Two things to disgust here today.
First up,the new film by Ken Burns and his partner in the current Vietnam film, Lynn Novick.
Every review I have read so far for this PBS film is a bit negative to very negative. I'm not that surprised at all by the negativity. First off, look at the sponsors of PBS and this film, Bank of America and the Koch brothers. Yeah, I know they say their name is pronounced "Koke", but it IS spelled Koch, so I pronounce it that way; Koch, where the ending ch IS pronounced, even emphasized. If those poor (hahaha, they are very wealthy) boys don't like that, well tough beans and hard cheese.
The main complaints against this film center on the fact that Burns Novick do NOT take the war crimes and crimes against humanity done by the US of A to task. Hell, they basically gloss over the 'Merikkkan crimes totally. They state at the very beginning that the war was started with "good intentions"! What a total goddamn crock of shit! Wars are NOT started with any "good intentions" ever. Wars are started to gain territory, get more slaves/cheap labor, steal resources, etc..
I admit I did watch the very first episode of this film. I had hopes they would give the background for why the US of A got into that goddamn useless war of choice. I admit, freely, that I did not know that Truman sent equipment and advisors to help the French in Vietnam while he was still fighting the damn fool war of choice in Korea. All along I'd thought it was old Ike who, being old WW2 pals with DeGaulle, was the first to help his French buddies fight uncle Ho and his Viet Minh. Well, I learned something from the film so, I cannot call it a total waste.
I have not watched any of it since however. I spent a 13 month tour in the Vietnam war with 5th Marine Regiment, 1970-71 so I don't need to relive that war again. I have memories and like a song I still like very much says at its end, memories are like starlight, they go on forever. Yeah, mine do, in spades some days. Fortunately, I was finally able to put my war memories into a nice box, put that box on a closet shelf and close the closet door. At times, like when W. Shrub invaded Iraq, way back in the dim distant past of 2003, yes I AM being sarcastic (if you know me, you know sarcastic is me) and then when the (ig)Nobel piece prizident, the drone king Gobomber launched his numerous wars, those old memories open the box, climb down from the shelf and open the door. They play hell with me until I get them rounded up, back into the box, up on the shelf and close that damn door again. Now, some may ask why I don't lock or seal that door. It won't do any good. They'd STILL manage to get out when things get nasty. I even think I need them to get out now and then, if only to remind me that I am still alive and I can still remember what war really is and let me get highly pissed off at the goddamn fucking STUPID of what passes for 'leadership' in 'Merikkka today.
OK, topic number 2. The bloody flag and tRump and his bullshit tweets about football players who kneel during the playing of 'that' song. Yes, I do mean the "national anthem". Holy shit folks, why, why in bloody hell MUST we play that damn song before the start of every sporting event in this country? Are the majority of 'Merikkkans so bloody STUPID that they need to hear that damn song so they know which country they are in? It started as a poem and the music is an old English (yeah, the gang the rebels/founders beat back in the late 1770's and sent back to England) drinking song. Well, at least they used the music of a song for drunks to set the poem to. (yep, I AM being nasty/snarky/sarcastic again).
The orange haired rodent, aka, our current POTUS, seems to 'think' (I put think in small quotes as I doubt tRump does think) that we MUST stand every time the flag passes by. Well, NO, according to official flag etiquette you are NOT required to stand when the flag passes. You are asked to do so, but NOT required to. Big difference folks, same to you tRump!
Not standing during the playing of that crap song is NOT being disrespectful to the flag, country or anything else. Kneeling during the playing of that song IS free speech. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. Or, as my other grandpa used to say, put and egg in your shoe and beat it.
On basically the same topic, sort of. Why do kids need to say the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school? Does it wear off at the end of the school day? I do not make many promises/pledges. I never have and for a damn good reason. I do my very best to keep my promises/pledges. I do NOT make them lightly. I have noticed in my nearly 70 years of this life that many people do make promises they have no intention of keeping. Oh, they always have plenty of excuses for not keeping a promise they made. Well, my senior DI in Marine boot camp, SSGT Murphy, told us a few times that excuses are like assholes, everybody has at least one. Some folks seem to have them in multiples. Wow, I only have one and keeping it in decent nick at my age takes a bit of doing at times. Old age is not for the wimps.
How many promises has tRump made since he began his quest to be POTUS? How many has he kept? See what i did there? I asked how many he kept, makes it easier to count that way. Of course we know, assuming you live in 'Merikkka, that ALL politicians make promises they never intend to keep. The thing is, tRump has made so many outlandish promises, he could never, ever hope to keep even 1/100th of them on a very, very, improbably VERY good day. At the same time, he seems to claim he knows so much more about everything than anybody else, ever. He stated at least once, during the campaign, that HE knew more about ISIS that all the generals. And some wonder why he has so many generals in his White House staff? Hmmm, maybe somebody should ask him about that. Nah, he'd just rant on about "fake news" or some other made up bullshit.
Well, enough of me and my rants for today. Until next time, try to be good to each other. It will make the world a better place for us all.
