Blue Star Chronicles

Doughboys

In the time of World War I, it was known as ‘The Great War’ and ‘The War to End All Wars’. I imagine that the people who lived in those times could not imagine the consequence of that war. I imagine they couldn’t imagine that it was only the first ‘Great War’ in a series of wars that would be fought by each succeeding generation. And each generation would tire of the war and end them in treaties, compromises and not in defeat. The undefeated enemy would rear its head again down for the next generation to deal with.

World War I is largely overshadowed by World War II, the Vietnam War and now the Global War on Terrorism. The Korean War is the ‘forgotten war’ - just a war that was squished in between two larger wars and more public wars and hardly remembered.

World War I was not so much ‘the War to End All Wars’ but the War that Began a Century of Wars.

Things were not so much different then. People were certainly not different then. We just have bigger guns now and faster communications for the propagandist to use against us.

Prying Books has scanned and made available online a book of poems that were written by the Doughboys of World War I. The book is Rhymes of a Lost Battalion Doughboy and is beautifully illustrated and written. The poetry was written in 1919.

Go to Prying’s blog to find out more about the booklet and how to order it.

Doughboys Rhymes

Rumor has it that Joe Biden is going to be Obama’s VP pick. How great is THAT!

Joe Biden: Obama VP?

The entire media corps of the United States sits breathless waiting for The One to disclose the secret of the century. In the last few hours, we have learned that there is an unexpected person on the short-list of possible vice-presidential candidates for Barack Obama. That would be Texas Congressman Chet Edwards. We’ve also learned that presumed Obama picks, Evan Byah and Tim Kaine have been personally called by Obama and told they are losers.

Meanwhile, we haven’t heard anything about the other possible Obama running mates, Bill Richardson and Kathleen Sebelius. I guess they were dropped off the list a while back.

Now, we are hearing that the U. S. Secret Service has dispatched a detail to watch over Joe Biden’s person and keep him safe. Okay, shake that image from you mind. NOW.

That, of course, confirms in everyone’s mind that Joe is the man of the hour.

This whole dog and pony show has been a hoot to watch. Just like everything else in the Obama campaign, its been carefully planned and orchestrated for maximum media exposure, anticipation and theatrics. Keep ‘em waiting for a week for The One to speak!! Woah. And everyone does!! Everyone wants to be the first to report it. Everyone wants the scoop. There have been some false starts and a few news people have jumped up and taken off running with a name only to have to go back and wait again. How easily we are all manipulated and played.

Barack is now saying, rather his people are saying, that he’ll do the infamous text message tomorrow morning. But it looks like its going to be Biden - unless its another red herring. Of course all of this has been analyzed endlessly while the press waits for the secret to be revealed. Currently, people are busy explaining away why Biden was such a wise choice for Obama. According to what I’ve been hearing and reading, he rivals McCain in foreign service experience which Obama lacks. He has experience in the Senate, which Obama lacks. He fills the need for someone with gray hair. Yes, some newscaster actually said that. Obviously, they are trying to spin it and make the best of it.

I really thought Barry would have picked someone with a little less ego and personality than Biden. I wouldn’t have thought he’d want someone who rivals his own arrogance. I also would have thought he’d pick someone not entrenched in Washington politics, since he’s built his campaign on change and hope and on Washington being corrupt. Biden’s been in Washington for 40 years.

I also thought he might have picked someone who wasn’t obsessed with whether or not Vice President Cheney gets kissed.

PETRAEUS: Senator, the vice president was in Iraq just a couple weeks after that, and he also had a very warm reception.

BIDEN: Did he get kissed? Get a kiss?

PETRAEUS: I believe he did get kissed when he was there.

BIDEN: I just want to know whether he got kissed, that’s all.

Or maybe he was already trying to decide if he wanted the job.

At least Obama picked someone who thinks he’s clean and articulate. That’s important in a vice president.

“I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,” Biden said. “I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”

They say that at least he’s got a nice wife, Jill Biden, although she says she didn’t know a single person who voted for George Bush. So I suspect she doesn’t get out much.

Spc. Matthew A. Koch
23 years old from West Henrietta, New York
Company C, 70th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division
March 9, 2005

Spc. Matthew A. Koch was on his second tour of duty when he was killed by an IED that was detonated near his vehicle in Taji. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He previously was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Army Service Ribbon and medals for service in the fight against terrorism.

Koch enlisted in the Army in January 2002 after the attacks on September 11, 2001 and re-enlisted because he wanted to help the Iraqi people. “He was a brave soldier who made the greatest sacrifice anyone could make for everyone else’s freedom,” Diane Worman, Koch’s mother, said through tears. “He realized that by being over there, he was going to make a difference in the lives of those people.” She said her son once unsuccessfully sought green cards for an Iraqi family that had been threatened for helping Americans.

“He always looked out for the other guy, never thought of himself. He volunteered to go to C Co before our first deployment so that one of the guys from our Platoon didn’t have to deploy early and would have a chance to marry his fiance. That’s Koch for you, always looking out for his buddies.” - David A. “Buch” Buchanan.

“He really loved the service and went back,” said James Worman, Koch’s stepfather. “He had no problem. He was dedicated to the fact that people over there needed help. He was always concerned about other people. He loved children. He was a nice, soft-hearted kid.”

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Bob Beckel is doing his political punditry thing on television and insulting the entire Southern region of the nation.

Bob Beckel

I had the television on a while ago and was just half listening to it when I heard Bob Beckel being interviewed regarding what Barack Obama needs to do to win over the South. The interviewer was saying that the Obama camp has decided that they really need to win over Southerners in order for him to be able to win the Presidency.

According to the interviewer, there had been a discussion in Obama’s camp about how to get past ‘the color of his skin’ in the South. A Southern democrat has told them that it wasn’t the color of his skin but his tin ear that was the problem. Bob Beckel immediately responded that it absolutely was the color of his skin that was the problem Obama would have in the South.

Then, the man started talking about the South and why it was useless for Obama to even campaign here. He said he’s been ‘down there’ and knew ‘those people’ and there’s really nothing Obama can do. ‘If you can’t shoot it, eat it, drink it or (expletive deleted) it, they just aren’t interested in it’, he said.

That got my attention. He actually said that!!!

He consistently referred to the South as ‘Appalachia’ … and not in a good way. I was wanting to scream to the television - THE SOUTH ISN’T APPALACHIA AND WHAT’S WRONG WITH APPALACHIA ANYWAY!!!!!

He said, ‘You know they eat catfish down there? That stuffs awful. I tried it and its nasty.’ He went on and on about the catfish. He went on and on about ‘those people’ and ‘Appalachia’ and how there wasn’t any way Barack Obama was going to be able to relate to Southern people. He said a few Black people in the South might vote for Obama, but that was it.

He said for some reason George H.W. Bush was able to relate to Southerners. He said he could ‘go down there’ and talk about hunting and fishing and every body liked him. But he didn’t think Southerners would be able to get past Obama’s skin color even if he can talk hunting and fishing.

ARRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was really wanting to throw something through the television.

His grand finale was that it was a waste of time and money for Obama to even let the wheels of his plane touch down in the Deep South. He said he might, MIGHT, have a chance in states like Florida and Virginia, but he might as well just realize he’s going to lose Kentucky, Tennessee and the Deep South.

I thought that he certainly will if that’s the attitude of his campaign people.

I am frequently dumbfounded at the level of prejudice that comes out of the Democratic leadership’s mouths. I could give multiple examples of statements I’ve heard from people like Howard Dean, Chris Matthews and Bob Beckel that are just almost unbelievable - but no one seems to bat an eye at it.

Of course, no one worries about insulting Southerners. You don’t have to be politically correct about the South. Its one of the last sub-groups of people that its okay to make horrible statements about and there are no political consequences.

Plus, its increasingly obvious that liberals don’t associate with people who don’t think like them, so they don’t have any counter points to their preconceived notions about what the South and/or Middle Americans think, feel and believe.

Barack Obama has already written off states like West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Now apparently, he’s writing off the entire South. What does that leave him? What states does he think he’s going to win?

I still think there’s a good chance that Hillary Clinton is going to nab the nomination right out from under Obama’s nose (its high enough in the air to not even notice the Clintons coming). Should he actually be nominated, I’m fairly sure there’s an excellent chance he won’t win a single state in the Union.

Remember, Bob Beckel ran the most devastating Democratic Presidential run ever. He managed Walter Mondale’s 1984 presidential bid. Mondale lost every State in the Union except his home state of Minnesota - and even there he only won by 4,000 votes. If he keeps it up, he might do the same thing for Obama.

Electoral College 1984 - Map

It turns out that I wasn’t the only one who was insulted by Beckel’s bigoted diatribe.

There’s so much to love about President George W. Bush. I’ve enjoyed watching him having a blast at the Olympics and mixing and mingling with American athletes. Its obvious he’s having fun and its obvious the Americans there are enjoying him as well.

Some of the photos coming from there have been hilarious. When you have a camera trained on you 24/7, you are going to get some very good and very bad pictures. The ones of him with the beach volleyball players were really hilarious. He looked like he was having a blast while being VERY careful to keep his hands and eyes in the right places. He knows he’s a man under constant scrutiny and didn’t make a single misstep in terms of all those athletic women in bikinis! Bravo!

So, someone started collecting LOL Bush photos from the Olympics and Fausta sent along the link. How much fun is that? I love it.

Here are some of them for your viewing pleasure ….

We’re going to miss W. when he’s not in office anymore!

Another day, another possible cheat in the Beijing Olympics. Read about it below and see videos.

Chinese Gymnasts

It seems that there is a question as to whether or not the female Chinese Gymnastics Olympic team are all the required 16-years-old or older. The question has been raised by the American Gymnastics coach, Bela Karolyi. The Chinese beat the Americans yesterday (this morning) to win the gold while the Americans brought home the silver medal.

They legitimately won, don’t misunderstand. The American’s all made errors during their routines. Twenty-year-old Alicia Sacramone stumbled when she was mounting the horse. All three of the Americans made mistakes in their floor exercises. So they lost the gold medal all on their own.

Still, there is a question of the ages of the tiny, prepubescent looking Chinese girls. Some have explained their tiny physics as being under nourished in order to keep them small so that they would perform better as gymnasts. Others think the Chinese officials are lying about their ages. A former Chinese gymnast has admitted to being only 14-years-old when she competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

In spite of Bela Karolyi’s protestations, no one seems to want to follow through with investigating the ages of the girls. The International Gymnastics Federation (F.I.G.) and the International Olympic Committee (I.O.C.) seem to be just throwing up their hands in frustration.

The Chinese have produced passports of the girls to prove their ages and say that’s as much as they will discuss it.

Can you imagine if there was a question about the ages of the American girls? THAT would be all over the news and no one would let it go until they had forensic exams to prove their ages. Its interesting to me that the very same people that criticize Americans for virtually everything are willing to overlook anything that a Communist country does.

Chinese Gymnasts

Pvt. Nathan Z. Thacker
18 years old from Greenbrier, Arkansas
2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division
October 12, 2007

Pvt. Nathan Z. Thacker had only been in the country for two weeks before his death, according to the soldier’s father, Stephen Thacker.

Thacker’s father said his son felt a duty to enlist. “He said it was his job. Even after he got his orders that he was going over there, he said it’s his job.”

Thacker had attended Guy-Perkins High School in Guy, Arkansas. He earned his GED in 2006, his father said. Thacker enlisted in the Army in April 2007 and completed his training at Fort Benning, Ga. He arrived at Fort Drum in August 2007. His honors include the Purple Heart.

“Nathan was an excellent man,” sister Sabrina Black said. “He loved me, I loved him, and I’d give anything to have him back.”

Pvt. Thacker was killed when an IED was detonated near his vehicle near Kirkuk. Three other soldiers were injured in the attack.

Pvt. Thacker is survived by his parents, siblings and his grandfather.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

UPDATE (8.9.2008) - new videos added that include the Dance of the New Era, Dance of the Tang Dynasty and the ShiShaHai fireworks. These replace the video that was taken off YouTube. These are better quality videos and cover more … so enjoy!

Did you see the Open Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games last night? Wow. Talk about impressive! The fireworks were phenomenal. The show was amazing. I loved the lighting of the torch when the

The theme of the Olympic games is ‘One World One Dream’ and the opening of the games were breathtaking. The Chinese did themselves proud.

I have always been fascinated with Chinese culture, especially pre-Communist China. They didn’t disappoint.

Former Chinese Olympic gold medalist Li Ning literally defied gravity and ran through the air over the top of the awesome bird next stadium. He ‘ran’ the full perimeter of the stadium and finally lit the Olympic cauldron. The synchronized dancers and percussionists were almost unbelievable. It was nothing short of the greatest show on earth.

I enjoyed watching the 7 ‘ 6″ Yao Ming carry the Chinese flag walking next to the 9-year-old hero, Lin Hao, from the earthquakes earlier this summer that devastated parts of China. It was especially fun to watch ming hold the boy up so that he could see the rest of the show above the crowd.

The Chinese have every reason to be proud of the show they put on. They will be a hard act to follow.

There was much, MUCH, more. When I have more time, I might try to post some photos and more videos. Meanwhile, here’s a video of the Opening ceremony fireworks.

More later

John Edwards has admitted to his affair with Rielle Hunter. Read about it below. See Rielle Hunter photos and video.

John Edwards - Rielle Hunter
Photo

Seriously, this guy got caught like a rat. He was cornered in a hotel at 3 in the morning visiting his ‘former’ lover. John Edwards finally admitted to having an affair with Rielle Hunter a couple of years ago, but says that the baby isn’t his. Well, then why was he there? He actually hid in a bathroom for a while trying to duck the paparazzi. How embarrassing.

If he weren’t such a rat, he wouldn’t have had to hide in a bathroom stall. Silly man!

Both John and Elizabeth Edwards put out statements that couldn’t have possibly had more legalese in them. They covered every possible scenario while saying that this wasn’t anyone else’s business.

Well, its NOT like he lied under oath or pointed his finger at the American people and said, ‘I did not have sex with that woman.’ Its not like that. However, it does give us insight into the character of the man. And, like I said, its just embarrassing.

So much for his vice-presidential dreams.

Here’s a video of Rielle Hunter that has a whole new meaning considering these new revelations.

Now, Edwards just needs to go home and be quiet till the country gets distracted by the next scandal. Put a fork in him. He’s done.

Oh - and he might practice having backbone. Edwards, haven’t you ever heard the saying, ‘Its not the crime, its the cover up’? The cover up is what gets you caught and in trouble every time. You can’t always lie and slime your way around it. You’d have been better to have just owned up to it to begin with. At least that way you wouldn’t have had to curl up in a corner in a public bathroom and would have given the appearance of having just a little bit of personal courage.

The Obama Cult has added a new dimension to their Obama worship. Its the Obama Salute.

This is actually serious. It is the creation of an Obama disciple who says he hopes to have the world come together in peace and understanding under the Sign of Progress as Obama glides to the podium to deliver his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. Or something like that.

Meanwhile, it seems strangely like an episode of Star Trek.

Or that hand gesture where you make an ‘L’ with your fingers and put it on your forehead.

Or this one here where the blogger couldn’t get the poster to upload right.

I hope you aren’t confused. If you are, then you aren’t the only one. But I’m here to help. Here’s a video that should bring it all into focus for you. Watch it and understand the Obamessiah.

Pegasus - The Struggle

I’ve learned along the way that people will believe what you tell them if you say what you’re saying with conviction and confidence. It doesn’t matter what you say. It matters how you say it.

That’s the only explanation I can come up with for what I hear a lot of people repeating about various events and personalities in our society right now. I’ll tell you what I mean.

My Beloved Curmudgeon and I went to a party a while back. It was at this swank house belonging to a che-che family whose home was more a showplace of their wealth and status than a place to live. Their status in the world is evidenced by the woman of the house’s need to periodically tell me that her family loved each other. ‘We are a real family,’ she would say earnestly. I would reply that of course they were. I’d say that anyone that knew them could tell that. I would say it with conviction and sincerity and she would smile, apparently believing me. Then we would move on to another subject until the next time she felt the need to convince me …. or convince herself …. that her’s was a real family that really loved each other. That’s the world she lives in. Its a world I’m only familiar with as an outsider who is periodically invited to look in from the periphery of their world. Thankfully.

At this one particular party, the woman of the house had opened up her home for her guests to walk through and view. This was a big deal. I had been to her home many times before, but I had never been invited to tour it. This home had been featured in a number of fashionable magazines. Its literally a showplace. So for commoners like ourselves to be invited to tour through the home was definitely a big deal. My husband and I, along with a hundred or so other common people, chatted and snacked and tried to inconspicuously soak in every detail of the exquisitely appointed domicile.

We were walking through a bedroom when we joined a crowd who were looking at and discussing a bronze sculpture. The sculpture was very large. It was a complicated piece with intricate, detailed carvings. There were two distinct sides that appeared to be fighting over or struggling with an angelic figure in the center. The sides were a mixture of demonic and angelic looking figures. The group was discussing what this museum piece was ’saying’.

As we joined the group, I heard someone say, ‘What’s it called?’

My Beloved Curmudgeon replied, ‘Its the Struggle Between Good and Evil’.

There was a collective, knowing, ‘Ahhh’ from this sophisticated group. You see, my husband had told them the name of the sculpture with confidence and conviction. They proceeded to discuss the meaning of the sculpture. What parts of it represented ‘good’ and what parts represented ‘evil’. They dissected it quite well, actually.

We listened for a minute and then walked on to the next exhibit in the home. I know my Beloved Curmudgeon so when we were out of ear shot I asked him if that really was the name of that sculpture. I asked him, but I already knew the answer. He laughed and said he had no idea what it was called and that they’d probably had it specially made or at least it was a unique piece. It wouldn’t be like them to have something in their home that other people might have.

Later in the evening we happened to pass through that bedroom again. This time a completely different group of people were gathered around that statue discussing it. I heard one man tell the group that it was called, ‘The Struggle Between Good and Evil’. The sophisticated crowd collectively responded with a knowing, ‘Ahhh’.

Senior Airman Kimberly Bickford
332nd Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron

Senior Airman Kimberly Bickford performs a pre-load check July 28 on an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, to ensure the cable that releases the bomb is operational.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.