Memorial Day

On Memorial Day Weekend, Republicans Show Contempt For Preservation Of Democracy!

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Memorial Day weekend is a time for remembrance of the contributions of generations of Americans who sacrificed their lives to protect and preserve American democracy.

It is a time to give thanks to those who gave their lives for their country in the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and other lesser conflicts in American history.

But now, the Republican Party, the party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan, has shown contempt for the concept of preservation of democracy, by refusing to back a bipartisan January 6 Commission to fully investigate the US Capitol Insurrection, which caused the death and injuries of scores of US Capitol Police.

The Republican Party has allowed itself to become part of the cancer of Donald Trump, which is destroying the party’s history and reputation.

No matter what, however, there will be full investigation and accountability for the horrid events of that day, including the threatened hanging of Vice President Mike Pence, and the murder of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and the dire threats to other Senators and Congressmen, who if not for the Capitol Police commitment, might have become victims as well!

American Democracy Has Survived Other Catastrophes, But Will It Survive COVID-19?

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America seems to be in its death throes as a democracy, as too many Americans have no concern about the loss of life, demeaning it as “only old people”, which is not the case, and just concerned about having a “good time”, and avoiding any sacrifice for the common good!

America will not survive COVID-19 at this rate, as everyone simply thinks about “Me, Myself, and I”, and is ready to give up their freedom to a tyrant, Donald Trump, who has no regard for anyone or anything, other than his own aggrandizement!

This is not the nation which survived in common sacrifice internally during World War II and the Great Depression!

We have become a nation of self servers, and we have lost our souls, and when that is happening, it indicates the downfall of the American Republic which has survived through thick and thin for 244 years this July!

It is hard not to be pessimistic about the future, as we are facing much larger numbers of deaths than 100,000 on Memorial Day, and many Americans go about their business not showing any concern about the loss of human life, only about pleasure and money, and unwilling to accept any inconveniences!

And these selfish, despicable people are sending the wrong message to their children, and one day when they are older, they will reap and sow what they have wrought!

As America Reaches 100,000 Loss From CoronaVirus Pandemic In Ten Weeks, Donald Trump Celebrates By Playing Golf And Discouraging Use Of Face Masks!

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This Memorial Day weekend, as we are commemorating the loss of Americans in all of our wars, the nation is reaching 100,000 lost from the CoronaVirus Pandemic in just ten weeks, soon to pass the losses in World War I, and already having lost more than the Vietnam and Korean Wars, and September 11 combined!

And what is Donald Trump doing?

He is playing golf for the first time in 75 days, and discouraging use of face masks!

How much more despicable and unseemly can any President be?

The answer is that no one, not even Richard Nixon or Andrew Johnson, was every as venal and uncaring as the 45th President, an excuse for a human being!

This is a time of great national mourning, and yet one third or more celebrates by breaking all of the rules of wearing face masks, washing hands, and insisting on having “fun” and pleasing every whim and fancy they have, including drinking themselves silly at bars and nightclubs in close proximity to everyone else, and spreading the virus!

It looks as if the refusal, ignorance, and lack of concern about science will cause a massive second wave that we will look back on Memorial Day 2020 and realize it was a small percentage of the ultimate count that will die from this CoronaVirus Pandemic!

But too many are ignoring reality, and acting as if they are on the Titanic before it hit, and most on that ship lost their lives in 1912!

Trump’s Massive Waste Of Government Spending: His Trips, The Wall, And A Military Parade, While Other Issues That Matter Are Ignored

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Donald Trump has engaged in massive waste of government spending for his own personal desires, and plans to do more if not stopped by Congress and the Republican Party.

His excessive amount of travel to his Mar a Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida has cost the US government a massive amount of expenses, along with the costs to the local communities in Palm Beach County. He has spent more time on vacation than any President, and it is clear he does very little work, preferring to play golf, watch cable news, and eat McDonald’s Cheese Burgers and Diet Cokes.

Trump wants to spend billions of taxpayer money on the proposed Mexico Wall, a pure waste of money that will not work, and will have plenty of cost overruns if built. It also gives the United States a terrible image in the world, and will undermine relations with our 2,000 mile boundary neighbor to the South. It is certain that Mexico will not pay for the wall, should not pay for the wall, and that the taxpayers will be stuck with the bill, when the vast majority of the American people do not support the wall, and we could spend the tens of billions on such things as the opioid crisis, veterans health care, hurricane relief in Puerto Rico, infrastructure spending, and so many other priorities.

And now, Donald Trump wants an expensive military parade on Independence Avenue in Washington, DC, causing massive expenditures by the federal government, and the DC local government, and presenting security challenges. The military is celebrated on Memorial and Veterans Days with parades locally all over the nation, and with ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, and that is more than enough in a nation that has civilian government, not military government. We do not need to spend tens of millions of dollars to stroke the ego of a crazy narcissist, who wishes he was a dictator in the line of Kim Jong Un of North Korea, or like China, the old Soviet Union, or the old Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, or other authoritarian dictatorships.

It is up to Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell and the Republican Party to stop Donald Trump dead in his tracks on the Mexico Wall and on the military parade, and say NO WAY!

A Military Parade To Salute Our President Reminiscent Of Authoritarian Dictatorships, A Break From American Traditions!

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It is hard to believe that we are about to start a new tradition in a democracy, a military parade to salute our President, reminiscent of authoritarian dictatorships, such as the old Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Kim Jong Un’s North Korea.

There is absolutely no need for such a parade, as we honor veterans and the military on Memorial Day in May and Veterans Day in November.

It is true France does this on Bastille Day, and it is a democracy, but that is not an excuse for doing it.

It is simply to stroke Trump’s ego, which already is too inflated.

It is another sign of Trump trying to change American culture and history, and it must be prevented.

But seeing the generals around Trump–the disgraceful bigot John Kelly, and also James Mattis and H. R. Mc Master– now makes it clear that having military people in government by special dispensation was and is a horrible mistake, and must not be allowed to happen in the future.

Time Of Remembrance: 150 Years Of Arlington National Cemetery And 70th Anniversary Of D Day

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We are today commemorating two solemn anniversaries: 150 years of Arlington National Cemetery, and 70 years on June 6 of the D Day Invasion at Normandy during World War II! Memorial Day is the proper day to mark these two anniversaries!

Arlington National Cemetery began as a place to honor Civil War veterans, and now honors veterans of all of America’s wars, those killed in battle and those who simply served.

The number of World War II veterans is declining rapidly, with the youngest participants now age 88 and over, with “The Greatest Generation” still honored for their sacrifices every year.

The crisis over the Department of Veterans Affairs is a sad event, since we face a mountain of commitment to all of our veterans over the next century, who have done their part to protect us, and no matter what the cost, our commitment MUST be met, when we send troops to war!

It should sober us to be more careful about military commitments overseas, and only engaged in wars that we have no choice but to participate in, for national security, but NOT for corporate greed or the promotion of oil interests!

And this is also a sobering time, as we soon will reach the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I in Europe this summer! The effects of that war, on the world and on America, still reverberate!

Some Facts And Figures Appropriate For Memorial Day

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As we honor veterans of all of our wars, with survivors from World War II on to the present on Memorial Day, it is worth some time to reflect on what war means.

So therefore, the following statistics gathered about the effects of war on America:

4,488 have died in the Iraq War, and 1, 973 in Afghanistan, for a grand total of 6,461 men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their nation. And about 35,000 veterans of both wars have been wounded, with about 20 percent of this total severely wounded!

24 Presidents have served in the military, out of 43 total, a little less than 60 percent.

29 presently serving US Senators and 21 percent of members of the US House of Representatives (about 92) have served in the military.

Only 3.3 percent of the American population, about 10 million people, have served in the military.

27-30 veterans are interred in Arlington National Cemetery every day.

124, 909 American veterans, both men and women, are interred in foreign soil.

Finally, 67,000 veterans are homeless and on the streets on any given night, and this is the greatest injustice imaginable!

Not one veteran should be homeless or jobless as a result of his service to his country, and much more needs to be done to help these people who gave of themselves to their country, returned, and have not been able to fulfill the American dream!

Beginning Of 13 Year Commemoration Of Vietnam Veterans At Vietnam Memorial In Washington, DC

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Today, Memorial Day, marks the beginning of the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of combat in the Vietnam War, at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC, to be continued over the next thirteen years, through an initiative of President Barack Obama and actor Tom Selleck, a sign itself of bitpartisanship, since Selleck is a well known Republican.

58, 282 Americans died in Vietnam between 1962 and 1975, and the veterans were not received well at home when they returned.

This was a miscarriage of justice, and it is important that we recognize and honor the sacrifices of those who died, and those who lived on, often suffering in silence, as they felt rejected by the American people.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial,. one of the most impressive memorials ever built, is itself now thirty years old, and no one who visits the Memorial, whether one knows any of the people listed on the Memorial, can leave the site without experiencing a tear while at the site.

Whether the Vietnam War was popular or not at the time, we owe a debt of gratitude to those who served and sacrificed!

The Disgraceful Treatment Of Our Veterans Recalled On The Day We Memorialize Their Sacrifices!

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Today is Memorial Day, when we honor the sacrifices of our veterans in all of our wars and military engagements, and there is not any way to fully repay these heroes who have kept us free, and preserved our democracy and way of life!

But in the midst of honoring them, the facts are clear: We talk up a great storm of praise for our military warriors, but do not treat them properly once they return home!

We have lost about 1,700 in Afghanistan, and about 4,400 in Iraq, who made the ultimate sacrifice, leaving behind bereaved wives, children, parents, siblings, and friends, who will never be the same after the loss of their loved ones.

But we also have about 35,000 veterans of the recent engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, who have in many cases been severely injured, losing limbs and often part of their skulls, and have a tough time adjusting to their handicaps.

But also, we have many veterans who have emotional and mental problems caused by their combat experiences, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and have difficulty coping with every day civilian life as a result. We also have 156 veterans who have committed suicide in the past year, as well as 5 percent of all veterans being homeless, and an unemployment rate among veterans of 27 percent!

More needs to be done regarding education, health care, housing, and personal intervention by trained personnel who can help veterans in emotional trouble, and we cannot allow budget matters to interfere, as long as we continue to fund defense industries with projects often full of waste, fraud and abuse!

Human needs must be paramount in respect of the contributions that our veterans have given to this nation!