scott h. biram

If you haven't had the chance to yet, go see him live. You won't be disappointed. Not even if some dumb woman gets mad at you for no good reason and forces you to pour beer on her shoes. He's out on tour right now.

jesus christ died for nothing, I suppose (pt. 2)

"You know what's worse than a soldier dying in vain? More soldiers dying in vain."

Mike Gravel is a former Senator from Alaska. I had not heard of the guy before today, and all I know of him is from this video from today's Democratic debate posted at Crooks and Liars.

He also states that the top-tier Democrats on stage with him are scary, and singles out that slimy twit, Joe Biden.

I might register as a Democrat just to vote for him in the primary.

jesus christ died for nothin', I suppose

In March 1968, a company of U.S. Soldiers led by Cpt. Earnest Medina opened fire on a village full of Vietnamese civilians. As many as 504 were killed, many women and children. The company was acting on intelligence that civilians would have left for the market by 7 a.m., and any remaining would likely be Viet Cong, and were instructed to destroy the village. The event is largely remembered for the courts martial of Lt. William Calley, who was convicted, and Cpt. Medina, who was not.

What's not so well known is the story of Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson, Jr., an Army helicopter pilot and his crew, Spc Glenn Andreotta, and Spc Lawrence Colburn. From wikipedia:

After coming across the dead bodies of Vietnamese civilians outside My Lai on March 16, 1968, Thompson set down their OH-23. The three men began setting green smoke markers by the prone bodies of those Vietnamese civilians who appeared to still be alive, in order to call in medical assistance. Returning to the helicopter, however, they saw Captain Ernest Medina run forward and begin shooting the wounded who had been marked. The three men moved their ship back over the village, where Thompson confronted Lt. Stephen Brooks who was preparing to blow up a hut full of wounded Vietnamese. Thompson left Andreotta and Colburn to cover the company with their heavy machine guns and gave orders to fire on any American who refused the orders to halt the massacre. None of the officers dared to disobey him, even though (as a Warrant Officer) Thompson was outranked by the commissioned lieutenants present.

Hugh Thompson, Jr. and his crew are on my list of the 100 greatest Americans of all time. I don't think they deserved to be burned in effigy.

stupid and wrong

As promised, though late:

The Evil Empire has eaten up much of my time in the last month, and left me grumpy (ask Evil Cat) and uninspired, so it's been difficult for me to express coherently exactly what is stupid and wrong about the burning of a U.S. Soldier in effigy at the protest in Portland last month.

I grew up around Sailors and Marines. Some are close friends of the family to this day. One in particular is like an uncle, though my siblings and I often refer to him a second dad, even. My little-league coach was a young petty officer from San Diego who I count among the most influential people in my young life to this day. Neither of those men deserve to be burned in effigy. And that's pretty much what happened in Portland.

I hate this stupid war as much as anybody who isn't living through it in Iraq. I've hated it from the first shot fired more than four years ago. But the men and women serving there do not deserve to be burned in effigy.

That, and fires should be lit in the spirit of fun, not in anger. Effigies are just stupid and wrong.

loss

Kurt Vonnegut, 84.