In 1918, at the end of four years of World War I’s devastation, leaders negotiated for the guns in Europe to fall silent once and for all on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. That armistice was not technically the end of the war, which came with the Treaty of Versailles. Leaders signed that treaty on June 28, 1919, exactly five years to the day after the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand set off the conflict. But the armistice declared on November 11 held, and Armistice Day became popularly known as the day “The Great War,” which killed at least 40 million people, ended.
I learned that poem in third grade. Our class memorized it and recited it together. Even then, as an eight-year-old, I understood the gravity (hmm…grave; gravity. This is the first time I made that connection) - the gravity of the reason the poem was written.
Today is three days since the election that BARELY staved off an autocratic takeover of our country. It’s too soon to say if autocracy will be a part of our country’s future and it’s description. There is still plenty of room to doubt.
My family celebrates Thanksgiving on this weekend. It may be an occasion of perhaps greater thanksgiving than usual given the events of the last few years, and particularly given Tuesday’s results. It will be nice to be able to go to bed without laying awake worried about our country’s political health more than I worry about my own health! It’s not happening tonight, but soon, I hope, sooner rather than later.
Weirdly, my Mom just made an entire Turkey holiday dinner for us tonight. Apparently the bird was on some crazy sale and she didn't want to wait another two weeks lol. I think I'll retroactively consider it actual Thanksgiving, as you suggest, Betsy.
I'm holding judgement with great patience waiting for the Congessional results from the West Coast. If we come near a sweep of what's left to count (quite plausible) then the "miracle" will be complete and we can look forward to more Build Back Better next year. If not, I can bide my time til we finish the job. Progress isn't linear, eyes on the prize, etc. I'd be shocked mathematically if we didn't receive a popular vote when all is counted; the people clearly expressed a desire to move on from the crazy, no matter what the news told us we were supposed to care about. Those statehouse gains say it all, and will make an immediate differnce in the lives of 10s of millions. A cautiously hopeful and invigorating week indeed.
Dracula Dragon finally conceded here in Oregon, as gracelessly as possible. Tina in her speech yesterday called for unity, but not the R. Lack of grace must be in their genes. The Oregonian has called the race for the R in the 5th District, but so far no one else has. We'll see. Sixth still up in the air. Most counties are taking a three day weekend and will resume counting on Monday.
The House race in SW WA’s 3rd district is never included in national reporting but that seat has flipped to Democrats. This was Jamie Herrara-Butler’s district. She was one of the R’s to vote for impeachment and she got primaried by a wackaloon.
Also of interest, the other WA rep who voted to impeach, Dan Newhouse, was re-elected to his seat. He represents a usually-red district. I think these two results demonstrate a weakening of R sentiment in more rural areas of WA.
I haven't seen the results of the 3rd district yet, so glad that Perez won. Joe Kent is one of the worst death star acolytes and I am glad he lost. Also glad to see the Newhouse wasn't punished for his vote.
I have noticed a lowering of the anxiety level I felt up through Tuesday. Not gone by any means! But lower. Because now I know through their votes that there are many more fellow citizens who reject the authoritarians than we could be sure of before.
It's hard to get a sense of our numbers because the crazies take up so much air space!
We will be working to strengthen our weakened democracy for a long time, but as long as we don't go back to sleep, I believe we will progress toward a more just and sane future.
AND SPECIAL THANKS TO GEN Z VOTERS who really saved our a$$es! LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU! ❤️ 💕 ♥️ 💓 💖 💗 ❤️ 💕 🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍
And that was supposed to be the war to end all wars. Didn't happen, of course. We'll never learn, especially as long as we're controlled by the MIC. The tail continues to wag the dog.
Happy Veterans Day to all of us Veterans: past and present who represent so many nations of the world.
I hope I'm wrong, but I fear that aggression and warfare are in our genes, especially in those of young men. It would help if all of our young people had to perform some national service that required hard physical labor, which could be fixing the trails in the national parks, for example, or military service. Unfortunately, the need for the military isn't going to go away soon, but, on the other hand, we certainly should not be in thrall to the military-industrial complex (or to any other "complex" such as the financial-high tech-industrial complex). Such service would force people to get along with each other and help to remove the racial and other divisions in society.
Dreaming along with you. It seems the more we try to not make war, the more the gods of War laugh. I so admire the Ukrainians who are showing us what sacrifice for Liberty means and it breaks my heart too. They’ve got a hard winter ahead of them. Life will no doubt be very difficult. And all this misery is because of the greed of one man. Unforgivable.
I don't imagine war itself is in the genes, but more that genetic traits in homo sapiens can lead to war. That is, the basic drives like survival and procreation which are then manipulated by a ruling governmental machine or social order--a machine which convinces the masses through propaganda that the "enemy" wants them dead. Sometimes it's true but mostly not. Most of U.S. propaganda about assorted Middle Eastern nations in the past few decades has been about encouraging us to go to war with them. We know that the Iraq war was based on falsehoods provided by Bush Jr. and Cheney. Colin Powell sacrificed his credibility to endorse the evil Iraq premise. He had to have been in a quid pro quo with Bush Jr. and Cheney.
I agree completely about the need for national service in the U.S. Every citizen should serve at least two years in service and sacrifice; not necessarily doing military service but something which provides benefit to the country. In my generation, those of us serving in the army in the late 1960s had a gross salary of $88.00 per month. That was before taxes and other deductions took some of that away. Our pay worked out to 11 cents an hour, less than one tenth of the then minimum wage of $1.25/hour. We were slave labor, and for that we could be shot and killed or have to shoot and kill someone else.
J. Wasn’t that JFK’s idea for the Peace Corps? And then VISTA here in the US. Those were wonderful programs and really did “help remove the racial and other divisions in society.” Thank you.
E - yes I agree those were/are wonderful programs. They still exist, but I haven't heard much about them for many years. Whether they removed the racial and other divisions in society is questionable, except for the people who were actually involved in the programs. But they are good models of what could be done on a larger scale.
I've had the privilege of twice being in the UK on November 11, which they call Commemoration Day. Around that time the sale of poppies provides funds for vets services.
How sad that veterans have to sell poppies to get needed services. They earned them, it seems to me, by giving their lives to their country. As Bernie says, over and over, take the Defense budget and build decent housing, provide mental health services and give veterans a chance to have lives worth living. My father was a WWII veteran and lost two brothers in the war one month apart. It destroyed him and he lived a silent, sad life while struggling through his next forty years. He died at 62, way before he should have.
I share both your feeling and experience, E. My father chose to make it a career of service after returning a vet as did yours and then, becoming involved in early programs he could never speak of passed, in part due to exposure to them. His pride in service was also a cross he bore until it took him early at 62, just as yours.
When (so-called) 45 later called them all "suckers & losers" it was a bridge-too-far not to imagine him with them in Flanders Fields. Every salute he gave, wreath he placed or military jacket worn after that was and remains a dishonor to our military when he made up a fake injury and bone spurs to dodge service.
Thank you BK. Thank you for your comment and your father’s bravery. 45 will never hold a candle to any of them. I hope they imprison his sorry ass forever….
BK - "When (so-called) 45 later called them all 'suckers & losers'"
Just to be fair:
Neither public claim was true, according to “four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day” quoted in a new report by Jeffrey Goldberg in the Atlantic.
Just to be fair, Snopes and at least one other "truth" site I checked, shows 45 did say those words, tho I haven't read where he said them together. 45s history of bashing honorable people also gives credence, as I can totally hear it coming out of his mouth. Of course he says it's a lie, isn't everything according to him, when he is factually the master of lies.
We don't really need to dispute it and other sources after the Atlantic's Goldberg wanted to and did confirm it because of it's profound implications and the denials from his own people were less specific:
That was just one incident. What's not in dispute are his "loser" comments against John McCain and George H W Bush both of whom were shot down in combat, his anger that flags were flown at half-mast for McCain and even dismissive comments about his own staff, John Kelly's son's loss.
"Watch what they do, not what they say" applies to this situation. What we do know for certain is that 45 refused to travel a few miles to visit the WWI cemetery where US soldiers are buried. His excuse was that his helicopter couldn't fly in the rain. A lie made all the more egregious when not a week later he flew from the White House to Andrews in the rain. Even more egregious, world leaders who were also in France for the 75th commemoration, visited that cemetery without him. It was disgraceful.
He did say those words... in front of John Kelly, who at the time was Trump's Cheif of Staff and whose son is buried in Arlington Cemetery.
Trump also refused to go to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France on the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day because of his hair. They changed the narrative in Bolton's book to say the helicopter couldn't fly and the roads were not conducive to get the most powerful man in the world out should something happen. For lack of a better word, this is bullshit. How was he safe to go to North Korea? The military is better than that and the Cemetery is right off of 4 lane highway. Trump also believes D-Day was executed on a gorgeous sunny day. It was a torrential storm and many soldiers drowned. Trump's attitude... what was in it for them? It is their sacrifice that allows him to be a superficial idiot.
Actually, Jeffrey Goldberg verified that Trump did say those words. Goldberg first said it in a Tweet on Sept. 3, 2020. Then, he went further in an Atlantic article:
My dad was a WWII veteran, who watched his younger brother be killed. PTSD big time, alcohol problems. But with the help of my mother, he overcame his challenges with grief and emotional trauma to live a good life. When my Army son returned from a deployment in Afghanistan, he and my talked talked about their experiences. Daddy shared more stories about his two years in the Army than he ever had before. Everyone who experiences war is injured in some way, whether the wounds are visible or not.
FYI--George Washington argued with the Continental Congress to get the pay that his men had been promised. Since the beginning of the nation, veterans have had to fight for their benefits.
ANOTHER OF MY PERSONAL WRITINGS - THIS ONE FOR MEMORIAL DAY
Memorial to an Unknown Hero
by Rob Boyte 1987
It was 1983 when I wrote down my thoughts about Uncle Bob, the war hero whose legendary image affected my life. Always present but somehow less profound in my experience was his brother, my Uncle Bill.
Bill was the other soldier in uniform in a composite hand-painted photo portrait, which hung on the wall at my grandmother's. As with Bob, I only knew him through these photo images but unlike my namesake, he remained in the background of my awareness.
Perhaps it was because he died the very year that I was born and his passing had been muted by the years. It could also have been because he was just a teenager when he died, leaving no accumulated adult entanglements such as wife or children to perpetuate the memory of his passing.
He was however remembered. Each Memorial Day the family would go with my grandmother to the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery to watch the parade and hear the speeches and find uncle Bill's headstone in the rows of other stone markers of fallen heroes. Though I was quite young, I remember the sadness of the occasion, especially in my grandmother.
I also remember hearing her say that she knew it was possible that the body under the stone was not her Billy. But, it was another American boy who died in the war with him and she accepted that she would grieve over these remains just as some other mother would grieve over the remains of her son. This was the spirit of the times in this massive war where hundreds of thousands of young men were thrown together in a brotherhood of a single purpose and where families everywhere feared not only for their men at war but for all "our boys."
It appears all of us have stories to tell about war. When one has experienced PTSD in the family, the others get it too, by osmosis. Both parents were Holocaust victims and my father was a WWII vet for the US. He fought in the Pacific Theater and came back with jungle rot and varicose veins on his legs. He and my mother ran a clothing store for 25 years. He never ever spoke about his time in Papau New Guinea. Then I met my husband in 1970, a Vietnam Vet, who had a mental breakdown some 30 years after being in Nam. He nor I understood what was happening. It wasn’t until he went to our local vet center that he was told he had PTSD. Here’s where I get political, war is a man’s “thing”. It is very rare for women to cause these atrocities. Biden can get criticized for pulling us out of a country we didn’t belong in the first place, but he did the right thing! War is hell on the veterans and their family members. Everyone suffers. I tip my hat to all of the men and women who sacrifice their lives for ours.
Sorry to hear about your husband. PTSD was not recognized greatly amongst Vietnam Veterans in the seventies. I never got the feeling we were recognized properly either. I served from 68 - 71 in the USMC in Communications as a Crypto-Tech and left a Sergeant.
I still think of and miss my lost friends, Tim Gilson who was headshot in the north. Paul Placzek who stepped on a booby trap. Bobby O'Million who along with five others and his SFC died in a head on collision with a drunk while returning to base after a weekend hunting trip.
I do not believe we are ever the same after such times of being constantly under danger and fear. It wears on you and lingers in your head. I was and am still an excellent shot with an M14 and M1 rifle. All my skill as a Marksman could and would not be brought to bear to save two of them. I can't change my childhood friend's fate in a van from a drunk. What if we were never there those days? I also can't change it, but I can still remember.
The most I can do is remember them and the times we had as friends. I hope your husband can get past this.
In the late 70’s I was in law school and represented vets who had been dishonorably discharged from the service and were denied benefits as a result. We went to San Diego to hearings (I lived in LA) and argued on their behalf. I learned so much from the men I worked with. We won every appeal. I wish i could have done more. Looking back, I am sure many were Vietnam vets who were never diagnosed with PTSD.
Thank you for your reveal regarding your experience in an unpopular and unnecessary war, Bill. You aren’t the same person who left your home and then came back to a population who couldn’t understand why you were different. No one can enter your head to see what you witnessed.
My husband is very OCD about working out. He will be 76 in January but plays basketball 2-3 times a week, lifts weights and goes on the Precor 7 days a weeks. It gets him out and keeps him somewhat (that's questionable) sane, otherwise, he would be doomed to a very sorry life. He never ever wanted to own a gun after Nam and never has. He served in the Army primarily in Me Tho in ‘68-‘69.
Thank you, Nancy. So nice of you to comment. War is the destruction of all that is good and human. I will never understand how we think we can evolve and still make war on each other. So many great things we could do for humans with 770 BILLION dollars in the our bloated defense budget. The weapons makers get rich beyond their wildest dreams while our veterans commit suicide and drink themselves to death. Don’t get me started….
I am so deeply sorry about your fathers, Elisabeth and BK. What desperately sad memories to live with, but what brave, sensitive and truly human beings. My most sincere thanks for their service.
Elisabeth, my father was also a WWII vet who lived a silent, sad life, never talking of the horrors he witnessed and dying of alcoholism at 68. My oldest brother, a Vietnam vet, is currently hospitalized - congestive heart failure as a result of a lifetime addiction to cigarettes, a habit he picked up in Vietnam. My late husband, a Vietnam-era vet, died of ALS, which the VA considers a service related illness.
As always, I visited my dad and husband’s graves this past week at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. I find military cemeteries peaceful - a sea of simple white tombstones - many with Christmas wreaths in place already. My prayers were equally simple - deepest gratitude for their sacrifices that help keep us safe from fascism and the horrors of war. This year, I added my gratitude to my parents who insisted my brothers and I understand the need to be active citizens and serve the greater good.
I also sent a gift to Paralyzed Veterans of America, the group that advised me throughout Glen’s illness, and continue to check in on me. While I completely agree that our government should support veterans throughout their lives, groups like PVA advocate for veterans in real time and provide critical support services to families beyond what the VA can manage. Passing the PACT Act this year was great. But vets and their families need help every day. Let’s all find ways to help. Its our democracy they protect.
So beautifully written, Sheila. I also love all cemeteries and military cemeteries are very peaceful. My two uncles are buried at a very large one in Long Island. My cousins and I visited them in 2013. I will fight to the end for democracy and will always think of all the men and women who have died in our defense. I wish I could talk to my father and ease the pains he felt during his life. Oh my.
Sheila, I'm so sorry for your losses, and for your brother's congestive heart failure. I'm glad you find such meaning in visiting the graves, and I salute your parents for stressing the need for you to be active citizens--so important. I hope you have a good circle of family and close friends--we all need close connections.
I am so sorry about your father and his family. War takes a horrible toll. My father was in WWII. (We need to stop having sequels) When he passed away, I hired a Legion Honor Guard for his funeral. It was incredible. After they fired the volley, one by one, they approached my father's casket and placed a poppy in the seam. As a veteran myself, I didn't understand the significance. It is the bond and support of the community for veterans. As a Legionnaire, I am happy to sell poppies. I can spread community awareness, the story of the poppy, and why we serve.
I am very moved by your description. I have only admiration for what you do with the money you raise. I just felt it is a societal responsibility to provide adequately for our veterans and their families. Education is also of prime importance. Maybe we can inculcate in our children never to go to war under any circumstances….
My father was also a WWII veteran. Marine Corps. He fought on Okinawa. I was born 4 years after the war ended, and only learned after he died at the age of 90 that he had suffered from PTSD all those years.
It was undiagnosed in those days, and our family suffered a lot, though he was able to function in the world.
Learning of his PTSD near the end of his life explained a lot to me, and helped me forgive a lot.
He would never say much about his war experiences, but I read a book about the Battle of Okinawa and learned a lot. I cannot fathom what he, and everyone who has actually been in battle has gone or is going through!
We really must find ways to peace. But we will have to be strong because there are always some people in the world like Putin, and others we could all name, who will push the boundaries.
I was lucky. Both my father and his brother made it home unscathed by WWII. In fact, my father, who was stationed in what is now Ukraine, on each of two US bases in the former Soviet Union as a radar mechanic for the shuttle bombing (Operation Frantic), learned Russian, and got a career out of his service, as an expert on that country's economy. Luckier still: my siblings and I have nearly three hours worth of 1990 interviews by the BBC (probably Martin Sixsmith) on his experiences there.
if congress provides funds to take care of vets it is admitting what it has done, sent young meant into danger, often unnecessarily. it doesn't want to look at these men. it wants to see young men all in one piece marching off to another war, so it can forget about the last one. they will even allow a president to start a new conflict so they can forget about the old one
Taking care of veterans is not an admission of guilt. It is appreciation for our service. Are you suggesting that our military members are erroneously sent to war - which is hell - and then not taking care of them because doing so is owning their error and being accountable for it?
yes. congress has no appreciation for anyone's service. and taking adequate care of new vets would force congress to think about the cost of war. for the war they always have the money, but not for the aftermath.
Your view is in absolutes and far from reality - lack of understanding how the system works. I understand your antiwar stance. Every year, Congress approves the budget for the VA. The VA is always funded; even if the government is shutdown. While there is a financial cost with war, this isn't the reason for wars. My people in Congress have lost of loved one to war. Congress doesn't like war.
I cannot find your link. I am a veteran and I sell poppies in the summer as part of the American Legion. When my father passed away, I had a local Legion Honor Guard give ceremony at the funeral. Everyone, one by one, approached my father's casket and put a poppy in the crease.
In 2002, I was at Heathrow airport at 11:11 on 11/11 when an announcer called for 2 minutes silence to honor the war dead. For 2 minutes none of the thousands there moved or made a sound. It will remain in my memory forever.
I love those poppies in the UK. We had them when I was in grade school..I think we should do that again for Remembrance and Peace Day. We need to visualize more peace. I love learning about Armistice Day today, from our brilliant professor.
I remember when we had poppies here on Veterans Day as well. They were bouttonieres and were a lovely reminder. Walking around, wearing one on that day showed appreciation, and was a reminder to those just going thoughtlessly through their day to pause and reflect.
Thank you for sharing the poem. I hadn’t read it since I was at the WWI museum in Kansas City, MO several years ago. It is one of the best museums I’ve ever seen. We’ll worth the visit and really lays out the horror the troops endured. The entrance is over a clear bridge above a “field” of red poppies.
My husband and I were in Normandy and visited the Caen-Normandie Museum. I wish I could have spent more than a day. That totally brought it all to life.
I was fortunate enough to go to KC for work several times and would stay 2-3 weeks at a time. I never failed to spend an entire day in the WWI museum every time I went.
After a Veteran's Day spent reflecting on the impact of war on our soldier, a mere kid, seriously wounded in Dark To, this was a powerful read this morning. Thank you.
And Col. McCrae (who was a doctor) was among those who perished, although he was not interred in Flanders, technically, but nearby in the Pas de Calais region of France.
My great-uncle Geoffrey Hewson from Harrowgate, Yorkshire, was killed in France on July 20th, 1918 soon after arriving at the front. He is buried at the Marfaux British Cemetery in Marfaux, Marne, France.
He was cut down on Flanders Fields at the age of 21, in his first and last battle.
As I read HCR's Letter of war and peace of guns and veterans, I thought of the thousands of New York City residents dying of COVID, the urgent pleas to find protective gowns for the nurses and the nighttime applause and singing for the nurses, doctors, therapists and healthcare workers that were keeping us alive. I thought about the number of guns in the USA and the death toll from them. How can we forget the noise and ugliness of Donald J. Trump; the red states' campaigns to restrict access to voting by minorities; book banning in the schools and overturning Roe v. Wade...the list of abuses on the American people is so damning. Have we not been at war? Our society is being torn apart. We need a people's campaign against the forces and politicians that are destroying the earth and everything upon it. When is the time to look around, to count the ways? We all feel what has been happening. Hate is a diversion that enables people like Cruz, DeSantis, Abbott, McConnell, the Billionaires, gigantic corporations, the whole lot of them to walk all over us. We have to organize to stop the fires from burning, gun violence multiplying, the lack of affordable housing, the homelessness and the politicians who care for nothing but themselves. Look at the face of Ukraine President, Volodymyr Zelensky, at the end of today's Notes. Volodymyr Zelensky has not left the battle for a moment. He and the Ukrainian people are our models.
I often wonder how the US went so quickly from thanking essential workers to braying about individual rights and making wearing a mask and getting vaccinated a political issue. Only one of the achievements of the treasonous expresident. A mass murderer who planned and executed a coup against his own government and vice president should be in jail, not thinking about running for office. Control of the courts, census cheating, redistricting, De joy in the post office, and constant lies fueled by dark money is his legacy and our shame. Thank you to all the officials who fight for a fair election against these odds. I agree Fern that it's hate but also selfishness, greed and stupidity. The time is now to work toward restoring sanity and honesty in this country.
Biden and Harris have done an outstanding job but time is running out.
Oh, may we never forget. Rupert Murdoch and his ilk, turned the tide from sanity to power and greed. And the cult baaed. Damn, it’s such a relief to be able to hate out in the open and find like-minded haters to form a community which will overwhelm sanity. Watched it happen, not overnight, but the script was written, the stage was set decades ago, the roles were cast, and “action” was yelled when chump entered the fray.
Don't forget it was Ronald Reagan who ended the Fairness Doctrine, making it possible for Fox News and its likes to give only one side of the political story.
@GiGi - I’m still reading “They Knew: How a Cultural Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent”, but it is definitely confirming so many things I’ve felt were responsible for our world today, that actually have roots in WWII and the Cold War.
Sarah Kendzior is now my Millennial hero. I nightly recco “They Knew” and I can’t wait to read her previous books as well.
Her overall thesis is that we are now in the midst of what I can only describe as many networks comprised of sociopathic grifters.
The difficulties decent human beings face in exposing, confronting, and punishing these malefactors is compounded by the terms conspiracies and conspiracy theories.
By way of a personal example; I don’t know or really care if Oswald acted alone or as part of a team or if he was a patsy when it comes to the murder of JFK. What I’ve come to believe is simply that Allen Dulles (and his cohorts) had the means, and the motive to kill Kennedy. That said, it takes pages simply to outline this “conspiracy.” A theory which is built not on 12 foot Lizard People or a cabal of pedophiles, but instead on established de-classified facts about Dulles. We know of his far right his Nazi/Facist sympathies, his Cold War plots that featured assassination of duly elected leaders and his fear that Kennedy was too soft on Communism. So, it is not crazy to arrive at that conclusion, it is just common sense.
The problem of course is that detractors can simply call you a “conspiracy theory (nut)” and no facts or logic are allowed to be considered.
Here is my latest thinking on how was it possible to believe that nobody could possibly conceive of using a passenger jet as missile to attack the WTC on 9/11 that I did thinking about the matter as Kendzior did in a chapter of “They Knew:…”
In any case you are far from alone as we begin to yes, awaken to see what the hell is actually going on that is more than “deepening divides” in our nation.
"Kendzior explains how intrigued she was with a TV depiction of an extremely similar attack six months before 9/11 on The Lone Gunmen, an X-Files spin-off series. By Vince Gilligan who went on to create “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul”
“the Lone Gunmen discover that a commercial flight headed to Boston had been hijacked. Initially fearing there was a bomb on board, they learn that the plane itself is the weapon, and that it had been commandeered to fly into the World Trade Center and cause the buildings to collapse. “They intend to bring this down in the middle of New York City?!”
SIX MONTHS BEFORE! My son worked for Vince Gilligan on both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, and I got to meet Vince. One of the nicest, kindest, sweetest people ever.
Democratic leadership and society is reciprocally empowering; elected and "grass roots" leaders empowered by the trust and guidance of the aggregated public, and the public empowered by trustworthy, competent, and responsive leadership. As opposed to societies manipulated, intimidated, and turned to fight among themselves by bullies. Ukrainians are fighting yet another homicidal sociopath who rules by terror. It seems that we defeat one and another emerges. Defensive war is like fighting wildfire, quite necessary, and yet there must be a way to keep them from igniting to begin with. More saying "no" to bullies.
Thank you, Carole. Biden and the 1/6 House Investigative Committee as well as a fair number of Democrats are making improvements, but the weight on the people, the deep discord and the Republican Party do not stop pulling us apart. We cannot depend on politicians alone, we must put our weight to the wheel.
Did you mean "whining"? How about his latest typo: "They stole the electron from Blake Masters". The string of replies is a riot! Hot on the booted heels of Marjorie 3-names' quacking enemies.
He is a non-entity now. That SOB has found plenty of flunky lawyers to file a bunch of lawsuits. The funny thing is, is that the members of the Pro-Rape Party are leaving him behind.
"We have to organize to stop the fires from burning, gun violence multiplying, the lack of affordable housing, the homelessness and the politicians who care for nothing but themselves."
Absolutely, Fern. Further, we have to organize to fight for or against individual issues instead of fighting political parties. I'm an Independent American in terms of political designation. That being said, I've always voted Democrat since I first voted in 1968. I do that because the dem. party is the closest to representing the values I believe in. In the election last week, I voted a straight Democratic ticket. I'm not proud of that vote, but I believe it was absolutely necessary. I won't give an enthusiastic endorsement to a political party because I know there is serious corruption in both parties.
Neither party is against the SC ruling of "Citizens United" because most politicians in both parties are greatly benefitting from those corporate bribes. Neither party has fought against the congressional insider trading issue because too many members of both parties are using privileged information to enrich themselves. When Nancy Pelosi didn't introduce the planned bill against congressional insider trading, I didn't hear republicans complain about that.
If we can focus on the problems facing us in the country, and also hold our politicians to honest accountability, then we'have a better chance of bringing young people into the political process. Otherwise, we will only decline further and further.
Hello, Heydon. We agree. I will check Pew Research Center and whatever other good sources may have information about representatives and senators in the Democratic who that have indicated strong objection to 'Citizens United'. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) will be the first senator's office to contact regarding the matter.
As an aside, I see in your bio notes that you are an organic farmer. Kudos to you for that. I've been growing vegetables and flowers organically for over 30 years. It's the only way to go.
Dear MaryPat, it is a treasure to see you at this minute when my mind is full of concern about a couple of friends and our country, so at odds. The 'war' will not be over with a couple of more positive election results. A large portion of our population is poisoned with hatred, distorted thinking and, perhaps, too eager to strike out. Real improvement will take a lot of effort and time. Peace and affection to you and your family.
I fear we have a long journey to right this ship...from its' foundations. But it will be a journey worth continuing to aim for all the better angels in America willing to keep the light on our democracy, and stand strongly with Lady Liberty.
Watching newly liberated residents of Kherson greet Ukrainian troops with joy and tears was fitting on this Veteran's Day. I'm proud of the U.S. under President Biden's leadership for contributing so much to help the Ukrainians in a heroic effort, an effort that has security implications for so many other countries—and implications for democracies too.
Well, I think we all know there wouldn't BE a Ukraine right now. Or an America, really.
But I don't see why we should bother conceptualizing that in our minds when AmeriCANS
did not allow that to be, were never going to allow that to be, and are never going to allow that to be, at least if you and I have anything to do with it.
My family's story (at least as it was touched by World War II):
My Nana was, I am sure, considered a shockingly independent woman. Born in 1913, devoutly Irish Catholic and New England Democrat (Connecticut specifically), she eschewed getting married to move to NYC to become a nurse. This was the Depression, and she later told my Dad of once losing the nickel she needed for fare home; five strangers managed to scrounge up a penny a piece. THAT was America. When the war broke out, she offered her nursing services. She was needed, simple as that. En route to North Africa, her ship (the Strath Allen) was torpedoed in the Mediterranean. She helped evacuate all the injured soldiers to safety and hung onto a rope ladder in the dead of night as the ship's side sunk into the sea. They were barely rescued and arrived in Africa sans all her possessions. A fellow nurse insisted she borrow her dress, after confirming they were the same size, for there was a social going on and Nana deserved a nice few hours after this ordeal.
Grandpa, a colonel, was at that party. It was apparently a movie whirlwind from there. Problem: he was Jewish and a Midwestern Republican (Iowa specifically). Obviously, they didn't care, but boy did others! Upon writing to his mother of his intentions to marry the most wonderful person in the world, she wrote back (and this was behind lines in Africa, so I'm guessing it wasn't a quick turnaround) that she would never be able to speak to him again. He spent a horrible day wandering about, trying to figure out how to tell Nana he couldn't marry her after all.
They eloped the next day. Uncle Jerry began to show signs of existence a few months later. Nana hid it as long as she could, so as to not be sent away. She was soon, but fortunately VE Day come quickly. Their families got over themselves in quick time, 4 more kids and an idyllic 50s postcard childhood (by all accounts) followed. Grandpa had declined a role in the Nuremberg Trials (who could blame him), and went back to being a respected lawyer both back in Iowa and when they moved to Cali, leading the Rotary Club. There were a few occasions where they would visit an Army friend in DC who had worked his way up. Somewhere, there is a photo of my Aunt Susie (Miss Van Nuys!) sitting at the Resolute Desk. Unfortunately, he died early from a series of heart attacks. Decades passed, but Nana never remarried. I guess there just wasn't anyone else.
These stories were recounted a lot to me. On the other hand, GrandDAD's (Mom's Dad) stories weren't told by him, or at least not passed down with the slightest hint of glamour. He was a Marine who fought in the Pacific, specifically at Guadalcanal. We knew that he had at one point, while already gravely wounded, carried multiple fellow soldiers to safety up burning terrain. Mom figured that is what he had the Purple Heart for; it was used as a plaything after being found stuffed in a dresser drawer. Years later, we did some research and discovered that Purple Heart was actually one of many, with a Silver Star to boot. There was some documentation indicating he served in what was the precursor to the SEALs, as well as did important service translating in Japan after the surrender. To everyone in San Juan Capistrano, he was simply everyone's friendly neighborhood Spanish teacher. I'm sure he wanted it that way. My Uncle Bob made copies of his dog tags a few years back and I carry one on a keychain gladly.
My Granny was born in 1930, so a bit too young to participate more directly in the war effort. But she tried to explain to me recently the frame of mind from the home front, how different physiologically it was to anything we have experienced. The knowledge so much of your family was in harm's way on another continent. The knowledge this was *everyone's* family. The uncertainty that we could be invaded. The sense that America really could end in a few years, that freedom could be snuffed out. And the attitude that made everyone gladly contribute and pull together to make sure that never, ever happened.
Dirt poor, they moved from Arkansas to California when she was young. At 92, she has told me more recently about going back to visit after the war as a teenager. How everything seemed dilapidated and backwards, how terribly the Black people were treated, of hearing casually of someone hung from a tree for being on the wrong side of town. She couldn't believe this could exist in this same country that had defended itself so proudly; she asked her mother "Is this really the United States? Are we really still in it?" She has never been back.
The last few years, she confided, are the first time she has worried deeply about our country's survival in the same gnawing existential way.
It's up to us now. So many of us have these family stories. The things they saw and felt and had to do make what we see on the news and in our lives pale in terms of difficulty. Those who wish to break our democracy don't scare me. How could they? With stories like these in the back of your mind, allowing fear to be your response is just plain disrespectful.
Thank you for taking the time to share this historical and personal story. Very well written and very touching. Your story combines love, tragedy, history and horror all in a few paragraphs.
Will, I've been reading LFAA over two years now. There are so many good comments posted that I can't read them all. There are people who I've come to know to look for their posts, and now you are one of them. I was moved by today's post. I've started keeping an eye out for you.
Over time, people on the forum have divulged little pieces of their lives--I have no idea what they look like and will probably never meet them, but they have become dear to me; friends, comrades. I know that you are a young person, and I believe we all welcome your voice here.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful family story. It’s inspiring to remember that Americans really used to care about each other because we all felt - for the most part - that we were in the same boat. Unfortunately, I think the rise of the military industrial machine has gotten us in too many wars - the politicians want to feed the machine and through some grotesque desire, watch the machine operate. I’m not talking about our great troops. It’s the industry that is constantly fed by the politicians yet it is never satiated.
Will, thanx for sharing another WWII story. This parallels my own family's story: "The knowledge this was *everyone's* family. "
From my Grandmother at the Military Cemetary:
I also remember hearing her say that she knew it was possible that the body under the stone was not her Billy. But, it was another American boy who died in the war with him and she accepted that she would grieve over these remains just as some other mother would grieve over the remains of her son. This was the spirit of the times in this massive war where hundreds of thousands of young men were thrown together in a brotherhood of a single purpose and where families everywhere feared not only for their men at war but for all "our boys."
Thank you to you and your grandmother’s for sharing these deeply important stories. If the stories aren’t passed down, how will young people appreciate our rate and precious freedom?
If you did not know this, the Silver Star is the third highest award one can receive for bravery or gallantry in the face of the enemy. It could be he was award such for rescuing others while under attack. It is something to encase along with its story.
Hi Will, seeing your mention of the ship (the Strathallan) immediately brought all of that incident back to my mind. My father was on the Strathallan at the time she was hit by the torpedo. Dad was troopt commander for the American contingent of soldiers and nurses. There were about 5,000 soldiers and nurses onboard in total, and some 90% were British soldiers with a number of Queen Alexandra nurses from Scotland. Of the American group, there were the nurses and the bulk of General Eisenhower's staff. The ship left Scotland on Dec. 12, 1942. Regarding the torpedo hit, at first the Captain had called to abandon ship as the ship listed. After insuring that the people he was responsible were all accounted for, my father went overboard and was hanging on to a piece of flotsam for the remaining hours of the night. He was swallowing a mix of oil and sea water and got very sick before being rescued the next day. In my book about my parents' journey through WWII, I wrote a whole chapter about the Strathallan experience. If you're interested in further info about it, email me at: buckandbernice@gmail.com. I can give you a copy of that chapter. There is a great website devoted to the story of the Strathallan. I provided them a half dozen photos, a bio of my father, and his account of the sinking. The website is: https://thestrathallan.com/wp/?page_id=3885&doing_wp_cron=1668574247.7655560970306396484375#. Dad's story is on page one of the survivors' stories. There are photos of him as well. Famed LIFE photographer/photo journalist Margaret Bourke-White was onboard as was Eisenhower's driver/friend Kay Summersby, and the war correspondent from the Reader's Digest.
Will: That’s a wonderful post. Thanks. I grew up in Des Moines and my parents were exactly the same age as your grandmother. Where upon Iowa were they? If DSM, then quite possible they knew each other as there are other similarities also. Steve
“The politicians who took us to war should have been given the guns and told to settle their differences themselves, instead of organizing nothing better than legalized mass
murder”, said the last surviving British soldier of WWI, Harry Patch
The reasoning, I suspect, is that if the children of the rich and powerful are anywhere near as likely to be sent to the front lines as are the children of relative nobodies, the rich and powerful parents just might be less quick to use their power and prestige - not to mention their investment savvy - to support wars and the ginning up of war fever.
Exactly. Most wars are fought over land, minerals, oil, something that will bring more spoils of the war to the rich who initiate the war. The U.S. has begun or entered into war since the end of WWII. It is the only western country to do so. Those in power send the sons and daughters of others to fight these wars so that they can gain the spoils of war. Watch Vice to learn about Dick Cheney and Bush the Younger. Read. ¨Support Our Troops¨ is a marketing tool used to sway the public to embrace their wars. Yet, those who are slaughter in those wars and those who return never to be the same again are forgotten.
WW II ended with two A-bombs, two U235 bombs, dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to kill civilians and force Japan to surrender. The nuclear bombs were created by the secret Manhattan Project run by ‘25 Nobel in Physics, James Franck and Enrico Ferme, two geniuses educated in Europe. Franck was my wife’s Opa. He rose in Germany in 1933 to declare Hitler a fascist menace and he fled Germany. The Franck Report he organized and published secretly was designed to influence President Truman - and it was ignored, initiating nuclear war.
There are many nuclear weapons poised to destroy civilization. The USA, England, France, Russia, China, North Korea, Israel, India, Pakistan, and possibly s few others have nuclear weapons.
Mutually assured destruction or MAD threatens. Nuclear powered submarines armed with H bombs many times as powerful as the U bombs are programmed to react with devastating consequences should we be attacked. The president is authorized to act without a congressional declaration of war if we are attacked or threatened. Recent presidents have had no military experience. Our constitution allows the congress alone to declare war. With intercontinental ballistic missiles, there is no time to call the Congress. So, we have the war powers act. Presidents, stable or not, have the power.
Will Putin test us in Ukraine? Would we respond?
Do Americans remember Lend Lease and the isolationists in congress that watched Hitler and refused to use our military to protect England.
Do the American people understand why we must stop Russia? Protect Formosa or Taiwan?
What started and what ended Vietnam? Korea? What must we do if Japan is attacked my North Korea?
Is Pearl Harbor the last time we declared war in the congress.
Why did we drop the Draft? Which pseudo Nobel urged us to drop the Draft? Why did he do that?
What color is our well paid army? When were the armed services desegregated?
Do Americans recognize fascism? Are Trump, DeSantis, Hawley, Cruz, Miller, and many others here and abroad fascists?
Do you have or read a local newspaper worth reading?
Are ee losing our democracy? What event proves this?
Are Republicans intelligent?” They are smart and evil. And fascists. Bad combo. Great questions that only us oldsters have pondered. Others should catch up.
They are cunning (from Oxford Dictionary: “having or showing skill in achieving one's ends by deceit or evasion”), but I would posit some of them are not intelligent nor smart: To wit:
* tfg’s 5th grade-level “big” vocabulary and grammar;
*Taylor Greene’s “gazpacho police”and her suggestion that the U.S. should leave NATO to avoid confrontation with Russia;
*Their push for teaching creationism in SCIENCE classes!
Nobel James Franck hated the use of the U-235 A-bomb on the Japanese people. Hated it. The Franck Report begged President Harry S Truman to demonstrate the A-bomb’s power to stop the killing of WW II. Hatred of the Japanese in China and Asia was matched in the USA. General Douglas MacArthur and others would do anything to stop Japanese aggression in Asia and the Pacific. HST may not have read The Franck Report. Leading American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer may have opposed Franck’s benevolence towards all people. JRO was no friend of Franck’s. Franck’s extended family lived in New Mexico during testing of the A-bomb. Soldiers used as guinea pigs were sickened with leukemia and died. My wife’s father was the pathologist for the Manhattan Project. He died of leukemia, lung cancer and Parkinson’s, was Dean of Students at Harvard Medical School. Hermann Lisco MD saved Charles Krauthammer MD from suicide - saved his medical career. See Krauthammer’s Lisco obituary. The Manhattan Project ended WW II. Those involved were sickened by radiation. My wife’s sister and brother - with Parkinson’s disease. Radiation harms the child. Delayed response is common.
James Frank was the most loved character in the Manhattan Project. Teller came to 5552 South Kenwood to play the piano with Franck’s daughter in quartets with other physicists and mathematicians. This was a close group. All knew Franck’s Report to President Truman.
Nobel James Franck hated the use of the U-235 A-bomb on the Japanese people. Hated it. The Franck Report begged President Harry S Truman to demonstrate the A-bomb’s power to stop the killing of WW II. Hatred of the Japanese in China and Asia was matched in the USA. General Douglas MacArthur and others would do anything to stop Japanese aggression in Asia and the Pacific. HST may not have read The Franck Report. Leading American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer may have opposed Franck’s benevolence towards all people. JRO was no friend of Franck’s. Franck’s extended family lived in New Mexico during testing of the A-bomb. Soldiers used as guinea pigs were sickened with leukemia and later died. My wife’s father was the pathologist for the Manhattan Project. He died of leukemia, lung cancer and Parkinson’s, was Dean of Students at Harvard Medical School. Hermann Lisco MD saved Charles Krauthammer MD from suicide - saved his medical career. See Krauthammer’s Lisco obituary. The Manhattan Project ended WW II. Those involved were sickened by radiation. My wife’s sister and brother - with Parkinson’s disease. Radiation harms the child. Delayed response is common.
James Franck was the most loved character in the Manhattan Project. Edward Teller came to 5552 South Kenwood to play the piano with Franck’s daughter in quartets with other physicists and mathematicians. This was a close group. All knew Franck’s Report to President Truman.
Read the Franck Report. Every word. James Franck was most love among and by the atomic physicists. He was the emotional leader. Most mature. Papa was used. Einstein was a dear friend. He supported Lise Meitner. Edward Teller loved him and his family. Wrote about Franck’s devotion to photosynthesis following WW II. James Frank Institute at U Chicago holds his papers at the Regenstein Library.
Love your last comment. Some of them are and as I noted in the governor's race here upon the R concession, utterly graceless. Every Veterans Day, I have a tradition where I send a thanks to the veterans that I know, some friends and some family. My father was lucky to be involved in a plant that made shell casings, so he did not have to participate in WWII directly. I remember my parents having a victory garden and rationing to remind people that we were at war. My grandfather lied about his age for the Spanish-American War and also was in the navy in WWI. Most of the war stories from my family come from their participation in the Civil War and further back. As for the war for our democracy, we still have much work to do and it should start now even after the relatively good news about the midterms. We will begin by making a donation to Warnock in Georgia. My sympathies today lie with younger people who are having to and will have to contend with the rubble we have made and i am glad to see some of them becoming much more active.
My Dad was a WWII veteran. He was a meteorologist. He spent just under 3 years in San Francisco and 2 years in China, helping set up the weather station there that helped the aircraft get "over the hump". Never saw combat, per se, but like so many others mentioned today, died far younger than he should have.
My mother was a WWII veteran. She worked at the weather station at the Marine Air Base Santa Barbara. When she was in her 80s, she moved into a retirement community in Seattle. One day, she saw a man, another resident, in the lobby who said, "I know you." He served as a pilot in WWII and remembered her from Santa Barbara. After that, they always greeted each other with "Semper fi."
I think I know most of the answers to the questions you've posed, and hope that the answers that I have to questions that are still speculative are correct as well.
I shall answer your third from last question directly: My local paper was sold to Gate House, who subsequently merged with Gannett. It has shrunk by 85% from what it was. They recently decided they would stop printing Editorials and Letters to the Editor, citing the "fact" that the content of those features were often the reason listed for cancelling a subscription.
I predict the demise of the Eugene Register Guard in about 2 years.
Our local newspaper went kaput a couple of years ago. Not that it was a literary masterpiece (it wasn’t) but at least you knew what events were going on and read people’s comments in the “opinion” page. Sad
"While the U.S. has sometimes failed to honor them, their central theory remains important: no country should be able to attack its neighbor, slaughter its people, and steal its lands at will. It is a concept that has preserved decades of relative peace compared to the horrors of the early twentieth century".
In 2001 the World Trade Center in NY was felled by two planes crashing into them. No perpetrator was from Afghanistan, had been to Afghanistan recently, had trained in Afghanistan or planned in Afghanistan.
However, because a party boy from Harvard, admitted to Harvard based on white affirmative action called "legacy admission", George W. Bush, had flagging popularity, he "decided" that it would be a good idea to do a full invasion of Afghanistan, then, Iraq, to bolster his popularity and "find Osama Bin Laden", a man Bush had been ignoring up to that point and who Bush claimed was in Afghanistan.
We invaded without regard to the MANY objections of other countries or the "rules based order". We dropped thousands of bombs on civilian targets including schools and hospitals. We leveled historic cities that contained schools, markets, hospitals, homes.
We machine gunned 12 year old boys in small villages gathering wood. One survived to tell how the US helicopter first descended to look at them, then rose back up and mowed them down with a .50 caliber machine gun.
Dr. Richardson, saying: "While the U.S. has sometimes failed to honor them (the rules based order)" is a sentence that truly re-writes history and simply ignores what is true.
The US has routinely failed to honor those rules and often aggressively ignored them. However, the US has managed to get by with this carnage because they pick countries to invade that are not white European.
Apparently, invading countries with brown people, or Vietnamese people, or Cambodian people is totally OK.
While what you say is true, and we have lots of war criminals in this country who have never been held accountable, the principles upon which we were founded hold true. We just have a VERY long way to go to live up to them.
What many Americans seem to have forgotten is that World War II was all about fighting fascism. Fascism being a move, in particular, to a political dictator ship. During World War II more than 40,000 of America’s finest young men died fighting fascism and assuring that democracy would thrive all over the world.
Today in America, MAGA Republicans in office have turned to that same fascism and the accordant dictatorship as a method of maintaining their power and staying in office, while blaming Socialism for the ills of the nation.
These blatant lies have been a slow process, taking place over decades, so that it has gone almost unnoticed, like putting a frog in a cauldron of water and gradually bring it to a boil. By the time the frog realizes what is happening it is too late and the it perishes in the boiling water.
Before it is too late, Americans must realize what is happening and put a stop to the process.
In the recently completed midterm elections in this country, many Americans saw what MAGA Republicans are trying to do, and turned many of these Fascists in office away.
Unfortunately, many of them are still remain and Americans must continue their vigilance and their fight to remove them before it is too late.
The war against the people was declared long ago. It continues today. Unfortunately we have greedy libertarian schmucks petulantly throwing their dinner plates at the wall.
You're conflating political opposition into fascism and at the same time diminishing the meaning of the word.
If you want to call subverting elections fascism, then the 9/11 protesters were Anti-fascist. The videos clearly show individuals mishandling ballots with intent to change an election. If you are not appalled, then you are as guilty as they are. 3 fingers pointing right back at you.
Your comment is completely out of line! The only ones who dishonor those who fight against fascism are MAGA Republicans, who embrace fascism today and will replace our heart for democracy with it. You either misread my comment and its meaning or our ignorance of what is truly going on in America today.
Leonard, look up Gandalf the Grey. You will find him to be a fictional character which this clown uses as a mask to be an argumentative cretin. No courage or wisdom from that one. An angelic non human entity, the irony being this personification wandering far from the goodness of the fictional Gandalf. Possibly turned out when the mental health entities were done away with.
Your opinion is duly noted. Feel free to engage in discussion on any of my articles. As it stands, it's impossible to judge what are your point(s) of disagreement.
Thanks for the comparison to angels, but I can assure you I am completely human. The anonymous name allows me to speak freely without fear of reprisal. I have no aspiration to become a public figure. I am an American.
But seriously, do you equate this with farting in church? Without opposing viewpoints and debate pages like this are just a bunch of people virtue signaling and praising one another.
I'll bet that Heather appreciates the additional traffic. I wish she would interact more with her subscribers. Not doing so makes it seem more like the one-way "conversation" of the MSM.
We don’t celebrate so much as we honor folks today. For that reason and thanks to “deer” season here, the anniversary of my birth tends to get lost in the mix.
It’s also the birthday of the Marines, 247 years ago.
My Mom's birthday frequently falls on Thanksgiving, and my Uncle's is July 4th, so I am aware of the lifelong struggle of having your day merged with the other holiday.
Growing up, my house was usually the one that did the 4th in our rotation of which family members hosted which holiday (did other people have a system like this, or was it just my Dad's family of uptight lawyers?). Anyway, Mom would never hear of not acknowledging Uncle Johnny's birthday as well. For some reason he likes frogs a lot, so for several years frogs were incorporated into the 4th festivities and I now associate them with quintessential Americana (they are not). I also associate air pollution with Americana, because Johnny's Birthday wish every damn year was to be the main barbecuer. Was he a good barbecuer? I'll let the smoke creeping through every sealed, frog-banner-splayed window answer that.
Happiest birthday ever Alan ! Your right; We do 'honor' folks today - we must honor folks today that are / were veterans. Correct also re., USMC established on this day, 247 years ago. As a bonus, we now know we can celebrate 'you' every 11/11 !
My Mom was born on Armistice day. The story goes like this...At 11 pm my Mom was born. When they finally found the doc - they were all celebrating Armistice Day - he came to hospital, delivered my mom and declared Mom a healthy baby boy. They named her Henry. When they realized Mom was a girl they changed name to Henrietta.
This sounds completely far fetched to me. Makes a good story though!
Just to be a stickler: USMC Birthday 10 November. As a result of a meeting at the Tun Tavern in 1775, the USMC was established. Veterans (nee Armistice) Day 11 November. On the 11th day of the 11th Month at 1100 the Armistice ending The Great War was signed.
My Mom was born on Armistice day. The story goes like this...At 11 pm my Mom was born. When they finally found the doc - they were all celebrating Armistice Day - he came to hospital, delivered my mom and declared Mom a healthy baby boy. They named her Henry. When they realized Mom was a girl they changed name to Henrietta.
This sounds completely far fetched to me. Makes a good story though!
The 1914-18 war was appalling, but the armistice "laying down of arms" held. There were no victors. The UK, French and US rejoiced in rubbing German noses in the dirt, and should have known better. Versailles drove Germany to democratically elect Hitler as Chancellor, leading to another awful war. Ultimately the US - unlike the triumphalism of 1919 Versailles - launched the Marshall Plan, to their credit.
The Marshall Plan is needed today, for us and our future. And the future of the earth. Saved an article about this years ago. It was a highlight of our learning experience, along with the GI Bill (if only black had been included).
The post-WWI treaties specified that Germany should pay, true - but they also specified that Germany should not rebuild the heavy industry that had allowed it to manufacture warships and tanks. The problem was that the same technology, infrastructure, and workforce is also what produces fire trucks and cruise or cargo ships and locomotives - and heavy industry, including production for export, had been the core of the German economy before the buildup to war, to an extent unmatched elsewhere in Europe. So the war reparations were supposed to be paid out of an economy that was supposed to be gutting its core except for smaller items like appliances and luxury automobiles. The result, in due course, was the economic fall of dominoes that we call the Great Depression: as its imports got pricier while its export markets dried up, Germany's domino fell early and fast, destabilizing the dominoes downstream. Germany hadn't been a republic very long, and its political institutions simply weren't up to economic disaster followed by opportunistic demagoguery. So the lesson that General Marshall and his group drew was that the way to prevent a third Great War in the next generation was to rebuild shattered nations - both former enemies and allies - so that there would be stable economies supporting and supported by stable democracies. That the Marshall Plan also brought these nations back online sooner as US trading partners was a happy bonus (and probably not an unanticipated one).
"Rather than trying to push their own boundaries and interests whenever they could gain advantage, countries agreed to abide by a series of rules that promoted peace, economic cooperation, and security."
My sister, who is a flight attendant, returned to Minnesota from London today.
She wrote,
“When we got to the airport today right at 11:00 on the 11th day of the 11th month the entire airport stopped. Every person stood in 2 minutes of silence and then they played their National Anthem. Absolutely beautiful to see all these people from many nations, at least 1000, all in silence, remembering.
I had tears in my eyes as I looked around the hall, seriously 1000 people as it’s very large. They wait there until their gates for their flights are announced. Lots of shops and restaurants.
I had just cleared crew security and walked into this space of silence. No registers ringing, no shopping being done. Just stillness and quiet. Just took my breath away to see the respect and remembrance on all those faces.“
We must remember.
Thank you for helping us remember, Professor Richardson.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
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 Flanders fields.
~ John McCrae, May 1915
I learned that poem in third grade. Our class memorized it and recited it together. Even then, as an eight-year-old, I understood the gravity (hmm…grave; gravity. This is the first time I made that connection) - the gravity of the reason the poem was written.
Today is three days since the election that BARELY staved off an autocratic takeover of our country. It’s too soon to say if autocracy will be a part of our country’s future and it’s description. There is still plenty of room to doubt.
My family celebrates Thanksgiving on this weekend. It may be an occasion of perhaps greater thanksgiving than usual given the events of the last few years, and particularly given Tuesday’s results. It will be nice to be able to go to bed without laying awake worried about our country’s political health more than I worry about my own health! It’s not happening tonight, but soon, I hope, sooner rather than later.
Weirdly, my Mom just made an entire Turkey holiday dinner for us tonight. Apparently the bird was on some crazy sale and she didn't want to wait another two weeks lol. I think I'll retroactively consider it actual Thanksgiving, as you suggest, Betsy.
I'm holding judgement with great patience waiting for the Congessional results from the West Coast. If we come near a sweep of what's left to count (quite plausible) then the "miracle" will be complete and we can look forward to more Build Back Better next year. If not, I can bide my time til we finish the job. Progress isn't linear, eyes on the prize, etc. I'd be shocked mathematically if we didn't receive a popular vote when all is counted; the people clearly expressed a desire to move on from the crazy, no matter what the news told us we were supposed to care about. Those statehouse gains say it all, and will make an immediate differnce in the lives of 10s of millions. A cautiously hopeful and invigorating week indeed.
Dracula Dragon finally conceded here in Oregon, as gracelessly as possible. Tina in her speech yesterday called for unity, but not the R. Lack of grace must be in their genes. The Oregonian has called the race for the R in the 5th District, but so far no one else has. We'll see. Sixth still up in the air. Most counties are taking a three day weekend and will resume counting on Monday.
I was glad to see the Durzan gracelessly conceded. I think you're right; the lack of grace must be genetic.
Somehow, they all have emerged from the same pod that Leonard Leo produced. A pox should spread among them.
💜
The House race in SW WA’s 3rd district is never included in national reporting but that seat has flipped to Democrats. This was Jamie Herrara-Butler’s district. She was one of the R’s to vote for impeachment and she got primaried by a wackaloon.
Also of interest, the other WA rep who voted to impeach, Dan Newhouse, was re-elected to his seat. He represents a usually-red district. I think these two results demonstrate a weakening of R sentiment in more rural areas of WA.
I haven't seen the results of the 3rd district yet, so glad that Perez won. Joe Kent is one of the worst death star acolytes and I am glad he lost. Also glad to see the Newhouse wasn't punished for his vote.
Live in CA 13. Fingers and toes still crossed. With only 61% counted, the Republican leads by 84 votes over incumbent Dem. Total toss up
I have noticed a lowering of the anxiety level I felt up through Tuesday. Not gone by any means! But lower. Because now I know through their votes that there are many more fellow citizens who reject the authoritarians than we could be sure of before.
It's hard to get a sense of our numbers because the crazies take up so much air space!
We will be working to strengthen our weakened democracy for a long time, but as long as we don't go back to sleep, I believe we will progress toward a more just and sane future.
AND SPECIAL THANKS TO GEN Z VOTERS who really saved our a$$es! LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU! ❤️ 💕 ♥️ 💓 💖 💗 ❤️ 💕 🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍
💙
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Grave, gravity, gravid. All from the same root.
And that was supposed to be the war to end all wars. Didn't happen, of course. We'll never learn, especially as long as we're controlled by the MIC. The tail continues to wag the dog.
Happy Veterans Day to all of us Veterans: past and present who represent so many nations of the world.
I hope I'm wrong, but I fear that aggression and warfare are in our genes, especially in those of young men. It would help if all of our young people had to perform some national service that required hard physical labor, which could be fixing the trails in the national parks, for example, or military service. Unfortunately, the need for the military isn't going to go away soon, but, on the other hand, we certainly should not be in thrall to the military-industrial complex (or to any other "complex" such as the financial-high tech-industrial complex). Such service would force people to get along with each other and help to remove the racial and other divisions in society.
Just dreaming a little here.
Dreaming along with you. It seems the more we try to not make war, the more the gods of War laugh. I so admire the Ukrainians who are showing us what sacrifice for Liberty means and it breaks my heart too. They’ve got a hard winter ahead of them. Life will no doubt be very difficult. And all this misery is because of the greed of one man. Unforgivable.
I don't imagine war itself is in the genes, but more that genetic traits in homo sapiens can lead to war. That is, the basic drives like survival and procreation which are then manipulated by a ruling governmental machine or social order--a machine which convinces the masses through propaganda that the "enemy" wants them dead. Sometimes it's true but mostly not. Most of U.S. propaganda about assorted Middle Eastern nations in the past few decades has been about encouraging us to go to war with them. We know that the Iraq war was based on falsehoods provided by Bush Jr. and Cheney. Colin Powell sacrificed his credibility to endorse the evil Iraq premise. He had to have been in a quid pro quo with Bush Jr. and Cheney.
I agree completely about the need for national service in the U.S. Every citizen should serve at least two years in service and sacrifice; not necessarily doing military service but something which provides benefit to the country. In my generation, those of us serving in the army in the late 1960s had a gross salary of $88.00 per month. That was before taxes and other deductions took some of that away. Our pay worked out to 11 cents an hour, less than one tenth of the then minimum wage of $1.25/hour. We were slave labor, and for that we could be shot and killed or have to shoot and kill someone else.
J. Wasn’t that JFK’s idea for the Peace Corps? And then VISTA here in the US. Those were wonderful programs and really did “help remove the racial and other divisions in society.” Thank you.
E - yes I agree those were/are wonderful programs. They still exist, but I haven't heard much about them for many years. Whether they removed the racial and other divisions in society is questionable, except for the people who were actually involved in the programs. But they are good models of what could be done on a larger scale.
MIC???
Military industrial complex
Thank you for this.
I've had the privilege of twice being in the UK on November 11, which they call Commemoration Day. Around that time the sale of poppies provides funds for vets services.
https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/remembrance/about-remembrance/the-poppy
How sad that veterans have to sell poppies to get needed services. They earned them, it seems to me, by giving their lives to their country. As Bernie says, over and over, take the Defense budget and build decent housing, provide mental health services and give veterans a chance to have lives worth living. My father was a WWII veteran and lost two brothers in the war one month apart. It destroyed him and he lived a silent, sad life while struggling through his next forty years. He died at 62, way before he should have.
I share both your feeling and experience, E. My father chose to make it a career of service after returning a vet as did yours and then, becoming involved in early programs he could never speak of passed, in part due to exposure to them. His pride in service was also a cross he bore until it took him early at 62, just as yours.
When (so-called) 45 later called them all "suckers & losers" it was a bridge-too-far not to imagine him with them in Flanders Fields. Every salute he gave, wreath he placed or military jacket worn after that was and remains a dishonor to our military when he made up a fake injury and bone spurs to dodge service.
Thank you BK. Thank you for your comment and your father’s bravery. 45 will never hold a candle to any of them. I hope they imprison his sorry ass forever….
My dad too at age 60.
BK - "When (so-called) 45 later called them all 'suckers & losers'"
Just to be fair:
Neither public claim was true, according to “four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day” quoted in a new report by Jeffrey Goldberg in the Atlantic.
"𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥." --Alex Ward, VOX
Just to be fair, Snopes and at least one other "truth" site I checked, shows 45 did say those words, tho I haven't read where he said them together. 45s history of bashing honorable people also gives credence, as I can totally hear it coming out of his mouth. Of course he says it's a lie, isn't everything according to him, when he is factually the master of lies.
I distinctly remember 45 saying those words.
It should say "site" not "sure"
We don't really need to dispute it and other sources after the Atlantic's Goldberg wanted to and did confirm it because of it's profound implications and the denials from his own people were less specific:
https://www.vox.com/2020/9/4/21422733/atlantic-trump-military-suckers-losers-explained
That was just one incident. What's not in dispute are his "loser" comments against John McCain and George H W Bush both of whom were shot down in combat, his anger that flags were flown at half-mast for McCain and even dismissive comments about his own staff, John Kelly's son's loss.
"Watch what they do, not what they say" applies to this situation. What we do know for certain is that 45 refused to travel a few miles to visit the WWI cemetery where US soldiers are buried. His excuse was that his helicopter couldn't fly in the rain. A lie made all the more egregious when not a week later he flew from the White House to Andrews in the rain. Even more egregious, world leaders who were also in France for the 75th commemoration, visited that cemetery without him. It was disgraceful.
He did say those words... in front of John Kelly, who at the time was Trump's Cheif of Staff and whose son is buried in Arlington Cemetery.
Trump also refused to go to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France on the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day because of his hair. They changed the narrative in Bolton's book to say the helicopter couldn't fly and the roads were not conducive to get the most powerful man in the world out should something happen. For lack of a better word, this is bullshit. How was he safe to go to North Korea? The military is better than that and the Cemetery is right off of 4 lane highway. Trump also believes D-Day was executed on a gorgeous sunny day. It was a torrential storm and many soldiers drowned. Trump's attitude... what was in it for them? It is their sacrifice that allows him to be a superficial idiot.
Actually, Jeffrey Goldberg verified that Trump did say those words. Goldberg first said it in a Tweet on Sept. 3, 2020. Then, he went further in an Atlantic article:
https://twitter.com/JeffreyGoldberg/status/1301634784448438272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1301673157699407873%7Ctwgr%5E329729c9629433091cc71cf2ceb621ee39ecafd4%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2F2020%2F9%2F4%2F21422733%2Fatlantic-trump-military-suckers-losers-explained
My dad was a WWII veteran, who watched his younger brother be killed. PTSD big time, alcohol problems. But with the help of my mother, he overcame his challenges with grief and emotional trauma to live a good life. When my Army son returned from a deployment in Afghanistan, he and my talked talked about their experiences. Daddy shared more stories about his two years in the Army than he ever had before. Everyone who experiences war is injured in some way, whether the wounds are visible or not.
FYI--George Washington argued with the Continental Congress to get the pay that his men had been promised. Since the beginning of the nation, veterans have had to fight for their benefits.
ANOTHER OF MY PERSONAL WRITINGS - THIS ONE FOR MEMORIAL DAY
Memorial to an Unknown Hero
by Rob Boyte 1987
It was 1983 when I wrote down my thoughts about Uncle Bob, the war hero whose legendary image affected my life. Always present but somehow less profound in my experience was his brother, my Uncle Bill.
Bill was the other soldier in uniform in a composite hand-painted photo portrait, which hung on the wall at my grandmother's. As with Bob, I only knew him through these photo images but unlike my namesake, he remained in the background of my awareness.
Perhaps it was because he died the very year that I was born and his passing had been muted by the years. It could also have been because he was just a teenager when he died, leaving no accumulated adult entanglements such as wife or children to perpetuate the memory of his passing.
He was however remembered. Each Memorial Day the family would go with my grandmother to the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery to watch the parade and hear the speeches and find uncle Bill's headstone in the rows of other stone markers of fallen heroes. Though I was quite young, I remember the sadness of the occasion, especially in my grandmother.
I also remember hearing her say that she knew it was possible that the body under the stone was not her Billy. But, it was another American boy who died in the war with him and she accepted that she would grieve over these remains just as some other mother would grieve over the remains of her son. This was the spirit of the times in this massive war where hundreds of thousands of young men were thrown together in a brotherhood of a single purpose and where families everywhere feared not only for their men at war but for all "our boys."
It appears all of us have stories to tell about war. When one has experienced PTSD in the family, the others get it too, by osmosis. Both parents were Holocaust victims and my father was a WWII vet for the US. He fought in the Pacific Theater and came back with jungle rot and varicose veins on his legs. He and my mother ran a clothing store for 25 years. He never ever spoke about his time in Papau New Guinea. Then I met my husband in 1970, a Vietnam Vet, who had a mental breakdown some 30 years after being in Nam. He nor I understood what was happening. It wasn’t until he went to our local vet center that he was told he had PTSD. Here’s where I get political, war is a man’s “thing”. It is very rare for women to cause these atrocities. Biden can get criticized for pulling us out of a country we didn’t belong in the first place, but he did the right thing! War is hell on the veterans and their family members. Everyone suffers. I tip my hat to all of the men and women who sacrifice their lives for ours.
Marlene:
Sorry to hear about your husband. PTSD was not recognized greatly amongst Vietnam Veterans in the seventies. I never got the feeling we were recognized properly either. I served from 68 - 71 in the USMC in Communications as a Crypto-Tech and left a Sergeant.
I still think of and miss my lost friends, Tim Gilson who was headshot in the north. Paul Placzek who stepped on a booby trap. Bobby O'Million who along with five others and his SFC died in a head on collision with a drunk while returning to base after a weekend hunting trip.
I do not believe we are ever the same after such times of being constantly under danger and fear. It wears on you and lingers in your head. I was and am still an excellent shot with an M14 and M1 rifle. All my skill as a Marksman could and would not be brought to bear to save two of them. I can't change my childhood friend's fate in a van from a drunk. What if we were never there those days? I also can't change it, but I can still remember.
The most I can do is remember them and the times we had as friends. I hope your husband can get past this.
It is good we left Afghanistan too.
In the late 70’s I was in law school and represented vets who had been dishonorably discharged from the service and were denied benefits as a result. We went to San Diego to hearings (I lived in LA) and argued on their behalf. I learned so much from the men I worked with. We won every appeal. I wish i could have done more. Looking back, I am sure many were Vietnam vets who were never diagnosed with PTSD.
Thank you for your reveal regarding your experience in an unpopular and unnecessary war, Bill. You aren’t the same person who left your home and then came back to a population who couldn’t understand why you were different. No one can enter your head to see what you witnessed.
My husband is very OCD about working out. He will be 76 in January but plays basketball 2-3 times a week, lifts weights and goes on the Precor 7 days a weeks. It gets him out and keeps him somewhat (that's questionable) sane, otherwise, he would be doomed to a very sorry life. He never ever wanted to own a gun after Nam and never has. He served in the Army primarily in Me Tho in ‘68-‘69.
My very best to you, Bill.
I'm so very sorry about your father. The trauma of war is horrible.
Thank you, Nancy. So nice of you to comment. War is the destruction of all that is good and human. I will never understand how we think we can evolve and still make war on each other. So many great things we could do for humans with 770 BILLION dollars in the our bloated defense budget. The weapons makers get rich beyond their wildest dreams while our veterans commit suicide and drink themselves to death. Don’t get me started….
I am so deeply sorry about your fathers, Elisabeth and BK. What desperately sad memories to live with, but what brave, sensitive and truly human beings. My most sincere thanks for their service.
Thank you, Rowshan. You touch me deeply….
My father showed how CIA estimates of Soviet military spending were grossly inflated (see the 6th paragraph)
https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/06/obituaries/franklyn-holzman-economist-and-critic-of-moscow-83-dies.html
Amazing history, David. I would have loved to have known your father. But I have the benefit of knowing you, here. Thank you!
Elisabeth, my father was also a WWII vet who lived a silent, sad life, never talking of the horrors he witnessed and dying of alcoholism at 68. My oldest brother, a Vietnam vet, is currently hospitalized - congestive heart failure as a result of a lifetime addiction to cigarettes, a habit he picked up in Vietnam. My late husband, a Vietnam-era vet, died of ALS, which the VA considers a service related illness.
As always, I visited my dad and husband’s graves this past week at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. I find military cemeteries peaceful - a sea of simple white tombstones - many with Christmas wreaths in place already. My prayers were equally simple - deepest gratitude for their sacrifices that help keep us safe from fascism and the horrors of war. This year, I added my gratitude to my parents who insisted my brothers and I understand the need to be active citizens and serve the greater good.
I also sent a gift to Paralyzed Veterans of America, the group that advised me throughout Glen’s illness, and continue to check in on me. While I completely agree that our government should support veterans throughout their lives, groups like PVA advocate for veterans in real time and provide critical support services to families beyond what the VA can manage. Passing the PACT Act this year was great. But vets and their families need help every day. Let’s all find ways to help. Its our democracy they protect.
So beautifully written, Sheila. I also love all cemeteries and military cemeteries are very peaceful. My two uncles are buried at a very large one in Long Island. My cousins and I visited them in 2013. I will fight to the end for democracy and will always think of all the men and women who have died in our defense. I wish I could talk to my father and ease the pains he felt during his life. Oh my.
Sheila, I'm so sorry for your losses, and for your brother's congestive heart failure. I'm glad you find such meaning in visiting the graves, and I salute your parents for stressing the need for you to be active citizens--so important. I hope you have a good circle of family and close friends--we all need close connections.
I am so sorry about your father and his family. War takes a horrible toll. My father was in WWII. (We need to stop having sequels) When he passed away, I hired a Legion Honor Guard for his funeral. It was incredible. After they fired the volley, one by one, they approached my father's casket and placed a poppy in the seam. As a veteran myself, I didn't understand the significance. It is the bond and support of the community for veterans. As a Legionnaire, I am happy to sell poppies. I can spread community awareness, the story of the poppy, and why we serve.
I am very moved by your description. I have only admiration for what you do with the money you raise. I just felt it is a societal responsibility to provide adequately for our veterans and their families. Education is also of prime importance. Maybe we can inculcate in our children never to go to war under any circumstances….
My father was also a WWII veteran. Marine Corps. He fought on Okinawa. I was born 4 years after the war ended, and only learned after he died at the age of 90 that he had suffered from PTSD all those years.
It was undiagnosed in those days, and our family suffered a lot, though he was able to function in the world.
Learning of his PTSD near the end of his life explained a lot to me, and helped me forgive a lot.
He would never say much about his war experiences, but I read a book about the Battle of Okinawa and learned a lot. I cannot fathom what he, and everyone who has actually been in battle has gone or is going through!
We really must find ways to peace. But we will have to be strong because there are always some people in the world like Putin, and others we could all name, who will push the boundaries.
I was lucky. Both my father and his brother made it home unscathed by WWII. In fact, my father, who was stationed in what is now Ukraine, on each of two US bases in the former Soviet Union as a radar mechanic for the shuttle bombing (Operation Frantic), learned Russian, and got a career out of his service, as an expert on that country's economy. Luckier still: my siblings and I have nearly three hours worth of 1990 interviews by the BBC (probably Martin Sixsmith) on his experiences there.
You might want to read "All Quiet on the Western Front."
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check it out.
That happened to far, far too many men. I am so sorry.
😔
if congress provides funds to take care of vets it is admitting what it has done, sent young meant into danger, often unnecessarily. it doesn't want to look at these men. it wants to see young men all in one piece marching off to another war, so it can forget about the last one. they will even allow a president to start a new conflict so they can forget about the old one
Taking care of veterans is not an admission of guilt. It is appreciation for our service. Are you suggesting that our military members are erroneously sent to war - which is hell - and then not taking care of them because doing so is owning their error and being accountable for it?
yes. congress has no appreciation for anyone's service. and taking adequate care of new vets would force congress to think about the cost of war. for the war they always have the money, but not for the aftermath.
Your view is in absolutes and far from reality - lack of understanding how the system works. I understand your antiwar stance. Every year, Congress approves the budget for the VA. The VA is always funded; even if the government is shutdown. While there is a financial cost with war, this isn't the reason for wars. My people in Congress have lost of loved one to war. Congress doesn't like war.
Sorry about your father.
Just a small correction: it's not the vets who are selling poppies (though some might). The link I posted above provides details and context.
I cannot find your link. I am a veteran and I sell poppies in the summer as part of the American Legion. When my father passed away, I had a local Legion Honor Guard give ceremony at the funeral. Everyone, one by one, approached my father's casket and put a poppy in the crease.
Flanders's Fields.
Here you go: https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/remembrance/about-remembrance/the-poppy
In 2002, I was at Heathrow airport at 11:11 on 11/11 when an announcer called for 2 minutes silence to honor the war dead. For 2 minutes none of the thousands there moved or made a sound. It will remain in my memory forever.
Wow! What a moving experience.
We need that here. Increase some some people's consciousness about war and loss.
The whole nation lived the war. No one escaped some form of sacrifice
I love those poppies in the UK. We had them when I was in grade school..I think we should do that again for Remembrance and Peace Day. We need to visualize more peace. I love learning about Armistice Day today, from our brilliant professor.
....Something physical and funds things—to remind us it is not just a three-day weekend in America.
I agree. The history of poppies should be taught in our world history classes, if those are around anymore.
The latter part of your statement is certainly the ring of problematic Truth these days...
I remember when we had poppies here on Veterans Day as well. They were bouttonieres and were a lovely reminder. Walking around, wearing one on that day showed appreciation, and was a reminder to those just going thoughtlessly through their day to pause and reflect.
As a US citizen residing in England, I am more used to the word “Remembrance”.
US used to sell red poppy pins the week of Veterans Day
We can follow this poem with Eric Bogle's moving song, "The Green Fields of France" (thanks to Katya P on Facebook):
https://youtu.be/DxkhBvO8_kM
That was lovely, Ellie.
Lovely and oh so sad. I heard it last decades ago, and I'd forgotten about it until just now. What a voice Eric Bogle has.
Thank you for sharing the poem. I hadn’t read it since I was at the WWI museum in Kansas City, MO several years ago. It is one of the best museums I’ve ever seen. We’ll worth the visit and really lays out the horror the troops endured. The entrance is over a clear bridge above a “field” of red poppies.
My husband and I were in Normandy and visited the Caen-Normandie Museum. I wish I could have spent more than a day. That totally brought it all to life.
I was fortunate enough to go to KC for work several times and would stay 2-3 weeks at a time. I never failed to spend an entire day in the WWI museum every time I went.
Thank you for this touching poem.
After a Veteran's Day spent reflecting on the impact of war on our soldier, a mere kid, seriously wounded in Dark To, this was a powerful read this morning. Thank you.
And Col. McCrae (who was a doctor) was among those who perished, although he was not interred in Flanders, technically, but nearby in the Pas de Calais region of France.
My great-uncle Geoffrey Hewson from Harrowgate, Yorkshire, was killed in France on July 20th, 1918 soon after arriving at the front. He is buried at the Marfaux British Cemetery in Marfaux, Marne, France.
He was cut down on Flanders Fields at the age of 21, in his first and last battle.
Thank you, thank you for the great peom!!!
In the 50s and60s, Veterans sold red poppy pins the week of Veterans Day.
They were everywhere.
When you see people selling poppies, it is for the veterans. There isn't a set cost. What ever you would like to donate.
As I read HCR's Letter of war and peace of guns and veterans, I thought of the thousands of New York City residents dying of COVID, the urgent pleas to find protective gowns for the nurses and the nighttime applause and singing for the nurses, doctors, therapists and healthcare workers that were keeping us alive. I thought about the number of guns in the USA and the death toll from them. How can we forget the noise and ugliness of Donald J. Trump; the red states' campaigns to restrict access to voting by minorities; book banning in the schools and overturning Roe v. Wade...the list of abuses on the American people is so damning. Have we not been at war? Our society is being torn apart. We need a people's campaign against the forces and politicians that are destroying the earth and everything upon it. When is the time to look around, to count the ways? We all feel what has been happening. Hate is a diversion that enables people like Cruz, DeSantis, Abbott, McConnell, the Billionaires, gigantic corporations, the whole lot of them to walk all over us. We have to organize to stop the fires from burning, gun violence multiplying, the lack of affordable housing, the homelessness and the politicians who care for nothing but themselves. Look at the face of Ukraine President, Volodymyr Zelensky, at the end of today's Notes. Volodymyr Zelensky has not left the battle for a moment. He and the Ukrainian people are our models.
I often wonder how the US went so quickly from thanking essential workers to braying about individual rights and making wearing a mask and getting vaccinated a political issue. Only one of the achievements of the treasonous expresident. A mass murderer who planned and executed a coup against his own government and vice president should be in jail, not thinking about running for office. Control of the courts, census cheating, redistricting, De joy in the post office, and constant lies fueled by dark money is his legacy and our shame. Thank you to all the officials who fight for a fair election against these odds. I agree Fern that it's hate but also selfishness, greed and stupidity. The time is now to work toward restoring sanity and honesty in this country.
Biden and Harris have done an outstanding job but time is running out.
Oh, may we never forget. Rupert Murdoch and his ilk, turned the tide from sanity to power and greed. And the cult baaed. Damn, it’s such a relief to be able to hate out in the open and find like-minded haters to form a community which will overwhelm sanity. Watched it happen, not overnight, but the script was written, the stage was set decades ago, the roles were cast, and “action” was yelled when chump entered the fray.
Yes. We need new weapons and soldiers and strategies for The Rupert War and The Koch War and The Federalist Society War and The...
Don't forget it was Ronald Reagan who ended the Fairness Doctrine, making it possible for Fox News and its likes to give only one side of the political story.
@GiGi - I’m still reading “They Knew: How a Cultural Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent”, but it is definitely confirming so many things I’ve felt were responsible for our world today, that actually have roots in WWII and the Cold War.
Sarah Kendzior is now my Millennial hero. I nightly recco “They Knew” and I can’t wait to read her previous books as well.
Her overall thesis is that we are now in the midst of what I can only describe as many networks comprised of sociopathic grifters.
The difficulties decent human beings face in exposing, confronting, and punishing these malefactors is compounded by the terms conspiracies and conspiracy theories.
By way of a personal example; I don’t know or really care if Oswald acted alone or as part of a team or if he was a patsy when it comes to the murder of JFK. What I’ve come to believe is simply that Allen Dulles (and his cohorts) had the means, and the motive to kill Kennedy. That said, it takes pages simply to outline this “conspiracy.” A theory which is built not on 12 foot Lizard People or a cabal of pedophiles, but instead on established de-classified facts about Dulles. We know of his far right his Nazi/Facist sympathies, his Cold War plots that featured assassination of duly elected leaders and his fear that Kennedy was too soft on Communism. So, it is not crazy to arrive at that conclusion, it is just common sense.
The problem of course is that detractors can simply call you a “conspiracy theory (nut)” and no facts or logic are allowed to be considered.
Here is my latest thinking on how was it possible to believe that nobody could possibly conceive of using a passenger jet as missile to attack the WTC on 9/11 that I did thinking about the matter as Kendzior did in a chapter of “They Knew:…”
https://olflawriduhcracker.substack.com/p/imagining-911?sd=pf
In any case you are far from alone as we begin to yes, awaken to see what the hell is actually going on that is more than “deepening divides” in our nation.
"Kendzior explains how intrigued she was with a TV depiction of an extremely similar attack six months before 9/11 on The Lone Gunmen, an X-Files spin-off series. By Vince Gilligan who went on to create “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul”
“the Lone Gunmen discover that a commercial flight headed to Boston had been hijacked. Initially fearing there was a bomb on board, they learn that the plane itself is the weapon, and that it had been commandeered to fly into the World Trade Center and cause the buildings to collapse. “They intend to bring this down in the middle of New York City?!”
SIX MONTHS BEFORE! My son worked for Vince Gilligan on both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, and I got to meet Vince. One of the nicest, kindest, sweetest people ever.
💜
Democratic leadership and society is reciprocally empowering; elected and "grass roots" leaders empowered by the trust and guidance of the aggregated public, and the public empowered by trustworthy, competent, and responsive leadership. As opposed to societies manipulated, intimidated, and turned to fight among themselves by bullies. Ukrainians are fighting yet another homicidal sociopath who rules by terror. It seems that we defeat one and another emerges. Defensive war is like fighting wildfire, quite necessary, and yet there must be a way to keep them from igniting to begin with. More saying "no" to bullies.
"that to secure these ends rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed"
https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/creating-the-united-states/interactives/declaration-of-independence/consent/index.html
Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence.
I look forward to your comments, Fern....well said.
Thank you, Carole. Biden and the 1/6 House Investigative Committee as well as a fair number of Democrats are making improvements, but the weight on the people, the deep discord and the Republican Party do not stop pulling us apart. We cannot depend on politicians alone, we must put our weight to the wheel.
The aim was surely for the politicians to serve the people, not to supplant them.
Last night tfg—guess what—SUED the Jan 6 committee. So tired of him.
As long as he remains in the news, he's happy and "winning"(?). So tired of his name, his face, his pathology and his supplicants.
Yes!! The absolute best thing this country and the R party can do right now is to completely ignore tfg. He will shrivel up from lack of attention!!
Did you mean "whining"? How about his latest typo: "They stole the electron from Blake Masters". The string of replies is a riot! Hot on the booted heels of Marjorie 3-names' quacking enemies.
He is a non-entity now. That SOB has found plenty of flunky lawyers to file a bunch of lawsuits. The funny thing is, is that the members of the Pro-Rape Party are leaving him behind.
I am not leaving this battle for a moment...thank you, Fern.
"We have to organize to stop the fires from burning, gun violence multiplying, the lack of affordable housing, the homelessness and the politicians who care for nothing but themselves."
Absolutely, Fern. Further, we have to organize to fight for or against individual issues instead of fighting political parties. I'm an Independent American in terms of political designation. That being said, I've always voted Democrat since I first voted in 1968. I do that because the dem. party is the closest to representing the values I believe in. In the election last week, I voted a straight Democratic ticket. I'm not proud of that vote, but I believe it was absolutely necessary. I won't give an enthusiastic endorsement to a political party because I know there is serious corruption in both parties.
Neither party is against the SC ruling of "Citizens United" because most politicians in both parties are greatly benefitting from those corporate bribes. Neither party has fought against the congressional insider trading issue because too many members of both parties are using privileged information to enrich themselves. When Nancy Pelosi didn't introduce the planned bill against congressional insider trading, I didn't hear republicans complain about that.
If we can focus on the problems facing us in the country, and also hold our politicians to honest accountability, then we'have a better chance of bringing young people into the political process. Otherwise, we will only decline further and further.
Hello, Heydon. We agree. I will check Pew Research Center and whatever other good sources may have information about representatives and senators in the Democratic who that have indicated strong objection to 'Citizens United'. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) will be the first senator's office to contact regarding the matter.
Beautifully said. Not preachy either. Heydon, you made my day. It is noon in India, where I live….
Thanks, Elisabeth. Your words are meaningful.
As an aside, I see in your bio notes that you are an organic farmer. Kudos to you for that. I've been growing vegetables and flowers organically for over 30 years. It's the only way to go.
We HAVE been at war, Fern. You are so right. And I pray, after this week's elections, that our war is past tense.
Dear MaryPat, it is a treasure to see you at this minute when my mind is full of concern about a couple of friends and our country, so at odds. The 'war' will not be over with a couple of more positive election results. A large portion of our population is poisoned with hatred, distorted thinking and, perhaps, too eager to strike out. Real improvement will take a lot of effort and time. Peace and affection to you and your family.
And to you and yours Fern. And a short break before we again pick up our weapons of peace in this fight for democracy. 💞
I fear we have a long journey to right this ship...from its' foundations. But it will be a journey worth continuing to aim for all the better angels in America willing to keep the light on our democracy, and stand strongly with Lady Liberty.
💙
I agree with you wholeheartedly and your last two sentences actually gave me the chills.
We try to be realistic, prepared, strong, spirited and together. Salud, Jacquelyn.
Thank you, President Volodymyr Zelensky❣️❣️
My hero!
Watching newly liberated residents of Kherson greet Ukrainian troops with joy and tears was fitting on this Veteran's Day. I'm proud of the U.S. under President Biden's leadership for contributing so much to help the Ukrainians in a heroic effort, an effort that has security implications for so many other countries—and implications for democracies too.
What a different story for Ukraine and the world this would be if Trump had stolen the election.
Well, I think we all know there wouldn't BE a Ukraine right now. Or an America, really.
But I don't see why we should bother conceptualizing that in our minds when AmeriCANS
did not allow that to be, were never going to allow that to be, and are never going to allow that to be, at least if you and I have anything to do with it.
Thank you, Will, for your lovely comments.
Well said, sir. Thank you.
Truer words were never spoken, Will.
Too frightening to consider Susan.
The megalomaniac nightmare is already considering running again, Dan. 24/7 idiocracy and lies for 2 more years.
I hope the Russians haven’t poisoned the water...
My family's story (at least as it was touched by World War II):
My Nana was, I am sure, considered a shockingly independent woman. Born in 1913, devoutly Irish Catholic and New England Democrat (Connecticut specifically), she eschewed getting married to move to NYC to become a nurse. This was the Depression, and she later told my Dad of once losing the nickel she needed for fare home; five strangers managed to scrounge up a penny a piece. THAT was America. When the war broke out, she offered her nursing services. She was needed, simple as that. En route to North Africa, her ship (the Strath Allen) was torpedoed in the Mediterranean. She helped evacuate all the injured soldiers to safety and hung onto a rope ladder in the dead of night as the ship's side sunk into the sea. They were barely rescued and arrived in Africa sans all her possessions. A fellow nurse insisted she borrow her dress, after confirming they were the same size, for there was a social going on and Nana deserved a nice few hours after this ordeal.
Grandpa, a colonel, was at that party. It was apparently a movie whirlwind from there. Problem: he was Jewish and a Midwestern Republican (Iowa specifically). Obviously, they didn't care, but boy did others! Upon writing to his mother of his intentions to marry the most wonderful person in the world, she wrote back (and this was behind lines in Africa, so I'm guessing it wasn't a quick turnaround) that she would never be able to speak to him again. He spent a horrible day wandering about, trying to figure out how to tell Nana he couldn't marry her after all.
They eloped the next day. Uncle Jerry began to show signs of existence a few months later. Nana hid it as long as she could, so as to not be sent away. She was soon, but fortunately VE Day come quickly. Their families got over themselves in quick time, 4 more kids and an idyllic 50s postcard childhood (by all accounts) followed. Grandpa had declined a role in the Nuremberg Trials (who could blame him), and went back to being a respected lawyer both back in Iowa and when they moved to Cali, leading the Rotary Club. There were a few occasions where they would visit an Army friend in DC who had worked his way up. Somewhere, there is a photo of my Aunt Susie (Miss Van Nuys!) sitting at the Resolute Desk. Unfortunately, he died early from a series of heart attacks. Decades passed, but Nana never remarried. I guess there just wasn't anyone else.
These stories were recounted a lot to me. On the other hand, GrandDAD's (Mom's Dad) stories weren't told by him, or at least not passed down with the slightest hint of glamour. He was a Marine who fought in the Pacific, specifically at Guadalcanal. We knew that he had at one point, while already gravely wounded, carried multiple fellow soldiers to safety up burning terrain. Mom figured that is what he had the Purple Heart for; it was used as a plaything after being found stuffed in a dresser drawer. Years later, we did some research and discovered that Purple Heart was actually one of many, with a Silver Star to boot. There was some documentation indicating he served in what was the precursor to the SEALs, as well as did important service translating in Japan after the surrender. To everyone in San Juan Capistrano, he was simply everyone's friendly neighborhood Spanish teacher. I'm sure he wanted it that way. My Uncle Bob made copies of his dog tags a few years back and I carry one on a keychain gladly.
My Granny was born in 1930, so a bit too young to participate more directly in the war effort. But she tried to explain to me recently the frame of mind from the home front, how different physiologically it was to anything we have experienced. The knowledge so much of your family was in harm's way on another continent. The knowledge this was *everyone's* family. The uncertainty that we could be invaded. The sense that America really could end in a few years, that freedom could be snuffed out. And the attitude that made everyone gladly contribute and pull together to make sure that never, ever happened.
Dirt poor, they moved from Arkansas to California when she was young. At 92, she has told me more recently about going back to visit after the war as a teenager. How everything seemed dilapidated and backwards, how terribly the Black people were treated, of hearing casually of someone hung from a tree for being on the wrong side of town. She couldn't believe this could exist in this same country that had defended itself so proudly; she asked her mother "Is this really the United States? Are we really still in it?" She has never been back.
The last few years, she confided, are the first time she has worried deeply about our country's survival in the same gnawing existential way.
It's up to us now. So many of us have these family stories. The things they saw and felt and had to do make what we see on the news and in our lives pale in terms of difficulty. Those who wish to break our democracy don't scare me. How could they? With stories like these in the back of your mind, allowing fear to be your response is just plain disrespectful.
We can do this. They did. Happy Vetean's Day.
P.S. Slava Ukrani!
Will,
Thank you for taking the time to share this historical and personal story. Very well written and very touching. Your story combines love, tragedy, history and horror all in a few paragraphs.
I very much enjoyed reading and feeling.
Will, I've been reading LFAA over two years now. There are so many good comments posted that I can't read them all. There are people who I've come to know to look for their posts, and now you are one of them. I was moved by today's post. I've started keeping an eye out for you.
Over time, people on the forum have divulged little pieces of their lives--I have no idea what they look like and will probably never meet them, but they have become dear to me; friends, comrades. I know that you are a young person, and I believe we all welcome your voice here.
Thanks for joining us in forking over our $50!
Thank you for sharing your wonderful family story. It’s inspiring to remember that Americans really used to care about each other because we all felt - for the most part - that we were in the same boat. Unfortunately, I think the rise of the military industrial machine has gotten us in too many wars - the politicians want to feed the machine and through some grotesque desire, watch the machine operate. I’m not talking about our great troops. It’s the industry that is constantly fed by the politicians yet it is never satiated.
Will, thanx for sharing another WWII story. This parallels my own family's story: "The knowledge this was *everyone's* family. "
From my Grandmother at the Military Cemetary:
I also remember hearing her say that she knew it was possible that the body under the stone was not her Billy. But, it was another American boy who died in the war with him and she accepted that she would grieve over these remains just as some other mother would grieve over the remains of her son. This was the spirit of the times in this massive war where hundreds of thousands of young men were thrown together in a brotherhood of a single purpose and where families everywhere feared not only for their men at war but for all "our boys."
Thank you to you and your grandmother’s for sharing these deeply important stories. If the stories aren’t passed down, how will young people appreciate our rate and precious freedom?
You just told the American story. Thank you.
What wonderful stories you have gathered! I’m glad you have written them down.
Thanks for this family story, Will. I read it with delight!
I suspect your Grandad was with the Second Raider Battalion of USMC that was on the 'Canal. Sempre Fi!
If you did not know this, the Silver Star is the third highest award one can receive for bravery or gallantry in the face of the enemy. It could be he was award such for rescuing others while under attack. It is something to encase along with its story.
Hi Will, seeing your mention of the ship (the Strathallan) immediately brought all of that incident back to my mind. My father was on the Strathallan at the time she was hit by the torpedo. Dad was troopt commander for the American contingent of soldiers and nurses. There were about 5,000 soldiers and nurses onboard in total, and some 90% were British soldiers with a number of Queen Alexandra nurses from Scotland. Of the American group, there were the nurses and the bulk of General Eisenhower's staff. The ship left Scotland on Dec. 12, 1942. Regarding the torpedo hit, at first the Captain had called to abandon ship as the ship listed. After insuring that the people he was responsible were all accounted for, my father went overboard and was hanging on to a piece of flotsam for the remaining hours of the night. He was swallowing a mix of oil and sea water and got very sick before being rescued the next day. In my book about my parents' journey through WWII, I wrote a whole chapter about the Strathallan experience. If you're interested in further info about it, email me at: buckandbernice@gmail.com. I can give you a copy of that chapter. There is a great website devoted to the story of the Strathallan. I provided them a half dozen photos, a bio of my father, and his account of the sinking. The website is: https://thestrathallan.com/wp/?page_id=3885&doing_wp_cron=1668574247.7655560970306396484375#. Dad's story is on page one of the survivors' stories. There are photos of him as well. Famed LIFE photographer/photo journalist Margaret Bourke-White was onboard as was Eisenhower's driver/friend Kay Summersby, and the war correspondent from the Reader's Digest.
Will: That’s a wonderful post. Thanks. I grew up in Des Moines and my parents were exactly the same age as your grandmother. Where upon Iowa were they? If DSM, then quite possible they knew each other as there are other similarities also. Steve
This should become a law...
“The politicians who took us to war should have been given the guns and told to settle their differences themselves, instead of organizing nothing better than legalized mass
murder”, said the last surviving British soldier of WWI, Harry Patch
I often think that their children need to be sent and be on the front line.
Why punish children for their parents' stupidity?
The reasoning, I suspect, is that if the children of the rich and powerful are anywhere near as likely to be sent to the front lines as are the children of relative nobodies, the rich and powerful parents just might be less quick to use their power and prestige - not to mention their investment savvy - to support wars and the ginning up of war fever.
Exactly. Most wars are fought over land, minerals, oil, something that will bring more spoils of the war to the rich who initiate the war. The U.S. has begun or entered into war since the end of WWII. It is the only western country to do so. Those in power send the sons and daughters of others to fight these wars so that they can gain the spoils of war. Watch Vice to learn about Dick Cheney and Bush the Younger. Read. ¨Support Our Troops¨ is a marketing tool used to sway the public to embrace their wars. Yet, those who are slaughter in those wars and those who return never to be the same again are forgotten.
It hasn't stopped them in the past. I think they'd just find ways to make sure their kids don't go.
I remember that quote. Would love to have seen chump square off against our enemies. Oh, wait, he was/is one.
.. And bone spurs - he got a pass from serving due to 'bone spurs'... egads !
While others stood so our flat feet would not show to the Doctors so we could serve!
And others of us were deemed "unfit" due to sexual orientation. By the time they decided that it was "OK", I was too old.
💞
We should send only old people to war. At the end of the day, both armies would end up in a pub somewhere telling stories of the past.
If there were a treaty that only soldiers 35 or older could serve in combat, there would be no more war. Children are duped into fighting in wars.
We should send NO ONE to war.
That would be a fair standard. May it be so.
President Zelenski, You inspire us 💙💛
WW II ended with two A-bombs, two U235 bombs, dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to kill civilians and force Japan to surrender. The nuclear bombs were created by the secret Manhattan Project run by ‘25 Nobel in Physics, James Franck and Enrico Ferme, two geniuses educated in Europe. Franck was my wife’s Opa. He rose in Germany in 1933 to declare Hitler a fascist menace and he fled Germany. The Franck Report he organized and published secretly was designed to influence President Truman - and it was ignored, initiating nuclear war.
There are many nuclear weapons poised to destroy civilization. The USA, England, France, Russia, China, North Korea, Israel, India, Pakistan, and possibly s few others have nuclear weapons.
Mutually assured destruction or MAD threatens. Nuclear powered submarines armed with H bombs many times as powerful as the U bombs are programmed to react with devastating consequences should we be attacked. The president is authorized to act without a congressional declaration of war if we are attacked or threatened. Recent presidents have had no military experience. Our constitution allows the congress alone to declare war. With intercontinental ballistic missiles, there is no time to call the Congress. So, we have the war powers act. Presidents, stable or not, have the power.
Will Putin test us in Ukraine? Would we respond?
Do Americans remember Lend Lease and the isolationists in congress that watched Hitler and refused to use our military to protect England.
Do the American people understand why we must stop Russia? Protect Formosa or Taiwan?
What started and what ended Vietnam? Korea? What must we do if Japan is attacked my North Korea?
Is Pearl Harbor the last time we declared war in the congress.
Why did we drop the Draft? Which pseudo Nobel urged us to drop the Draft? Why did he do that?
What color is our well paid army? When were the armed services desegregated?
Do Americans recognize fascism? Are Trump, DeSantis, Hawley, Cruz, Miller, and many others here and abroad fascists?
Do you have or read a local newspaper worth reading?
Are ee losing our democracy? What event proves this?
Are Republicans intelligent?
Are Republicans intelligent?” They are smart and evil. And fascists. Bad combo. Great questions that only us oldsters have pondered. Others should catch up.
They are cunning (from Oxford Dictionary: “having or showing skill in achieving one's ends by deceit or evasion”), but I would posit some of them are not intelligent nor smart: To wit:
* tfg’s 5th grade-level “big” vocabulary and grammar;
*Taylor Greene’s “gazpacho police”and her suggestion that the U.S. should leave NATO to avoid confrontation with Russia;
*Their push for teaching creationism in SCIENCE classes!
And so many more…
They tried to game the system and they failed. Thankfully.
I think Einstein apologized for helping to create the first Atomic Bomb.
Did your wife's Opa ever talk about his reaction to the use of the A Bomb on civilians? Twice?
Nobel James Franck hated the use of the U-235 A-bomb on the Japanese people. Hated it. The Franck Report begged President Harry S Truman to demonstrate the A-bomb’s power to stop the killing of WW II. Hatred of the Japanese in China and Asia was matched in the USA. General Douglas MacArthur and others would do anything to stop Japanese aggression in Asia and the Pacific. HST may not have read The Franck Report. Leading American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer may have opposed Franck’s benevolence towards all people. JRO was no friend of Franck’s. Franck’s extended family lived in New Mexico during testing of the A-bomb. Soldiers used as guinea pigs were sickened with leukemia and died. My wife’s father was the pathologist for the Manhattan Project. He died of leukemia, lung cancer and Parkinson’s, was Dean of Students at Harvard Medical School. Hermann Lisco MD saved Charles Krauthammer MD from suicide - saved his medical career. See Krauthammer’s Lisco obituary. The Manhattan Project ended WW II. Those involved were sickened by radiation. My wife’s sister and brother - with Parkinson’s disease. Radiation harms the child. Delayed response is common.
James Frank was the most loved character in the Manhattan Project. Teller came to 5552 South Kenwood to play the piano with Franck’s daughter in quartets with other physicists and mathematicians. This was a close group. All knew Franck’s Report to President Truman.
You’re a treasure, Sandy. Thank you for being here.
Thank you Sandy; so much I haven’t delved into although the names are familiar.
Sandy, you never cease to amaze me with your knowledge and your stories. Thank you for the continuous education.
Nobel James Franck hated the use of the U-235 A-bomb on the Japanese people. Hated it. The Franck Report begged President Harry S Truman to demonstrate the A-bomb’s power to stop the killing of WW II. Hatred of the Japanese in China and Asia was matched in the USA. General Douglas MacArthur and others would do anything to stop Japanese aggression in Asia and the Pacific. HST may not have read The Franck Report. Leading American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer may have opposed Franck’s benevolence towards all people. JRO was no friend of Franck’s. Franck’s extended family lived in New Mexico during testing of the A-bomb. Soldiers used as guinea pigs were sickened with leukemia and later died. My wife’s father was the pathologist for the Manhattan Project. He died of leukemia, lung cancer and Parkinson’s, was Dean of Students at Harvard Medical School. Hermann Lisco MD saved Charles Krauthammer MD from suicide - saved his medical career. See Krauthammer’s Lisco obituary. The Manhattan Project ended WW II. Those involved were sickened by radiation. My wife’s sister and brother - with Parkinson’s disease. Radiation harms the child. Delayed response is common.
James Franck was the most loved character in the Manhattan Project. Edward Teller came to 5552 South Kenwood to play the piano with Franck’s daughter in quartets with other physicists and mathematicians. This was a close group. All knew Franck’s Report to President Truman.
Thank you, Sandy Lewis,for always leaving us w more food for thought.
https://www.atomicheritage.org/key-documents/franck-report
Thank you for the link.
This gave me chills. Will look up The Franck Report. Thank You Sandy.
Attempted like
Succesful like!
Read the Franck Report. Every word. James Franck was most love among and by the atomic physicists. He was the emotional leader. Most mature. Papa was used. Einstein was a dear friend. He supported Lise Meitner. Edward Teller loved him and his family. Wrote about Franck’s devotion to photosynthesis following WW II. James Frank Institute at U Chicago holds his papers at the Regenstein Library.
Love your last comment. Some of them are and as I noted in the governor's race here upon the R concession, utterly graceless. Every Veterans Day, I have a tradition where I send a thanks to the veterans that I know, some friends and some family. My father was lucky to be involved in a plant that made shell casings, so he did not have to participate in WWII directly. I remember my parents having a victory garden and rationing to remind people that we were at war. My grandfather lied about his age for the Spanish-American War and also was in the navy in WWI. Most of the war stories from my family come from their participation in the Civil War and further back. As for the war for our democracy, we still have much work to do and it should start now even after the relatively good news about the midterms. We will begin by making a donation to Warnock in Georgia. My sympathies today lie with younger people who are having to and will have to contend with the rubble we have made and i am glad to see some of them becoming much more active.
My Dad was a WWII veteran. He was a meteorologist. He spent just under 3 years in San Francisco and 2 years in China, helping set up the weather station there that helped the aircraft get "over the hump". Never saw combat, per se, but like so many others mentioned today, died far younger than he should have.
My mother was a WWII veteran. She worked at the weather station at the Marine Air Base Santa Barbara. When she was in her 80s, she moved into a retirement community in Seattle. One day, she saw a man, another resident, in the lobby who said, "I know you." He served as a pilot in WWII and remembered her from Santa Barbara. After that, they always greeted each other with "Semper fi."
WOW!!!
I think I know most of the answers to the questions you've posed, and hope that the answers that I have to questions that are still speculative are correct as well.
I shall answer your third from last question directly: My local paper was sold to Gate House, who subsequently merged with Gannett. It has shrunk by 85% from what it was. They recently decided they would stop printing Editorials and Letters to the Editor, citing the "fact" that the content of those features were often the reason listed for cancelling a subscription.
I predict the demise of the Eugene Register Guard in about 2 years.
Our local newspaper went kaput a couple of years ago. Not that it was a literary masterpiece (it wasn’t) but at least you knew what events were going on and read people’s comments in the “opinion” page. Sad
😔
😔
Typos aside, the questions lead to fact. Facts matter.
Invictus
BY WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
Thank you for this. I had heard phrases from it before, but never tracked it down.
A fitting tribute on Veteran's Day to the sacrifice of so many both in the past and presently struggling to secure justice, peace, and democracy.
"While the U.S. has sometimes failed to honor them, their central theory remains important: no country should be able to attack its neighbor, slaughter its people, and steal its lands at will. It is a concept that has preserved decades of relative peace compared to the horrors of the early twentieth century".
In 2001 the World Trade Center in NY was felled by two planes crashing into them. No perpetrator was from Afghanistan, had been to Afghanistan recently, had trained in Afghanistan or planned in Afghanistan.
However, because a party boy from Harvard, admitted to Harvard based on white affirmative action called "legacy admission", George W. Bush, had flagging popularity, he "decided" that it would be a good idea to do a full invasion of Afghanistan, then, Iraq, to bolster his popularity and "find Osama Bin Laden", a man Bush had been ignoring up to that point and who Bush claimed was in Afghanistan.
We invaded without regard to the MANY objections of other countries or the "rules based order". We dropped thousands of bombs on civilian targets including schools and hospitals. We leveled historic cities that contained schools, markets, hospitals, homes.
We machine gunned 12 year old boys in small villages gathering wood. One survived to tell how the US helicopter first descended to look at them, then rose back up and mowed them down with a .50 caliber machine gun.
Dr. Richardson, saying: "While the U.S. has sometimes failed to honor them (the rules based order)" is a sentence that truly re-writes history and simply ignores what is true.
The US has routinely failed to honor those rules and often aggressively ignored them. However, the US has managed to get by with this carnage because they pick countries to invade that are not white European.
Apparently, invading countries with brown people, or Vietnamese people, or Cambodian people is totally OK.
While what you say is true, and we have lots of war criminals in this country who have never been held accountable, the principles upon which we were founded hold true. We just have a VERY long way to go to live up to them.
What many Americans seem to have forgotten is that World War II was all about fighting fascism. Fascism being a move, in particular, to a political dictator ship. During World War II more than 40,000 of America’s finest young men died fighting fascism and assuring that democracy would thrive all over the world.
Today in America, MAGA Republicans in office have turned to that same fascism and the accordant dictatorship as a method of maintaining their power and staying in office, while blaming Socialism for the ills of the nation.
These blatant lies have been a slow process, taking place over decades, so that it has gone almost unnoticed, like putting a frog in a cauldron of water and gradually bring it to a boil. By the time the frog realizes what is happening it is too late and the it perishes in the boiling water.
Before it is too late, Americans must realize what is happening and put a stop to the process.
In the recently completed midterm elections in this country, many Americans saw what MAGA Republicans are trying to do, and turned many of these Fascists in office away.
Unfortunately, many of them are still remain and Americans must continue their vigilance and their fight to remove them before it is too late.
You dishonor those who fought and died to defeat true fascism.
Can't you make it through one day of honoring veterans without begging for a war against your own people?
The war against the people was declared long ago. It continues today. Unfortunately we have greedy libertarian schmucks petulantly throwing their dinner plates at the wall.
True fascism? So is a violent I surrection and machinations to change laws to make the illegal legal, suppress and subvert elections " fake" fascism?
"Never forget that everything Hitler did was legal." -- MLK, Jr.
We would prefer to defeat fascism at the ballot box, before it takes hold strongly enough to require bloody warfare.
You're conflating political opposition into fascism and at the same time diminishing the meaning of the word.
If you want to call subverting elections fascism, then the 9/11 protesters were Anti-fascist. The videos clearly show individuals mishandling ballots with intent to change an election. If you are not appalled, then you are as guilty as they are. 3 fingers pointing right back at you.
Attempted like
Your comment is completely out of line! The only ones who dishonor those who fight against fascism are MAGA Republicans, who embrace fascism today and will replace our heart for democracy with it. You either misread my comment and its meaning or our ignorance of what is truly going on in America today.
Leonard, look up Gandalf the Grey. You will find him to be a fictional character which this clown uses as a mask to be an argumentative cretin. No courage or wisdom from that one. An angelic non human entity, the irony being this personification wandering far from the goodness of the fictional Gandalf. Possibly turned out when the mental health entities were done away with.
Damn Reagan. Yes. I read his public substack. Plop.
Your opinion is duly noted. Feel free to engage in discussion on any of my articles. As it stands, it's impossible to judge what are your point(s) of disagreement.
Thanks for the comparison to angels, but I can assure you I am completely human. The anonymous name allows me to speak freely without fear of reprisal. I have no aspiration to become a public figure. I am an American.
Ha ha.
But seriously, do you equate this with farting in church? Without opposing viewpoints and debate pages like this are just a bunch of people virtue signaling and praising one another.
I'll bet that Heather appreciates the additional traffic. I wish she would interact more with her subscribers. Not doing so makes it seem more like the one-way "conversation" of the MSM.
Oddly, this is also my birthday.
We don’t celebrate so much as we honor folks today. For that reason and thanks to “deer” season here, the anniversary of my birth tends to get lost in the mix.
It’s also the birthday of the Marines, 247 years ago.
My father was a Marine. I have many friends
Happy birthday, and Semper Fi!
My Mom's birthday frequently falls on Thanksgiving, and my Uncle's is July 4th, so I am aware of the lifelong struggle of having your day merged with the other holiday.
Growing up, my house was usually the one that did the 4th in our rotation of which family members hosted which holiday (did other people have a system like this, or was it just my Dad's family of uptight lawyers?). Anyway, Mom would never hear of not acknowledging Uncle Johnny's birthday as well. For some reason he likes frogs a lot, so for several years frogs were incorporated into the 4th festivities and I now associate them with quintessential Americana (they are not). I also associate air pollution with Americana, because Johnny's Birthday wish every damn year was to be the main barbecuer. Was he a good barbecuer? I'll let the smoke creeping through every sealed, frog-banner-splayed window answer that.
Families are weird.
Happiest birthday ever Alan ! Your right; We do 'honor' folks today - we must honor folks today that are / were veterans. Correct also re., USMC established on this day, 247 years ago. As a bonus, we now know we can celebrate 'you' every 11/11 !
Happy Birthday, you Marine; we're fans of yours. Wishing you a good year.
My Mom was born on Armistice day. The story goes like this...At 11 pm my Mom was born. When they finally found the doc - they were all celebrating Armistice Day - he came to hospital, delivered my mom and declared Mom a healthy baby boy. They named her Henry. When they realized Mom was a girl they changed name to Henrietta.
This sounds completely far fetched to me. Makes a good story though!
HA! Great story!
Happy Birthday! A good day, H. Alan.
🗽
Just to be a stickler: USMC Birthday 10 November. As a result of a meeting at the Tun Tavern in 1775, the USMC was established. Veterans (nee Armistice) Day 11 November. On the 11th day of the 11th Month at 1100 the Armistice ending The Great War was signed.
Oh, and Happy Birthday, Alan!
Count me stickled, Ally!
Happy Birthday, Alan!
Zelensky is a war criminal.
Charles Blundon - "Zelensky is a war criminal."
Huh? In what way?
Looks like somebody just spouting nonsense. Probably trying to get a rise out of anyone who will take the bait.
Good call on your part. Always ask for evidence.😊👍
Attempted like. But best to ignore.
If there’s a reply, it will be Russian propaganda or vile lies.
Happy birthday, H. Alan! Your day is not getting lost in this forum
My Mom was born on Armistice day. The story goes like this...At 11 pm my Mom was born. When they finally found the doc - they were all celebrating Armistice Day - he came to hospital, delivered my mom and declared Mom a healthy baby boy. They named her Henry. When they realized Mom was a girl they changed name to Henrietta.
This sounds completely far fetched to me. Makes a good story though!
Happy Birthday 🎉, Alan. A memorable day.
Happy Belated Birthday, H. Alan!! The deer can wait!🎉🎂🍦🍰
Happy Birthday H. Alan!
The 1914-18 war was appalling, but the armistice "laying down of arms" held. There were no victors. The UK, French and US rejoiced in rubbing German noses in the dirt, and should have known better. Versailles drove Germany to democratically elect Hitler as Chancellor, leading to another awful war. Ultimately the US - unlike the triumphalism of 1919 Versailles - launched the Marshall Plan, to their credit.
The Marshall Plan is needed today, for us and our future. And the future of the earth. Saved an article about this years ago. It was a highlight of our learning experience, along with the GI Bill (if only black had been included).
I agree that the Marshall Plan is needed to help Ukraine rebuild. And for the future of the earth.
At least we learned from that mistake after WW 1 to not ask losers of wars to have to pay the winners.
That wasn't quite the lesson, no.
The post-WWI treaties specified that Germany should pay, true - but they also specified that Germany should not rebuild the heavy industry that had allowed it to manufacture warships and tanks. The problem was that the same technology, infrastructure, and workforce is also what produces fire trucks and cruise or cargo ships and locomotives - and heavy industry, including production for export, had been the core of the German economy before the buildup to war, to an extent unmatched elsewhere in Europe. So the war reparations were supposed to be paid out of an economy that was supposed to be gutting its core except for smaller items like appliances and luxury automobiles. The result, in due course, was the economic fall of dominoes that we call the Great Depression: as its imports got pricier while its export markets dried up, Germany's domino fell early and fast, destabilizing the dominoes downstream. Germany hadn't been a republic very long, and its political institutions simply weren't up to economic disaster followed by opportunistic demagoguery. So the lesson that General Marshall and his group drew was that the way to prevent a third Great War in the next generation was to rebuild shattered nations - both former enemies and allies - so that there would be stable economies supporting and supported by stable democracies. That the Marshall Plan also brought these nations back online sooner as US trading partners was a happy bonus (and probably not an unanticipated one).
"Rather than trying to push their own boundaries and interests whenever they could gain advantage, countries agreed to abide by a series of rules that promoted peace, economic cooperation, and security."
Sounds like a wise idea for local or global.
My sister, who is a flight attendant, returned to Minnesota from London today.
She wrote,
“When we got to the airport today right at 11:00 on the 11th day of the 11th month the entire airport stopped. Every person stood in 2 minutes of silence and then they played their National Anthem. Absolutely beautiful to see all these people from many nations, at least 1000, all in silence, remembering.
I had tears in my eyes as I looked around the hall, seriously 1000 people as it’s very large. They wait there until their gates for their flights are announced. Lots of shops and restaurants.
I had just cleared crew security and walked into this space of silence. No registers ringing, no shopping being done. Just stillness and quiet. Just took my breath away to see the respect and remembrance on all those faces.“
We must remember.
Thank you for helping us remember, Professor Richardson.