‘War is Hell’

— William T Sherman

I have been trying to think of what our issues are by age bracket. Having done a bit of reading about the generations and how we interact or fail to interact left me thinking about the current mess America is in. I don’t have the perfect answer, in fact my thinking may be so far out of reality it may only be good for causing a discussion about how weird my brain is.

Probably the most important division between my generation and that of the dictator wannabe, Biden and Warren, is that we are steeped in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, with Western Asia (Iraq and Afghanistan) to top it off. We grew up with tales of WWI and II. Many of us with varying degrees of other countries. For instance, my relatives fought the Soviets in Finland 1939 through 1944. Other relatives fought the Germans in WWI and WWII. Other cousins of mine are Vietnam veterans.

We fought the Cold War in many ways. Some of us up close and personal, others taught how to duck and cover. It affects us to this day whether we want to admit it or not.

All of this influences my thinking about global conflict. Harris and Kobluchar are the children of Vietnam era parents. The younger candidates of only the Bush Wars.

All know of the attacks on America that occurred eighteen years ago, the anniversary we just observed (one which the idiot made into his own fantasy world). They understand the global conditions of intertwined commerce. Not the America makes what the world eats and drives commerce fifty and sixty years ago.

In a way I would have preferred to not have a possible Russian agent running our country. I do have the feeling that Putin may not have influence in the strange world that stupid lives in.

How does this influence our preferences of candidates? I think we have poll results which show my generation more than the younger generations. My children are approaching middle aged. My grandchildren are almost of voting age. They only know a world of chaos and hate by the current president. How do we teach them that there used to be more rational representation in the Congress and the White House? I say we teach them starting now by not installing grandmother or grandfather (great-grandmother or great-grandfather) in either institution.

Share

Author: Blue Bronc

Born in Detroit when Truman was president, survived the rest of them. Early on I learned that FDR was the greatest president, which has withstood all attempts to change that image. Democratic Party, flaming liberal, Progressive, equality for all and a believer in we are all human and deserve respect and understanding. College educated, a couple of degrees, a lot of world experience and tons of fun. US Air Force (pre-MRE days). Oil and gas fields, computer rooms and stuff beyond anything I can talk about. It has been quite a life so far. The future is making my retirement boat my home. Dogs, cats and other critters fill my life with happiness. Retired on Chesapeake Bay.

61 thoughts on “‘War is Hell’”

  1. BB,  come on now. ??? NOT a single old geezer, no “grandmother or grandfather (great-grandmother or great-grandfather) in either institution”???  surely we could use at least one repository of memory in each branch.  if for no other reason than to hear someone say once in a while:

    “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Only the dead have seen the end of war….”

  2. so here we go again. 

    twit tweet quoted in the guardian this morning: 

    “[We] are locked and loaded depending on verification, but are waiting to hear from the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] as to who they believe was the cause of this attack and under what terms we would proceed!”

  5. Looking at the polls I definitely don’t relate to my supposed cohort of “Senior White Female with some college”.  All of my grandchildren are voters.  None of the elders being proposed appeal to me, but Biden and Warren are acceptable (barely).    

    Of the younger crowd, none light my fire the way Hillary did, but I genuinely like Harris, Booker, Klobuchar, O’Rourke, and Buttiegieg.  Any of them would be an easy vote.

    Eliminated at this stage:  Sanders, Castro, and Yang

     

  6. lest we forget and wiki reminds us that the gentleman (portrayed on the potty at the top right of this page) was 70 years old when he & TJ worked on and signed the declaration of independence. he was in his eighties at the constitutional convention in addition to being gov of PA among other things.

  8. with regard to drone bombing a few Saudi oil fields, aside from suspiciously sounding like someone is wagging the dog’s tail at us during campaign fever,  who else profits from such a distraction and threat to global peace?   could it be Bibi?  Putie? Pooh, the panda?  or a combination of all the above. 

  9. The Founders while remarkable men were also leaders of a country with less than 3 million people, had almost no global influence, and whose slave population was approximately a third of the residents.  The modern Presidency of a country of 300 million probably requires a more vigorous person assisted by a cabinet with fairly hefty delegated powers.

    I’m fine with Justices and Congress Critters of any age as long as they can remember what they did 10 minutes ago.  The Presidency not so much.

     

     

  10. Jamie, you talking about the present occupant? not only doesn’t he remember saying several times (on air publically) he’d meet unconditionally with iran but today is tweeting he didn’t (which his top lapdogs said he did – also on air publically).  

  11. We’re locked and loaded and ready to go to war based upon who the Saudis “think” is responsible?  Huh?
    Jamie, with the caveats I noted yesterday or Saturday, we’ve got the candidates in about the same groups.
    Eddie money last week, Ric Ocasek this week?  The 70 year old+ rocker cohort is thinning.  RIP.  

  12. Old rockers never fade away—-they just croak.
    Old rockers never die—-they just “fade out”.

  13. If saudi Arabia runs our foreign policy, what do we need that tub of rancid lard pompey for ?
    Lock Them ALL UP ! Quick ! ! !

  14. From yesterday’s thread…  does liking Carrie Underwood’s “I”ve Been Waiting all Day for Sunday Night” and Hank William’s Jr. “Are You Ready for Some Football” constitute a liking of country music.  If not… I’m not really a fan.
     

  15. RR, the second one by HWJr doesn’t count.  Haven’t heard Carrie’s song, but it’s prolly country.  But if you like HWSr’s “I’m so Lonesome I Could Cry”, you’re in.
     
    XR, did you get your access to Wapo straightened out?  Not me.

  16. BlueBronc…   I’m ok with Warren because she has an amazing amount of energy for someone her age.  
     
    Last night I went to a knitting club…  lots of different women of different ages.  I met someone around the age of my niece who learned how to crochet on youtube….  it is definitely a different world.  It’s why I’m still leaning toward Harris.

  17. Sturg – well two of them faded away.  I was never a huge fan of Eddie, but I did enjoy some of his songs.  I have been recently watching the AXS “reality” show Real Money and have gotten to like the old boy.  Seemed like a nice fella.

  19. Ms Pat, In re yours of 8:22 am, the question of who profits from this matter is most important. The answer is anyone who is heavily invested in oil : trump’s saudi pal$, trump’s ru$$ian pal$, trump’s B!LL!ONA!RE ba$e in TX, OK, AK, CA, WY, ND, and LA, the emirates, the Algerian cru$t (French), the Nigeria cru$t (Briti$h), the Libyan cru$t (Italian), the Iraqi cru$t (French), and the Iranian de$potate. The price of crude jumped $5/bbl this morning, or roughly $90M!LL!ON$/day just for the saudi oil enterprise, or $32 B!LL!ON$/year. That’s just the income. The trade value of the saudi reserves jumped $1,340,000,000,000 ($ 1 1/3 TR!LLION$ !) just this morning. Of course, Iran also profited nicely. That’s why it is so important for saudis and Iran to continue their shadow wars. 

  20. Off to the ophthalmologist for my quarterly update. I have solid memories of three wars starting with WW2. Hellish things happened in each of them. I worked hard to forestall another. I had been gone since  Nov 30, 83 when it started. Bye.

  21. Re Carrie Underwood’s longing for Sunday Night, that’s about as far ahead as country music has ever thought. It’s essentially nostalgia for a world that never existed, except briefly in the song writer’s head. The winter mornings in the outhouse, the early death from scarlet or yellow fever of child after child, the work to feed the wood stove, and the soot that filled your snoot and lungs, and bosses who’d rather shoot you than give you a raise – country music forgot all that, and still does. Of course, nowadays the nostalgia of country music is for those good old days of 2006, or is it 2016 ? Whatever, it’s not about now, let alone the future.

  24. “It’s a good thing that hawk, John Bolton is out of the White House, he was pushing for war with Iran…”
     
    -starts war with Iran

  25. The New Yorker did a profile on Pompastic and pointed out that Trump has gotten rid of “his generals” and now seems to prefer captains — people used to following orders.

  27. flatus, aren’t you leaving out 1 or 2 more wars?  or don’t you count the ones that were just considered skirmishes, police actions and spats not officially declared by the congress critters?

  30. messages from the twitter-verse (courtesy of market watch with more):

    The Hawaiian congresswoman isn’t alone on this, either. Former Obama administration adviser Ben Rhodes echoed her sentiment.

    So did Beto O’Rourke and Tim Kaine:

     

  31. Pat, during and before the end of my period of service? We had skirmishes in the M.E., tensions revolving around Berlin, continuing, significant tensions in Korea, our nuclear forces were in a constant state of high alert, but their was no other large-scale ground warfare that I recall.

  33. repeating for emphasis and throwing in an “atta girl” to Tulsi for it. 

    Hey @realdonaldtrump: being Saudi Arabia’s bitch is not “America First.”

    boy, she’s gonna get some nasty incoming flak. 

  36. wapo op ed by former US atty & deputy asst US AG harry litman:

    The developing drama involving a whistleblower complaint to the inspector general of the intelligence community is particularly opaque, but we know some essential facts.

     

    They reveal this episode to be of a piece with the White House’s governing principle of keeping any possibly derogatory information from view — lawlessly if necessary, as it is here, and often is.

     

    On Aug. 12, consistent with the procedures established in the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act, an unidentified whistleblower sent a disclosure and complaint to the inspector general for the intelligence community.

     

    The inspector general determined upon preliminary review that the complaint was credible and that it related to a matter of “urgent concern” (a statutory classification). The inspector general then transmitted the disclosure to the director of national intelligence (DNI), as required by law.

    That triggered a seven-day deadline for the DNI. The statute provides that the DNI “shall” within seven days forward the disclosure to the congressional intelligence committees. Followers of recent brawls between Congress and the Trump administration will recognize the all-important legal significance of the “shall” language. It takes the legal duty out of the realm of executive discretion, imposing a fixed duty that the federal courts have been able to enforce since the bedrock 1803 decision Marbury v. Madison.

     

    But surprise. The DNI is refusing to do so.

    […goes into details of actions taken and not taken by relevant parties…]

    The administration’s contempt for clear legal mandates brings to mind Humpty Dumpty’s familiar insistence in “Through the Looking-Glass” that when he uses a word, “it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.”

     

    We are less acquainted with the rest of Alice’s exchange, but it is even more on point:

     

    “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”

     

    “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master — that’s all.”

  37. Something not mentioned too much, but SFB has been draining the Strategic Petroleum Reserves since he was allowed in the White House.  That he is going to do that now as something new is nothing but cow patties on toast.

  38. Pat
    Don’t forget that after he helped write the Declaration, he was our ambassador to France. Along with being a very successful ambassador he was also a hit with the ladies there. 
    Jack

  39. Jack

    Rumor is he belonged to the Hellfire Club.  Ol’ Ben was a swinger and then some.  That doesn’t mean he should have been President.  

  41. Mr Pogo, yes, there is moonshine and mary jane. There is also gold, cheating and gambling, fighting, six guns, killing, being on the run, the border, Mexico, prison, hanging, momma, heaven, the devil, Jesus, an angel (usually just one), Christmas, the harvest, the old cozy church, the good old preacher, daddy, your kid brother, the sheriff, the deputy, the blues/loneliness/emptiness, is that all there is ?, trains (travel, work or a stock symbol of discontent), mines/mining, driving cattle, the damn boss, the damn girl’s father, your good old faithful dog, old Paint, ribbons – blue or scarlet, baptism, the rivers, the mountains, the tall timber, the hollers, the bayous, the plains, the desert, cowboys, canal men, mule skinners, cooks, gunslingers, card sharps, dance hall ladies, plowmen, fence riders,  brakemen, engineers (railroad, not electrical), the radio, the chuck wagon, the surrey, the motorcycle, the truck (semi-trailer tractor), the trail/road/highway, roses (yellow or rambling), the Blue Ridge, Blue Mountain, Rock Candy Mountain, the Chisholm Trail, Boot Hill, Reno, Tucson, Ol’ Santa Fe, New Orleans, St. Louis, Kansas City, Missouri (Waltz), Iowa, Redwing (Minnesota), Georgia, Macon, Oklahoma, Tulsa, Texas, Houston, Galveston, San Antone, Alabama, Mobile, Tallahassee, Ol’ Virginie, Carolina, Kentucky, Natchez, Memphis, Chattanooga, Tennessee (Waltz), Rocky Top, Nashville, Dixie, hoot owls, turkeys, possums, gators, bears (mostly grizzly), wolves, camping, partying, paintin’ the town, burly guys joshin’ around, jambalaya, barbecue, your boy, home (when you’re away) and away (when you’re home). 

  42. An interesting article
    Fits in with the subject of todays post

    Is the era of one-way pain coming to an end? It was probably never sustainable. As other forces begin to master the relatively inexpensive technology of drone warfare, the assumption of total air superiority by the United States and its allies is going to be challenged. Cruise missile technology is more complex, but it is only a matter of time. The effect will certainly not be military defeat, but it does mean that others can raise the cost of U.S. policies in ways we had not previously anticipated.

  43. Twitter has been giving Biden hell about one of his rambling stories. The story is about his encounter with a gang leader with the name “Corn Pop”. As silly as it sounds, it turns out to be true and is a legend in the Delaware black community. A good story and an explanation why Biden has strong support in the black community 
    Read it here
    Jack

  44. I recently canceled my subscription to the New York Times (didn’t find it useful even at the cheap rate) 
    Because I follow James Fallows and he is at the Atlantic I decided to subscribe. I’m just getting started but there are a lot of good long reads. Well worth the money so far. But time will tell.
    Jack

  48. Of the younger tier, I would go with Butigieg, then Booker.  
    However, I like Warren the most. 
    *In quasi-political news, Sean Spicer is about to take the stage in a ruffled, neon lime shirt.
     

Comments are closed.