I note with interest the year in which Memorial Day was enacted. There are secessionists in this country to this day who are still battling the Civil War in favor of slavery of all kinds…including at least two Supreme Court justices. This is unconscionable! ADMV - All Democrats Must Vote!!!!!
I am from one of those Red States. You are so correct. When we get the power back in all three branches of Government we better act this time with real conviction.
But just as importantly, we MUST regain power and common sense in these Red states. I'm in Ohio, and, in my humble opinion, it is THE most corrupt state in the union. The Republicans here MUST be removed, and if possible, prosecuted, for their corruption. It is very important on the Federal level, yes, but we can't allow the state corruption to continue, if we are to survive as a nation.
vance is the one to never turn your back on. Pure evil, dressed as good-looking, smooth-talking, everyday guy. If he's picked as VP, we've got a real problem!
And I had a completely different reading of the man when I read Hillbilly Elegy shortly after it came out in 2016. I obviously failed to be alerted to his boundless ambition no matter the cost to his soul or integrity.
Most of that is - wait for it... - lies! But that's my point. Smooth talker, 'looks' sincere, seems intelligent, salt of the earth kinda guy. And pure evil, in every sense. And you weren't the only one not alerted; millions of Ohioans were hoodwinked, and now millions of gullible Americans.
The only way to change Ohio is to convince the voters that the Jim Jordon’s and J.D. Vance of the world do not have their best interests at heart and with bread candidates
Ohio did an about-face during the Clinton admin. When NAFTA passed, the auto and steel industries moved to Mexico, and elsewhere, and all the slack-jawed yokels decided "them damned Demo-O-crats kain't be trusted", and they've never come back. Even though all the Republican policies over the past 30 years has destroyed their potential quality of life, they just refuse to forgive "them damned Demo-O-crats".
Unfortunately, it seems we've taken a turn for the worse here in Ohio. And with the closure of the Lordstown GM plant, trust has dropped even more. EVEN THOUGH, trump lied to their faces about the plant re-opening, and new jobs, and an announcement in the next 2 weeks, and, and, and.....but the yokels eat it up, even the new generation ones. Maybe it's the hats, I don't know.
There's some stiff competition out there!! I've heard from Texas, Florida, Arkansas, Idaho. They're all jockeying for position, and the lead. It's why WE have to vote out all Republicans, on ALL levels, to get things back to some semblance of normal.
When I saw on American Idol that one of the finalists attended “Jeff Davis” High School, I thought to myself, What the Hell?…Seriously? There are SO MANY things wrong with that, at least as far as I am concerned. But the message is clear as a bell. Who needs statues when you’ve got that message greeting you every day of your waking life?
The Shenandoah County VA School Board just voted to rename two schools after Confederate traitors. We are angry and embarrassed. We urge non-residents to vote with their wallets. Hit 'em where it hurts.
My deceased uncles, John Malloy (WWII), Mark Ciavarella (WWII) and Peter Cunningham (Vietnam) served their country with honor. Our family is so grateful for their contribution to world peace and democracy. Rest in peace dear uncles.
My maternal uncle died in WWII and is buried at the Cambridge American Cemetary (https://www.abmc.gov/Cambridge). I never met him, but I was able to visit his grave while traveling in England and bring photos back to my late mother. This was well before the internet, so she had no information other than he was buried there. She was so happy that her kids were able to visit - my brother went a few years after I did.
I also had a tremendously moving experience visiting one of the American military cemeteries in France…I visited a cemetery at Omaha Beach, in Normandy. Thousands of graves were there…it was a bright, sunny, chilly day in October when I visited. Amongst the rows and rows of crosses, occasionally I saw a Jewish star marking a grave…being Jewish myself, I was draw to these graves in particular. At the time, I was a young woman with two young children, and I hadn’t been very active religiously for quite a while.
As I walked towards one of the graves marked by a Jewish star, the words to the prayer for the dead, the Kaddish, popped into my head, in Hebrew…I hadn’t said the prayer in years, and as I spoke the words, I began to weep. It was very powerful.
After I came home, I decided it was time for me and my family to join a synagogue. I’ll never forget that experience.
I struggle to maintain my patriotism and my Christianity in the face of the horrific twisting of those values by people driven by fear and hatred. It takes constant reminding that, while not perfect by any means, my brand of patriotism exalts Democratic values, and my Christian faith is modeled after What Jesus Would Do, and The Way of Love, extending a helping hand, and love, to ALL of God's children, as well as showing respect to anyone who believes differently than me.
It's appalling how those in our Supreme Court and in the senior ranks of the GOP (if there is a difference) are hell bent on restricting women's healthcare and personal freedoms in the name of Christianity. It's as though "Christianity" is being used in the most un-Christian ways. Not sure how the purveyors of the new misogyny square that circle.
You give me renewed faith in the future of a heterogeneous America. You are a shining light in today’s “Christian white” movement. Thank you for your continued struggle.
Remembering my father....Samuel Webster Compton this Memorial Day. He fought in WWll and The Korean War at the Chosin Reservoir....he was lucky to have survived that War. It was lead by General Douglas McArthur, who my father admired. He was an idiot and he lost a lot of men. President Harry Truman fired him. Unfortunately, my father did not like the President for doing that. His men blindly followed him. Some things happening now that remind me of our past bad history.
On another note. Joy Reid was great tonight. Talking about Trump's Bronx rally
No one actually from the Bronx attended. It was a small crowd, brought in by the Trump team.
Of course Fox News did not say any of this but at least one media outlet is speaking out.
If you'd like to know why MacArthur was the most over-rated military piece of something you scrape off your shoe, I wrote a book about that campaign, "The Frozen Chosen." He was responsible for what Secretary of State Dean Acheson described as "the greatest defeat of American arms since the Second Battle of Bull Run." As Dwight Eisenhower (who served as his Chief of Staff in the Philippines before World War II) described the general, "I learned everything I know about acting during my service with General MacArthur." The biggest office in his headquarters staff (half the people) was his publicity office. Unfortunately, your father was one of those who believed Big Mac's BS machine.
My father (b.1907, WWII U.S.Navy veteran, ret'd Captain USCG Reserve) intensely disliked MacArthur and was deeply disgusted when the City of Norfolk converted the historical (1850) former City Hall building, in the core of downtown Norfolk at the head of City Hall Avenue, into the MacArthur Memorial and Mausoleum. https://www.macarthurmemorial.org/225/Why-Norfolk
I have read the biography of McArthur and he was a win at any cost general but at a certain level brilliant. Tactically if he were allowed to continue his thrust during WW II the Cold War would have probably been different. Think about this. Only those who watched Joy Reid know that “ rally” with the gangsters in the Bronx was another a fake Trump event with over reported attendance made to look bigger but the comments he made got universal coverage.
I wrote to The Hill, asking them to send a reporter to count the crowd at Trumps Bronx rally and report factually and neutrally on the number. Will they? No! But maybe some political hack in N.. Dakota will make up a number--80, 000? 100, 000? And the media will frantically and repeatedly flog that lie. Can one of us attend Trumps next rally, fly a drone over the small crowd, and post that on their social?
So interesting, Adaline, about the parallel of blind loyalty you see in your father's experience and the Trump followers. Thank you for sharing. And I also watched Joy Reid tonight. The second hour segment with Brittney Griner interview was fascinating.
I would like to remember the Viet Nam veterans who went to war with little training and no enmity in their hearts for the people of Viet Nam. They served because they had to and learned that war is very often a mistake. The guilt of that war is on the national conscience; hopefully, we will keep learning from it. I pray for the veterans who are still suffering from their direct role in the war and for their families.
I particularly would like to remember the guys from my hometown who had to serve as well as my old friend George Kovach who was awarded two Bronze Stars for bravery during our incursion into Cambodia in the spring of 1970. George went on to become an advocate for peace and understanding for all veterans of war through his writings and his publications. Godspeed to George and all his comrades.
I was on the Cambodian border before that -- 66-67. Nui Bau Din, Nui Bau Rah. They didn't have a sign "welcome to Cambodia." We took tremendous losses while exaggerating body counts. After the war, stuff like agent orange killed more of us than the Cong or the NVA.
My dad was commander of an American Legion post, and belonged to organizations like 40&8th, named for the train that took troops to the front in WWI and Friday the 13th club. 8 of my uncles served. If I have had success, a lot of it is due to my b=veteran status. Since Ike, Biden has the best record in support of veterans. E.G.
IMHO there is a trend that many veterans who supported Trump twice feel the sting "not suckers or losers."
I'm in a DNC veteran's discussion group. "Not suckers or losers" repeated daily works. 4 million people on Facebook are veterans or active duty members. 12.5 million people on Facebook are family members of a veteran or an active duty member. 242 million people on Facebook are friends with one or more veterans or active duty members. Vote Vets has hundreds of videos of veterans who voted for Trump X 2 but now oppose him. General Anderson has gone viral. https://votevets.org/videos/brig-gen-ret-steven-anderson-discusses-wapo-op-ed-regarding-new-capitol-insurrection-threat-on-cnn
If you want to help, visit military and history sites and say the magic words "not suckers or losers" and see what develops.
Powerful piece of information, Daniel, about the potential of spreading the word via connections to Veterans on FB. Sarah Longwell's group Republicans Against Trump just released a Veterans ad. My Congressman, Mike Levin, sits on the Veterans Affairs Committee in the House. I'll forward this info to him. And thank you; I have several friends who were in Vietnam around the time you were there, and are quite involved in the issues facing homeless Vets.
My husband, an Army veteran, was previously a Republican. He voted for a third party candidate in 2016, then voted for Biden in 2020, and plans to vote for Biden, as well as voting Blue down ballot, in 2024. He even started watching some MSNBC since he retired (just Morning Joe, but it’s a start!). I’m very proud of his service, in the infantry, then as a Ranger, then, after college, as a Special Forces officer. I am even more proud of his ability to evolve! He walked our daughter down the aisle when she and her wife were married and loves and accepts our nephews and nieces, some of whom are non-binary or transgender. I hope more veterans are able to see the light and vote for the candidates most likely to defend the Constitution and uphold our democracy.
My son, Marine Sgt. Benjamin Edinger, was wounded in Iraq on Nov 14, 2004 and died from his wounds on Nov 23, 2004. My husband and I had the painful privilege of spending the last three days of his life with him at the hospital in Bethesda, MD. I am grateful for those days, which most families of the fallen do not get. When a young person joins the military, they take a giant leap of faith that their leaders will use the troops’ talents rightly and for good purpose. Each time we vote, we should consider casting a ballot for a person who understands the sacrifice of troops and their families, and won’t be careless with their lives. Our fallen military have given their lives for our democracy. We can honor that sacrifice by making sure we keep democracy alive.
I agree about taking care in choosing the "Commander in Chief". I'm not sure if we ever had a worse commander in chief than 45. I'm still outraged that he referenced veterans as losers and refused to visit the military cemetary because it was raining and he was worried about getting his hair wet!!
I’m so sorry for your loss and am grateful for his service and sacrifice. I will keep your son, the many other fallen service members, and you and other families, in mind when I cast my ballot this November.
I find myself struggling with extraordinary cognitive dissonance these days, such that I feel my head about to burst. We all carry on with our daily activities and tasks while we watch our country's current MAGA-GOP leadership (if you can call it that) do everything possible to destroy this country and life we love. While the U.S. may not be perfect, and we've been through many ups, downs and great challenges throughout our colorful history, we still live in a great nation founded on democratic principles and freedoms that deserve to be defended. As well, the world still needs us to be that shining City on the hill.
Memorial Day is a good reminder of that.
I think the most painful aspect of this is watching the local and national newscasts chatter on about mundane things—someone's lost and found dog; Burger King's new $5 special; the latest frivolous lawsuit; and GenZ's favorite fashions—as our country's foundations burn. I often turn the sound off, or turn the news off entirely, as a result. Where is the substance? Where is the alarm? Where are the courageous reporters who are willing to speak truth to power?
Granted, we are seeing some rise to the occasion, but not nearly enough. This is reminiscent of the 1930s in Germany as Hitler slowly gathered his forces while the average German just carried on with their lives, not expecting nor realizing that they were on a slow path to hell. When interviewed later, they said that it was just a very slow drip, drip, drip. Nothing huge, or alarming at first. Just a new, innocuous law or regulation here or there. Much like we're experiencing in the U.S. today. By the time they realized what was happening, it was too late. At that point, all they could do was focus on saving their own lives. There was no time to stop the trajectory their country was on. Other nations had to step in to save the worst from happening. Will there be anyone to come save us?
On this Memorial Day weekend, as we reflect on the quiet sacrifice of those who fought for our nation's and the world's freedom from tyranny throughout history, I sincerely hope that Americans will stop their frivolities for just a few minutes to acknowledge where we are as a nation, and recognize how easily all that has been given and sacrificed can be lost overnight to people with malevolent, selfish, or even evil intentions.
We are standing on the precipice. Will the center hold?
Thanks for the link! Just donated to field team six. This organization is also highly recommended by Jessica Craven from Substack Chop Wood Carry Water.
Since it is Memorial Day weekend, I am posting a letter of condolence I sent to the wife of one of the last Marines killed in Afghanistan while trying to protect escaping refugees. I have purposefully omitted their names to protect their privacy. I thought it might be worth a read: November 11, 2022
To the Family,
You don’t know me, but I know a lot about you and especially your husband, who was tragically killed in Afghanistan in August of 2021. Please bear with me and give me a chance to explain. I occasionally attend Marvin United Methodist Church in Tyler, Texas. I play in their handbell choir, and we performed last Sunday on Memorial Day weekend. As is usually the case in services on Memorial Day Weekend, we paused to remember those who have given their lives in service to this great country. Additionally, the preacher noted that there were prayer cards on the communion rail with the names of soldiers who had been killed and asked anyone who felt so moved to come up and take a card and pray for the family of their loved one. Hardly anyone came forward because people really weren’t given much of an opportunity to get cards and most people forgot they were there at the end of the service. I made a mental note to come up and get one after the last service. As I glanced through the remaining cards, I noticed his name, and something drew me to that particular card. I don’t know what it was; perhaps the fact that I’m also originally from that area. Perhaps it was the fact that my father served in the Korean conflict, or that my uncle served two terms in the Vietnam War. Perhaps it was the fact that I lost a student of mine who had enlisted and was also killed while serving his country in Afghanistan. Anyway, SOMETHING moved me to pick up that card, pray for you, and write you to express my condolences. I don’t think people realize that the sacrifices soldiers make in war are also sacrifices endured by their families. Those families have had a hole ripped in the fabric of their lives; wives without husbands; mother and fathers without their sons or daughters; brothers and sisters without their siblings; children without a father. For this I have wept a few tears (in fact, I’m doing so as I write this). I want, however, to cheer you up so please read on.
I want you to know that I recognize that what your husband was doing when he died was incredibly brave and important. He was helping to protect and evacuate thousands of people from Afghanistan after their government and military collapsed. It was one of the most aggressive and enormous evacuations in military history, rivaling the British evacuation by ordinary citizens from the Nazis as they advanced on stranded British troops in France. It was also, surely, as chaotic as the American evacuation from Vietnam following a similar collapse. His actions made a difference, and he unquestionably saved many lives. There are people in this country today, both Americans and Afghan refugees, who owe their lives to the bravery demonstrated by your husband and his fellow soldiers. Thanks to him, those people will live on in their children. They will see their kids graduate and celebrate birthdays and holidays because of brave men like your husband. They will experience protections and freedoms offered by this country because of them. Some of the refugees will also lose family members who are inspired to protect and defend this country because of your husband. They will die of old age surrounded by loving family members, none of whom would even be here, if it wasn’t for the sacrifice he made for them. They may or may not know this - but I do.
And so, please know that there are many grateful Americans who realize the debt we owe to your husband. As we struggle against enemies, both foreign and abroad, also know that his sacrifices and memories will always be cherished, not only by you, but by the many Americans who understand.
May God Bless each and everyone of you, and comfort you until such time as you are reunited with him in heaven, for he is surely standing at the Gate with the other angels, wishing you a great life of your own; lived in his memory, and waiting for you.
William this letter is beautiful. Thank you for sharing this. What a beautiful step of kindness to a fellow human. My son, a Marine, was there at what he called the “closing of Afghanistan”. Thirteen soldiers died.
My son came home. A changed man. They left to see the world but at the time of departure there was no talk of Afghanistan, it was still during Covid. 9 months later they returned, minus 3 fellow soldiers from their ship. May their memories always be blessings.
Wow. What a moving letter you wrote. I’m so glad your pastor made the suggestion for your congregation to pray for those who had recently been killed at that Memorial Service.
Your letter has convinced me to insist on placing my Biden yard sign in my yard now, despite my husband’s complaint that it interferes with his gardening work! My neighborhood is pretty solid blue, but having the yard sign out reminds people of the importance of this election and keeping that in mind every day might encourage some folks to do more than vote.
Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful letter…
Thank you, Mr. Hubbell, for another inspiring message.
Regarding the crisis at the not-so-Supreme Court, and the request by Senator Dick Durbin for a meeting, you comment:
"Neither Roberts nor Alito will respond positively (or at all) to the demands for a meeting, recusal, and adoption of a binding ethics code. But the letter is the first sign of life from Dick Durbin regarding the crisis enveloping the Supreme Court. Let’s hope there is more to come."
The practices of those Justices on SCOTUS who consider themselves and their words and actions to be "untouchable" are despicable! How dare they NOT respond to Senator Durbin for a discussion, at the very least! I sincerely hope that Senator Durbin will continue his requests for discussion, accountability, and the beginning of reform. I hope that there are other Senators who have the backbone to join him.
May they become like leaky faucets, who drip-drip-drip for a response from Chief Justice Roberts. And as more and more people read and hear about SCOTUS' stone-walling and arrogant silence, may a growing outrage follow and build. Now is the time to begin the long fight for reform of the captured and corrupted not-so-Supreme Court.
Agree completely with this. The corrupt justices obviously DO NOT CARE that they were appointed to work for the American people. It is unacceptable that they have ZERO accountability.
My Representative, Democrat Steve Cohen, is on the House Judiciary Committee and has submitted a censure resolution against Alito. The resolution may not get passed in our crazy dysfunctional House, but he is trying. Rep. Cohen is a good democratic legislator representing a blue city in a messed-up red state. https://cohen.house.gov/
Thank you to Senators Durban and Whitehouse who asked Justice Roberts for a
meeting to discuss recusal of Alito and Thomas. But what an underwhelming act that is. No one from SCOTUS has replied to the request or commented in public. Merrick Garland should serve subpoenas on every SCOTUS Justice (to show no fear or favor) to determine if any of them have participated criminally in the Jan 6 insurrection. The basis for this is of course the texts of Ginni Thomas urging Mark Meadows to support the unlawful interruption of Congress. And the perpetrators of corruption in SCOTUS, the former Federalist Society head Leonard Leo and his cronies who mightily participated in the gifting of Justices Thomas, Alito and Scalia, should be the subjects of grand jury investigation. Let the chips fall where they may.
Well done, Robert. I write in remembrance of my uncle and namesake, Michael Loga, who was killed at St. Lo, France in 1944 as the Allies made the breakout from the hedgerow country of coastal France. That breakout enabled Patton's Third Army to race across France routing the German armies that year. Born in 1947, of a father who also served with Patton and survived the war, I never met my uncle but have carried his name with pride my entire life.
Wasn't 2018 the year the fat ignoramus traitor piece of shit wouldn't go to that cemetery at Belleau Wood (my great grand-uncle fought in that battle) because he didn't want to muss his bird's nest in the rain, and "who wants to see a bunch of loosers anyway"? God I hate him with the energy of 20 million suns! May he die soon in great pain, alone in the cold and the dark. And the moron scumbags who follow him.
And me!! I too, have been dreaming of his hideous demise, the type of death I would wish on no one else, alone in a jail cell, completely out of his miniscule mind, and completely ignored.
Hoping it's not unlike the death of Herod the Great as described in Josephus: "He was affected also with ulceration of the intestines, and with especially severe pains in the colon, while a watery and transparent humor settled about his feet. He suffered also from a similar trouble in his abdomen. Nay more, his privy member was putrefied and produced worms."
I am grateful to all those who made the ultimate sacrifice defending our country. Robert, I thought you would like this poignant song by Peter Corry, a wonderful Irish tenor who I have gotten to know over the past few years - Belleau Wood - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heD0cPBbtgE
Thank you for your thoughtful messages to help us through these turbulent times.
Thank you, Barbara. So beautiful. "Heaven's not beyond the clouds; it's just beyond the fear. No, Heaven's not beyond the clouds; it's for us to find here."
Thanks for sharing. Music always does it for me…reminds me of the novel « Midnight Clear, » in which a small group Americans and German soldiers, at Xmastime, in France I believe, somehow came together and made an agreement not to kill each other when the truce ended…of course, the story didn’t end well. The novel was incredibly moving, and the film made from it was, as well.
I note with interest the year in which Memorial Day was enacted. There are secessionists in this country to this day who are still battling the Civil War in favor of slavery of all kinds…including at least two Supreme Court justices. This is unconscionable! ADMV - All Democrats Must Vote!!!!!
I am from one of those Red States. You are so correct. When we get the power back in all three branches of Government we better act this time with real conviction.
But just as importantly, we MUST regain power and common sense in these Red states. I'm in Ohio, and, in my humble opinion, it is THE most corrupt state in the union. The Republicans here MUST be removed, and if possible, prosecuted, for their corruption. It is very important on the Federal level, yes, but we can't allow the state corruption to continue, if we are to survive as a nation.
Gym Jordan and JD Vance are a particular stain on our American republic. I feel your pain.
vance is the one to never turn your back on. Pure evil, dressed as good-looking, smooth-talking, everyday guy. If he's picked as VP, we've got a real problem!
Trump is the orange antichrist. Vance is Beelzebub.
Daniel, courtesy of George Conway a little further north of you.😂
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/5/23/2242427/-Ex-GOPer-puts-up-Vote-For-Joe-Not-The-Psycho-billboard-near-Mar-a-Lago-ahead-of-holiday-weekend
Beelzebub actually would be a very appropriate description of Steve Bannon.
And I had a completely different reading of the man when I read Hillbilly Elegy shortly after it came out in 2016. I obviously failed to be alerted to his boundless ambition no matter the cost to his soul or integrity.
Most of that is - wait for it... - lies! But that's my point. Smooth talker, 'looks' sincere, seems intelligent, salt of the earth kinda guy. And pure evil, in every sense. And you weren't the only one not alerted; millions of Ohioans were hoodwinked, and now millions of gullible Americans.
The only way to change Ohio is to convince the voters that the Jim Jordon’s and J.D. Vance of the world do not have their best interests at heart and with bread candidates
Ohio did an about-face during the Clinton admin. When NAFTA passed, the auto and steel industries moved to Mexico, and elsewhere, and all the slack-jawed yokels decided "them damned Demo-O-crats kain't be trusted", and they've never come back. Even though all the Republican policies over the past 30 years has destroyed their potential quality of life, they just refuse to forgive "them damned Demo-O-crats".
I forgot about that but that was a long time ago and a new generation has taken over.
Unfortunately, it seems we've taken a turn for the worse here in Ohio. And with the closure of the Lordstown GM plant, trust has dropped even more. EVEN THOUGH, trump lied to their faces about the plant re-opening, and new jobs, and an announcement in the next 2 weeks, and, and, and.....but the yokels eat it up, even the new generation ones. Maybe it's the hats, I don't know.
I also live in Ohio and I completely agree!
Sad, isn't it? I'm in NorthEast Ohio, and the trump-lickers are everywhere.
Utah is the most corrupt
There's some stiff competition out there!! I've heard from Texas, Florida, Arkansas, Idaho. They're all jockeying for position, and the lead. It's why WE have to vote out all Republicans, on ALL levels, to get things back to some semblance of normal.
Yes, “still battling the Civil War,” the war some Southerners still refer to as The Great War. That says it all.
Heather Cox Richardson published a book entitled “How the South Won the Civil War.” It’s a must-read.
When I saw on American Idol that one of the finalists attended “Jeff Davis” High School, I thought to myself, What the Hell?…Seriously? There are SO MANY things wrong with that, at least as far as I am concerned. But the message is clear as a bell. Who needs statues when you’ve got that message greeting you every day of your waking life?
I believe you are right and just as those before us rose up to the challenge do must we.
The Shenandoah County VA School Board just voted to rename two schools after Confederate traitors. We are angry and embarrassed. We urge non-residents to vote with their wallets. Hit 'em where it hurts.
My deceased uncles, John Malloy (WWII), Mark Ciavarella (WWII) and Peter Cunningham (Vietnam) served their country with honor. Our family is so grateful for their contribution to world peace and democracy. Rest in peace dear uncles.
My maternal uncle died in WWII and is buried at the Cambridge American Cemetary (https://www.abmc.gov/Cambridge). I never met him, but I was able to visit his grave while traveling in England and bring photos back to my late mother. This was well before the internet, so she had no information other than he was buried there. She was so happy that her kids were able to visit - my brother went a few years after I did.
I also had a tremendously moving experience visiting one of the American military cemeteries in France…I visited a cemetery at Omaha Beach, in Normandy. Thousands of graves were there…it was a bright, sunny, chilly day in October when I visited. Amongst the rows and rows of crosses, occasionally I saw a Jewish star marking a grave…being Jewish myself, I was draw to these graves in particular. At the time, I was a young woman with two young children, and I hadn’t been very active religiously for quite a while.
As I walked towards one of the graves marked by a Jewish star, the words to the prayer for the dead, the Kaddish, popped into my head, in Hebrew…I hadn’t said the prayer in years, and as I spoke the words, I began to weep. It was very powerful.
After I came home, I decided it was time for me and my family to join a synagogue. I’ll never forget that experience.
Nancy, how you describe your epiphanic experience is stunningly beautiful. Thank you for sharing such a personal and intimate experience.
I struggle to maintain my patriotism and my Christianity in the face of the horrific twisting of those values by people driven by fear and hatred. It takes constant reminding that, while not perfect by any means, my brand of patriotism exalts Democratic values, and my Christian faith is modeled after What Jesus Would Do, and The Way of Love, extending a helping hand, and love, to ALL of God's children, as well as showing respect to anyone who believes differently than me.
Happy Memorial Day.
It's appalling how those in our Supreme Court and in the senior ranks of the GOP (if there is a difference) are hell bent on restricting women's healthcare and personal freedoms in the name of Christianity. It's as though "Christianity" is being used in the most un-Christian ways. Not sure how the purveyors of the new misogyny square that circle.
You give me renewed faith in the future of a heterogeneous America. You are a shining light in today’s “Christian white” movement. Thank you for your continued struggle.
I hear you, Denise, support you and join you in your struggles. Thank you for putting into words what so many of us are feeling.
Remembering my father....Samuel Webster Compton this Memorial Day. He fought in WWll and The Korean War at the Chosin Reservoir....he was lucky to have survived that War. It was lead by General Douglas McArthur, who my father admired. He was an idiot and he lost a lot of men. President Harry Truman fired him. Unfortunately, my father did not like the President for doing that. His men blindly followed him. Some things happening now that remind me of our past bad history.
On another note. Joy Reid was great tonight. Talking about Trump's Bronx rally
No one actually from the Bronx attended. It was a small crowd, brought in by the Trump team.
Of course Fox News did not say any of this but at least one media outlet is speaking out.
6 more long months......Biden must win.
If you'd like to know why MacArthur was the most over-rated military piece of something you scrape off your shoe, I wrote a book about that campaign, "The Frozen Chosen." He was responsible for what Secretary of State Dean Acheson described as "the greatest defeat of American arms since the Second Battle of Bull Run." As Dwight Eisenhower (who served as his Chief of Staff in the Philippines before World War II) described the general, "I learned everything I know about acting during my service with General MacArthur." The biggest office in his headquarters staff (half the people) was his publicity office. Unfortunately, your father was one of those who believed Big Mac's BS machine.
My father (b.1907, WWII U.S.Navy veteran, ret'd Captain USCG Reserve) intensely disliked MacArthur and was deeply disgusted when the City of Norfolk converted the historical (1850) former City Hall building, in the core of downtown Norfolk at the head of City Hall Avenue, into the MacArthur Memorial and Mausoleum. https://www.macarthurmemorial.org/225/Why-Norfolk
A fitting memorial building for his outsized ego. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7b/c9/06/7bc9064f6ab2cc7f4a13edcedc4a3ee5.jpg
I have read the biography of McArthur and he was a win at any cost general but at a certain level brilliant. Tactically if he were allowed to continue his thrust during WW II the Cold War would have probably been different. Think about this. Only those who watched Joy Reid know that “ rally” with the gangsters in the Bronx was another a fake Trump event with over reported attendance made to look bigger but the comments he made got universal coverage.
I wrote to The Hill, asking them to send a reporter to count the crowd at Trumps Bronx rally and report factually and neutrally on the number. Will they? No! But maybe some political hack in N.. Dakota will make up a number--80, 000? 100, 000? And the media will frantically and repeatedly flog that lie. Can one of us attend Trumps next rally, fly a drone over the small crowd, and post that on their social?
So interesting, Adaline, about the parallel of blind loyalty you see in your father's experience and the Trump followers. Thank you for sharing. And I also watched Joy Reid tonight. The second hour segment with Brittney Griner interview was fascinating.
I would like to remember the Viet Nam veterans who went to war with little training and no enmity in their hearts for the people of Viet Nam. They served because they had to and learned that war is very often a mistake. The guilt of that war is on the national conscience; hopefully, we will keep learning from it. I pray for the veterans who are still suffering from their direct role in the war and for their families.
I particularly would like to remember the guys from my hometown who had to serve as well as my old friend George Kovach who was awarded two Bronze Stars for bravery during our incursion into Cambodia in the spring of 1970. George went on to become an advocate for peace and understanding for all veterans of war through his writings and his publications. Godspeed to George and all his comrades.
I was on the Cambodian border before that -- 66-67. Nui Bau Din, Nui Bau Rah. They didn't have a sign "welcome to Cambodia." We took tremendous losses while exaggerating body counts. After the war, stuff like agent orange killed more of us than the Cong or the NVA.
My dad was commander of an American Legion post, and belonged to organizations like 40&8th, named for the train that took troops to the front in WWI and Friday the 13th club. 8 of my uncles served. If I have had success, a lot of it is due to my b=veteran status. Since Ike, Biden has the best record in support of veterans. E.G.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/05/21/fact-sheet-president-biden-to-announce-1-million-pact-act-claims-approved-benefits-delivered-to-veterans-in-all-50-states-and-u-s-territories/
IMHO there is a trend that many veterans who supported Trump twice feel the sting "not suckers or losers."
I'm in a DNC veteran's discussion group. "Not suckers or losers" repeated daily works. 4 million people on Facebook are veterans or active duty members. 12.5 million people on Facebook are family members of a veteran or an active duty member. 242 million people on Facebook are friends with one or more veterans or active duty members. Vote Vets has hundreds of videos of veterans who voted for Trump X 2 but now oppose him. General Anderson has gone viral. https://votevets.org/videos/brig-gen-ret-steven-anderson-discusses-wapo-op-ed-regarding-new-capitol-insurrection-threat-on-cnn
If you want to help, visit military and history sites and say the magic words "not suckers or losers" and see what develops.
Powerful piece of information, Daniel, about the potential of spreading the word via connections to Veterans on FB. Sarah Longwell's group Republicans Against Trump just released a Veterans ad. My Congressman, Mike Levin, sits on the Veterans Affairs Committee in the House. I'll forward this info to him. And thank you; I have several friends who were in Vietnam around the time you were there, and are quite involved in the issues facing homeless Vets.
My husband, an Army veteran, was previously a Republican. He voted for a third party candidate in 2016, then voted for Biden in 2020, and plans to vote for Biden, as well as voting Blue down ballot, in 2024. He even started watching some MSNBC since he retired (just Morning Joe, but it’s a start!). I’m very proud of his service, in the infantry, then as a Ranger, then, after college, as a Special Forces officer. I am even more proud of his ability to evolve! He walked our daughter down the aisle when she and her wife were married and loves and accepts our nephews and nieces, some of whom are non-binary or transgender. I hope more veterans are able to see the light and vote for the candidates most likely to defend the Constitution and uphold our democracy.
And my brother. Thank you.
My son, Marine Sgt. Benjamin Edinger, was wounded in Iraq on Nov 14, 2004 and died from his wounds on Nov 23, 2004. My husband and I had the painful privilege of spending the last three days of his life with him at the hospital in Bethesda, MD. I am grateful for those days, which most families of the fallen do not get. When a young person joins the military, they take a giant leap of faith that their leaders will use the troops’ talents rightly and for good purpose. Each time we vote, we should consider casting a ballot for a person who understands the sacrifice of troops and their families, and won’t be careless with their lives. Our fallen military have given their lives for our democracy. We can honor that sacrifice by making sure we keep democracy alive.
Very sorry for the loss of your son Sgt. Benjamin Edinger. The American people, honor your son’s supreme sacrifice. Godspeed, Benjamin.
I am so sorry for your loss.
I agree about taking care in choosing the "Commander in Chief". I'm not sure if we ever had a worse commander in chief than 45. I'm still outraged that he referenced veterans as losers and refused to visit the military cemetary because it was raining and he was worried about getting his hair wet!!
I’m so sorry for your loss and am grateful for his service and sacrifice. I will keep your son, the many other fallen service members, and you and other families, in mind when I cast my ballot this November.
I find myself struggling with extraordinary cognitive dissonance these days, such that I feel my head about to burst. We all carry on with our daily activities and tasks while we watch our country's current MAGA-GOP leadership (if you can call it that) do everything possible to destroy this country and life we love. While the U.S. may not be perfect, and we've been through many ups, downs and great challenges throughout our colorful history, we still live in a great nation founded on democratic principles and freedoms that deserve to be defended. As well, the world still needs us to be that shining City on the hill.
Memorial Day is a good reminder of that.
I think the most painful aspect of this is watching the local and national newscasts chatter on about mundane things—someone's lost and found dog; Burger King's new $5 special; the latest frivolous lawsuit; and GenZ's favorite fashions—as our country's foundations burn. I often turn the sound off, or turn the news off entirely, as a result. Where is the substance? Where is the alarm? Where are the courageous reporters who are willing to speak truth to power?
Granted, we are seeing some rise to the occasion, but not nearly enough. This is reminiscent of the 1930s in Germany as Hitler slowly gathered his forces while the average German just carried on with their lives, not expecting nor realizing that they were on a slow path to hell. When interviewed later, they said that it was just a very slow drip, drip, drip. Nothing huge, or alarming at first. Just a new, innocuous law or regulation here or there. Much like we're experiencing in the U.S. today. By the time they realized what was happening, it was too late. At that point, all they could do was focus on saving their own lives. There was no time to stop the trajectory their country was on. Other nations had to step in to save the worst from happening. Will there be anyone to come save us?
On this Memorial Day weekend, as we reflect on the quiet sacrifice of those who fought for our nation's and the world's freedom from tyranny throughout history, I sincerely hope that Americans will stop their frivolities for just a few minutes to acknowledge where we are as a nation, and recognize how easily all that has been given and sacrificed can be lost overnight to people with malevolent, selfish, or even evil intentions.
We are standing on the precipice. Will the center hold?
Pull the chair out from under him. Register Democrats -- defeat Trump.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
Thanks for the link! Just donated to field team six. This organization is also highly recommended by Jessica Craven from Substack Chop Wood Carry Water.
Yes, it will Mr. Smith. Thank you
Since it is Memorial Day weekend, I am posting a letter of condolence I sent to the wife of one of the last Marines killed in Afghanistan while trying to protect escaping refugees. I have purposefully omitted their names to protect their privacy. I thought it might be worth a read: November 11, 2022
To the Family,
You don’t know me, but I know a lot about you and especially your husband, who was tragically killed in Afghanistan in August of 2021. Please bear with me and give me a chance to explain. I occasionally attend Marvin United Methodist Church in Tyler, Texas. I play in their handbell choir, and we performed last Sunday on Memorial Day weekend. As is usually the case in services on Memorial Day Weekend, we paused to remember those who have given their lives in service to this great country. Additionally, the preacher noted that there were prayer cards on the communion rail with the names of soldiers who had been killed and asked anyone who felt so moved to come up and take a card and pray for the family of their loved one. Hardly anyone came forward because people really weren’t given much of an opportunity to get cards and most people forgot they were there at the end of the service. I made a mental note to come up and get one after the last service. As I glanced through the remaining cards, I noticed his name, and something drew me to that particular card. I don’t know what it was; perhaps the fact that I’m also originally from that area. Perhaps it was the fact that my father served in the Korean conflict, or that my uncle served two terms in the Vietnam War. Perhaps it was the fact that I lost a student of mine who had enlisted and was also killed while serving his country in Afghanistan. Anyway, SOMETHING moved me to pick up that card, pray for you, and write you to express my condolences. I don’t think people realize that the sacrifices soldiers make in war are also sacrifices endured by their families. Those families have had a hole ripped in the fabric of their lives; wives without husbands; mother and fathers without their sons or daughters; brothers and sisters without their siblings; children without a father. For this I have wept a few tears (in fact, I’m doing so as I write this). I want, however, to cheer you up so please read on.
I want you to know that I recognize that what your husband was doing when he died was incredibly brave and important. He was helping to protect and evacuate thousands of people from Afghanistan after their government and military collapsed. It was one of the most aggressive and enormous evacuations in military history, rivaling the British evacuation by ordinary citizens from the Nazis as they advanced on stranded British troops in France. It was also, surely, as chaotic as the American evacuation from Vietnam following a similar collapse. His actions made a difference, and he unquestionably saved many lives. There are people in this country today, both Americans and Afghan refugees, who owe their lives to the bravery demonstrated by your husband and his fellow soldiers. Thanks to him, those people will live on in their children. They will see their kids graduate and celebrate birthdays and holidays because of brave men like your husband. They will experience protections and freedoms offered by this country because of them. Some of the refugees will also lose family members who are inspired to protect and defend this country because of your husband. They will die of old age surrounded by loving family members, none of whom would even be here, if it wasn’t for the sacrifice he made for them. They may or may not know this - but I do.
And so, please know that there are many grateful Americans who realize the debt we owe to your husband. As we struggle against enemies, both foreign and abroad, also know that his sacrifices and memories will always be cherished, not only by you, but by the many Americans who understand.
May God Bless each and everyone of you, and comfort you until such time as you are reunited with him in heaven, for he is surely standing at the Gate with the other angels, wishing you a great life of your own; lived in his memory, and waiting for you.
Sincerely, William Carlton
William this letter is beautiful. Thank you for sharing this. What a beautiful step of kindness to a fellow human. My son, a Marine, was there at what he called the “closing of Afghanistan”. Thirteen soldiers died.
My son came home. A changed man. They left to see the world but at the time of departure there was no talk of Afghanistan, it was still during Covid. 9 months later they returned, minus 3 fellow soldiers from their ship. May their memories always be blessings.
What a beautiful, comforting letter to remind all of us that our loved ones have not died in vain. Thank you.
Wow. What a moving letter you wrote. I’m so glad your pastor made the suggestion for your congregation to pray for those who had recently been killed at that Memorial Service.
Your letter has convinced me to insist on placing my Biden yard sign in my yard now, despite my husband’s complaint that it interferes with his gardening work! My neighborhood is pretty solid blue, but having the yard sign out reminds people of the importance of this election and keeping that in mind every day might encourage some folks to do more than vote.
Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful letter…
420 thousand of us died stopping a man who spoke like Trump.
You betray everything we stood for by continuing to support this nightmare.
- the text of one of many memes
Thank you, Mr. Hubbell, for another inspiring message.
Regarding the crisis at the not-so-Supreme Court, and the request by Senator Dick Durbin for a meeting, you comment:
"Neither Roberts nor Alito will respond positively (or at all) to the demands for a meeting, recusal, and adoption of a binding ethics code. But the letter is the first sign of life from Dick Durbin regarding the crisis enveloping the Supreme Court. Let’s hope there is more to come."
The practices of those Justices on SCOTUS who consider themselves and their words and actions to be "untouchable" are despicable! How dare they NOT respond to Senator Durbin for a discussion, at the very least! I sincerely hope that Senator Durbin will continue his requests for discussion, accountability, and the beginning of reform. I hope that there are other Senators who have the backbone to join him.
May they become like leaky faucets, who drip-drip-drip for a response from Chief Justice Roberts. And as more and more people read and hear about SCOTUS' stone-walling and arrogant silence, may a growing outrage follow and build. Now is the time to begin the long fight for reform of the captured and corrupted not-so-Supreme Court.
Their behavior makes me madder than a wet hen!
Agree completely with this. The corrupt justices obviously DO NOT CARE that they were appointed to work for the American people. It is unacceptable that they have ZERO accountability.
My Representative, Democrat Steve Cohen, is on the House Judiciary Committee and has submitted a censure resolution against Alito. The resolution may not get passed in our crazy dysfunctional House, but he is trying. Rep. Cohen is a good democratic legislator representing a blue city in a messed-up red state. https://cohen.house.gov/
They are giving us the middle finger of impunity.
Call Durbin's office. Urge him to stop dithering. Urge him to fight. He used to be a good man.
I am glad to see Alden Hackmann's website highlighted here for us to prepare, sign and send a complaint about Alito directly to the Supreme Court.
I embrace your thoughts, Robert, about what Memorial Day means to me. Thank you so much.
I used the same form to send a formal complaint about Judge Aileen Cannon after watching a video by Glenn Kirshner on how to do it.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/former-prosecutor-urges-americans-to-file-judge-aileen-cannon-complaints/ar-BB1mRvv5
Same here, Kathy!
Yay!!!
Thank you to Senators Durban and Whitehouse who asked Justice Roberts for a
meeting to discuss recusal of Alito and Thomas. But what an underwhelming act that is. No one from SCOTUS has replied to the request or commented in public. Merrick Garland should serve subpoenas on every SCOTUS Justice (to show no fear or favor) to determine if any of them have participated criminally in the Jan 6 insurrection. The basis for this is of course the texts of Ginni Thomas urging Mark Meadows to support the unlawful interruption of Congress. And the perpetrators of corruption in SCOTUS, the former Federalist Society head Leonard Leo and his cronies who mightily participated in the gifting of Justices Thomas, Alito and Scalia, should be the subjects of grand jury investigation. Let the chips fall where they may.
Well done, Robert. I write in remembrance of my uncle and namesake, Michael Loga, who was killed at St. Lo, France in 1944 as the Allies made the breakout from the hedgerow country of coastal France. That breakout enabled Patton's Third Army to race across France routing the German armies that year. Born in 1947, of a father who also served with Patton and survived the war, I never met my uncle but have carried his name with pride my entire life.
Wasn't 2018 the year the fat ignoramus traitor piece of shit wouldn't go to that cemetery at Belleau Wood (my great grand-uncle fought in that battle) because he didn't want to muss his bird's nest in the rain, and "who wants to see a bunch of loosers anyway"? God I hate him with the energy of 20 million suns! May he die soon in great pain, alone in the cold and the dark. And the moron scumbags who follow him.
You are echoing shades of Rick Wilson! 🤪
And me!! I too, have been dreaming of his hideous demise, the type of death I would wish on no one else, alone in a jail cell, completely out of his miniscule mind, and completely ignored.
Hoping it's not unlike the death of Herod the Great as described in Josephus: "He was affected also with ulceration of the intestines, and with especially severe pains in the colon, while a watery and transparent humor settled about his feet. He suffered also from a similar trouble in his abdomen. Nay more, his privy member was putrefied and produced worms."
Sounds like we share a similar dream!!
We do, and it's so apt!
I am grateful to all those who made the ultimate sacrifice defending our country. Robert, I thought you would like this poignant song by Peter Corry, a wonderful Irish tenor who I have gotten to know over the past few years - Belleau Wood - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heD0cPBbtgE
Thank you for your thoughtful messages to help us through these turbulent times.
Thank you, Barbara. So beautiful. "Heaven's not beyond the clouds; it's just beyond the fear. No, Heaven's not beyond the clouds; it's for us to find here."
Thanks for sharing. Music always does it for me…reminds me of the novel « Midnight Clear, » in which a small group Americans and German soldiers, at Xmastime, in France I believe, somehow came together and made an agreement not to kill each other when the truce ended…of course, the story didn’t end well. The novel was incredibly moving, and the film made from it was, as well.