Tag: Holiday

Veterans Day–2025

Today is the day we set aside to honor our veterans that honored this country in service.

I also like to bring forth a few memories and such that I seldom talk about with anyone.

I served in Vietnam from 1967-1970 and today I am 79 years old……and I see fellow vets dying off at alarming rates and soon my war and the veterans will be just a fleeting memory that people roll out every November.

For years when people knew that I served in Vietnam they always put forth their opinions on how the war was fought and how we could have won that conflict.

Sadly there will always be these ‘experts’ on war and how it is fought.  My response has always been the same….’if you were not there then your opinions are nothing more than fanciful bullshit’.

Vietnam War ended about 50 years ago and we that were there are still trying to come to terms with it….

April 30th marks the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War’s end when Vietnamese tanks rolled into Saigon, soon to be renamed Ho Chi Minh City. The war was a terrible experience for the United States, but even more so for the people of Vietnam and much of the rest of Southeast Asia. Estimates are that up to 3 million Vietnamese perished, as well many many thousands of Cambodians and Laotians. Fifty-eight thousand American died, and a trillion American tax dollars were wasted.

Many of us who were there are still trying to understand and come to grips with it. Based on years of study, here is what I think people still get wrong about the war. What I write will be controversial, but it is based on what I saw and learned. If I seem angry, it is because I still am.

In nearly all wars, the other side is demonized and made into evil caricatures of human beings; doing so makes it easier to kill them. From the U.S. perspective, the Vietnam War was no exception. Even the Vietnamese who were supposedly on our side were commonly referred to as gooks, zips (Zero Intelligence Personnel), slants, slopes and more, often to their faces. In my experience, the U.S. military chain of command made no effort to correct this. Given the pervasive racism among American troops, it should come as no surprise that violence against Vietnamese civilians was common. It is hard to understand how anyone thought the Vietnamese people would rally to the U.S. side while being badly treated.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/wrong-about-vietnam-war

I still feel that anger…..my country turned it’s back on me and my fellow vets and then 10 years later wanted to welcome us home…..it was too damn late.

The BBC had a very good breakdown of the war and why it was unwinnable from the start….

Another major reason why the USA could not win the war was the lack of support at home from the American public. The huge protest movement divided the country. A major pro–war movement also erupted. Many veterans of the war called the anti–war protesters traitors and communists.

Opposition to the war came from a number of sources and for a number of reasons

Media coverage

This was the first televised war. It was vividly reported by journalists who went to Vietnam in search of stories. Images of innocent civilians being killed, maimed and tortured were displayed on the TV and in newspapers – many Americans were horrified and turned against the war.

Opposition to support for the South Vietnamese Government

The South Vietnamese Government, which the Americans were committed to defending was revealed as corrupt and anti–democratic.

Many Americans questioned how the American Government could justify standing up for this oppressive regime. The USA was meant to fight to protect freedom and democracy.

It became clear that the Vietnamese peasants did not welcome American troops. Many Americans questioned why their country was involved if the local population did not want them there.

Opposition to the ‘Draft’

The ‘Draft’ was the conscription of American men into the US army and lasted from 1954-1975. As sons, brothers and fathers went to war, people began to question whether it was worth it. Draft Law hit African Americans hardest.

Many middle-class Americans opposed the war because, by 1967, the death rate had increased to 160 per week.

Opposition from Civil Rights Movement

There was opposition to the war from civil rights activists, who were fighting for more rights for African-Americans in the USA. Many African-Americans were drafted and because they were new recruits, they were often given the worst postings and assignments. Muhammad Ali had his boxing title revoked for refusing to fight in the war.

Opposition from youth

The main opposition came from students. In the 1960s, protest movements began in California but spread to all the major cities and universities across the USA by 1968.

On 4 May 1970, four peaceful student demonstrators at Kent State University in Ohio were murdered. They were shot by Ohio National Guardsmen during a noon-time campus anti-war rally – this became known at the Kent State Massacre.

Pacifists

Many believed that war was morally wrong. There were mass protests across the USA, including in Washington in December 1969.

Singers wrote anti-war songs and songs that criticised the Vietnam War itself. Bob Dylan wrote ‘Masters of War’ and John Lennon wrote ‘Give Peace A Chance’.

Political opposition

The American Government spent vast amounts of money on the war that could have been spent on domestic problems. Some politicians who had supported the war to begin with, such as Robert McNamara, began to turn against American involvement.

The end of the war in Vietnam

The resignation of President Nixon also weakened US enthusiasm for involvement in Vietnam.

In 1975, the North Vietnamese launched a major offensive and over-ran a series of South Vietnamese strongholds. In May 1975 communist forces took Saigon. In 1976 the two halves of Vietnam were united in a single Socialist Republic.

The Vietnam War was the greatest struggle of the Cold War era and the only major military defeat in United States history.

Please go out and do something nice for a veteran….keeping in mind the sacrifices they made to defend their country and their way of life.

TO ALL MY FELLOW VETERANS….THANK YOU!

This will be my only post today.

Enjoy your day and remember.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo

Labor Day 2025

I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Labor Day.

The day set aside for Americans to remember and celebrate labor (but unfortunately it is more about a long weekend for partying and such and less about the plight of the American worker)

As a past labor organizer for the IWW I am always looking at the history of Americans standing up and demanding more recognition of the worker and the services they provide for the society.

I also enjoy my history and the history of labor in our early days is significant and should be remembered….too many for forgotten the struggles of the past to win rights for workers….

This is a re-post of a writing from IST in 2009 about those early days….

Labor Movement–The Early Years

It is good for us to remember the early days and maybe that will help us work on a better future for American labor.

This is a letter written in 1899…..and it makes good points about the day and what it means….

https://wordpress.com/reader/feeds/134452904/posts/5786641240

Now if you are one that takes Labor issues to heart there is protest today all over the country and if you feel like it join in…..there is one near you….

Unions and progressive organizations are planning nearly 1,000 “Workers Over Billionaires” demonstrations across the United States this Labor Day to protest President Donald Trump’s assault on workers’ rights.

The day of national action has been organized by the May Day Strong coalition, which includes labor organizations like the AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, and National Union of Healthcare Workers, as well as advocacy groups like Americans for Tax Fairness, Indivisible, Our Revolution, and Public Citizen.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/workers-over-billionaires-protests

Help bring attention to the shoddy treatment of Labor by the president and the soul-less SOBs, the corporations.

In closing a song by John Lennon….it is so true if you listen to the words….

This will be my only post for today for we down here are still in the remembrance of Katrina from 20 years ago.

If you are heading out for some good times with friends and family please be careful and plan ahead if you think that a ‘good time’ will be had….

Enjoy the day and as always…..Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“One Big, Beautiful Celebration”

We are about to kick-off a year long celebration here in the US….we will be 250 years old and we will celebrate….

Donny announced the kick-off of the year long ‘party’….

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will kick off his Independence Day weekend by traveling to Iowa on Thursday for “a very special event, honoring our Great Country.”

“I am thrilled to announce that I will be traveling to one of my favorite places in the World, beautiful Iowa, on Thursday, July 3rd, to kick off the very beginning of our exciting Celebration of America’s 250th Anniversary!” Trump posted to Truth Social Tuesday afternoon.

“Iowa voted for me THREE TIMES, because they love my Policies for our Wonderful Farmers and Small Businesses, and they LOVE AMERICA! This will be a very special event, honoring our Great Country, and our Brave Heroes who fought to keep us FREE,” he continued, and included a link for people to RSVP. “I’ll also tell you some of the GREAT things I’ve already done on Trade, especially as it relates to Farmers. You are going to be very happy with what I say — Should be a BIG Crowd!”

…

“This special event serves as the magnificent start of a dynamic, year-long commemoration across our beautiful country, unveiling a vision for a renewed commitment to America’s future,” Monica Crowley, the principal media representative for America250, said in a press release previewing the event.

(foxnews.com)

All this ‘patriotic’ rhetoric and the country is not as gung-ho as Little Donny….

orty-four percent of Americans said the country is becoming less patriotic, significantly more than the share who said Americans are becoming more patriotic, according to a survey published Tuesday.

The Economist/YouGov poll found that 44 percent of Americans said they think the country is becoming less patriotic, while 14 percent said they think the nation is becoming more patriotic. Some 42 percent said the level of patriotism has remained about the same.

The majority of Americans, 75 percent, consider themselves either very, at 37 percent, or somewhat, at 38 percent, patriotic. About 16 percent said they are “not very” patriotic, while 9 percent said they are “not at all” patriotic.

Twice as many Republicans said they are very patriotic, 54 percent, compared to Democrats, 27 percent, the survey found.

Just more than half of Americans, 51 percent, said they have an American flag at home. When divided by party, 68 percent of Republican voters said they have the U.S. flag at home, more than 30 points higher than the 37 percent of Democrats who said they had one.

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/5379913-44-percent-say-us-becoming-less-patriotic-survey/

All this jubilation is good but there is a drop in those that are not as proud of their country as Donny wants us to believe…..

If you suspect that many Americans prize their partisan affiliations above their common status as U.S. citizens, the evidence keeps rolling in to support your position. Pride in being an American has reached an all-time low even as we prepare to celebrate Independence Day. More telling is that Americans’ pride—or lack thereof—in the one big thing they have in common seems increasingly linked to whether their preferred politicians are in power. The partisan nature of Americans’ regard for their nationality affects many people across the political spectrum but is especially pronounced among Democrats.

“A record-low 58% of U.S. adults say they are ‘extremely’ (41%) or ‘very’ (17%) proud to be an American, down nine percentage points from last year and five points below the prior low from 2020,” Gallup’s Jeffrey M. Jones reported this week.

By contrast, in 2013, 57 percent of respondents were “extremely” proud and 28 percent were “very” proud. The high point since the turn of the century was between 2002 and 2004 when at least 90 percent of respondents reported a combination of the two. In these over-politicized times, it’s not surprising that the most dramatic decline was among those whose political tribe is out of power.

“Democrats are mostly responsible for the drop in U.S. pride this year, with 36% saying they are extremely or very proud, down from 62% a year ago,” Jones wrote, in a continuation of a general erosion that has partially tracked that party’s political fortunes. At 53 percent, political independents have dropped seven points since last year: “Independents’ pride has been declining since the early 2000s, dropping below 80% for the first time in 2005, then below 70% in 2019 and below 60% this year.”

https://reason.com/2025/07/02/americans-celebrate-independence-day-less-proud-of-their-country-than-ever/

Let the celebration begin!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

For The ‘Scum’

Yesterday was Memorial Day and as usual Donny had lots to say……on the day we are suppose to remember our fallen heroes Donny went off the rails about Biden and other stuff that had little to do with our dead.

“Happy Memorial Day!” President Trump wrote on Monday morning. A bit later came the fiery elaboration, reports USA Today: “Happy Memorial Day to all, including the scum that spent the last four years trying to destroy our country through warped radical left minds,” Trump wrote in an all-caps post. He also blasted former President Biden as “incompetent” because of his border policies, which he says continue to be helped by “USA hating judges that is sick, and very dangerous for our country.”

Providing some context to the criticism, the Hill notes that a federal judge on Friday demanded that the White House facilitate the return of a third deported man—after complaining that the deportation “lacked any semblance of due process.” In his Memorial Day post, Trump described such judges as “monsters who want our country to go to hell.” He ended by promising that “America will soon be safe and great again!” Trump will speak later Monday at Arlington.

I worry that Memorial Day is personal to a smaller and smaller number of Americans. As a national community, Americans may no longer have the ability to collectively remember and honor shared sacrifice, because the sacrifice is not shared. The all-volunteer force created a military that is self-selecting. The wars of 9/11 created many veterans who are self-regarding and condescending to those who haven’t served in the military. A 2020 National Opinion Research Center survey found that a full 60 percent of post-9/11 veterans “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that the eligible Americans who did not volunteer to serve during wartime should feel guilty, compared to just 43 percent of older veterans and 22 percent of civilians. That is dangerous for the country.

At times, it is as though Americans compete to see who can be the most bombastically patriotic in remembering their war dead. Remembrance should be a solemn acknowledgment of the tragedy of war and the nobility in serving one’s country in its armed forces.

The day is not the time to air some idiotic political bullshit….but that never stopped the moron in the WH.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Memorial Day 2025 (Observed)

First off I would like to wish a wonderful day and a safe one for my readers.

Second we all should take a few moments to remember those that gave their all in the service of their country…..something we seem to forget most times.

I know I will take some time and toast those friends that I lost in Vietnam….My Better Half, Sue, was also a veteran and today is her day in my house….but that is just me.

What would veterans say to Little Donny on this day?

This Memorial Day comes a month after the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, which was largely used to recall the collapse of the entire American project in Vietnam. In short, the failure of the war is now viewed as both a rebuke of the American Exceptionalism myth and the rigid Cold War mentality that had Washington in a vice grip for much of the 20th Century.

“The leaders who mismanaged this debacle were never held accountable and remained leading players in the establishment for the rest of their lives,” noted author and professor Stephen Walt in a RS symposium on the war. “The country learned little from this bitter experience, and repeated these same errors in Iraq, Afghanistan, and several other places.”

Today, after 20 years of those post-9/11 wars, the American people — including many of the veterans who fought there — have seemingly got the message. In poll after poll, they reject the use of force as the first tool in the toolbox. They eschew the idea of prospective war with Iran, and China over Taiwan.

But do our leaders “get it”?

Donald Trump swept into office in 2016 on the idea that he would end “endless” conflict and shared the national disdain for being lied to in order to invade Iraq, and for spreading American troops too thin to fight Washington’s wars of choice overseas. Now in his second term he has made similar exhortations — recently he rebuked the “neocons” who “spent trillions and trillions of dollars failing to develop Kabul, Baghdad, and so many other cities” in his recent Middle East trip.

His Vice President JD Vance is a veteran who has admonished the interventionist impulses of the past. Delivering the commencement speech to West Point’s class of 2025 on Friday, he said his boss wants only to send men and women into conflict with clear goals rather than “undefined missions” and “open-ended conflicts” of the past.

Read on….

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/veterans-memorial-day/

This government is a con job just like most so-called governments…..when making war is more important than a starving child then this country has taken too steps backwards.

People died in service to their nation and that is what we should remember on this day not the unofficial beginning of Summer with BBQ and beer.

This will be my only post today for there are things that I need to do plus it will most likely be a slow day here on IST as others celebrate the day in their own way.

I wish everyone a great day and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

WTF? No Veterans Day?

The 11th of November is the day set aside for the country to honor those brave souls that gave their all in service to their country.

It is a holiday for a reason….to show respect.

It could possibly become a thing of the past if Little Donny gets his way….

President Trump says he is renaming Veterans Day to celebrate victory—and he’s giving Victory in Europe Day a new name as well. “Many of our allies and friends are celebrating May 8th as Victory Day, but we did more than any other Country, by far, in producing a victorious result on World War II,” he said in a Truth Social post. “I am hereby renaming May 8th as Victory Day for World War II and November 11th as Victory Day for World War I again!”

  • Politico calls the push to rename Veterans Day “surprising.” It was originally Armistice Day, marking the last day of WWI, but was broadened in the 1950s to include American veterans of other wars, including WWII.
  • CNN reports that, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Congress passed a law in 1938 declaring November 11 a day to be dedicated to WWI veterans and “the cause of world peace.”

  • “We won both Wars, nobody was close to us in terms of strength, bravery, or military brilliance, but we never celebrate anything,” Trump wrote. “That’s because we don’t have leaders anymore, that know how to do so! We are going to start celebrating our victories again!” The BBC reports that Trump’s remarks are likely to anger Russia, which marks its victory in World War II, which it calls the Great Patriotic War, on May 9. When Germany surrendered unconditionally on May 8, 1945, the date marked as V-E Day elsewhere, it was already May 9 on Moscow time. The Soviet Union lost around 27 million people, including almost 9 million troops, in the war.

    Unlike Veterans Day, May 8 isn’t a federal holiday and Trump didn’t say whether he plans to make it one, which would require an act of Congress. Critics were quick to point out that despite Trump’s proposed name change, the date doesn’t mark American victory in WWII, which came months later, when Japan surrendered after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. “We won World War II on August 15, 1945 when the Japanese surrendered,” Keith Olbermann said in a post on X. “Trump is a complete moron.” That date is marked as V-J Day in countries including the UK and Australia, though historians say the official end of the war was September 2, 1945, when Japan signed surrender documents aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, CNN reports

This idiot is a history MORON!

But what can you expect from this ‘person’?  After all he could not tear himself away from the golf course to go to Dover Air Base to honor fallen American soldiers when their bodies were returned to the nation.

Not only is this tool disrespecting Americans he also made some glowing moronic statements about WW2…

“We won both wars, nobody was close to us in terms of strength, bravery or military brilliance, but we never celebrate anything,” he said.

“Many of our allies and friends are celebrating May 8th as Victory Day, but we did more than any other Country, by far, in producing a victorious result on World War II,” Trump said online.

This man is an idiot to discount the contribution of the UK and France and the rest of Europe in the victory over the Nazis  (Is that his intention?)

+++Please forgive my next statement….if harsh words offend you then by all means bypass this one+++

This is to some of my fellow veterans….why id god’s name would semi-literate asshole support his disrespectful son-of-a-bitch?

I am offended as so should would any veterans that served his country in the military.

This is not a done deal so hopefully Congress will not let this travesty become law….but I have my doubts.

Anything to say?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

All Hail His Royal Majesty!

Next month we will celebrate Flag Day…..a day that most Americans ignore and still display their patriotic fervor and flag all wrong….but that is not what this post is all about…..it is about wanting to turn the day into a day of worship for Donald the Orange.

A Republican congresswoman has proposed making Donald Trump’s birthday a public holiday, in an effort probably doomed to failure in Congress but obviously intended to curry favor with the president.

Claudia Tenney, a representative from New York’s Finger Lakes region, introduced legislation on Friday aiming to combine the US annual commemoration of Flag Day with a new observance of Trump’s birthday on 14 June, arguing that the president is “the most consequential … in modern American history”.

“His impact on the nation is undeniable,” Tenney said in a news release. On X, she suggested that Trump’s birthday deserved the same treatment as that of George Washington, which is observed annually as a federal holiday on the third Monday of February.

“Just as George Washington’s birthday is codified as a federal holiday, President Trump’s birthday should also be celebrated to recognize him as the founder of America’s Golden Age,” Tenney wrote.

(theguardian.com)

Some of the supporters have to say….

“From brokering the historic Abraham Accords to championing the largest tax relief package in American history, his impact on the nation is undeniable,” Rep. Tenney said in a press release. “Just as George Washington’s birthday is codified as a federal holiday, this bill will add Trump’s birthday to this list, recognizing him as the founder of America’s golden age.”

“Additionally, as our nation prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, we should create a new federal holiday honoring the American flag and all that it represents,” Rep. Tenney continued. “By designating Trump’s birthday and Flag Day as a federal holiday, we can ensure President Trump’s contributions to American greatness and the importance of the American Flag are forever enshrined into law.”

I think I will be ill.

The federal government recognizes 11 annual federal holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Juneteenth was the most recent addition, established by Congress in 2021

Is this a not so subtle way to try and rid the calendar of holidays of the Juneteenth?

Let’s not forget the military style parade he wants for his birthday, 14 June….

Detailed Army plans for a potential military parade on President Trump’s birthday in June call for more than 6,600 soldiers, at least 150 vehicles, 50 helicopters, seven bands, and possibly a couple thousand civilians, the AP has learned. The planning documents, obtained by the AP, are dated April 29 and 30 and have not been publicly released. They represent the Army’s most recent blueprint for its long-planned 250th birthday festival on the National Mall (which happens to fall on June 14, Trump’s 79th birthday) and the newly added element—a large military parade that Trump has long wanted but is still being discussed. While the slides do not include any price estimates, it would likely cost tens of millions of dollars to put on a parade of that size.

Costs would include the movement of military vehicles, equipment, aircraft, and troops from across the country to Washington and the need to feed and house thousands of service members. High costs halted Trump’s push for a parade in his first term, and the tanks and other heavy vehicles that are part of the Army’s latest plans have raised concerns from city officials about damage to roads. Asked about plans for a parade, Army spokesman Steve Warren said Thursday that no final decisions have been made. Col. Dave Butler, another Army spokesman, added that the Army is excited about the plans for the birthday festival.

“We want to make it into an event that the entire nation can celebrate with us,” said Butler. “We want Americans to know their Army and their soldiers. A parade might become part of that, and we think that will be an excellent addition to what we already have planned.” Others familiar with the documents, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans have not been finalized, said they represent the Army’s plans as it prepares for any White House approval of the parade. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. There has been no formal approval yet. Changes to the plans have been made in recent weeks and more are likely.

I read somewhere awhile back the estimated cost of this wasteful spectacle would be in the neighborhood of $92 million.

Would you consider that money well spent?

Right now there does not seem to be much enthusiasm from Congress to rush to deify this troll.

Besides all the other presidents that have been so honored are dead….

Lame ass idea from a do-nothing Congress.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Now He Wants A Birthday Party

Being the extreme egotist Little Donny has found someone who will continue deifying of the person by making him immortal on the calendar.

The president’s birthday and Flag Day both fall on June 14. Flag Day, which acknowledges the 1777 adoption of the stars and stripes as the official U.S. flag, isn’t currently a federal holiday. Pennsylvania is the only state that recognizes the commemoration of the flag as a legal holiday.

Not My ‘President’s Day’

Today we have a Federal holiday that celebrates the legacy and lives of our many presidents….but in recent years is there really anything to remember or celebrate?

The Dems have said they will fight the Trump agenda but so far the only ones that are in the fight are Progressives and sadly their numbers are not as strong as to be effective but at least they are in the fight for the American people….they have not rolled over and played dead as the Dems do most of the time.

This is their attempts on this day…..

Organizers of nationwide protests planned for Monday, when the U.S. will mark Presidents’ Day, appealed to those who oppose President Donald Trump and billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk’s agenda with a simple message ahead of the actions: “All are welcome. You are not alone. Defend equality. Fight fascism.”

The call for defenders of democracy to gather with like-minded people comes nearly four weeks into the Trump administration’s “flood the zone” strategy, aimed at overwhelming its political opponents with a relentless flow of executive orders, attacks on long-held constitutional rights, and the attempted takeover of agencies across the federal government.

“In unity, we find our power; in protecting one another, we build our movement,” said the 50501 Movement—whose name stands for 50 states, 50 protests, one day—after organizing nationwide rallies against Trump and Musk earlier this month. “Let’s stay vigilant, compassionate, and strong as we work towards a brighter, more just future.”

The second nationwide protest day is titled “Not My Presidents’ Day,” with attendees rejecting Project 2025, the right-wing policy agenda whose proposals have been well-represented by the administration’s actions so far; Musk’s takeover of agencies including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the U.S. Agency for International Development through the executive order-created Department of Government Efficiency; and Trump’s appointment of Cabinet members with numerous corporate ties and conflicts of interest, despite the president’s campaign last year focusing partly on the high cost of living for working people.

“We the people will not live under a king,” said progressive organizer Kai Newkirk. “We will not allow Trump and Musk’s administrative coup.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/anti-trump-protests

This is a good thing…..at least these Progressives are not joining the defeatists that say ‘it is bad but what can we do’?

The cowardly lion in this sitcom is the mainstream Dems or as I call them the gutless Party…..they do not like being pushed to take on the GOP head to head….

House Democratic lawmakers reportedly used a closed-door meeting earlier this week to vent their frustrations with progressive advocacy groups that have been driving constituent calls and pressuring the party to act like a genuine opposition force in the face of the Trump administration’s authoritarian assault on federal agencies and key programs.

Citing unnamed sources, including a senior House Democrat, Axiosreported Tuesday that the private meeting “included a gripe-fest” directed at “groups like MoveOn and Indivisible,” which have “facilitated thousands of phone calls to members’ offices” and pressured the party to use its considerable power to disrupt business as usual in Congress, including by opposing all unanimous consent requests from the Republican majority.

The unnamed senior House Democrat told Axios that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is “very frustrated” with the progressive organizations, which have urged people across the country to contact their Democratic representatives and pressure them to fight harder against the Trump administration and their Republican allies.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/democrats-progressive-groups

I hate to tell these overpaid dickwads….it is a war and you should be fighting as an opposition party or join the ranks with the conserv twats.

What’s that old saying that we all heard as kids….”can’t never could”.

Now you know why I refuse to be identified as a Democrat….they cowards and lay-abouts.

Kudos Progressives keep up the pressure and the good work.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Christmas Day–2024

I would like to wish everyone visiting a very Merry Christmas.

Today we get together with family and friends and celebrate the day peace, love and joy….As usual I will try to cook for 8 people….Baked Ham, Sweet potatoes, Green beans, Mac and cheese, corn and blackberry cobbler for dessert.

The Jolly Fat Man has made his appearance and I hope everyone was good and got their heart’s desire in return.

The goodies are under the tree and the presents have been opened….or should I say gifts have been opened?

That brings up a question….are presents and gifts the same thing but different?

It’s that time again when we’re busy buying, wrapping, and giving them. Sometimes we call them “gifts,” sometimes “presents.” Is there a difference?

The words come to us from different language families. Gift comes from the old Germanic root for “to give.” It referred to an act of giving, and then, to the thing being given. In Old English it meant “the dowry given to a bride’s parents.” Present comes from the French for “to present.” A present is the thing being presented or bestowed. Both words were in use for the idea of something undergoing a transfer of possession without expectation of payment from the 13th century onward.

The words gift and present are well-matched synonyms that mean essentially the same thing, but even well-matched synonyms have their own connotations and distinctive patterns of use. Gift applies to a wider range of situations. Gifts can be talents: You can have the gift of gab, or a musical gift. Gifts can be intangibles: There is the gift of understanding or the gift of a quiet day. We generally don’t use present to describe things like that. Presents are more concrete or a bit more, well, present. If your whole family gave donations to your college fund for your birthday would you say “I got a lot of presents”? It doesn’t exactly sound wrong, but since you never hold these donations in your hand, gifts seems to fit better.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/89961/whats-difference-between-gift-and-present

Now all those goodies left by the jolly fat man in the red suit….

Some people refer to Santa as St. Nick….but I do not understand why…..St. Nick is far from the Jolly Fat Man we know and love.

It is hard to imagine the cheery, plump version of Santa Claus emerged from Saint Nicholas, the 4th century Bishop of Myra who, as a nursing infant, fasted on holy days and whose bones were stolen after his death.

Instead of a “right jolly old elf,” St. Nicholas is the patron saint of everything from brewers to pawnbrokers to murderers. Here are eight often terrifying legends associated with the saint that seem more like a script from Dexter or Game of Thrones.

St. Nicholas, best known as the patron saint of children, is credited with a myriad of miracles that validate this claim. The earliest attributed miracle is that he somehow miraculously saved a baby during his bishop consecration ceremony at the cathedral.

According to the story, the baby’s mother absentmindedly left her child in the bathing tub, which was warming over the fire. After hearing the church bells ring out, the mother rushed out without a second thought for her tiny infant—she didn’t remember her baby until she returned home and saw the smoke-filled room. But instead of finding a charred or drowned baby, she peered over to find her little one contentedly smiling; all the credit for the kid’s survival went to the new Bishop Nicholas.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/st-nicholas-legends

That is my gift to my readers on this day….knowledge.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day and enjoy time with family and friends….eat, drink and be safe.

Once again Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo