learn the language.
- In 1967 published The Virus House about the German nuclear bomb project.
- He has published around 30 books, with Hitler's War released in 1977.
- Has been called a Holocaust denier, antisemite and racist, losing several court cases.
According the The Globalist, the answer to the accuracy of a Trump-Hitler comparison, is No and Yes.
- Totally different upbringings.
- Hitler was a corporal in the army, Trump was a draft dodger.
Both show a monomaniacal approach to politics, or Fuehrenrprinzip, an assertion that curing the country's problems requires vesting all power in one leader.
- Hitler had his storm troopers, Trump the Proud Boys and similar ultra-national supporters, plus the MAGA people.
- Hitler obliterated the German constitution, while Trump is also trying to do that.
- They both lied, often.
- Are master propagandists and narcissitic.
- They have enemies everywhere.
- Said:
General Mark Milley, who chaired the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Trump presidency, has voiced his emphatic verdict to author Bob Woodward: “No one has ever been as dangerous to this country as Donald Trump … Now I realize he’s a total fascist. He is the most dangerous person to this country.” Many others who served with the former president offer similar views.
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