May 2014 - Argghhh!

The only Medal awarded for today came in WWII, during the breakout from the Anzio beachhead. DAVILA, RUDOLPH B. Staff Sergeant Rudolph B. Davila distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action, on 28 May 1944, near Artena, Italy. During the offensive which broke through the German mountain strongholds surrounding the Anzio beachhead, Staff Sergeant Davila risked death to provide heavy weapons support for a beleaguered rifle company. Caught on an exposed hillside by heavy, grazing fire from...

Dear General Shinseki - it's time to open envelope #3 and clear your office. And take those game-playing administrators with you....

U.S. Marines with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM) 364, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, assist in the efforts of containing the Cocos Fire in San Marcos, Calif., May 15, 2014. 3rd MAW partnered with the Calif. Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to conduct aerial firefighting against several wildfires ablaze in San Diego County. (U.S. Marine Corps photograph by Corporal Tyler C. Gregory, 3rd MAW COMCAM)

They are the most egalitarian places in the nation, the National Cemeteries. There they sleep in their serried ranks, dress-right-dress, Able Seaman next to Admiral, General next to Sergeant, their wives, and in some cases, their children with them. Intermingled by faith, color, ethnicity, war. Their proximity defined only by the last date on the stone. To gain entrance, one has only to ask. Or, in times of extreme need, answer the call when delivered. Wives and mothers... Husbands and fathers. If...

Only one Medal today. WWII. Okinawa. One very tough and first class Private. CRAFT, CLARENCE B. Rank and organization: Private, First Class, U.S. Army, Company G, 382d Infantry, 96th Infantry Division. Place and date: Hen Hill, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 31 May 1945. Entered service at: Santa Ana, Calif. Birth: San Bernardino, Calif. G.O. No.: 97, 1 November 1945. Citation: He was a rifleman when his platoon spearheaded an attack on Hen Hill, the tactical position on which the entire Naha-Shuri-Yonaburu...

Let me be clear: NO F**KING DYNASTIES! The person sitting in the Oval Office is not an Oracle, a Seer, a Magic Shaman. And we chose to not go with the hereditary monarchy, why do we think we'll be better off going with the electoral equivalent? From a comment on Carrie Costantini's Facebook post on the topic. This: "Chris Kenney I'm 32. 20 of those 32 years a Bush or Clinton was president. Time for someone new I think." Gezackly. Jeb and Hillary Are the Wrong Candidates for...

First, Secretary Shinseki beclowned himself in hearings today. Go home, General. Thanks for your interest in veterans and national defense. Then there's this juicy quote from William Schoenhard, deputy undersecretary for health administrative operations, in an NBC article: "Wrote Schoenhard, “Please be cautioned that since 2008, additional new or modified gaming strategies may have emerged, so do not consider this list a full description of all current possibilities of inappropriate...