Message Forum - GENERAL

Memorial Day, 2017

KIA March 10, 1970

Stuart was replacing Donald as platoon leader. It was to be his first day in the field, and Donald's last.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0jKD48TrW8

05/28/17 10:52 PM

#4300

Jerry Morgan

Hallelujah Jack...And I thought you would be an inconvincible for life. At last you have seen the light. Must have been those many posts by those that truly understand the Donald in all his glory.

I was thinking the other day and I was trying to remember when the last time that I was truly embarrassed by our leaders. Before you bring up Bill Clinton, Trump has been there done that. Trump's trip was truly and totally the embodiment of the ugly american. What a jerk. He has no clue how others see him. In less than a year he has destroyed the confidence and trust of our most important world partners. He literally wallowed in the treatment he received at the hands of one of the most oppressive governments in the Middle East only to call out his western allies. You couldn't even walk with them in Sicily you had to ride in your little golf cart by yourself. So Sad.

Shame on you DT you aren't even able to carry Nixon's JS. I rank Nixon above you. That's how bad your performance has been.

05/29/17 08:17 AM

#4301

On a more positive note here is a short list of presidents I think we can all admire: Chester Arthur, Millard Fillmore, Martin Van Buren, Rutherford B. Hayes, and lastly my favorite:

05/29/17 11:08 AM

#4302

Keeping our family Memorial Day close to our hearts - in memory of many, in honor of all.

And, from my fam to you: deepest gratitude to those on this forum who have served.

05/29/17 02:04 PM

#4303

Remembering:
Spec4 Charles Peck
Sgt. Ronald Woodward
Capt. Clyde Bonner
Capt. Arnold Sanford

05/29/17 07:02 PM

#4304

Robert, I'm sure I'm not alone in welcoming any words you may like to share about those heroes.

05/30/17 12:01 AM

#4305

They were just four good people I knew who died while in the service. One was piloting a chopper on a night combat op in Vietnam when another chopper collided with his and the other three were killed by terrorist bombs in Germany while on duty. One has his name on the Vietnam Memorial Wall and the others don't.

05/30/17 07:44 AM

#4306

Nancy Webster (Emery)

I heard they are going to build a museum for all the momentos left at the wall. There was even a motorcycle left at the wall. They also plan to have photos of all the names on the wall.

05/30/17 08:49 AM

#4307

Robert, thanks. Whether folks are putting their lives on the line in Germany, Nam or elsewhere, racing to save souls from burning buildings, or trying to control violence, there are no words to describe this brand of selflessness.

I'm for all of it, Nancy.

05/30/17 09:18 AM

#4308

In scanning back over the posts I missed while away, I am struck by the utter disgust you show for our President, Jerry. Perhaps perusing a new book out by former Speaker, Newt Gingrich, you may at least glimpse another perspective. Entitled "Understanding Trump", I will happily send you my copy, if you'd like.

05/30/17 09:33 AM

#4309

William Stromsem

I just started a new career! I retired from the American Institute of CPAs seven years ago after 33 years as Director of Taxes, and had been working part-time as an adjunct professor at George Washington University to give back, to keep my mind active, and to give my wife a break from having me around the house all day. Recently, GW asked me to join their full-time faculty to teach tax and financial accounting courses in their School of Business Adminstration. I accepted, but it's a little unsettling to be starting a new career at age 70--shouldn't I be watching sunsets, growing tomatoes, traveling to Bali, babysitting the grandchildren, or something? I hope I can balance it--I get summers off and fall, winter and spring breaks. Is everyone in full retirement mode? I'd love to have insights from any who have started a second career after retiring.

05/30/17 09:55 AM

#4310

How appropriate that Newt Gingrich would write a book helping us to understand our current president.

05/30/17 10:05 AM

#4311

Edwin (Ned) Hege

Nora, the story below reports that negative media reports are not coming from the expected sources. Shocking! Yes, it come from The Nation, a liberal house, but one that is respected by many. You decide.

--------------

Conservatives Complain That Republicans Have a Liberal Bias

Trump’s negative media coverage is being driven not by Democrats but by law-enforcement sources and pissed-off Republicans.

See link:

https://www.thenation.com/article/conservatives-complain-republicans-liberal-bias/

05/30/17 11:05 AM

#4312

Bill, or William if you prefer;

Congratulations on your new endeavors, and I would not worry too much about what the rest of "the Class of 64'" is doing with their retirement years; what counts is at 70+ you wake every morning with an eager anticipation of each new day. So revel in this opportunity, you are one of the lucky few.

Nori,

Bryce is getiing a bit testy; I like that. A good old bench clearing brawl once in a while is good for baseball.

05/30/17 11:17 AM

#4313

Oh, I SO agree, Glen!

I have taken on a new occupation of Voice Actor, allowing me to employ the many character voices, accents & dialects I have collected through 40 years of stage performance. Audio books, commercials, PSAs are clamoring to find new voices &, with juicy roles fewer & farther between, I can make my own hours & some money on the side. Are we REALLY 70 already? Still surprising to me!

Yes, Trump makes EVERYBODY mad. He doesn't discriminate & draining the swamp is messy business! 😜

05/30/17 12:07 PM

#4314

Congradulations to you too Nori,

Who knows where this may lead? Maybe a gig with Tom Hanks on the new Pixar production of Toy Story 4.

05/30/17 01:20 PM

#4315

Nancy--yes, there is a Vietnam Veterans Memorial education center in the planning and funding stage. Among other functions, it will display a small number of the hundreds of thousands of memorabilia left at the Wall. There are also plans to somehow display photographs of those named on the Wall. The first link below will take you to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund web site, where you can see some of the items and photographs. The second link is a description of the book, Offerings at the Wall: Artifacts from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which has photos of a small number of the items left in the first 10 years after the Wall was built.

http://www.vvmf.org/items/

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1833827.Offerings_at_the_Wall

Just the other day NPR had a news piece on Representative Walter Jones (R-N.C.) who has the photographs of the 568 U.S. Marines killed in Iraq and Afghanistan on the walls outside his office. Jones is a former Marine, which guides his choice in photos; I presume that the House office building doesn't offer him the space to put up the photos of all of the more than 6,000 Americans killed in those countries, so far.

Jones has written over 12,000 letters to their families. He sees this as atonement for his vote in favor of the war in Iraq, which he deeply regrets. Representative Jones is part of a bipartisan coalition seeking a termination of all funding for the war in Afghanistan, now in its 15th year. The Trump administration is considering sending an additional 5,000 or so troops to join the nearly 10,000 still there.

http://www.npr.org/2017/05/29/530593106/asking-god-to-forgive-me-n-c-lawmaker-seeks-redemption-for-war-votes

05/30/17 01:45 PM

#4316

Bill--congratulations on your second sort-of retirement! Very ambitious plans, reminiscent of a best friend who retired from the Anthropology Department at UC Santa Barbara; a couple of years later was hired by U. Colorado to reorganize their Anthropogy Department; after three years or so, retired from U. Colorado; was then rehired by UC Santa Barbara to reorganize THEIR Antropology Department. Finally "retired" a third time a few years ago. She's 78, just left to put in a field season doing archaeology in Belize. Be warned--academics have a tough time letting go!

I'm not nearly so ambitious. Several different volunteer gigs working with veterans, hiking, kayaking, photography, and the gym. Gives structure to my life without chafing.

From the aptly named Stumpfield Marsh on Memorial Day:

05/30/17 02:28 PM

#4317

OK Jack,

Swallow, Swift?

05/30/17 05:56 PM

#4318

Glen: What's even better for B ball is that pitchers who deliberately throw at batters should be made to pay for it. Burns me. Conigliaro's tragic story should never be forgotten.

As for a gig with Mr. Hanks: as an extra in Washington-based feature films through the 80's & 90's, I never actually met Tom Hanks (even though I worked on "Sleepless in Seattle") but, from the caterers to the grips, to the costumers to the make-up artists, he was considered the nicest guy in Hollywood. So, I would be honored! Not just to meet him but to wow my grandies by getting an autograph from the one-&-only Woody!

05/30/17 06:29 PM

#4319

Nori,

Have you seen the 1982 movie "Cannery Row?" It's an adaptation of Steinbeck's novel.

I've always liked Tom Hanks as an actor; it's nice to know that he is a decent person as well. So maybe he's not acting; maybe he is just being Tom Hanks.

05/30/17 07:28 PM

#4320

Swallow, don't spit, Glen. It's not polite.

**************

I believe Jerry is disgusted by the same Donald Trump that many of us have been disgusted by since he appeared on our radar, and for the same reasons. So, to get "another perspective" on him Nora recommends we read a book by Newt Gingrich, one of Trump's campaign consultants, a man whose own credibility is strained by his endorsement of tinfoil-hat theories about Clinton and the DNC murdering a staffer. We should honor the perspective of the first House Speaker ever to be disciplined for an ethics violation? Could she recommend someone less biased and more trustworthy?

Does Gingrich present convincing denials of Trump's misogynist GTBTP remark? His ridiculing of a disabled reporter? His attacks on an American judge for being a "Mexican?" His attempts to deny admission to the US because of religion? His claims that the first Black American president was not really an American? His bilking thousands of students out of millions of dollars? His constant lying to the American people? Or does Gingrich somehow justify these acts? Could you give us an example of how he handles these issues, Nora?

I've disliked the actions, and characters, of a number of American politicians. But disgust I reserve for a very few; Trump is one of them.

***************

There are beautiful and elegant things in the world, though. Again, I wonder if Trump has ever seen, or noticed, an osprey. His West Palm Beach golf course is built on a drained portion of the Everglades; gotta have priorities, I guess. Is that where he learned to drain swamps by putting the alligators in charge of the drains?

Steinbeck was not sympathetic to the wealthy--see Grapes of Wrath, almost anything he wrote. I wonder what he would have made of Trump?

05/30/17 11:15 PM

#4321

Wow, whaddya really think, Jack? 😜

If I can watch every Michael Moore movie with my most liberal son, you can hold your nose & read a book by an ex Speaker of the House. What do you have to lose?

And I haven't read it yet, myself, but I'll be happy to send you a copy. My (very diverse) nightstand stack is still daunting but I will get to each one...eventually...

Speaking of Tom Hanks, anybody seen his latest flick, "The Circle"? If so, were you as disappointed as I?

05/31/17 06:08 AM

#4322

Speaking of films we'll recommend "Their Finest" a small comedy/drama that got good reviews and, we thought, earned them. It will probably be overwhelmed by super hero films shortly so catch it while you can.

05/31/17 07:57 AM

#4323