Veterans angry, disappointed following PBS' Vietnam War documentary
Saturday, September 30, 2017
More on Vietnam
The Vietnam Documentary And Military Lessons. By Bing West
Bing West is a very qualified guy to speak, and he does a nice job here. I love statements like "we learned we cannot impose our will on others", especially coming from anyone who was in the military. That goes into contention for Dumbest of the Month awards. What the hell did the colonists do in 1776, or the Union in 1860, or the Allies in WW1 and WW2? What did Mao do in China, what did the Romans do so well for so long? Where do idiots like this come from? --Del
Sanctuary Cities?
ICE invades 'sanctuary cities,' arrests 498 illegal criminals, gang members
Well, this will bring on all kinds of screaming. But check the records of these people.... very interesting. --Del
Random Thoughts for October
Random Thoughts for October,
2017.
By Robert A. Hall
Feel free to post or forward.
Note to politicians who never wore the uniform: From those
who gave nothing, we expect nothing.
The battlefield is a place of broken bodies and unanswered
prayers.
Want to avoid poverty? Start with a job. A full time job.
Any job. And do it so well, you get a better job. Repeat.
Bought a great tee shirt at a thrift store for a buck:
"Every time I think things can't get worse, there's an election."
Sometimes with my aches, stiffness and tiredness, I feel
like an old man. Then I think, "Well, you are an old man."
The Cuckoo Caucus in Congress is over-populated.
I fear with all the hate spewing going on, there will be an
assassination attempt on Trump. And regardless of the outcome, sides will
harden more and the hate and violence will increase. Boy I hope I'm wrong; we
don't need that.
If a used car is in your future, you should take extra care
that it isn't one flooded in the hurricanes, totaled out, and then
"refurbished" by fraudsters selling wet lemons. I think CarFax can
get you the details.
Much of our government since the 1930s reflects the German
word: Schlimmbesserung A schlimmbesserung is a supposed
improvement that makes things worse.
Hillary's Excuse Tour seems solidly within the progressive
tradition established by Obama's Apology Tour in 2009.
The VA let me know I'm eligible for a free burial plot. Do
they know something?
If you think "Single Payer Health Care" is a great
idea, go take a look at the poor payer. In the mirror.
Had an email from a PR firm offering me $40 to put a guest
post on my blog. Maybe not real, but I told then no. I can't be bought. At
least not for $40.
From a friend: "Chelsea" Manning is essentially
Kardashians with a penis.
Headline: Harvard makes convicted spy Chelsea Manning a
'fellow,' igniting firestorm. My friend, retired Army LtCol. and highly
regarded author of military science fiction, Tom Kratman, says, "Hiring
Manning just indicates that not only is western civilization doomed, it
deserves to die." (I didn't know treason was an academic credential! ~Bob)
I will not acquiesce in the suicide of the Church or the
Republic.
The other day a cute girl told me I was a ten. I was
charmed...until I found out she used a 1,000 point scale.
At the VA, I started a conversation with a fellow Marine
Vietnam vet, who, according to his hat, was there in 1969. He said, "You
look a little long in the tooth. Korea Vet?" Harrumph. I was
there two years before him.
Republicans and Democrats say nasty things about each other
that are often true of both sides.
Stereotypes start because there is some truth there. Then
the break the bounds of reason.
Think global, bomb local.
Saw a bumper sticker: "Vote for Obi-Wan Kenobi, Our
Only Hope."
History suggests that when a country's bureaucracy becomes
ossified, the country collapses.
All else being equal, the self-disciplined win.
A Marine Vietnam buddy on Facebook: There are 7.4 billion
people in the world. I can tolerate like 3 of you.
When a society becomes very prosperous, it also becomes
complacent, soft and the envy and target of ruthless men who are neither soft
nor complacent.
It's hard to tell some days if my mistakes are caused by
senility or stupidity.
Getting old is when a nap always sounds like a good
idea...even if you just got up.
Short term choices to "live for today" are very
often bad choices. Few things cause more misery in the world.
I can't shake the feeling that a great darkness is descending
on the world.
One of the ancient, respected restraints on war was that
non-combatants (women, children, the aged, medical personal, clergy) were
spared the horror of combat. Though western countries like the US try
to uphold that ideal, since about WWI, certainly WWII, every one is a
combatant, every one is seen as a legitimate target.
A world without police or soldiers, as many leftists wish,
is a world without civilization. What are gang leaders in our cities but local
warlords?
Trump doesn't have power. But if you could be the last
person to speak to him before he makes a decision, you'd have power.
Recently read in John Keegan's A History of Warfare of the Australian veteran at the fall of Singapore , who had
earned the Victoria Cross in WWI, setting off alone towards the Japanese lines
with grenades in his hands and, "No capitulation for me" on his lips,
who was never seen again. Can the West still produce men like that?
Keegan also writes that war is, "The one human activity
from which women...have always and everywhere stood apart." He published
this in 1994, 23 years ago. I wonder what Sir John, were he still alive, would
think today of the PC efforts to degrade the forces by including woman in
ground combat units.
The Tokugawa Shogunate, wrote historian G. B. Sampson,
"Not confining (itself) to the functions of raising revenue and keeping
order, undertook to regulate the morals of the people and to proscribe their
behavior to the minutest detail. It is doubtful whether previous history
records a more ambitious attempt on the part of a state to interfere with the
private life of every individual and so to control the thoughts as well as the
actions of a whole nation." Maybe we should change the title from
"President" to "Shogun"?
Going back to bed in the morning is an under-rated pleasure.
But like most such, it is incompatible with work, school, and other
accomplishments.
Some employers don't know the difference between a benefit
and an irritation.
From Jim Geraghty, Morning
Jolt: The top ten most popular
governors in America
Slaves are taught
to kneel before their masters.
The NFL--Brain injuries, assaults, domestic violence, drugs,
murders and treason.
"There is no crime, absolutely none, that cannot
be condoned when 'our' side commits it." --George Orwell.
Get the collection! My
“Random Thoughts” from 2008 through July, 2013 are collected in this book: The Old Jarhead's Journal: Random Thoughts on Life, Liberty
The Old Jarhead’s
Journal is a collection of Random Thoughts on politics and life and
Conservative Political Essays, mostly published on the author’s blog, including
the essay “I’m Tired” which went viral on the Internet in 2009, “The Hall
Platform,” “This I Believe,” and “Why I’m a Republican.” While they will be of
interest to conservative thinkers, they are collected here in book form as a
service to readers who wish to give a copy to favorite liberals and watch their
heads explode. All
royalties are donated to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.
*****
Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam Veteran who served five
terms in the Massachusetts State Senate. He is the author of The Coming Collapse of the American Republic.
http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Collapse-American-Republic-prevent/dp/1461122538/ref=sr_1_5?s=booksandie=UTF8andqid=1304815980andsr=1-5
For a free PDF of Collapse, e-mail
him at tartanmarine(at)gmail.com. Hall’s eleven books are listed here: http://tartanmarine.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-book-published.html.
His blog of political news and conservative comment is www.tartanmarine.blogspot.com.
Can the NFL fires the players who disrespect the flag?
Could the NFL fire
the players disrespecting our flag?
Robert A. Hall
USMC 1964-68
USMCR 1977-83
We all know that our Freedom of Speech is protected by the
First Amendment to the constitution. But it seems like a lot of folks don't
know who it's protected from. Please pay attention: it is protected from the
government. Period. The government cannot censor you or punish you for saying
what you think (unless you're a government employee; then they can restrict
your speech as any employer would). Of course, if a government agency doesn't
like your opinions, they can make it hot for you, as the IRS did with
conservative groups, apparently with impunity.
"Freedom of Speech" doesn't protect you from private
organizations or individuals. The local newspaper is not violating your
"Freedom of Speech" when is declines to publish your letter or op-ed.
A book publisher is not violating your "Freedom of Speech" when it
politely informs you that your 200,000-word Great American Novel doesn't meet
its present needs. And the local TV station is not violating your "Freedom
of Speech" by not giving you a half hour of TV time to air your opinions
about Trump, Obama, or Kim Jong Un. Or the NFL.
But what about your employer? Is that different? Not at all.
Trying telling your organization's customers that the business is a rip off and
they can get a better deal elsewhere. You will be fired. You will deserve it. You
will be free to go to the park across the street and tell anyone who doesn't
make a run for it what you think. But not as an employee.
And they can fire you for things you say outside of work
that bring discredit to the organization.
Here's a recent example:
This fireman’s racist
comment about black people and dogs cost him his job
A volunteer firefighter in Ohio wrote on
Facebook that he would save a dog before saving a black person from a
burning building, because to him, “one dog is more important that a million
n*****s.” 20-year-old Tyler Roysdon of Franklin
Township , Ohio , was suspended
indefinitely once his superiors discovered the comment, and he later
resigned from his position. (Pardon the stars, but the media fears to report
accurate quotes about race, least their truthful accuracy be considered
racist.)
So, his employer sure shut down his "Freedom of Speech"
for something he said off the job, that brought discredit on the organization.
Is there anyone--anyone--who thinks this jerk (substitute your expletive of
choice, I thought of something far stronger), didn't deserve to be fired? Anyone
who thinks the employer was wrong? I didn't think so. I'd have fired an
employee who made similar remarks, in or out of work, in a heart beat. And so
would 99% of you. And the courts would uphold us.
So the NFL has the perfect right to discipline and, yes,
fire players who by disrespecting the flag bring discredit on the team.
Especially among fans who are vets.
In fact, these players are in violation of the NFL's own
rules.
NFL Game Operations Manual
The National Anthem must be played prior to every NFL game,
and all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem. During the
National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold
their helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking. The home team
should ensure that the American flag is in good condition. It should be pointed
out to the players and coaches that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our
country. Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem MAY
result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or forfeiture of draft
choice/s for violations of the above, including first offenses.
Game Rules #5
Which covers Players, Substitutes, Equipment and General
Rules, does include (in article) a section prohibiting players from “conveying personal messages” thoughout
the game day while they are visible to the fans in attendance and
television audiences, and from convey(ing) messages, through helmet decals, arm
bands, jersey patches or other items affixed to game uniforms or equipment
which relate to political activities or causes...........
So the NFL has the right and the responsibility to
discipline players for disrespecting the flag and the national anthem. Which
means they agree with the players, or they are afraid of losing star players or
they are scared of the black and anti-American fans who support this
abomination. Thus the owners are anti-American, cowards or both.
I've long been a New England Pats fan, from my 14 years in Massachusetts . I even
have a Pat's jersey. Living in Wisconsin , I've
also cheered for Green Bay .
I grew up in South Jersey , so used to cheer
for the Eagles, until they hired dog-killer Michael Vick. Players have been
arrested for domestic violence, drugs, assault and even murder and the owners
don't care, as long as they perform well on field.
But I'm a Marine Vietnam vet. Friends on mine died for that
flag. I have a rubbing of one of their names on my pub room wall, Arthur J.
Turner, a classmate from Radio
Relay Repair
School
Oh, and I'll be sending that Pat's jersey back to them. Perhaps
not in pristine condition. And I'll send this column to any sponsors I can
identify.
*****
Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five
terms in the Massachusetts Senate. He retired in 2013 due to pulmonary fibrosis
and underwent a lung transplant.
To Be An Adult
To Be An Adult
Robert A. Hall
The Peter Pan syndrome – males who remain boys all their
lives – has long been with us. But now what I call "Aging
Adolescents" (A.A.s) include as many females as males, and may be a
majority in the younger generations. And they are raising, if one dares
use that word, children who will replicate themselves as lifelong children.
This threatens the economic, fiscal, and political well-being of our
society and culture. Children are unable to lead, function in, or defend
a society.
I consulted with a couple of friends and thought it might
help if I put down what we believe an adult is. Perhaps not, but it can't
hurt.
1. Adults take responsibility for their actions, say
"I'm sorry," try to fix any problems resulting from their errors,
accept the consequences of their actions, and learn from them. A.A.s run
around saying, "It's not my fault," always blaming others, however
tenuous the connection, while the catastrophe created by their bad decisions
brings life down about their heads.
2. Adults plan for the future and make decisions that will
lead to a better life in the months and years ahead. Plans, of course,
may be interrupted by events beyond your control, but as Benjamin Franklin is
credited with saying, "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail."
A.A.s make short-term "live for today" decisions and are always
surprised when tomorrow arrives and their lives go sour.
3. Adults support themselves and their families.
Again, uncontrollable events like illness can intervene, but adults get
an education, get a full-time job (however bad), work hard at it, and move up.
A.A.s live off others, including family; friends; borrowing; theft; and,
of course, the taxpayers – and believe they are entitled to live at others'
expense.
4. Adults know it's not all about them. They put their
families, their community, their organization, their place of worship, and/or
their country first. They care about things other than themselves.
They have empathy and can see others' points of view. For A.A.s,
it's all about "me," all about "now." And they wonder
why they are almost always deeply unhappy.
5. Adults have resilience. They develop coping skills
by...well, coping with things as they come. They can, as football players
say, "take a hit" and come back. A.A.s' coping mechanism is to
run to Mommy and Daddy, to anyone they can suck energy and help out of, and, of
course, to the government to solve their problems, big and small.
6. Adults know that there is no such thing as a "safe
space." The only safety in this world is being ready to defend
yourself, your family, and your country. A.A.s are oblivious.
7. Adults are infrequent complainers. A.A.s make
themselves deeply unhappy and people to be avoided by whining all the time.
And about things that "aren't my fault."
8. Adults act and dress like adults. A.A.s dress like
kids or thugs, wear odd clothing, sport odd hairstyles and colors and tattoos
and piercings. And they wonder why others don't treat them as adults.
9. Adults can listen to opposing viewpoints from people with
different worldviews or cultures without becoming offended, hurtling insults,
or calling names. A.A.s need a safe space, and name-calling is their
default response.
10. Adults look for shared interests rather than differences
to focus on. A.A.s always focus on the negative.
11. Adults do not enjoy being victims. They are not
always looking for reasons, however obscure, to be offended. A.A.s
believe that "I'm a victim, therefore I am."
12. Adults are good neighbors, always ready to lend a
helping hand, and considerate of other folks. A.A.s want to know first,
"What's in it for me?"
13. Adults are good citizens, voting, staying informed on
public issues, and knowledgeable about their country's institutions and
history. A.A.s are not interested if it doesn't offer them something
today.
14. Adults love their children too much to allow them to be
disrespectful of other people and their property. They expect their
children to have consequences for their behavior. They try to nurture
their children in the interest of them becoming adults, though the culture can
thwart them. A.A.s are indifferent, as they don't know what adulthood is.
15. Adults are considerate and law-abiding drivers.
They know that it is better to be ten minutes late in this world than ten
years early in the next – and that being early isn't worth risking someone
else's life, maybe a child's. A.A.s drive as if they were being timed.
Eventually, time runs out.
16. Adults know that the best policy is to under-promise and
over-perform. They make promises sparingly and always try to keep them.
A.A.s toss out promises like candy at a parade, with no thought of
keeping them. When they don't, it's always "somebody else's
fault."
And yes, I know that adults aren't 100% on all these items
all the time, perfection being beyond human reach. But they try.
I've always liked the joke, "Growing old is mandatory;
growing up is optional." But far too many kids today see it as a
lifestyle, not a joke. When the society collapses around them, they will
demand, "Why didn't somebody do something?"
I came for the Jihad
‘I Came for the Jihad’: Women Tell of Life in the Islamic State
Excerpt: Khadija al-Humri came to Raqqa by choice. “I came for the Jihad, for Sharia and the Islamic State,” the 29-year-old Tunisian woman said, roughly four years after leaving her hometown along with her first husband. “I really believed that there was a state where we could live like the Prophet.”
Lessons from Vietnam?
What Not to Learn From Vietnam
OK, here is the nice, neutral commentary from a professor. But I take major exception to this whole "let's not try to take any lessons from that experience" view. There are always lessons to be learned from experiences, the problem here is that different people operating off different sets of information can come up with lessons that contradict each other. There is simply no way to get some people to accept the idea that even will all the horrendous messes our various incompetent leaders made over years, the repulse of the Easter Invasion by the ARVN demonstrated that the South could manage to get itself together well enough to defend itself.... IF properly supported by the USA to offset the massive support of Russia and China. That was the simplest point of the Marines hitting that Da Nang beach in '65, to shore up RVN until it could take care of itself. In '72 that success was made clear. But again, simply, once Hanoi and Moscow saw Congress cutting back the aid, and Nixon was out of office, they knew they could eventually roll over the steadily weakening South. So they took their time, built up enormous bases and resources in Laos and Cambodia, and came in like thunder in '75 with masses of tanks and artillery and won. Which was entirely predictable, by many, including myself. The simplest lesson of Viet Nam is "Don't go to war unless you are ready, willing, and able to bring to bear the resources to win, and stay in the fight with full effort, until either the enemy is destroyed or their will to fight is gone." We did that in both Gulf Wars, but civilians trying to run Iraq after our military did a magnificent job managed to create and nurture an insurgency that was far worse than the war. And in Afghanistan we've fallen back to all the mistakes of Viet Nam plus even more. Del
Was the nomination rigged?
Was Bernie Sanders given a fair chance at the DNC nomination or was it largely rigged?
Friday, September 29, 2017
Border Officer Killed
Border Officer Who Was Stabbed in a Previous Terror Attack Killed in West Bank Crossing Shooting
Norway
NORWEGIANS NOW 'EXPERIENCING THE SAME FEAR AS ISRAELIS' SAYS MINISTER
Excerpt: Norwegian Immigration Minister Sylvi Listhaug stated that Norwegians have a new reason to relate to Israelis, and confirmed Israel's right to defend itself. “We see what is happening in Sweden, in Britain, and in France,” said Norway’s Minister of Immigration and Integration Sylvi Listhaug in an interview to Ynet held in Oslo, “We are experiencing now the fear that you have experienced for decades.”
Religion of Peace
Devout Muslim father who served time for raping a schoolgirl savagely beat his 17-year-old daughter and her secret boyfriend with a hammer after he caught them having sex in her bedroom
Hand in your Qur'an
Chinese police order Xinjiang’s Muslims to hand in all copies of the Qur’an
Excerpt: I’m not in favor of banning books. Thought control and thought police are hallmarks of totalitarian regimes, and we’re getting perilously close to living under that boot on the face in the West. The Chinese authorities, like all totalitarians, are going to discover that they cannot entirely suppress thoughts through force. That said, this is one of the first, if not the very first, official recognition by any modern government that the Qur’an does indeed contain “extremist content”: a great deal of material that incites believers to commit violence against non-believers. The Chinese should be countering this mother-lode of bad ideas with better ideas, rather than trying to stamp it out by force; at the same time, if Western governments would admit the existence of the Qur’an’s “extremist content,” they may be able to formulate more effective and humane ways to counter the threat that results from that content. But that will most likely only happen when it is far, far too late.
Excerpt: I’m not in favor of banning books. Thought control and thought police are hallmarks of totalitarian regimes, and we’re getting perilously close to living under that boot on the face in the West. The Chinese authorities, like all totalitarians, are going to discover that they cannot entirely suppress thoughts through force. That said, this is one of the first, if not the very first, official recognition by any modern government that the Qur’an does indeed contain “extremist content”: a great deal of material that incites believers to commit violence against non-believers. The Chinese should be countering this mother-lode of bad ideas with better ideas, rather than trying to stamp it out by force; at the same time, if Western governments would admit the existence of the Qur’an’s “extremist content,” they may be able to formulate more effective and humane ways to counter the threat that results from that content. But that will most likely only happen when it is far, far too late.
Terror
GAY RIGHTS SUPPORTER WHO ATTEMPTED SUICIDE BY TRYING TO BLOW UP VAN OUTSIDE AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN LOBBY HQ SAID HE ‘DISLIKED’ THE GROUP
Thursday, September 28, 2017
Democrats & child porn
Wisconsin governor candidate Kathleen Vinehout defends reference letter for child porn convict
Excerpt: State Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, a Democratic candidate for governor, says she doesn't believe people will find anything objectionable in a character reference letter she wrote for a legislative attorney found guilty of possession of child pornography.
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
NFL
The latest Fox News poll found that 55 percent of voters feel that kneeling during the national anthem is “inappropriate.”
Then boycott the NFL! ~Bob
Rape Gangs
Grooming ring probe at Glasgow's four corners after teenagers 'exploited for sex' by groups of men
Notice they never mention who the men in the grooming gangs, targeting white females, are? They always get away with this because stopping them is not PC.
Who were the victims?
Myanmar searches for more Hindu corpses as mass grave unearthed
Excerpt: But the events of August 25, when raids by Rohingya militants unleashed a swirl of violence across the north, have sunk Rakhine to new depths of hate. "All of our family died at the village... we will not go back," said Chaw Shaw Chaw Thee, one of hundreds of displaced Hindus seeking shelter in the state capital Sittwe.
TNSTAAFL?
In New York, There’s No Alternative to a Free School Lunch
Unless every kid gets one, city officials say, the 75% who are eligible will be stigmatized.
By Naomi Schaefer Riley
Monday, September 25, 2017
Police Shootings
Police Shootings
Excerpt: According to the Washington Post’s database, there have been 721 fatal police shootings in the United States so far in 2017. Out of these shootings, nine were unarmed black males. Only 32 total were unarmed. The phenomenon of police fatally shooting an unarmed black man can simultaneously be fairly rare and a deeply troubling problem deserving of further effort to eliminate.
Iran
The Nuclear Deal Is Iran’s Legal Path to the Bomb. Iran sees it. It’s time the U.S. did too. By Susan B. Glasser http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/09/22/iran-nuclear-deal-bomb-215636
Army vet stood
Steelers Coach Didn’t Want Army Vet To Stand For Anthem by Peter Hasson
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin indicated Sunday night that he did not want offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva to stand for the national anthem, instead of sitting it out with the rest of his teammates. Villanueva, a former Army Ranger who served three tours in Afghanistan, was the only Steelers player to stand for the anthem. While Villanueva stood in the tunnel, hand over his heart, the rest of the team remained in the locker room in protest of President Trump’s comments that players who kneel during the national anthem should be fired.
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Surprise
Surprise! Deadly Tennessee church shooting: Sudanese immigrant arrested, FBI to launch civil rights investigation
Excerpt: One woman was killed and seven other people were hurt after a suspect identified as a Sudanese immigrant opened fire at a Tennessee church Sunday, police said, as federal officials told Fox News the FBI will initiate a civil rights investigation into the shooting. The suspect, 25-year-old Emanuel Kidega Samson, immigrated from Sudan two decades ago, police said. He's suspected of bringing two pistols and a mask to the predominantly white Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, southeast of Nashville, before opening fire just after 11 a.m.
A History of War
Book Recommendation: A History of Warfare by John
Keegan
The late John Keegan was arguably the premier military
historian of the 20th century. I just read this book, published in 19894, but
found it both interesting and insightful. I have been reading Keegan since I
first came upon his famous Face of Battle,
but just discovered this history. He is always highly readable, clear and
thought-provoking, even when I question some of his conclusions. This short
history starts with war in its earliest known form and brings it up through Vietnam and
other post WWII insurgencies. Keegan covers the broad brush of war, but has an
eye for the telling detail, such as the Australian veteran at the fall of Singapore ,
who earned the Victoria Cross in WWI, setting off alone towards the Japanese
lines with grenades in his hands and, "No capitulation for me" on his
lips, who was never seen again. In the book, Keegan also writes that war is,
"The one human activity from which women...have always and everywhere
stood apart." He published this 23 years ago. I wonder what Sir John, were
he still alive, would think today of the PC efforts to degrade the forces by
including woman in ground combat units. I highly recommend this book.