All Purls. No Swine.
Well, it's twenty-three years ago today since President GW Bush announced it: https://youtu.be/FuwZSAmZ5G0 An unequivocal response to what was, at the time, thought to be a great evil which must be confronted. I'm not sure the reasons for it were wrong, and I wish that the West had dug in, had not lost its nerve,… Continue reading Operation Iraqi Freedom–Twenty-three Years On
Two trucks loaded with bombs detonated, killing a total of 307 people, 241 of whom were American military personnel, dozens of whom were French military, and a few of whom were civilians and (not important) a couple of the attackers. I'm not sure we've ever dealt with it, or even come to terms with it,… Continue reading Forty-Two Years Ago Today, in Beirut Lebanon
Today, November 12, 2024 is the 70th anniversary of the closure of Ellis Island, once the foremost inspection and processing station for prospective immigrants to the United States of America. Untold millions passed through its gates during its 64 years of operation, and it stands today as a museum highlighting the history of the United… Continue reading Ellis Island, A Personal Retrospective
Forty-one years ago, suicide bombers detonated two truck bombs in Beirut, Lebanon. At the end of the day, October 23, 1983, 241 US military personnel, 58 French military personnel, and half-a-dozen civilians were dead. So--praise be--were the two attackers. I was twenty-nine years old. I remember it clearly. It was an event which set in… Continue reading Quote of the Day: “They Came in Peace,” October 23, 1983
You remember him. He’s the United States Marine who–while still on active duty–excoriated his chain of command regarding their decision to leave Afghanistan in August of 2021. There were several posts about it on Ricochet at, and just after, the time (some of them even by me) Here are a few of them: https://ricochet.com/1036403/honor-courage-and-commitment-a-usmc-ltcol-speaks-out/ https://ricochet.com/1036424/pointed-questions/… Continue reading Whatever Happened to LtCol Stuart Scheller, USMC, Fired?
While this is a lovely little couplet, with nary a verb in sight, it’s not my favorite Ezra Pound poem. That one is his parody of the Medieval English round, “Sumer is Icumen In,” which starts out: Winter is Icumen In Lhudde sing Goddamm . . . And, indeed, I was singing away and giving… Continue reading These Poems No Verbs
Full disclosure: I'm 68 years old. This upcoming September (2023), I'll be 69. No point pretending otherwise. No point writing posts either celebrating--or bemoaning--my "hotness" in a previous life about half-a-century ago (so I'll spare you the bikini-beach-babe pic, unless you're really determined to view it, in which case knock yourself out). Fings--these days--is wot… Continue reading 2023 Update–Semper Fi! My Marine Corps Tulips. And Some Other Stuff As Well.
219 years ago, on the night of February 16, 1804, a young Lieutenant in the United States Navy led the first of his two expeditions that year into Tripoli Harbor, this one to set fire to, and destroy, the frigate USS Philadelphia, which--some months earlier--had run aground and been captured by the Tripolitan army of… Continue reading Quote of the Day: “The Shores of Tripoli”
The United States of America abolished the draft (most recently) in 1973. Subsequent to that date, all the forces have been all-voluntary. Previous to that date, conscription had been an on-and-off sort of thing, occurring between the Revolutionary War and the Vietnam War, as convenient and as required. In these most recent days, as we… Continue reading What About The Draft?
Full disclosure: I'm 67 years old. This upcoming September (2022), I'll be 68. No point pretending otherwise. No point writing posts either celebrating--or bemoaning--my "hotness" in a previous life about half-a-century ago (so I'll spare you the bikini-beach-babe pic, unless you're really determined to view it, in which case knock yourself out). Things are what… Continue reading Semper Fi! My Marine Corps Tulips. And Some Other Stuff As Well.