I must apologize profusely for disappearing for such a long time. I have no excuse other than to blame it on so many birthdays (mine, of course—LOL) and so many items on my Bucket List that have eaten away at my waking hours.
For example, as I type this, my bride – Nancy, and my dog, Edgar – are sitting in the RV at a KOA in Watkins Glen located in the Finger Lakes area of upper state New York. We have been on the road since 27 July visiting kin on our way up the East Coast with an eventual destination of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, which has been on both mine and Nancy’s list for years. Of that, all I can say is been there, done that, no need to do it again. I did come away with a tidbit of information that made a significant impression on me. The amount of water coming over Horseshoe Falls is a phenomenal 34 million gallons PER MINUTE! WOW!
Anyway, we leave here tomorrow and go to Lake George, NY. We stay three nights, then head for the Flight 93 Memorial site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania—a must-see told to us by many fellow RVers and Marine brothers. Several recommended making sure one has a handkerchief.
Then we head home to the heat – which we have not missed at all. We expect to be in SWFL by the end of the month.
We both have been extremely impressed with upper state NY; what a gorgeous area. If a bunch of die-hard idiot liberals didn’t run the damn state, we could see ourselves living here – during the summer months.
Anyway, my good friend and Marine brother, with whom most of you are familiar, sent me a column he’d written, and that gave me the incentive to make a post. As always, it’s a good read and filled with truisms.
The Buzz on the Bus By: Greg Maresca
Spending the summer behind the wheel of a bus has brought with it some interesting turns, detours, and plenty of spontaneous conversation. Many of the seniors on board do not get out as they once did. Others have little contact with the outside world except for their journey to various medical appointments, while some do not interact with many other than the small retirement community where they reside.
While driving, I do not like being beholden to the Global Positioning System (GPS), but there are times when it is the only option. Technology, when it works, can make any transition quite smooth but not when you’re sitting in a defunct parking lot or in the middle of a road surrounded by corn fields with no scarecrow in sight with the GPS informing anyone within earshot that “you have arrived at your destination.”
One distinguished gentleman and rider, a Vietnam veteran of two tours, noted how societies fail when tolerance becomes the ultimate virtue and is then defined by one party as gospel. He remarked about the irony of how Democrats preach tolerance of gays, illegal immigrants, and even convicted felons but then turn on fellow Americans who are Christians, conservatives, and republicans. As he stepped off into the smothering humidity, he parted with these words of wisdom: At this juncture, there is no excuse for NeverTrumpers to continue.
Then there was one woman (at least I thought she was female) who boarded wearing her surgical mask giving the ride a retro COVID-19 feel. She was the clear winner of the summer’s best bus rider mask that read simply: “Harris” with each letter emblazoned in a different color. It was the first campaign sign I witnessed in all my journeys extoling Harris for the nation’s highest office.
Perhaps she doesn’t realize how Kamala Harris as vice president owns each one of President Joe Biden’s failures that includes economic decline brought on by rising inflation, tens of millions of illegal immigrants, the Afghanistan debacle, and increased tensions, worldwide. Ironically, Harris opposes voter identification laws, but requires photo ID to get into her campaign stops.
Harris pleads with voters to elect her again, so she can solve all the problems that have been ongoing since she was first elected.
Harris entered the presidential race a month ago and has yet to give any interviews or press conferences with no blowback from journalists. Such behavior underscores how journalistic objectivity is a myth. One recent headline in a national publication read: “Harris Tough on Border.” This was not a satirical piece but an actual “news story.” Politics can be a pleasure when you have a complicit media working nonstop for your campaign and gratis, too. Time magazine admitted Harris refused to grant an interview for their cover story. Her media rebranding is something to behold as it is nothing but a complete fabrication in the first degree.
As such, the Biden basement 2.0 campaign strategy has officially commenced.
If it was successful once, why not again?
Despite a colluding media providing cover like bodyguards with every step her campaign takes, Harris’s extreme positions on abortion, gender ideology, parental rights, crime, and immigration are actually left of Biden, which should speak volumes but reaches only deaf ears.
Harris understands that to get debt-burdened Millennials to support her is by making promises in the extreme – Medicare for all, cancelling student loans and universal basic income. This trifecta of financial doom would have drastic consequences for the economy, stock market, and millions of Americans’ retirement accounts. But given Millennials’ knowledge of economics is just as pathetic as their comprehension of civics, it is the perfect paradigm.
I passed on telling this young woman that Harris and her bus driving hack have one thing in common: We both have never won one presidential primary – ever. And yet it is Donald Trump who is the real threat to democracy. I’m sure she would have been offended because if one disagrees with the left, one is not only ignorant and insipid, but evil.
The time is long past burying our heads in our phones and other narcissistic pursuits while our constitution and the republic founded upon it is being bused over a cliff.
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA – Revelations that the insurrection at the US Capitol included many former and current members of America’s armed forces have been met with alarm. And yet, as a 35-year veteran and retired commandant of the US Marine Corps, I saw the events of January 6 as the predictable culmination of a growing disconnect between the US military and civilian society.
Once home, many veterans joined organizations like the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion, where they were surrounded by like-minded people who had served, suffered, and sacrificed together. Jobs were plentiful, and Americans took pride in their country and their military.
Similarly, in the Korean War less than a decade later, though America was never “all in,” it nonetheless had clear strategic goals. As in WWII, US servicemen and women did a remarkable job and came home to an appreciative country.
But then came Vietnam, where most Americans never really knew what their country was fighting for. When the conflict finally came to its ignominious end in April 1975, there was no victory to celebrate (and it certainly was not fireworks that flew from the roof of the US embassy in Saigon). Unlike previous generations, those who fought in Vietnam were not honored for their service and sacrifice. Equally important, the public backlash against the war led to the end of military conscription, which fundamentally transformed the relationship between the military and the American people. The rift created by the shift to an all-volunteer military has grown wider ever since.
After Vietnam, America’s next major war was Desert Storm, in 1990. Again, clear strategic goals were met in a dramatic fashion, and US servicemen and women returned to a proud country – on the cusp of becoming the world’s only remaining superpower with the collapse of the Soviet Union the following year.
Yet by the end of the Gulf War, globalization and technological change had already begun to reshape American society. Old-line industries were being upended, and many manufacturing jobs were disappearing. Although immigration had only a minor effect on the big economic picture, it became a hot-button political issue for those who found themselves out of work. At the same time, a new wave of social-justice issues also started gaining momentum during this period. As a microcosm of America, the US military was not immune to these political dynamics.
It was against this political, social, and economic backdrop that America embarked on its “long war.” Much like Vietnam, the “War on Terror” lacks clear strategic goals and has lost public buy-in over time. Many of those who have fought it subscribe to the apocryphal refrain that while the military was at war, America was at Walmart. After serving multiple tours in Iraq or Afghanistan, servicemen and women who sacrificed years of their lives have received little recognition.
In his 1973 book, The American Way of War, the historian Russell F. Weigley quoted US General George C. Marshall as saying, “a democracy cannot fight a Seven Years’ War,” because any protracted conflict eventually will lose the support of the electorate. The longer a war runs – particularly when it becomes cross-generational – the greater the disconnect between the typical citizen and the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who serve.
he War on Terror is an abiding case in point, helping to shed light on the unrest and extremism that burst into public view at the Capitol. A small minority of alienated former and active service members have concluded that something is wrong in the America for which they fought and sacrificed. The past two presidential elections have fueled this discontent and convinced some that they have a duty to confront perceived domestic “enemies.” Political leaders, meanwhile, have exploited these sentiments for their own advantage.
The COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to a perfect storm. As the economy shed jobs – particularly at the lower end of the income distribution – face-to-face interactions were no longer possible. With deepening social atomization, it has become more difficult to experience solidarity. Angst or boredom have afflicted many, and some have found refuge in online communities espousing extremist ideologies. The 2020 presidential election brought the situation to a boiling point. A sitting commander-in-chief openly sought to overturn a free and fair election with lies and intimidation, and a small minority of his acolytes answered his call to action. Really?
But Americans should have faith. Notwithstanding a few outliers, the US military is unwavering in its support of, and dedication to, the US Constitution. Those in its ranks who harbor extremist views will be discovered and dealt with appropriately. Looking ahead, recruitment methods will be strengthened to weed out extremists. Recruiters will have to look not only at candidates’ social-media activity but also at their “body paint” (tattoos) and other potential indicators of extremist or racist sympathies. Interviews will need to be more pointed, and education for active members improved.
While the troubling trajectory of US military-civil relations has created fertile ground for some members to be radicalized, it is important to remember that the insurrectionists represent an exception. The US military has defended American democracy for centuries and will continue to do so, in keeping with our noblest traditions. Yes, I agree general, you can bet on it!
CHARLES C. KRULAK
Writing for PS since 2020
4 Commentaries
In sum, I categorize this fellow in the same company as Mattis, Allen, and all the other Kool Aid drinking generals viewing the military through their woke eyes and ears. Krulak says the recruiters will take care of this supposed problem. LOL What does he know about recruiting — Nothing!