The Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day

 Of the Eleventh Month.

    Happy Veterans Day!

     On November 11th, 1918, the Germans surrendered to the Allied powers in the Forest of Compiegne, ending what was then known as the Great War.  Little did they know there would be a sequel.

"Okay, just so we're clear,
we'll all get back together again in 21 years, right?"

    But that’s another story.

    The following November, President Woodrow Wilson, noted scold and racist,

"Well, that's a tad hurtful. 
What's a little white supremacy among friends?"

declared that “Armistice Day” would henceforth be observed in honor of those who had fallen during the “war to end all wars” (kinda dropped the ball with THAT one, didn’t we?).

    Following the Second World War (the “good” war, an oxymoron if I ever heard one), the town of Emporia, Kansas changed “Armistice” to “Veterans” Day.  The idea was to honor everyone who had served in the armed forces rather than only those who’d fought against the Kaiser.

    As the years went by, the idea of setting a special day aside for veterans took hold throughout the nation.  In 1954, Congress made the name change official while President Eisenhower called on all Americans to observe the day.  But, surprisingly, it took until 1971 for Richard Nixon to declare it a federal holiday.

    In the years since, it’s become little more than an excuse to hold blowout sales on everything from bed linen to used cars. 

"Because Patton would have wanted you to buy this Chevy."

Ceremonies marking the day have been lost in the madcap frenzy of pre-Christmas commercialism.  In fact, what was once a universal day off has turned into pretty much a “federal government employees only” respite.

    I don’t have a problem with this, per se, if it was still recognized for the solemn event that it is.  After all, Veterans Day is much more than sleeping in late and watching Sponge Bob Squarepants in your pajamas while wolfing down a bowl of “Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs.”

    For instance, I plan on wandering about the battlefield at Yorktown.    

    Unfortunately, many people don’t even know what Veterans Day is all about.  To them, it's just another day on the calendar, punctuated by the occasional parade and no mail service.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if more than a few people didn't have a clue it even happened.

    NOTE:  Unlike Memorial Day, which commemorates those who have given their lives in service to their country, Veterans Day recognizes all veterans. 

    It goes without saying there’s a need to set a few things straight. 

    That said, I call on all of us who know better to teach others about Veterans Day.  Urge those around you to take a moment to remember our veterans and those who are still in harm’s way.

    You don’t have to go to a flag-raising ceremony, attend a parade, or even buy one of those “Buddy Poppies” (although I do, because I enjoy talking to those guys).  You don’t have to agree on this war or that war and you certainly don’t have to watch The Sands of Iwo Jima at attention.

    If nothing else, reflect on the service of all those who have worn, and continue to wear, our nation’s uniform.  From Lexington to the Persian Gulf, they deserve our respect and our thanks.

    As a veteran myself, I salute them all.

 

Nothing Is Over

 

Hell no.  And it ain't over now.

    I've been amused.  No, bemused might be the best way to describe how I view the rending of clothes, gnashing of teeth, the "sky is falling" from a lot of my friends when it comes to the absolute shellacking the Republican Party suffered last Tuesday.  A scorching which, in my mind, was totally deserved.

    The GOP was clobbered, in my opinion, because of the following:

1.  Never have I seen a more incompetent bunch of boobs than I have seen in the Senate and House of Representatives.  It's like those fools taped "Kick Me" signs on their backs.

2.  "Vote as if I'm on the ballot."  Well, voters did because they cannot stand you, you Orange Baboon.  Say what you will about any success Trump has had (e.g., the border), it is positively overwhelmed by a dump truck full of "Oh shits."

Yeah, no, don't see a problem with this.

3.  Iran War/Economy/Epstein Files.  What a cock up.  I personally feel Iran needed to be shown that shouting "Death to America" for 47 years has to incur some sort of response, but FFS, the Three Stooges could have done a better job over the course of ten months.

"But, the Dow.  The DOW!"

4.  The American electorate has the long-term memory skills of goldfish.  Sure, things may have been worse under Biden, but so fucking what?

"I don't remember any of that ever happening."

 

    In short...What have you done for me lately, you incredible boobs?     

    Anyway, the hysterical wailing has been...uh...hysterical.  The following from Laura Loomer (who really should stick to selling Beet Chews on Fox) is typical:

Drama much?

    A Facebook friend of mine (who I suspect is MAGA) agreed with her assessment.  I countered his "Sky is Falling" with "Nothing is over."  When he hit back, I replied that I am not going to roll over and bemoan my lot in life.  Then he asked what am I going to do.  I answered, "I'm going to live my life, love my family and friends, and not look for boogeymen behind every bush."

    He never responded.  Which is good, because I don't like to fight over idiotic things.  In a weird repeat of years past, I find myself at odds with Trumpbots and those on the Left.

I, no shit, did this in 2016.

    To be clear, I know you know (or should know by now), I am a Conservative who holds onto conservative values.  I so wish that Ron De Santis was our president.  But, I suppose, it wasn't his time.  Maybe 2028 will be?  After all, JD Vance will be tainted with an orange stank.  Marco Rubio, if he resigns, may emerge as a competitive choice, but we'll see.

    I dislike the emergence of an Islamist (not Muslim, JFC, give that "anti-Muslim" shit a rest) Senator, as well as a "God has three (six?  Who the fuck knows?) Genders" one.  

  A Democratic governor in Texas sends chills down my spine.

   The increasing popularity of Socialism is mind-boggling.  Even though I hope it doesn't happen, what happens when "free stuff"  has to be paid for?

    I do not like what happened on Election Day.

Because the "Red-Green Alliance" is a real thing.

    However, those clowns needed to be shown the door.  And Trump needed his comeuppance (although, to date the narcissist refuses to take accountability).  It would have been so easy to hold onto Congress, but his ego got in the way.

    I've said it before (maybe here):
I despise Trump for giving us Biden

and...
I despise Biden for giving us Trump
and...

I despise Trump for giving us a Blue Tsunami.

    That said, I will not be paralyzed with fear nor will I hate on those with whom I disagree.  I hope you're right, I truly do.  I don't think you are, but....

    For those of you who voted Blue, much love.  For those who voted Red.  Much love and...

Not That I Ever Thought This Would Happen

 

"Well, on the bright side, now I won't have to figure out where TF I was gonna find the money to give everybody a $5,000 bribe."

And Now For Something Completely Different

 

"Hey, that's my line."

    You may have heard.  Something important is going on this coming Tuesday.  No, I won't go into my thoughts on that and any possible implications.  Frankly, I'm tired of hearing about the whole thing and you probably are, too.

    Bottom line, all the candidates suck.

Ears ringing, Comrade?

Including those who aren't even candidates.

     So, instead, I thought I'd go with something a little different this time instead of hammering away at the same tired old things.

Speaking of old things...

    Some (or none) of you may know that I went to Miami this week for a few days.  I took my wife to go see Lionel Messi play football.

AKA "soccer."  You know, the type of football which isn't hot garbage.

    Palm trees and balmy breezes notwithstanding, the city is not exactly my cup of tea (there are skyscrapers and construction EVERYwhere).  

To say nothing of the fashion.
Ewwwww, no socks.

    However, I was impressed by one specific thing.

    Hispanic culture, primarily Cuban, dominates the region.  In fact, you could assume most people spoke Spanish.  Most importantly, they had an equal grasp of English.  There seemed to be just as many signs in Spanish as there are English.  Admittedly, I do know some Spanish (four years of high school and an Argentinian wife), so I was very comfortable navigating my way about the city.

    But, some folks refuse to even attempt to speak the language much beyond "cerveza" and "toilet."

"'Toilet's' the same in both languages, El Dumbass."

    This got me thinking (I am capable of that) of the old joke:

What do you call a person who speaks three languages?

Trilingual.

What do you call a person who speaks two languages?

Bilingual.

What do you call a person who speaks one language?

American.      

    I think it's embarrassing that we Americans aren't nearly as fluent in another language (Spanish, French, German, Chinese, etc.) as we should be.

"Not even Klingon."
"Racists."

  In fact, some Americans think speaking loudly and with an accent is all they need to get their point across.

    That is obviously not the case.

    In my opinion, training in a foreign language should be a routine part of every American student's education, starting in the younger years.  I had Spanish lessons, to be sure, but they didn't start until I was in junior high school and took it only as an elective.  How much better would it have been if I started in elementary school and not in an environment where I had to battle boners  a lot of my educational "cement", so to speak, had already set.

    As an example, when I was stationed in Iceland, an Icelandic national told me that foreign language training starts at a young age and includes Icelandic (duh), English, and Danish.

Wrong Danish

    I don't  have an answer as to which language should be taught, mind you.  After all, this is a dopey blog which is only read by a couple people.

Clearly, though, Dothraki should not make the cut.

    But, it would be nice to be able to order lunch and not give myself a verbal hernia in the process.  Or make the poor bilingual person rescue me.

    On a personal note:  I told my wife we would never visit another country which didn't speak Spanish.  As my personal translator, she could guarantee a hernia-free lunch.

    Now, we return to your regularly scheduled program of bitching about which scumbag to vote for.

Talkin' to you, Jimmy.

   

Even Handed Hoopla?

When people ask from where I get my ideas for this hideous blog, I reply that I often have a line-up of topics upon which I can bloviate.

**Please note my skillful use of prepositions**

"The good sisters and I taught you well, boyo.  Knuckles, if you please."

Take the late Ayatollah Khamenei. I have quite a few pictures of him and wanted to use them in a mocking sendoff...err...respectful memorial.

Respectful...

   But, something else caused me to change my mind and write the below.

So, mullah confetti will have to wait.

"No sweat, infidel.  
Me and the 72 virgin goats apparently have plenty of time."

I saw a post on Facebook about the homecoming of USS Abraham Lincoln...

After an ungodly amount of time away from home, most of it at sea, the USS Abraham Lincoln and her strike group returned to the United States to great fanfare. Having endured overseas deployments several times myself, it was always nice to receive an enthusiastic "Welcome Home!" whenever we returned...uh...home.

NOTE: I really oughta think of a more creative way to write these things. But, hell, I'm not getting paid to do this, so, really, why bother?

I commented on the Facebook post gushing over Lincoln's return with the following:

While I think this is awesome, where was the love for the crew of the USS Gerald R. Ford - CVN 78 when IT returned home? It wasn't exactly on a pleasure cruise, either.

NOTE (Even though not on my Facebook post, I provide the following information to give context to my comment. Ain't I swell?): The carrier Ford, homeported in Norfolk, Virginia, also had an excruciating deployment to the jihadi colon of the world. But, I don't recall over-the-top celebrations when she and her strike group came back.

One of my followers, an especially rabid MAGA acolyte, responded to my post with the following (I didn't include his name):

  My son Brandon was born on our Rota/Lajes deployment and Scott was born during the Iceland deployment. First sightings for me was 3 months and 3 1/2 months respectively. I have ZERO sympathy for any of these people. They each joined to defend this country and deployments are part of it, fucking deal with it.

    NOTE:  More amplifying information to give context-he is a veteran of the Navy's Patrol Aviation wing, a group of sailors who fly land-based P-3 aircraft.  The Rota/Lajes and Iceland deployments were six-month affairs at overseas naval air stations.  While not picnics, VP deployments (derided as "vacations" by those of my friends who rode ships) clearly aren't ideal.

Far too big to operate from carriers, P-3 deployments weren't bad. 
A big fan, I made four deployments with them.

My reply:

Reply

Kenneth Charles

 ·

 ·

Author

My point is that all the hysterical hoopla is directed to the Lincoln and not to the Ford. Happiness at the return of Sailors is appropriate. Don't forget, I have also served aboard ships (which included Christmas, 1997, underway in the Persian Gulf) and have endured VP deployments (which included Christmas, 1987, in Iceland where I ate a can of tuna fish because the blizzard kept us in the barracks) so I know what I'm talking about. No sense debating levels of suck (i.e., Marines in foxholes would kill to have a carrier to sleep in). Doing so is stupid and pointless. I agree the gushing is out of control. But, saying this is to be expected, while absolutely true, is tired and boring. I preferred to just do my job for my country and didn't expect an orgasm of celebration when I returned. I knew what I volunteered for and took on the suck willingly (if not always happily, to be honest). If my service took me to the level that Lincoln, Ford, AND their respective strike groups experienced, so be it.

In other words: Shit happens.

As an example:

Sailors on December 6, 1941: "DUTY IN HAWAII, BABY! WOO HOO!!!!"

Sailors on December 7, 1941: "Those mean Japanese have ruined my trip to the beach. I'm gonna write my mom!!!"

    Even though this seemed like a pretty longwinded response (my Facebook followers clearly don't come here), I sincerely hope it got my point across.

    Bottom line, while the celebrations over the Lincoln's arrival were extraordinary (just as much as the frantic hand-wringing over their participation in the war itself), they are what they are.

    I just wish that said celebrations were more even-handed because there are plenty of other Americans who are putting their lives on the line over in that cesspool.

    Including the crew of my former ship.

    And, while we're at it, enough with the "well, they signed up for this!" nonsense from those who had their own Suck-O-Meters to monitor.

    Jezz-a-Lou, we get it, already.  "Dick-measuring" over who had it worse is just stupid.  I know it sucks; what the Lincoln and Ford went through really sucked.  

    I also realize it could suck a whole lot more. 

    I salute the men and women of the Navy.  All of the men and women of the entire military.

    And so should you.

    Whether you like this war or not.