ZWF: D-Day's anniversary amplifies the importance of today
Zander's Weekend Facts #122: Sunday, June 9, 2024
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, last week marked 80 years since D-Day, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines you need to know about from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts Podcast! Episode 138 features a preview of the NBA Finals with Zander’s Facts senior NBA analyst Hill Billy. Download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, June 9, 2024:
Celebrating D-Day’s 80th anniversary
Thursday marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the landings in Normandy, France by Allied forces that took place on June 6, 1944. One of the most monumental moments of World War II, the largest seaborne invasion in human history marked the beginning of the Allied invasion of Nazi Germany-held Europe and helped lead to the fall of Berlin less than one year later.
Last week, many leaders of the free world returned to Normandy to remark on the historic importance of the day, and why it could serve as a salient lesson for the future.
The events, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, showed how far the world has come since 75 million people died in the fight against the evils of Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy. They also served as a stark reminder of the stakes that events later this year will play in how the free world determines its future.
U.S. President Joe Biden was among several world leaders who were in France last week, delivering remarks emphasizing the heroism of those who fought for freedom 80 years ago. Biden also made sure to draw parallels from those times to the modern day, saying “We know the dark forces that these heroes fought against 80 years ago. They never fade. Aggression and greed, the desire to dominate and control, to change borders by force. These are perennial. The struggle between dictatorship and freedom is unending.”
However, Biden’s remarks did not seem to attract the good fortunes of all. Many decried Biden’s speeches at the Normandy American Cemetary and Memorial and Pointe du Hoc, which U.S. forces captured from the Germans on D-Day, as diverging from the occasion to attack his main political opponent in the year of a presidential election. Among those who did not respond kindly to Biden was conservative radio host Erick Erickson, who wrote on X/Twitter:
The only real issue with that claim is the fact that Biden’s speeches mentioned his political opponent, former President Donald Trump, who he will likely face in this year’s presidential election, a grand total of zero times.
However, what Biden’s speeches did mention were autocracy, isolationism, and the threats to democracy. Saying at one point, “Isolationism was not the answer 80 years ago, and it is not the answer today.” He noted later, “Now, we have to ask ourselves: Will we stand against tyranny, against evil, against crushing brutality of the iron fist? Will we stand for freedom? Will we defend democracy? Will we stand together? My answer is yes, and it can only be yes.”
So if Biden failed to mention Trump by name, what was it that angered those who gush over the convicted former president? Was it the part about defending democracy? Standing for freedom? That tyranny is evil?
The conservative media outlet Breitbart writes of Biden’s speech, “As he did during the formal commemoration of the 80th anniversary of D-Day on June 6, Biden attacked Putin and called on the world to defend democracy. The latter has been a theme of Biden’s campaign against former President Donald Trump.”
So the complication appears to be defending democracy, and calling out Russian President Vladimir Putin for his unjustified invasion of Ukraine. Got it.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among those who were at Normandy last week, and his interaction with a veteran who fought on D-Day went viral on social media:
As Biden remarked last week, “Does anyone doubt that they would want America to stand up against Putin’s aggression in Europe today? They stormed the beaches alongside their allies. Does anyone believe that these rangers would want America to go it alone today? They fought to vanquish a hateful ideology in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Does anyone doubt they would not move heaven and earth to vanquish the hateful ideologies of today? These rangers put country above themselves. Does anyone believe they would expect any less from Americans today?”
A common theme that emerged from the anniversary ceremonies in Normandy from those few remaining heroes this earth is still graced with was the urgency of this moment. Putin seeks to conquer and destroy a budding democracy in Ukraine, a former Soviet Republic, because of its strengthening relations with the West.
And if he succeeds, what next? Those who seek to implant their ‘America First’ ideology among their fellow Americans (a term first co-opted by a group you don’t exactly want to be recognized with, see below) would argue we shouldn’t be worried about Putin and Russia. Their preferred candidate for president would even let Russia “do whatever the hell they want” to members of NATO.
It was the isolationist faction that fought tooth and nail to prevent the U.S. from entering World War II, with their cries only silenced by Japanese bombers reigning terror on Pearl Harbor when the enemies had become so emboldened and nearly unmanageable. It would be wise to not make those same mistakes again.
Because of course if we were to make those same errors in judgment, we would return a president to the White House who referred to Americans who fought for their country in the war against fascism and evil as “suckers” and “losers.”
For more information on this week’s top story, here’s an article from NBC News - Biden mixes D-Day commemoration with warnings about democracy’s vulnerability
What Zander’s been reading
Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the presumptive major party nominees in this year’s presidential election, sat down with Time magazine recently. The two interviews definitely draw stark contrasts with the visions for the future of the country that each candidate has.
Check out this week’s featured articles on Time - ‘We Are the World Power.’ How Joe Biden Leads - (Apple News link) // Time - How Far Trump Would Go - (Apple News link)
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the Sporting Club:
NBA Finals: The Boston Celtics dominated in Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals to take a 1-0 series lead. The Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 107-89 in Thursday’s Game 1, leading by as many as 29. The Mavericks will look to even up the series later tonight in Game 2, tipping off at 8:00 pm ET. The series will shift to Dallas for Games 3 and 4, taking place Wednesday and Friday, respectively, at 8:30 pm ET. The Celtics are looking to win their 18th NBA championship, but first since 2008. The Mavericks are seeking their second championship in franchise history, joining their 2011 title. All games in the NBA Finals air on ABC.
NHL Stanley Cup Final: The Florida Panthers shut out the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 on Saturday to take a 1-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final. The Panthers, who are in their second-straight Stanley Cup Final, got Game 1 goals from Carter Verhaeghe, Evan Rodrigues, and Eetu Luostarinen. The Oilers will look to respond in Game 2, taking place on Monday in Sunrise, Florida. Edmonton, Canada will host Games 3 and 4, taking place on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. All games in the Stanley Cup Final begin at 8:00 pm ET and air on ABC. The Panthers are hoping to win their first Stanley Cup, while the Oilers are seeking their sixth.
UEFA European Championships: One of the two major men’s international soccer tournaments taking place this summer, the UEFA European Championships, begins this week. The EUROs tournament kicks off on Friday with host nation Germany taking on Scotland in the group stage at 3:00 pm ET. 24 European countries will participate in the tournament, including favorites England, France, Spain, and Portugal, alongside hosts Germany. The group stage of the tournament lasts until June 26, with the knockout rounds beginning three days later. The final takes place on Sunday, July 14 in Berlin. All matches in EURO 2024 can be watched on Fox Sports (Fox/FS1/FS2) and Univision (Univision/UniMás/TUDN) in Spanish.
French Open: For the first time since 2007, a women’s three-peat has been achieved at the French Open. Poland’s Iga Swiatek took down Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 in Saturday’s women’s final. Swiatek has now won three straight singles titles at Roland Garros and four in total. This morning, the men’s final will take place between Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Germany’s Alexander Zverev. Coverage of the match will begin at 9:00 am ET and air on NBC and Peacock. It will be the first time in 20 years that the French Open men’s singles title match will not feature at least one of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, or Rafael Nadal.
Women’s College World Series: Oklahoma won college softball’s championship round for the fourth straight year last week, the first time in history that has taken place. The Sooners swept rival Texas in two games to win this season’s edition of the Women’s College World Series, winning Game 1 8-3, and Game 2 8-4. Oklahoma has now won eight WCWS titles, tied with Arizona for second-most behind UCLA’s 12. Oklahoma and Texas are both members of the Big 12 Conference but will move to the SEC in July.
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
Mexico Election: Former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum became the first woman to be elected president in Mexican history last week. Sheinbaum took home 59.7% of the vote, the most by any candidate in Mexico’s democratic history. Sheinbaum succeeds President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, both of whom hail from the MORENA party. During her six-year term, Sheinbaum will deal will continued security and crime issues in the country, with 38 candidates for elected office being killed while campaigning in this year’s elections.
India Election: The largest country in the world held the world’s largest elections last week. The results of India’s election were a shock to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose Bharatiya Janata Party failed to gain an outright majority in parliament. While the election was much tighter than expected, Modi is expected to have won a third term as prime minister after a coalition with other parties netted the NDA government with a majority.
Border Executive Order: President Joe Biden signed an executive action last week strengthening restrictions at the U.S. southern border with Mexico. The order automatically shuts down asylum requests when the average number of daily encounters at official ports of entry rises above 2,500. The order went into effect immediately on Tuesday as the threshold had already been met. Under the action, asylum requests will not resume until the number of daily encounters drops below 1,500. Unaccompanied children are among the categories exempt from the order.
Steve Bannon: Former President Donald Trump’s advisor Steve Bannon was ordered by a judge to report to prison next month. Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison back in 2022 after defying a congressional subpoena. Bannon was charged with contempt of Congress after refusing to provide testimony to the House January 6 committee. While the judge in the case allowed Bannon to avoid prison while the sentence was going through the appeals process, Bannon lost an appeal in a federal appeals court last month. Judge Carl Nichols subsequently ordered Bannon to report to federal prison to begin the sentence on July 1.
Space Travel: This week marked a breakthrough in space travel for SpaceX after the launch of their Starship rocket was successful for the first time. At almost 400 feet, Starship is the world’s largest and most powerful rocket and had three previous launch attempts end in explosion. The fourth attempt that took place on Thursday was the first successful full test flight. In other space travel news, Boeing delivered a NASA crew to the International Space Station for the first time last week. Boeing’s Starliner joins SpaceX’s Endeavour as the two U.S.-built capsules currently docked at the ISS.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The facts in print return next Sunday, June 16, 2024.
