Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop Dead at the Age of 96, R.I.P

C.  Everett Koop, the former surgeon general who served from 1982 to 1989, has died at the age of 96 at his home in Hanover, NH. Coop served under both Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.  C. Everett Coop was probably one of the most recognizable and influential US surgeon generals ever. During his tenure as Surgeon General, Koop was an effective communicator best known for raising awareness on the dangers of smoking and AIDS. He once described himself as the “health conscience” of America. Who can forget the surgeons general warning on cigarettes packages that became as popular as Nancy Regan’s “Just Say No” drug campaign and his call for a smoke free nation.  In 1984 he wrote that nicotine has an addictiveness similar to that of heroin or cocaine.

C. Everett Koop, the former surgeon general who brought frank talk about AIDS into U.S. homes, has died at his home in Hanover, N.H., officials at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth said Monday. He was 96.

Koop, a pediatric surgeon with a conservative reputation and a distinctive beard, served from 1982 to 1989 during the Reagan administration and the early months of the administration of George H.W. Bush.

“He was a historic figure,” who became surgeon general the year the AIDS pandemic began and played a pivotal role in educating Americans about it, says Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.

The life and times of C. Everett Koop.

C. Everett Coop takes on smoking and AIDS from the NY Times.

Dr. Koop issued emphatic warnings about the dangers of smoking, and he almost single-handedly pushed the government into taking a more aggressive stand against AIDS. And despite his steadfast moral opposition to abortion, he refused to use his office as a pulpit from which to preach against it.

These stands led many liberals who had bitterly opposed his nomination to praise him, and many conservatives who had supported his appointment to vilify him. Conservative politicians representing tobacco-growing states were among his harshest critics, and many Americans, for moral or religious reasons, were upset by his public programs to fight AIDS and felt betrayed by his relative silence on abortion.

As much as anyone, it was Dr. Koop who took the lead in trying to wean Americans off smoking, and he did so in imposing fashion. At a sturdy 6-foot-1, with his bushy gray biblical beard, Dr. Koop would appear before television cameras in the gold-braided dark-blue uniform of a vice admiral — the surgeon general’s official uniform, which he revived — and sternly warn of the terrible consequences of smoking.

“Smoking kills 300,000 Americans a year,” he said in one talk. “Smokers are 10 times more likely to develop lung cancer than nonsmokers, two times more likely to develop heart disease. Smoking a pack a day takes six years off a person’s life.”

Ed Koch, Former Mayor of NYC Dead at the Age of 88, December 12, 1924 – February 1, 2013 … Rest in Peace

Ed Koch, the former New York City mayor from January 1, 1978 to December 31, 1989 died Friday morning at the ager of 88. Koch died at 2 a.m. from congestive heart failure at the New York-Presbyterian Columbia Hospital. What a tremendous loss, Ed Koch was one in a million. For anyone who followed politics and lived in the NYC area at the time, you knew Koch for his huge personality, tenacity, humor, ability to take on the tough issues and get them done. Koch is forever known for asking the public with his trademark saying, “How’m I doin?” Maybe today’s politicians should take the time and care enough today to do the same. Koch was a liberal Democrat, but he was never afraid to speak his mind and let people how he felt, right or wrong. His unbridled candor was stuff that today’s 24-7-365 news and social media would have loved to have been a part of. For that, I may not have always agreed to his policies or his politics, but I did respect him. Koch was a politician who did not hide behind lies, spin or political correctness, how refreshing.

December 12, 1924 – February 1, 2013

Edward I. Koch, the master showman of City Hall, who parlayed shrewd political instincts and plenty of chutzpah into three tumultuous terms as mayor of New York with all the tenacity, zest and combativeness that personified his city of golden dreams, died Friday morning at age 88.

Mr. Koch’s spokesman, George Arzt, said the former mayor died at 2 a.m. from congestive heart failure. He was being treated at New York-Presbyterian Columbia Hospital.

Mr. Koch had experienced coronary and other medical problems since leaving office in 1989. But he had been in relatively good health despite — or perhaps because of — his whirlwind life as a television judge, radio talk-show host, author, law partner, newspaper columnist, movie reviewer, professor, commercial pitchman and political gadfly.

Barack Obama could learn a lot from Democrat Ed Koch’s handling of the economy. It is too bad that Ed Koch was not the president today, unlike Bill Clinton who said at the 2012 Democrat that even he could not have turned around the US economy, which paved the way for Obama’s reelection. Back in his day, Koch turned around NYC’s economy and brought it back from the brink of bankruptcy. However, one of NY City’s biggest mistakes was in 1989 when Koch ran for a fourth term as Mayor but lost the Democratic primary to David Dinkins, who was an epic one term failure.

Most important, he is credited with leading the city government back from near bankruptcy in the 1970s to prosperity in the 1980s. He also began one of the city’s most ambitious housing programs, which continued after he left office and eventually built or rehabilitated more than 200,000 housing units, revitalizing once-forlorn neighborhoods.

 NYC Mayor Bloomberg released the following statement:

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who released a statement this morning, said, ” He was a great mayor, a great man, and a great friend. In elected office and as a private citizen, he was our most tireless, fearless, and guileless civic crusader. Through his tough, determined leadership and responsible fiscal stewardship, Ed helped lift the city out of its darkest days and set it on course for an incredible comeback. We will miss him dearly.”

Ed Koch, Rest in Peace.

Death of an American Hero … US Army General Norman Schwarzkopf Dead at 78 … Rest in Peace

This is truly the death of an American Hero … US Army Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf has died at the age of 78.

Retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf has passed away in Tampa, FL at the age 78 from complications from pneumonia. Many remember Gen. Schwarzkopf as the commander of the United States led international coalition that drove Saddam Hussein’s forces out of Kuwait in 1991 during Desert Storm. Schwarzkopf had a long and distinguished military career after graduating from West Point.

An American Hero: General Norman Schwarzkopf – Rest in Peace

Truth is, retired Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf didn’t care much for his popular “Stormin’ Norman” nickname.

The seemingly no-nonsense Desert Storm commander’s reputed temper with aides and subordinates supposedly earned him that rough-and-ready moniker. But others around the general, who died Thursday in Tampa, Fla., at age 78 from complications from pneumonia, knew him as a friendly, talkative and even jovial figure who preferred the somewhat milder sobriquet given by his troops: “The Bear.”

That one perhaps suited him better later in his life, when he supported various national causes and children’s charities while eschewing the spotlight and resisting efforts to draft him to run for political office.

He lived out a quiet retirement in Tampa, where he’d served his last military assignment and where an elementary school bearing his name is testament to his standing in the community.

From the New York Times comes the explanation of Schwarzkopf’s bravery. He was awarded a Silver Star for his actions. This one just one of three Silver Star that he was awarded during is service in Vietnam.

On May 28, the colonel ordered his helicopter down to rescue troops who had wandered into a minefield. Some were airlifted out, but he stayed behind with his troops. A soldier tripped a mine, shattering his leg and wounding the colonel, who crawled atop the thrashing victim to stop him from setting off more mines. Three other troopers were killed by an exploding mine, but the colonel led the survivors to safety. The incident sealed his reputation as a commander willing to risk his life for his men.

Rest in Peace.

Actor Jack Klugman Best Known for Rolls in “The Odd Couple” and “Quincy” Dies in Los Angeles at Age 90

The Odd Couple reunited in Heaven … Jack Klugman passes away at age 90.

Jack Klugman, April 27, 1922 – December 24, 2012, Rest in Peace

 Jack Klugman, the legendary TV actor best know for his roles as Oscar Madison, the NYC sportswriter and roommate of Felix Unger in the TV show ‘The Odd Couple’ and the crime fighting medical examiner in ‘Quincy, ME’ has passed away in Los Angeles, CA at the age of 90. The messy and impulsive Klugman was a great contrast Tony Randall in ‘The Odd Couple”. Its hard to believe the show was only on for 5 seasons. Later Klugman would play a crime fighting medical examiner from 1976 to 1983. It was the precursor of the present day CSI shows.  Klugman died with his wife at his side.

“The Odd Couple” … One of the greatest comedies ever! 

Jack Klugman, the prolific, craggy-faced character actor and regular guy who was loved by millions as the messy one in TV’s “The Odd Couple” and the crime-fighting coroner in “Quincy, M.E.,” died Monday, a son said. He was 90.

Klugman, who lost his voice to throat cancer in the 1980s and trained himself to speak again, died with his wife at his side.

“He had a great life and he enjoyed every moment of it and he would encourage others to do the same,” son Adam Klugman said.

Adam Klugman said he was spending Christmas with his brother, David, and their families. Their father had been convalescing for some time but had apparently died suddenly and they were not sure of the exact cause.

His good friend Tony Randall died in 2004 at age 84.

The Narcissist in Chief … Obama Uses Sen. Inouye’s Funeral to Talk About Himself

The Narcissist in Chief   … Because it’s all about Barack Obama.

Unbelievable, Yesterday during the funeral for Democrat Hawaiian Senator Inouye in Washington, DC, President Barack Obama decided to make opportunity about himself and his life. This actually went on for 10 minutes. This president truly has issues. The politics of “I”. What an ego his dude has.  As stated by the American Thinker, “Obama likes to see events through the lens of his own life’s chronology” Because it’s all about him.

Barack Obama referred to himself 63 times, Obama used the word “my” 21 times, “me” 12 times, and “I” 30 times.

UPDATE I: From Slate - President Obama was supposed to eulogize the memory of Sen. Daniel Inouye. Instead he told us about his favorite summer vacation.

Obama likes to see events through the lens of his own life’s chronology. Thus we learn that Inouye was elected to the Senate when Obama was 2 years old. Now you could make this relevant by describing how Inouye worked to send federal dollars (you don’t have to call it “pork” at a funeral) to transform Hawaii’s roads and schools, for example, so that the Hawaii Obama grew up in had the kind of facilities people on the mainland had long taken for granted. But no, we simply learn that Inouye was Obama’s senator until he left the state to go to college—something apparently more momentous than anything Inouye did during his decades in office.