Observing Memorial Day

Richard Bermack, The Front Lines of Social Change: Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, published by Heyday Press, March 2005.

From Northeastern University's incomparable World War II Poster Collection

Also from Northeastern's World War II Poster Collection

Bob Geiger's essay, A Conflicted Veteran on Memorial Day.

Amanda's words and images.

RobT's Afghanistan to Iraq photos:

These photos span my wartime deployments from Afghanistan to Iraq, flying some 104 combat missions. [...] They are pictures from my office, mostly at 30,000 feet. I took pictures doing my job so my friends and family could see a portion of what I see and do on a daily basis.

Peoples GE, Jezior JR, and Shriver CD. Caring for the Wounded in Iraq — A Photo Essay. N Engl J Med. 2004;351(24):2476-80. View slide presentation.

Does it Matter? (1918) by Siegfried Sassoon.

Comments

[Flint]

The conflicted veteran story was very appropriate:

"But I also want the ability to very specifically mourn 1,657 Americans who have died unnecessarily. I want time to reflect on their bravery and sacrifice and a few moments to feel anger at the injustice of their passing. I cannot march with people who support the policies that led to their deaths and I cannot participate in something that subtly sustains the misguided patriotism that makes so many Americans oblivious to how horribly their families have been cheated."

"I want time to think about the truth. It is the least I can do for the most recent of those we honor today."

For all the talk of our honored dead, this administration has their bodies flown into Dover airforce base at night. Photos of their coffins are prohibited and there are stiff penalties for breaking those dictates.

Bush hides the cost of the war and the wingnuts even attacked Ted Koppel and nightline for dedicating the show to play the faces of the fallen in the war with Iraq. This despite Koppel's staement that he supports the war and feels that we must honor their sacrifice. He also teamed up with Sean Hannity in a benefit for the children of the fallen vets.

Despite this... he is critisized for "making an antiwar statement." Perhaps it is... because the real cost of war are the dead and if that is an antiwar statement it is one we should never forget, nor should we forget those who have bravely fought and died, now those in past wars and what it was they sacrificed for.

[mudkitty]

They're all dead, let's barbeque!

[ianqui]

Help stop fuel waste, indeed. If only the administration cared 1/8 as much as they did back in WWII. Of course, today the gov't would have to tell us to stop driving so much, and that certainly ain't happening in this culture.

At least during WWII we actually had oil reserves that would last another 50+ years. Today we aren't so lucky.

[James Chen]

So why don't you stop driving your car and heating your home, Ianqui?

[mudkitty]

It's not an either or, James Chen. You're falling for the old false dicotomy fallacy. Take a course in logic.

[Flint]

Mudkitty...

If you visit this guys blog you'll see he has cute kids and then you read his stuff... he's been smokin' the opium of propaganda so long that he believes in the tooth fairy!

[mudkitty]

I know, but one can't help flailing away with intellectual CPR. Once you're trained, it becomes second nature.

[James Chen]

Facts and logic--that's what I believe in. I care about the environment, so I don't drive a car. Driving less means less pollution. It also helps that I can save money on gas. Facts and logic. What about you? Do you care enough (about money, environment, etc.) to car pool or ride your bike to work? Do you have any facts about YOUR BEHAVIOR to back up your beliefs?

[James Chen]

How many of you support union labor? How many of you drive a Honda, Toyota or Nissan? I thought so...

[Flint]

James... it must be tough going through life with a single digit IQ.

[mudkitty]

Fact and logic...hardly. Since when is "what car do you drive...I thought so..." a fact? You don't even know know what a logical fallacy is, although you use them continuously. Face it, you're a troll.

But that's ok, cuz your Our Troll!

BTW - I support union labor and collective bargaining as a natural outgrowth of a free market. Can you even grasp that? Can you dig it?

[James]

My IQ is 2 digits, using Base 12. Here's how to convert from Base 12 to Base 10.

http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/55785.html

As I suspected, no facts on your own behavior. You just might be a hypocrite.

[James]

I'm just an average person who likes discussion with others. I've never bad-mouthed anyone ("You're a dumb troll, Chen!"). I just ask people how they feel and live their lives. If you look at my blog at http://jameschen.blogspot.com, you can see where I stand.

Otherwise, I don't mind taking a stand, defending it and then hearing from others. Name-calling, though, is something that doesn't appeal to me. Believe me, as a Asian-American child growing up in White suburbia, I've been called a lot of names. And when that happens, I'll walk away.

If you guys want me to leave, I will. No prob, guys.

[mudkitty]

Hey James, like I said, you may be a troll, but you're Our Troll. Who knows, if you stick around we may even get through to you yet.

PS - I called you a troll, which is cyber-accurate, but I never called you a dumb troll. Please don't put words in my/somebody else's mouth.

I don't know what you mean by "facts on your own behavior." That doesn't make sense to me. Maybe I'm being obtuse? Normally I prefer to discuss ideas and issues, rather than my own behavior, which is pretty boring.

[James]

It was Flint who said I have a single digit IQ. My bad (the font is real small).

Hearing about your beliefs in the context of your life is relevant, I feel. That's why on my blog I alternate between commentary and personal entries. It puts a human side to what you are saying. You don't have to tell me anything about yourself, but ideally I would like hearing about you, as a person with a name and an interesting life.

I'm not a stalker, by any means, so don't worry. But sometimes, my wife gets angry when I write something in the "too-much-information" category. On the other hand, when I wrote about her father's last days and funeral earlier this year, she forwarded my blog entries to her friends to help explain what happened.

Do let me know if you have a website of your own, of any flavor (political, family, etc). I'm all ears.

Thanks for listening.

[mudkitty]

I don't think you're a stalker. Again, I never said that. And I don't mind the occasional personal aside. I even induldge in it myself once in a while. Stick around. You may find out.

No website currently, but I used to have a seminal blog 10 years ago. I may resurect it. In the meantime I'm perfectly content hanging out with y'all.

[axmppktx]

What is a copyright notice? How do I put a copyright notice on my work?
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