Reflections On Memorial Day (Guest Column)
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Posted 2012-05-26 11:49
by Karl Denninger
in Politics
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Reflections On Memorial Day (Guest Column)
 
Reflections on Memorial Day
 
Once a year, on this solemn day, we take time from our busy lives to commemorate thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who gave their lives in defense of our nation and our way of life. One day of remembrance is a small thing to give to those who sacrificed so much.
 
I am no longer a private citizen, or I would not presume to address others on such a day. I aim to represent the valorous men of our military, both the living and the dead, in the halls of Congress, and to do justice to their memory. I seek the mantle of responsibility to assist and provide for those who defend our freedoms. Just as it is their duty to serve, it is my duty to speak.
 
I am not a veteran, and I cannot presume to understand the scars war has left on soldiers who have lost fellow comrades in arms. But I can listen, and humbly know that my own weak voice cannot lend any strength to the resounding chorus of our honored dead. I can only try to appreciate the depth of their devotion to those left behind, and to do right by all.
 
The following words may be hard to some, but as Patrick Henry said, “For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and provide for it.”
 
Memorial Day is not only about the past, but about the future. It is up to us to make sure the noble legacy of our armed forces, and the people who served in them, is not cheapened through time.
 
But a cheapened legacy is what we see.
 
We see it whenever our leaders betray liberty for security.
 
We see it when our country spends far more than can be sustained, even for defense.
 
We see it when the principles that built the Republic are not maintained, but exploited for short term gain; when the rule of law is sacrificed in the name of emergency.
 
It is preposterous to assume that the very same people who gave their lives for their families and buddies would accept losing the wealth and liberty of their own posterity today. It is absurd to think they would accept arbitrarily or capriciously going to war. But that is what many leaders ask of us in our beloved America today.
 
The best way to honor the dead is to not let their sacrifice be in vain.  On this Memorial Day let us ask ourselves, who among those who have given everything fought for fewer freedoms, massive debt, and endless war?
 
Then let us resolve to set things right again.
 
Calen Fretts
Fretts For Congress (FL –01)
P.O. Box 42
Valparaiso, Florida 32580
850-542-0042
info@FrettsForCongress.com
 
 
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User Info Reflections On Memorial Day (Guest Column) in forum [Market-Ticker]
Noodleman
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Only veterans should get Memorial Day off.

For the average American it's turned into a beach day or an excuse to get drunk.

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"It may be true that you can't fool all the people all the time, but you can fool enough of them to rule a large country." William James Durant, 5 Nov 1885 - 7 Nov 1981

Widgeon
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Memorial Day is for servicemen who died in combat. Veterans Day is for those that returned. JMO.

Blurtman
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History, unfortunately, is full of examples where incompetent, criminal and cowardly leaders have sent brave youg men (and now women) to their deaths for a rationale based upon lies and persoanl vanity.

George W. Bush should be tried for war crimes against the nation of Iraq, a country which did not attack the USA, and which had no capability to do so.

Anyone who was of draft age during Vietnam knew that the National Guard was a safe way out of serving, and that it took connections to get in.

Bush and Cheney, two cowards who thought nothing of sending brave young soldiers to do what they avoided at all costs.

America is doomed with leaders like these. And Obama wants us to pretend this did not happen, just like massive financial fraud did not happen, and just move along.

No justice, no peace, and no solutions to today's problems.

Americans willing to die for their country is our greatest resource. Those who have abused this resource should be tried for treason in a court of law, and executed if found guilty.

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I have a reading comprehension problem and the owner banned me for repeatedly displaying it after being warned.
Genesis
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Blurt, that MAY be true (especially the first example you gave), but the fact of the matter is that it is utterly immaterial as to the sacrifice made by the dead men and women who served.

It is perfectly fine and well to derogate the political *******s of all stripes. But the men and women who wore the uniform were not the ones making the decision, they're still dead, and they died serving their country.

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I don't care if it makes sense -- only if it makes money. -- Me
Bank (n): See scam, fraud and theft. Eat a bankster -- they're low-carb.
What part of "shall not be infringed" was unclear?
Olduser
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No, folks, we will not do this voluntarily.
We'll do it the hard way. - Karl Denninger

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Geschrei
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I've slowly drifted over to the Bezzle "we can no longer vote our way out of our impending destruction" camp - but I can honestly say I hope Mr. Fretts' viewpoint eventually gains traction in the aftermath.

Very well put, and something I doubt any of those elected officials allegedly representing my interests would ever dream of thinking, much less saying out loud.

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“The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern.”

Lord Acton (1834 - 1902)
Checkthisout
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Right on, brother

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There are no gun free zones where free men tread.
Etz
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Just another great opportunity to take credit for Obozo the corrupt.

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Legal chicanery and beneficent darkness are the banker's stoutest allies - F.Pecora.

Greetings to all my fans at the NSA. Pressure Cooker bombing hugs and kisses!
Winstonsmith2009
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CHM's Memorial Day column:

U.S.A. 2012: Is This What We've Become?

http://www.oftwominds.com/blogmay12/what....

Excerpt:

Everyone is to blame except ourselves, of course; we are powerless. Yet we continue to elect politicians who tell us what we want to hear, lies that sooth our insecurities and fears, politicians who have doubled the national debt in a few years and indentured future generations so our precious share of the pie remains untouched.

Living within our means is now either "impossible" or a sin re-branded "austerity." So we borrow staggering sums every year to maintain the artifice that the contraption of lies, leverage and debt is sustainable, because we have become so brittle and diminished that we cannot bear the truth or our responsibility for the fetid trash-heap that is the national psyche.

So never mind that we're borrowing the equivalent of the entire GDP of Germany every two years-- ($3 trillion)--and that's just Federal borrowing. Of course the true extent of Federal borrowing is cloaked and obfuscated with tricks such as "supplemental appropriations," so the "headline number" is just another untruth passed off as fact--just like the unemployment rate and the GDP itself.

Add in private debt and local-government bond issuance (often for projects that were once paid for out of general fund tax revenues) and we're borrowing more like the GDP of Germany and France every two years, with no other future in sight.

Truthseeker
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Genesis wrote..
It is perfectly fine and well to derogate the political *******s of all stripes. But the men and women who wore the uniform were not the ones making the decision, they're still dead, and they died serving their country.


A very important distinction, well-articulated. Thanks for that.

And BRAVO to Mr Fretts. This kid is sounding mighty impressive.


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"...But people better realize that the worst-case scenario could actually happen.9/11 happened. This can happen. An economic 9/11, the likes of which we've never seen." Gerald Celente
Abn0rmal
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If people who die serving their country deserve honor, regardless of how misguided or harmful their orders were, then you can't restrict this honor to US soldiers.

The 9/11 hijackers died serving a cause too, and killed 3000 innocent people because their leader told them it was the right thing to do.

If we excuse the killing of innocent people by the US military because the soldiers involved were just following orders and doing what they thought was right to serve their country then we must apply the same standard to the 9/11 hijackers in order to avoid gross moral hypocrisy.

We're all human beings on this planet so if an action is justified for one group of people then the same action is justified for everybody else as well. Likewise what's wrong for one is wrong for everybody.

Genesis
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Bull****.

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I don't care if it makes sense -- only if it makes money. -- Me
Bank (n): See scam, fraud and theft. Eat a bankster -- they're low-carb.
What part of "shall not be infringed" was unclear?
Mezzmor
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Well, they are certainly honorable words. But thats all they are, words.

It has now been proven that even when the American people hire 15 new representatives to further their cause, as soon as they get to Washington, they become awash in banker money and move to destroy the principles in which the nation was founded, and, simply cannot help themselves from feeding off of the taxpayer trough.

Thanks to all of you for proving the point - there is no such thing as voting ourselves out of this mess. Your words are nothing but dribble. What will you REALLY do once you enter the halls of Congress?

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Once the "Progressive" and the "educated" have completely destroyed the country, the logical, the wise, and the experienced will rebuild it.
Abn0rmal
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"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, but our soldiers are more equal than their soldiers."

How about we just accept that killing innocent people anywhere in the world, for any reason, is equally wrong regardless of who is doing it?
Peterm99
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Excellent Charles Hugh Smith commentary on Memorial Day serves as an excellent adjunct to this Ticker.
Quote:
U.S.A. 2012: Is This What We've Become? (May 28, 2012)

Incentivize victimhood, fraudulent accounting of income/collateral and gaming the system, and guess what you get? A nation of liars and thieves.

Memorial Day is traditionally a day to speak of sacrifices made in combat. Like much of the rest of life in America, it has largely become artificial, a hurried "celebration" of frenzied Memorial Day marketing that is quickly forgotten the next day.
Instead of participating in this rote (and thus insincere) "thank you for your sacrifice" pantomime, perhaps we should ask what else has been sacrificed in America without our acknowledgement. Perhaps we should look at the sacrifices that need to be made but which are cast aside in our mad rush to secure "what we deserve." . . .
More at link: http://www.oftwominds.com/blogmay12/what....

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". . . the Constitution has died, the economy welters in irreversible decline, we have perpetual war, all power lies in the hands of the executive, the police are supreme, and a surveillance beyond Orwell’s imaginings falls into place." - Fred Reed

Sunkeye
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respectful mem day handshake to all who read/comment at m-t.o

re blurt's post: respect the p-o-v woont bother me a bit bush got tried for
the iran bloodwreck

but i also must - and forgive if offense taken - must acknowledge the dude's
balls strapping in one of nutty ass fighters he flew
any guy climbed in those psychocrazy birds (i think ive read they were the most difficult to fly of any that's why they got pawned off to the state's ngs)
was my better and i have no problem saying so

but again im so sick of pols sending young men & women into harm's way when
they 'lead from behind' makes my wanna puke and bush was just another in the long line

respect to all dead soldiers who got drafted and then dead just for doing
what they thought was required of them - they never got to go home again breathing didnt matter what uniform they were wearing

the enlistees and the psycho trubelievers well ... salutes to the former
and beware the latter they're the ones these #$%ing pols/religious leaders con into doing their killing for them
what a frickin mess

peace
Ck_dexter
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Just another delusion that people need to hold on to. It's the only way to get through for most.

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"In other words, that the discussion about what is good, what is beautiful, what is noble, what is pure and what is true, could always go on. Why is that important, why would I like to do that? Because that's the only conversation worth having." Christopher Hitchens.
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