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Celebrating July 4th

On most every patriotic holiday, and this one is no exception, there are calls to “thank a soldier”.   This, of course, leaves out our other fighting forces – the marines, navy, coast guard and air force.  It also does not give the average citizen enough credit.

We in the USA are very fortunate in many ways, and one of  the greatest is that the military, for the most part,  has stayed out of politics and governing.  Our armed forces are second to none.  Can the people of Iran, China, Burma thank a soldier for their freedom?  Is that what the lone man standing in front of a column of tanks in Tienanmen Square was doing?  Thanking a soldier?

Our soldiers, airmen, sailors, marines and guardsmen are the product of a great nation built on a whole new concept of citizenship.  [Read more →]

You don’t really need to see the video.  It is brutal.  I pulled this frame from it.

This is Neda in the last seconds of her life after she was gunned down while standing next to her father as they watched the demonstrations in Tehran.  I am not posting the entire video, just a look at her last look at life.

I won’t try to attach meaning this image of the last, living expression on her face, as it speaks differently to everyone.

I do recommend the post by Synthesis, which I have lifted and placed below.  The original and more can be found here, along with links to the video (if you want to hear a father’s horrified cries).

During the Vietnam War, Kent State demonstrations led to the Ohio National Guard firing into the crowd of student protesters.  Senior photojournalism major John Filo snapped a photo of Mary Vecchio, screaming with arms outstretched  over the dead body of a student killed in the gunfire.  The photo became an icon of the beginning of the end of Vietnam War.

Unfortunately, the democracy fighters of Iran now have their iconic image.

I am crying as I write this. [Read more →]

As Texans, we should rejoice over news the state has begun to issue license plates with the  new design.

Remember when this was the standard licene plate?   It was the most color Texas had had on a plate ever. Most folks thought the flag and “TEXAS” just about said all that needed to be said. The design was simple and striking and did not give bombastic calls to duty (”Live free or die!” – whatever the hell that means) or overt bragging (”The Sunshine State” – except when there’s hurricanes).

Then, came the Sesquicentennial (that’s 150th anniversary) of Texas’ statehood (ignoring that little dustup in 1865). Up until then, the only word on the Texas plate beside “TEXAS” had been [Read more →]

Whenever war dead are celebrated and remembered, you hear two words over and over again – “gave” and “sacrifice”.

“They gave their all,”  orators will say.  Others remind us of the “ultimate sacrifice”.  It sounds grand and noble, and totally disregards the truth of war.

Most of those killed in action did not give or sacrifice their lives.  War took their lives from them without asking, without warning and without regard to whether they wished to live or die.  Most of the time it was totally anonymous – a trigger pulled on a gun not aimed at anyone in particular, a bomb released on unseen targets, a screeching artillery shell aimed at a grid coordinate, a traffic accident or a disease sent death to whomever it happened to intersect. [Read more →]

The John Birch Society Song premiered on the Chad Mitchell Trios’ 1962 album “Live at the Bitter End”.  The song takes on the anti-Communist fervor of the post-McCarthy era, as epitomized by the John Birch Society.  This was after the Cuban Missile Crises, when some were looking under the beds of America for dirty, rotten commies.

John Birch Society Song

This was a very jingoistic time, where thinking for yourself and publicly stating unpopular ideas was frowned upon.  Of course, it soon would be all shot to hell by the assassination of Pres. John F. Kennedy, followed by the murders of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Sen. Robert Kennedy, and the Vietnam War.

Despite the defrocking and public shame of McCarthy, the ultra right was at its height, though it soon would be dethroned.

Last year, the Chad Mitchell Trio recorded a parody of its own song, as a goodbye (and good riddance) to Boy George Bush and his NeoCON gang (the guys who put the “con” back into conservative).  The song serves as Boy George’s legacy and goes out to all those who still defend this nation’s worst ever president.

The George Bush Society

Learn more about the Chad Mitchell Trio and take advantage of re-releases of its past albums at the Chad Mitchell Trio Website.