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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This country desperately needs a functioning Fourth Estate.

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

I desperately hope that, yet again, I am wrong.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

with the Kraken taking a plea, the Cheese stands alone.

Trump makes a mockery of the legal system and cowardly judges just sit back and let him.

A consequence of cucumbers

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

Bark louder, little dog.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

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You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Military / Friday Evening Open Thread

Friday Evening Open Thread

by Anne Laurie|  November 11, 20114:36 pm| 102 Comments

This post is in: Military, Music, Open Threads

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Doesn’t really seem correct to type “Happy Veterans Day”, but my best regards to the veterans among us. And a fervent wish that we could stop making veterans with such great carelessness, too also.
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Happy birthday to Southern Beale, too, even though I’m mad jealous that the gods left the birthday kitten I asked for on her doorstep!
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So, what’s on the agenda for the evening and/or the weekend?

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Previous Post: « The Prisoner’s Dilemma
Next Post: National Review Online: Cain is an ‘Authentic’ Black, Obama is a ‘Metrosexual’ Fake »

Reader Interactions

102Comments

  1. 1.

    gogol's wife

    November 11, 2011 at 4:37 pm

    Watching Inspector Morse and hoping my cold doesn’t get any worse.

  2. 2.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    November 11, 2011 at 4:37 pm

    I’m going to make cream of artichoke soup and a pear frangipane tart and forget all about what my Chargers did (and failed to do) last night. Damn, that was ugly.

  3. 3.

    geg6

    November 11, 2011 at 4:41 pm

    Shopping for new glassware for Thanksgiving and dinner out, hopefully at the Bocktown Bar and Grill. Mmmmmmm…

    That said, I think Mittens might have stepped on the third rail of the third rail here:

    http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_11/romney_eyes_vouchers_for_veter033445.php

  4. 4.

    askew

    November 11, 2011 at 4:42 pm

    Steve Benen has a really interesting piece up on how no one in the GOP field is attacking Romney. Are they just letting him walk away with the nomination?

    I remember Hillary got a free pass until that debate where she was trying to have it both ways on driver licenses for illegal immigrants. Then, the whole field opened up on her. Romney has a lot more baggage that can be used against him. Why haven’t any of the candidates started attacking him yet?

  5. 5.

    Brian

    November 11, 2011 at 4:42 pm

    Randian fail:

    Error on Atlas Shrugged DVD and Blu-Ray slips through cracks, ends up on retail shelves.

    http://blog.atlasshruggedmovie.com/2011/11/atlas-shrugged-inadvertently-releases.html

  6. 6.

    Martin

    November 11, 2011 at 4:44 pm

    I’m okay making Veterans. Vastly preferable to making Memorials.

  7. 7.

    Raven

    November 11, 2011 at 4:46 pm

    I was invited to a 5th grade Veterans Day lunch. There were about 20 vets and each had a student assigned who read our name and a brief bio. About 10 kids read poems that ranged from very sweet to a bit right wing for me but their intention was good.

  8. 8.

    R-Jud

    November 11, 2011 at 4:48 pm

    @askew: Huntsman’s been making some ads that lay into Romney pretty hard, but I don’t see anyone else doing the same. ETA: Not that they’ve actually been running anywhere but on YouTube.

    This is looking an awful lot like 1968 for the Republicans, except with about 87% fewer IQ points across the field of contenders. Is Gingrich shaping up to be the Nixon to Romney’s, uh… Romney, do you think?

  9. 9.

    sharl

    November 11, 2011 at 4:50 pm

    Listening to weekend All Things Considered, at this moment doing a story on the 1932 Bonus Army, including the fate of that movement. Seems like a pretty decent treatment of the history (at least as far as my limited knowledge can determine). Presumably the story is motivated by the observance of Veterans Day, and perhaps our current OWS movement as well.

    I didn’t realize that the House had voted for paying the WWI vets their promised bonus before the originally scheduled 1945 payment date, but the Senate then nixed it. Some things are constant, I guess.

    It was nice to hear the voices of actual participants in the movement, as well as the voice of brilliant (and later regretful) former Marine general Smedley Butler, who came out in support of the vets.

    The vets ultimately got their bonuses in 1936, and this whole tragic fiasco helped bring about the GI Bill a decade later.

  10. 10.

    JPL

    November 11, 2011 at 4:51 pm

    @Raven: How fun!

    Happy Birthday S. Belle.

  11. 11.

    Poopyman

    November 11, 2011 at 4:51 pm

    @Raven: A belated Happy (peaceful)Veteran’s Day to you, Raven.

    And to all vets at BJ. Many more than I’ve sussed, I’m sure.

  12. 12.

    henqiguai

    November 11, 2011 at 4:52 pm

    Will start b!tchin’ about why the hell are the local radio stations already playing Xmas songs?!! What the heck is wrong with those Boston radio stations? Wait wait! That my lawn those darned kids are on???

  13. 13.

    PurpleGirl

    November 11, 2011 at 4:52 pm

    Trying not to think about politics right now. Resting and relaxing today (and this evening) after a few days of typing. Watching TV now and crocheting later. Tomorrow I need to write an APA disty. (I’m part of an APA which still produces a paper issue. We’ve talked about going on-line but we like the paper product.) Looking forward to tomorrow at Walker’s.

  14. 14.

    BGinCHI

    November 11, 2011 at 4:52 pm

    @Raven: Sounds great. Fish sticks or corn dogs?

    Happy Bday, SB!

    I’m going for Happy Hour with friends at a lovely tavern that serves ridiculously good beer and food.

  15. 15.

    PurpleGirl

    November 11, 2011 at 4:53 pm

    @henqiguai: That’s mad. Just mad. I agree with you.

  16. 16.

    JCT

    November 11, 2011 at 4:54 pm

    I’m flying over Arizona on my way to a horrid professional meeting in Orlando.

    Happy B-Day, S.B.

    And thanks to all the vets! My son took the medal boxes for his grandfathers (WWI and Korea) to school yesterday — a bunch of the students did this. Very cool.

    @geg6: Now the trick is to get him to hold on to that 3rd rail very tightly.

    He just honestly believes that all he has to say in answer to any question is either “privatize it” or “Obama’s decision sucked”. That’s basically it.

    Yesiree, let’s take that excellent VA health care and fucking ruin it. Sounds like a plan — on Veteran’s Day no less. What a craven asshole he is.

  17. 17.

    PeakVT

    November 11, 2011 at 4:54 pm

    @askew: Are any of the candidates really attacking each other? I think they’ve mostly tried to out-crazy each other. Perry, Cain, and to a lesser degree Bachmann and Gingrich have gone down, but by blowing themselves up, not by being attacked. And there’s no real reason for any of the frontrunners to attack the rest because they have no chance of being relevant. If a viable not-Romney ever emerges, I would expect the attacks to start, but that hasn’t happened yet.

  18. 18.

    shoutingattherain

    November 11, 2011 at 4:55 pm

    I broke down and bought the “Futurama: Volumes 1-4” boxed DVD set and it arrived today. After dinner, and in celebration of my early Xmas present to myself, Ima gonna roll a couple joints and kick back with season #3. Time keeps on slippin’ slippin’ slippin’, in to the future…

  19. 19.

    BGinCHI

    November 11, 2011 at 4:55 pm

    Could someone please calculate how long it would take me to get from Chi to NYC on a bullet train (the Japanese kind) if we had one?

    I’d so love to do that trip, see everyone at Walker’s, then train home.

  20. 20.

    Crashman

    November 11, 2011 at 4:55 pm

    I expect to spend the weekend wishing I bought Skyrim.

  21. 21.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    November 11, 2011 at 4:57 pm

    @Martin:

    Be careful with how you make that wish.

    Eric Bogle And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda

  22. 22.

    Raven

    November 11, 2011 at 4:58 pm

    @sharl: The GI Bill was created as an anti-revolution measure in the wake of Anacostia Flats. The government knew from the outset of WWII that, when it was over, they had to have something in place to absorb the millions who “came home”. The GED was created to give service members credit for their military training and a secondary credential so they could take advantage of the post-secondary benefits. When LBJ signed the Vietnam GI Bill (he had to be dragged, screaming and yelling to do it) he called it the WWII Bill “the greatest economic flywheel in history”.

  23. 23.

    harlana

    November 11, 2011 at 5:00 pm

    BF & I are going to meet the parents this wkd.

    Happy burfday, Southern Beale! Enjoy your posts!

  24. 24.

    Raven

    November 11, 2011 at 5:00 pm

    @JCT: When I was a kid I took a box of my dad’s WWII stuff to school and lost the 50 cal that hit next to his head on the bulkhead of his destroyer. I was very popular with him, it was “the one that had my name on it”!

  25. 25.

    Warren Terra

    November 11, 2011 at 5:00 pm

    @askew:

    I remember Hillary got a free pass until that debate where she was trying to have it both ways on driver licenses for illegal immigrants. Then, the whole field opened up on her. Romney has a lot more baggage that can be used against him. Why haven’t any of the candidates started attacking him yet?

    None of them are competing with him for the nomination. Perry might have, but he’s got bigger problems – he’s not strong enough now to significantly benefit from Willard getting weaker. Everyone else is in it for the book sales, to become Mayor Of Crazytown, or some other purpose that isn’t defeating Romney to the nomination.

  26. 26.

    askew

    November 11, 2011 at 5:02 pm

    @R-Jud:

    Huntsman is really the only contender who has been following a traditional campaign model of attacking his opponents. It doesn’t seem to be helping him any though because no one outside the media cares about Huntsman.

    I am hoping now that Newt is rising in the polls that he’ll start taking this race more seriously and start going after Romney. Romney will fold like a cheap suit if Newt or Perry can launch a serious attack against him.

  27. 27.

    PeakVT

    November 11, 2011 at 5:03 pm

    @BGinCHI: Too long. On trips over about 400 to 450 miles, planes make the total door-to-door trip quicker.

  28. 28.

    South of I-10

    November 11, 2011 at 5:03 pm

    My aging dog is sick, and I am worried she is really sick. She has a vet appt. in about 30 minutes. Lethargic, not eating, drinking and peeing a ton. So say a little prayer or whatever it is you do for her. Losing her would be devastating. Having to explain that to a 7 year old – doubly so.

  29. 29.

    schrodinger's cat

    November 11, 2011 at 5:03 pm

    Southern Beale Happy Birthday! Ceiling cat has given you a great gift, a wee little kitteh full of squee. Keep us posted about the kitteh’s vet visit.

  30. 30.

    schrodinger's cat

    November 11, 2011 at 5:04 pm

    @South of I-10: I wish you the best of luck and I am keeping my paws crossed for your dog. Hoping that the vet visit helps.

  31. 31.

    Raven

    November 11, 2011 at 5:05 pm

    Michigan State plays North Carolina on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson at 7 est with the Prez in attendance. That should prompt some whining.

  32. 32.

    Anoniminous

    November 11, 2011 at 5:06 pm

    The top 3 of in CBS Who is the Biggest Doofus poll is (tra-la):

    Cain – 18%
    Romney – 15%
    Gingrich – 15%

    Which is where CBS had Cain and Romney back on Oct 6 with a swap of Perry for Gingrich.

  33. 33.

    Mnemosyne

    November 11, 2011 at 5:06 pm

    SB’s kitten is cute as hell. It looks like its coat may end up as silky as Keaton’s when she’s gotten it all cleaned up.

    Also, too, Charlotte and her sister at about the same age as SB’s new kitteh. G found them in the parking lot at his office and, well, what was he supposed to do? They were so cute that the raging asshole vice president who was visiting that day handed us cash to defray the cost of getting them checked out by the vet.

  34. 34.

    WereBear

    November 11, 2011 at 5:07 pm

    Happy Birthday to Southern Beale! Obviously, the Universe decided you needed a kitten.

  35. 35.

    Mnemosyne

    November 11, 2011 at 5:08 pm

    @South of I-10:

    Has she previously been checked for diabetes? Those sound like the classic signs. If so, it’s not good news, but it can be manageable.

  36. 36.

    Raven

    November 11, 2011 at 5:09 pm

    @South of I-10: Aw I’m so sorry to hear that. Hang in there.

  37. 37.

    BGinCHI

    November 11, 2011 at 5:09 pm

    @PeakVT: Yeah, but trains! I loves them.

    I hate airports.

    I’ll consider a jetpack or wormhole.

  38. 38.

    schrodinger's cat

    November 11, 2011 at 5:12 pm

    @BGinCHI: Make sure its the stable kind, the wormhole, I mean.

  39. 39.

    Redshift

    November 11, 2011 at 5:13 pm

    Doing some food shopping, and returning campaign signs to local campaigns that are actually storing them to reuse for once (yay!) Later I need to get our tickets for the Washington Christmas Revels. I have several friends who are in it, and it’s always excellent. If you’re in the DC area, you should definitely go, and if you’re not, check and see if there’s a Revels group where you are.

  40. 40.

    Linda Featheringill

    November 11, 2011 at 5:14 pm

    @Raven:

    That Veterans Day observance sounds very sweet. Sometimes it is the thought that counts.

  41. 41.

    Phylllis

    November 11, 2011 at 5:15 pm

    Listening to the high school playoff game on the radio from the comfort of my warm living room; headed to Charleston tomorrow to watch my alma mater lose their 10th game of the season to our conference rivals. The upside? We’ll be in Charleston.

  42. 42.

    Redshift

    November 11, 2011 at 5:16 pm

    @PurpleGirl: Ah, that takes me back. I was in one (and read several) back in the day. I made some awesome xerox-art for some of the covers.

  43. 43.

    Suffern ACE

    November 11, 2011 at 5:17 pm

    @BGinCHI: The auto and oil industry would make certain it would take you 18 1/2 hours, same as driving. Sure it goes 220 MPH, but not in Indiana, where they’ll have passed a law mandating speeds of no more than 40 MPH and then there will be the three hour layover in Pennsylvania where you’ll have to switch to diesel…

  44. 44.

    JCT

    November 11, 2011 at 5:19 pm

    @Raven: I still remember when my son was a little guy about 6 and trying to get his grandfather to talk about WWII. He was a navigator and blown out of the sky in late May ’44 — poor guy ended up in Stalag Luft III, about 2 months after the “Great Escape” — not a good time to be there.

    My little guy asked his elderly grandfather (who almost never discussed his experiences) how he opened the plane door to jump out. The look on his face when my father-in-law explained that the side of the plane was wide open so he just dove out was priceless.

  45. 45.

    Linda Featheringill

    November 11, 2011 at 5:19 pm

    @harlana:

    BF & I are going to meet the parents this wkd.

    Oooh! Significant, yes?

  46. 46.

    Martin

    November 11, 2011 at 5:19 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat: Uh, the stable kind of jetpack, too.

  47. 47.

    Redshift

    November 11, 2011 at 5:20 pm

    @JCT:

    Now the trick is to get him to hold on to that 3rd rail very tightly.

    Or even better, lick it. (Try it Mitt! It’ll be really cool! You want to be cool, don’t you?)

  48. 48.

    The Dangerman

    November 11, 2011 at 5:21 pm

    @PeakVT:

    If a viable not-Romney ever emerges, I would expect the attacks to start, but that hasn’t happened yet.

    This angle is complementary to my guess, which is that Romney hasn’t yet broken the viable barrier, either, so why attack him? He’s got his support and it doesn’t grow.

    I’m curious what Perry does (this applies to Cain, too, I guess); he’s done, but sitting on a mountain of money. Does he go hard negative to try to get back in it? On second thought, this may not apply to Cain, as I suspect Perry is more of a mean fucker.

  49. 49.

    PeakVT

    November 11, 2011 at 5:21 pm

    @BGinCHI: I think they’re great, too (just look at the maps on my blog) but it’s around 800 miles between the two cities. Even at a very impressive average of 150mph, that’s a 5.5 hour trip.

  50. 50.

    BGinCHI

    November 11, 2011 at 5:21 pm

    @Suffern ACE: Jesus, you all are pessimists today.

    Can’t a guy just ride a superfast train to a bar to meet people he’s never seen?

    I mean, what’s unrealistic about that?

  51. 51.

    BGinCHI

    November 11, 2011 at 5:23 pm

    @Martin: Wait, are there other kinds?

    This is getting complicated.

  52. 52.

    Raven

    November 11, 2011 at 5:23 pm

    @Linda Featheringill: Yea, it was. I hate the POW/MIA shit but someone must have felt it was important.

  53. 53.

    Redshift

    November 11, 2011 at 5:24 pm

    @shoutingattherain: Be sure to check out the extras! There’s stuff about the alien languages, the science jokes, and all kinds of other good stuff.

  54. 54.

    BGinCHI

    November 11, 2011 at 5:24 pm

    @PeakVT: If I could get there in 5.5, I’d do it in a heartbeat. The novel I’m reading is about 1100 pages long, so it’s not like I don’t have stuff to do.

    Plus the drinking.

  55. 55.

    Suffern ACE

    November 11, 2011 at 5:26 pm

    Can’t a guy just ride a superfast train to a bar to meet people he’s never seen?

    Only if the idea polls well with primary voters in Akron ;)

  56. 56.

    Baud

    November 11, 2011 at 5:27 pm

    How late did Rudy collapse in 2008? I wonder if Romney will be more like Rudy or McCain.

  57. 57.

    Raven

    November 11, 2011 at 5:28 pm

    @BGinCHI: 3/5 of a Mile in Ten Seconds

    Do away with things that come on obscene
    like hot rods, beauty queens, real fine nicotine
    sometimes it buys for 65 dollars
    prices like that make a grown man holler
    ‘specially when it’s sold by a kid who’s only 15
    know I love you baby, yes I do
    know I love you baby, yes I do

    3/5’s of a mile in 10 seconds…

  58. 58.

    Redshift

    November 11, 2011 at 5:28 pm

    @The Dangerman:

    I’m curious what Perry does (this applies to Cain, too, I guess); he’s done, but sitting on a mountain of money

    Maybe Newt will explain to him that because of court rulings in the past few years, he’s allowed to use that money to pay himself a cushy salary even after the race is over. Perry may be a mean SOB, but I’d be willing to bet that greed would win out over futile attacks (much as I might prefer him to go after Romney.)

  59. 59.

    BGinCHI

    November 11, 2011 at 5:30 pm

    @Raven: Nice.

  60. 60.

    The Dangerman

    November 11, 2011 at 5:31 pm

    @Redshift:

    …he’s allowed to use that money to pay himself a cushy salary even after the race is over.

    I must be getting old, because I recall when that was bigtime illegal.

    Time to go water the lawn.

  61. 61.

    Yutsano

    November 11, 2011 at 5:32 pm

    Is being liberal a Scorpio trait? :)

    My little girl is at the vet right now getting herself spayed. I go pick her up in about an hour and a half. Figured this thread was trending towards kitteh news.

    @geg6: The NYD Dawg got a piece of shrapnel in his eye. He’s currently in the infirmary, at no cost to him, getting highly effective care. Amazing how that works.

  62. 62.

    MikeJ

    November 11, 2011 at 5:34 pm

    @BGinCHI: Chi-MY is about 800 miles. Call it an hour and a half, maybe two hours flying time. In summer with thunderstorms over Chicago it can be significantly longer. Add an hour and a half for check in, add travel time to LGA or JFK.

    Acela averages 80mph in the US because of lousy infrastructure. With good tracks it could go almost twice that speed. So 10 hours, or upgraded tracks could get it close to 5.

    The French have a line where the TGV hits 200MPH (which again would require better infrastructure in the US) so could do it in 4 hours.

    The Chinese also have a train that is about the same speed as the TGV.

  63. 63.

    Turgidson

    November 11, 2011 at 5:40 pm

    @Warren Terra:

    Yeah, Perry took a whack at it back when he was new to the race and managed to shoot himself in the face rather than make any dent in Romney. If anyone in this crew was gonna have any luck with taking Romney down a peg, it would have had to be Perry. He’s the only one who, when you squint really hard, could plausibly not be a total clown. But it turns out he’s the biggest dolt of them all when forced to actually speak.

    Newt might actually land some rhetorical punches on Romney if he tries, but he just comes off as such an asshole. Which might make him more popular among teatards, but I don’t think it’ll ultimately hurt Romney all that much, and might make him more, not less, electable in the general if he gets there. “See, if Newt hates me I must be a decent guy!”

  64. 64.

    eemom

    November 11, 2011 at 5:44 pm

    @BGinCHI:

    hey — if you make the trip from Chicago, I’ll have no excuse not to make the trip from DC…

  65. 65.

    Jay in Oregon

    November 11, 2011 at 5:46 pm

    These are from my new favorite Tumbleblog, People Don’t Always Suck.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=D9j_KtBZUDM#!

    http://kyladames.tumblr.com/post/9672665186

  66. 66.

    Mnemosyne

    November 11, 2011 at 5:48 pm

    @Yutsano:

    They put one of those e-collars on poor Charlotte after she got spayed, and it made her so frantic that I had to take it off. At one point, she was upside-down with all four paws braced against it, trying to pull it off.

    Once I took the e-collar off and settled her onto my lap, it took her a few hours to sleep off the rest of the anesthetic and then she was fine. They will probably shave a HUGE patch on her belly to try and keep her from grooming the surgical site (which didn’t entirely work with Charlotte, but at least she didn’t pull the stitches out).

  67. 67.

    eemom

    November 11, 2011 at 5:49 pm

    @BGinCHI:

    Can’t a guy just ride a superfast train to a bar to meet people he’s never seen?
    I mean, what’s unrealistic about that?

    I’m totally with ya on this. Reality-based life is so dull.

  68. 68.

    Yutsano

    November 11, 2011 at 5:52 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I half-expect her to pass out on the couch (the couch is hers) as soon as I get her back. And if the collar bothers her I’ll take it off. I don’t anticipate her being very active, although the vet said she came through it easily.

  69. 69.

    wilfred

    November 11, 2011 at 6:11 pm

    Speaking of veterans, let’s not forget the heroes who put them in harm’s way:

    http://www.nhgazette.com/chickenhawks/?sort_list=1

  70. 70.

    Martin

    November 11, 2011 at 6:13 pm

    @JCT: I had a family reunion like that. I was probably 7, and about every 5 years we had this HUGE family reunion in Brooklyn. Closed off the whole street because, well, everyone on the street was a relative. Probably 300 people. I knew a fair number of the people there, but the conversations never really came up.

    Well, damn near everyone my grandparents generation served in the war, so I’m surrounded by all of these great aunts, some were nurses, one was a WASP, etc. and great uncles (I have about 20 great aunts and uncles, plus their spouses) and then some of their cousins, etc. all telling stories. Some served together. I was pretty lost in the conversation because I didn’t know much about the war, but I was asking questions and they were filling in. One of my great uncles called me over, asked me to knock on his leg, and then took his leg off and told the story behind it (lost it in France). I don’t think I had ever considered that you could lose a limb before that – Luke Solo wouldn’t lose his hand for a few more years yet. That was a strange thing to think about.

    Turns out there were more things lost there I didn’t know about – sight, hearing, some other limbs and such – and lots of stories about getting shot – I just lost track of that after a while. People on islands. People in planes. People on ships. People in submarines. People on beaches. People in tanks. People jumping out of planes. People doing surgery. People building, well, everything it seemed. Also people on fire. People trying to not drown in the ocean. People in prison camps. I must have looked interested in it, because they’d take me across the street to uncle so-and-so’s house to look at his medals, look at his photos, and hear his stories. Then up the street to hear about aunt so-and-so who everyone thought had the best job – she was the WASP and got to fly planes all the time. Later in the evening I asked about my grandfather, if he was also in the war. I knew he died when I was little. Yeah, he spent 3 years in the Pacific. He was at Iwo Jima. He didn’t come back okay. Neither did his brother. Or my grandmother’s brother. Took me a long time to understand ‘shell shock’. I kind of understood why people couldn’t handle that kind of stress. I didn’t understand why the family didn’t want to talk about it and seemed ashamed of my grandfather.

    I wish we had gotten those stories written down. A lot happened in my family, but most of them have died now, and their kids didn’t seem too interested in the stories as they were all dealing with Vietnam or were too worn down from war news to really care about what mom and dad did.

    The first veteran in my family was my great, great, great grandfather on my dad’s side. He brought his family to America from Ireland. They had relatives that had come to America during the potato famine and settled in the midwest, and talked about how you could get cheap land and start a farm. When my greatx3 grandfather got enough money together to take the family, they set sail, destined for Charleston, SC. Well, SC got all uppity around the time that they departed, and the Union blockaded the port and the ship was redirected to New York. One of the few jobs available to the Irish then was military service, so he joined the Union army. We’ve got a daguerreotype of him in his uniform.

    Have a good day, vets. Thanks for your service.

  71. 71.

    BGinCHI

    November 11, 2011 at 6:27 pm

    @eemom: No, I’m not picking you up.

    Honestly, I wish I was going….now I has a sad.

  72. 72.

    normal liberal

    November 11, 2011 at 6:31 pm

    @BGinCHI: Five hours is within the realm of possibility at current top speeds for the Japanese trains. You would have to assume a few intermediate stops, minimum two, which would add at least a half-hour. Actual gate to gate time might be competitive, unless the security theater overlords make good on their plan to do TSA-style screening for passenger trains.

    The upfront costs would be staggering – trains at those speeds usually demand dedicated tracks and grade separations at locations between stations. Over 800 miles, that really adds up.

    There’s currently a not-to-spec study of 212 mph service between Chicago and St. Louis, but there are some fairly fundamental problems with the starting assumptions, IMHO.

    I would completely take a high speed train from Chicago to NY over flying, even if flying was noticeably quicker.

  73. 73.

    BGinCHI

    November 11, 2011 at 6:37 pm

    @normal liberal: When I’m President, we’re getting these fucking trains put in everywhere, and I don’t care how much white Wall St slave labor we have to use to do it.

    I’d ride the train even if it didn’t go anywhere, btw. Like all good-hearted people if given the choice.

  74. 74.

    Steeplejack

    November 11, 2011 at 6:44 pm

    @PurpleGirl:

    Looking forward to tomorrow at Walker’s.

    I thought the meet-up is on Sunday.

  75. 75.

    BGinCHI

    November 11, 2011 at 6:45 pm

    @Steeplejack: She knows how to get the good table….

  76. 76.

    Martin

    November 11, 2011 at 6:46 pm

    @normal liberal: The sweet spot for high speed rail is around 450 miles. Over 750, and air travel is the better option. Under 200 and you’re better off driving. But the overwhelming majority of domestic air travel is down in the 200-750 range, and that’s what’s killing airport capacity.

    Wipe that out, and anyone needing to take a proper flight (NY to Chi) will breeze through security and likely not face delays because you’ve just knocked out 75% of competing airport traffic, and 75% of other passengers.

    The problem with the US infrastructure is that there’s nothing between cars and planes. Don’t try and replace planes – just try and fill that gap.

  77. 77.

    normal liberal

    November 11, 2011 at 6:50 pm

    @BGinCHI: I’m hereby volunteering to be your Secretary of Transportation.

    However,I recommend against the Wall St. labor force, although it’s tempting. What with all the whining and complaining, it would take way too long to build. Let’s recruit all the guys that got dumped from the Rust Belt industries and put them to work building rolling stock and managing the amazing equipment they have to lay track these days. (Union Pacific uses a thing that does the entire process, picking up the old track and ties, grading and laying new track. It’s incredible.)

  78. 78.

    BGinCHI

    November 11, 2011 at 6:51 pm

    @Martin: OK, I’ll accept this compromise, as long as we hurry up and get this done.

    Think how great it would be for you on the west coast!

  79. 79.

    Steeplejack

    November 11, 2011 at 6:51 pm

    @BGinCHI:

    As long as she doesn’t get lonely . . .

  80. 80.

    BGinCHI

    November 11, 2011 at 6:57 pm

    @normal liberal: Deal.

    Stay tuned for BGmentum.

  81. 81.

    BGinCHI

    November 11, 2011 at 6:57 pm

    @Steeplejack: They don’t serve lonely at Walker’s.

  82. 82.

    Ben Cisco (mobile)

    November 11, 2011 at 7:00 pm

    Mrs. Cisco took me out for a Veterans Day dinner (more like lunch because get off my lawn and all that) and about to cue up the Heels vs. Sparty.

  83. 83.

    Raven

    November 11, 2011 at 7:05 pm

    @Ben Cisco (mobile): Great setting!

  84. 84.

    lamh35

    November 11, 2011 at 7:05 pm

    So I’ve been thinking about the “inevitability of Romney” and all these debates, and one thing I will say about the long Dem primary of 2008, it may have been long, but IMHO, it made Obama a better candidate for the general, because all the oppo research thrown at him by Clinton campaign was the exact things that McCain campaign tried to throw at him and thx to the long primary and all those debates he performed way better than expected in those debates.
    The Dem primary debates included a number of great debaters, I’d contend that allt he candidate were great debaters when they had the chance to be. Chris Dodd, Biden, Clinton, Edwards and Obama were all as I recall fine in the debate format. No real major gaffes, Biden being the best in my mind.

    On the flip side, the GOP debaters are mostly all horrible debaters. Romney’s winning by default in these debates. He just has to sit back and let the other contenders fall on their swords. He has not really been challenged by either the other candidates or the moderators in the debates so far.

    Romney’s been allowed to coast along, and I suspect that once he wins the nomination and he actualy has to debate President Obama, he will find out what McCain did. POTUS ain’t no slouch in the debate department, and unlike Romney’s current opposition, POTUS has a knack for remembering figures, statements and information without cue cards and contrary to the teleprompter meme that Romney and his ilk like to traffic on, Obama is really quick on his feet.

    These debates have not allowed Romney to hone any defense to the many things that oppo researchers on both sides have on him and with his history of bending which ever way the winds blows there are many attacks to be made against Romney. IMHO, none of these debates so far have prepared Romney for the fight that the Obama campaign will bring to him in the general.

    So I think Romney should enjoy this cakewalk to the nomination because once it’s over, he better be ready.

  85. 85.

    Raven

    November 11, 2011 at 7:09 pm

    Mr and Mrs Obama look great, the flight jacket will have the wingnuts freakin!

    The dude singin the anthem is wearing some funky military fashion! And droppin notes like a hot potato!

  86. 86.

    normal liberal

    November 11, 2011 at 7:10 pm

    @Martin: That’s the sweet spot now, and it’s predicated on multiple variables, including intermediate population density as well as overall distance. I would also suggest that there’s a place for high speed commuter service at well below that 200 mile range.

    I don’t have the crystal ball needed to assess how the future mix of technical advances by mode, fuel costs (especially as a percentage of fossil fuel sourcing) and terminal infrastructure might shift the viability at the intermediate distances. I also have trouble visualizing the future of the lousy U.S. airline industry, especially after the FAA shutdown operetta earlier this year.

    I just want snazzy 275 mph long-distance trains. Is that so wrong?

  87. 87.

    Uncle Clarence Thomas

    November 11, 2011 at 7:11 pm

    .
    .
    Fortunately, YAY! America Kills!
    .
    .

  88. 88.

    PeakVT

    November 11, 2011 at 7:11 pm

    @Martin: No existing rail service is time-competitive at 750 miles. The maximum is around 550-600 for now.

  89. 89.

    Raven

    November 11, 2011 at 7:12 pm

    @Uncle Clarence Thomas: Let’s start with you.

  90. 90.

    bemused

    November 11, 2011 at 7:16 pm

    @Jay in Oregon:

    Thanks for the tumbleblog link. I likee.

  91. 91.

    South of I-10

    November 11, 2011 at 7:21 pm

    Hannah is staying at the vet tonight, not diabetes, but she is running 105 fever. Dr. Is waiting for lab results in the morning. Thanks for the positive thoughts!

  92. 92.

    Ben Cisco (mobile)

    November 11, 2011 at 7:25 pm

    @Raven 85: Yeah, and he just thanked the crew for taking part in boxing bin Laden. I am so loving this.

  93. 93.

    normal liberal

    November 11, 2011 at 7:28 pm

    @PeakVT: For now being the operative phrase. Where are we in 15 years (yes, that’s wildly, insanely optimistic) when rail can bump speeds and exploit ground-based alternative energy, and airlines are stuck using jet fuel with oil at God knows what per barrel?

    Unless there’s a large hybrid jet in development…

  94. 94.

    kay

    November 11, 2011 at 7:30 pm

    @lamh35:

    IMHO, none of these debates so far have prepared Romney for the fight that the Obama campaign will bring to him in the general.

    Romney is the only one I watch because I think he’s the nominee and I’m not listening to the rest of them unless they win due to some freak accident or occurrence.

    I think Romney’s going to come off as nasty debating Obama. Not “tough” but irritable and entitled and small.

    I saw flashes of it the 2008 Romney, and I think it’s right beneath the surface. I don’t think Mitt Romney has been directly challenged a lot in his life, while Obama genuinely seems to enjoy going back and forth with nearly anyone.

    It’ll be a clear contrast.

  95. 95.

    bemused

    November 11, 2011 at 7:31 pm

    @Jay in Oregon:

    What a fun video to see. It really made me feel happy. I love the high school kids joyously taunting the Westboro freaks.

  96. 96.

    Gex

    November 11, 2011 at 7:37 pm

    @eemom: I WISH being reality based is boring. Turns out, it helps you to see that 27% – 50% of this country is not reality based and to see how much “excitement” that creates.

    @BGinCHI: I like the way you think. Although I think the Wall Street guys shouldn’t be slaves. They should work for minimum wage. They generally think that is too extravagant, but they deserve the best!

    I only wish that the non-reality based were dreaming of high speed trains rather than Pleasantville before the color.

  97. 97.

    Mnemosyne

    November 11, 2011 at 7:39 pm

    I want my train from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, damn it! That rail line alone would be able to support the rest of the Amtrak system within a few years, especially if you count in the revenues from the club car.

    But Southwest and the other short-hop airlines keep killing it, because they don’t want the competition.

    (My maternal grandfather was a train conductor, so I’ve always had a fondness for trains.)

  98. 98.

    Canuckistani Tom

    November 11, 2011 at 8:00 pm

    I’m the keeper of the family history, so I’ve got most of the family documents and artifacts. One item I’ve got on my desk right now is my mat. Grampa’s pocket watch. It’s one he used as a Lt in the Finnish artillery, the watch he would take out and count down to zero-hour before unleashing hell on the Soviets

    My pat. Grampa was also an Lt, but in the Canadian 29th Armoured Recon (South Alberta Regiment). He wrote a chunk of the regimental history plus his own memoirs before he died, and I’ve got his war letters and his diary. I transcribed that last one a few years ago and gave everyone in the family copies.

    I can share some of his story with you, if you’re interested. Visit the video section of the History Television website

    http://www.history.ca/video/default.aspx

    Click on ‘Greatest Tank Battles’, then season 1, ep 5 ‘The Battle for the Hochwald Gap’ And you’ll hear about my Grampa Bill Luton

  99. 99.

    Southern Beale

    November 11, 2011 at 9:00 pm

    Ha!!

    I’m sure we can arrange for a kitty to be deposited in your neck of the woods in time for Christmas!

    Thanks for the birthday wishes. I threw up another kitty post with an update, post-doctor’s visit. Need help with a name. Ideas?

  100. 100.

    Martin

    November 11, 2011 at 9:26 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    Yeah, you and about 7 million other people. And 2/3 of the distance is just desert. Cheap to build.

  101. 101.

    Mnemosyne

    November 11, 2011 at 10:24 pm

    @Martin:

    Even just a freakin’ high speed train to the Bay Area. I looked into taking the train from LA to San Jose one time and was unable to believe that the trip takes 10 hours on Amtrak. To go 350 miles.

  102. 102.

    Martin

    November 11, 2011 at 10:56 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Well, LA to Sacramento involves 2/3 of the trip on Greyhound.

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