Capitol Hill Blue Forums Hot Topics & Breaking News The RoundTable Veteran's Day Round Table, November 11th, 2008

It's Veteran's Day. A time to remember the service given by all those in the Armed Forces, both living and dead. Those who put their lives on the line to defend our Constitution and way of life. To safeguard our liberty and civil rights. Thank you for your dedication and service to all who served-whether in the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corp or Navy. We appreciate your sacrifice.



Click on the picture!


Today In History~

1817 - Senaa Samma appeared at St. John’s Hall in New York City in a lovely exhibition of juggling and sword swallowing. Admission to see the performance was $1 for adults.

1851 - The telescope was patented by Alvan Clark of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1889 - Washington became the 42nd of the United States of America on this day. Known as the Evergreen State because of its rich stands of Douglas fir, white and ponderosa pine, and spruce trees, Washington calls the willow goldfinch its state bird. The colorful rhododendron is the official flower. Olympia, home of the famous Olympia oyster (from Puget Sound), is the state capital.

1905 - Editor William Bo of "Ladies’ Home Journal" called the Morris chair, which sold for $31.00, “a hideous piece of furniture.” The (very popular) Morris chair was named after William Morris, whose Morris & Company produced home furnishings. The chair had an adjustable back and loose, removable cushions. Editor Bok probably wouldn’t have been so critical had he known that the Morris chair (and others of similar design) would evolve into the big, soft, cushy, recliners we enjoy today.

1918 - This is Armistice Day or Remembrance Day or Veterans Day or Victory Day or World War I Memorial Day. The name of this special day may be different in different places throughout many nations; but its significance is the same. It was on this day -- at 11 a.m. -- that World War I ceased. The Allied and Central Powers signed an armistice agreement at 5 a.m. in Marshal Foch’s railway car in the Forest of Compiegne, France. Even today, many still bow their heads in remembrance at the 11th hour of this the 11th day of the 11th month.

1926 - The University of Wisconsin announced that women could get college credit for a dance course offered by the school.

1929 - Andy Kirk and his His Twelve Clouds of Joy recorded "Froggy Bottom" -- in Kansas City.

1938 - Kate Smith sang "God Bless America" for the very first time. It would later become her signature song. Irving Berlin penned the tune in 1917 but never released it until Miss Smith sang it for the first time on her radio broadcast.

1940 - The chant, “invovo legem magicarum,” was heard for the first time when "Mandrake the Magician" debuted on WOR radio in New York City.

1944 - Frank Sinatra began a long and successful career with Columbia Records.

1944 - The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame got whipped by Army, 59-0. The shutout was the worst margin of defeat for any Notre Dame team.

1946 - A crowd of 17,205 showed up at Madison Square Garden to check out the new NBA team in town. The New York Knickerbockers, or Knicks, as they are known, played Chicago -- and lost, 78-68.

1965 - Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia, declared its independence from Britain. It took until April 18, 1980 for independence to actually happen.

1981 - The first rookie baseball player to win the coveted Cy Young Award was honored. The 21-year-old honoree was LA Dodger Fernando Valenzuela.

1984 - 13-year-old TV star Gary Coleman (of "Diff’rent Strokes") underwent a kidney transplant in Los Angeles. He had undergone his first transplant operation at age 5.

1984 - The Houston Oilers won their first game of the season by defeating the Chiefs, 17-16, in Kansas City. It was the first Oilers victory on the road since September 1981 (23 consecutive road losses).

1986 - Sperry Rand and Burroughs merged to form Unisys, becoming the #2 computer company. Changeover costs were estimated at $15 million.

1992 - For the first time, women were permitted to become priests of the Church of England. One of 28 Anglican state churches throughout the world, the Church of England voted in favor of women on this day.

1992 - Bobby Fischer won his re-match with Boris Spassky in Sveti Stefan, Yugoslavia. The match was organized by banker Jedzimir Vasiljevic. Fischer had 10 wins, 5 losses, and 15 draws. He got $3.65 million for his winnings and Spassky received $1.5 million.

1995 - Smashing Pumpkins’ album "Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness" hit #1 on the U.S. album chart. The Smashing Pumpkins (Billy Corgan, James Iha, D’arcy and Jimmy Chamberlin) band was formed in 1988.



Music For The Day~



Click on the picture! Bachman, Turner, Overdrive-You Ain't seen Nuthin' Yet


Quote For The Day~

Sometime they'll give a war and nobody will come.
Carl Sandburg





Chuckle For The Day~

Marine Corps Rules:
1. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one.
2. Decide to be aggressive enough, quickly enough.
3. Have a plan.
4. Have a back-up plan, because the first one probably won't work.
5. Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet ­ even your friends…
6. Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun whose caliber does not start with a "4."
7. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap. Life is expensive.
8. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral & diagonal preferred.)
9. Use cover or concealment as much as possible.
10. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.
11. Always cheat; always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.
12. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived.
13. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating your intention to shoot.


Navy SEAL's Rules:
1. Look very cool in sunglasses.
2. Kill every living thing within view.
3. Adjust speedo.
4. Check hair in mirror.


US Army Rangers Rules:
1. Walk in 50 miles wearing 75 pound rucksack while starving.
2. Locate individuals requiring killing.
3. Request permission via radio from "Higher" to perform killing.
4. Curse bitterly when mission is aborted.
5. Walk out 50 miles wearing a 75 pound rucksack while starving.


US Army Rules:
1. Curse bitterly when receiving operational order.
2. Make sure there is extra ammo and extra coffee.
3. Curse bitterly.
4. Curse bitterly.
5. Do not listen to 2nd LT's; it can get you killed.
6. Curse bitterly.


US Air Force Rules:
1. Have a cocktail.
2. Adjust temperature on air-conditioner.
3. See what's on HBO.
4. Ask "what is a gunfight?"
5. Request more funding from Congress with a "killer" Power Point presentation.
6. Wine & dine 'key' Congressmen, invite DOD & defense industry executives.
7. Receive funding, set up new command and assemble assets.
8. Declare the assets "strategic" and never deploy them operationally.
9. Hurry to make 13:45 tee-time.
10. Make sure the base is as far as possible from the conflict but close enough to have tax exemption.


US Navy Rules:
1. Go to Sea.
2. Drink Coffee.
3. Deploy Marines


US Coast Guard Rules
1. Check weather
2. Rescue dumbsh*ts
3. Rescue drunk dumbsh*ts
4. Drink coffee





Picture Of The Day~



Flanders Field, Belgium


Trivia For The Day~

Red poppies have become a symbol of both Memorial Day and veteran's Day. Iy from the Poem "In Flanders Fields", by Lt.-Col. John McCrae.


In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Good morning, Scoutgal. I thank you for your sacrifice in posting the Roundtable! I will include veterans of the Civil Rights movement, the Labor movement, the peace movement, and all the people who work in refugee camps in my thanks. Today would have been my mother's 90th birthday, so above all, I remember her.

EmmaG

Hugs EmmaG.
Happy birthday Mother EmmaG.

Fantastic opener, Scout. Thank you.

Morning all.
Up and out early here.
It was a great weekend extended into Monday but it's time to go back to work and earn some bucks...

It's cold but not freezing here and absolutely beautiful.

Catch y'all later!

COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT!


FROM THE CHURCH OF INEFFABLE STUPIDITY:

The moral of the story: If you wish to keep your faith, never take out some paper and total the arguments for and against god.

a) Rape kits not provided by US military.
Women serving in our military suffer from rapes (by our male soldiers) twice as often as civilians. Yet, our military refuses to provide them with rape kits (which would help ID the rapist AND advise of any STD transmission.)
I guess our military really is a lot like Alaska - clueless.
- - -

b) The Cognitive Benefits of Nature


http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2008...22_to_7_287_28_2008&utm_medium=email

In unrelated news, in their never ending quest to support Big Pharma, the Bush administration erased the last environmental laws it somehow missed in the last 8 years. Now, all pristine forests will be shaved clean and exploited for natural resources. Oil drilling, open mining, dumping of toxic wastes will be the norm, not the exception.

As mental and physical illnesses increase as a result, Big Pharma profits are expected to skyrocket.
- - -

c) AIG
ANOTHER JUNKET? what is WRONG with these a$$holes?


We should be investigating these guys for fraud, and putting them behind bars. Instead, their dearest fiends in Treasury and the White House reward their bad behavior?

- - -

d) Sarah Palin
she was caught speaking in almost complete sentences this morning, trying to explain the election.
The past few days, she has been going thru her wardrobe, (which she denies that she got), trying to segregate RNC clothing, (which she denies she chose), including the accessories and the First Dude's clothing, (which she denied were ever received), in order to give the RNC lawyers, (who she claims don't exist), who are traveling to Alaska (which she denies) in order to reclaim $200,000 of an insane shopping spree (which she claims is false) that continued for two straight months (which she claims is exaggerated - it was only four shopping trips in total).

Ah, implausible deniability. Gotta love it, you betcha.

An independent observer would look at Sarah and realize just how powerful and incredible figure she has become . . . for the Democrats. If she represents the best and the brightest from the GOP, look for a generation under Democratic control.

ditto


Emma, thinking about you. We never get over losing our mothers do we? How long ago did she die? My mom would have been 102 in 2006. She died in 1999. I still miss her. Funny, I never dream about her though. I think in some way she is with me still.

Kathy

Thank you, Kathy. My mother died in 1998. She had had a memory disorder akin to Alzheimers for about 10 years. It was very difficult. She grew up a poor farm girl in southeast Alabama, and I fondly remember her saying "It's all over but the shoutin'". Do you know that saying?

EmmaG

Indeed I do know that expression. In fact an author I admire, Rick Bragg, wrote a book about his mother with that very title. It is a story of his mother growing up poor on the Alabama/Georgia line. You might appreciate reading it in your down time.



George Will recently went through an experience with a loved one who had memory loss. He said the important thing is to remember the person as they were when they were strong in our minds, not as they were at the end of their lives. My mother was strong in my mind until the moment she died. So that's how I remember her.
We southern women often are (pardon the cliche') Steel Magnolias. I'm betting your mother was too.

Kathy

Yesterday I was surprised to get a call from my Realtor - my loan funded AND recorded the same day.

Yup - it's now OFFICIAL!