Day: November 25, 2016

Closing Thought–25Nov16

Another sad story about the treatment of troops and their families……form an uncaring country…….

At first I was going to post on the Chili’s debacle….where they took a free meal away from a vet because some douche questioned his service…..instead of ranting about that pathetic display I just decided to NEVER use Chili’s for anything.

And then I read a post in another blog….The Silent Soldier…..where a Gold Member family on the way to pick up their son’s body was booed by passenger on an American Airline flight…..

Stewart Perry, a former Marine, along with his wife and daughter, were on an American Airlines flight last Monday to pick up the remains of their son, a soldier who was recently killed in Afghanistan. Their solemn flight took an even more grievous turn, however, when passengers allegedly booed the family while on the flight.

Source: Slain Soldier’s Family Booed on American Airlines Flight ‹ The Silent Soldier ‹ Reader — WordPress.com

This incident just illustrates what I am always bitching about….this society cares little about our veterans and their families…..

All the “thank you” in the world cannot erase this insult and disrespect…

When I left the military in 2014 after nearly 12 years of service in the Air Force, a fellow veteran advised me on how to respond when a civilian says, “Thank you for your service.” Such expressions of gratitude, while never wrong, often leave veterans uncertain how to answer. He suggested a very simple reply: “Thank you for your support.

Source: One veteran’s unease when hearing, ‘Thanks for your service.’ – LA Times

I have heard this from some of the vets I have spoken with in the past……

No one cares as long as it does not effect them…..

This is a sad indictment of our society and a pathetic lack of respect.

This brings this week to a close…..please enjoy your weekend my friends…..

Sad News On T’Giving Day

While we were enjoying our day with family and food it is easy to forget that our troops do not have the luxury that we are experiencing….

Once again sad news must be given to a family…..

The first American combat death in Syria happened on Thanksgiving. US officials say the service member was fatally injured in a blast from an improvised explosive device, the AP reports. The New York Times reports that officials say the American died in Ayn Issa in northern Syria, where Americans are assisting Arab and Kurdish fighters seeking to drive ISIS out of Raqqa, the capital of their “caliphate.” “The entire counter-ISIL Coalition sends our condolences to this hero’s family, friends, and teammates,” Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commander of Combined Joint Task Force—Operation Inherent Resolve, said in a statement. “On this Thanksgiving, please be thankful that there are service members willing to take up the fight to protect our homeland from ISIL’s hateful and brutal ideology.”

“I am deeply saddened by the news on this Thanksgiving Day that one of our brave service members has been killed in Syria while protecting us from the evil of ISIL,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a statement. “It is a painful reminder of the dangers our men and women in uniform face around the world to keep us safe.”

A shitty message to be delivered on a day of joy and family.

It is time for America to remove ourselves from this situation and let our country set about making it “Great Again”…(if you care to believe the hype)

Rise of the American Mercenary

For a decade now I have ranting about the use of mercenaries to fight wars and provide security…..groups like Blackwater et al….are nothing more than mercenaries wrapped up in political correctness…..”security consultants”……

This is an op-ed I wrote for my friends at Ace News Room…..

I have been very verbal on what I think of private “security contractors” or what they really are…mercenaries……

But first….a mercenary?

The word “mercenary” comes from the Latin “merces,” which means “wages” or “fee.” Thus, taken literally, a mercenary is any person who serves merely for wages. Although this definition could apply to many of us in the working world, it’s most closely associated with the professional soldier, or someone who is hired by a political entity to fight in a conflict. That conflict could be a war, a coup attempt or a prohibition campaign designed to reduce illegal drug trade.

Source: Rise of the American Mercenary

If you have some time please go and visit Ace news Room….they have all the news….all the time….

Echoes: The French Revolution

Since so many will be dashing out to partake in the ritual of “Black Friday” today will be a mish mash of posts since readership will be down…..

AS always…I like history….so why not start the days of wine and candles before the Christmas break with a little history….a little education is my gift to you….

Why not start with that other revolution….the one in France?

Shadows of Revolution concerns itself not with predicting the future but with clarifying the past and the understanding the present.

David Bell opens one section of his new collection of essays by quoting from the diaries of the great nineteenth-century French historian Jules Michelet: “It is you that I beg for help, O my noble country,” Michelet wrote, hoping that France would be able to replace the importance that “extinguished Christianity” once held in modern life.

It would be difficult to find a more appropriate summary of the global transformations ushered in by the Enlightenment and the French Revolution than this: a Romantic-era French intellectual recognizing the power of nationalism to replace religion as the social force that inspires mass human behavior.

Source: Echoes: The French Revolution | World Affairs Journal

Now do you feel smarter?  you are welcome.