Tag Archives: war

100 years ago today, World War I, aka The War to End All Wars ended…

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…and the President of the United States couldn’t be bothered to attend a ceremony at a cemetery full of American soldiers who died in that war because it was raining. The asshole flew all the way to Paris for the historic anniversary, but couldn’t leave his friggin’ room to go to a cemetery owned and maintained by the U.S. government where thousands of U.S. troops are burried!?! Trump Skips Visit To American Military Cemetery. And Justin Trudeau Shades Trump For Skipping WWI US Cemetary Visit Due To Rain

“It’s incredible that a president would travel to France for this significant anniversary — and then remain in his hotel room watching TV rather than pay in person his respects to the Americans who gave their lives in France for the victory gained 100 years ago tomorrow,”
—David Frum, former speechwriter to President George W. Bush

Ben Rhodes, who served as deputy national security adviser for strategic communications under President Barack Obama, said the excuse about the inclement weather did not stand up. “I helped plan all of President Obama’s trips for 8 years,” he wrote on Twitter. “There is always a rain option. Always.”

“As we sit here in the rain, thinking how uncomfortable we must be these minutes as our suits get wet and our hair gets wet and our shoes get wet, I think it’s all the more fitting that we remember on that day, in Dieppe, the rain wasn’t rain, it was bullets.”
—Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

“They died with their face to the foe and that pathetic inadequate @realDonaldTrump couldn’t even defy the weather to pay his respects to The Fallen #hesnotfittorepresenthisgreatcountry.”
—Nicholas Soames, a British member of parliament who is a grandson of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill

But enough of that. This beautiful story, written last Memorial Day, tells about that American war cemetery in France, along with the program that paid for mothers and widows of the slain to travel there to pay their last respects in the years following the war: In an American Cemetery in France: Thoughts on Memorial Day.

While we’re on the subject of Memorial Day…

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© Another Believer, Wikimedia Commons User

I’ve already said plenty about the day, but here are some other thoughts worth considering:

WE NEED MEMORIAL DAY TO OBSCURE THE UNBEARABLE TRUTH ABOUT WAR

“…nothing helps a country’s militaristic right-wing triumph over their domestic enemies more than a state of war.”

Let Us Remember Memorial Day by Waging Peace

“Let us reclaim our belief in the sanctity of human life. Let us turn swords into plowshares.”

Weekend Update 9/10/2016: Paused pipeline, cease fire, and a tortured metaphor

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Muppet News Flash!
Muppet News Flash!
Time for some updates on some of the stories included in yesterday’s Friday Links! So, just moments after a federal judge denied the request of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe for an stay against construction on the Dakota Access oil pipeline, the U.S. Department of Justice and Deparment of the Army, and the U.S. Department of the Interior announced that they were halting the project pending further review: Joint Statement from the Department of Justice, the Department of the Army and the Department of the Interior Regarding Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This is a big deal, and came as very welcome news to the growing crowd of protestors who have been camped out near the Standing Rock reservation: Federal government halts work on part of pipeline project.

It’s a temporary pause, and the feds have asked the construction company to voluntarily stop. But the agencies in question have the ability to make it mandatory if necessary. Also, it’s worth noting the judge was only ruling on whether an immediate injunction was warranted. His ruling doesn’t stop the lawsuit the tribe filed against the construction companies. They may well prevail in court, yet. That’s assuming the meeting that the government agencies are convening with the tribes and other interested parties doesn’t result in another resolution to the dispute.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and Russia have brokered a cease fire in Syria: Syria Rivals Sign Up To US-Russian Peace Plan. Previous truces in this conflict haven’t held, so I don’t know how much hope people are holding out that this will lead to a resolution. But I think we have to keep trying. And we can at least hope that during the ceasefire aid is able to get to those who need it.

Meanwhile, things have turned predictably deplorable at the so-called Value Voters Summit: Gary Bauer At Hate Summit: Christians Are Like The Flight 93 Passengers Trying To Stop A Hijacking. I get it, tomorrow is the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the anti-gay, racist, misogynist, sectarian jerks have to maintain their delusion that they are under attack. They are probably sincere in their claims that any time they aren’t allowed to oppress (preferably with the full force of the law) people who believe differently than they do that they’re the ones being victimized.

“Like being a woman—like being a racial, religious, or ethnic minority—being LGBT does not make you less human. And that is why gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.”
“Like being a woman—like being a racial, religious, or ethnic minority—being LGBT does not make you less human. And that is why gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.”
But the steady march of America toward liberty and justice for all is not a hijacking. It’s what the country has claimed to be the goal since our founding! It’s particularly irritating when the person making this tortured metaphor is also someone doing it in the name of the religion that teaches: “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.”