American History

Periodic World Craziness Update # 8

by

The latest month’s wackiness in the world of international relations, politics, and  brinkmanship. Heavy clashes hit Syrian capital for second day:  The unrest, hell call it what it really is, the Civil War in Syria seems to be entering a new phase as the rebels gain in strength and/or competence and are actually starting to bring the conflict to the capital Damascus.   The big question mark is not can the rebels win but what will the international community do?  As things now stand they will offer only condemnations of the Assad government because they are stymied by Russian and Chinese support for Assad and his government.   I don’t see that … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Jewell of the Mall – World War II Memorial by Stephen R. Brown

by

[FULL DISCLOSURE: I received my copy of this book free from the author for purposes of reviewing it. I was not paid for this review and the opinion expressed is purely my own] I received Jewel of the Mall in the mail the other day not quite knowing what to expect from a coffee-table book about the National World War II Memorial. I thought it would be a book of pictures full of accompanying text attempting to put them into context. This is not the case though, this book is 116 pages of great pictures that convey the feeling of majesty and grandeur you get from actually being there.   … More after the Jump…

Periodic World Craziness Update # 7

by

The latest month’s wackiness in the world of international relations, politics, and  brinkmanship. An Authoritarian Axis Rising?:  Perhaps more people should be talking about this.   This article asks the intriguing question of whether world events over the past year or so, but particularly since Putin’s return to power, don’t highlight the beginning of a new bipolar world order.   These supposed Axis states are China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Venezuela.   Interestingly, as the article points out, half of them rely on oil money and thus lower oil prices are seen as a threat.   Is the world once again aligning along authoritarian lines?  That is a good question, … More after the Jump…

Irony

by

Got this in an email from my Dad.  Funny and sad at the same time.

A Lesson  in Irony.

The Food Stamp Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture,  is proud to be distributing the greatest amount of free meals and food stamps  ever.
Meanwhile, the National Park Service,  administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, asks us to “Please Do Not  Feed the Animals.”
Their stated reason for the policy is because  the animals will grow dependent  on handouts and will not learn to take  care of themselves.

This ends today’s lesson.

D-Day 68th Anniversary

by

Just a reminder for everyone to stop today and take a moment to reflect on the events that happened 68 years ago today on the shores of Normandy in France.   This is the day that the Allies opened up the long-awaited Second Front against Hitler’s Germany.   The invasion took place along almost 50 miles of French coast using five named invasion beaches.   From south to north the beaches were named Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.   The first days objectives were not reached over most of the front and in many places it would take weeks to reach objectives that were supposed to have been taken … More after the Jump…

The Moral Quandary?

by

Lately I have been somewhat preoccupied thinking about the geostrategic position the US and even the wider Western world find themselves in.  While I do not believe that the world is on the cusp of some massive catastrophe, it does seem to me that the rise of Militant Islam in the last ten years presents problems that are new or that at least have not been faced on such a scale by Western countries since before the rise of the modern nation state. Essentially, I think that Islam is facing the West with a crucial choice, one the West would rather not have to make as it goes against all … More after the Jump…

Spaceplanes

by

In addition to being a historian and political junkie I am also a Space nut. I was hugely disappointed to see the shuttle program shut down with its replacement being cancelled because we plan to rely on the private sector. I do plan on buying SpaceX stock if they ever have an IPO though. I ran across the below infographic on Space.com and decided to pass it along because I think the whole spaceplane concept is intriguing. Source SPACE.com: All about our solar system, outer space and exploration

Honey or Salt?

by

There is an old adage that “you can catch more flies with honey than with salt.” The truth of that adage is being put to the test daily in Afghanistan and being to shown to be false under certain circumstances at least. ISAF is not winning currently, but they are not exactly losing either. At best from what I read, see, and hear ISAF is fighting a delaying action against the inevitable fall of the central government and rise of whatever Islamic extremist group bubbles up out of the morass of internal Afghan politics. I can almost guarantee it won´t be the Taliban, but probably someone very much like them. … More after the Jump…

Some Videos from Iraq in 2004

by



I figured I would embed both of the videos I took in Iraq in 2004 on the site.   I have included brief captions below each video.   plus, I took them all personally, none of them are graphic and I don’t have and would not post any pictures of dead bodies.   The videos are pretty bad quality because the camera I had in Iraq was a very basic 3 megapixel POS. I will give it one thing though, it made it through the deployment where expensive cameras did not. Tripod, one of the coolest dogs I ever met is below.   How you can be so happy with only three legs I do not know, but his tail literally never stopped moving.

Tripod outside the Mess Hall on our FOB in Sep 2004.


The controlled detonation of an IED we found in the Ad-Dawr police Chief’s office in Dec 2004


Controlled detonation of an IED on the main road road through town 22 Nov 04

I have a whole bunch of pictures I took while deployed and if I get some interest I will post more with better descriptions.

Bias in Academic History?

by

I got my latest copy of the SMH Journal of Military History a few weeks ago and am working my way through the articles.   The Journal always provides grist for at least one post, most of the time it is a thought provoking article that prompts me to post.   This time it is different.   There is a phrase in one of the articles that caused me to raise my eyebrows.   The article is:  Candice Shy Hooper, “The War That Made Hollywood: How the Spanish-American War Saved the U.S. Film Industry,” The Journal of Military History76 #1 (January 2012): 69-97.   The phrase is: “The newest form … More after the Jump…

Everyone should Read This

by

Truth, lies and Afghanistan: How military leaders have let us down LT. COL. Daniel L. Davis probably just ended his career by publishing the above linked article in the Armed Forces Journal. LTC Davis is calling out the administration and senior military leadership as liars in the reports they are publicly producing on the state of affairs in Afghanistan. I applaud LTC Davis for calling it like he sees it. Unfortunately, I don’t think anything will come of it except professional disgrace for an officer who is trying to stand up for what he believes in. No doubt, he tried to bring these issues up to his superiors and was … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Race & Economics: How Much Can be Blamed on Discrimination? by Walter E. Williams

by

I was first motivated to buy this book by the blizzard of negative articles and news pieces about it when it was first published. I also realize that I am opening myself to charges that I am not competent to comment or even post a review of this book because I am white, as the picture on the About Me page clearly shows. I am going to review it anyway because I think the book was worth reading and worth talking about even if someone disagrees with its conclusions. Williams makes several highly controversial points in this book about policies that have kept black people and other minorities from achieving … More after the Jump…

The Law of War and Citizenship

by

Obama lawyers: Citizens targeted if at war with US I have to say that I agree with this decision 100%, I actually can’t believe that the issue was raised seriously. There are actually at least three sets of laws operative in the world for Americans, 1. Regular American civil and criminal law, 2. The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for military personnel, and 3. The International Laws of Land Warfare. I am no lawyer but I will take a stab at analyzing how this works and why I think the Administration’s decision is the correct one. As I understand it, as soon as someone places themselves in a state … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Helmet for my Pillow by Robert Leckie

by

When I was in the hospital earlier this year for back surgery I had nothing better to do for three days than lay in my bed so I had my wife bring my laptop and the DVD’s for The Pacific and Band of Brothers. After watching the series I decided to order Leckie’s book and rad it to see how faithful to his memoirs they kept his part of the story. I had read E.B. Sledge’s With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa when I was in high school and so just pulled it off the bookshelf and reread it. Helmet for my Pillow is somewhat like With the … More after the Jump…

+ More