Argghhh!

I want to make sure they've got their eye on this group of highly-trained and skilled military veterans who are clearly sliding into dangerous militia-style attitudes and probably bad right-wing politics, too.Just look - they *openly* display the sentiments of the Gadsden Flag, which is a well known and documented (just ask Potok at the Southern Poverty Law Center) indicia of Bad and Dangerous Thinking. Hopefully this group is under constant surveillance.U.S. Navy Petty Oficer 3rd Class Joshua...

...that altereth the reality of the thing. John Lyly said that, in Euphues, The Anatomy of Wit, in1579. It came to mind (yes, snippets like that actually do come to mind at times) as I observed this bit of written buffoonery from Frank Rich, writing, where else, in the New York Times.This uptick in the radical right predates the health care debate that is supposedly inspiring all the gun waving. Nor can this movement be attributed to a stepped-up attack by Democrats on this crowd’s holy Second...

About a month ago, I emailed my Congressman about two issues I feel very strongly about. Here's the text:

The first Medal awarded for actions on this day in history came during the Indian Campaigns, at Seneca Mountain, Arizona, in 1869. There are several Medals on several days during this period for the fighting going on at this time.STANLEY, EDWARDRank and organization: Corporal, Company F, 8th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Seneca Mountain, Ariz., 26 August 1869. Entered service at:------. Birth: New York, N.Y. Date of issue: 3 March 1870. Citation: Gallantry in action.We next see the Medal during...

I've actually seen one of these guns. The Aberdeen Proving Ground museum has one (it may have since been moved to Fort Lee, but it was still at APG last year, unlike most of their collection). It had some battle damage, too. Bullet spangs and fragment scars. IIRC however, they came about when we captured the gun from the Germans. Ah, the breathless narration... H/t, Kevin....

I would say it's too bad that we've not been able to celebrate the end of a war like this film clip shows people doing so in Honolulu on VJ Day, 1945... But since then, the end of the wars have not been clear victories (and at least one was a clear loss), not even Desert Storm, in the end. Nor have the aims been as black-and-white. Of course, balanced against that is that in order to achieve that sense of clear victory, we had to pound two nations flat in ways we don't do any more, either...

Today we open with the Civil War, and a horse soldier at Smithfield, Viriginia in 1864. There is another Medal for the Civil War which cites actions on this day, but the Medal covers multiple days, and so we'll get to it on the day of the last cited action - which is only two days from now, so you can contain your excitement!HARRIS, MOSES Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, 1st U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Smithfield, Va., 28 August 1864. Entered service at: New Hampshire. Birth: Andover...

Proof that Chuck really did report to Fort Leavenworth and isn't AWOL on a beach somewhere...Chuck, Carren and the kids came to Castle Argghhh! yesterday. SWWBO got up at 4AM to start the brisket smoking and to make a Castle Cake for Carren's 21+N birthday.Which was celebrated in a typical (well, it *should* be typical) Gun/Milblogger fashion...The Castle Technical gave it's first rides to Chuck's "Dismounts" and Carren and the Dismounts got reblued on Basic Cavalry - click...