Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor; President Urges Calm

Yesterday—a date which will live in infamy-- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.  Flights of dive-bombers strafed and bombed our naval installation at Pearl Harbor, on the island of Oahu, in the Hawaiian Islands.  Initial reports indicate that there was a great loss of life, and several boats were sunk.

At a hastily-called White House press conference, President Barack Obama urged the American people to remain calm, and not “rush to judgment.”  He stressed the fact that, out of 127 million Japanese, only a mere handful were involved in yesterday’s attack.  “The overwhelming majority of Japanese are friendly and peaceful,” the president added.

Reached by telephone at his Mar-a-Lago retreat, presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stated, “We are now at war with these dirty Japs, and we need to start bombing their cities, and killing their men, women, and children.”  He also suggested that “a couple of nukes” would probably force them to surrender.

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton issued a press statement, calling for stronger laws, limiting the sale of aircraft.  “Nobody needs an airplane; particularly one capable of dropping bombs or containing clips that can shoot 700 rounds per minute,” she said.

Shunichi Miyanaga, CEO of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries—manufacturer of the “Zero” airplane, prominent in yesterday’s attack—spoke to CNN and assured viewers that his company makes safe products, and that “any product can be misused by persons with evil motives.”  When CNN’s Wolf Blitzer reminded him that many of Mitsubishi’s products were specifically designed to kill humans, Miyanaga replied, “Banzai!”

Here in Louisville, Mayor Greg Fischer gathered with a group of Unitarians and ACLU members, outside a downtown sushi bar, and sang “Kumbaya.”  He ordered the Big Four Bridge to be illuminated in the design of a rising sun.

University of Louisville professor Ricky L. Jones issued a statement, blaming the attack on “Neo-Confederate racists,” and announcing that the University’s annual Ann Braden Peace Prize would be going this year to Hideki Tojo.

On his Facebook page, Courier-Journal cartoonist Marc Murphy drew a cartoon of Japanese Emperor Hirohito, with a tear streaming down his cheek.