Two on Iran

Two on Iran:

Read "Velvet Revolution" in Logos Journal, which posits that democratic and non-violent movements in Iran may threaten the survival of the Islamist regime. Meanwhile, in the Washington Post, Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari claims Iran helped the US take Afghanistan and Iraq:

The Iranian government pretends to be revolutionary and Islamic while in essence it is very conservative and nationalistic in its policies regionally and internationally. They helped Americans to get rid of the Taliban but didn't reveal their logistical and intelligence support because they were worried about their image as recalcitrant nation in chief. As a result President Bush, intoxicated by fast victory over the Taliban, found it in himself to include Iran as part of axis of evil (along with Iraq and North Korea). A couple of years later Iranians helped the Americans to get rid of a fellow evil regime in Iraq. I was in south east Iran in March 2003 and could see American planes flying over our heads despite our government's denial that it allowed the American to use its territory.

Thoughts from the readership on these pieces are appreciated. For now, I am still considering the matter.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving:

For the record, I am thankful for family, friends, the land and the strength to defend it. I will be taking the rest of the evening off to assist in preparing the feast and laying in the beer; and tomorrow for consuming it.

Wæs Hail! Drinc Hail!

Happy Thanksgiving to all. We will resume honorable and friendly disputation on Friday. For now, to the regular commenters and readers, allow me to express my gratitude for your company this past little while.

If only he'd issue a fatwa

Today's Top Headline:

According to Memeorandum, it's this:

"Muslim scholar calls for airline boycott."

That's US Airways he's talking about. Holiday travelers take note.

I don't mean to laugh at injustice, if that's what this was -- but I do think that this fellow's tin ear is funny. Shall we open the pool on just what effect this boycott will have on US Airway's business? I mean, if he's right that Americans are unfairly suspicious of traveling Muslims, what exactly does he think is going to happen?

Christmas @Walter Reed

Christmas at Walter Reed:

Anyone who reads Cassidy's site as well as this one knows Carrie. You may not know about her work with a project called Operation Santa. Read about it here.

Yeah I know, it's not the day after Thanksgiving yet. Still and all.

Xmas Darfur

Christmas in Darfur:

I guess I didn't realize that Bravo Romeo Delta (BRD) of Anticipatory Retaliation was now blogging at Protein Wisdom. I rarely read PW, and while AR was a daily stop for me a few years ago, for some reason I can't adequately explain it fell off my regular reading list. I'm sorry for that, as BRD is a sharp guy.

In any event, he's looking at Darfur this holiday season:

As you already know, two friends and I are going to spend our holiday in Africa to film footage for a documentary (Christmas in Darfur), capture the feel of conditions on the ground, and interview the extraordinary people who have given and risked so much to lend a hand in a portion of the world that needs all the help it can get. I would like to thank you for your help and generosity in getting us started towards our goals.

Drop by and see what they've got in mind. Follow the AR link, above, for even more information.

Good luck, lads.

BackinSaddle

Back in the Saddle:

Managed to get up and ride again today -- I actually rode the same day as the wreck, but that was just because the endorphins hadn't worn off yet. I took the same beast out. It was a good ride -- I ran him as much of the way as we had good terrain for running, and scared up a great blue heron from one of the creeks along the way, where he'd been resting down in a cut the creek had made. This was to the great dismay of my mount, who was utterly astonished to see that mighty big bird suddenly flare up out of the earth.

The horse was glad to have me around at that moment, but it was the one time on the ride he was happy to have me there. He kept trying to pull the reins out of my hands, rub me off on trees whenever we'd stop to walk, and so forth, but he didn't buck me. I operate from the perspective that a horse that has energy to fight you probably needs to run some more, so by the end of the ride he was both tired and gentle.

Anyway, the point is that things are better this week. Not perfect, but life isn't perfect. Better is good enough. I hope I'll feel more like writing; in the meantime, readers who haven't looked through the comments on "Shame," below, will find some good argumentation between myself and Sovay. I've always felt the girl brings out the best in me, though every reader will have to judge for himself if he agrees in this case. Still, it's good to have her commenting again.

Cyber rights

OK, I'm Convinced:

If you ever listen to podcasts, listen to this one. It treats how the internet's legal nature means that the First and Fourth Amendments do not apply to an increasing amount of our lives. Two paraphrases:

'Because the Internet is entirely made of private property, things like the First and Fourth Amendments do not necessarily apply.'

'Since we are now keeping so much of our data -- calendars, emails, etc. -- on third-party servers, we are essentially erasing the Fourth Amendment.'

The trick here, I think, is that American courts used to recognize that new technologies deserved the same protections as the old technologies. When we started having telephones, the ability to wire-tap those phones became covered under the Fourth Amendment. The courts of the day simply held that the principle was the same.

Now, as the fellow points out, the courts have decided to side with power instead of protection. That same interpretation was available to them, but the courts have instead chosen to rule that the applicable rules were the a different set of rulings concerning third-party custody of your records.

That is not to say the court's reasoning is wrong. What it is to say is that we need to amend the Constitution to make clear that new technologies must be incorporated into the Fourth going forward. "Your person and papers" should mean your ideas and records, whether they're stored on your hard drive or in your desk, or on a server across town. They're still yours, and the government should be required to prove a lawful interest in them -- as for example by obtaining a warrant -- before helping itself.

Shame:

Cassidy has a long post about the elections, in which she says she may be ashamed to be American. This is a sentiment I've often heard expressed recently, usually right after elections, and while her reasons are better than most, I think the approach is wrong.

It's not that she's wrong to be disappointed. A nation ought to finish what it starts, as a man ought to do so. There are ethical duties that, once undertaken, must be completed in spite of the misery they bring upon you. This is true even though you may have had an unreasonably rosy view of what the undertaking would involve: it doesn't matter. You are sworn.

Neither does it matter if you yourself were opposed to the whole idea at the time the decision was made. If we are part of a polity, we are bound to each other. We are partners, and as Ben Rumson said of partnership: "If I owe a man a hundred dollars, I expect you to stand good for me."

Last winter I wanted some firewood, so I went to the wife of the man from whom I bought it and asked her to have him bring by a load. I paid her, but apparently she forgot to mention that she'd been paid in advance during their phone conversation. He showed up with the wood, wanting to be paid -- but I wasn't home, having other things to do, and thinking the matter resolved.

My neighbor, a hardworking man with four kids to support whom I'd known only a few months at the time, he paid the woodsman in full. I never asked him to stand good for me if someone wanted money. He just knew I needed the wood, and he knew this fellow was 'a workman worthy of his wage,' so he paid him. He never thought to worry about whether he'd be paid back.

That's the kind of trust we called frith in the Old English. Frith is a word that is linguistically linked to "freedom" and "friend," but what it literally means is "peace." If we are willing to be bound to each other, to defend each other, we can create a space in which we can then be free. In that space, which we each defend in common, we can order our society as we please and choose. If we aren't friends, we aren't free.

And yet it is a fact about America that it isn't dependable. In the Civil War, Lincoln had to deal with a 'peace' movement that sought to undercut public support for the war throughout. He almost lost the election of 1864 to an opposition that made plain they would surrender to the Confederacy's demands. He would have lost it, except for the Battle of Atlanta.

Before WWI, America's long term friends found America disinterested in their support, in spite of the fact that the resolution of 'the Great War' would have major consequences for American interests. Nevertheless, Woodrow Wilson had to run on the slogan "He kept us out of war," while a popular hit was a song called "I didn't raise my son to be a soldier." Yet, less than a year after he was wrong in for another term, Wilson led a willing nation to war, and a new popular song was written: "I didn't raise my son to be a slacker."

In WWII, FDR had to support key allies for years through underhanded techniques like "Lend-Lease." The nation was simply not capable of becoming unified on the point of supporting the British and other allies against the Nazis and the expansionist Japanese Empire. The threat was clear enough, but isolationism was a powerful force.

The Cold War saw American will swaying this way and that throughout. Before the Korean war, we declared that Korea was outside our zone of influence. Then, when the war began, we decided to join it. We entered Vietnam on the basis of sending 'a few advisors,' and expanded to tens of thousands of men. We fought the war to victory in 1972, and then decided, largely for domestic reasons, to abandon the state we had won at such a cost. The result was that the North Vietnamese invasion of 1974, smaller and far less formidable than the '72 invasion, was able to defeat a South Vietnam cut off from even air support by a self-interested Congress.

In the Carter years, we had an executive so opposed to action that Afghanistan was almost lost to the Soviets. Carter's chosen Director of Central Intelligence, Admiral Turner, so undercut the CIA's covert operations that the DIA had to take over when action was necessary. Even at that, it took the support of the rebel Democratic Congressman Charlie Wilson to focus support.

A democratic republic of this sort cannot form stable decisions. China can. We can't. It's a strength of theirs and a weakness of ours, and it's structural. If you're an American, you have to live with that fact.

Nevertheless, we have other strengths and they have other weaknesses. That's not the point I wish to make here.

The point I wish to make here is the one Chesterton makes:

Let us suppose we are confronted with a desperate thing -- say Pimlico. If we think what is really best for Pimlico we shall find the thread of thought leads to the throne or the mystic and the arbitrary. It is not enough for a man to disapprove of Pimlico: in that case he will merely cut his throat or move to Chelsea. Nor, certainly, is it enough for a man to approve of Pimlico: for then it will remain Pimlico, which would be awful. The only way out of it seems to be for somebody to love Pimlico: to love it with a transcendental tie and without any earthly reason. If there arose a man who loved Pimlico, then Pimlico would rise into ivory towers and golden pinnacles; Pimlico would attire herself as a woman does when she is loved. For decoration is not given to hide horrible things: but to decorate things already adorable. A mother does not give her child a blue bow because he is so ugly without it. A lover does not give a girl a necklace to hide her neck. If men loved Pimlico as mothers love children, arbitrarily, because it is theirs, Pimlico in a year or two might be fairer than Florence. Some readers will say that this is a mere fantasy. I answer that this is the actual history of mankind. This, as a fact, is how cities did grow great. Go back to the darkest roots of civilization and you will find them knotted round some sacred stone or encircling some sacred well. People first paid honour to a spot and afterwards gained glory for it. Men did not love Rome because she was great. She was great because they had loved her....

Let me explain by using once more the parallel of patriotism. The man who is most likely to ruin the place he loves is exactly the man who loves it with a reason. The man who will improve the place is the man who loves it without a reason. If a man loves some feature of Pimlico (which seems unlikely), he may find himself defending that feature against Pimlico itself. But if he simply loves Pimlico itself, he may lay it waste and turn it into the New Jerusalem.

It is wrong to love America because it is conservative, or liberal; because it is the staunch defender of the free, or because it is always willing to hear new advice and rethink old decisions.

It is right to love America because she is home; because she is ours; and that is enough. Feel free to lay waste and to rebuild, to destroy that within her which has gone bad and raise up anew what strength you can. Rethink the franchise. Amend the Constitution. Dare to think and say and fight for whatever will make her stronger than she is.

Never be ashamed of her. If you would love America, love her that way. Have faith even when there is no reason to hope. Love even when there is no cause. She is home. She is ours. That is enough.

Where do cowboys go

Reincarnation:

Since I've had little else to say of late, here is the concluding section to a poem called "Where do Cowboys go when they Die?" by Michael Martin Murphey. It strikes me that the readership will appreciate it. We begin shortly after a cowboy named Slim is buried, and his body begins to decompose in the ground:

Well, in a while some rain is gonna' come
and fall upon the ground,
'til one day on your lonely little grave
a little flower will be found.

And, say a hoss should wander by
and graze upon this flower,
that once was you, but now has become
a vegetated bower.

Well that little flower that the hoss
done ate up with all his other feed,
becomes bone and fat and muscle,
essential to the steed.

Course some is consumed that he can't use,
and so it passes through.
Finally it lays there on the ground,
this thing that once was you.

And then say that I should wander by
and gaze upon the ground,
and wonder and ponder
on this object that I've found.

Well it sure makes me think of reincarnation,
of life and death and such,
and I ride away concludin',
'Slim, you ain't changed all that much.'

There's some good cowboy poetry out there. If you folks liked that, and aren't wholly familiar with it already, I could probably dig up a few more things you'd like.

Slow blogging

Light Blogging:

I had a little trouble with a horse earlier this week (by which I mean the beast reared up and fell backwards on top of me). I'm neither dead nor seriously injured, but I am blogging quite lightly at the moment. If any of you co-bloggers has been feeling a rant coming on for a while, by all means feel free to take the floor here for a bit.

Plastic v. Wood

Plastic v. Wood:

Kim du Toit has a heartfelt debate on the topic, oddly enough between British citizens. I left the following comment:

Count me a “wood” man. For that matter, in holsters, I prefer leather over plastics.

In both cases, the modern composites are very durable and require little work. On the other hand, the discipline of keeping your weapons and leather in order is half of the point. Half the point is accomplishing the task for which you own the weapon and gear: killing varmints, say, or defending yourself, or upholding the common peace and lawful order.

The other half of the point is developing yourself as the right kind of man. Discipline, care, respect for history and tradition—all these things are basic to that task.

So yes, it’s more work. But it’s good work to have.

Your own thoughts?

Camel Spiders

"How to make Marines Scream like Little Girls"

Doc in the Box is having fun. As usual, it's at someone else's expense.

Leave Dark

Leaving the Darkness:

Per Karrde and Cassidy, I'm reminded I promised to undo the all-black scheme after the election. Cassidy requested a return to the previous pattern, and given her performance as leader of the Marine Team for Project VALOUR-IT, I'm glad to oblige her request. As of this hour, her leadership has produced $50,618 for use in purchasing voice-activated laptops for wounded veterans, distant from their families and often without the use of their limbs in the early days of treatment.

The other teams did well too, with everyone but the Air Force surpassing the $45,000 goal. This may have had to do with their leader's approach to fundraising...

Thanks to everyone.

Nat. Ammo Week / Genius!

National Ammo Week, Plus -- Genius!

National Ammo Day is Nov. 19th, but it has been expanded to a week for the ease of everyone involved. I hope everyone will participate.

I shall be laying in .45 Long Colt this year, as Doc and I agreed on its usefulness. Over time, I think I'll change out so that I use .45 Colt in my carry piece, concealment piece, and field carbine. For now, it's only the deep concealment piece I use it in, but I have come to like it better than any other cartridge.

If you're looking for something different, however, I've got a great one for you. It's not out on the market yet, but for next year, we might consider this brilliant invention: "Season Shot."

Season Shot is made of tightly packed seasoning bound by a fully biodegradable food product. The seasoning is actually injected into the bird on impact seasoning the meat from the inside out. When the bird is cooked the seasoning pellets melt into the meat spreading the flavor to the entire bird. Forget worrying about shot breaking your teeth and start wondering about which flavor shot to use!

For bird hunting, I see no reason why that shouldn't work just fine. To add, ah, spice to their offer, Season Shot notes that it's the first truly environmentally safe ammunition -- since it's just herbs and whatnot, instead of lead or steel or white metals.

Hat tip: The Ministry of Minor Perfidy.

VALOUR-IT

Veteran's Day: VALOUR-IT Final Push

Now that both teams from the Department of the Navy have reached their goals, our leader Cassandra has decreed that we should help out the Army. I'm sure Matty & Jimbo will appreciate your kindness. So will John of Aaaarrrrgh!, who earlier expressed his awe of the Marine staff. (See the comments. If anyone wants to round out the top ten...)

It's a fitting service for Veteran's Day. My thanks to all who have helped, and all who have given. That goes for the Project, and for the military as a whole.

Happy Veteran's Day.

Jack Palance

Jack Palance, RIP:

This Veteran's Day, we remember many great men, and honor those still living who have served. It happens that we might, this particular Veteran's Day, take a moment to remember Jack Palance, who has just died.

I suspect he's best remembered here as the gunfighter Jack Wilson in Shane. He did "cold-eyed killer" better than almost anyone: even Lee Van Cleef seemed to be reprising Jack Wilson in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

There was more to the man than that, however: he was a heavyweight fighter, under the name Jack Brazzo, with twelve knockouts and fifteen wins in his career. And, yes, he was a veteran:

With the outbreak of World War II, Palance's boxing career ended and his military career began. Palance's rugged face, which took many beatings in the boxing ring, was disfigured when he bailed out of his burning B-24 Liberator while on a training flight over southern Arizona, where he was a student pilot. Plastic surgeons repaired as much of the damage that they could, but he was left with a distinctive, somewhat gaunt, look. After much reconstructive surgery, he was discharged in 1944.

It's easy to forget how dangerous training is in the military, but the risks are very real. The Department of Defense celebrated in 1998 when accidental deaths in the military declined notably over a monitored nine-year period: only 6,790 service members died in that time. It had, in the previous perioud, been 11,216. In Iraq, in three years we've lost about three thousand people. In nine years from 1988-1996, 6,790 died accidentally.

Palance didn't die, and went on to turn his reconstructed face into one well known to every American. He won an Oscar for his role in the film City Slickers, and at the awards show made some appropriate remarks about Billy Crystal before demonstrating one-handed pushups. He was 73 at the time.

We'll miss you, Jack.

I guess this is appropriate this day too:

Marine receives Medal of Honor

Words don't really do the deed justice.

Happy Birthday, USMC.

Compare/Contrast

Contrasts on the West Coast:

JarHeadDad sends two stories this morning that touch on the universities of California. They are on patriotism and anti-patriotism, and offer an interesting contrast on the Marine Corps birthday.

The first is about the Pledge of Allegiance.

Calif. College Ends Pledge of Allegiance
COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) - Student leaders at a community college voted to drop the Pledge of Allegiance after a tense meeting in which one flag-waving pledge supporter berated them as anti-American radicals.

Orange Coast College's student trustees voted Wednesday not to recognize the pledge, with three of the five board members saying it should be dropped from their meetings.

Board member Jason Ball argued that the pledge inspires nationalism, violates the separation between church and state with the phrase "under God," and is irrelevant to the business of student government. He cited a 2002 San Francisco federal appeals court ruling - later dismissed by the Supreme Court on a technicality - that the pledge is unconstitutional when recited in public schools.

Sophomore Chris Belanger, one of several students who attended the meeting to support keeping the pledge, waved an American flag and accused the board of "radical views and anti-Americanism."

Coast Community College District spokeswoman Martha Parham said the decision was up to the students.

"They run their own show, so to speak," she said.

I wouldn't object to a decision not to say the pledge of allegience at every single meeting of your committee. The pledge isn't something that has to be repeated over and over to take effect. It's an oath, which -- when sworn by an adult -- is binding.

What I wonder about is the wording, "not to recognize the pledge." That seems an odd thing to say. Not to require it; not to perform it as part of the rituals of the meeting; I can understand that. But what does it mean to say that you don't recognize it?

Anyway, that's the first story. The second treats a graduate of the University of California's efforts to set the record straight on the flag-raising at Iwo Jima. He came across an injustice in making a film, and made a promise.

Local war hero finally recognized

By John M. Flora

Phil Ward, who died in relative obscurity last December, is finally getting the recognition he deserves.

While his friends and family knew Ward, a native of Mace, was a veteran of the fierce World War II battle for Iwo Jima, almost nobody knew he was one of the Marines who raised the first American flag atop Mount Suribachi.

And it's only in the last few months the Marine Corps and others have come to recognize his role in that historic gesture that gave hope and encouragement to his fellow Marines locked in deadly combat with the island's fanatical Japanese defenders.

Associated Press Photographer Joe Rosenthal's iconic photograph of the Iwo Jima flag-raising is actually of the second U.S. flag erected on Suribachi on Feb. 23, 1945. Photos of the first flag-raising, that include Ward and other members of a patrol led by Lt. Harold Shrier, had less artistic appeal than Rosenthal's shot. They were ignored at a time when a stronger image was needed to boost homefront morale.

The Marine Corps was heavily invested in the Rosenthal image. It became the basis of the Marine Corps War Memorial near Arlington National Cemetery and inspired the architecture of the National Museum of the Marine Corps being dedicated this week at Quantico, Va. Consequently, Sgt. Lou Lowery's pictures of the first flag-raising were suppressed by the Corps for decades.

Ward, of Crawfordsville, died Dec. 28 in a hospital near his winter home in McAllen, Texas at the age of 79. His funeral was Jan. 3 and his ashes were interred Jan. 19 at Arlington.

He was two weeks shy of his 19th birthday when he and his buddies in E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, hit the beach on Iwo Jima and charged into one of the bloodiest fights in the history of the Corps.

Early on the morning of Feb. 23, 1945, a reconnaissance patrol scaled the 560-foot Suribachi to scout Japanese positions around the volcanic crater.

They met no opposition and concluded the Japanese were dug in. Raymond Jacobs, then a young radioman, recalled that a second patrol was organized to attack and secure the top of Mt. Suribachi.

Jacobs, a retired newsman who now lives in Lake Tahoe, Calif., said Lt. Shrier was put in command of the patrol and was given an American flag to take with him. Jacobs said he was assigned to the patrol to provide a radio link with battalion headquarters.

As the column of about 40 men set out up the steep slope, Jacobs recalled, they were led by Cpl. Charles Lindberg and Pvt. Robert Goode, each carrying a flame-thrower. Tagging along was combat photographer Lowrey.

"The sides of Suribachi were very steep," Jacobs said. "The ground we were climbing had been chewed and churned by bombing, naval gunfire and our own artillery ... The climb was so steep and the ground so broken that at times we were crawling on hands and knees."

Reaching the top, the Marines moved quickly along the rim, he said, and Lt. Shrier spread the patrol in a defensive perimeter around the inner rim of facing inward toward the center of the crater.

Jacobs said he saw several Marines pulling a piece of Japanese water pipe from the ground to use as a flagpole.

One of Lowery's photos shows a group of Marines tying the flag to the pipe. Jacobs and others believe one of the men is Phil Ward.

He said Lt. Shrier's command group moved to the highest point on the crater preparing to push the flag pole into the ground and Cpl. Lindberg kicked at the ground to clear a hole for the flag pole. Jacobs said the pole was jammed into the ground and the men took turns pushing it deeper, kicking dirt and jamming rocks around the base to stabilize it.

"Just moments after the flag was raised we heard a roar from down below on the island. Marines on the ground, still engaged in combat, raised a spontaneous yell when they saw the flag. Screaming and cheering so loud and prolonged that we could hear it quite clearly on top of Suribachi," Jacobs said.

"The boats on the beach and the ships at sea joined in blowing horns and whistles. The celebration went on for many minutes. It was a highly emotional, strongly patriotic moment for all of us."

Chuck Tatum, author of "Red Blood, Black Sand," an account of the battle for Iwo Jima, and himself a Marine Corps veteran of the invasion's first wave, was dug into the black volcanic sand below the mountain at the time.

"All of a sudden, my assistant gunner was hitting me with his entrenching tool on the foot, and I turned to him and said, Steve, what are you doing?,' and he said, 'Tatum! Tatum! Look, they got the flag on Suribachi!'"

"I think that pride engulfed me. When you saw that, there's no way to describe the emotions that went through your body."

Clark Jamison, a sailor aboard the U.S.S. Estes who was coordinating air strikes on Japanese positions, recalled he was about two miles from Suribachi.

"I saw it and I yelled, 'The flag is going up on Suribachi.' There was an overwhelming yell from the crew and from the amphibious group ... Everybody turned and looked in that direction. Everyone was so elated and so proud to see the Stars and Stripes on Suribachi."

"You know, we were very young, fully indoctrinated in the Marine Corps lore and tradition and when you see the flag, it just had a very special meaning to you," Jacobs said.

"The Japanese, apparently enraged by the sight of our colors, hit us with rifle fire and a barrage of grenades," Jacobs said. "We responded with flame throwers, grenades, BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) and rifle fire. I remember seeing individual Marines and fire teams running toward the caves firing as they ran. We burned and blasted caves on both sides of the crater rim and soon it was over - intense but brief with Japanese resistance buried."

He said Lowery was the only Marine Corps casualty when he fell over backwards trying to avoid a grenade and suffered bumps and bruises in a 20 or 30-yard slide down the steep slope. His camera was smashed but his film undamaged, Jacobs said.

A short time later, a larger flag was sent up the mountain to replace the first.

By that time, AP photographer Rosenthal was on hand to record the moment. While Ward was not in the best known photo, he is in a subsequent group shot since dubbed "the Gung-Ho photo."

Many Marines who fought on Iwo Jima, including Jacobs and Tatum, never knew there was a second flag-raising until months or years later.

In retrospect, Jacobs said, "The first flag-raising was for the Marines on the island because they reacted to it. The second flag-raising, Rosenthal's picture, was for the morale of the people back home. They reacted to it."

Perhaps it's because of a lack of official interest in the first flag-raising and Lowery's photos that historians failed to thoroughly identify the men in Lowery's pictures.

Likewise, James Bradley's best-selling "Flags of our Fathers" did not list Ward as one of the original flag-raisers.

As late as last January, it was the Corps' official position, as articulated by Leatherneck magazine editor Col. Walter E. Ford (Ret.) that Phil Ward was not in the Lowery photos and there was also official doubt that Jacobs was in the pictures.

But Dustin Spence, a 21-year-old theatre and history graduate of the University of California, Davis, has apparently succeeded in setting the record straight.

Spence had several conversations with Phil Ward last year in hopes of portraying Ward in the film version of "Flags of our Fathers," released this fall.

Spence said he is convinced beyond question that Jacobs and Ward are in the Lowrey photos.

"Phil has ring on his right hand on the ring finger in those pictures. Lou Lowrey got different perspectives of the flag-raising, circling around, and Phil is someone who is constantly holding onto that flagpole," he said.

Spence said he spoke with the reclusive Lindberg and said he "states that Phil Ward helped put up the pole."

Spence said he called Ward in a Texas hospital a few days before his death to reassure him he would continue to fight for official recognition.

"My promise to him was, 'I will tell your story'" Spence said.

Spence made good on his promise earlier this year by persuading Col. Ford to publish a seven-page article on the first flag-raising that analyzed the Lowery photos in light of Spence's historical research.

"The article worked out very well," Spence said. "They printed more than 100,000 copies, and it's totally sold out now."

And thanks to Spence's efforts, Phil Ward's name has been added to photo captions and text in the current editions of Bradley's book.

Spence is working on a documentary titled, "Flags Over Iwo Jima" with the Los Angeles-based production company PixVfm.

He said the documentary will be unique compared to the many other Iwo Jima flag-raising documentaries because it will for the first time display the entire truth of the important flag raising event.

Spence said he hopes to get this new and important information out to the general public and do service to this important event in American history.

For more information, visit Spence's website at www.flagsoveriwojima.com

Now that's praiseworthy.

Museum

Museum of the American West:

The NY Times has a kind word for Gene Autry.

Hat tip: Arts & Letters Daily.

Aliens

I Wonder if Force Fields Work on Bowie Knives?

The British Ministry of Defense has a warning for us:

During his time as head of the Ministry of Defence UFO project, Nick Pope was persuaded into believing that other lifeforms may visit Earth and, more specifically, Britain.

His concern is that "highly credible" sightings are simply dismissed.

And he complains that the project he once ran is now "virtually closed" down, leaving the country "wide open" to aliens.

I read in Dune that skillfuly-wielded knives were very capable against forcefields.

Yeah

Yeah:

I think that Wuzzadem is right about this one. The elections are an American matter. A family matter. We don't care what the rest of the world thinks, and if they've got a bit of wisdom in their heads, they'll stay out of it.

SSM Medals

A Request from the VA:

Some Soldier's Mom wanted me to pass this on to all of you:

VA Urges Veterans to Wear Medals on Veterans Day
The Honorable R. James Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and leaders of major veterans organizations called on America's veterans to help kindle a new spark of patriotism on Veterans Day by wearing the medals they earned during military service.

"We are announcing a Veterans Pride Initiative to remind Americans of the pride and honor in the hearts of those who have served," Nicholson said. "We expect Americans will see our decorated heroes unite in spirit at ceremonies, in parades and elsewhere as a compelling symbol of courage and sacrifice on Veterans Day, the day we set aside to thank those who served and safeguarded our national security."

For information about the campaign and how to display and/or replace medals, please visit the VA Web page.

Nicholson, in speaking about a visit to Australia for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps Day said,

One of the things that stood out during the day-long ceremonies was how all of the veterans and surviving family members wore their medals and campaign ribbons. It focused public pride and attention on those veterans as individuals with personal histories of service and sacrifice for the common good.

That is why I am calling on America's veterans to wear their military medals this Veterans Day, November 11, 2006. Wearing their medals will demonstrate the deep pride our veterans have in their military service and bring Veterans Day home to all American citizens.

Veterans, wear your pride on your left side this Veterans Day! Let America know who you are and what you did for freedom!!

History Repeats

History Repeats:

"U.S. Rejects Referrendum for Rebel Georgia Region."

JL Rsponds

Major Leggett Responds:

Major Joel Leggett writes from Iraq. One of our co-bloggers here, and a gentleman I greatly respect in spite of our occasional sharp disagreement, I'm posting for him the comment he wished to make:

Grim,

I saw your post and I had to comment. Unfortunately, there is something wrong with our server and I can’t post these comments on your site. First of all, I must take issue with your characterization of Jim Webb as a “real conservative.” I am curious, is it his threats at economic redistribution that make him conservative? I always believed that the defense of private property and freedom to keep what one earns was one of the more distinguishing characteristics of a real conservative. If that is true then I fail to see how Webb’s threats to make the wealthy pay their share and raise taxes qualify him as a true conservative. Furthermore, it seems to me that you yourself recognized that you don’t agree with him on just about anything. Are you some hard leftist that takes issues with Webb’s conservative positions?

What makes Webb such a great candidate for the Senate? I got it. His willingness to publicly apologize for not voting for a man that not only made his political career by slandering servicemen but continues to insult. Obviously this man is a stalwart conservative. Or better yet, maybe it was his sucking up to Clinton so he could pander to the left in VA for their votes. No, no, here it is. It was his intentional misrepresentation of the reason he quit the Reagan administration when he addressed crowds of Democrats, leading them to believe it was anything but his insistence that the U.S. build MORE battleships. You know what gives him real conservative street cred? The fact that his victory just handed control of the Senate to a party dedicated to cutting and running from Iraq as well as ensuring that only left-wing “Living Constitutionalists” are appointed to the Supreme Court.

From Iraq ,

Thanks Grim.

I have to admit that I haven't heard some of these complaints before, so I'm not sure how to respond to them. The Jim Webb I know is a former Marine who holds a Navy Cross, a former Secretary of the Navy whose reasons for stepping down I had never heard were in dispute, and the author of some books on Scotch-Irish culture that I know Major Leggett admires. He ought to admire them.

I can't bring myself worry too much about what the author of Born Fighting is going to do. Nor is it easy to think of a book that more readily encompasses what I, at least, think of when I think of conservativism -- that's the kind of people the word means. That's the sort of man that conservativism aims to produce. A man who honors those values so highly, and has defended them so fiercely, will do right in the big things even if he makes what I consider to be mistakes in the small ones. I don't have to agree with his every idea to trust him, anymore than I have to agree with the Major on every point to know he is a good man that I could trust with the safety of my family if need be.

(For those of you who haven't read Webb's book, here's a review from Parameters, the journal of the US Army War College. It's the third from the last review on this page.)

Major Leggett and I have obviously encountered different material on the subject of Webb as a Senator. Now, I've made a conscious effort to avoid the negative campaign ads pouring out of Virginia since the summer: about the time that Allen became 'the worst racist ever,' I decided there was little of use apt to come out of the next few months of discussion. I know what kind of a Senator Allen was, because he was my Senator. I had no complaints with him.

I think Webb's the better man. I also believe our system of government is cracking on key fault lines, so that we can't depend on the institutions in the way we have in most of our history. We need honorable men on both sides of the aisle.

I wish to extend my thanks to Major Leggett for his letter, and assure him of my continued respect and good will. I am always sorry to disagree with him, as I know he and I are on the same side on the most important questions. Still, a man must say what he thinks, and I think Webb was the better choice.

Elections

Elections:

Once again, elections are down to the wire. I'd like to begin by reposting my comments on the 2004 election. Let's look at what's the same, and what changed:

Yesterday, almost 55 million Americans got up, formed part of record lines, and voted to replace the President of the United States. Many of them felt passionately about doing so. Many had donated money to political campaigns for the first time. Many people heretofore uninterested in politics joined grassroots organizations aimed at removing George Bush from office, and to try to pry any part of the Federal government back to their political party.

This morning, the results must look to them like the carnage of a battlefield. Despite everything they did, George Bush was reelected. The Republicans, far from losing the House or the Senate, secured and increased their majorities. The highest ranking Democrat in the government, Senate Minority Leader Daschle, was turned out by voters. For social liberals, the sweeping victory of amendments forbidding gay marriage -- every one offered passed handily -- must be depressing. There is nothing for them to feel good about in the results, except the election of Mr. Obama and the well-deserved defeat of Mr. Keyes in IL.

They were defeated only because more than 58 million Americans stood up to vote for the opposite things.

In medieval battles, often forces coming into contact with each other were nearly evenly matched. The forces fight -- Vikings and Saxons clashing at each other behind their shield walls -- until that small difference in strength breaks one of the lines. Then, pouring through the breach, the victors tear apart the shield wall and rout the enemy. Few of the losers escaped from such battles, when any did. Though the foe may have been of nearly equal size and strength, at the last that small difference led to a complete victory for one side, and complete destruction for the other.

Democracy works in a similar way. We have had a giant clash of peaceful armies, and in spite of the completeness of the rout, we must remember that their force was nearly as powerful as our own.

For those of you readers who were part of the defeated army, I salute you. You have every reason to be proud of how hard you fought, and of the dedication and steadfastness with which you struck for your cause. You can hold your heads high, knowing that you did absolutely everything that could be done.

In the next years, we must remember the 55 million. It may be that some of them can be won over, through argument or through example, or even -- on matters not of principle -- through compromise. Even when not, we must remember that they showed that America is their country too: no one can ever again claim to be backed by the "silent majority." That majority has now spoken, but it spoke on both sides.

We should remember that they felt all the passion and concern that we did ourselves, and found that doing everything they could only led to the defeat of their cause. That kind of defeat can weaken the Republic, which many of us are sworn to uphold. It weakens it by undermining faith and confidence in the institutions. We must take care to be sure they find fair hearing of their concerns in the institutions that conservatives now control. The government must serve them as well. We should take care to observe the tenets of Federalism, and not use the power of the Federal government to try and influence liberal states according to a general will. We should erect new walls in that regard, so that our disappointed neighbors can still live the lives they want to live in what is also their country.

Those same walls will protect us, should we ever someday lose.

Congratulations to the victor.

What was different this year? First of all, the defeated army was a political party, not a movement. In 2004 conservatives and others of the right carried the day, defeating John Kerry and his movement from the left. This year, conservatives in many places simply absented themselves from the fight. 2004 was Red v. Blue; 2006 was about the Republican party, which has stunk it up.

Indeed, the abandonment of conservatism by the Republicans is not only clear in the agenda they've pursued these last years. The most conservative person elected in this race appears to be -- awaiting final results -- Jim Webb. The Democrats elected a man who is a true conservative. Several of their other victories, and a number of near misses, were also centrists or even rightists (at least in their campaign rhetoric!).

That's the second difference: while in 2004, the left could console themselves that they had done all they could, in 2006 the same can't be said of the Republicans. They didn't do all they could do; they barely did anything at all. Half of what they did do was wrong. They didn't deserve support, and so they didn't receive much.

In 2004, I blogged about the upcoming elections almost every day. This year, I hardly mentioned them at all. In 2004, I gave lots of money to political causes; this year, not one donation to any candidate or movement. Instead, I've spent the days running up to the election raising money for a far better cause than politics: Project VALOUR-IT. That fundraiser, ongoing until Veteran's Day, needs your attention and help if you have any to give.

I didn't stay home. I still went out and voted, as everyone should -- and, as I said below, at the state level it was a nice election.

That brings us to what is still the same, this year as in 2006. My vision of what we need in this country's domestic politics:

We must take care to be sure they find fair hearing of their concerns in the institutions that conservatives now control. The government must serve them as well. We should take care to observe the tenets of Federalism, and not use the power of the Federal government to try and influence liberal states according to a general will. We should erect new walls in that regard, so that our disappointed neighbors can still live the lives they want to live in what is also their country.

I think that's as right now as it was two years ago. Georgia should be allowed to be Georgia; Vermont, Vermont. American elections won't be so contentious, nor cause such turmoil in people's lives, when we re-enforce the walls of Federalism.

Such an agenda is right on the merits, whether it is meant to protect our way of life, or our neighbors' in the Blue states. We are all Americans, and ought to look out for each other -- even when we don't agree.

Congratulations to the victors.

Looking good Federalism

Federalism Looks Better & Better:

Whatever you may think about the national election returns, the statewide elections here in Georgia are affirming my support for increased federalism. Several Constitutional amendments here in Georgia are showing very strong, and deserved support:

1) An anti-Kelo amendment restricting eminent domain;

2) An amendment affirming the right to hunt and fish, and requiring the state to manage public lands so that all Georgians have access to those activities;

3) Amendments to restrict ad valorem taxes for farms and ranches;

4) Amendments to establish new homestead exemptions to ad valorem taxes for the widows of slain policemen and firefighters.

I assume most of you are reasonably pleased with local outcomes, however pleased or distressed you may be by the direction of Congress. Mark that. By pushing power down to the states and localities, we can each of us better have the life we want. Americans may not all agree about how best to govern, but that doesn't mean America can't be for all of us.

CENTCOM Blood

CENTCOM Sends (A Blogger!):

Confederate Yankee interviews the Bloodhounds, the 615th Military Police Company, 89th MP Brigade. The MPs express support for the mission in Iraq, though there are notes of caution as well.

Interestingly, the blog interview was brought to my attention by CENTCOM -- they sent me an email, so I'd tell you about it. Good to see them engaging bloggers.

The Times on Snipers:

You have probably seen the New York Times / International Herald Tribune story on the problem of snipers. I've been trying to figure out what to say about it.

The worst thing I can say about it is to point out an omission in it. C. J. Chivers, the author, writes:

Most of the time, the marines said, the snipers aim for the troops' heads, necks and armpits, displaying knowledge of gaps in their protective gear.

"Displaying knowledge of gaps in their protective gear." And where did that knowledge come from?

Perhaps from the fact that the New York Times published a diagram of our body armor, helpfully showing where it was vulnerable?

That's information that really should have been included in this story, if the point is to give people an honest reading of the problem of snipers. Or, for that matter, the problem of the insurgency: the fact that media coverage of insurgent attacks has been demonstrated to increase their frequency. It's a force multiplier. Anyone writing on the topic -- and I'm not suggesting they shouldn't ever write on it -- should not only keep that in mind, but make the point. The reader should always be reminded that the insurgent was thinking of them, as much as the Marine, when he pulled the trigger.

The omission -- especially of the mention of body-armor diagrams -- isn't the only complaint to make. Most of the complaints with the series focus on the pictures, because they drive raw emotions. What Cassandra said here about the earlier part of the series goes as well for this part. An editorial decision to publish pictures of bloodied US Marines is just that: a decision.

How to judge that decision? Allah points out that the Times front-paged the worst picture, not the best one. Both images are just as valid -- which one do you lead with? They led with the one that shows blood and pain, not the one that shows a fellow Marine putting his own body between the wounded man and the sniper, ready to reply to further shots with his grenade launcher.

The same decision was made in the text. The reporter made a decision to treat the problem in graphic, emotional terms. That is a valid way to treat it -- bullet wounds are nasty, and the emotions people feel are real. Having wounds described in these direct terms gives you a sense of the real sacrifice our Marines make, and the risks to which they volunteer time and again to expose themselves.

Like the Times, though, while his story has all the data, it leads with the wound. It could have led with other things. It ought to have admitted its own complicity in the problem of snipers.

A reflection of that sort -- on the degree to which their past coverage has literally helped the enemy hurt Marines -- would be wise. Perhaps it would cause them to consider more carefully what they print in the future.

Boomers

Boom Times:

For this NYT story to have the meaning they ascribe to it, the following things would have to be true:

1) Saddam had plans for nuclear weapons that were highly advanced;
2) So highly that -- as I read the timeline -- they were better than fifteen years' further along than Iran's plans;
3) ...even with the help Iran received from AQ Khan (which may explain why Saddam's government turned down Khan's offer to sell them technology).

Now that kind of puts the war in a different light, doesn't it?

Inkblot

"Like, it's an Inkblot? And it tells about your mind?"

Tickle, a webservice that hosts what they are proud to call "Ph.D. certified tests," has their "inkblot" test free right now. If you like online tests (or if, like me, you enjoy mocking psychology), you might want to stop by and spend a quick few minutes at it.

I have a theory about the subconscious too -- to whit, that it's pretty obvious to everyone around you where your subconscious mind is these days. Everybody can tell, for example, when the two kids in accounting have the hots for each other but don't know it yet. It's something humanity is well hardwired to do.

That being the case, longtime readers doubtless have a pretty good idea what drives me. You won't be surprised, therefore, by my results:

Your unconscious mind is driven mostly by Peace!

I'm sure that's just what we'd all have guessed.

There's a long writeup, of which I'll give you the intro. I expect that pretty much all the results prove that you're a natural leader, etc., since Tickle is selling the product and no one wants to hear that they're a psychopath. Still, it's amusing.

By having your unconscious mind driven most by Peace, it appears that you feel a level of comfort with yourself and with your surroundings that many people lack. By having respect for others and caring about the world around you, you may have gained a reputation for kindness and personal integrity. This can make you a role model for others who'd like to be as driven by the same high ideals as you seem to be. While you may want to be comfortable and have nice things, ambition and financial gain probably aren't the things that drive you most. You're more likely lead by a desire to live by your own high personal standards and moral code.

People who have peace as their unconscious drive tend to be independent thinkers who appreciate taking the time to get to know themselves well. If this is true for you, you're probably not one to shy away from life's big questions. You may even seek out chances to learn new things about yourself. By being willing to examine who you are and staying open to your environment, you foster a kind of fearlessness that can continually enrich your life.

See how you fare. I'll buy lunch for the first person who gets a result that doesn't prove that they're secretly admired by all humanity for their high ideals and excellent character.

UPDATE: The wife looked it over, and said, "That's really accurate. You create peace and order around you. Whether people like it or not."

Yeah, OK. I'm a peacemaker. Just like Colonel Colt.

Foxtrot

Cartoonists on Electric Voting:

Armed Liberal at Winds of Change recently linked to this Foxtrot cartoon on electronic voting machines. Now, I see that DilbertBlog has a few things to say too:

there’s a 100% chance that the voting machines will get hacked and all future elections will be rigged. But that doesn’t mean we’ll get a worse government. It probably means that the choice of the next American president will be taken out of the hands of deep-pocket, autofellating, corporate shitbags and put it into the hands of some teenager in Finland. How is that not an improvement?

Statistically speaking, any hacker who is skilled enough to rig the elections will also be smart enough to select politicians that believe in . . . oh, let’s say for example, science.... The important thing with democracy – and this has always been the case – is that the citizens a) Believe the election result is based on the common sense and voting rights of the citizens, and b) Have enough handguns to wax any politicians who gets too seriously out of line (also known as a “check and balance”).

And here the definition of “seriously out of line” would not include humping interns and stealing from taxpayers. Those things should be allowed, even encouraged, so we can attract the most capable candidates from private industry.

Call me an optimist, but electronic voting machines make me feel good about my country.

Is it too late to start selling bumper stickers that say “I think I voted”?

Well, that makes me feel a lot better. I think InstaPundit is right -- paper ballots are the wave of the future! Except, of course, that the hackers will oppose it.

Key Races

Key Race Concept:

As we come down to the end, it is clear enough that we're not fighting over a nationwide referrendum -- in spite of stories about "right track/wrong track" polls, the truth is it's several key races that are going to determine control of the government this year. Nowhere is that clearer than here in Georgia, where George Bush flew past Atlanta (passing over my head on the way -- Air Force One and escort soared above us about midmorning), and campaigned in nowheresville the little rural college town of Statesboro.

The appearance drew this bit of press:

Bush made Monday’s stop to boost the campaigns of Congressional hopeful Max Burns and the Georgia governor.

“It makes me feel comfortable to be here in a state where your governor wears cowboy boots,” the president said.

The boots, complete with a state seal, even drew the envy of a Secret Service agent who admired them when Perdue arrived for the morning rally.

Hey, that is cool.

Valor IT Challenge

VALOUR-IT Challenge:

The Project VALOUR-IT military challenge has begun for this year. Cassandra is griping that BlackFive mislinked in his post, sending Marines to the wrong "leader" page. The real leader of the Marine team is Cassidy herself.

Well, I've got a gripe too -- she forgot to invite me to join the team. Or Doc, either, it appears.

In spite of the fact that we were not invited, I signed us up for the Marine team. If you're able, please help out.

I assume all readers here know what Project VALOUR-IT is about, as it's something we've talked about often since its inception. If you are new to MilBlogs, see here, through which you can also find links to make donations. Sadly, IEDs as a chief means of war have led to many servicemen who deserve, and need, their aid.

Oh, Dear

Oh, Dear:

Cassidy wants you to play a game with her.

All I can say is, I hope they write better laws than... who am I kidding? We already know they don't.

THW Gov't Fathers

Government is not a Father to Us:

I realize it's been fully a week since I felt like I had anything to blog about at all. There's lots going on, but I just haven't felt like I had anything particular to add.

I still don't, but I am feeling irritated today, so I'm just going to resort to a rant. The subject of the rant will be bad behavior related to alcohol.

Whose bad behavior? Not the drunks, of whom there are noticably fewer these days. There's a great deal less drinking, smoking, and fighting in America, which most people regard as unmitigated improvements. I'm not sure we couldn't use a little more of all three.

I am entirely sure we have gone too far in trying to curb these activities. Last night I took my wife and family to dinner at a local restaurant. I ordered a pint of Guinness with my burger. The waitress carded me.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized as she did it. "I have to card absolutely everyone. My parents come in here, and I have to card them too."

She's right, of course. The law now requires it in Georgia. No one could possibly mistake me for a teenager trying to sneak a drink, but even were I 75 years old I should have to show my identification. There is no need for it to enforce the laws against underage drinking, as only borderline cases really require identification. There is no need for it to enforce the laws against serving people who are already intoxicated, as your age is immaterial if you're obviously drunken.

Rather, it is a pure form of harrassment. The intention is to make having a beer seem like a dirty activity, something of which society is rightly suspicious. I find that plainly offensive. Drunkenness is surely bad, but beer, as David Allen Coe used to say, is good for you.

This absurd treatment has surely had some positive effects. I understand that DUI-related deaths are down these last few years, as the anti-drinking movement has managed to push the acceptable blood-alcohol level down in most states. I'm not even sure what it is in Georgia now; it seems like it changes ever year, although always only in one direction.

Not that further gains aren't possible. Britain is enjoying a 48% decline in alcohol related violence in its rowdiest party town. The cost of such a decline?

Customers entering the town's six main late-night drinking and dancing joints were being asked to register their personal details, have their photograph taken and submit to a biometric finger scan.

Fingerprints. And a mugshot. Just for walking in the place.

But hey, it works, right? Sure it does. 48% drop in alcohol-related violence -- can't argue with that.

Except, I think, by looking at what these things do to us as citizens. It makes us accustomed to a level of control that is unfit for a free people. It makes us learn to accept the idea that it is perfectly right for the government, or its appointed agents, to examine us in whatever detail it may wish, at any time.

I want to be able to sit and have a beer in peace, without the government leaning in from Atlanta to demand my papers. I don't think it's wrong for people to have a pleasant smoke, so long as it's not in such an enclosed area that other people can't get away from it if they like.

Joel Leggett and I once had a good exchange on the topic, starting here and ending here. Joel reminded us of John Wayne, in The Alamo, who said that in a Republic people could "be drunk or sober, however they choose."

Kim du Toit once posted a fine essay asserting that, "I want men everywhere to going back to being Real Men. To open doors for women, to drive fast cars, to smoke cigars after a meal, to get drunk occasionally and, in the words of Col. Jeff Cooper, one of the last of the Real Men: 'to ride, shoot straight, and speak the truth.'"

As we should. There are benefits, in some cases, to the nanny-state approach. Those benefits are undercut by the fact that they make it harder -- and make it seem, to some, shameful -- for a man to behave like a man.

To hell with that.

October 25th

Today marks two notable occasions:

End of the Siege of Lisbon and recapture of the city from the Muslims, and the Battle of Agincourt where the English overcame the odds.

Along with Chesterton's 'The Last Hero', and the anonymous 'The Battle of Maldon', the below is another reading which I employ regularly.

What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin:
If we are mark'd to die, we are enough
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires:
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England:
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more, methinks, would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made
And crowns for convoy put into his purse:
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is called the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say "To-morrow is Saint Crispian":
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say "These wounds I had on Crispin's day."
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

Cowboy Talk

Cowboy Talk:

The Washington Post recently published a piece asking for a little Cowboy talk on North Korea. Here is some.

Iraqi Scouts

The Boy Scouts in Iraq:

Regular commenter Ron Fox added some information to the post on Spirit of America, below. I'd like to move it up to the front.

To make a donation to the Iraqi Scouting Initiative, featured in "Jihad Jamboree," by Patrick Graham, in Outside's October issue, send your check to:

The World Friendship Fund
Boy Scouts of America
1325 West Walnut Hill Lane
PO Box 152079
Irving, Texas 75015-2079

Make your check out to the "World Friendship Fund." On the notation line at the bottom of your check, please write "for the Iraqi Scouting Initiative." One hundred percent of all donations go to the Iraqi Scouting programs.

Thanks, Ron.

Duty to Country

The Limits of Duty to Country:

In the comments to an earlier post on stoning (as to which, by the way, at least one of the women mentioned has had a brief stay granted), commenter Sam asked to hear my thoughts on his argument. His basic argument on adultery I shall leave, since I've already made my position on the matter clear in the earlier comments. He did, though, raise a very interesting point about the power of the state:

And: we've all submitted to a level of "ownership" by the state. This country does a better job of minimizing that than most, but society exists to restrict the freedom to do "bad" things in the hope that "good" freedoms will be expanded. When we disagree about what good and bad are is where we bump up against that ownership issue. We have to do as we're told or end up dead/imprisoned. That's ownership, isn't it?

Is it proper to think of Americans as "owned" by the state? Is that the right relationship, more broadly, for a person to have with the state?

Part I: Classics

Plato appears to have thought so, for he has Socrates relate the point as explanation for why he will not attempt to flee his own execution. Here is the excerpt from the Crito:

Soc. "Tell us what complaint you have to make against us which justifies you in attempting to destroy us and the State? In the first place did we not bring you into existence? Your father married your mother by our aid and begat you. Say whether you have any objection to urge against those of us who regulate marriage?" None, I should reply. "Or against those of us who regulate the system of nurture and education of children in which you were trained? Were not the laws, who have the charge of this, right in commanding your father to train you in music and gymnastic?" Right, I should reply. "Well, then, since you were brought into the world and nurtured and educated by us, can you deny in the first place that you are our child and slave, as your fathers were before you? And if this is true you are not on equal terms with us; nor can you think that you have a right to do to us what we are doing to you. Would you have any right to strike or revile or do any other evil to a father or to your master, if you had one, when you have been struck or reviled by him, or received some other evil at his hands?- you would not say this? And because we think right to destroy you, do you think that you have any right to destroy us in return, and your country as far as in you lies? And will you, O professor of true virtue, say that you are justified in this? Has a philosopher like you failed to discover that our country is more to be valued and higher and holier far than mother or father or any ancestor, and more to be regarded in the eyes of the gods and of men of understanding? also to be soothed, and gently and reverently entreated when angry, even more than a father, and if not persuaded, obeyed? And when we are punished by her, whether with imprisonment or stripes, the punishment is to be endured in silence; and if she leads us to wounds or death in battle, thither we follow as is right; neither may anyone yield or retreat or leave his rank, but whether in battle or in a court of law, or in any other place, he must do what his city and his country order him; or he must change their view of what is just: and if he may do no violence to his father or mother, much less may he do violence to his country." What answer shall we make to this, Crito? Do the laws speak truly, or do they not?

Cr. I think that they do.

Plato's position might be said to be further amplified by the following exchange on being a free man versus being a slave, from the Alcibidaes:

SOCRATES:

Or again, in a ship, if a man having the power to do what he likes, has no intelligence or skill in navigation, do you see what will happen to him and to his fellow-sailors?

ALCIBIADES:

Yes; I see that they will all perish.

SOCRATES:

And in like manner, in a state, and where there is any power and authority which is wanting in virtue, will not misfortune, in like manner, ensue?

ALCIBIADES:

Certainly.

SOCRATES:

Not tyrannical power, then, my good Alcibiades, should be the aim either of individuals or states, if they would be happy, but virtue.

ALCIBIADES:

That is true.

SOCRATES:

And before they have virtue, to be commanded by a superior is better for men as well as for children? (Compare Arist. Pol.)

ALCIBIADES:

That is evident.

SOCRATES:

And that which is better is also nobler?

ALCIBIADES:

True.

SOCRATES:

And what is nobler is more becoming?

ALCIBIADES:

Certainly.

SOCRATES:

Then to the bad man slavery is more becoming, because better?

ALCIBIADES:

True.

SOCRATES:

Then vice is only suited to a slave?

ALCIBIADES:

Yes.

SOCRATES:

And virtue to a freeman?

ALCIBIADES:

Yes.

SOCRATES:

And, O my friend, is not the condition of a slave to be avoided?

ALCIBIADES:

Certainly, Socrates.

SOCRATES:

And are you now conscious of your own state? And do you know whether you are a freeman or not?

ALCIBIADES:

I think that I am very conscious indeed of my own state.

SOCRATES:

And do you know how to escape out of a state which I do not even like to name to my beauty?

ALCIBIADES:

Yes, I do.

SOCRATES:

How?

ALCIBIADES:

By your help, Socrates.

SOCRATES:

That is not well said, Alcibiades.

ALCIBIADES:

What ought I to have said?

SOCRATES:

By the help of God.

This is the classical view, then: that the state does indeed own a man, as even a "free man" is like a slave morally; and the state's ownership is to be directed at improving the greater virtue of the community. To truly become free requires the help of God. In the meanwhile, the state's ownership of men is right and proper.

Sam, in asserting the same position, is on very solid philosophical ground. He will find this traditional conception asserted time and again through history. Once Europe becomes Christian, he will find defenders in the Church as well as in the halls of the state.

Part II: Enlightenment Thinking

He will find it difficult, however, to justify the United States of America.

Because of its history, the United States requires a different explanation of the authority of the state. It arose in rebellion to civic authority, by serious thinkers who believed that what they were doing was not only neither a crime nor a sin, but an expression of their rights under the natural law written by their Creator. Catholic theory has a different view of what natural law has to say on the subject; search on "canker-worm" in the previous link to find it.

It is possible that Jefferson and Washington were wrong -- both criminals and, if you like, sinners. In overturning civic authority, they therefore created a great crime -- but we might still be justified in newfound obedience to the state they created. For better or worse, it is now the civic authority, and we should show it the obedience that they wrongly denied to the authorities of their day.

However, it is also possible they were right. If so, there is a right to rebel -- a natural law that holds that men are created equal, even if 'one man is [not] as good as another,' as the Catholic article holds. The American nation is founded on the idea that rebellion is a human right: "...to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them[.]"

If that is so, though, how to get around the problems raised by Socrates, and Sam?

Part III: The Problem of Rebellion

Does it not do violence to the law and the communal good, as Socrates held, to believe that anyone is justified in putting aside the common law? The Alcibidaes quote suggests that "tyranny" might be an answer to the problem -- when the state is behaving tyrannically, it is proper to overthrow it. Not by accident nor by coincidence, "Tyranny" was a term frequent in the writings of the Founding Fathers.

Yet what is tyranny, finally? If the state is going to execute you, is that not the ultimate tyranny from your point of view? If it drafts you into its wars, when you do not agree, is that not tyranny? If not, why is it tyranny to impose a tax on tea or require the purchase of stamps?

We are treating with natural rights here: we need to be able to say that in the one case, to rebel is a wrong justly punishable by the state even unto death; but in the other case, to rebel is the exercise of a natural right that the state has no proper authority to resist. Yet there is no clear line: America holds that the Boston Tea Party was an exercise of natural rights, but that the secession of the Southern states -- by acts of assembly not different in form from those that created the United States -- were unjustified rebellion.

Part IV: Wagering Lives, Fortunes and Sacred Honor

Some of this can be excused by pointing out that the facts on the ground were decided by the wager of battle, not by philosophers. It should be no surprise that the wages of battle are chaotic. They always are.

If we look at likely future scenarios, too, there is a certainty that claims will be tested by the wager of battle. This may not be so full-throated as all out war: the Civil Rights movement entailed real fighting and military force, with marches in defiance of legal orders; regular deployments of the National Guard; attacks on police by rioters in Boston and elsewhere; and even lynchings by insurgent mobs.

That is to restate that rebellion is a natural right -- but it is also to add that it is a right with costs. You do not exercise the right to rebellion like you do the right to religious liberty.

The right to rebel has to be said to be a natural right, but one that must be justified in the midst of the field.

That is to say: We are free men, not slaves. If we obey, we choose to obey. If we do not, we are as right as we can make ourselves. We wager our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor -- and, if we are truly justified, we do so in bonds with other men who freely choose to stand with us and stake their own.

Oddly enough, this proves to be the resolution to the problem raised by the Catholics:

All [ultra-democratic doctrines] originate in a manifestly false supposition, that one man is as good as another.

Not so this one. It holds that this fundamental human right has to be justified according to the wager of battle. That implies a matching of tactics and strategies, the making of alliances and the forging of powerful arguments. Not just any man will be the equal of that task. Here is an ultra-democratic doctrine: it holds that any man may overthrow the state, and be right to do it. But it does not believe that any man is good enough to do it.

All of which reminds me of the climactic lines in the movie Shane. There, too, there were competitors for who was the proper authority -- the bold cowboys who had fared hard against the Cheyenne in settling the land, or the new farmers who wished to move in and build fences across the range. There, too, the existing authority had brought in force of arms, in the form of a gunfighter named Wilson, to enforce the existing order. In deciding to stake his life, fortune and honor on the challenge to that order, Shane faces the 'state's' righteous demand:

Shane: So you're Jack Wilson.
Jack Wilson: What's that mean to you, Shane?
Shane: I've heard about you.
Jack Wilson: What have you heard, Shane?
Shane: I've heard that you're a low-down Yankee liar.
Jack Wilson: Prove it.

John Hancock did. He proved that we are free men, not slaves. That shall I defend, with my life and fortune, and sacred honor.

SoA Mattis

Spirit of America Meets Gen. Mattis:

It's been a while since I mentioned the charity Spirit of America, which takes civilian donations and then buys things like school supplies or soccer balls for Marines to distribute among Iraqis. Jim Hake, a nice guy I once met in D.C., has had a chance to meet with General Mattis.

Sadly, he appears not to have asked the General to run for President, as I believe he needs to do. However, he did ask some other things. General Mattis had high praise for SoA's sewing centers, where donated sewing machines have allowed many Iraqi women to start small businesses of their own. Unfortunately, one such center in Ramadi was destroyed by insurgents who would prefer to keep women under more traditional conditions.

Read the rest. There's also an entry about Boy and Girl Scouts in Iraq, and many other things besides.

Insult Poetry

An Insult!

Cassidy says that "Poetry isn't what it used to be." She is referring to this:

If Ken Blackwell becomes Ohio's governor, don't look for Nikki Giovanni to be appointed the state's poet laureate.

Giovanni shocked the crowd Saturday as she read her dedicatory poem on Fountain Square by referring to Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, as a "son of a bitch" and a "political whore."

The lines in the poem are as follows:

I am not a son of a bitch like Kenny Blackwell
...
I will not use the color of my skin to cover the hatred in my heart
I am not a political whore jumping from bed to bed to see who will stroke my knee...

Actually, this is a grand old tradition in poetry. Since we're talking about honor and poems around the battle of Hastings today, here's a good chance to expand the discussion. Honor societies have very often expressed themselves poetically, as poetry is often thought to be one of the warrior arts. This is true both in Western societies and Eastern ones, Islamic and Christian and pagan. Turkish traditional "singers of tales" were the focus of Albert Lord's extraordinary work, The Singer of Tales. He traced -- convincingly, I believe -- the tradition in Turkey to Homer. Japanese samurai and monks alike wrote death poems. Chinese kings and nobles expressed praise and threats through poetics.

Honor societies both praise and damn, and the poetry follows the consciousness. You can write a poem praising a great king -- but you can also, as the bards of Ireland were said to do, write a satire so stinging that it can cause a bad king's downfall.

Viking poetry probably occupies the height (or depth, depending on your outlook) of this particular tradition. "Political whore" is rather tame by comparison to what the Vikings would say about a man in an insult poem -- so much so that there were laws specifically designed to deal with such poems, and these laws often permitted you to kill the insulter with impunity. Callimachus wrote on the subject a while ago, and Gunnora Hallakarva produced a classic piece that deals with the matter (scroll down to "insults alleging homosexuality").

Egil Skallagrimsson used poetry both to praise and curse. (You can hear some of his poetry read in the Old Norse here.) Even the gods were said to do so -- the famous Lokasena has the gods exchanging ribald insults around a feast hall.

Giovanni appears to be acting out of a similar African tradition, and we shouldn't be surprised to see one. Insult poetry is common in hip-hop, for example: people you feel have done right by you get praised to the sky, but people you feel have done wrong by you are described in terms that make them seem low sorts of animals.

Personally, I didn't think the poem she read was very good, but that is because I have little use for unstructured verse. The Viking insult poems were delivered in highly formal and artistic systems. Pretty much anyone can write poems like the one Giovanni delivered -- there is no skill. Egil Skallagrimsson would sneer, rightly, at someone who wrote so poor an insult verse.

Yet he very well might smile at some of the better hip-hop lyrics. I certainly do, on occasion.

I see this last Saturday was the 940th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings. (link with picture goodness). I note it because this is one those actually remembered battles (as opposed to all those we don't remember) that had deep, significant consequences that reach down even today.

Nice try, King Harold. You almost pulled it off.

Style points to Ivo Taillefer: A Norman knight (and perhaps minstrel) who begged Duke William to lead the first charge, and did it singing Songs of Roland:

Taillefer, who sang right well,
Upon a swift horse
Sang before the Duke
Of Charlemagne and of Roland
And of Oliver and their vassals
That died at Roncesvalles.

He apparently was killed, but we'll remember him too. Which I suppose, is as it should be.

Endorsements

Two Endorsements:

I won't actually be voting in any closely-run race this year, having moved to what turns out to be a very safe district in Georgia. That said, there are two races in which I would like to take a moment to express my support for a given candidate.

I usually only issue endorsements to Democrats, as I am a Democrat -- President Bush in 2004 being the notable exception. However, I can only rarely endorse a Democrat these days, the national party being what it is.

I would like to urge voters in Virginia, where I lived most of the last several years, to vote for Jim Webb for Senate. I realize that Mr. Webb and I disagree on, well, most everything he cares to discuss at length. Mr. Allen and I are much more closely aligned in political opinions. Further, I do of course recognize that this is a very tight year for the Senate, and a party switch of even one seat could have far-reaching consequences.

Nevertheless, Mr. Webb is the better man. His life story is sufficient cause to prefer him as a Senator. He is a good man, a brave and honorable man, a Marine, and that is something the Senate needs. He has proven to be resistant to the lure of power, resigning his post as Secretary of the Navy rather than cut the force structure as Congress demanded. He believed they were wrong, and he put his shirt where his heart was.

That is the old way.

This is not the way things are meant to be in America -- our institutions were designed by the Founders with the recognition that we could only rarely expect politicians to be good men. The system should be indifferent to the quality of the Senators.

Given the sharp and structural flaws in the Senate, and the rest of the government, it cannot be said to be. For that cause, I think it is necessary to vote for men of proven character and honor. Though I disagree with Mr. Webb, I respect him for who he has been and what he has done. I would vote for him, and I urge you to do so if you can.

I'm also going to endorse Kinky Friedman for Governor of the great state of Texas. This is a much-less-strong endorsement. Nevertheless, he is a throwback to the age when Democrats elected great local characters -- Charlie Wilson, say. You Texas voters doubtless have your own ideas, and that's fine, but of the crop he's the one I think I'd most enjoy hearing from about the state's various problems for the next several years.

You must all vote your consciences on Election day, of course, and I won't hold that against anyone. In case you were wondering what I thought about things, though, there you are.

Heroes and Monsters

Heroes and Monsters:

After an encouragement posted here some time ago, I decided to find a copy of Beowulf for reading. The first copy I found was an audio-book at a local library, a recent edition translated and read by Seamus Heaney. More recently, I have been able to find a text version of the same translation, with the Anglo-Saxon text set out alongside the translation.

There's a lot that could be said; I'll simply say that I loved it.

The story-telling sometimes rushes, sometimes wanders, and sometimes takes unexpected side-turnings. But when it is read aloud by a competent poet and story-teller like Heaney, it comes alive in the listener's mind. As the story draws towards its ending, the listener is filled with awe at the life and death of Beowulf.

One of the interesting parts of the story is contained in who and what Beowulf fights. He is a powerful wrestler, very capable with spear and sword, and must have fought fellow-men many times in the wars between the Geats, Frisians, Danes, and Swedes. But the poem doesn't mention these fights. All of the important feats of Beowulf that are mentioned are struggles against monstrous evil.

This makes Beowulf's deeds stand out in sharp relief; he is a mighty warrior against the demonic evil of Grendel, the hideous strength of Grendel's mother, and the fiery danger of a dragon. These examples of courage allow Beowulf to become more than an example of a particularly good warrior for his tribe. They make him into an example for a much wider audience.

I suspect this is why the story survived in the form it did, and why it is still capable of enthralling readers and listeners.

A surprising aside along the way: I have learned that Beowulf was a curiousity for historians and scholars of the Anglo-Saxon language for several centuries after its re-discovery. In the 1930's, a watershed lecture by scholar J.R.R. Tolkien changed this radically, by insisting that Beowulf was important first as a work of art. Some say that the old Anglo-Saxon poem would not be read widely today if Tolkien had not delivered that lecture.

At minimum, I suspect that there are echoes of Beowulf in the works of Tolkien. Which should make re-reading Tolkien's works much more interesting.

"There is nothing on this Green Earth..."

Ok, gents, you got my attention with that one.

Army Strong (streaming video)

Better than the last slogan, that's for sure.

Ya'at'eeh

Ya'at'eeh!

I love a clever man, even one on the other side:

Thirty illegal entrants were found in a vehicle that had been made up to look like a U.S. Border Patrol transport van, authorities said.

They got caught on the Tohono O'odham reservation by Border Patrol Agents. No doubt it was because the Indians called to complain about an unauthorized incursion by the Feds.

Good work, in any event. Even a clever coyote is still a coyote.

Internet gambling

...In Which Grim Defends Somebody:

The Corner is right enough about the internet gambling bill. Hat tip, again, InstaPundit.

What is the value of gambling ? Here is the value. Some human beings enjoy doing it. Shouldn't that be our principle? If individuals like doing something and they harm no one, we will allow them to do it, even if other people disapprove of what they do.

Well, I could be making a good living at internet gambling, if it weren't for my sentiment against breaking the law. I've always done well at poker, and would be only too glad to spend my days relieving the willing of excess cash.

Well, maybe Frist is right after all... I end up doing something useful, instead of gambling all the day and night. Hm. @#$@#$@! I can't even rightfully complain about it, can I? @#%@##@$@!

Kain-Tuck

Kain-Tuck in Iraq:

Our friends at Military.com have this story about Kentucky tankers in Iraq. When we bought the Kentucky land from the Cherokee, who fought there with Creek and Shawnee, they told us we were buying a "dark and bloody ground." It's still poor country, but beautiful.

So may Iraq be, in time -- and perhaps not even poor. Worth remembering what we've done, given how many people have opinions on what we can't do.

Join Resistance

Join the Resistance:

The Geek has some thoughts, based on an National Review piece by Dave Kopel. "The Resistance," like the general militia, is made up of each one of us who intends that no evil should take place in his presence -- and keeps to hand the means to stop it.

BATF ethics

Say it Ain't So, Joe:

Ethics violations at the BATF? Who'd have ever suspected such a thing?

Pilsner

Pilsner & American Brew:

An interesting book review disputes the history of American beer. As this is a topic of keen interest to many of us, I refer you to it.