THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY: AFTER 50 YEARS...SOME AMERICANS STILL WONDER AND HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PRESIDENT'S DEATH…AND HOW THE UNITED STATES WOULD BE DIFFERENT IF JFK HAD LIVED

THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY WAS POSTPONED FROM SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24TH, 2013.    



     Three days ago - November 22nd, 2013 - was the 1st anniversary of The Controversy.  It was also the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.  I was less than two-and-a-half months shy of my 9th birthday on that fateful day, but I remember it as if it was yesterday.

     On November 22^nd, 1963…I was home from school – sick with a bad cold.  As a third-grader, I was a shrimp of a kid and my tiny, little body was propped up on pillows, as I rested in my parents’ king-size bed.  My mom was reclining at the opposite side of the bed, as she watched As The World Turns on our black and white television that featured a pair of “rabbit ears” – the antenna that allowed us to receive broadcasts – something that is so foreign to today’s younger generation of TV viewers whose color televisions with cable or satellite programming on HDTV can be received on the tiniest and the largest of screens. 

     Watching daytime dramas on television was a daily ritual for my mother - much like women all across America - to tune in to CBS "soap operas" - which they called their "stories."  It was exactly 1:40 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on that Friday afternoon when As The World Turns was interrupted by a black graphic appearing on the television screen with nothing but the words CBS NEWS BULLETIN.  A moment later - voice-over only - was the shocking 

statement by CBS News anchorman, Walter Cronkite...

"Here is a bulletin from CBS News.  In Dallas, Texas...three shots were fired at President Kennedy's motorcade in downtown Dallas.  The first reports say that President Kennedy has been seriously wounded by this shooting."  It was the beginning of four days - of what is now - historic broadcasting.  Less than an hour later - at 2:38 p.m. EST - Walter Cronkite - now on camera - delivered the news that Americans had feared...our President was dead.  Cronkite's unforgettable announcement...as he removed his glasses and reported to the world..."From Dallas, Texas...the flash...apparently official...President Kennedy died at 1 p.m. Central Standard Time...2 o'clock Eastern Standard Time...some 38 minutes ago."  Cronkite's eyes were noticeably filled with tears...his voice cracking with emotion...as the now legendary newsman showed a truly human side of professional journalistic reporting.

     I remember my mom bursting with tears - as I did.  My younger sister and brother were sent home from school...before the usual 3 o'clock bell...and my dad recalls being home from work that day.  For the next four days...the five of us would gather together in my parents' bedroom to watch Walter Cronkite's marathon report of this enormous tragedy.  We all went to our synagogue that night for a special religious service, as did millions of other Americans...all across the United States...who spent that night...and that weekend...praying in churches and temples...as we mourned the death of our President. 

     It was four days of horror...of tears...and of sadness...but now...five decades later...the nation still remembers the pain that we suffered and felt...when President Kennedy was murdered.  And although 50 years have passed by...the question remains by some Americans - who really killed John F. Kennedy?  Was it Lee Harvey Oswald (photo deliberately not included) - acting alone - shooting from a 6th floor window from the book depository building...as the Warren Commission Report concluded?  Or was the life of our 35th President suddenly ended by another gunman in Dealey Plaza - perhaps on the grassy knoll?

     Why won't everyone in our country accept the Warren Commission's decision that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin - the single individual - who pulled the trigger of a single gun...one rifle...to assassinate the President?

     Conspiracy theorists have speculated for 50 years...creating reasons why Oswald could not have killed President Kennedy - at least not all by himself.  They have dreamed up despicable fantasies including that then Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson had either arranged for the assassination - or at the very least - knew about it.  It was publicly known that President Kennedy and Vice President Johnson were not the best of friends - and in all actuality - didn't get along very well.  And that Mr. Kennedy asked LBJ to be his running mate in 1960 because the Presidential election was expected to be a tight race - which it was -

 
between JFK and then former Vice President Richard Nixon...and that Mr. Kennedy had to win Texas to win The White House.  But despite the lack of fondness for each other...it amazes me that anyone would believe that Vice President Johnson would in any way be involved in the killing of President Kennedy.

     There have been ridiculous and ludicrous tales that Fidel Castro was behind JFK's murder.  The Cuban dictator is anything, but stupid.  If there was any proof that Castro had participated in President Kennedy's assassination... the island nation - 90 miles from the Atlantic Ocean coast of Florida - would have been blown out of the water. 

     There was apparently no pleasant relationship between John F. Kennedy and J. Edgar Hoover...so there are those who believe that the F.B.I. Director had ordered the hit on JFK.  After 50 years...that idea is so utterly foolish that it lacks total common sense.  Somebody...somebody... within the government - from the F.B.I. itself...the U.S. Secret Service...or elsewhere...would have had to know something - and by now - would have "spilled the beans" if Hoover had given such an order.  Such a notion is beyond preposterous.

     There has also been conjecture that everyone from Soviet spies to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency - and all sorts of the most far-fetched presumptions - were responsible for the JFK assassination.  But there has never been any evidence whatsoever that proves categorically that anyone, but Lee Harvey Oswald killed President Kennedy.  It is arguably the biggest controversy that Americans have wondered about throughout the last half century - if not the entire history of the United States of America.

     Not every American citizen - or historian - accepts the answers that have been officially provided by the United States government pertaining to the assassination and death of President John F. Kennedy.  After 50 years of investigation...is it possible that someone besides Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed the President?  Of course it's possible.  But there has never been any definitive proof whatsoever to contradict what the Warren Report stated. 

     I do agree, however, that there are certain suspicious activities and mysterious actions that may have taken place - and if true - make little or no sense.  Are they fact...or are they fiction?  Whatever they may be...there are those who truly believe that there are inconsistencies, which haunt the official record of President Kennedy's death.  For example...why did the original, handwritten autopsy notes get destroyed - reportedly burned up by the medical examiner - U.S. Navy Captain James Humes -  in the fireplace of his home?  Captain Humes has been quoted as saying that the original documents were stained by President Kennedy's blood and, therefore, "Nobody's ever going to get these documents.  So I copied them...and burned the original notes in the fireplace."  Fact...or fiction?  And if fact...was there another reason why Captain Humes incinerated the notes?

     I could go on and on with other questions that people have raised - including, but not limited to - for what reason did Lee Harvey Oswald want to kill President Kennedy?  Did Oswald plan out the details on his own or did he have help by another American...or by someone from another country?  Was Oswald smart enough to calculate with exact precision the timing that was necessary to pull the trigger of his rifle and to be positive that one of the bullets would hit the President...and kill him?  There has been tremendous speculation on anything and everything relating to the shooting of President Kennedy and his death.  But what really is the truth?  We will probably never know for sure.

     And how would our country be different today...and how would the history of the last 50 years be different...if President Kennedy had lived?  If JFK had not been killed...the likelihood is that he would have been re-elected in 1964 in the race against Republican Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona.  And then...if Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York had not been assassinated in June of 1968...after winning the California Democratic Primary...he would have more than likely won the nomination and perhaps he could have defeated Richard Nixon for President in November, 1968.  Eight 

years later...in 1976... would Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts won the nomination for President?  Think about all of this.  

Could Americans have elected three Kennedys in a row...for 24 years of Kennedys in The White House?  And if President Kennedy had not been killed...would the Viet Nam War have escalated in to a combat zone that took the lives of more than 58,000 of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines?  Interesting thoughts, all around.  Plus...if President Kennedy had lived...and if Bobby Kennedy had won the Presidency in 1968...there would have been no Watergate...and no Presidential resignation of Richard Nixon.  But of course, we don't know what other troubles there might have been.

     So there will always be questions about the assassination of President Kennedy...and how the United States would be different today...if he had not been murdered.  Many questions are valid...many are not.  Some are so puzzling that they could certainly raise eyebrows by someone who disbelieves that only one man - who was perched up high in a building - was able to fire off the bullets from behind the President when there was a hole in the front of JFK's neck.  But no clear-cut evidence has ever proven that another person was anywhere near President Kennedy's motorcade who could have possibly shot him.

     So now...50 years later...the mystery still lingers.  Will we ever know the absolute truth - for sure - about the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy?  Probably not.  After all...since Jack Ruby (photo deliberately not included) shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald on live network television... Oswald was never given the opportunity of a trial.  There was no confession by Oswald...and no eyewitness to the crime being committed.  Oh many of us saw the President get shot - or at least most Americans have seen the film that was taken on a home movie camera by Abraham Zapruder - but nobody saw Lee Harvey Oswald pull the trigger.  So therefore...we - as Americans - have got to go on...what has been determined by a federal investigation.  Or not. 

     The insatiable appetite of American curiosity will continue for many years to come.  What do you think?  I'd like to know.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

P.S. - On this 1st anniversary of The Controversy, I want to thank each and every one of my readers - whether you agree or disagree with my commentaries - for the support you have given this blog.  I appreciate that you take the time to read what I write and hope you will please continue to do so in Year 2.  Thanks again.

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.  

The Controversy will make an effort to publish a new commentary every Sunday.  Unscheduled essays may appear, from time to time, on other days as well.

Please express your opinions in the comment box below.  You do not have to register your name and you can remain anonymous if you prefer.  The Controversy wants to know your views on the essay above and on any other commentaries written on this blog.  Just click on the word "Comments" below and write your thoughts in the box that appears.  Make sure please that when you finish your statement that you click on the word "Publish."  Thank you for your thoughts and thank you for reading The Controversy.

Copyright 2013 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net.  All Rights Reserved.

AMERICANS NEED TO HAVE - AND MUST HAVE - CONFIDENCE IN PRESIDENT OBAMA. HE WILL MAKE THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT A SUCCESS.

     Shame on you!  Those three words are not addressed at President Obama...but targeted at the majority of people surveyed in the recent Fox News Poll...who believe that the President deceived the American public about the Affordable Care Act.  

     The poll indicates that 55 percent of Americans feel President Obama was not being honest when he explained the specifics of his signature piece of legislation.  The survey says 50 percent of the U.S. population are of the opinion that the President knowingly lied about "ObamaCare" and his pledge that Americans would be able to keep their healthcare plan.

     History has proven that we have had Presidents who have lied.  I'm not going to name names here, but we know that Saddam Hussein did not have Weapons of Mass Destruction when the United States went to war in Iraq.  We also know that a President would not have had to resign in disgrace if he had been honest and not covered up information about the break-in and burglary of the Democratic National Committee's headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC.  However...to say that our President today...Barack Obama - this President - told a falsehood...by intentionally and deliberately deceiving the American people...well...I am appalled that so many of you have such an obscene view of our current Commander-in-Chief.

     It amazes me that Republicans continue to make harsh, unfounded and unjustified statements in their hope to politically destroy the Obama Administration...Barack Obama's Presidency...and the country's national healthcare law.

     Speaker of the House John Boehner...on Thursday, November 14th, 2013... remarked that "When it comes to this healthcare law...The White House doesn't have much credibility.  Now let's be clear...the only way to fully protect the American people...is to scrap this law once and for all.  There is no way to fix this.  I am highly skeptical that they can do this administratively.  I just don't see - within the law - their ability to do that."

     Instead of being political...and trying to annihilate a law that was signed off by not only the President of the United States...but by the U.S. Senate... the U.S. House of

Representatives...and the U.S. Supreme Court - not to mention the fact that the American people voted in 2012 to re-elect President Obama and not to elect Mitt Romney... who wanted to repeal "ObamaCare" - Speaker Boehner and his conservative cronies should be focusing on efforts to help the President...by making the Affordable Care Act...the law...that all three branches of the federal government voted it to be...and not to tear it apart.

     There is too much hysteria about "ObamaCare" not working.  Do not lose confidence in the President.  He WILL make the Affordable Care Act a success. Mr. Obama has taken responsibility for the technology problems of the "ObamaCare" website and for the troubles that faced the launch of the healthcare exchanges...all of which is gracious and admirable.  But as I stated last Sunday in my November 10th column...none of this is his fault.  That being said...I respect the President for the concerns he has for those individuals whose current insurance policies have been cancelled.  But those Americans who have received cancellation notices...will benefit from "ObamaCare"...and will end up with better health insurance plans...than they had before.  After all...the Affordable Care Act was given that name...because it is "affordable" for ALL Americans.

     A year from now...tens of millions of Americans - who don't have health insurance today...and who were not able to purchase health insurance in years previously...because of pre-existing conditions, high costs and other reasons - will have health insurance...and this whole controversy about "ObamaCare"... will be a thing of the past...and an ugly mess that will have disappeared.  So, therefore...my commentary from last Sunday clearly spells out my thoughts... with my views today remaining the same.  And to the people polled in the Fox News survey...and other Americans who agree with that poll...I repeat the three words that I wrote at the top of this column.  Shame on you!

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.  

The Controversy will make an effort to publish a new commentary every Sunday.  Unscheduled essays may appear, from time to time, on other days as well.

Please express your opinions in the comment box below.  You do not have to register your name and you can remain anonymous if you prefer.  The Controversy wants to know your views on the essay above and on any other commentaries written on this blog.  Just click on the word "Comments" below and write your thoughts in the box that appears.  Make sure please that when you finish your statement that you click on the word "Publish."  Thank you for your thoughts and thank you for reading The Controversy.

Copyright 2013 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net.  All Rights Reserved.

OBAMACARE: "A GOOD DEAL - A BETTER DEAL" THAN "SUBPAR" AND "JUNK INSURANCE" POLICIES. HOW CAN ANYBODY OPPOSE THAT?

     I am really sick and tired (no pun intended) of all the pessimism and negativity towards President Obama and the Affordable Care Act.  Understandably, I am only one person out of more than 317 million Americans...but without "ObamaCare"...I would not have health insurance.  If you have read The Controversy throughout the last year then you undoubtedly are aware that I am a 2-time cancer survivor who suffers from Crohn's Disease and an assortment of other health issues.  And although I agonize from extreme pain everyday of my life...I live...I work...and I function as a capable, breathing human being...with the help of medical care and prescription medicine.  If there was no Affordable Care Act...if there was no "ObamaCare"...then with all my pre-existing conditions...I would not be able to get that care...and get that medicine...and the bottom line is...I would not be able to get health insurance.  In fact...I was turned down time and time again.

     For those of you who oppose the Affordable Care Act...and want to criticize an outstanding President of the United States - a phenomenal humanitarian and a humane human being - that is your choice.  Thank God - and our nation's founding fathers - you have the freedom as an American citizen to privately and publicly...like or dislike our President...agree with him or disagree with him...praise him or chide him.  But think about someone in your family...or a friend of yours who was not able to purchase health insurance before the Affordable Care Act...but now...because of President Obama and "ObamaCare"...your loved one can be protected with an insurance package to cover costs for his or her pre-existing ailments.

     The United States of America was created on building blocks of the wealthy helping the poor.  Our country was molded by good, decent people who assist others who do not have as much...and who need more...in order to just survive.  Are the greedy of today that selfish...that stingy...and so ungenerous...that they can't give a little more...to aid those who need that help?  

     Admittedly...my income bracket is not in the top two percent of our nation's employed.  And don't tell me - as others have - if I was richer...if I had more money in my bank account...and a fatter paycheck every week...that I would have a different opinion.  Because I can flatly say...definitively...and categorically...without any exception whatsoever...that I would have the same view as I do now.  After all...I am a charitable...and philanthropic individual in my own right...and I help people nearly everyday of my life...by means that I can.  And I would do more...if I could.  I am certain of that.

     There are people in my own family who are, let's say..."extremely comfortable"...and they "give 'til it hurts" - with their money...and by volunteering with their time.  Others in my family live "check to check"...and they too..."give 'til it hurts."  So in their own way...in our own way...in my own way...and in your own way - that is...some of you - each of us goes above and beyond to help others.  But that phrase... "give 'til it hurts"...is really not the proper or correct wording.  Simply put... when you are hurt...you are generally not happy.  But giving money or time to help others..."giving 'til it hurts"...does make you happy.  Or it should.  And some of the less than privileged...as do some of the more fortunate...give more from their hearts...when they give from their wallets.

     On October 1st, 2013, the Health Insurance Marketplace opened...including the federal government's healthcare website.  HealthCare.gov is the chief portal for uninsured Americans in 36 states.  The remaining 14 states are operating their own on-line exchanges where people can purchase health insurance coverage and receive subsidies to assist with their premiums.  It's unfortunate that HealthCare.gov has had its share of technical difficulties that perhaps should have been discovered and repaired prior to its launch.  But technology is not always a perfect science...and with anything technical... there can be glitches...none of which have anything to do with the Affordable Care Act itself.  As for the issues facing "ObamaCare On-Line"...The White House has employed a private company to fix the HealthCare.gov website... and to work out all the "bugs" by November 30th.  So give Uncle Sam...and President Obama... some leeway...to iron out the kinks.

     MSNBC's Morning Joe host, Joe Scarborough told NBC's Meet The Press moderator David Gregory on the November 10th, 2013 edition of the world's longest running television program, "This botched launch is a self-inflicted wound by the President.  It showed just how disconnected he's been."  I can't disagree more with the former Republican Congressman from Florida.  

     In an exclusive interview on Thursday, November 7th, 2013 with NBC News Chief White House Correspondent and Political Director Chuck Todd...President Obama stated he is "deeply frustrated" about the failures of the HealthCare.gov website during its first few weeks of operation.  I respect the President for saying that "Ultimately, the buck stops with me.  I'm the President.  This is my team.  If it's not working...it's my job to get it fixed."  I admire President Obama for speaking the words that were made famous by a sign that sat on the Oval Office desk of President Harry S. Truman...but I have never been one who believes in "The buck stops here."  The President of the United States...or the president or head of any entity...is not always responsible for something that fails...especially when there are hundreds...or thousands of people involved in developing and implementing a project.  President Obama is not to be blamed for HealthCare.gov's technology troubles.

     As for the accusations that President Obama intentionally lied...when he - over the past few years - uttered the words, "If you like your healthcare plan...you can keep it"...I...for one...do not believe that the President lied about anything.  After all...by definition...a "lie"...is "a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive."  Deliberate intent to deceive?  President Obama did nothing of the sort.  And for Joe Scarborough to tell David Gregory on Meet The Press..."The fact is that the President did not tell the truth and it was a calculated misstatement"...that is a harsh comment with no proof...no validity and one that should be retracted...as it is inaccurate and unjustified.  In his conversation with Chuck Todd...President Obama "regret(s) very much" that his administration wasn't "as clear as we needed to be."  But that is not lying...and certainly not a deliberate intent to deceive.

     In his interview with Chuck Todd, President Obama apologized to those Americans whose insurance plans are being cancelled because of the new healthcare law.  "I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me."  And the President says he's going to "work hard to make sure those folks are taken care of."  He has "assigned" his "team" to "see what we can do to close some of the holes and gaps in the law."  But Mr. Obama wants everyone to know that "Most of the folks who got these cancellation letters... they'll be able to get better care at the same cost or cheaper in these new marketplaces...because they'll have more choices."  President Obama says they'll be "part of a bigger pool" and that "The majority of folks will end up being better off" and that once the HealthCare.gov web site is working right... they and everyone will know it.

     The policies being cancelled are - what the President calls - "subpar" plans...with bare bones coverage...and only about 5 percent of the U.S. population may be affected.  Prior to "ObamaCare"...many insurance policies did not provide what people thought they were buying.  It is the intention of the Affordable Care Act to get Americans improved coverage at a cost that is the same or less expensive than plans they may have currently.  President Obama told Chuck Todd that people will "get a good deal - a better deal - than they've got right now...when it comes to buying health insurance."  The President wants Americans to be in a "better position than they were before this law happened."   How can anybody oppose that?

     Insurance experts all over the country have shown with facts and figures that many people who were paying a pittance of a premium for their health insurance...would receive the same if they ever had to file a claim.  A pittance of coverage.  I have read reports where health insurance analysts have examined numerous policies...and have stated that if people with some of those policies had undergone a critical health care matter...their insurance would not cover them as they think it would.  But with a new policy under the Affordable Care Act... under "ObamaCare"...they would be protected when suffering a serious healthcare problem.
 
     Think of the lifelong, beneficial impact that "ObamaCare" has...and will continue to have for Americans this year...next year...and for generations to come.  Without question...the advantages outweigh any disadvantages.  So why then are so many of you bashing the President and his signature piece of legislation?  I now receive my health insurance through the primary company that employs me.  My plan has not been cancelled...my rates have not increased...and I don't have to change my doctors.  And for the small fraction of the American population who may be disturbed...upset...or even angry by receiving a cancellation letter from their insurance company...when you compare the crappy policy you were paying for - what Consumer Reports calls "junk insurance" - with the policy you'll now be able to get with "ObamaCare" - you should be pleasantly pleased.

     Oh I agree that our national health insurance program is not perfect.  There are elements that I...and President Obama...wanted included in the Affordable Care Act.  But with compromise...came a law that is going to help tens of millions of people this year and next...and millions and millions of more...for years and decades in to the future.

     On Monday, November 4th, 2013...conservative talk show host Sean Hannity asked his radio audience to tell him about their "ObamaCare horror stories."  I beg to differ with you, Sean.  There are no "horror stories."  The only "horror stories" are from conservatives such as yourself...who are trying to destroy a healthcare law...and a Presidency...both of which are already proving to be valuable to the American public.  And in the long run...for "ObamaCare"...and for so many other achievements...Barack Obama...will go down in history...as one of the greatest Presidents of the United States. 

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.  

The Controversy will make an effort to publish a new commentary every Sunday.  Unscheduled essays may appear, from time to time, on other days as well.

Please express your opinions in the comment box below.  You do not have to register your name and you can remain anonymous if you prefer.  The Controversy wants to know your views on the essay above and on any other commentaries written on this blog.  Just click on the word "Comments" below and write your thoughts in the box that appears.  Make sure please that when you finish your statement that you click on the word "Publish."  Thank you for your thoughts and thank you for reading The Controversy.

Copyright 2013 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net.  All Rights Reserved.

FROM TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH...HOW DO TALENT...HARD WORK...GOOD LUCK...FAN SUPPORT...AND GOD - ALONG WITH A WHOLE LOT MORE - HELP TO BRING A SPORTS TEAM AND A CITY TOGETHER...TO HEAL...AFTER AN AWFUL AND PAINFUL EVENT?

     Is it team talent?  Is it the fans of a city who were hurt...both physically and emotionally...after a harrowing and heartbreaking event?  Is it coincidence?  Why and how did Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox win the World Series last Wednesday night?  Is it good luck?  Is it loyalty...by the players to the fans...and the fans to the players?  Is it the money that was spent...to promote "Boston Strong" - which brought the people together...and the team together...to make it their goal...so that Boston...and the Red Sox... would not let terrorist demons win?  Or...is it good old fashioned hard work...by a group of outstanding athletes...who were determined to excel for themselves...and for the people of "Beantown"...who have supported them year after year...whether they win or lose?  Maybe it's all of these things.. along with one more.  Is it God...who made a miracle happen...in order to bring happiness to one of America's largest and beloved cities...after a catastrophe caused death, destruction and disaster by a cataclysmic and calamitous attack?

     Just six and half months - 198 days to be exact - after the city of Boston was devastated and traumatized...and the entire nation was once again horrified...by the sickness of despicable human beings...when two deadly, pressure cooker bombs killed three people and injured at least 264 others at the Boston Marathon...the Red Sox won their third World Series in the past 10 years.

     On October 30th, 2013...beating the National League Champion St. Louis Cardinals...the American League's champs - the Boston Red Sox - clinched the World Series title at Fenway Park.  It took six games to do it...but it's the first time in 95 years - since 1918 - that the Sox won the World Series at home.

     It was a storybook season...following the tragedy of the Boston Marathon bombings...when a baseball team that ended up on the bottom of the pile a year before in 2012...climbed themselves to the top of the heap...in 2013.

     But Boston isn't the only city...where sports has supplied smiles...to a town of tears...after a terrible tragedy.  The same questions I asked in the first paragraph of this column about the Boston Red Sox...could easily be applied to the New York Yankees after 9/11.  The terrorist attack on the World Trade Center - September 11th, 2001 - killed 2,606 people...and left New York City...the entire New York metropolitan area...and all of the United States of America...in mourning.  

     Yet...less than 7 weeks later...on October 27th...the New York Yankees - who were the American League champions - began an exciting World Series competition against the National League winning, Arizona Diamondbacks.  And although the Diamondbacks won the World Series in a dramatic Game 7 on November 4th, 2001... the Yanks helped to heal "The Big Apple" after the fear, shock and sadness of 9/11.

     The same also applied to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina...when the football Saints...came marching in...and won the Super Bowl.

     In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina pummeled several states along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.  More than 1,800 people died...due to the storm itself and subsequent flooding...and according to the National Weather Service...Katrina was the deadliest hurricane in the United States since 1928.  As a result of Katrina...officials from the National Hurricane Center say that property damage was estimated at 81 billion dollars...making it the costliest and most destructive natural disaster in American history.

     The Superdome in New Orleans was used as emergency shelter for residents whose homes were devoured by the power of Hurricane Katrina.  But the stadium itself suffered extensive damage...so the National Football League's New Orleans Saints were unable to play their 2005 games in their home venue.  However, the Superdome was repaired and renovated for 2006... and the Saints - in their first post-Katrina game - in their newly rebuilt stadium...defeated the Atlanta Falcons...in an emotionally-charged, nationally broadcast Monday Night Football game.  

     More than three years later...during the 2009 season...on February 7th, 2010...while the City of New Orleans continued to struggle from the wrath of Hurricane Katrina...the Saints clobbered the Indianapolis Colts...at the Sun Life Arena in Miami, Florida...to win Super Bowl XLIV.  Thousands of residents along the Gulf coast were still displaced from their homes...and even though it was more than four years after New Orleans was decimated by Katrina... winning the Super Bowl was a personal victory...and a sweet, sweet triumph... not only for the Saints, but for all of Louisiana.

     The phrase, "Boston Strong" has become synonymous with the city and the aftermath of the two bombs that blasted the Boston Marathon on Patriot Day, April 15th, 2013.  The slogan has become famous...not only in Massachusetts...but all over the country and around the world.  It was dreamed up by two students at Emerson College - Chris Dobens and Nicholas Reynolds - who...with a philanthropic spirit...wanted to do something to help raise money for the injured victims...and the families of those who died.  In an interview with the Huffington Post...Reynolds stated that Chris came up with the idea of "creating some T-shirts."   

     The young men agreed on a blue and gold, bold-lettered T-shirt, which has raised about one-million dollars for charity.  Reynolds says "(Boston Strong) wasn't necessarily specific to the singular event...but a general attitude we wanted to honor."

     Every community - and the people who live there - discover and take on unknown strength...following a tragedy.  But the city of Boston...the entire state of Massachusetts...and the Boston Red Sox...all of which have suffered a great deal since the bombings at the Boston Marathon...have come together...to help heal this New England commonwealth.

     As a lifelong New York Yankees fan...I take nothing away from the Boston Red Sox...for their efforts...and their skills...by winning the 2013 World Series.  So congratulations to the players...and the management...of the Boston Red Sox.  But congratulations also to the entire city of Boston - to all of its residents...government agencies...and others - who have, over the last six and half months...pushed...and encouraged the Boston Red Sox...with extra energy and enthusiasm...to go all the way.

     With tens of thousands...perhaps hundreds of thousands of fans...who have all season long...cheered on the Boston Red Sox...it is definite proof...that along with talent and hard work by the players... good luck...and maybe even a little help from God...sports can help a battered...and shattered city...become whole again...and rise to the top.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.  

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