Tag: Holiday

Speech To End All Speeches!

That is our president since his dream of a military style parade (more later) was crapped on he will do something that has not been done in about 70 years….he will give a speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial…….

More details are emerging about President Trump’s Fourth of July event in Washington, which the New York Times describes as “the next best thing” to Trump’s axed military parade. As hundreds of thousands gather at the National Mall for the celebration, Trump will address the nation from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial; the last president to do anything similar was Harry Truman, who in 1951 spoke in front of the Washington Monument on the 4th. The US Park Police confirms Trump will speak at the memorial. “We continue to work with the White House on creating a Salute to America program that will bring Americans from all over the country together in [a] celebration of our great nation,” adds a National Park Service rep.

The Washington Post points out a slew of “new security and logistical challenges,” noting a second entertainment stage may be erected in addition to the one on the West Lawn of the Capitol. The fireworks display will be moved from the Washington Monument grounds to West Potomac Park, while the National Independence Day Parade will be held as usual, per WTOP. There’s been no comment from the White House, but some Democrats have piped up with the criticism that Trump’s speech will change the flavor of the staunchly nonpartisan event. “People are going to be angry,” says DC Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton. \

Seriously?

First, the security will be a nightmare but beyond that Trump has NOT paid the tab for his 4 day inaugural celebration….but that is to be expected unlike the rest of us Trump feels he is too good to pay his bills.

Secondly, it is a national holiday and I expect Trump will talk about himself and not the nation or how he will bring the people together in this time of massive division.

Third, he may not get his authoritarian military parade but he will get damn close……tanks and more tanks.

President Trump isn’t getting the full military parade he wanted in DC on the Fourth of July, but he is getting some mighty symbols of military power—tanks. It’s not clear how many or exactly where they’ll be, but the president said Monday that tanks will be stationed somewhere on the National Mall, reports the Hill. “We’re going to have some tanks stationed outside,” said Trump, who will speak from the Lincoln Memorial on the holiday. “You’ve got to be pretty careful with the tanks because the roads have a tendency not to like to carry heavy tanks. So we have to put them in certain areas.”

The AP, meanwhile, apparently got a peek: One of its photographers spotted two M1A1 Abrams tanks and two Bradley Fighting Vehicles on flatcars at a DC rail yard, and they were being guarded by military police. On Monday, the DC council said that it opposed tanks as part of a parade because of the potential damage to roads, tweeting, “Tanks, but no tanks.” The tanks won’t be the only military presence: The Navy’s Blue Angels will do a flyover, and the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines are expected to be on the podium with the president, reports the New York Times.

All in all…this will just be another Trump rally that will do nothing to help this country deal with the society we have now…..just pomp and ass kissing to celebrate Trump and not our country.

And how can this person talk about selfless sacrifice for he has never had to feel this…..

That is sad!

Memorial Day 2019

Today we Americans celebrate our war dead…..those brave souls that put country above their personal interests…..we, as a nation, cannot thank these people enough.

As a combat veteran and an antiwar person I was going to take this opportunity to make the case for opposition to our many wars….I have decided to hold that for another day……but the act of remembering is antiwar in itself……

Today is a day for remembrance……

 

Take some time to think about all their service gives this country…and their sacrifice…….then do what needs to be done…..

Enjoy your day……food, fun and family…..and remember.

In Search Of The Grail

This post kind of goes along with the day…..the celebration of Easter.

And as I am a history buff I shall post on something that has a tie in with the Easter celebration….the Search for the Holy Grail…..

The Grail Legend (also known as the Grail Quest, Quest for the Holy Grail) developed in Europe c. 1050-1485 CE. It most likely originated in Ireland as folklore before appearing in written form sometime before 1056 CE in The Prophetic Ecstasy of the Phantom, an Irish tale. The concept was popularized by the French poet Chretien de Troyes (l. c. 1130-1190 CE) in his Perceval or the Story of the Grail (c. 1190 CE) which he left unfinished and was completed by other poets in the work known as the Four Continuations.

Chretien’s story features a mystical castle, a grail (at this time a platter, not a cup), a strange procession, a woman who changes form, and a visiting hero who is expected to ask a question which will break a magic spell; all elements found in the earlier The Prophetic Ecstasy of the Phantom. Chretien’s grail was transformed into the cup of Christ at the last supper by Robert de Boron (12th century CE) in his Joseph of Arimathea and later writers would continue this tradition. The grail’s association with Christ’s cup was standardized by Sir Thomas Malory in his Le Morte D’Arthur (1469 CE), which is how it is best known in the modern day.

https://www.ancient.eu/Grail_Legend/
 
Personally as I have said many times…if the grail exist it will not be some jeweled gold goblet….we are talking about itinerants with little cash…..so any drinking vessel would be wooden or pottery……it is a pipe dream….. it is a metaphor and does not exist.
 
I do hope that all my readers and followers have a good day whether you celebrate Easter or not……embrace life and give someone a hug…..
 
Peace Out My Friends!
 
Again Hally Easter everyone……enjoy your day with family and fun…..

Celebrate His Non-Violence But Not His Anti-War

Today is MLK Day….we celebrate his activism for those without a voice….he chose the tactics of Gandhi….those of non-violence…..which is a good thing but if we celebrate those tactics why not then also celebrate is antiwar stance?

US jets bombed villages. US soldiers machine-gunned combatants and civilians. The Vietnam War had hit a fever pitch of death when Martin Luther King Jr. stepped onto the podium at Riverside Church on April 4, 1967, and said, “The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today: my own government.”

The speech, “A Time to Break the Silence,” cost him. Newspapers damned him. Friends distanced themselves. President Lyndon Johnson, angered by what he thought was betrayal, reportedly called King, “that goddamn n***** preacher.”

King risked isolation to speak hard truths. The US’s endless war had depleted the money needed to end poverty. The war was in support of a corrupt, authoritarian regime that suppressed a peoples’ desire to be free. The US was poisoned by its militarism; it was not the beacon of democracy but its destroyer.

https://truthout.org/articles/the-us-celebrates-kings-nonviolence-but-not-his-antiwar-politics/

King was a pacifist…… a peace-nik back in those days….he abhorred all forms of violence….and we should embrace his antiwar work if we embrace his non-violence tactics……

And yet many disrespect King by ignoring his work to stop war in all its forms.

If have spoken….so I have written……

Turn The Page!

Merry Christmas–2018

If you prefer Happy Holidays…..or even Seasons Greetings……I do not subscribed to the tacky situation that there is a War On Christmas……there is NO war….just a pile of hate and distrust…..and people trying to be the center of attention….a silly made up story.

Image result for happy holidays images

This will be my only post for the day for I am off to my daughter’s house for food and good cheer.

But before I go I would like to drop some history on you (you knew I could not let it go without some history, right?)

So what do you know of Santa Claus?  Wheres did it all begin?

Santa Claus will soon be coming to town, bringing gifts to children.

Santa has several aliases, depending on the part of the world you live in. The English call him Father Christmas, the French know him as Père Noël, and Kris Kringle seems be a version of the Christkind, or Christ Child, who leaves treats for good German Lutherans.

In the Netherlands, he arrives in town on a steamboat or horse from Spain. On the night of Dec. 5, Dutch children put their shoes on the hearth – these days near the central heating duct – hoping that he will fill them with sweet rewards rather than a reprimand for poor behavior. The Dutch call him Sinterklaas – which has come into American English as ‘Santa Claus’ – short for Sint Nicolaas or St. Nicholas.

St. Nicholas and Santa Claus are historically the same man. But unlike the jolly figure who purportedly flies on a sleigh from the North Pole, the saint came originally from the balmy Mediterranean coast.

https://theconversation.com/this-christmas-tell-your-children-the-real-santa-claus-story-107424

One of my favorite Christmas songs by John Lennon……a song that you will never hear in public but rather endless versions of Little Drummer Boy or those damn endless Jingle Bells……enjoy a good Christmas song……

And from someone that I am not a fan of…Miley Cyrus but she does this classic justice….kudos……

I wish to thank everyone for their visits and their comments…..I hope everyone has a great day filled with good cheer and good food family.

Image result for happy holidays images

Peace Out!

Be Well, Be Safe!

Christmas Eve–2018

The day before the big day and all through the house not a creature was stirring except for MoMo……Spidey Must Die!

“All I want for Christmas is my job”…….the blues being sung by government employees because the government is in a partial shut-down…..

The partial federal shutdown was expected to drag into Christmas as President Donald Trump and congressional leaders remained stuck in a standoff over his border wall with Mexico with no breakthrough Saturday, the AP reports. Vice President Mike Pence arrived on Capitol Hill with a counter-offer to Democrats after the two sides traded offers in recent days. At the White House, Trump heard mixed messages during a lunch with conservative lawmakers; some wanted him to fight for the wall, others preferred to get the government re-opened. The Senate, which had gaveled in with the House for a rare weekend session, adjourned until Christmas Eve, but won’t return for a full session until Dec. 27. Even a temporary measure to keep government running for a few days while negotiations continued seemed out of reach.

The president jettisoned his Florida holiday getaway to his club Mar-a-Lago, tweeting, “I am in the White House, working hard.”

Today will be a short day as well…..things to do…people to see and food to prepare…..other than that it will be a typical day……plus some of my energy has returned and I feel good for the first time in about a week…..the pups are happy for now that I move around and we go for our romp about town……

My granddaughter called and told me I need to make my famous Mac and Cheese for tomorrow….still have not decided on the wine for the big meal…..

I must shut the post down…..if you are out shopping then please be careful and thanx for all the support and loyalty in the past year.

Do not fret….there will be a post tomorrow…..

A Toast!

The Saturday before Christmas and some of us have finished our shopping but most are still scrambling around trying to find that perfect gift…..we all know what Uncle Bob wants….a drink….wink wink say no more…..

A usual gift for some on our lists is a bottle of good whisky…..me I like my Bourbon…..but many look for a good single malt scotch as the perfect gift…..

I truly hate to pee on the parade but there is some disturbing news about that “good scotch”……

A word of warning if you plan to celebrate the holidays by sipping on vintage Scotch whisky: There’s a solid chance the stuff you have is fake. Advanced lab tests on 55 bottles of rare scotch nabbed from auctions, private collections, and retailers revealed 21 were outright fakes or carried the wrong year on the label, reports the BBC, noting age was determined through “residual concentrations of a radioactive isotope of carbon present in the alcohol.” The tests were commissioned by Rare Whisky 101, a broker acknowledging “growing concern surrounding the proliferation of fake whisky” sold as vintage. It estimates almost $52 million worth of rare whisky in the secondary market is fake.

While “the vast majority” of vendors aren’t selling fake scotch on purpose, RW101 co-founder David Robertson says every rare whisky “should be assumed to be fake until proven genuine,” especially the claim is that it’s a single malt. The tests showed 10 single malts said to date from 1900 or earlier were fake. Had the 21 fake bottles—including an Ardbeg 1885 and a Thorne’s Heritage early 20th-century blend—been genuine, they would’ve been valued at $800,000, says Robertson. Per the BBC, his company last year proved a shot of Scotch whisky sold in a Swiss hotel bar was fake, and therefore insanely overpriced at $10,050. The Robb Report shares tips on how to spot fakes. (To improve your whisky, try diluting it.)

Just a little Christmas FYI before you spend your hard earned cash….

Hope all have a good day and if you are out shopping be safe and be careful……chuq

In closing with a bit of a flair…….

That Time Again……

Well it is that time of the year again…..the time when some worship their God and others worship consumerism or…..well you get the picture….and some of my regulars may have noticed that my post have lightened up a bit and I think I should explain….

For me it is not the most cheerful of times……my favorite grandmother died on 20 December and my father died on 13 December and and my mother passed on Christmas Day at 0700hrs…..so no not the best of times.

This year I am dealing with a bit of the flu….in this case a stomach virus that has me hugging the porcelain throne….most times I do not feel like sitting up long enough to type (this post took me two days)…….

Please bear with me….it is getting better slowly but slowly…..I hope to be back to full strength soon…..I will probably keep to a shorter schedule until at least after Christmas.

See you guys soon……chuq

Three Thanksgivings

Another Thanksgiving has passed into the memories of our nation….and it is another time when troops are away from their loved ones…..we see glowing tributes by the different media companies to show that their spirits and mental make-up is just ducky and all is well….but is it?

I read an article by Maj. Danny Sjursen that I felt I needed to share with my readers……

Millions of American troops have spent countless holidays away from home, in Iraq, Afghanistan and various smaller wars across the region – it’s worth asking what it’s all for.

The memories can be fond, some of them anyway. Patrolling in the morning with a platoon full of mates – brothers, really – and then returning to base to share decent turkey dinners flown in for our enjoyment. We wore dirty uniforms, gorged ourselves on turkey and sides, and washed it all down with plentiful doses of nonalcoholic beer and energy drinks. Another year, sticking around the chow hall after the holiday meal to watch cricket matches with the vaguely Pakistani contractors who prepared and served our food, desperately trying to learn the rules of the odd sport.

For all the hardships of three holidays spent in Iraq and Afghanistan (2006, 2007, and 2011), the army never failed to get us a Thanksgiving Dinner of sorts. There was a certain sadness, of course, about being away from family and friends – but it was surprisingly easy to face the day and manage a smile in front of the troops. Our humor was dark – dark as hell – but, in times since, I’ve rarely laughed so hard. In a way, Thanksgivings at war weren’t all that bad.

https://original.antiwar.com/Danny_Sjursen/2018/11/26/three-thanksgivings-snapshots-from-a-career-of-failure/

Danny Sjursen is a US Army officer and regular contributor to Antiwar.com. He served combat tours with reconnaissance units in Iraq and Afghanistan and later taught history at his alma mater, West Point.