As a child, I frequently listened to my uncle, well he was an honorary uncle but an honorary one was the same as a blood uncle, but Uncle Omar Bartlett, who was from New Hampshire and spoke with a distinctive down east accent, told his story of the D-Invasion of Normandy. I suspect he was in that wave. Hearing him speak of this in the late 1950s meant that it was only 14 or 15 years earlier — a blink of an eye in time. Today 14 years seems like yesterday today. Time does that to you as you age. But Uncle Omar proudly repeated his story of the invasion. I probably sat in silence stoking one of his and Auntie Carman’s cats, Tiger or Buster. And my anticipation to visit them frequently on Sundays likely seeded in my recesses, the pleasure of feline companionship in the home. Dag. I’m lucky Auntie Carman and Uncle Omar didn’t own any cows.
Thank you Heather for this story of what we are celebrating on Memorial Day. Annabel has given us a reminder that we need to honor those who died by making sure our democracy survives and voting blue.
That used to be not such a hard climb. Now that evil (and Steve Bannon’s bullshittery is evil), has touched us, I worry that we will let them down. I hope we don’t need another Gettysburg
It's hard to understand why it is a hard climb for so many, when the choice is so easy. If only people can focus on what's important, such as the things JL mentioned, rather than the false equivalency that is fed to them, then we will be alright.
Fox never thought those things were important. I remember the junk bond fiasco of mid to late 80’s. That was when Greed is good became the Repub mantra. It still is. Greed to feed the hogs in charge, that is.
"Greed is good" was a line from a predatory financial industry villain in the cautionary movie "Wall Street". It was meant to be as appealing as "I get you my pretty and your little dog too", but modern Republicans, true to form, embraced treachery and tried to make a virtue of it, as they now cerebrate the "Heroes" who invaded the Capitol on January Sixth. Greed is not just acquisitive excess, it is acquisitive excess that deprives others. THAT is sentiment the toadies of plutocracy try to make respectable. I commonly read the phrase "Greed is Good" in financial press, but saying that particular phrase out loud seemed to fade, if reluctantly, in the wake of the Great Recession.
We all know the origin and how the phrase was commandeered as a mantra for the greedy bastards. It is still true and used by another generation of the same greedy bastards
I'd say it started with the Stock Market. And it definitely got a boost with the lucre made by our WASP oligarchs in WWI. To see greed in action just search "Prescott Bush - Wall St Putsch" 1933. The coup failed, but the Oligarchs haven't given up. One Branch down, Two to go, but it really only takes the White House.
Thank you for mentioning the Coup attempt of 1933. I am familiar with Smedley Butler and how he thwarted the effort of Bush and his cronies. The Bush crowd has been front and center in the money rules crowd. Didn’t know it started back in WW1. Teddy’s efforts were just an interruption….
hmm. Comeuppance ain't never gonna work on the people who aim to become robber barons. I'd like to see some real Jail Time from now on. Way more than Enron, the only ones I can even think of that were actually incarcerated. And how about some seizing of assets? vote vote vote
J L, exactly. We need to come to together and we won't have the first two words of your post if we don't have a livable planet. it will be an ugly scrabble for survival and we are seeing the first instances of this already. Salem (OR) just elected a mayor bought and paid for by the people who do not care about a livable planet, only making more money and covering all the land with something that will grow their bank accounts. Coming together also means working with good people of faith. Lately i have been seeing memes dissing religion as if every believer is the same and takes the Bible literally while extolling science as if it has the answer to everything, never turns out to be wrong, and never changes. i have blocked two of them who seem to believe that f bombs make a good argument. The problem is with those who want a theocracy here run by white nationalist pseudo Christians who are willing to use death star as a means to achieve this and those are the people we need to call out and vote out of power.
I agree with the important parts of this, Michele, but I cannot see science as the problem. Science can help us all have better lives even though we ignore or suppress it when it tells us to take action that the money-changers resist as wrt to climate change. Like science, religion can and has been used to support unimaginable horrors on the planet. What we need is compassion, empathy and determination to find the greatest good for the greatest number and make that our goal.
John, i think you have delineated the problem with science. it isn't always right. Some experiments are not very good and/ or are paid for by companies looking to sell a cure. There has also been plenty of stealing of work as well. And yes, it can be used to support and design incredible horrors. i am actually not saying that science is a problem, but i do have a problem painting all people of faith with a negative brush. i would say Native American beliefs and spirituality can help us with climate change. Agree totally with your final sentence. That is my hope.
Yep, fortunately science is self-correcting in its efforts to improve our understanding of things. Some indeed misuse it in attempts to make money. TRUTH and honesty are what matters. All useful understanding depends in both. IMO nobody should ridicule honest beliefs held by others about matters of which there can be no certainty. However, hypocrisy is abhorrent as are attempts to force others, without their agreement, to act in accordance with one’s own beliefs. Useful social compacts result from general agreement about acceptable behaviour. Let’s hold fast to the notion of GGFGN! 😊
The religious people I very much admire are humble and humane. Those who claim to be religious who also claim to have all the answers and the God-given right to force them on others, seem to me the opposite of anything Jesus recommended. I think of science as paying very careful attention to the way things are, and quarrel when people want to reject what can be reasonably proven for Biblical literalism. Some of the same people who claim every item in the Bible is literal fact have also claimed that Jesus was not really talking about real enemies when he said "love thy enemy" and you have to have special knowledge (as they do) to realize that. I think that scientific thinking gives us a much clearer picture of our circumstances, and can help us to prioritize our choices, but it is not designed to (nor can it) to deliver ethical choices. For that, we have to probe our own inner values and learn from each other in ways that allows us to question our own selfish motives. We all are obliged to look out for ourselves, but become toxic when we fail to look out for each other. Freedom defined as impunity for the individual can become sociopathy. Freedom worthy of the name is achieved socially. Isn't that what the Constitution tries to reinforce? "We the People..."?
So long as a person is not hurting others, how they come by an abiding sense of fairness and responsibilities to others seems to me beside the point. I am not religious in any conventional manner, but among my greatest heroes are Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, and MLK. Faux-pious Republicans have corrupted Jesus's message of kindness. I wish more of his faithful followers would visibly stand together against that. When greed and ego push every other value out of the nest, it becomes truly evil.
"Accustomed to trample on the rights of those around you, you have lost the genius of your own independence, and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises." - Lincoln
“Science never claims to have the final word on anything, religion claims to have the final word on everything.” Don’t remember where I saw that, but so true…
Unfortunately, many people do not understand science nor do they understand that some scientists are people of faith. Sometimes a particular discipline does not disprove certain things in religion. Prayer, for example, is not disproved by statistics and if it is not merely asking for something and is mediative, the health consequences can be measured. Fundamentalists of all kinds claim to have the final word on everything.
this reminds me of how the segment of Ken Burn's commencement speech to Brandeis (with its powerful Jewish history) about how we need to find the "us" and "we" in our country again. while what he was Actually setting up, and which barely got any coverage, was a break in his famous "neutrality."
The part of the speech where he made it clear that we need to come together, but the choice is Clear. We must make the choice to save our democracy.
Some Christians, a very small number from what I've seen, are coming out in favor of democracy and the Clear Choice of tolerance, non-judgement and love, but Not Enough and Not Loudly Enough.
I'm always glad to find someone who is Christian, I assume you are, who is willing to break from the flock and actually practice "do unto others."
I hope you can amplify your voice in support of the oppressed, the needy, the non-white, the women who need abortion as healthcare, the LGBTQia community and all the others that many "christians" are attacking day in and day out.
Yes, we need to find the we. I am not a Christian actually, but a person who believes in the universal energy whatever people want to call that. For years my husband sneered at Christians without making a distinction between good people of faith and hypocrites and pharisees. We have a friend who is a Christian and is the most grounded person i know and her energy is a comforting presence. She is also one of the those people whose faith does what you have described in terms of social issues. i had a friend on Facebook, since blocked, who constantly posted memes under the name faith is a mental illness. I am sure it is for some and certainly magnifies hate of anyone who is different...which is not what Jesus taught in the first three Gospels. Most of the people, when I defended good people of faith and said many people welcome prayer simply because they need support, assumed I was some kind of religious fundamentalist nut. I kept telling them that they had no idea of what I believed or did not believe. Some of them thought they were too clever by half and failed to understand what I actually wrote. And if I made a point, for example, yes, Jesus is mentioned outside the Bible, very briefly in Josephus, they ignored it. MY husband looked up studies on the efficacy of prayer and found out that studies can be fraught with problems, but when it is meditative, good health results can be measured. I never send people prayers, btw, because I don't pray, but instead healing reiki energy which probably amounts to the same thing if they feel supported by it. You need not strike do unto others because the same sentiment is found in many religions as a way to tell people to treat others as they would want others to treat them. I never judge a faith or a belief by the fundamentalists, hypocrites, and haters. I have often mentioned Native American beliefs and myths as a way of approaching nature.
In Beau’s memory, please pledge to yourself that you will search out your entire family and friends to encourage as many of them as possible to cast their vote for Joe Biden and other democrats on the ballot! We each have an honorable role to protect and preserve OUR Democracy! Let’s all pitch in to make it happen, ok? Many thanks!
Great idea! But they all watch FN, refer to J6 as a peaceful protest, and believe the former guy is being unfairly prosecuted by the out of control Biden DOJ.
Every servicmember who has died for their country is rolling in their grave, due to the words spoken (I will not defile this article} on Memorial Day by "the evil one"..."the great dragon" .."prince of demons"........
Diaper Don's granddaddy was a pimp and draft dodger?? Was he the first bone spur tRumpshitter?. It is a shame that MAD Magazine no longer exists. William Gaines and the "usual gang of idiots" could go weekly with what the Orange A-Hole is up to everyday.
Mary Trump is a true hero. I know about her father being a pilot and drinking killed him.
David Cay Johnston, in a book he wrote said that Orange would go to a brothel though this secret back door......It might have been daddys whore house........
I joined Mary Trumps Substack as well and it is so wonderful.
So the first Orange loser would have been in the German army.
no I think Grandpa Dump was drafted by the US Army, then tried to go back to Germany ??!! and was rejected, so came back to the US and opened a bar and flop house.
Okay......It was 1917 when the USA went over to France to fight in WW1. Dump started the Dump corruption,womanizing and racist legacy in the 1920's then. So sad.
Heather's letter today reminds me of a poem that I used to read to and discuss with my students when I was teaching. For a homework assignment, I asked them to read the poem to their parents or grandparents. One grandfather wrote me and thanked me for reminding the children of the sacrifices that were made so that they could have the freedoms, much taken for granted, that they enjoyed.
If you have rime to read it, here it is:
In Flander's fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing, fly,
Scarcely heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved
(And spent our paycheck on a dress for our mother)
Amen, Michael ... and if it does the people must revise the system to make sure that it really is a democracy: abolish the EC and elect the President based on the popular vote, revise the basis of the senate, revise the basis of the SCOTUS, etc. Otherwise, it seems clear that democracy will perish under the rules that define it. It appears still to be nip and tuck, as incredible as it seems.
Beautiful story, Heather. One that keeps memories alive. Writing has been that since our human beginning. And compassion knows no boundaries….that of a country or a person’s thinking.
All we have to do is release the feeling of compassion to the Universe. All will feel it. All will be within it.
It is simply a must that we not let those who sacrificed so much, some with their lives, to have done so in vain. We need to sharpen our perspective of the threat that we are up against. Toward that end, the following is my message to my fellow Lakeland, Florida Democratic Club members regarding some of what we can do and why:
Dear Fellow Lakeland Democratic Club Members and friends: That is the question - do our letters published in the newspapers affect anything? I don't know for sure. I do think that they can reinforce the views and motivations of those who agree with the letters. I always read the letter to the editors. The letter below was published in today's (Sunday, May 26, 2024) edition of the Palm Beach Post. I encourage more of you to please write letters to The Ledger and other area newspapers. Kathie's letter about climate change was published in today's Ledger.
The reason evangelicals support Trump
Cal Thomas, in the May 18 edition of the Post, took Donald Trump to task because of his use of profane and filthy words. Thomas then ponders, 'Does he believe in heaven and know how to get there? His fervent evangelical supporters, some of whom bizarrely claim he shares their faith, should ask him.' Respectfully, that line of inquiry completely misses the reasons for Trump’s support among white evangelicals.
I wondered who could vote for such a flawed person to be president of the U.S. Two professors at the University of Kansas also wondered, conducted a study and published their findings in the journal Critical Sociology: 'The Anger Games: Who Voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 Election, and Why?' The authors discovered that white evangelicals do not support Trump because of their shared 'Christian' views but rather they share the same views about race, women’s rights, gay rights and immigrants. Trump wants to be dictator and his supporters are willing to sacrifice democracy to have a white Protestant Christian autocracy.
Trump, if back in power, as a sop to (Russia’s Vladimir) Putin, would pull the U.S. out of NATO. The failure of democracy here would probably lead to a domino effect around the world with other democracies falling. For that reason alone, this November’s election is the most important in the history of the world.
You are so right, Annabel! I have pointed out to many people that this year's election is not about liking or hating the candidates, it's voting for or against democracy. It's that simple.
We owe it to all the Beaus to keep our democracy intact. Please vote for democracy and against fascism this coming November. Vote blue!
I didn’t expect to be so touched by this story of Heather’s l
Brought tesrs
Me, too.
Me,too.
Me three. What a great and heartfelt story!
Me too
Me four
and also me
That makes 6 and counting. I have been blessed to see and hear a B17,B29,Lancaster and B26 all in the same day. Thank you for your sevice.
7 and counting❤️
As a child, I frequently listened to my uncle, well he was an honorary uncle but an honorary one was the same as a blood uncle, but Uncle Omar Bartlett, who was from New Hampshire and spoke with a distinctive down east accent, told his story of the D-Invasion of Normandy. I suspect he was in that wave. Hearing him speak of this in the late 1950s meant that it was only 14 or 15 years earlier — a blink of an eye in time. Today 14 years seems like yesterday today. Time does that to you as you age. But Uncle Omar proudly repeated his story of the invasion. I probably sat in silence stoking one of his and Auntie Carman’s cats, Tiger or Buster. And my anticipation to visit them frequently on Sundays likely seeded in my recesses, the pleasure of feline companionship in the home. Dag. I’m lucky Auntie Carman and Uncle Omar didn’t own any cows.
Me as well!
Thank you Heather for writing this wonderful piece!
I too was unexpectedly touched by her story.
Me too - thanks, Heather
May all Beau & his fallen comrades be remembered - and may we who remember & honor them continue to stand up for all they stood for!
Same here— very moving.
Truly a beautiful and moving story. Thank you, Heather, for remembering and sharing the story of Beau.
Amen.
Thank you Heather for this story of what we are celebrating on Memorial Day. Annabel has given us a reminder that we need to honor those who died by making sure our democracy survives and voting blue.
Democracy, decency and a livable planet, What are we bequeathing to succeeding generations?
That used to be not such a hard climb. Now that evil (and Steve Bannon’s bullshittery is evil), has touched us, I worry that we will let them down. I hope we don’t need another Gettysburg
It's hard to understand why it is a hard climb for so many, when the choice is so easy. If only people can focus on what's important, such as the things JL mentioned, rather than the false equivalency that is fed to them, then we will be alright.
Fox never thought those things were important. I remember the junk bond fiasco of mid to late 80’s. That was when Greed is good became the Repub mantra. It still is. Greed to feed the hogs in charge, that is.
"Greed is good" was a line from a predatory financial industry villain in the cautionary movie "Wall Street". It was meant to be as appealing as "I get you my pretty and your little dog too", but modern Republicans, true to form, embraced treachery and tried to make a virtue of it, as they now cerebrate the "Heroes" who invaded the Capitol on January Sixth. Greed is not just acquisitive excess, it is acquisitive excess that deprives others. THAT is sentiment the toadies of plutocracy try to make respectable. I commonly read the phrase "Greed is Good" in financial press, but saying that particular phrase out loud seemed to fade, if reluctantly, in the wake of the Great Recession.
We all know the origin and how the phrase was commandeered as a mantra for the greedy bastards. It is still true and used by another generation of the same greedy bastards
I'd say it started with the Stock Market. And it definitely got a boost with the lucre made by our WASP oligarchs in WWI. To see greed in action just search "Prescott Bush - Wall St Putsch" 1933. The coup failed, but the Oligarchs haven't given up. One Branch down, Two to go, but it really only takes the White House.
Thank you for mentioning the Coup attempt of 1933. I am familiar with Smedley Butler and how he thwarted the effort of Bush and his cronies. The Bush crowd has been front and center in the money rules crowd. Didn’t know it started back in WW1. Teddy’s efforts were just an interruption….
What were Teddy's efforts?
Robber barons comeuppance
hmm. Comeuppance ain't never gonna work on the people who aim to become robber barons. I'd like to see some real Jail Time from now on. Way more than Enron, the only ones I can even think of that were actually incarcerated. And how about some seizing of assets? vote vote vote
J L, exactly. We need to come to together and we won't have the first two words of your post if we don't have a livable planet. it will be an ugly scrabble for survival and we are seeing the first instances of this already. Salem (OR) just elected a mayor bought and paid for by the people who do not care about a livable planet, only making more money and covering all the land with something that will grow their bank accounts. Coming together also means working with good people of faith. Lately i have been seeing memes dissing religion as if every believer is the same and takes the Bible literally while extolling science as if it has the answer to everything, never turns out to be wrong, and never changes. i have blocked two of them who seem to believe that f bombs make a good argument. The problem is with those who want a theocracy here run by white nationalist pseudo Christians who are willing to use death star as a means to achieve this and those are the people we need to call out and vote out of power.
I agree with the important parts of this, Michele, but I cannot see science as the problem. Science can help us all have better lives even though we ignore or suppress it when it tells us to take action that the money-changers resist as wrt to climate change. Like science, religion can and has been used to support unimaginable horrors on the planet. What we need is compassion, empathy and determination to find the greatest good for the greatest number and make that our goal.
John, i think you have delineated the problem with science. it isn't always right. Some experiments are not very good and/ or are paid for by companies looking to sell a cure. There has also been plenty of stealing of work as well. And yes, it can be used to support and design incredible horrors. i am actually not saying that science is a problem, but i do have a problem painting all people of faith with a negative brush. i would say Native American beliefs and spirituality can help us with climate change. Agree totally with your final sentence. That is my hope.
Yep, fortunately science is self-correcting in its efforts to improve our understanding of things. Some indeed misuse it in attempts to make money. TRUTH and honesty are what matters. All useful understanding depends in both. IMO nobody should ridicule honest beliefs held by others about matters of which there can be no certainty. However, hypocrisy is abhorrent as are attempts to force others, without their agreement, to act in accordance with one’s own beliefs. Useful social compacts result from general agreement about acceptable behaviour. Let’s hold fast to the notion of GGFGN! 😊
what is GGFGN?
Greatest Good For Greatest Number
The religious people I very much admire are humble and humane. Those who claim to be religious who also claim to have all the answers and the God-given right to force them on others, seem to me the opposite of anything Jesus recommended. I think of science as paying very careful attention to the way things are, and quarrel when people want to reject what can be reasonably proven for Biblical literalism. Some of the same people who claim every item in the Bible is literal fact have also claimed that Jesus was not really talking about real enemies when he said "love thy enemy" and you have to have special knowledge (as they do) to realize that. I think that scientific thinking gives us a much clearer picture of our circumstances, and can help us to prioritize our choices, but it is not designed to (nor can it) to deliver ethical choices. For that, we have to probe our own inner values and learn from each other in ways that allows us to question our own selfish motives. We all are obliged to look out for ourselves, but become toxic when we fail to look out for each other. Freedom defined as impunity for the individual can become sociopathy. Freedom worthy of the name is achieved socially. Isn't that what the Constitution tries to reinforce? "We the People..."?
So long as a person is not hurting others, how they come by an abiding sense of fairness and responsibilities to others seems to me beside the point. I am not religious in any conventional manner, but among my greatest heroes are Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, and MLK. Faux-pious Republicans have corrupted Jesus's message of kindness. I wish more of his faithful followers would visibly stand together against that. When greed and ego push every other value out of the nest, it becomes truly evil.
"Accustomed to trample on the rights of those around you, you have lost the genius of your own independence, and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises." - Lincoln
you said it so much more kindly and clearly than I did. Thank you
Very well said JL I agree completely. i have no idea if I was going to say more because i am just in from the garden.
One if my favorite sayings is
“Science never claims to have the final word on anything, religion claims to have the final word on everything.” Don’t remember where I saw that, but so true…
Unfortunately, many people do not understand science nor do they understand that some scientists are people of faith. Sometimes a particular discipline does not disprove certain things in religion. Prayer, for example, is not disproved by statistics and if it is not merely asking for something and is mediative, the health consequences can be measured. Fundamentalists of all kinds claim to have the final word on everything.
Yes they do, I reject fundamentalists of every stripe
this reminds me of how the segment of Ken Burn's commencement speech to Brandeis (with its powerful Jewish history) about how we need to find the "us" and "we" in our country again. while what he was Actually setting up, and which barely got any coverage, was a break in his famous "neutrality."
The part of the speech where he made it clear that we need to come together, but the choice is Clear. We must make the choice to save our democracy.
Some Christians, a very small number from what I've seen, are coming out in favor of democracy and the Clear Choice of tolerance, non-judgement and love, but Not Enough and Not Loudly Enough.
I'm always glad to find someone who is Christian, I assume you are, who is willing to break from the flock and actually practice "do unto others."
I hope you can amplify your voice in support of the oppressed, the needy, the non-white, the women who need abortion as healthcare, the LGBTQia community and all the others that many "christians" are attacking day in and day out.
Yes, we need to find the we. I am not a Christian actually, but a person who believes in the universal energy whatever people want to call that. For years my husband sneered at Christians without making a distinction between good people of faith and hypocrites and pharisees. We have a friend who is a Christian and is the most grounded person i know and her energy is a comforting presence. She is also one of the those people whose faith does what you have described in terms of social issues. i had a friend on Facebook, since blocked, who constantly posted memes under the name faith is a mental illness. I am sure it is for some and certainly magnifies hate of anyone who is different...which is not what Jesus taught in the first three Gospels. Most of the people, when I defended good people of faith and said many people welcome prayer simply because they need support, assumed I was some kind of religious fundamentalist nut. I kept telling them that they had no idea of what I believed or did not believe. Some of them thought they were too clever by half and failed to understand what I actually wrote. And if I made a point, for example, yes, Jesus is mentioned outside the Bible, very briefly in Josephus, they ignored it. MY husband looked up studies on the efficacy of prayer and found out that studies can be fraught with problems, but when it is meditative, good health results can be measured. I never send people prayers, btw, because I don't pray, but instead healing reiki energy which probably amounts to the same thing if they feel supported by it. You need not strike do unto others because the same sentiment is found in many religions as a way to tell people to treat others as they would want others to treat them. I never judge a faith or a belief by the fundamentalists, hypocrites, and haters. I have often mentioned Native American beliefs and myths as a way of approaching nature.
actually even "do unto others..." would be twisted in the hands of many "Christians" today so strike that.
In Beau’s memory, please pledge to yourself that you will search out your entire family and friends to encourage as many of them as possible to cast their vote for Joe Biden and other democrats on the ballot! We each have an honorable role to protect and preserve OUR Democracy! Let’s all pitch in to make it happen, ok? Many thanks!
Great idea! But they all watch FN, refer to J6 as a peaceful protest, and believe the former guy is being unfairly prosecuted by the out of control Biden DOJ.
Trump hates dogs. Because dogs hate him.
Dogs know💙
They do indeed
this may actually cut through to the cult mind
Every servicmember who has died for their country is rolling in their grave, due to the words spoken (I will not defile this article} on Memorial Day by "the evil one"..."the great dragon" .."prince of demons"........
I know. It's what I plan to discuss w folks.
And if you need more nicknames, I'm particularly fond of orange cocksplat, or as Stormy calls him, orange turd.
His grandfather was also a draft dodger if it makes you feel better. And a pimp.
Diaper Don's granddaddy was a pimp and draft dodger?? Was he the first bone spur tRumpshitter?. It is a shame that MAD Magazine no longer exists. William Gaines and the "usual gang of idiots" could go weekly with what the Orange A-Hole is up to everyday.
Mary Trump is a true hero. I know about her father being a pilot and drinking killed him.
David Cay Johnston, in a book he wrote said that Orange would go to a brothel though this secret back door......It might have been daddys whore house........
I joined Mary Trumps Substack as well and it is so wonderful.
So the first Orange loser would have been in the German army.
Have to read her book for sure.........
She has a couple. The second one I have yet to struggle through.
She comes on Kimberly Johnson's and Bob Cesca`s podcasts. Always a great chat and new information. Both are available on Stephanie Miller.com.........
no I think Grandpa Dump was drafted by the US Army, then tried to go back to Germany ??!! and was rejected, so came back to the US and opened a bar and flop house.
Okay......It was 1917 when the USA went over to France to fight in WW1. Dump started the Dump corruption,womanizing and racist legacy in the 1920's then. So sad.
unbelievable, ain't it?
Amen, Annabel.
Heather's letter today reminds me of a poem that I used to read to and discuss with my students when I was teaching. For a homework assignment, I asked them to read the poem to their parents or grandparents. One grandfather wrote me and thanked me for reminding the children of the sacrifices that were made so that they could have the freedoms, much taken for granted, that they enjoyed.
If you have rime to read it, here it is:
In Flander's fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing, fly,
Scarcely heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved
(And spent our paycheck on a dress for our mother)
And now we lie in Flander's fields.
TAKE UP OUR QUARREL WITH THE FOE: ( My caps)
To you from failing hands we throw the torch;
Be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flander's fields.
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. 1915
This poem has special resonance for me because my grand-uncle Geoffrey died near Flanders Field on his first sortie in 1918.
He is interred at the Marfaux British Cemetery. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56470545/g-h-hewson
Thank you for sharing that!
And a very kindly edit.
😊
Thank you. This is so meaningful
😊
😊
Thank you!
😊
@Annabel. Not suckers or losers.
Register Democrats to defeat fascism.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
Good point. Mr. Bone Spurs told us exactly who he is.
Let 's all make sure democracy wins this November.
Amen, Michael ... and if it does the people must revise the system to make sure that it really is a democracy: abolish the EC and elect the President based on the popular vote, revise the basis of the senate, revise the basis of the SCOTUS, etc. Otherwise, it seems clear that democracy will perish under the rules that define it. It appears still to be nip and tuck, as incredible as it seems.
Absolutely!
Beautiful story, Heather. One that keeps memories alive. Writing has been that since our human beginning. And compassion knows no boundaries….that of a country or a person’s thinking.
All we have to do is release the feeling of compassion to the Universe. All will feel it. All will be within it.
Salud to ALL!
🗽💜
It is simply a must that we not let those who sacrificed so much, some with their lives, to have done so in vain. We need to sharpen our perspective of the threat that we are up against. Toward that end, the following is my message to my fellow Lakeland, Florida Democratic Club members regarding some of what we can do and why:
Dear Fellow Lakeland Democratic Club Members and friends: That is the question - do our letters published in the newspapers affect anything? I don't know for sure. I do think that they can reinforce the views and motivations of those who agree with the letters. I always read the letter to the editors. The letter below was published in today's (Sunday, May 26, 2024) edition of the Palm Beach Post. I encourage more of you to please write letters to The Ledger and other area newspapers. Kathie's letter about climate change was published in today's Ledger.
The reason evangelicals support Trump
Cal Thomas, in the May 18 edition of the Post, took Donald Trump to task because of his use of profane and filthy words. Thomas then ponders, 'Does he believe in heaven and know how to get there? His fervent evangelical supporters, some of whom bizarrely claim he shares their faith, should ask him.' Respectfully, that line of inquiry completely misses the reasons for Trump’s support among white evangelicals.
I wondered who could vote for such a flawed person to be president of the U.S. Two professors at the University of Kansas also wondered, conducted a study and published their findings in the journal Critical Sociology: 'The Anger Games: Who Voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 Election, and Why?' The authors discovered that white evangelicals do not support Trump because of their shared 'Christian' views but rather they share the same views about race, women’s rights, gay rights and immigrants. Trump wants to be dictator and his supporters are willing to sacrifice democracy to have a white Protestant Christian autocracy.
Trump, if back in power, as a sop to (Russia’s Vladimir) Putin, would pull the U.S. out of NATO. The failure of democracy here would probably lead to a domino effect around the world with other democracies falling. For that reason alone, this November’s election is the most important in the history of the world.
Richard Sutherland, Lakeland
You are so right, Annabel! I have pointed out to many people that this year's election is not about liking or hating the candidates, it's voting for or against democracy. It's that simple.