Coming from a Navy vet, thanks John

And from the Army:

Only thing more dangerous than a private with a loaded weapon, is an officer with a map.

From a lifetime civilian, son & nephew of Korean vets, nephew of 5 WWII vets (1 with a purple heart at the Battle of the Bulge), & great-grandson of a Confederate vet injured in battle at Gettysburg, thanks to all who served so I wouldn't have to.

Truth be told, I don't have the constitution for it.

GF:

I know the "word" for those officers... REMFs. Grant, McNamara, Obama... all cut from the same cloth. The only difference is Grant had a surplus of men to sacrifice & a president with the will to sacrifice them. BHO is willing to sacrifice them, but in defeat... for "fundamental transformation." Mackie was a boob of an entirely different sort "serving" under boobs of a remarkably similar sort (to BHO).

To those serving now, I am one civilian who has the ultimate respect for you--serving under a Commander-in-Chief who has no understanding of what you are going through & what you're putting on the line. Godspeed, soldiers.

I fortunately never had the opportunity to serve, just not quite old enough and had enough serious health issues they wouldn't have taken me anyway.

Had I served, the armed forces would most likely have been seriously damaged. You just don't give total klutzes hand-grenades.

I too say thanks to those who served so I wouldn't have to and to those who serve now to prtect our nation's interests and values.

To Absent Friends!

“May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.”

I will chime in as a Viet Nam Navy vet whose parents were both in the Navy in WWII. My family has a good history of service. Thank you, John for your words.

VP Joe Biden will be laying the wreath at Arlington National Cemetery today while our president is in Chicago. B.O. will make an appearance at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery.

The very idea that the President of the United States will not honor our fallen heroes at Arlington is unforgiveable. I am surprised this has not gotten more press than it has.

But, a thought on the subject: To be honored by one who has no honor is no honor at all.

Everyone have a great day and REMEMBER.

Grand blessing, G.

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

In deep appreciation for those who gave their lives for ours and our freedoms. May we honor their sacrifice through our lives and preserve those freedoms.

TOM WMS:

I had a hard time believing that Obama was leaving Arlington National Cemetery to Biden--like some tea party with the Minister of State of Monaco--& going to Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery.

Now that I've verified it, it still doesn't sit well with me.

In my book, the only acceptable alternative to Arlington would be the Old Salem Burying Ground--& I wouldn't even consider that a true alternative; a 2nd appearance, maybe.

To be the first "post-racial" president, Obama sure is lighting it up with racial pandering divide & conquer progressivism. So much for being a "uniter." (I wonder if this had anything to do with Rand Paul's head-in-rear disease?)

I'm curious as to who the person is going to be to clue Obama in as to how big of a bigot Lincoln actually was.

"I'm curious as to who the person is going to be to clue Obama in as to how big of a bigot Lincoln actually was."

Or that Emancipation was being used as 'The Sword of Damocles' over the South. But given THE ONE'S assertions on US History so far.....don't hold your breath.

I noticed something on CSPAN Book Notes last week. When John Wilkes Booth fled after the Lincoln assassination, he stopped at the Mudd plantation in Maryland. At the time, Mudd had 89 slaves. If Lincoln freed the slaves, then why did Mudd still have them? If the North was opposed to slavery, then why did a Union state have a slave plantation?

Anonymous:
"Mudd had 89 slaves. If Lincoln freed the slaves, then why did Mudd still have them? If the North was opposed to slavery, then why did a Union state have a slave plantation?" - Because the Emancipation Proclamation applied only to the States of the Confederacy.

test

To cap on Thunderbottom's statement, the Emancipation Proclamation stated that it only applied TO THOSE STATES NOW IN REBELLION. Maryland wasn't (although it had many Southern sympathizers). All available troops were rushed to Maryland/Washington at the outset of the war. The fear was that Maryland would also secede from the union; Washington would have been surrounded by Confederate states.

As one that has buried friends who gave their lives in the line of duty, I choose not to remember those who hide behind the banner of "diplomacy", but rather those whose courageous acts have given us the liberties we enjoy.

I think it would also be helpful to note that slaves were held in a number of Union states up to 1865, & those who emancipated slaves earlier did so predominantly to increase their representation in Congress.

I guess you'd call that a byproduct of paleo-progressive mercantilism, as racism was as rampant in the North as it was in the South. It may have been a slightly "softer, gentler" kind of racism, & civil rights battles were cherry-picked to be in the South as ongoing reconstruction policy (Northern papers weren't going to alienate their neighbors, subscribers, advertisers, or pet judges & politicians).

If the North had been wholly (or even predominantly) benevolent towards black folks, they would have been fully assimilated into society without the necessity of a Civil Rights Act 100 years after the fact (& both racists & race baiters are still whining about that 45 years later).

None of this is to excuse the abominations committed in the South--just to point out the fact that the abominations of persecution & discrimination were a whole lot more universal than most people realize...

...but just think; if it hadn't been for the bloc of Southern racist Democrats (of the likes of Robert Byrd & Albert Gore Sr.), Democrats would own this country outright.

My apologies for dragging this thread off topic.

To all veterans & soldiers, my immense thanks.

To the families of those who have lost loved ones in defense of the American ideal, my thoughts & prayers are with you--not just on the day set aside for remembrance, but all the year through.

There was a place I worked as a kid. A lot of WWII vets were patrons there. My father understood the horrors of what some of those men lived through, & he instructed me never to ask ta vet about his service--but if he ever spoke about it, to listen closely.

On a few rare weekend evenings after things had wound down, something would come up that would make those old seasoned vets wax nostalgic about their service. They'd gather by a large picture window overlooking the grounds as the sun set, sharing stories, beers, & tears over the atrocities they endured when they were young. They were joined in the brotherhood of service, but they also shared an exposure to horrors that made my bones ache just to hear of. When they got together to share war stories, I had a chair pushed against the wall adjacent to them where I'd sit quietly, listen, & cry along with them. I have the same knot in my throat & ache to my core thinking about it now that I had then.

The "apoligizers", peaceniks, & anti-war protesters couldn't comprehend what those men went through to ensure the liberty of others & the liberty that they themselves enjoy.

Thank you again, soldiers.

Godspeed.

Had 3 uncles who were in WWII. At family get-togethers on holidays, they'd usually end up on the back porch having a couple of beers. My cousin and I would hide nearby and listen. Usually it was funny things they talked about. Sometimes some long silences in between.

One was my Uncle George. He was a combat engineer and landed in the 1st wave at Omaha beach. Only thing Mom ever said about the way he acted (as opposed to the other two Uncles) was "George was DIFFERENT when he came home." Never married. Never let anyone get close to him. Even family. Today they call it PTSD. While stationed in Europe, I visited Normandy and the adjacent cemetery. I was struck by the loss all those markers represented. Not all the victims were buried there. Uncle George died alone in Pennsylvania in 1997.