Dakota Meyer: Honoring the Bravest of the Brave
I had the pleasure of skeet shooting with Sgt. Meyer last weekend in Virginia. He is truly a quiet, thoughtful, easy going fella.
If you are from the country and played high school football, as I did, you felt like he was the guard or tackle on the team. Not a glamor position, but one that defines team. He was as humble as can be. Glad to be alive and shouldering the honor with all the humility the good Lord had given him.
I also felt the sense that as he stated in the article, many guys would and have done the same in that spot. It made me proud of our men and women who put themselves in harms way for us. As a New Yorker of almost 20 years, who lives less than a half mile from ground zero, shooting skeet with this fine American soldier made me very proud to be an American and I could not think of anything better to do to remember that day 10 years prior.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
Top Medal for Marine Who Saved Many Lives
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Well Done Sgt. Meyer!
As a Vietnam veteran, I know that a Marine values the lives of his comrades over and above his own. I understand the pain of "survivor guilt," in that you could not bring every one of those men out alive. But consider this: 36 men, who obviously would have otherwise died in combat, lived because of your courage and initiative! Perhaps, you believed that you deserved no more than a Bronze Star, if that, for your actions, but going back into the face of heavy fire five times to rescue those men, merits far more than that! Also consider that this nation's highest decoration for valor in combat is not awarded lightly. That was a decision for others to make.
I was inspired by another recipient of this award, whom I had the honor to meet: Army Captain (Chaplain) Angelo "Charlie" Liteky, who went out beyond the perimeter in combat in Vietnam to bring back an estimated 20 wounded men. Father Litkey put his life at risk every time he went out beyond the wire to bring each of those men back, an estimated 20 times, but no one knows for certain how many times he went out, or how many men he saved. He only stopped going when there was no one left to bring back!
How do you determine when a man becomes deserving of this award? When he saves 12 lives? When he saves 20, as did Father Liteky? When he saves 36 lives, as you did? That is an extremely difficult decision to make! On the Iwo Jima Memorial in Washington, D.C., there is a quote by Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, "Among the Men Who Fought at Iwo Jima, Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue." But,"Uncommon Valor" is not nearly as common as Admiral Nimitz thought! Your valor in this particular ambush was quite uncommon indeed! That why is was determined that you were deserving of this nation's highest combat decoration! Your courage and initiative in combat were in the highest and best tradition of the U.S. Marine Corps!
Semper Fi Devil Dog!
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
Top Medal for Marine Who Saved Many Lives
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Dakota Meyer you are a hero! Not once in my life and from knowing people that have served from WW II on have I ever heard one say they were a hero but every one of them has been!
They went when called and they did there best just like you . Yes other may have done the same but this time it was you because you were there not them and you reacted with out thinking of your own self first only them and there life’s so you put them ahead of your self. No gift is greater then when a man will lay down his life for another man.
That is just what you did and that is what makes you a hero of heroes! Yes some times you can not do every thing you wish you could but look at this. How many families now do have there military person with them because of you? How many kids will have that father now for more years because of you? No you did not fail at all but you succeeded in saving many families and keeping them whole including your own!
So hold your head high and know in your heart you’re the best of the best even if you, your self do not want to believe it we all do! That is why you have been honored and now you join a branch of the very few, the heroes of the heroes!
Read the article ABC NEWS/Dakota Meyer, Marine Medal of Honor Recipient, Says He’s No Hero
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I am always amazed at the common thread between the Medal of Honor recipients: Humility.
As a child my dad gave me a book that told the story of all of the honorees since WWII. In the interviews they all speak of the sacrifices of others, doing their job, and the classic "I am not a hero." Many of them, like Mr. Meyers, do not celebrate the day or their actions but mourn the events leading to their award. My father, a Vietnam vet, always said the best Marines he knew with were soft spoken, loved their fellow Marines, fought selflessly, and did not clebrate the horrors of war. They were not just good soldiers, they were good people.
Read the article SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE/Marine Daakota Meyer to Recieve Medal of Honor
On Listening to the Jackie Tapes...
A GREAT WOMAN!
But I wonder if anyone under 50 can relate to the world in which she was brought up -- where "marrying well" was the goal of women and their families.
When I started at UC Berkeley, a woman who graduated without an engagement ring was like last season's marked down dress, on the sale rack -- in her own eyes and society's.
Jackie had the guts/brains to wait for the right husband who could equal her.
One used to hear many more women with childlike voices, as girls were trained not to show any traits that might be compared to men.
Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Jackie Kennedy as Icon: Will the Jackie Tapes Change It?
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The idea that Jackie carved a life out of rather adverse circumstance has always impressed and inspired me.
Her husband cheated nonstop, her mother was harsh and mean, she was criticized for not having more babies (even though there was reason to think this was due to JFK's STDs), and was generally not appreciated much. And then she was.
The idea of moving into the White House with a new baby and a young daughter, starting a kindergarten, revamping the WH via innovative funding mechanisms, being a good wife, and playing that First Lady role where everyone wanted a piece of her: amazing!
But mostly, I loved watching her because of her wit and intelligence as well as her common sense. I hope we get another hit of that in the tapes.
Read the article NEW YORKER/What Jackie Said
Remains of Ned Kelly: Such is Life -- and Death
Ned Kelly is remembered for both the bad and good things he did. As a boy, he risked his life to save another boy, Richard Shelton, from drowning. As a reward he was given a green sash by the boy's family, which he wore under his armour during his final showdown with police in 1880.
Australian war hero General Sir John Monash later claimed to have met Ned Kelly during Kelly’s raid in Jerilderie in 1879. Kelly fought racism and is part of Australian folklore of disrespect for mindless authority. But he did murder police officers, take control of a town and he robbed banks.
He did have high morals in a political sense against racism but he had low morals in that he was willing to kill policemen and steal.
There is a suggestion that Kelly's bones be put on display. This is just dumb. We will all die, such is life. But to display a fellow human beings bones for curiosity is macabre and in extreme bad taste. A deceased person shouldn’t have their remains desecrated regardless of their sins. Kelly can't sin any more, such is death...
Read the article CNN/Remains of famous Australian outlaw identified
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As an Australian I like Bill Bryson's description of Ned Kelly best:
Ned Kelly ‘was a murderous thug who deserved to be hanged and was’.
Oh yes, his family was hounded by the police - mostly because, as is usually the case when police meet people, several of them kept committing crimes and the others kept sheltering those criminals – and oh yes there are many murderous thugs around the world who have become heroes to many – the Indian Thugee (origin of the word ‘thug’) were well liked by their beneficiaries and clients. Shame they brutally killed people. Billy the Kid. Gaddafi.
But stealing cattle, bank robbery & assault = thug and killing the police who are quite rightfully after you for your crimes = murderous (even if he didn't torture a dying man, as is often reported). Do I like capital punishment? No. Do I think that if you steal cattle and rob banks when those are capital offences or, say, import 5kg of heroin into Malaysia so can expect only the death penalty that it’s ok to kill the cops who come after you? No. That would make you a murderous thug that, by the standards of that country, deserves to be hanged.
I love the story as much as the next man but let’s not romanticise it too much or forget the whole murders of men with families of their own just because they happened to be police on the trail of a recidivist criminal and cops at that time were also thugs.
Read the article GUARDIAN/In praise of … the Ned Kelly legend
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Here are some insights from my Dad, who's Australian:
On telling him I'd been to a small town in northern Victoria and seen Ned Kelly's armour or something.
'Every small town round there claims to have Ned Kelly's armour'
On telling him how I'd encountered some Australians who took an immediate dislike and distrust of me
'They were probably Irish Australians, they don't like the English'
and finally (my favourite)
On admiring the scenery at the Blue Mountains
'All mountains in Australia look blue from a distance'
Read the article GUARDIAN/In praise of … the Ned Kelly legend
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It always seems so arbitrary to me the way that some criminals get glamourised while others are hated. It genuinely bothers me sometimes, because I feel the need to understand why people judge them so inconsistently.
I mean, very rarely do people stand up for serial killers or spree shooters, but 'outlaws' and 'gangsters', many of whom kill more people than serial killers or spree shooters, and often in more sadistic ways, are widely regarded as folk heroes. You can see examples from Ned Kelly and Billy the Kid in the 19th century to Kelvin '50 Cent' Martin, the criminal from whom the rapper 50 Cent took his name, in the 1980s. I've watched a documentary about Kelvin Martin on YouTube, and there were people calling for a memorial statue of him to be built! Kelvin Martin was estimated to have killed 30 people or more in his career of armed robbery - I think it would be about as appropriate as building a statue of Anders Behring Breivik on that Norwegian island he shot up.
It reminds me of a quote from the movie Cliffhanger: "Kill one man, they call you a murderer. Kill a million, they call you a conqueror. Go figure."
Read the article GUARDIAN/In praise of … the Ned Kelly legend
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My comments have nothing to do with Ned. As an amateur genealogist I'm thrilled that DNA tests were used successfully here. Many times DNA results can raise as many questions as they answer. When used successfully, as here, people tend to consider it a magic bullet when in fact, many times the results are not as cut and dried. Like why my ancestor's DNA that matches no one else with the same surname but closely matches another family. Mmmmm....
.I just wanted to point out that DNA doesn't always solve the mystery but sometimes compounds them. But that's great. Why should I keep claiming ancestors that are not really mine? RIP Ned. They have their thumb on you again
Read the article CNN/Remains of famous Australian outlaw identified
"You Left out Darth Vader" - Dick Cheney to Matt Lauer
Cheney followed his own agenda, respecting nobody and nothing. He shouldn't squeal now that it's payback time. Bush and Cheney hung Powell out to twist in the wind when they swore Saddam Hussein had WMD and they knew it wasn't true, that they were getting into a war with Iraq for their own reasons. Powell was not privy to the truth
. By taking out Hussein, we removed the only thing Iran feared and now we have to deal with their very real threats. I'm not for putting Cheney into the dock at the Hague but at very least the complete truth needs to come out so that he cannot hide behind his facade of lies and distortions. The man is more reptile than human.
Read the article CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR/Might Dick Cheney really be tried for war crimes?
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In my opinion Cheney had a long and not so distinguished career in the public sector. In fact Cheney is exactly the type of person that does not belong in the public sector. A chicken-hawk of the first magnitude with numerous deferments under his belt during the Vietnam war while many of us who are approximately his age were called to serve or volunteered to serve.
His response when asked about his deferments was – he was busy doing other things. In addition to his arrogance and war-monger mentality the man is a genuine megalomaniac who abused his office in subtle and not so subtle ways.
During his 8 years in the Executive Branch and along with his cohort Bush the two came about as close as anyone at any time in our history of totally decimating our economy, our foreign policy, and our standing in the community of nations. We are still recovering from the absolute mess that Cheney helped create at the federal level of governance. Instead of writing a glowing account of his time in office he should be ashamed of the legacy he left behind.
Read the article WASHINGTON POST/‘In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir’ by Dick Cheney
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My, oh my, oh my. How long will it take for our country to recover from the Bush/Cheney years? It must be asking too much to hold people, expecially those in charge, responsible for their actions; but really, what is wrong with our citizens who are going to pay money for their books?
Wasn't the trillions we spent in Iraq, wasted in Iraq and Afghanistan - not just the cost of war - but the contracted waste, the loss of life and limbs of our military, the loss of our national reputation, the loss of our moral standing because of twisted legal logic which condoned torture enough of a price?
Without laws and respect for those laws, without accountability at all levels of government, without taxes, privacy, civil rights, a free and responsible press, and protective regulations and vigorous oversite and enforcement - what is our country becoming?
Thank you Mr. Kaiser for your candid review of this book. Thank heavens I don't have to buy it. I saw him in action for eight long years. That was enough. Wish I oould have the opportunity to visit him in prison
Read the article WASHINGTON POST/‘In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir’ by Dick Cheney
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Cheney's well-established history of manipulating the law and peddling lies and half-truths during the Bush administration is well known. What I wonder is if the American people will ever have the courage of their conviction, and do something to bring this man to justice. Democracy is established and safeguarded by the action of patriotic people who adhere to the subpositional theories for which a democratic nation should stand.
Unfortunately, American people between the late 80's through to present day, have stopped giving credence to the power of the people and democracy by the people. Americans believe that political party affiliation, blogging and witty vehement sloganeering equals democracy. Cheney understood that people mired in ideology would support him in whatever he did, as long as their was an enemy to masquerade as a target. He knew that Americans stopped being interested in facts, social science, culture, history and so on. He made a real monkey of the American people and everything America stands for.
The saddest party is that so many of America's sons and daughters died as a result of his greed, hate, and self-centered narcissism.
Read the article WASHINGTON POST/‘In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir’ by Dick Cheney
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This chapter is closed and Mr. Cheney has been branded. I teach social studies
and the words that generally accompany the mention of his name are, "liar,"
"disgrace," and "coward, who sanctioned torture." Guess what? I have neither the
energy, or the game plan to play devils advocate. Mr. Cheney--your disgraceful
performance is stamped in my students memories as clearly as the photo of the
black hooded prisoner at Abu Ghraib. May it always be so.
Read the article NPR/Cheney:
Iraq War Did Not Hurt Reputation Of U.S.; Was Sound Policy
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"Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by
men with guns. Whose gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater
responsibility than you could possibly fathom.... You have the luxury of not
knowing what I know. That Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives.
And that my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives.
You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at
parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall." Col. Jessep from A
Few Good Men.
I don't like war...it's very easy to look in the rear view
mirror and decide what went in a way other than what was planned or hoped for.
Dick C. had a lot of company (Republican and Democrat) in going to war. While he
deserves to be questionned and criticized (as any senior gov't official should
be questionned and criticized for consequential decisions), it seems vapid to me
to conclude that Dick C. is "evil" while the rest of our gov't officials are
saints.
Evil exists in the world, my friends...inside everyone of us...and
inside our enemies as well. All it takes is the "right" circumstances to bring
it out. For Dick C., 3K murdered Americans was enough to act.
Read the article NPR/Cheney:
Iraq War Did Not Hurt Reputation Of U.S.; Was Sound Policy
READ MORE BEST COMMENTS: JULY -- AUGUST 2011
