I’ve been proverbially “sick as a dog” this weekend either from stomach flu, or some food poisoning, not sure which. Spending so much time in bed, I almost forgot to put up my flag today. My neighbors must have wondered why this disheveled man with messed up hair and a three day beard was in a bathrobe out in front of my house this morning.
I put up my flag to remind myself, my family, and my neighbors how much we have to be grateful for, and how much we owe the people that have fought to keep our freedoms. Though lately, the war has changed from one of guns and bombs to one of bureaucracy and paper.
On the plus side, we could live here:
Nighttime satellite photo of North and South Korea. Note the one light in North Korea.
There’s a great list on Listverse about the psychotic leader of North Korea: Top 10 Crazy Facts About Kim Jong Il
This one was a hoot:
The “Fact”: He is the best natural golfer in history
In 1994, it was reported by Pyongyang media outlets that Kim Jong Il shot 38 under par on a regulation 18-hole golf course – including 5 holes in one! That score is 25 shots better than the best round in history, and is made even more amazing by the fact that it was his first time playing the sport. It’s said Kim Jong Il would routinely sink 3 or 4 holes in one per round of golf, and – lucky for the PGA – he has since given it up.
He lies better than Tiger Woods, and that’s saying something.
I’m thankful we live in America, where if you hear a whopper like that, you can at least laugh about it without being executed.
I wonder if “Tamino” or Eli Rabbet bothers to fly a flag on memorial day? Here’s to hoping that they do.
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It is with great pride that we honor our fallen military forebearers by flying the flag on Memorial Day, the 4th of July, etc., …but I do lament that it is almost impossible to find an American flag that is “Made in America.”
I was a Canadian Soldier for 4 years and an American Soldier for 1 month with a battery exchange and had a fantastic time with the very simular training and great Camaraderie in 1984.
Thanks All, Happy Memorial Day!
nanny_govt_sucks says:
May 31, 2010 at 10:48 am
Too many wars have been waged for perverted purposes to make me a big fan of the military.
nanny_govt_sucks says:
May 31, 2010 at 2:00 pm
(I’m sorry Nanny that you feel that way about our military but the wars weren’t started by the men and women that sacrificed for us. )
It takes two to tango. There are those that give the orders, and those that follow the orders.>>
Those who know me are well aware that statements with which I strongly disagree often provoke sarcasm and caustic wit from me. I’ll not insult those who gave their lives that so many of us, you amongst them, can today live in freedom by engaging in such a response. It may take two to tango, but eight million people were slaughtered in concentration camps by the Nazis in WWII. They offered no provocation. They were plucked, unarmed, from their homes and marched to the death camps. Their only sin was to have been born of the wrong religion or the wrong ethnicity. Though they did not fight, they were murdered, be they elderly or new born babes.
Despise war. It is the tool of those who are evil to force their will upon all others. But do not insult the memory of those who perished to stop them, nor that of those who continue to serve in the event they are needed with your naivety. When an invader marches into your town with the intent of taking you and your family to be put to death, you will be glad of the armed soldiers who stand in their path. May such a terrible thing never happen to you, but if it should, perhaps then you will understand the fear and despair of those who had no one to stand for them, and who perished as a consequence. Today is not a celebration of war. It is a day of sadness and respect for those who sacrificed, for they, were they alive today, would stand in the path of the invader to protect you, even though no fan of their’s do you be. It is so easy to say in song or poetry that war begets war. Only a fool believes that an invading army will act with kindness and respect if they are not opposed, and only the naive disrespect the memory, past and present, of those who would give their lives to oppose them.
For those who died and for those who served, and for those who serve today, might I quote from someone who is regarded by many as the greatest military mind of all time:
“Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.”
~ Sun Tzu; The Art of War
God bless America
May she stand firm in freedom’s cause this century as she did in the last.
The reason there is only one light in North Korea is because that is where Chuck Norris is, roundhouse kicking the $**t out of Kim Jong Il. The rest of the country is dark because of Kim Jong Il.
Among other things, I am the Chaplin for a new American Legion Post. Here is my comment for Memorial Day:
Not long after 9-11, a Chaplin with the New York Fire Department wrote an editorial for the Wall Street Journal. It was a long time ago and I didn’t keep a copy, so I am paraphrasing.
The Chaplin was in attendance at the Twin Towers on 9-11. As is usual practice, he offered prayers to the firemen as they went to fight the fire. Later, he was thinking about the event and he was struck at the percentage and the attitudes of the Firemen. It seemed to him that, if only subconsciously, they knew that they were going to die. And they went anyway.
On this Memorial Day, I would like to suggest that we all take a moment from our celebrations and offer a short prayer of remembrance and thanks.
“Our Dear Lord,
We ask that you bless the Men and Women who put themselves in harm’s way on our behalf. Please welcome the Fallen into your house and heal their wounds for they have made the ultimate sacrifice as did your son Jesus. We also ask that you give comfort and strength to the loved ones left behind for they have also sacrificed for us.
We are truly blessed by those that serve.
We ask this in the name of your son, Jesus.”
Respectfully Submitted,
Jon Jewett, Chaplin
American Legion Hunter-Morris Memorial Post 911
My uncle risked his life in the resistance against the Germans, here in Holland in WWII. He inspires me.
Those who fought for freedom in WWII did so much and we owe them so much.
Their fight was so big.
Still, the strange little fight we are in for scientific truth and realistic politics based on scientific truth will save the lives of many. Throwing away enormous amounts of money will lower the standard of living of many and cost lives, especially in the developing countries.
Amen; flag flying proudly here too … Dad served aboard the USS Essex in the the Pacific in The Big One, never talked much about his experience, unless he was among friends and had a few brews … certainly a member of The Greatest Generation.
The Carrier USS Essex: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Essex_(CV-9)
.
Basil says:May 31, 2010 at 11:54 am
In honor of my Uncle Joe, whom I never knew, here is a photo of him standing next to his plane, taken the day before he went MIA on a bombing mission to Shumshu Island in the Kuriles, flying out of Attu in the Aleutians. http://i45.tinypic.com/34o25xv.jpg
A great photo, a real man’s airplane – rivets, propellers, cylinders, dents, oil spattered on the fuselage, streaks of soot streaming back from the nacelle. Engines you needed a fire guard for when you cranked ’em up. I wonder if that little CO2 extinguisher your uncle had would have done the job?
The equipment may change, but the men and women who take the risks of war for us don’t.
May the Stars and Stripes fly proud on this day of national remembrance… Like our Aussie ANZAC day. A day for reflection on what we have…. and what we must always be ready to fight for.
I’m sure the survivors, like Donovan, wished that the Nazis had not blindly followed orders, but instead thought for themselves about what they were doing and about whether it was right or wrong.
… and the politicians are owned by the banksters. And the banksters have no interest in quick, efficient warfare. There is immense profit to be made in fueling both sides of a conflict. So, the military is a pawn in this game, serving the needs of immensely wealthy banking families, and not really defending US soil at all, and extending conflicts into never ending engagements. When was the last time the military went after these domestic enemies, anyway? Is not the printing of Federal Reserve notes counter to the Constitution that you are sworn to protect and defend? That is happening ON OUR SOIL. That’s a memorial day I will celebrate in earnest – the one where the military turns against its bankster puppet masters.
Many people have said nice things about Americans today. I thank them.
We make mistakes. We may even elect people to lead us whose time would be better spent under the care of mental health professionals, but we’re all trying, as whatever gods there my be give us to understand, to make this the kind of world where all may live as they think right.
For the record: My father spent the early forties flying in a B17 off the biggest, slowest aircraft carrier ever. My father in law, as a CB trying to persuade a “Daisy Etta” to fill in bomb craters and such on several miserable air fields in the South Pacific. My son signed on as a marine out of high school. I have what’s left of him in a box on Fern Hill.
To everyone who went and did what was needful when it was needful. Thanks.
REPLY: No, the thanks and honor go to you and your family. – Anthony
With all due respect to you, did you mean “chaplain”?
This is a great site, but despite possibly good motives this post is misplaced. The US military has been used as an instrument of conquest and subjugation for well over half a century. With over 170 bases outside the US proper it is projecting power and force, not protecting freedom. It is currently involved in two wars based on lies and evidence as false as Mann’s hockey stick cooked up by characters eager to get the might of this empire mired in wars for the racist, duplicitous, illegitimate and genocidal state if Israel. They are raining down bombs on Pakistan from consoles in suburban America via drones, and are looking for any pretext to spread the hot war to Pakistan.
While the courage and plight of the enlisted men is to be appreciated and admired, the contempt with which they are used by the empire that in no way represents its people is to be pitied.
[Reply: This is Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day. It began after the Civil War to honor and remember our soldiers, both North and South, who gave their lives in military service. It is not Politics Day. ~dbstealey, mod.]
Sir, your smugness is unbelievable. For all it matters to scientific enquiry you may fly your country’s flag upside down as long as your maths is correct, and it doesn’t do you any good when you fly the flag every goddamn day if your maths is rubbish.
Denigrating bloggers who have exposed your blunders for their supposed lack of patriotism is shameful.
REPLY: Meh, what’s shameful is that these two bloggers have not the courage to put their own names to their words. Just like you. Be upset if you wish, I don’t give a care. – Anthony
I think your closing statement is probably one of the most disreputable things you’ve said. To implicitly question someones patriotism because they disagree with you on topics is very revealing.
REPLY: Another blogger who routinely denigrates me, Ed Darrell, gets a complement from me on his blog. See it in comments above. I don’t know if Tamino or Rabbett are patriotic or not, like with Darrell I hope they would be. My point is that it would be nice if we could all agree on something, like with Mr. Darrell, which is why I said “I hope that they do”. It was an invitation.
See comment above. Mr. Darrell and I disagree strongly about AGW, but I have respect for him because he doesn’t hide. I have even more respect for him now because he’s able to put his disagreements aside and return the complement in his blog, while honoring those who served.
Those who have angry mindsets see angry intent in most anything. I’m sure they’ll spin it into something angry, but that’s part of their predictable MO. When they come forward and put their names to their insults hurled from the comfort and safety of anonymity, then I’ll think differently about them. Again, I hope someday that they do.
– Anthony
In Australia in despite of the loony left historical revisionists trying to degrade and and re-write our history. Our day, ANZAC day, continues to grow bigger every year, with our young people marching and carrying the flag of rememberance and gratitude.
Though myself a hermit and a non participant, always have a long moment of contemplation and shed a tear for the sacrifice of those who gave us our modern world. Thus also I remember your Memorial day and say my prayer “Thanks to the Yanks” Australia has a greeting between old friends. G’day how you going you old
bastard. A friendly greeting between equals, the American officers during their time in OZ took this on board and started the old bastards club. This still exists and raises money for good causes and does good deeds. Those of us unbrainwashed by newspeak and newthought remember. Thank you America
Memorial day is over, and there are people that still want to make an issue out of my question about whether some other bloggers fly flags to show their patriotism or not.
Perhaps it was a mistake for me to pose the question, hoping they’d respond like Ed Darrell did, and show us, but predictably it’s turned into a bash-fest. For that I apologize. I could have phrased it better.
Since Memorial Day is all about honoring patriots, and it is over, I’m going to close the thread.