The Cost of Freedom
The Cost of Freedom this week is in the name of the upcoming weekend: “Memorial Day weekend”. But it shouldn’t be. Next weekend should be “Memorial Day weekend”…because Memorial DAY should be next Saturday…May 30th. May 25th is Memorial Day this year because in 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be “celebrated the last Monday in May”…making another 3 day weekend. 3-day weekends are nice, 3-day weekends are neat & tidy for business and government…but some traditions should not be subject to them, and Memorial Day is one of them!
May 30, 1868 was declared “Decoration Day”, a day to decorate the graves of those who died in the Civil War. It eventually was changed to “Memorial Day”…but the date remained an important tradition.
The hymn ‘Kneel Where Our Loves Are Sleeping’ was written in 1867, and though dedicated to “The Ladies of the South who are decorating the graves of the Confederate Dead”, it speaks for all brave men & women who have died for America. This is the opening verse:
Kneel where our loves are sleeping, Dear ones days gone by,
Here we bow in holy reverence, Our bosoms heave the heartfelt sigh.
They fell like brave men, true as steel, And pour’d their blood like rain,
We feel we owe them all we have, And can but weep and kneel again.
The change in 1971 that created another 3-day weekend, seemed and seems like a simple thing. But consider that it was one more in a long line of traditions that we have been told we don’t need. The enticement that was offered was a 3-day weekend. Let’s face it, “Special” days of remembrance, that fall on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday are, well, awkward. To some extent it is their awkwardness that makes them all the more special. Over time various politicians have suggested that Christmas is also awkward. Why not a “Winter Holiday”, on the “last Monday of December”?
Barbeques are nice, and barbeques on 3-day weekends are even nicer. But our honored dead deserve to have their day of remembrance back. A bill has been gathering dust in Congress for the last decade to restore Memorial Day to its rightful place…I hope it succeeds someday.
Do enjoy this Memorial Day weekend, but please do remember those who are sleeping, and the sacrifice they made. They paid the price for our freedom, it’s truly the least we can do.
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Very nice post JR.
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Wow, Dad….that was really good.
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Nice tribute, Justrand, and well deserved by those who fought and died so we could be here contributing to BJG!
We live near the Westwood VA. Every time I drive by and see those white markers sticking up above the ground, it gives me chills knowing that there is someone underground who contributed, in some way, to keeping this country and our way of life safe and viable.
BTW, as a side note, Chaney’s remarks of yesterday are being replayed this morning. Wow, I am becoming more of fan, by the moment!
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thx, folks. I sometimes get angry or frustrated when I “pen” my Cost of Freedom essays…this week it essentially wrote itself, but I had to blink back tears as my fingers typed what my heart wanted to say.
I truly fear and feel that the next few years may see far too many Americans die as a result of the mistakes Obama and his ilk are making. And far too many of us may either be kneeling over the fresh graves of those defending us…or have others kneeling above us.
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Very nice post. Unfortunately, the reason behind many of our holidays (e.g. Memorial Day, Independence Day and Veterans Day)seems to have become obscured over the years. Today, for many, they simply mean a long weekend or a reason to have a sale.
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Sgt. MacKenzie
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Read this.
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i can’t read it, Justmary…’cause I’m no longer a member in good standing with the New York Slimes! sniff…sniff
wazzit say?
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SCARY~~~click my name on my avatar for more scary.
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ip, the Sgt. MacKenzie link was wonderful…thank you!
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Obammers latest is a clear violation of amend; 6, bill of rights.
We are talking about citizens here, not POW foreign terrorists.
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Good thing they cancelled the DHS report calling all right wingers and vets “terrorists” huh? Phew!
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Good post JR.
JM – Sounds sort of like what the French have done in the past and took absolutely no chit for. *sigh*
I’ll see you all at the detention camps… I hear by claim rights to the top bunk!!!
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What’s hilarious is if Bush even mentioned that course of action, real or perceived it would be a month long feeding frenzy. What’s funny is he seems to want to change the law to do things that just yesterday he said claimed America fundamentally shouldn’t do. Talk about talking out of both sides of your mouth. I swear all you need to do to predict the future is listen to a major address or speech by him, then what ever he says you know he’s actually going to do the exact opposite.
Will the real barack obama please stand up?
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New Hampshire always commemorated Memorial Day on the traditional day when I was growing up–one of the things I liked about it, back when it was conservative and loved to stick its thumb in the eyes of liberals.
I don’t know if that is the case anymore–somehow I doubt it.
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KH–the real barack obama is not hard to see. Just don’t listen to what he says, watch what he does.
When the SHTF, which it will begin to do very soon, he won’t have a clue what to do. His hardwired ideological reflexes will only make things worse.
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~~~~ODE TO THE FALLEN~~~~IP
THEY WHO LIE UNDER THE CROSSES SO WHITE,
ONCE WHOSE FUTURES MIGHT HAVE BEEN BRIGHT,
THEY WOULD TURN IN THEIR GRAVES NO DOUBT,
IF THEY SAW HOW THE COUNTRY HAS SOLD OUT,
MAY THEY NEVER KNOW OF THIS CURRENT BLIGHT.
THEY LIE WITH THEIR FRIENDS ROW AFTER ROW,
WITH BETTER COMRADES THAN WE’LL EVER KNOW,
THEIR COLLECTIVE COURAGE WAS GIVEN FREE,
FOR GOD,AND COUNTRY,AND THEE AND ME,
TO FORGET THEM NOW WOULD BE A BITTER BLOW.
THERE ARE THOSE WHO SNEER AT SACRIFICE SO DEAR,
AT THE SIGN OF DANGER THEY HEAD FOR THE REAR,
BUT THOSE LYING BELOW WHERE THE POPPIES GROW,
SHOULDERED THE BURDEN AND WEATHERED THE BLOW,
MY THEY REST PEACEABLY WITH THEIR HONOR IN TOW.
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Reminder: all of our registered users have an email from me this morning regarding log ins, passwords, and site location. -Mary
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Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind,
Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky
And the affrighted steed ran on alone,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment,
Little souls who thirst for fight,
These men were born to drill and die.
The unexplained glory flies above them.
Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom–
A field where a thousand corpses lie.
Do not weep, babe, for war is kind.
Because your father tumbles in the yellow trenches,
Raged at his breast, gulped and died,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
Swift blazing flag of the regiment,
Eagle with crest of red and gold,
These men were born to drill and die.
Point for them the virtue of slaughter,
Make plain to them the excellence of killing
And a field where a thousand corpses lie.
Mother whose heart hung humble as a button
On the bright splendid shroud of your son,
Do not weep.
War is kind!
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Thought it was worthwhile to note the latest Rasmussen Poll on consumer confidence:
Rasmussen Consumer Index falls 15, biggest single day decline in confidence
Hmmm, wonder what that says about the state of the economy?
Ironically, Obama’s numbers remain fairly steady. I guess his statement of “I inherited this mess” continues to resonate with a large segment of the public out there!
The big question is just when will people begin to attribute what is happening to his watch.
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Mary
Don’t the links stand out better when they darker rather than lighter?
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Something to make you feel happy, proud and sad, all at once. A wonderful and TRUE story!
http://patdollard.com/2008/05/wwii-angel-of-mercy-reunion-german-ace-lets-badly-damaged-b-17-fly-home/
update: both men died in 2008. Unbeknownst to either they had moved within 200 miles of each other after the war…before finally meeting and becoming friends.
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‘The big question is just when will people begin to attribute what is happening to his watch.’
That is the million-dollar question, Jan. Just how long can he suspend disbelief?
I estimate about a third of the country is completely gone–too indoctrinated, too ignorant, too apathetic to ever wake up.
The rest–we’ll see.
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“Hmmm, wonder what that says about the state of the economy?”
—
Not to mention the rest of the gloomy news today, I’ve not checked, but I’d put money on another cherry picked earnings report being blogged about soon.
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They do, Jan. For some reason though, we can’t get the code for darker links to take- and the darker links that do take, are the same shade as the rest of the text so you can’t tell they are links. We are hunting down plugins today.
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There should be more responses to this thread. Methinks other folk are still having trouble logging in.
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I emailed a couple folks directly to see if they are having trouble…and Justmary has emailed LOTS of folks. Dunno what the hangup is?!?!?
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I got in by using my old password.
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I’m here, just lurking.
I did have a hard time getting to the site this morning. My PC is dual boot with XP Pro and Windows 7 and even after clearing cache, using the link JustMary emailed, and numerous reboots, I still couldn’t get on. I even tried 2 other computers, plus my Palm without results.
Then about 930 (MT time) the site just showed up.
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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.
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thx tony…I’ll call the milk-carton manufacturers and tell them to pull your picture off!
cheers!
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I couldn’t get on BJG, so I wandered around lost in the wilderness this morning and stumbled upon an old site. Thanks for bringing back me from the abysss.
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I think some of our other brethren (and sisteren…or whatever) are still wandering about!
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I see where our Dear Leader told the Naval Academy graduates:
“I will only send you into harm’s way when it is absolutely necessary”
Whew! No more wars just for grins!
This moron is an insult to the office of the Presidency. Does he say or do ANYTHING without directly or indirectly blaming Bush for something? Anything??
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I’m surprised he hasn’t brought up the idea that we invaded Iraq for oil.
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Glad to have you back, Tony. I honestly can’t figure out what is going on. I sent out emails, I reset things to make it easier…..and still nada. Could be too that folks other than us have lives and they are out camping and on vacation for the long weekend. I have tried everything I can think of.
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Justmary: “Could be too that folks other than us have lives and they are out camping and on vacation for the long weekend”
Nah…what other theories ya got??
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I love obama’s logic… “upholding our values will shield us from terror”…. yeah right… like that worked so well prior to 2001 and since. Hey captain moron your aware it’s our values themselves that make most of them want to attack us in the first place. I mean does he really think people are this f”’ken stupid and can’t see through remarks like that?
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‘I mean does he really think people are this f”’ken stupid and can’t see through remarks like that?’
Yes. Why shouldn’t he?
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Is he not just a “Constitutional scholar” but a Values Scholar too? Knows what they are, but doesn’t let them apply to him?
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Is the tip jar still working?? tried several times, paypal wouldn’t take my cards.
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You mean the link? It should, it is a new code. The other one had issues, but this one works fine for me.
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I must have missed this, but what (really) are his credentials on teaching the constitution? Was he a real constitutional attorney? With his job as a community activist it doesn’t seem that he’d have had much (need) reason to specialize in that field…How long did he teach? wasn’t it something like over the summer or something? Does that REALLY count in the scheme of things that make him qualified?
If he DID do all this studying, research, and teaching, then why is he so disrespectful of the Constitution? He has blatant disregard for the language and concepts, making up his own interpretations as he goes along.
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I am here. I had lots of difficulty getting in this morning, then all at once POOF! it worked.
That’s the way things work when you have no idea what’s going on. You try and try, wondering what it is you are doing and POOF! it works. The sad part is you know the odds of duplicating what you did are like 1 in 20000000, and you have no clue how you got from here to there.
Works that way in driving, too.
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If he DID do all this studying, research, and teaching, then why is he so disrespectful of the Constitution? BEEJ
We are dealing with a narcissistic megalomaniac, who probably never read the constitution,or could care less about it. He has stated he thinks it “outmoded”.
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‘The sad part is you know the odds of duplicating what you did are like 1 in 20000000, and you have no clue how you got from here to there.’
Sounds like satisfying my first wife in bed……
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phineas…lol!
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I wanted to post the clip from ‘The Move’ episode of Seinfeld, but I couldn’t find it.
It would have been perfect.
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beej…when he referenced his first wife I thought he was talking about THIS part of what you wrote:
“I had lots of difficulty getting in this morning, then all at once POOF! it worked“
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I must have missed this, but what (really) are his credentials on teaching the constitution? Was he a real constitutional attorney? — beej
He was an adjunct law professor. Not even tenured. That’s all I know.
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Justrand, You are a Baaaaaad man…..
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Constitutional scholar, indeed.
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This haggis will feel better once she learns that those intended for detention are the conservative tax paying Americans.
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Beej, the man is a progressive, they understand the constitution but hate it. It leaves too much to the people. Obama types feel they are much to clever to have any restrictions on their authority, especially if they come from a doc penned by old white men.
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Bush couldn’t actually DO what Obama is planning, because the media was SCREAMING “BushHitler!!!!!!!”…and the Leftists were marching in the streets claiming we were in Nazi Germany!
Now, of course, the media LOVES whatever this dickwad wants, and the Left?? They bleat quietly…and then reach for their bongs!
but RWY’s correct…it’s not alQuida that needs to worry about this. It’s Conservatives. WE are the only threat Obama gives a damn about.
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The whole country is being schooled like Ned in the third reader by Cheney. I could not ask for a better Memorial Day gift.
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the mullet is here, lurking….
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mullet, why lurk when you can comment? oh wait, you just DID!
it’s like saying out loud: “I’m hiding”
oops!
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p.s. mullet, if it’s any consolation, Mrs. Justrand hearts your avatar!
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A local AM radio station here has just returned to the oldie-standards format (30’s, 40’s, 50’s). They just played a rousing version of “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition (and we’ll all be free!)”. The Greatest Generation didn’t seem to have any impairment when it came to moral clarity.
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Or ammunition….