Tag Archives: America

Current Events

The First is Always the Best

5 Comments

Yes, how well I remember the first salute I received at around 1530 on 7 August 1967 at MB, 8th&I, Washington, D.C. when I was commissioned. Here it is:

Then GySgt Lee M. Bradley, my hero, mentor, and godfather giving the newly commissioned brown bar his first salute and collecting the infamous silver dollar, which now retired SgtMaj Lee M. Bradley says he still has.

One Final Salute                                                                  By: G. Maresca

For my first 17 years, a hat was, well, a hat. It wasn’t until I stepped off the bus in the wee hours of a humid June morning and landed on those celebrated yellow footprints of Parris Island that I quickly learned what I once called a hat was now a cover.

After my tour in the Corps, which included two deployments that literally took me around the globe, the only piece of uniform that fit me upon my departure were my covers. Thanks to adding two inches in height and 45-pounds in girth, my dress uniforms were always a major point of contention, especially during inspections. Fortunately, the camouflage utility uniform had a good amount of give, which was our uniform of the day – the one benefit of not being a pogue.

Once I returned to civilian life, my remaining covers were tucked away in my sea bag that in subsequent moves always found a home anchored in the basement. It wasn’t until my daughter requested me to render her first salute upon her commissioning in the U.S. Army that the cover would find itself, however briefly, returning to active duty.

Having been prior enlisted, I was unfamiliar with the protocols of the commissioning of a second lieutenant. Not only would she be commissioning but was named a George C. Marshall graduate having earned the U.S. Army’s top cadet award based upon scholarship, leadership, and physical fitness.

My poplin camouflaged cover was practically inspection ready considering it spent nearly four decades packed away awaiting its eventual parole to a hunting or fishing expedition that never materialized. My name was still visibly stamped on the inside and all that was left was a brief meeting with a touch of starch and an iron.

The only issue that still needed to be addressed was my hair. The mane is still in full force and pretty much the same color as when I first donned that cover. The mop, or what Uncle Vinny once sardonically called “good guinea hair,” was on tap to get a regulation high and tight shortly before the commissioning allowing enough growth to still pass muster with USMC regulation and acceptable to our family’s commanding officer, the butter bar’s mother.

The last time, I rendered a salute wearing that cover, I was still on active duty. I have no recall who was the heir of that salute, but to think the next one bestowed would be my own daughter decades later at her commissioning was surreal. The entirety of the formal proceedings were certainly a significant moment in time for an aging Jarhead.

Before accepting her request, I wanted to make sure that she didn’t want one of her ROTC cadre to do the honors as she has spoken with high regard for the senior noncommissioned officers that worked diligently with her during her undergraduate years and in particular MSgt. Cardray Moulden.

Our family’s military history is significant, having had two uncles who served in World War II one in the Army, the other in the Navy, and my, Dad, a Marine, served in the Korean War – all were enlisted. On her maternal side, one served on Iwo Jima, while the rest were Army veterans fighting the Nazi’s in Europe during World War II when military service was not necessarily a choice. The common denominator that ran through them was a patriotic sense of time-honored duty to serve one’s nation.

This seems to be missing among today’s youth as last year the Army reached only 75% of its recruiting goal, while the other branches barely met theirs. 2023 is no different. At a Congressional hearing, Pentagon brass testified things have not been this bad since the draft ended in 1973 and that the all-volunteer force may no longer be feasible.

Maria Maresca’s initial salute had two sets of firsts. Not only would she be the first woman in the family on either side to serve, but also the first to forgo the chevrons and pin on the gold bars of a second lieutenant.

Across our fruited plain, May is commissioning season. The formalities at Shippensburg University, not far from the hallowed grounds of Gettysburg or the Army’s longtime War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania is by no means a destination for any of these young officers. Rather it is the first stop in a journey that will sculpt, fashion, and solidify the rest of their lives as they serve a cause much greater than themselves.

The hope inspired by both Major General Andy Munera, the Commanding General U.S. Army Cadet Command out of Fort Knox. Kentucky, and the university’s ROTC’s Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Nicole Jepsen stirred a current that could not help but energize the auditorium of the Luhrs Performing Arts Center.

These newly commissioned officers’ commitment to serve stands out in a nation where only 9% of those eligible to serve do. They carry with them the hope of a nation that my last commander-in-chief Ronald Reagan once called “a shining city on a hill.”

This will be my last post for a while as my bride and I are taking our new RV (new to us) on its second shake down cruise to another FL State Park, that will make two down and 45 to go. I think it is fitting to post Greg’s story of his daughter receiving her first salute from her Dad. Great story. Congratulations Greg to you and to the new Brown Bar! I wish her well.

 

 

 

Originally posted 2023-05-21 12:17:26.

Current Events

Bud Who?

6 Comments

I’m absolutely amazed at how stupid some supposedly educated people can be.  Two highly paid ad execs are enjoying their leave of absence while probably wondering what they did wrong. I have always associated Bud Light as the workers beer; electricians, plumbers, welders, carpenters, factory folks; you know – the blue collar gang, that’s who drank Bud Light. But from what I hear and read, that “ain’t” happening now. And as Greg points out they won’t come back, regardless of what AB tries to do. Think of the advertising revenues AB will surely lose for all the sporting events they “used” to sponsor. LOL, Lord, I love it.

 

Bud is no wiser                                                                                                                      By: G. Maresca

Anheuser-Busch (AB) seeking to pass off a man for a woman in their latest advertising campaign, hitched their Clydesdales to 26-year-old transgender Dylan Mulvaney that only reinforces their wokeness.

Overnight, Mulvaney became the image of Bud Light with his face splashed on the cans of the nation’s bestselling brew. One friend said he thought the look was a Surgeon General’s warning that if you drank too many Bud Lights you may wake up next to an ugly woman with plumbing.

The best customer is the one you have, so why alienate them? The same friend told me Bud Light tastes like horse urine, that’s why they have all those Clydesdales. Having never imbibed in horse urine, I took him at his word.

There are thousands of microbreweries across the country, and you are drinking Bud Light? It is like eating Wonder bread when there is a bakery next door.

If AB wants to expand their base, feature an accomplished young woman instead of a man who is a caricature of the insipid tramp you pray your daughter never becomes. Such a pathetic advertising campaign is orchestrated by an indoctrinated public relations ensemble who can’t fix a flat or use self-checkout.

AB already possessed a 100% Corporate Equality Index (CEI) score, which rates wokeness prior to bringing Mulvaney onboard. It’s a good bet that most Bud Light consumers have no idea what CEI is, but they do now: Clueless – Entitled – Ignoramuses.

Not a fermenting bunch, the Bud Light cadre stepped up to the bar and ordered a boycott where follow the money is creed with the potential to make “go woke, go broke” a reality. The embargo is being hailed as one of the most successful in recent memory.

In their April 23 edition, Insights Express, a beer industry newsletter, called AB’s lost sales from the Mulvaney advertising campaign “staggering.” Moreover, Beer Business Daily confirmed, “We’ve never seen such a dramatic shift in national share in such a short period of time.”

Sales and the totality of AB’s market share continue to shrink. AB executives should be cognizant of how statistics constantly underscore that some customers never return. Provided the transgender community is as formidable a market as AB believes, they should be able to reverse their losses.

That has yet to occur.

Once you step into the woke quicksand, they demand even more virtue signaling and validation. Businesses need to focus on making an excellent product, not selling a political ideology. Companies can choose to go internally woke with training de rigueur, while hiring and promoting for things other than ability. Nevertheless, when companies fail to distinguish between the two, they only polarize their clientele and play havoc with their stockholders.

What Bud Light executives dismiss is their beverage has always been trans – water identifying as beer. AB should have just introduced a new beer with a rainbow can called TransLight or Bud Light-in-the-Loafers.

Saying they want to get away from their “fratty image” and promote “inclusivity” is their dog whistle for heterosexual white males. Marketing is about gaining customers, and customer service is about keeping them, while advertising is about growth without disgruntling your base.

The leftist echo chamber rings loudly throughout corporate America and the Democrat Party. The transgender mafia claims to be oppressed yet spooks a multibillion-dollar company to conform, while alienating their customers.

AB’s debacle is another teachable moment for woke corporate America. Picking sides, however, does not have to mean you are committed.

With Gay Pride month in June, AB will be on tap for an encore.

Two AB marketing executives were placed on a “leave of absence,” which suggests AB is not at all serious. Rather, it is basic damage control where they believe playing the waiting game is best.

 

AB, like the sporting events they sponsor, does not belong to one cultural group. It can be one thing to have different political opinions, yet folks can still enjoy a beverage and sporting event together. That, however, is not how corporate, political, or sporting America works anymore. You must signal your virtue in every arena of life, or be labelled a racist, fascist, or bigot.

Such absurd behavior only results in a weaker America for all.

I remember being stationed at Camp Lejeune and seeing Bud Light semis delivering beer to the base clubs. They were painted camouflage and in big bold black letters read “Marines Drink Bud Light.” Care to guess which beer was the biggest seller on base? Some marketing person at AB had their “stuff” together.  I wonder what the trucks say now

 

Originally posted 2023-05-15 13:19:06.

Current Events, Recent Posts

Ron & Don

12 Comments

REALLY?

From Mark Alexander of the Patriotic Post. I am doing something I don’t usually do, that is hold my comments until you’ve read Mark’s comments. Please, no peeking.ESTERO, FL – OCTOBER 31: President Donald Trump greets Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis as his wife, Casey DeSantis, looks on as they are introduced during a campaign rally at the Hertz Arena on October 31, 2018 in Estero, Florida. President Trump continues travelling across America to help get the vote out for Republican candidates running for office. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Ron DeSantis on Liberty and Leadership

Discerning between political substance and clickbait churn in the DeSantis/Morgan interview.

Hours before sunrise each day, our editors are reviewing reliable and trustworthy media sources. That review results in an 0800 editors meeting to determine, as a digest of news and policy, the few topics that deserve further analysis and other “below the fold” topics to be covered in our Executive Summary section. Moreover, we determine what we are not going to cover because it amounts to “clickbait churn.” Some news junkies thrive on that churn, but the fact is, it’s a mainstay of both the commercial Leftmedia talking heads and scribes and, unfortunately, most of their conservative media counterparts because clicks equal advertising revenue.

The reality is that, most mornings, the majority of news we review is advertising churn, and that is a disservice to all Americans.

Case in point this week would be the relentless speculation about whether Donald Trump was going to be indicted by a thuggish partisan New York prosecutor. I covered that issue the day after Trump set the churn machine on fire last week. Under the title “The Relentless Prosecutorial Persecution of Donald Trump,” I came to Trump’s defense against absurd prosecutorial overreach.

Another case in point would be comments by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in an interview this week, every word being spun one way or the other to feed the churn machine.

No, DeSantis did not “Rip Trump’s character and chaotic leadership style,” as interviewer Piers Morgan put it, asserting “Gov. Ron DeSantis has finally taken the gloves off and launched a blistering attack on his former mentor, former President Donald Trump.”

But what DeSantis did say ahead of announcing his candidacy for president in 2024 is important.

There is one thing Trump accomplished that DeSantis would like to accomplish, and that is to serve our nation as president. There are many attributes that DeSantis brings to office, including his extraordinary military and academic background, that Trump would like to claim.

DeSantis has clearly proven himself in one of the nation’s largest and politically most significant states, Florida, as affirmed by his landslide reelection last November. As House Republicans limped across the finish line nationally, barely taking control of the House and losing the Senate, despite exaggerated rumors of a “red wave,” in Florida, DeSantis won 62 of the state’s 67 counties and beat Democrat challenger Charlie Crist by nearly 20 points. On that resounding victory, which included substantial Hispanic and Demo crossover votes, DeSantis declared: “We have embraced freedom. We have maintained law and order. We have protected the rights of parents. We have respected our taxpayers, and we reject woke ideology. We fight the woke in the legislature. We fight the woke in the schools. We fight the woke in the corporations. We will never ever surrender to the woke mob. Florida is where woke goes to die!”

And he has sustained that momentum every day since his reelection.

So, here is what he had to say in his interview with Morgan related to Trump.

Acknowledging his record as governor and his national appeal, Morgan asked DeSantis how he differed from Trump. DeSantis responded: “Well, I think there’s a few things. The approach to COVID was different. I would have fired somebody like Fauci. I think he got way too big for his britches, and I think he did a lot of damage.”

I covered this in depth in a 2020 election postmortem under the title, “Trump’s Biggest Blunder — Anthony Fauci,” noting that was the fatal error in Trump’s ChiCom Virus pandemic response, and it cost our nation irreparable damage. It proved a major contributing factor to his loss of a second term because it enabled Fauci to promote the Demos’ bulk-mail ballot fraud strategy.

Astoundingly, as one of his last acts as president, Trump awarded a Presidential Commendation to Fauci.

On all the Trump drama, DeSantis said, “The way we run the government, I think, is no daily drama, focus on the big picture and put points on the board, and I think that’s something that’s very important.”

Unfortunately, Trump thrived on the chaos and drama, which I warned about just months after his election — pleading with him to stop undermining the good he was doing by “swapping spit with jackasses.” Notably, a well-placed person within Trump’s inner circle mentioned that Patriot Post articles were frequently included in White House staff briefings. Apparently they missed the one on endless and mindless tweets.

A wise friend and a very astute political observer, Cal Thomas, offered this observation about all the Trump chaos and drama: “Trump was questioned at a White House press briefing about polls showing his popularity was declining. Asked to explain, he responded, ‘Nobody likes me. It can only be my personality. That’s all.’ It was a rare moment of transparency for him.”

As for Trump’s trademark petulance, like calling the governor “DeSanctimonious,” DeSantis responded: “I kinda like it, it’s long, it’s got a lot of vowels. … I mean, you can call me whatever you want, just as long as you also call me a winner because that’s what we’ve been able to do in Florida, is put a lot of points on the board and really take this state to the next level.”

He would not take Morgan’s bait on Trump name-calling: “To me, it’s just background noise. It’s not important for me to be fighting with people on social media. It’s not accomplishing anything for the people I represent. So, we really just focus on knocking out victories, day after day, and if I got involved in all the undertow, I would not be able to be an effective governor.”

Notably, Trump exploded after Morgan asked DeSantis about the bogus Trump prosecution, and he responded humorously, “I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair.” Trump ranted that DeSantis is a “wheelchair over the cliff kind of guy,” and called for investigations of his campaign.

Fact is, DeSantis has strenuously and rightly defended Trump, and slammed the Manhattan DA for pursuing an indictment, saying, “The Manhattan district attorney is a Soros-funded prosecutor and so he, like other Soros-funded prosecutors, they weaponize their office to impose a political agenda on society at the expense of the rule of law and public safety.”

Recall that ahead of DeSantis’s first election as governor in 2018, Trump declared: “Ron DeSantis is a brilliant young leader, Yale and then Harvard, who would make a great Governor of Florida. He loves our country. He’s a true fighter.” Indeed he was and is.

DeSantis told Morgan: “We had a good relationship and I think one of the reasons he got to know me [when I was in Congress] is because I saw the Russia collusion thing as a farce from the beginning. Very few people said that. We had a handful of us in Congress that were fighting back against that. So, I would go on TV, and I would defend him when it wasn’t popular and when it was kinda politically risky, but I just thought it was the right thing to do. I thought that he had good ideas for the country. And then when I became governor, his last two years as president, we worked very well together. He had a place in Florida and worked well with us to serve our state.”

In closing, Morgan noted correctly that DeSantis made a fatal mistake with Trump. “What’s that?” asked DeSantis, to which Morgan responded, “You got too popular.”

Indeed, in typical slash-and-burn fashion, Trump assailed DeSantis after the interview: “Now that Ron DeSanctimonious is finally admitting he’s in the Race…let me explain the facts. He is, for a Republican, an average Governor.” He then insisted Morgan was “a ratings-challenged TV host” and then started trashing Florida. Par for the Trump course.

Likewise, Trump recently condemned Fox News and The Wall Street Journal for daring to write anything favorable about anyone but Trump.

Recall that popular Fox host Tucker Carlson privately articulated sentiments many share about Trump, even before the J6 protests: “We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can’t wait. I hate him passionately. … What he’s good at is destroying things. He’s the undisputed world champion of that. He could easily destroy us if we play it wrong.” Given the outrage that generated from his fans, Carlson is trying to make amends with Trump.

Regarding Trump’s destructive fratricidal attacks, DeSantis said, “My view, though, is we should want the country to do well, I want other Republicans to do well.”

That clearly contrasts his approach with fellow Republicans and that of Trump, whose self-aggrandizing fratricidal fire is in stark contradiction to Ronald Reagan and his 11th Commandment on Republican primaries: “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.”

However, Trump didn’t just turn on his Republican opponents. In the end, Trump turned on everyone who had stuck by him through it all, those who gave his administration gravitas and legitimacy, including former VP Mike Pence, former chief of staff Gen. John Kelly, former AG William Barr and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Fact is, Ron DeSantis is a leader and a proven defender of American Liberty, who would crush Joe Biden or his replacement in 2024.

Of the coming contest between DeSantis and Trump, political commentator Ben Shapiro concludes: “So, what can DeSantis do? The answer: It’s not really up to DeSantis. It’s up to Republican voters. It will be DeSantis’ job to remind Republican voters that Trump has won precisely one election in the last seven years; it will be the job of Republican voters to acknowledge that reality. It will be DeSantis’ job to point out that Trump didn’t clean out the executive branch and gave Fauci power; it will be the job of Republican voters to acknowledge that such criticisms aren’t ‘unfair attacks.’ It will be DeSantis’ job to remind voters of his record; it will be the job of Republican voters to look to that record rather than tweetstorms for policy victory. Will Republican voters use their heads…? We’ll find out soon enough.”

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776

Okay, so what did you think. First of all you do know who Piers Morgan is I assume. Libitard extraordinaire and a full fledged POS IMHO. Alright, I realize the following comments may not be accepted by many of my followers, but I have to do it. I can’t take it anymore, I can no longer support an idiot . I am tired of receiving hundreds of emails weekly from Trump. No matter how many I classify as junk, they continue to come from other addresses. The man has gone off the deep end; he is a an egomaniac whose time has come and passed. He had his chance and he blew it; he simply would not shut the hell up. He pissed everyone including me, but I stayed the course.

However, when he fired his COS, General John Kelly, that  sent an initial strong message to me for I knew John Kelly. I observed him under pressure when he was a fresh caught captain S-3 of an infantry battalion commanded by someone with whom  I had a very long history. We were DI’s together as Cpls, and we served several times together after we both were commissioned. Wayne retired as a two star and swore by John Kelly. Something smelled bad and from that day forth my feelings toward “The Don” began to change. I am sick and tired of his rhetoric, his constant demeaning of everyone even those who put up with his BS and still supported him through thick and thin. He could have done so much for this country had he been a leader and learned from those around him who were leaders.

Now he is attacking my Governor for whom I have the highest respect. While I hate to lose DeSantis to a national election for he has done so much for this state and has more to do. I ear we just might lose him. But for “The Don” to trash Ron and call him names, he has overstepped his bounds. Let it be know far and wide from from this day forth I am among the Trump-Haters. Sorry guys., disown me if you will, but I cannot support a guy like him anymore. Our country needs someone strong enough to overcome Biden’s BS and turn society around and I know in my heart, Trump will divide us even more.

Originally posted 2023-03-27 17:12:04.

Current Events

God Help Us!

10 Comments

The following was sent to me by John Reim who is an old time 8th & I Marine long before me. He received it from another old “slider and glider,” Bill Marshall, Drum & Bugle Corps 1957-59. I don’t usually do religious posts, but this one hit me where it hurts, and I hope it does you too!.

                        Hate of Self… America in Decline?                                                              “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;                                 but when the wicked bearith the rule, the people mourn.”            Proverbs 29:2 KJV

                                                 And Mourn We Shall

A very scary thought, but not simply a thought,,, it is truth for “When the wicked bearith the rule.”  Riots, murders, crime of all sorts, corruption in government, contempt for America on the world stage. The wicked has more openly revealed itself beginning Jan. 21st 2021, and the price is being paid.

                                                       Hate of Self

As we watch the nation we love slide farther and farther from the ideals and dedication to the God the “Founders” relied on for guidance, it is because of the nonchalance of attitude we find ourselves in the dilemma we are presently facing. While attempting to understand the wandering of this nation towards its present state, there was a discovery that forces us to look back several decade to the regression of this nation. Let us begin with the Democrat agenda and the attitude of “Hate of Self.”

It is determined that today, over 30% of this nations population is now ,,, anti-American. Only 36% of our youth claim to be proud to be American. 40% of millennial claim no religious affiliation what-so ever. This according to Pew Research Center. The major reason of hate??? Dedication to God.

God is a hindrance. Hindrance of an agenda once considered sinful and immoral. Hindrance because God makes the rules and as long as God makes the rules to which we must live,,, they cannot impose theirs. Recent past, churches were vandalized and invaded because of this hate.

Beginning with the eliminating of prayers to the God of the Bible in public schools, escalating to same sex marriage, murder of the unborn, educating children K thru 12 on transgenderism and a past prayer on the floor of Congress to the monotheistic god Brahma that asked for a blessing of Congress. That prayer for blessing from a pagan god could very well become a curse.

God has been mocked, demeaned, ridiculed and mostly eliminated by this nation that once relied on His powers to guide it. When there are no longer pleas for guidance, blessings and freedoms “Endowed by our Creator,” – those guidance, blessings and freedoms will no longer be.

“The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” 

In this prophetic announcement by Washington, this nation was forewarned of disaster if / when this nation strayed from those rules. The choice, the determination, and the commitment of this nation to comply with the “Eternal Rules of Order” is nor a request,,, it is a command. A command from the Almighty Himself. The “Smiles” (blessings) of Heaven cannot be expected of given to this        nation or any other that breaks God’s “Rules of Order,” — as this nation has done.

History will verify. Judgement will come. Whether a direct command from the Almighty or a decision by Him to leave us to our own demise — still judgement will come.

This nation once blessed so favorably was a beacon to the world of what an obedient nation would resemble. Now no longer obedient,,, now no longer blessed. Now a nation in decline. Now under the present administration, a laughing stock to the world.

What blessing can come to a nation that has broken every “Rule” given humanity to live by in order to live by the rules of the “Politically Correct” and the Democrat agenda. Under the guise of tolerance of many broken “Rules” and the condemnation of opposing speech and action, a new and intolerant agenda of the “Far Left Democrats” will descend this nation into the most deceptive lie  since Satan said to Eve. “You will not surly die.” They did …. and so shall this nation if not soon realizing this great lie being told to us.

These presently running our government are Globalist, – New World Order — anti-God people.

To accomplish their agenda, this nation must become insignificant, weakened, non-Christian, unarmed and worldly minded. Either we believe their lie and die as a nation … or not and live.

Semper Fi,                                                                                                                           Bill Marshall

Thank you Bill and God bless you sir!

Originally posted 2023-03-17 11:58:49.

Current Events, Recent Posts

Go Army!

14 Comments

Don’t know if anyone has seen this, I think I saw it a while ago, but don’t think I posted it. Anyway if I did, sorry about that, here it is again.

Additionally, I believe enough time has gone by for me to post the results of my poll on changing the clocks. I will say I am disappointed in you guys. Eighty-six hits on the post and only twelve comments. Clearly, that sucks! Why do I waste my valuable time even posting if you are simply going to read it and not even click if you like it or not and  then less than 14% of you take the time tell me keep it or ditch it. Sad! to say the least. Why do you even come and read the posts? Anyway twelve comments and  eleven said keep standard time. One felt the need to tell us that since he retired he doesn’t care what time it is. Hmm, I felt that way when I first retired, but wait till he gets to my age, and finds that the body and the mind doesn’t like changes and trying to adjust to something as evident as daylight is a little tougher.  So, if everyone says stop it and keep standard time, why are we still doing it? Send your congressman an email and tell him to stop it. I did, have you?

Anyway folks, meet the new Army, and bear in mind the Corps is not far behind them. Me thinks our CMC is having mental problems. I’ll post something about that late when I have time, but then some of you will read it and pass on.

Originally posted 2023-03-14 16:52:07.