Saturday Morning Observations

Supposedly the first thing you should do when you find yourself in a hole is to quit digging.  Unfortunately for the Republican party, their goal seems to be China.  Not content to be the minority party they are now trying to be the minuscule party.  The dittoheads and Palinites want to purge the party of those who don't believe exactly as they do.  If this means getting rid of people who are already serving in office, well, so be it.  To the teabaggers it is better to have nothing than it is to appeal to more citizens or to be relevant.

Josef Stalin was also extremely fond of purging and millions of people died because of it.  Funny thing is he started with his own party and as his paranoia grew, so did the circle of people he considered to be disloyal.  Eventually generals and peasants alike were purged and Big Brother was officially born.

But the impetus to "cleanse" the social body rapidly spilled beyond these elite boundaries, and the greatest impact of the Purge was felt in the wider society -- where millions of ordinary Soviet citizens assisted in "unmasking" their compatriots. Frank Smitha describes this mass hysteria well, writing that

A society that is intense in its struggle for change has a flip side to its idealism: intolerance. People saw enemies everywhere, enemies who wanted to destroy the revolution and diminish the results of their hard work and accomplishments, enemies who wanted to restore capitalism for selfish reasons against the collective interests of the nation. If those at the top of the Communist Party and an old revolutionary like Trotsky could join the enemy, what about lesser people? In factories and offices, mass meetings were held in which people were urged to be vigilant against sabotage. It was up to common folks to make the distinction between incompetence and intentional wrecking [i.e., sabotage], and any mishap might be blamed on wrecking. Denunciations became common. Neighbors denounced neighbors. Denunciations were a good way of striking against people one did not like, including one's parents, a way of eliminating people blocking one's promotion, and ... a means of proving one's patriotism. Many realized that some innocent people were being victimized, and the saying went around that "when you chop wood the chips fly." As with Lenin, it was believed that some who were innocent would have to be victimized if all of the guilty were to be apprehended.

History is a pesky thing and while some might say that today's political purges aren't violent, calling for a revolution is one step in that direction.  Eventually an innocent person is going to die due to the intolerance now making its way through the country, but the teabaggers are so far gone that they will consider it a step in the right direction.  Returning this country to a McCarthy like existence with a 1984 mindset and 2009 technology enforcement capabilities.  Does anybody think this will end well?

Better late than never. Now that female Vietnam War veterans are in their sixties, it's time to investigate how the war affected their health.  As with men, a good guess would be, poorly.

Well, that was depressing.  Hopefully this should bring a smile to almost anyone's face.

BBB

It's Traditional!

Every year for the last twenty, this has been playing on the radio while the turkey was cooking.  There's no turkey this year (Baked Ham w/ Marmalade Horseradish Glaze, homemade scalloped potatoes, brussels sprouts w/ marjoram and the Pink Teacup's sweet potato pie), but there will be Arlo and Alice's Restaurant.

It isn't the original but the important points are there.

You'd think that we would have evolved past waging war on undeveloped countries by now, but since those on the almost never right don't believe in evolution, that would be too much to hope for.

Happy Thanksgiving!  Don't eat too much and if you do, go for a walk afterward.

Big Brass Blog

This 'N That

Remember the riddle "who's buried in Grant's tomb?"  Technically the answer is no one since Ulysses and his wife are entombed, but at least people know where they are.  The same can't be said for some of those who are buried at Arlington.  Like the atrocious conditions at Walter Reed revealed a few years ago, this is also a national disgrace.  Why is it so difficult to treat our soldiers with the respect they deserve?  After suffering the ultimate sacrifice how can they be treated so poorly by those who were entrusted to preserve their remains?  It used to be an honor to be buried at Arlington, now it's where's Waldo.

Jeff Huber (wish he'd been my CO but the Navy didn't take me seriously when I tried to enlist in 1974) has his usual insightful observations on the fallacy of thinking we can win the debacle in Afghanistan. The original mission was never accomplished and has been lost to the caskets of history, so of course we must continue to involve ourselves in another fruitless and never ending land war in Asia.  Is it because the Afghans don't look like the Japanese, Vietnamese or Koreans that people don't realize that Afghanistan is in Asia as are Iraq, Iran and Israel?  What the heck are we fighting for?

Regime change in Iraq was discussed before 9/11.  Then why didn't the troops have all the equipment they needed?  Probably for the same reason that they aren't receiving all the help they need once they are injured or discharged.  Because the goal was to topple Saddam and consequences were never considered.  Not to the troops, their families, innocent civilians or the stability of the country.

The phrases "there's nothing new under the sun" and "what's old is new again" have been around for a long time...because they're true.  In If A Man Answers (1962) Sandra Dee's character trains her new husband (Bobby Darin) to be more attentive by using the techniques from a book on dog training.  Today's parents are discovering the Dog Whisperer's techniques also work well on children.  Or, as my baby brother said after a few months of training his dog, "I should have had a dog before I had children."  As is pointed out in the movie and in this article, it's really the trainer who is being trained.  Consistency is the key and my parents excelled at that.  If it was no when I was two, it was no when I was eighteen unless it had been due to a height or age requirement.  I really miss my dad.

Adopted children should be able to find their biological parents after they are old enough to understand the consequences.  For Matthew Roberts those were definitely more than he planned on.  It isn't every day that one discovers that their father is one of the most hated murderers on the planet.  That's really sad.

BBB

Things I Don't Understand

Why should I, or anyone else, care that Nidal Hasan is paralyzed from the nipples down?  There are thirteen people who would be more than happy to trade places with him but they can't because they're dead.  By his hand.  If there was any justice he would have CRPS instead.

The new Air Force commercial.  The tag line is that "it's not science fiction, it's what we do every day".  On what planet?  At approximately 11 seconds in there are two moons on the horizon, how is this not science fiction?  Or a video game?

Why do more Americans attribute a bible saying to Obama than to the Bible?

The Plan.  Mao would be so...honored.  Statistically speaking, Glenn Beck's attempt at destroying America is doomed to fail.  Melanin impaired Americans are becoming a minority and all the ranting, raving, bigotry and hatred are not going to change that.  He can try to co-opt as many national holidays as he wants, he will never be the equal of Martin Luther King.   And so-called "voter education events" are laughable.  Self reliance and community organizing.  I thought he hated ACORN, now I see he's just jealous.

Hypocrisy.  Has the definition changed?  Inconceivable!  What I want to know is, how many Republicans used the abortion benefit before the cat was out of the bag?

Purity oaths?  The Republicans might find candidates who fulfill the requirements, but  they won't find a majority of voters who agree with them.  Sometimes young people are a little savvier than they are given credit for and more than likely won't vote against their own best interests.  They'll leave that job to the old people.

BBB